ON THE GOLF LINKS

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2199, 11 July 1914, Page 12

ON THE GOLF LINKS

[Br Green.]

GOOD ADVICE BY JACK WHITE. A Straight, Sure Came. ' Jack White, who won the open championship in 1904, was frequently questioned about his success in that event, and in the course of on autobiographic-il sketch, written some years later, he disclosed the secret. '.'Let me say at once," he wrote, "that I have one mnii to thank for winning that championship, and that lam convinced if he had ni'it been born or had not played at Sanilwich the week before tho competition I should not have been open champion-- , that year, at all events. That man is Mr. W. J. Travis, who; won the amateur championship in such sensational fashion ■ the previous week. It came about in this way... During the week wheii the ainteur cvent'was being played off, .1 left.Sunriirigdalete go to Sandwich, and at .that timo I was not playing a good game. On my arrival there I met Ben. Sayers, who was making some fancy bets and , backing Scottish players. After the first round I was so impressed with Mr. Travis's play that I asked Sayers what he would jay mo about , him. He offered me toil to one, which I took. Mr. Travis fascinated me. so much that I followed him round in every match, including tho final, and long before it came to the latter stage 1 felt certain that lie would win. A well-known player, who discussed the prospect with mo.before tho semi-finals were played, pooh-poohed my suggestion that there was going to be ah American ! victory.. He said Mr. Horace Hutchirisou would account for the New York gentleman. Of course, right up to the last the British, amateur- section- tried 'to convince .themselves that Mr. Txavis would never go through,, but I think the majority of professional who wafcbed his play realised its paying qualities, and made him their favourite. What impressed' me most was not the remarkable; putting, which he displayed:. all through the tournariient,;though;it was really veryfine, .but the simple accuracy and certainty of his.* long game. . He nev.er tried to 'get any': length. He i simply tried to place his tee . shots at'every hole; to , make : certain 'of. „ avoiding trouble.-.'and.then-lie depended on'his deadly putting to win the hole for him. Arid/more o'ften, than not it did. 'I said -. to; myself as. I'.watched him, 'If this is tho class of golf that wins tho amateur -I must try. it ■ in the. v Open;'. and 60 I did. -"T 'never tried to hit.the ball the whole way.-through. I nierely-played/a^etraight, , .sure 'game, nnd; was:' content? to° let others outdrive me if. they wished. ■ 0n v the greens I knew that I'could-hold my own, and so I did, with'a stroke ?: to.'spare." ;. The Upright Swing.'/;., ' -~ I know, many, many,'young golfers who once showed -truly great promise, and who .have spoiled their golf by cul.tivating the'flat swing "round the corner," as'■Wβ , call it by. way of explaining the movement 1 that takes -the club-head round the legs jnstead of raising it in a direct and natural track to the top of the ■ swing'. (writes , - the • Open Champion, Harry Vardon,- in the "Daily, Mail"). The desire to add to. the length of the shot has;, so" completely; gripped , these piayers /that .tlioy- : have ruined vtheir prospects , ;in,the.-belief; that;th'ey were .helping themselves by securing an-extra twenty yards. It',is' tho most ous-delusion and. snare. thafc'the-N game knows.;:-V;<';/\ | ..\-\\/ : '': '■■ , '.-■ .■•".!. •A full,. free,/iflat. swing may be at-, tractive teethe eye,' but it is not so efficacious ;as' method, which takes the club' to""'tho'- top" , by 'the short-; est movement that is , consistent with. '.rhj'thnil In order toimake a good shot, the cln'b';h!ea'd' must ibe in'- a. certain posi- : tion. at; tho '.- top- of; the! swing .(its toe must;be pointing to the grojiud) and no matter by what round-about.route a player "obtains that- position he is, obliged .to.pbtainvit if;ho wishes to hit. his shots 'consistently well. ' .'•• ■ ■;.. ./Thati being so, I. contend' that.the shortest way:is.the/best; it.gives less scope for error.',-With/iron clubsi a :fairly;'upright Jialf-swing' is the -first desideratum. The swing nross necessiirily be a little rounder for the driver and: the brassy;, because the lie of the clubs induces it to 'be so, and it should bo longer because' fulness within reason is an aid'to the. sweetness of-the hit-' ting with .a woo.flcn club. ' .-. . Bogey ,and/Par;:,;; ; .; ..V; ' ; Most golf players learn the , definition" of- bogey early in;:their\ careers,. but among newplayer's the question is often raised:/ What is the• difference' between bogey and parP .", The , reason oo doubt is that the term nar,is not often found in the. glossary \oi :tho- primary; golf books. Tho terms,may bo^simply explained., ', Bogejv is ; recognised to bo the scored per hole (or for the course) that a standard . player, will register. I while, making no , mistakes/but while vdping nothing brilliant; '',i: Par ,is the score that can be' registered by reaching the'p.utting;green in the fewest iiumborf of strokes,, .within reason,: aud allowing two : putts. For instance, ; a , 380 yds. hole generally-has a bogey of five allowed for it,, whereas it can be reached under almost-all conditions in two good shots.,// The..par,e..par, for-such a.hole is. therefore four. Acain, a hole of anything just • over 170 .yards'; (say 1185. yards) has generally a bogey of, four, whereas ono norfect • shot would , land the ball on the/green. The par for such a hole, .then,, is; three. .. Defeat:of the Americans. .-• The .'.defeat-.of- this'-.'American- players in the amateur championship at Sandwich in May-is summed up by the two , famous professionals, Vardon. and Duncan,', in something the samo language. , . Writing in. the. "Daily Mail," Harry Vardon 1 said: "I know what it is to cross .-the'-" Atlantic in" pursuit of a championship arid to prepare for the .event under strange conditions. ■ Themission is so much bigger and more ini- , ptessivo than ,nny that one undertakes at home that one , cannot help suffering from over-anxiety; ono' is so_ very keen to do well in order to Justify , the .expedition that there , is a fair chance of' failing through sheer' excess. of zsal which it is impossible to restrain. ..•■/; . In. the "Daily News," George Duncan , oxp.lained tlie defeat in :thoso words :—- "No one excepting those who. have experienced it '.can'"appreciate the., dif-. ference between playing on familiar territorv in one's.own country and playing in a strange land and in unusual surroundings. , The-wonder is not,that a nian.somiitimes fails to reproduce his best play, but that -hoi does so well. Still, after/inaking-all allowances, there remains'tho fact that our American friends, most of them great golfers, did not play up to their own expectations or to One can only , surmise that over-arixietyh'icl a good deal to do with it'. It is 'phssible that they have, had too much.golf, riot merely on the links, hut in tlioir own minds. Thinking golf night and day is not a good preparation for a championship contest." ■.■ '. I '''.': Jottings. ; The local champion,-A. D. S. Duncan, is-, now satisfied of: his' ability to play steady golf as in'days of yore, and his rounds do not show the same occasional 'blcinishcs as ..they havo done, for somo tinie past. He attributes his'recovery, of steadiness to the. strict avoidance.of coming off tho right heel too early hi :the stroke. The effect of this keeping 'thfl.hCei down until, the psychological 'instant), is, of'.'course, to allow, tho club'head to go through always in advance of the hands. . As .mentioned last week, the Wniwetu Golf Club has issued a circular i, to members, nskiiig them,to observe.tho ''.lews and/et'ouette of golf in-the inter

