GOLF.

Otago Witness, Issue 2815, 26 February 1908, Page 58

GOLF.

NOTES BY BULGED. j Saturday afternoon was about the mosfc unsuitable day, so far as the weather conditions were concerned, that could be selected for a foursome match. There was a ©old southerly wind blowing, which made things most unpleasant for the players in the Otago Club's annual fixture, so that good cards were out of the question. For a long time the best score in was 6 down to the Colonel, the eventual winners turning up in C. G. White and C. 0. M'Kellar, who, with a handioap of 12, returned a score of 1 down, which under the circumstances was a very creditable performance. The next best card handed in was that of R. J. Smith and Errol Smith, who, with a handioap of 3, finished 3 down to the Colonel, which was by far the best score put up by the short handicap men; and certainly this pair must have played an excellent game to finish as they did under euch trying circumstances. Basil and Hamilton Smith must also have played well to finish only 5 down. Following are come of ,ihe best cards: — • - Hep. Score. C. O- M'Kellar and C. G. "White 12 1 tkrtm ■it. J. Smith and Errol Smith .. 3 8 down B. J. Smith 'aiHTß'. C Smith .. ecr 5 down T. A. Hunter ana F_ I>»tlii«> - . . 8 5 down W. C. MacGiegor and A. ML Hogg 4' 6 down H. D. Stronach and Allan Holmes 6 fr dawn J. R. Park mn^ C. G. Scolon .. 8 &down T>: Samuel and T Brydone .... 9. 6 'down The English professionals -are still keen' to wrest the fruits of Victory from the successful French golfer Arnand Maesy. An event of exceptional interest has been fixed, to take place on the Cinque Porte Club's course at DeaJ, on Thursday", April 2, A.' Massy and H.- Vardon having agreed to contest a match of 36 holes. It will be. remembered that it was at Deal last month that Massy gained his remarkable victory over Jas. Brajd. Maesy and Vardon have not thus far met under match rules. Massy beat the famous ex-champion last year in the stroke competitions at Cannes and La Bonlie, and . aleo of course in the Open Championship. In the Blackpool tournament, at which all the leading players competed, Vardon showed form considerably better than that of the Frenchman and won. The Warwickshire Golf Club have arranged a very interesting event for . day, May 31. Arnand Massy, the" open champion, and J. Braid, the ex-champion. have accepted »ti invitation to contest a match of 36 holes on the links at St., Mary's Common, Warwickshire, on the date mentioned. The keen, rivalry between the playerß and the closeness of .their recentstruggle at Deal give-.-speeial importance „ -to the fixture. The course affords acapital test of golf. There is plenty of. scope -for iong driving, "at -which both" Braid arid Ma&sy ex'oel, ' and " some of theapproaches. notably that to the fourth hole, are very difficult. * There are' feW ' golfers vho .play, .the' game seriously who " do not attach the; highest value to - the';' birtaining of- the honour. It is recognised' by everyone that: the right which has been ' established by the course of play to strike off first at eachsucceeding tee confers an" advantage of the greatest moral value in eventually deeid- - ing the match. Though the honour seems t-o.be a detail of small value, experience in match nlay has Droved over and over again that he who can hold by the advantage is bound in -the end to wear clown and to defeat/ even the most stubborn opponent. The right of the winner of the last hole -to strike off ftret at the next tee is looked unon as being so much a matter of course that there are not many golfers who pause to oonsider the real value of maintaining the privilege of the honour as it ha* been exercised for so many years throughout the history of the game. Occasions have arisen durinec the periods of the revision of the rules in the past when some reformers have advocated the abolition of the present privilege of the winnerplaying first at the, tee. Hitherto the privilege of the honour has always . been attached as an obligation to be exercised by the winner of the last hole. But there has. been in the past, and' there is to-day, a school of reformers who contend that the privilege of the honour should be made optional instead of obligatory upon the winner. That, is to say. the winner of the last hole should be enabled to compel his opponent play.fi rat off. the next, tee if; he believes- it, to be expedient to the interests "of ■ his own game that at any par- * ticular hole he < should see from -what may be * described as the testing -shot off" his '« opponent how the hole should ' he played to the best -advantage in order ,thnt he maywin it. ' Up to the present • that ' altera- n tion in the. a<->>.tus of /'the : honour has riot" been made. Those who are entrusted --with the' revision 'of .the rules- have always refused to yield to the suggestion that any reasonable advantage in play -was to "be derived from an alteration of -the honour privilege, as universally accepted- among golfers. There can be no doubt that if a noil were taken of golfers on one side or other »s to the nepd for an alteration in the obltgatorv privilege of the honour, the feeline of the majority would be oo» posed to nny tampering with a wall-estab-lished tradition in the plavinsr of the game which has always given satisfaction. it is curious, however, to find that there are some players who to-day insist that the rule governing- * the honour , provides the option of making your opponent lead the way at the next tee. The" privilege of the honour ia discussed as 'if it were a transferable obligation from" the winner of the - hole to +he loser of it. But if anyone takes the trouble to scan the rule governing the honout- it will not be easy to siibstant-ate the claim that the working of it permits of thic optional interpretation. In the ruins the definition of honour states thatit ie^'the privilege of playing first from a teeinar eround." The rule itself save that i the option of taking the honour at the first teeing .ground shall be decided if necessary by lot; but in. all the other provisions re-, latin? to it the use of the imperative' ward " shall " shows that the winning of a hole by a. player endows -him with, the right, and indeed", ' with", the obligation, to play, off .first at the next tee. -If, the. opponent should' unthinkingly pl*7 firsts the player, to whom the. honour was due can, if be thinks fit. recall the stroke.' Ii this 'option <rf recall is -ever exerowed. it is 'always put. into foroe when the opponent drives a long and slashing shot, but not when he, makes a sad and calamitous foozle. This is the - only option that the rule confers, though, of course, it does not debar the player from offering' the honour to hie pp£onepi.J

