ON THE LINKS

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 316, 29 March 1928, Page 6

ON THE LINKS

■ (By

E. C. ROBIESON.)

COMING EVENTS SATURDAY, INARCH 31 Titirangi.—Bogey Competition. One Tree Hill.—Bogey competition. Middlemore.—First round, E. R. Bloomfield Bowl (stroke). Glendowie Ladies.—Opening day, Canadian foursomes. OTHER FIXTURES April 7, 9 and 10. —Provincial championships at Middlemore. April 14. —One Tree Hill opening day, mixed foursomes. April 14. —Waitemata, opening day, mixed foursomes. April 21. —Titirangi, opening day, mixed foursomes, followed by dance at clubhouse.

Good Field To Meet In Easter T oumey

Morpeth, Dobson, Bell, George, Wright & Lusk TITLE-HOLDER’S JOB When the last hole is played in the Auckland Provincial championships at Middlemore, H. B. Lusk will have performed one of his finest feats in his long golfing career if he still retains the championship which he holds at present. The probabilities are that when Mr. A. E. M. Rhind goes out to get the competitors away he will see Sloan Morpeth, W. R. Dobson (New South Wales), Rex George, R. D. Wright, Norrie Bell, and T. A. Goulding out for the chief honour, together with a large comf any that at present does not promise anything sensational. The chances are heavily in favour of this list producing the winner, and to narrow it down one cannot pass over Morpeth and Dobson as being likely to be well in the hunt. As is usual at this stage, however, the players’ form is an unknown quality, and any one of the others may find himself in the final. The event will be decided during Easter as in the past, with two rounds of qualifying play on the Saturday, the first two rounds on Monday after the players have had Sunday to decide by which particular means they are going to annihilate their fellows on the morrow, and the semi-finals and finals on Tuesday. For the non-champions there will be a 36-hole medal on Saturday, a bogey followed by a stroke round on Monday, and a bogey followed by a foursome bogey on Tuesday.

PORT-SIDERS AN INCREASING ARMY GOOD SHOWINGS MADE As a south-paw, or port-sider, or port-wheeler, or south-flipper, in so many words as a left-handed player myself, I appreciated • the following from an American exchange, and pass it on: “When it comes to sky-pilots increasing in demand in this hop-off before breakfast age, the Rev. Aquilla Webb, of Philadelphia, stands ace highest. He is a Presbyterian pastor and incidentally one of the Apawamis seniors. An accident temporarily paralysed his left side and as he could no more live without golf than air, he began to practice right-hand. When his left side grew better he found he was ambidextrous, and now he doesn’t know which side to put into commission. In short, he is 100 per cent, efficient. “Trustworthy statistics indicate -hat four per cent, of all persons are born port-siders, but sporting goods manufacturers set the proportion at only

two per cent., probably because only about half of them golf. Some of the sponsors of those Western competitions had to keep a sharp eye out for illegitimate port-wheelers and woe betided such whom inspection disclosed carried one or more right-handed weapons in their kits for ballast or other purposes. “After appearing to drop out of sight for several seasons the port-siders began to be more in evidence three or four years ago. For the first time twoof them reached the final of a national dispute, the handicap of the Seniors’ United States Association at Apawamis —Claude M. Hart, Boston, and Henry L. Kedfield, Hartford. About the same period J. L. Weller, Hamilton, Ontario. also wrong-handed, carried off the senior’s annual distinction at Pinehurst, but did not defend his title the next year, when George Gillespie, Long Island swinger from the port side, whose son is something of a links performer, prevailed. It was a coincidence that just after two lefties met for the Inwood Club title at Far Rockaway. Does that look, as has often been asserted, that the southpaws are ipso facto barred from collecting trophies. “Evidently for a while the goats on the left, distinguished from the sheep on the right, as mentioned in holy writ, did not put their best foot forward — shall we say their right brogan? Hardly. Rather they should have extended their left in taking their stance. SEVENTEEN “ACES” HOLED BY THREE PLAYERS INCREASES BY TWO A DAY Three players now tie in a record number of holes in one. each has secured seventeen. Tom Washington, a New Jersey player, Mike Brady, once a wellknown American professional, and Sandy Herd, the British veteran, are the record-holders. Brady made an unbeaten record by holing three “ones’’ in one round on Labour Day, 1917. Herd has just secured his "ones" at intervals, a curious side-issue being that a spectator borrowed Herds Jigger after he had holed out his sixteenth, and while he was following another match. The spectator immediately holed out in one Herd later securing his seventeenth ace all at the same hole Washington has distinguished hlmself by twice holing out two “ones in i one d'av. His longest was 295 yards.