ests of safe play. The circular also makes the following comment: "Many members are guilty of nuttirig up turf and not replacing it, and the links are in danger of being seriously injured. The committee hope to see an improve-, ment in this respect. . . . Players are requested not to encourage boys to come on the links unless they are, "caddying," and to assist the committee in , sending them off. On no account should members buy balls.-from them, either on or off tho links." -On Saturday next, July 18, at the Waiwetu Olub's links, tho mixed foursomes for the captain's prize will bo decided. ■' ..-.-. ,-■ J. D. Edgar's score of 288 in tho French open,championship must surely be oho of tho most remarkable championship scores ever recorded. It is two less than Jas. Braid's famous score of 298 in tho open championship of 1910. • money's worth in golf, as in anything else. One of the.leading professionals ill the Old Country explains the position as follows:—"Tlie. further north one goes to play golf the more severe becomes,one's critic. On the links the North-countryman will not' so readily forgive an indifferent TOiind as will his brother of the South.' The former expeots from the paid player 'the production of/abnormal golf all/the time.' Anything over fours for eighteen holes'; say, from Vardon or-Braid, is considered to be disappointing, and if their figures have been above that average, then the play has.been unprofitable frofti the .spectator's point of viow." . The JohnsonviUe Golf Club's Mixed Foursomes (stroke competition 9. holes) will bo played-on the olub's links this afternoon.. Tlie draw for partners resulted as,'follows:—Mrs. Sloane and J. W;-Maodonald; Mrs. Taylor and the Rev. Petrie;' Mrs. Twiss and vD. ■Sloane; Mrs. Moore and Charlesworth; Miss' Bakewell 'and Hischberg; 'Miss Price and Dr. Sinip3on; : Mrs. Burton and Hall; Mrs; Kirker and 0.-..8. Ferguson; Miss Yarrall and Porter; Miss' Davis and ; Andrew; Miss Grapes-and-W. A. Kirker; Mrs. Bakewell ; and Radcliffe; Miss E. Grapes and Preston; Miss-'Hirschberg/ and Wallis; Miss Batham arid Twiss; Miss Cock and A. M. Adams; and Mrs.' Smith arid F. 0. Buddie. •:■.',: " ■':■':• ■.;■■■„ ■-, •"■■:■"