On the Golf Links

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLVII, Issue 20, 15 May 1912, Page 8

On the Golf Links

This paper has been appointed the official organ of the Ladies’ Golf Union, Neic Zealand branch, Secretaries c-f ladies’ golf clubs are imitrd to fortrard official notices, handicaps and alterations, results of compo titior.s and other matters of interest, to track the publ,shiny effice not later than the Saturday prior to the date of publwation.

AUCKLAND. FfT iH Mahll'-niorc links were in »plen- ||’ did trim on Saturday afternoon, ait<! looked their best under the I beautiful weather conditions. 1 he Jtv star attraction was the George Cup Bogey Handicap, for which r?2 i Myers competed. 11. G. Stringer, who ail square with the Colonel, being an oasv winner. The rest of the field found the’l.ouey tec stiff a task on their handieay allowance. Following are the particnlais Of the best cants handed In:— H. fl. Stringer with 7 strokes, alt square. J C. Hurns, serat-h, 3 down. C .1 Shartand with 5 strokes, -I down. XV S Ralph, with 13 strokes, 5 down. I’. T. t'pton with 5 strokes, fl down. 11. D. Bamford, with 4 strokes, 0 down. E A. Dargavilie, with 4 strokes, 6 down. Next Saturday the very popular captain s prize tourney will commence, entries for whith close at noon on Thursday, loth, t'layeis wiil be arranged lido A anti U grades, and the conditions are match play on handicap between each pair, partners iclic drawn. One week is allowed for cacti round ami trophies will be presented by the . apluin to the winner of each grade. ,1 r.dcliig l:v the names already handed in, the . ai.’ i-.'d bo strongly represented by Its touring team at Cambridge on June 3rd. Any others desiring to accompany can send their names in at once, in order that the noecssaiy a< commodatien may be arranged tor. Waiteinata. > The Waitemata Club played their first match over the fail coiirw of 18 holes last week. Several of t'e new holes helped to Increase the g. ■ score, but they gave premise of p riding good golf .n the future. The match was a h.andi :p foursome, the winners being Howdc-n an.l Sonin.erville. gross 95. handicap 15, net SO Mickle and H. S. Cousins. 103-19 SI; Rev. Mark Sutton and Farrar. 104-17 87: Kallcnder and Archer. 106—19—ST; Jeffries and Picklord, 106—19 87; Norton and Simmonds, 104 -l< -S8: Johns and .’-mith. lOS—I9 —89; Cloastcn am! Dhnant, 102 — 1*2—90. The first monthly medal handicap of tlie W ta G -If Club « as playt d on Saturday afts'rnorm. The play w is against 1 gey. and the "colonel” beet everyone ex t.". Roy Maeky, who finished al! square. The best * : the other cards returned were • . ~ < f W Bn 3 down; R. Phils I, 1 Captain Merkle, 4 down; A. VenA.. 10. 4 <l<hvr: ard 11. lhns<*'.i. 4 down. Maungakiekie. Th*' first r«-nnd of rhe Maur._ ikiekie Golf Clu’ ’■» <• ••»vc:ie handicap wa- played <•» :!io (J: t'-tree Hill links on S unlay afterThe best cards hande 1 in were:—- - • p 12. net s<'ore Xfi; I t Ilarke, 100—11 89; Le Bieur, 107 18 SO; Cooke, ill—22—Bo; Thacker, 108 is 90; R. O. Gardner, 105 14 91; Wan . 20 92: R H. Wynyard, 104 - 12 92; Il Hi 110 17 92 . o’l 110- 2S 94: Hickson, 119 25-04; G. L. Taylor. 115 20—95: Brabant. 125-30-95.

WELLINGTON. Championship Meeting. Subject to ratification by the Council of the- N.Z. Golf Association, the date of the championship has been fixed by the Wellington Golf Club for September 23rd to 28th inclusive. 'lbis date is somewhat later than and it- may be that one or two aspirant** for champion* ship honours will be inconvenienced thereby. but the rules of the Gulf Association distinctly say that’the championship •hall be played for during the months of August or September, and a* the Heretaniiga links are m better order after the w nt er i< over, the committee of the Wellington Club are probably justified in holding the meeting at as late a date »• possible. The maUh committee are now drawing up a draft programme which will necessarily be moatly on the lines of previous programmes though there is a likelibood of the foursomes being «upcrseded y fourb-ball foursomes, whuth would certainly be a move in the right direction, a« the ordinary foursome is seldom played l>v the newer school of golfers, who consider it rather out of date. One thing there is. however, in its favour, and that is, that it is played at a good deal quicker rate than

