GOLF

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 7, 9 January 1932, Page 18

GOLF

; , iIV? "CWMHOr" SILK'S FINE FORM

A CLOSE FINAL

JONES TAKES THE FIELD

The Itiramar New Year tournament proved most successful, both sto tha competitors in: all events, of which there was no lack, and to the gallery; which followed the fortunes of the finalists on Monday, which saw some fine golf under..conditions the. reverse i of. good. The strength of. the wind wai not such as^to preclude good shots, tilt it was so strong 'that placed shots at many of the holes could only be played by skilled golfers. Few finals are aa closel* contested, and -when they aie, as a rule the golf is not of -the' best, the match resolving itself into a matching of errors rather than one opponent taking advantage of the other's, remiss- ' ness. In this case both played first rate golf-under the conditions, and. Silk's 33' out in the afternoon,, when, the wind was at its-worst, would hay« done credit even to Shaw 'himself. His opponent, H. A; Black, kept 'his'end up^wpll. in the morning, chiefly,on the greens, but when Silk opened up after lunch, with 344343534, 33, out to Black's 38 with-, no really; big figures' 'in it, Black was 4 down,' and it looked/like a' certainty for Silk. Those' short putts have affected more than one champion vpreviously, however.' Nobody could have"1 expected that Silk, who putted better in, the afternoon, than during any stage of his victories to that point, would miss a putt of about afoot when' sinking it would have given hiinthe match,' It certainly was not-nervous-ness, probably over-confidence,' which made him putt short, but; at /any rate the ball stuck on the lip. .This was at the fifteenth, where Black played the same- "second Silk- played the day before, a blind one over-the hill to tho green from a hooked drive, to win the hole in 4; Having expected only a half in five, which would have given the match to his opponent,* the Jliramar player, rer ceived courage to carry on. He played the better iron at the sixteenth, and took that, and sank a putt from the edge ofthe green to win the seventeenth, in A-. against the wind. To ;have three holes slip away at the end, of 36 holes musthave been a. strain:to Silk's nerves; but neither player gave a sign of the ! tenseness- of • the moment when they both lay just off the eighteenth green in 2, and,though. the end was due there with a half, it was a-determination to ■ be up that made Black;overrun-the hole with his approach so far that. he did not"get,the putt down, and lost .2 down instead of 1 down. Comparing the goliers,; Silk has the better style. He ia modelled very closely on Shaw/ but with; a fuller swing with the ■■-; lofted clubs. Few golfers succeed in --'-keep--' ing the-left' arm-as^ straight :: as-Silk,--but there is -nothing 'stiff :aHbut 'his swing. Off the tee and with his irons heplays.a veryifine game indeed. At Miramar his mashie'wbrk' was not so good as at Shirley. /There seemed to bea tightnessabout all hisshort mashie approaches,-bit it was the only noticeably lacking point of his game. Silk is: along'hitter, and can place ail "his " shots well. Only just of age, he has a, long way to go in golf, and as he uses his head aa well as his- clubs, he may, beVexpected to be in line -for the amateur ■ championship in .t he next year or two." Black pjayed the;better golf coming back, 544444445, 38, but it was then rather; late., * He has settled down tb khis Kew^jfeljbX^Q^, and "should:sooa begin. to, pujt/up 'sp'me of his good score* again.. Anyone ~who said .that .the greens were difficult at Miramar had only, to- look at the long ones' he got down, from all positions. The only; vulnerable part'; of' his .game was; his iron approaches, several bf which overran the greens. Temperamentally th«; pair were well matched/Black's at. tempt to, snatch .the match out of the fire, at the last moment was spirited; enough to deserve a, better fate, while it is to be doubted if-. many players could have apparently thrown the'match away, as Silk-did- at the. fifteenth ■without some reflection of their annoyance in. the next few holes; It is .a pity, that Drake and Hornabrook found form-in: unimportant games: after, .they had been put out; of the championship.: Drake did a 70 at Miramar on. Sunday, and" Hornabrook showed up well in the last bogey.-. , ' ■'■"'.■' Babbits and Hawk. ; Bobby Jones, recently took part ia what seems to have been one of tho niost novel v goL£ competitions ever play« ed anywhere. At the Sleepy Hollow1 Country Club, one of New York's best known and most; exacting courses; he; opposed a field of 65 members of the Association, of the Bar of the city.: Jones, himself ;a; lawyer, ; played each] hole against a different set of fellowattorneys, and prizes were offered t« those who beat his-score^at each hole. i Five: competitors ; accomplished the achievement, and nine tied with him. While Jones's worst hole was- the third, where he: took a 6, only one of the" players succeeded in getting - b^ldw that figure.,: : ln his score, of 71 for the round Jones secured' one eagle (two below. par), six- birdies, and five' pars. Each of the five successful players was awarded, a certificate ■on which was in,scribed,.the fact, that he^'beat-Bobby Jones in a.one-hole test, with tho champion's signature appended. Locking at the Hole. : , .' Looking at the hole instead of at tha ball,.on the greens; T: & Howard, the professional, golf champion: of New hputh Wales, in; the match that gave' him the title, reeled "off a 67. ', Many; ha™ tried looking at the! hole instead of the ball, but few have'fiiially'adoptAmerican Keenness. _ "■-\ One of. the .reasons why' America*: golf w 80 , good is,the remarkable -keen-i ness, shown mthe; bets side bet*! on the game, which make foV concenwauon._ A game very popular on th* other side of the -Atlantic -is in th« nature of-an "accumulator.'? In ad-! cation to bets on the final result'and on' SmLS" 1* \° lcS> thel'^ "c sh<Tt-spasnx struggles at every hole for stakes which nionnt higher arid higher. There' may be £ye dollars a side on the first hole. The-stakes are doubled at tha' B.? C011* hole; they are doubled again at the third; and so on up to the ninth— every hole means double the sum that 2,f pend?d «P°n- the preceding hole. Then there is a breathing'interval for tne adjustment of accounts ' preparatory to beginning again at the tenth « T, th five aollars a sido for another "accumulator." ■• Thus the farther you go, the greater becomes the incentive to excel—and ; all. the while there is the match in its completeness to enter, into the reckoning. - These complex ways of fighting the duels of tne_hnks may seem strange and wonttcriul, but they must have the effect of keeping everybody concerned Up to concert pitch the whole .while; .' CHrl Caddies Abroad. . Girl caddies are most popular in. France and Germany. In both countries they are said, to be polite, en'thusi." . astic, and attentive, and they manifest their gratitude for tips and fees. They do not take such a blase view of golfing life as boys. Also, they may be depended on not to be funny at the ex- ' pense of the "rabbits" or other indif- ' ferent players. For many players the ' critical and stem eye of, a.icaddie.ii," , often, more disconcerting tiaa Jhat fif-l a champion. • ',J..*^'™s}-