GOLF

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIII, 31 July 1929, Page 6

GOLF

.MKN VERSUS WOMEN

(From 1 Our Own Correspondent) LONDON, 27th .lime. Ono of the. most entertaining fixtures on the golfing calendar lias for some, years been the. match between picked sides of men and women. When it was inaugurated it wa.s believed that the, sexes might be brought to an equality by the men conceding a stroke at every other hole. Under these conditions the nun usually won. During the past two years, however, the result has swung the oilier way. Indeed, the odds which the women receive now appear all too generous. In the game which has just been played, the men were overwhelmed, their only successes being one out of five foursomes and three out of ten singles. This reversal of form indicates how the game as played by women has changed. A few years ago they were so far outdriven that, whilst their opponents could reach the green with an iron club, they were compelled to take wood. There is still a considerable difference in the length of the tee shots, but the women have gained length, and they, too, can now get up with an iron. Under these conditions men have lost much of the advantage which they formerly held. The advance of women's golf is not, however, so much due to a gain in driving power as to the assistance which the modern ball confers. First class women players to-day can maintain an average tee shot of over two hundred yards. During summer, when the ground is dry and the ball runs merrily from the bounce, it may bo as much as 230 yards. This means that a hole of about 400 y.ards can be played with a drive ami an iron. Distance from the lee is easier to attain than ever before.

Judged by the old standards, when a floating ball was in use, all players are long hitters, and the curious thing about the modern ball is that it does not readily respond to a force exerted beyond a definite degree. Miss- Joyce' Wethered, the champion, led the women's side, and the task of W. L. Hope, the Scottish international and British Walker Cup player, against her was a hopeless one. It is doubtful whether any man, professional or amateur, could give Miss Wethered more than six strokes. As a matter of fact, no one attempts to give her a bigger start in a friendly match, not even Cyril Tolley, the amateur champion. She played the short game just as well as Hope, her putting being even better, and not once in the round was she off the fairway from the tee.