the four ball, and this in the ease of large entries is a matter that must be eonsidcred, otherwise there may be considerable congestion on the links. Miramar. (By Telegraph. Own Correspondent ) WE1.1.1 X< ITON, Si turday. The Miramar Golf Club held their monthly bogey competition to-day, and there was a large entry. The course was in excellent order, but the scores were poor. However, that consistent player A. Erskine, with a handicap of 9, managed to even up with bogey, finishing all square. Other cards returned were: T. Brodie 1.5, 2 down: C. Richardson, 15, 2 down; Professor Mackenzie, 18, 3 down; Cecil Maitland, 18, 4 down; M. J. Crombie, 15, 5 down; <?. O. Sutton, 9, 6 down. Sir J. G. Ward’s Cup. Owing to insufficiency of notice, there were not so many entries as usual for sir Joseph Ward’s Cup for mixed foursomes, but the handicappers may congratulate themselves on the excellent results. C. St. G. Gore and Miss Elsie Watson tied for first place with 4 down, but J. B. Mae Ewan and Mrs. Marchbanks. Mr. an I Mrs. Arthur Ihtnean, and A. J. Abbott and Miss Hannay gave them a good run with 5 down, whilst the lady champion of New Zealand and H. G. Didsbury, L. C. Hales and Mrs. Collins, F. S. Hodson and Miss Pearce were all •> down. Other cards handed in were: Mr. and Mrs. M. H. Turnbull 7 down, and G. Thorne George and Miss W. Miles S down.

CHRISTCHURCH. (From Our Special Corresponfieut.) Inter-club Matches. Regular inter-club niatvhcs. quite apart from the interest and pleasure provided for the players, cannot fail to leave a good effect on the standard of the golf in the clubs concerned. In Sydney for some vears there has been a regular series of matches, bat until this year it !i.i- been confined to the subiirhm clubs. This year, however, the two metropolitan . labs. Royal Sydney and Australian, are taking part, and, though the suburban plavers are quite outclassed by the representatives of the two big c-lubs, good results should follow. For one thing, experience of the two magnificent courses of the dubs named should engender a feeling of discontent with inferior links and lead to their improvement. In New Zealand we are less favourably situated. The time lost m travelling between the principal cities, and also the expense, tend to make interclub mat. Ties between Metropolitan clubs few and far between. Our larger cities are not large enough to support several big clubs, so that local inter-club matches are too one-sided where the metropolitan club is engaged, to be of much interest. Christchurch is probably the most favourably situated town in New Zealand from the point of view of inter club fixtures. Yearly matches against Dunedin for the Hosking, Campbell and Hamner shields, and home and home matches against Wellington for the Tuson Cup, give the Cliristehurv-h players advantages which Auckland is too remote to share. Serious mat h plr.y against strangers has an educative value hard to Over-estimate, and the lack of this is felt in cricket as well as in golf in New Zealand. Greens. A course is often judged by its putting greens. If this « wrong one can at least Jay down that no course can be considered good unless its putting greens are good. Opinions differ, however, as to what constitutes a good green. Some prefer them shaved dose <.nd as fast ns possible, an<l others prefer a soft and thick sward of grass. A practice which I have observed on several New Zealand

courses of eirtting wet grass to the quick and rolling what is left into the mud will, I think, be generally condemned. Whether the green be elow or fast, rough or smooth, flat or undulating, let it be a green. A test which will usually be sufficient is to puss the hand over the surface. A soft velvety feel should be the result; but if bare ground meets the hand then it is time for the green committee to encourage the grass. At Wanganui in the first day of the open championship of 1911 the greens were rolled with heavy rollers at- daylight, with the result that the grass was pressed into the ground or stood up irregularly. The result was that very few putted even decently, although the greens were easy enough before. Again at Auckland in 1909 the greens at. One-tree Hill were beautiful up to the beginning of the meeting, when heavy rolling of wet greens an dsubsequent baking made them extremely difficult and quite different from their previous state. Now I hold that the fact that a championship match is to be played does not require as a preliminary 'the spoiling of good grassy greens by over-rolling, and further that an effort to make greens faster is more likely to spoil than to improve them. Grass should never be rolled into the mud, nor should it be cut to the quick.

