GOLF NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 25, 30 January 1929, Page 5

GOLF NOTES

NELSON AT EASTER

A NEW BALL?

With the exception of the Wellington Club, little golf of a competitive nature is being played at present, but tho weather has kept the courses in far better condition than is usual in January, and friendly games aro i'roqucnt on most links. It is likely, will) tho Easter tournament at Kelson, that there will bo earlier activity amongst clubs this year than usual, and cooler woathcr may bo experienced, which would lead golfers to the links again. The question of a now ball never seems to die, yet never appears to reach finality. England lias been interested in it for soino time, and now America is. seriously considering the adoption of some means of stabilising course lengths, which have gradually grown until tho extent of hind required has mado some of the ofder courses unsuitable for the modern game. The bigger and lighter tho ball, the less distance it can bo driven against the wind, and tho more errors of hitting are apparent. It is claimed that tho lighter new ball will nmko the game better for the skilled player, and will eliminate a largo proportion of the successes due to hard hitting. With present courses it would mean that at a good many holes it would no longer be a question of a mashie chip to the pin, but a longer shot. As many of the courses have been designed for the present ball, and the guarding of tho greens stiffened for the short approach, it might be necessary, if a new ball were introduced, to effect considerable alteration at some of the holes, in order to leave the average players, who after all provido the bulk of the subscriptions and keep the game going, some enjoyment, in golf. With the changes which tho introduction of a new ball would bring, it is not surprising ' that the authorities ou both sides of the Atlantic arc taking time over their decisions. What is ndopted, in view of the international, character the game of golf lias assumed in recent years, will probably be general, and with tho number of nations interested, it is not likely to bo a speedy decision. AN AMERICAN VIEW. Gene Sarazcii, <« a» article in "Golfers' Magazine," says of tho posi"'"just lately the English gulf authorities liavo been reported as considering a ball both larger and lighter than, tho present sphere and as considering tho advisability of placing tho matter before both the Royal and Ancient and United States Billing golf body tor adoption. This is the climax of quite a few tests that the English lrave sanctioned in the hope of finding a way out of this era of long hitting. Our first inclination is to blame the ball, of course. There are too many duffers hittinjj tho ball far and long to do other-. w'«p There is little satisfaction for a professional or good amateur to claim that the present crop of goiters are longer hitters than their recent relatives Such an admission would make the old timers look bad and really injure the halo that surrounds them, at present. It must therefore be. the ball. 1. remember, -however, that pros .used' to be able to make quite a distance with the old Baby Dimple ball that used to liana around the golf courses years ago. I do think the present ball is livelier, but not to such a great extent as we are led to believe. Golfers through the medium- of excellent'" instruction, 'the printed word, and the movies, are perhaps a bit more acquainted with golt echnique than was the average player ton or so years ago. it is no wonder then that they arc able to. send tho ball a little further down the fairway. Of course to offset this argument is the powerful and quite expensive one that most clubs have had to renovate their links with an eye toward distance and strategically placed traps that might cause, one to. take a few more strokes. The . old timers contend that strength is now uppermost whereas tho came used to require a . bit ot skill. They catered to style and .;. orthodox ways in those days. So long as the execution was perfect it made little difference how far tho ball would go. Now-a-days the fellow goes up to the ball with tho idea of really, hitting it hard and sometimes getting away with it They get away with it so otten that the TJ.S.G.A. will probably issue a proclamation in the near future to try to stop some of it. We can't use a 1 our terra, flrrna for. golf courses. With tho advent of a new ball that would put control ahead of distance- the low scoring of many mediocre players will end. I think there will be- little difference in professional 'scoring. In the first place pros have, already mastered the art of placement to a considerable extent. In order to make a living, at tho game they must perforce be good. . The experts argue that distance instead of placement is. detrimental to the game, but they should argue this fact with a few duffers. The average golfer prof era a long drive to a wellplaced approach any day in tho week. There is no assurance at present, however, that the U.S.G.A. will sanction a new ball. From time to timo they have considered kindred proposals and liave not acted in the affirmative. The new sphere will certainly have to undergo rigid tests before it will be approved, that is certain. It would certainly prove a boomerang to h;ivo tho now ball of such deadening qualities that tho courses would have to be shortened again to make the game interesting. That would merely bo jumping from tho frying pan into tho fire. Still something should bo done to stop tho expenses the clubs nowadays are forced to meet in order to make the course hard enough to be interesting. There is a ball somewhere that will suit everybody concerned. The next thing to-do is find it. Perhaps, however, it has been found and this new ball is it. Tho exact weight of the new ball will be 1.55 ounces, instead of tho present 1.63 and tho diameter is to be I.GB. inches instead of 1.62." PUTTING—EXPERT ADVICE. The- world's greatest golf player is naturally a deadly putter. .Here is what "Bobbie" Jones has to say on this part of the game: "The good putter is simply tho man who can keep coming close —who gets more frequently within a one-foot radius of the hole

—and that, because of the greater number that conic close, means that a greater number will go in. Working on this idea, it must appear that wo should concern ourselves mainly with the more general contours of the green than try to account for every little hop or roll which the ball is likely to take. This does not imply that we should be taking a haphazard shot at thi? hole, but only that we should determine on a linu.on which we want the ball to start and hit firmly on that line. Worrying about-rough spots ou the green,bas no effect except to make'the stroke 1 'indecisive, and I believe that bad. putting is dueMnore to the effect or! the grcou on the player than on the action of the ball." There is a lot in the champion's concluding remark. Most bad putting is due to timorous striking. If a player hits a ball firmly on tho green, it will usually run true, even though the surface over which it travels is not quite true.