GOLF.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19173, 2 December 1927, Page 15

GOLF.

LOCAL CLUB FIXTURES. Christchurch Club. —Saturday, December 3rd: 0. L. Rutherford Cup, four-ball bogey handicap. Saturday, December 10th: Jubilee fourtomo bogey handicap. Friday, December 16th: Anniversary Day Handicaps, bogey handicap in forenoon, and four-ball bogey handicap in afternoon. Monday and Tuesday, December 26Ui and 27th. and Monday, January 2nd, 1928: Christmas tournament.

NOTES OP THE DAY.

(By "Jigger."')

Golf is undoubtedly a frame of mind deliberately acquired and preserved by a process, of self-discipline, with a, certain amount of skill. —Gene Sarazcn, in "Golfing."

No definite date has yet been set for the opening of the new club-house at Shirley, but there is every prospect that it will be ready for the Christmas Tournament.

« At Tulagi, British Solomon Islands, the smallest capital in the world, is one of the smallest golf courses, its nine holes measuring 1310 yards. The tees and greens are made of red clay mixed with sand.

The Royal and Ancient Club of St. Andrews announces that the four players who are going out to South Africa this winter, in response to the invitation of the South African Golf Union are Mr R. H. de Montmorency, Mr Cyril Tolloy, Major C. 0. Hezlct and Captain A. G. Pearson.

In the Jubilee Foursomes, to be played at Shirley on Saturday, December 10th, post entries will be received, and players are to arrange their own partners and opponents. C. A. Seymour and W. E. M. Irwin were the winners of this event last year with a card of all square with bogey. •

Abe Mitchell, who was put temporarily out of play by an appendicitis operation, on the very eve of his leaving for America to captain the Eyder Cup team, has already made a sufficiently complete recovery to enable him to take his place in the big events in England, and should be back on his game again next season.

The Anniversary Day Handicaps, to be played at Shirley on Friday, December 16th, are open to all amateurs, and consist of a bogey handicap, to be played in the morning, for which partners will bo drawn, and a four-ball bogey handicap in the afternoon for which players will arrange their own partners and opponents. Entries should be made with the secretary of the Christchurch Club, on or before Tuesday, December 13th.

The gojfer who, in making his swing, pivdts entirely on the right leg, will find that he makes more short drives and more actually poor shots than should be his share. When the golfer swings in a flat-footed manner, he usually finishes with his weight on his right foot and the left is pulled up and away as the club comes through. A badly balanced swing usually winds up in this manner. If the pivot is not accompanied by perfect kne"e action, one is likely to step away from the ball instead of stepping into it.

America has been taking a keen interest in the dress favoured by the Prince of Wales and Prince George during their visits to the Canadian golf courses. In one respect, however, the searchers after new. styles have been sadly disappointed, for at Colwood, at Laval-sur-le-Lac, and at Banff in Alberta, the Prince's choice of headgear lay between a simple cap and an old Panama of a singularly freeand easy—not to say battered —appearance. The Prince on the links is no longer quite the glass of fashion and the mould of form that he used to be, but his golf is steadily improving.

You should keep the head down in making a short shot wiih the niashie. The head should block the shoulder, as it is direction, not distance, that is wanted. It is necessary to keep tho head down in making any kind of :\ short shot with the niashie or niashie niblick. This is true of the drive, too, in a way ; but if the head is held down too long in making a drive the shoulder is blocked by tho chin and cannot do its part toward hitting the ball and finishing the stroke. As it is direction and accuracy that are required in making a short shot, the fact that tho shoulder is blocked is a good point rather than a bad one. This prevents the club from getting away. As tho club points towards the hole or the object sought, there is no need of any extra shoulder action. The down-hill lie is. one of the most difficult sliots to play. Boiled down, the information on how to play this shot is something like this —first, be sure to keep the weight a trifle forward on the left leg and left foot in order to prevent falling forward as the shot is made. In the second place, one is almost sure to slice the ball in getting it up, so allow for this slice, playing ten or fifteen yards to the left of the pin. You will find that you will slice about nine out "of ten shots from a down-hill lie. So why not allow for this drift in direction? Shots from downhill lies are frequently missed because the player, in Ins lack of confidence, tightens up. This is a situation that calls for relaxed effort, so be sure you are not gripping the club too tightly and that you are not rushing tho back swing. Take it as easily as you can and allow for a slice.

The programme of the annual Christmas tournament of the Christchurch Golf Club is as follows:—Monday, December 26th, 9 a.m., bogey handicap; afternoon, fourball bogey handicap. Tuesday, 27th, 9 a.m.: Christchurch amateur championship (open to all amateurs). This consists of two rounds of stroke play. Winner to hold for one year the It. E- McDougall challenge cup, of which he will receive a replica as a trophy. A medal round will be played in conjunction with each championship round and will be presented to tho winner of each event. 10.30 a.m.: Ladies' Christmas handicap (provided sufficient entries are received to warrant playing the event). This will consist of twenty-four *holes, stroke play on handicap (twelve holes in the morning and. twelve in the afternoon) for cup. Monday, January 2nd, 1928, 9 a.m.: Bogey handicap; afternoon, Canadian foursfcmes bogey handicap. Ladies may enter for all the events except tho Christchurch amateur championship, and suitable prizes will be awarded to the winners. • The tournament ■will be in charge of a special committee consisting of Messrs C.A.Seymour, R. W. Morgan, A. L. Cropp, E. J. Pumphrey, A. H. Glasgow, L. A. Dougall, and G. AV. Haverfield. Entries close December 20th.

A few days ago 1 watched a golfer whose game is somewhere around 90 taking a lesson. He started off badly, but in a few minutes the professional had him swinging nicely. He showed him where he was wrong, and soon had the swing working smoothly. It was easy to see that the golfer in question was'thinking about the swing itself, and not so much about the ultimate destination of the ball. Within twenty or thirty minutes he was swinging smoothly and easily, without any show of effort And he was hitting out drives and irons good enough for a round of 81 or 82. That same afternoon, I saw him playing in a four-ball matcli You could see he was trying to remember some of the things the instructor had told him. .You could see also that he was quite intent upon socking one 250 yards down the course. He had last his ease and comfort of stance ho had had in the morning practice. He was gripping the club more tightly. He was looking much mor>> rigid. He was no longer merely trying to swing in the right way at the right pace, as he had done while taking his lesson. He was also trying to carry a hazard a good distance down the course. His concentration was divided. He was facing two problems now in place of one. If he had stepped up and thought only of. swinging smoothly and simply letting the ball fly where it might, he would probably have cleared that hazard b.v fortv yards. But, as it was, after a fair back swing, the body suddenly lurched forward, the head'came np, and the result was disaster. He had tried to add effort to form, and they did not seem to mix. Any good the lesson had done wavS now a total loss, for all confidence had departed. The thing to do is to take a lesson and then go off by yourself and work it out. still thinking of the right way to swing, regardless of where the ball lands. If you can't do this there is little use in taking the lesson. The lesson itself, the right wav to swing, must be transferred to tno snb-conscious mind and not to conscious effort. It must be applied in practice, not in play, until it feels natural. The worst mistake anyone can make is to take a lesson and then try at once to put it into effect in competition. For the result is a blur and a mixture that get to no place, except trouble, unless the golfer is strong minded enough to think only of correct swinging in a match. Which almost no one is.