"if" the" opponent* declines to act as' a stallc* •ing ho^se- for -the Benefit of" the other player — and in nine oases out of ten thw wpnld be his'pruaent~p©licy"-^-J:hen the win-* net of the last hole has "no power to com* pel thisr acceptance,, of the honour Jby the other player." ">- As 'a nVatter of everyday, experience, however, "it is' found that'- the present rule of the "winner of-th^e last hole automatically -taking" the' honour - at the next -tee works so smoothly, and raises no question of dispute or friction, that nbgood reason can be urged why it should) be ohangsd in order to provide for some fantastic ttttvantage of relatively , little value to the player who claims>an option., To win the honour and to keep it as long* as possible throughout a match is itceli.a mark of victory and a valuable asset- ii* the course of the winner's, game. The player who has the honour has, always. & slight moral advantage. He fee}* within himself a stirring feelinp- of exhilaration .at being, at least "for the time being, "the too dog" in the struggle, and he strives to retain it with all the greater zest that he knows it is the one advantage which his onnonent , is labouring so hard to wrest from him. I When the Tules were : being revised mi I-1891 an attempt was made' to embody QW " which should, make the taking" of tfee i honour optional. The new ' rule on" <bi9 point, which was submitted for consideration and- adoption, ran. in these terras f "The side gaining a hole ma?T lead,} off may make the opposite side lead,, in starting for the next hole, and is entitled v to claim this privilege, and recall the opponent's -stroke should he play out of order. This is called the 'honour.' " That rag* ff eat ion was, 'however, rejected, and up to the present time there has been no attempt; made, as far as^ the outside golfing public know, to destroy the old privilege of the honour being always asserted and observed by the winner of £he last hole. The grounds upon which the" optional rule were based are not particularly cogent. To make, an opponent, take- the honour, say. at a particularly difficult short hole, with' a cross wind blowing, in order to ccc whether he can reach it with 9 cleek, is. after all, of rare, value to the majority of. players. The opponent who has thus been asked to take "the _ honour is just as likely as not to brace himself for fkn exceptional effort and to play the hole perfectly. The player who ought to have •retained the privilege of the honour, seeing how brilliantly the shot has been played, csntrary/ to his expectations, . is just as likely as nof. to play a pressing shot, in order to equal Jt. In J to find •«: a. result tli»t lie lua ,<SJtKelc pulled it" into a bunker or foozled it halt* way. That is the only advantage whioH the optional transference of -the .honour could confer. It is of so little value and of sttoh 'rare occurrence, taking an average of golfing ability and temperament, that it* is oertatnly* " not' worth "altering the rule -in order to secure it.' To give your'opponentthe 'honour* -when you - yourself • ought ;to hold by ' the" privilege is to" make him -an easy -present of - a great iporai ~ad<vant«)ce \ which it should- be the object of every skilful match rrlaver to nurse and to .retain for himself.^— Field. The folk>wing"is > the" result, ofr the\Qttag» Ladies' Golf Club junior medal m»tc&V played on February 20:— . * T

Mtb TJheomin _ .. MisJi&fMill, .. .. Mtir>'b&W°'j •• •• Mtb JSflack Jross. Ha 79 - 76 83 85 etndicap. 17 13 17 ■ 17 €3 66 68