Otago and Canterbury players alike found extreme difficulty in negotiating the Balmaeewan greens in the recent matchiV, especially on Thursday when the high wind was blowing. A ball pitched on to a green stopped easily enough, but when once a ball started running it was difficult to tel! where it would stop. A policy of close cutting had been adopted and the weight of the machines had rolled out the surface until it was almost glassy. The wind on many occasions affected a ball's run in a startling manner, the more so as many of the greens are sloped or hummocky. I should think the severe frosts of Dunedin would play havoc with those greens this winter, but I hope I am mistaken. Nates ou the Otago Trip. A very various incident took place in, one of the men’s single matches in the Orbeil Cup. At the Gorge Green (16) both players had played on to the green the surface of which was invisible from where they were. On arriving at the green they found that there were t’.v > lulls on the green one about a foot an I the other about four feet- from the hole. Both balls were of the same kind and unmarked, and it being found impossib'e to decide which was which, 4hey played the hole again. I am in doubt as to what would be the correct procedure under these circumstances. The Mrs. Dodgshun who played first for the Otago ladies is the sister in law of Dodgshun of Gisborne, who so gallantly fought his way into tin? final of the last Amateur Championship. Some of those who were at Wanganui may remember that Dodgshun was prevented from attending his brother's wedding by his lasting to the final. Mr. and Mrs. Holdsworth entertained the visitors at afternoon tea at the clubhouse on the day of the Orbeil Cun. Mr. Crawford's well known hospitality was also deeply appreciated, especially in the void bleak weather of Thursday. The Oamaru links are on high land fringed by cliffs, and one part is visible from the railway line. The sympathy of

the Christc-huivh teem is extended t<J the gentleman who was so wistfully gazing down the cliff (a sheer drop of some 200 feet) after his ball. We hava all sliced at Land's End. An Old N.Z. Golfer. I saw in a recent number of the “Referee’’ that J. R. Hooper, tennis, golf, and billiard champion, once of Auckland, had gathered in a medal competition from scratch at Newcastle, N.B.W. I played 18 holes with him in the month of January, 1911, at Newcastle. The heat was terrific, but there was quite a good muster of players on the links. The courso is of 9 holes on a racecourse quite elos<> to the city, and is an exceptionally good one. It is naturally bunkered by scrub like our manuka, and is well eared for. On one green is a mound some 6 feet; high, well in the middle, a formation which recent home experiments have recalled to my mind. One tee is some 3i> yards from a two sailed barrier, and there is a local rule providing that if a boll hits a rail it may be replayed—onq of tlie moot curious local rules I have met with. Hooper was out of form at the time, but he satisfactorily a -eounte-1 for me, and in the evening although oub of form at billiards he made a break of 124. Christchurch Club Matches. All matches were postponed on Saturv day owing to the absence of the team in Dunedin. Tlie play-off for tlie Borthwick Base will oeeupy the next three Saturdays. N.Z. Championship Meeting. I learn that the committee of the Wellington Golf Club have decided on tha week beginning on the 23rd of Septembeg for the N.Z. Championship Meeting. This is a week later than usual, in fa t, the latest for several years. It has been an understood thing for many years that the meeting should begin on the first or second Monday in September, the original reason being, so Mr David Pryde informs me, to fit in with the secondary, schools’ holidays. Tn Dunedin, in 1908, the date was a little later, but tha special reason for that was that their grass doesn't begin to grow before September. The end of September sees tha balances of most of the banks and large firms, and also encroaches on the busy season of the farming interest. Bank

men, secondary eehool teavbir®. commercial n<en and farmere may all find it difficult, if not impossible, to attend. Chrhti'hureh will suffer severely, as Lush, Wright and Forbes at least will in all probability find it impossible -to go. If Wellington w-ieh for a representative meeting they would be well adviced to bring back the date at least a fortnight, and take the risk, if it exists, of a wet course. It may be added that at the Golf Council meeting held at Wanganui la-t September the point was raised, and the meeting was led to believe that the tournament would bo at the usual time. It must be stated that the delegates from Wellington at that meeting had nothing to do with the fixing of the late date, and one of them at least is opposes! to it. CAMBRIDGE. A weekly competition for men will be held every Monday afternoon, medal play, elub handicap. The competition started on Monday, and resulted in a win for K. Caldwell with 95—14—-81. <Uber stores were:-—E. J. Wilkinson, 91—14—85; A. H. Nieoll, 97—10—87; K. Muir. 103—14—89.

