GOLF

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 466, 25 February 1933, Page 7

GOLF

FREAK IDEAS MATCHES WHICH ARE SOMEWEAT DIFFERENT. CROSS-COUNTRY GAMES The news that two students of St. Andrews University pl'ayed a crosscountry golf match over a, distance of nine miles was received vith surprise. They started at the-Fifeshire "rillage of Ceres and holed out on the first green at St. Andrews in fewer than 240 shots, using only one club, an iron. Not long ago two Welsh golfers played from Radyr to Southerndown. This is a distance, as the crows flies, of about fifteen miles, but actually, because of woods, swamps, and plough land, they had to cover about twenty miles. They needed maps in order to find the way at the "longest hole ever played," and they occupied three days in the playing of it. They played for >about sixteen hours and took 608 strokes for the "hole." 200 Teed Shots in Nine Miles. It is recorded in the "Golfers' Handbook" that in 1830 the winner of the gold medal at St. Andrews backed himself for ten sovereigns to drive a ball from the first teeing ground at St. Andrews to Cupar — a distance of nine miles — in 200 teed shots, and won easily. The late F. G. Tate backed himself to tee up at the Royal St. George's clnb house at Sandwich and reach the Royal Cinque Ports Club house at Deal in forty teed shots with' the guttie ball. He won. His. thirty-fourth shot broke a window in the club house at Deal and caused a maid-servant to go into hysterics. Not so many years ago two members of a well-known golfing society played a "match" in which the teeing ground was Piccadilly Circus and the "hole" the steps of the Royal Exchange. I believe the match was played on a Sunday early in the morning when there^was little or no traffic and few policemen to see the prank.