GOLF

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 89, 9 January 1935, Page 14

GOLF

Result of British Team’s Visit NEW ZEALAND FORM Lessons From the Tour (By “Niblick.”) The British team of amateur golfers has come and gone, and we can now get a line on New Zealand form. The result of the visit of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St, Andrew’s team must be gratifying to followers of the game in this country, as it has conclusively shown that the standard of play in the Dominion is as high, if not higher, than that of Australia, and not so very far behind that of the British team which has just left these shores.

World’s Best Amateur. Many go so far as to declare Jock McLean, the Scots’ champion, is the best amateur golfer in the game to-day. He certainly went far to justify such a sweeping assertion by his masterly play in Australia, where he vanquished such leading amateurs as-Jim Ferrier, Mick Ryan, _ and Harry’- Hattersley by overwhelming margins. McLean was the leading amateur in the centenary open championship at Melbourne, and also carried off the amateur championship by outplaying Harry Hattersley in the final by a double-figure margin. Jock McLean has proved himself a great golfer by going through both the Australian and New Zealand tours without a single defeat. This stamps him as a wonderful player, considering that in the majority of his games on the tour he was meeting local champions on their own links.

But before Jock McLean can be styled the best amateur golfer in the world, he will have to deal with Lawson Little, the young Californian giant, who last year won both the British and American amateur championships. An Acid Test.

Naturally .everyone was intensely anxious to see how our best players would measure up to Jock McLean’s standard, and it must be admitted that they came through the ordeal very creditably. It was a notable performance on the part of B. M. Silk, amateur champion of the Dominion, to finish all square in his match with McLean in the singles when Great Britain met New Zealand at Heretaunga on Saturday. McLean played perfect golf on the out journey in the morning, taking 34 for the first nine. Every shot was dead on the line, and he putted with remarkable accuracy. Silk, on the other hand, developed a pronounced hook, which got him into lots of trouble. However, he stuck gamely to his formidable opponent,""and played so well that he had reduced the leeway to 1 down at the end of the round. Neither player was at his best, as they both took 74 for the round. The New Zealand champion had the better of the afternoon play, and looked a victor when he ran down a 24-foot putt for a birdie 2 at the fifteenth, which placed him in the comfortable position of 2 up and 3 to play. It was here that Silk unaccountably developed as an abnormal a slice as he had shown a hook at the start of the game. He sliced his tee shot at the sixteenth into the creek, and had to play his second off the tee. McLean played like a machine, getting a perfect drive, and laying his third on the lip of the cup. One up and two to go, the New Zealander made a worse slice off the seventeenth tee, which landed his ball on the grass at the extreme end of the long bunker on the twelfth fairway. He called up applause by lofting over the high belt of poplar trees, McLean meantime had made a splendid drive, and planted his second on the middle of the green.

Silk appeared to be feeling the strain, as he completely duffed his mashie third, the ball only travelling a few yards. McLean squared the match, and it looked as if he would win when he hit a beautiful drive straight down the eighteenth fairway, while Silk topped his tee shot, and pulled his Jong brassie second to the left of the green, McLean played a masterly iron second, which landed in the mouth of the green, and travelled straight for the pin. The green was fast, however, and the ball travelled past the pin, and came to rest well up the mound at the back of the green; Silk pitched his third on to' the green, while McLean played a dainty run down to within five feet of the cup. The game appeared all over when Silk missed his putt, but, to the amazement of the gallery, McLean also missed a 5-foot putt for a win, and the pair finished all square. Both took 77 for the round.

Noted Veterans. The initial match between amateur golfers representing Great Britain and New Zealand will be remembered for all time for the fact that the two captains were veterans with notable records behind them.

The Hon. Michael Scott, the British captain, once again proved what a wonderful player he is by defeating Arthur Duncan, the New Zealand captain, by 2 and 1 on Duncan’s own links, where he has won the club championship no fewer than 23 times, and took the honour a few weeks ago in a final in which he recorded a round of 67. Scott didi the afternoon round against Duncan in 71, which was the best score registered by any player in the international match..

Duncan, partnered by T. H. Horton, of .Masterton, bad his revenge on Monday in the foursomes, when the New Zealand pair beat Scott and McLean by 1 up. It was a fine uphill victory, as the British players were 5 up at the seventh. A Consistent Player.

T. H. Horton (Masterton) again proved that he is one of the most consistent players in the Dominion. He defeated T. A. Bourn by 13 and 11 in the singles, besides assisting Duncan to beat Scott and McLean in the foursomes. These were not the first wins Horton had scored over the British amateurs, as he and Silk defeated Scott and McLean in a fourball match at Palmerston North by 2 and 1. In that match, Horton covered the course in 67, while Scott recorded 70, and Silk and McLean 72.

A Mighty Hitter. L. Garnett will long be remembered for the prodigious driving he did on the New Zealand tour. He revolutionised all ideas of distances, and made our long drivers look insignificant by comparison. In the foursomes at Heretaunga on Monday, he drove through the sixteenth green (286 yards), and at the eighteenth green his drive finished up only 20 yards short of the green. Garnett beat J. P. Mortland (Taihape) in the singles by 2 and 1, and he and Bourn defeated Silk and Mortland in the foursomes by 2 up.

New Zealand Courses. The members of the British team were not at all enamoured with the Heretaunga links. They had some practice on it the day they arrived in New Zealand, but the greens were then holding after rain. The

links were parched after the prolonged spell of drought last week-end, and the greens were lightning fast, it being almost impossible to get the ball to stop on them. However, these conditions made things just as difficult for the New Zealand players as for the others, as was revealed by the poor scores registered in

the match. The Hon. Michael Scott said he had only played on one course which had harder greens than Heretaunga, and that "was Tininru. A Golf Instructor.

Mr. 11. G. Faulds, of Wellington, has invented an ingenious little contrivance which he calls “The Empire Golf Instructor.” This is a compact machine which registers the length and direction of golf drives. A stationary ball is struck with a driver, and the machine immediately registers the length of the drive, and indicates whether the ball has been pulled, sliced, or topped, The invention, which will be soon nut upon the

market, should serve golfers, and particularly beginners, to perfect their swing, and correct errors in stance and grip. Whether the machine will do all that is claimed for it by the inventor remains to be seen, but “The Empire Golf Instructor” should serve as a popular indoor game, and should be in demand as a means of exercise and entertainment.