ON THE LINKS

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1262, 25 June 1914, Page 23

ON THE LINKS

Auckland Club. At Middlemore the Captain’s Prize Tourney was continued under good weather conditions, and although the links were crowded stoppages through the green were not so evident as in the past. Players no doubt are realising that they must not loiter between shots, and there was an air of briskness about the play generally very refreshing to see. In the A grade, Ralph and Hanna replayed their match, and this time the latter proved the victor, but only after a very close game. Ralph took the first hole in 4, Hanna finding trouble; he also won the 2nd, Hanna approaching very weakly. Both got good drives to the 3rd, Ralph was on in two, but, taking three putts, a half resulted. At the 4th Hanna sliced to the rushes, making Ralph 3 up. Hanna now settled down and took the sth in a splendid four. Ralph was on in two at the 6th, Hanna being short, but with the aid of a long putt he halved the hole. The 7th went to Hanna in a nice 3, Ralph’s putt being just short. Ralph duffed his drive to the Bth, but recovered well, only to lose the hole by taking 3 putts. The game was all square gping to the 9th, where Ralph lost his ball and gave up the hole. Ralph got nicely on at the 10th. Hanna was very short, but approached out from about 30 yards, and Ralph just missed the half. Hanna was now 2 up, but lost the 11th to a perfect four. Ralph was on the 12th in one less, but missed a fast putt for a four and the hole was halved. Hanna took the 13th with stroke allowance. Ralph lost the 14th through very weak putting, having two for a win but taking three. Ralph was on the 15th in one less, but Hanna still putting splendidly saved the hole. Going to the 16th, Hanna was 2 up, but pulled his tee shot badly, Ralph driving on to the green. Hanna foozled his second into the bunker, but recovering well and taking one putt halved the hole with stroke allowance. Ralph still had a chance, as he found the green at the 17th in two, Hanna being short, but his putting again let him down and the hole was halved in 5, and the match went to Hanna, 2 up and 1. Hanna deserved his win, which was due to his steadiness on the green, leaving out the 9th, which was not played out, Hanna only took 27 putts for sixteen holes, while Ralph needed 36. Ralph’s putting was feeble in the extreme, and will have to be improved if he is to maintain his position in the Club. Sharland proved too steady for Binney in the semi-final. Beginning strongly, Sharland was 3 up going to the 4th. Binney found trouble at the 9th after having stuck to his opponent for 'five holes. Going on, Sharland, playing very solidly, kept his advantage, and won 4 up and 2. In the other semi-final match, Colbeck met Hanna, and this time Hanna’s putting was the cause of his downfall, as he continually failed to do the needful. Colbeck was on his game, and making no mistakes won 5 up and 3. He now meets Sharland in the final and a splendid game should result. The match is to take place, I think, on Wednesday. In the B grade some exciting matches took place, and the winner is still hard to discover. Duthie accounted for Hay on the last green by the aid of a ten-yard putt, and meeting Towle next he proved an easy winner to the tune of 9 up and 8.

Dawson, playing his short game very solidly, beat Longuet 4 up and 2, while A. Murison defeated Martin 2 up after a great game. Both were playing well inside their handicaps, and Martin was unlucky to have to accept defeat after doing a 76 nett. Murison is one of the youngest members, and shows great promise, and with his nice natural swing it will be surprising if he does not do well at the game. Grace beat Peel rather easily, but only by playing right below his handicap. F. C. Fryer, with a score of 82 —3 — 79, won the medal handicap.

Next Saturday the mixed foursomes will be played. This is one of the popular events of the season.

Maungakiekie Club. The members of the Maungakiekie Golf Club played a mixed foursome match on Saturday for trophies presented by Dr. Dudley. C. F. Gardner and Miss Bayly, who finished 4 up on bogey, won the match. The other cards returned were: —G. Morris* and Miss Young, 2 up; D. G. Macfarlane and Miss R. Macfarlane, 2 up; G. D. Thacker and Miss Frater, 1 down; F. C. Gleeson and Miss B. Morris, 1 down; C. Hay and Miss N. MacCormick, 2 down; Mr. and Mrs. R. O. Gardner, 2 down;, E. G. Potter and Miss B. Young, 2 down; N. Chennells

and Mrs. Briffault, 3 down; F. Trice and Miss Stagpoole, 4 down.

The Run Up Stroke. This stroke is most effectively used by a number of our leading players. It is not a pretty stroke, but it gets there, and that, I suppose, is the main thing. The shot, as the name implies, is for approaching, and to a large number of players is far easier to play than the mashie pitch (say, up to 100 yards). Use a fairly straight iron, and you need not pitch as far or as high as you would with a mashie, but the ball will run farther. Take the club straighter back and not so high as you would for the mashie, and follow straight through,

letting the club head do the work, but the right arm should be well forward at the end of the.. stroke, with the club head pointing to the flag.

Two golfers played a novel match at Lincoln the other day as the result of a wager (says the Christchurch “Star”). The contest was played across country from Ashley Dere farm, Ellesmere, to Lincoln Agricultural College, a distance of eight miles by road. A rather zig-zag course was taken in order to avoid ploughed ground and turnip patches. Four and a quarter hours elapsed bebore the contestants skied the ball

over the College plantation on to an improvised green. It was found then that one of the players had holed out in. 148 strokes and the other in 174. One of the competitors lost one ball and the other three.

It is pleasing to see J. C. Burns (the present holder of the Auckland Club championship) again playing his wooden clubs off the tee, as for some years it has been a common sight to see him using his cleek. As a cleek player I suppose Burns has not a peer in New Zealand, unless, perhaps, the Napier champion, Kapi Tareha, who hits a prodigious ball. Even the best exponent of the iron club cannot, however, get quite the same distance as the man playing the wood, and I am sure there is no shot in golf so self-satisfying to a player, or so exhilarating, as a perfectly hit drive. Some of the leading American golfers have been using iron clubs all through, but when they visited England they found the “carries” too great, so they set about mastering the wood, but apparently with indifferent success, as their play in the amateur championship would denote.

Whilst taking part in a fourball match at Wellington recently, Mr. C. A. Griffiths performed rather a unique feat, approaching into the hole twice in the round from the distance of 100 to 120 yards. Just before performing this feat the second time, one of Mr. Griffiths’ opponents chaffingly offered hims odds of 100 to 1 that he could not again hole out’ but evidently the odds were not sufficiently tempting and the wager was not taken. The face of the layer of the odds would have been a study had hiis bet been booked.

Mr. H. D. Gillies and Mr. G. G. Kirke, who played for Burhill in the recent London Amateur Golf Foursomes, at Weybridge, were beaten in the final round by the representatives of Harewood Downs. They lost at the last hole after having stood at 2 up with 3 to play—a piece of cruel luck. This was the match of the morning, providing chief interest, and mention is made of a “monstrous iron shot which Mr. Gillies recovered from a sliced to tee-shot to the sixth.” His ball lay in some horrid peaty stuff with heather roots close to it, but he actually put it past the hole from a distance which most people would be satisfied to compass with a spoon. Harewood Downs were the winners of the foursomes. Of one of its representatives (Mr Harris),and of Mr. Gillies, The Times remarks that probably these two played the soundest golf of the three days.

While golf is rapidly growing in popularity in Germany, no player of anything like championship class has yet been produced. Determined to remedy that condition of affairs, the German Golf Association has resolved upon an elaborate plan of coaching promising players in the hope of securing a side capable of winning the Olympia contest. With that object in view, George Duncan, the famous Scottish professional, who won the leading tournaments of last autumn, has been asked to go out for a month to Hamburg this year to act as “trainer.”