MARLBOROUGH. The season of the .Marlborough Golf Club was opened at the new links on the Wither Run la~t week. After the links had been declared open .by the President, Dr. Walker, the first ball was driven, and afterwards foursomeo were played. It is hoped that this year will lie one in which really active interest will be taken in the popular pastime, and that the enterprise of the elub in leasing new and better links will be rewarded with a large measure of success. •The course of the new links is a ninehole one, with four sporty short holes and five long ones, .averaging about 450 yards each. Considering the time the club has had possession the greens are in good order, and reflect the c-areful attention paid to their laying-down by Mr P. Hadfield, the caretaker. The course between the greens is a little rough at present, but that will soon be remedied. TIMARU. The following are the best scores in the first round of the medal matches played at Highfield last week:—W. D. Revell, gross 90. handicap 11. net 79: F. L. Barker, 83—2—81; E. Ziesler, 91 -—10 —81: H. Randrup, 93 —10 —83; N. K. Cox. 90—6—84; E. G. Kerr, 98—14—• 84; J. G. Gow, 102—17—85; P. £. Wright. 88—2—811; C. T. H. Perry, 95— 9—86; A. Seymour. 92—3 —89: R. L. Fisher, 96—5—91: G. Reid, 111—20—91; A. L. Marshall, 94—2—92; W. J. Cotterill, 109 —17 —92; W. Thomas, 112—• 20—92; F. S. Candy. 107—14—93: M. J. Knubiev, 109—14 —95; G. A. Simmers, 112—17—95. The following were the best scores in the last medal match: —Mrs. G. Kerr, gross 122, handicap 45, net 77; Mrs. Allen. 109 —25—83; Miss Laidlaw, 123—38—85; Mrs. Neville. 132—45—87; Mrs. Rickman, 130—40—90.

LEVIN. A stroke competition (handicap) for buttons presented by the president of the elub (Dr. Davies), was played last week, and resulted as follows: — Ladies (9 holes). —Miss Stuckey (owe 3), 54, first; Mrs. Ritchter (plus 9), 69, second. Best round off scratch. Miss Stuckey, 51. Men (18 holes). —Mr. A. Stuckey (plus 12), 91, first; Mr. H. Pope (scratch) 93, second; Mr. 11. E. Abraham (scratch) 100, third. Best round off scratch, Mr. 11. Pope, 93. The membership of the Golf Club is rapidly increasing, there being now about 50 members, most of whom are very keen players. MORORO. The first match of the season took place on the above club's links on May 4t'h, between the Married and Single members. A close finish resulted, the married winning 15 matches to the tingle’s 14.

HAWERA. For la«t week’s men's bogey handicap match, senior ami junior, playing together, ,T. Turton ami J. Bayley put in the beet card—s up. PAHIATUA. The golf season was formally opened in Pahiatua last week in fine weather. The club’s new links, which adjoin the show grounds, are in excellent playing order. The course is a nine-hole one. The club has been very fortunate in obtaining the use of the grandstand, which forms a spacious pavilion. The attendance of members and friends exceeded that of previous occasions, there being over one hundred poisons present, \ isitors from Eketahuna and surrounding districts were in evidence. Matches with Palmerston North and Masterton have been arranged to take place shortly. The following are the results of the games: The mixed foursomes match was won by O. 11. Druce and Miss Hughes, with a score of 58. J. G. Swainson and Miss Z. Nexted were runners-up with 59. The next best scores were: —H. N. B. Marshall and Miss Wakeman, 61; L. T. Herbert and Mrs. Bolton, 62; N. R. Russell ami Miss F. Allen, 64; G. H. Smith and Mrs. Scott, 68: H. McSherry and Miss Hindmarsh, 70; W. E. Collins and Mrs. Geange, 73. Other matches resulted as follows:— E. Page brat A. Larsen, 3 up: G. M. Farmer beat Small. 4 up; L. Feist beat Hassell, 1 up: E. B. Hare beat W. Tosswill. 4 up. A good game between Peter Tulloch and Dr. Daw-on and .1. T. Fox and F. Bolton resulted in a win for the former gentlemen. GREYMOUTH. The Greymouth Golf Club formally opened the season on Saturday, May 4tl>, when mixed foursomes were played. In spite of the fact that the weather was very unsettled, a large number of players and visitors went out to the links. The foursomes were won by Miss Petrie and Mr. S'eddon (handicap 5), one down, while Miss Drove t and Mr. Reynolds (7), and Miss Stanford and Mr. Eisefelder (2) tied for second plac.’, both being four down. NAPIER. The Napier Golf Club held the first match of the season on their links at Waiohiki last week, the fixture being the first handicap medal round of the club competitions. The following are the best scores handed in: — “A” Class. — 11. Crosse, gross 90. handicap 7—net 83; W. Mclntosh, 94. 9—85; A. M. Retemeyer. 97, 12—85; G. F. Thorbnrn. 89, 3—86: P. H. Kelly, 93, 7— 86: J. Hindmarsh, jun., 98. 12 —86; A. <>. Russell, 97, 10 —87: A. A. Kennedy, 97, 9 —88: Kurupo Tareha, 87, 2 —89; G. E. Mannering, 100. 10 —90. "B” Class.—('. Brabant, 103, 20—83; E. A. W. Henley, 110, 22—88; W. A. Bowring, 114, 18 —96.