DOUGLAS FOR TITIRANGI NEW “PRO.” APPOINTED C A BRILLIANT PLAYER j Maungakiekie Club Is having a good \ run. It has been able to spend thousands of pounds on its course, it has the j amateur champion, Sloan Morpeth, as * its secretary, and now it has secured J E. S. Douglas as its professional. j Edward Simpson Douglas, to give him his full name, is far from unknown < in New Zealand golf, though he is at ‘ present professional to the Robin Hood t Golf Club in Birmingham. He was < engaged at Miramar, Wellington, for six years, and won the New Zealand 1 open championship in 1913, 1914, 1919, and 1921, and the New Zealand professional title in 1914, 1919 and 1921. In England he won the Midland Professional title in 1926, and was runnerup in the Midland Challenge Cup in 1923 and 1925, and the Midland Foursomes in 1923-24-25. He was a bronze medallist in the Northern Championship in 1924. He is considered in golfing circles to be about the best player that has lived in New Zealand, and his addition ro the Morpeth-Moss combination in Auckland should go a long way toward placing the golf in this city on at least a parity with that of Wellington, behind which it has lagged for years, the capital being able to put up a team of 12 to 20 that none of the other centres could look at. Douglas will leave England about the end of April. OVERSEAS VISITORS AN AUSTRALIAN MOVE “BOBBY” JONES WANTED ' Australian golfers are discussing the prospects of inducing a team of well - known golfers to visit Australia and i New Zealand. There is, of course, no doubt that ; the appearance of well-known British ■ or American amateurs on the Australian courses would be hailed with delight by golfers. If, for instance, ! “Bobby” Jones could be induced to visit ’ Australia the game would be given a . great impetus. The task of financing such a tour might not prove difficult. It has been suggested that if each member of an affiliated club contributed two shillings to a fund the financing of the visit would be an accomplished fact. Australia and New Zealand between them should have little difficulty in this way of raising £3,000 or £4,000. Doubtless there are enthusiasts who would be ready to contribute more handsomely. In addition, the imposition of a small charge in gate-money would probably help to build a fund for future activities of an overseas nature. CLUB NOTES ROTORUA PREPARATIONS Recent rains have made remarkable changes at Rotorua, and the links are now in perfect order for the Easter handicap competitions. Now that the season proper is commencing, increasing numbers of visitors are visiting the links. Hamilton Ladies’ Club \ (From Our Own Correspondent.) HAMILTON, Wednesday. Members of the Hamilton Ladies’ Golf Club opened the season at St. Andrew’s links to-day in fine weather. There was a good attendance and Canadian foursomes were played. Mrs. Melville Bell, the president, entertained the club members, visiting players from Cambridge and Te Awamutu and new members, at afternoon tea. Paeroa Club (From Our Own Correspondent.) PAEROA, Wednesday. At the twentieth annual meeting of the Paeroa Golf Club the president, Mr. H. Steedrnan, reported a membership of 69, and a credit balance of £2l. The championships and other games were won as follows : Ladies’ club championship, Mrs. L. L. Miller; club handicap, Mrs. F. Hubbard; L.G.U. medals, Mrs. F. Hubbard (2), Miss G. Gibbs, Miss M. Thorp, Miss F. Walmsley and Mrs. R. L. Miller; club handicap, H. L. Thorp; monthly medals, R. L. Miller (2), P. R. Hubbard, H. Thorp: senior and junior matches, Moresby. The election of officers resulted as fol- . lows: President, Mr. A. F. Steedrnan; vice-president, Mr. R. L. Miller; secre- ’■ tary and treasurer, Mr. J. A. Wilkinson; 1 auditor, Mr. W. L. Lawrence; commit- ’ tee, Dr. Sipith, Messrs. P. R. Hubbard. > W. J. Simpson. S. J. Hedge, H. L. Thorp; r captain, Mr. H. Bray. • . At a meeting of lady members the following officers were elected: President, j Mrs. E. W. Porritt; captain and secre- - tarv Mrs. W. L. Lawrence; committee, ’ Mesdames F. Hubbard. E. Edwards, J. ! W. Silcock, C. D. Topliss and Miss M. r Thorp. _____ CHILD’S HEROISM i ; died FOR BABY SISTER A nine-years-old girl’s self-sacrifice, to save her baby step-sister from be- - ing crushed to death by a motor-lorry ? was a feature of an accident in Du ' Cane Road, Shepherd's Bush, London. ’ in which a hoy was killed, several other children were knocked down and hurt, and the little heroine lost her life. The lorry, laden with timber, swerved to avoid three boys who darted across the road in front of an omnibus. It ran over Ronald Ivingsman, aged eight, of Wormholt Estate, Shepherd's Bush, in the roadway, and then dashed into four girls and a boy walking on the pavement on the other side of the road. Scattering the children, it lurched on to the green and came to a standstill with its front wheels buried deep in the soft turf. A number of women extricated a girl, Elsie Thomas, aged nine, of Lilac Street, Shepherd's Bush, from beneath i the lorry and removed the dying boy t from the roadway. a Elsie had been carrying her step- - sister Peggy, aged thtee, when the e accident occurred, and, although une conscious, she was still clasping e Peggy, who was unscathed, despite the n fact that both were underneath the lorry. Elsie, who saved her little sister by n turning to receive the impact of the 3. lorry herself, died in hospital.