GOLF NOTES

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 126, 27 April 1940, Page 6

GOLF NOTES

POINTS WORTH KNOWING. HITTING LATE. (By Bunker.”) Every golfer will have heard the term hitting late. It refers to an attempt to define when the hit should take place during the swing. It is possible to hit too late, so that the hall does not receive the full force of the blow. The ideal moment to attain maximum speed is at impact. The left arm and club are often in a straight line before the actual impact, thus the wrist has played its part and the maximum speed has been already attained, ft is certain that if players would try to get the right arm and cluhhead in line before the impact they would play better golf. A Naval Hole.

A new hole on the Pupuke (Auckland) Golf Club’s course, over which Captain W. E. Parry, of H.M.S. Achilles, played the other day. has been named after the famous battle ship. Challenge: Match. It is reported from Auckland that A. E. Guy, the Poverty Bay professional who is in the Hopu Hopu military camp, has challenged Alex. Murray, the Auckland professional, to a 3G-hole match on the Kemuera links. A Snake and a “Birdie.”

A brown snake four feet- long interrupted two golfers on the third tec at Moss Vale (New South Wales) on a recent afternoon. A player killed it with a No. 7 iron and then lobbed his tee shot with the same club to within a few inches from the hole and secured a “birdie.” Seagulls Killed by Golf Balls. Seagulls sheltering from a cold wind across the Alanukau Harbour, Auckland, the other day, chose unwisely when they settled on one of the fairways of the Maungakiekie golf course. Several gulls were killed during the afternoon through being struck by golf balls. The scattering of the white feathers in the wind caused players some difficulty at times in locating balls. A Record-Breaker.

B. Hogan, American professional golfer, who has had a remarkable sequence of low scores in the past lew weeks, is one of the lightest anti shortest of the United States stars._Recently Hogan had a record total of 277 for the 72 holes in the North and South open championship at Pinehurst, including a GG and G 7 for the first two rounds. Since then ho broke the record of the Greenshro (North Carolina) course with an aggregate of 270 for >2 holes. His cards in the four rounds were G 9, GB, 66 and 67. In the Pinehurst event lie finished 25 strokes ahead of the Australian, J. Ferrier. and in the Greenshro competition 2S strokes ahead. Weighing around the lOst. mark, Hogan is oft. 9in. tall, vet he consistently outdrives most of the longhitters by 20 yards.

Expenses Heavy. Some idea of the cost of golf in the United States can be gathered by the fact that it costs 2500 dollars to join a good club, in addition to paying a monthly subscription of 22 dollars. The entrance fee varies at different clubs, but is still far above that paid by any British or Australian club. Some entrance fees are as high as 5000 dollars, and monthly fees at a club like that are higher. One must possess a substantial income to. play at private courses. This explains the great popularity of public golf courses. Golf in Desert,

At Phoenix, Arizona, championship golf can be played in the desert —on a beautiful course surrounded by sandy wastes. Gigantic dams, more than 100 miles away, supply the town with ample water, and the course is as green and soft as one situated in an area where rain falls abundantly. The course has a par of 72, and stretches 7000 yards from the back tec*s. It is a good test of play, writes J. Ferrier, the Australian amateur champion. Phoenix has been called a millionaire’s winter resort. It has been built in the midst of fearsome desertT lands. During the season here, which lasts approximately four months, the leading professionals play a 54 holes tournament for £IOOO prize-money. In January Byron Nelson, the 1939 United States open champion, won the event with an average of G 8 for the three rounds. Watered twice daily, the entire course is serviced by a system of underground pipes, which come to the surface every few feet-, soaking both fairways and rough. It is difficult to credit that, a few yards from the outskirts of the course,' there is desert country devoid of vegetation 1 except cactus and similar growth. A day’s golf at Phoenix brings home the fact that with water and time it is possible to build a golf course up to championship standard almost anywhere. After driving ’ over 400 miles from Los Angeles through the desert, T would have ridiculed a statement that such a beautiful golf course could be found in this arid country. It is proof of Americans’ keenness for golf. There are two championship courses in the town. In winter there is no rain, little wind, and ideal weather for the game.