On the Links

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 718, 18 July 1929, Page 13

On the Links

Notes for Golfers

By SLOW BACK

Auckland Golf Last Saturday was really over the odds. We have been pretty fortunate with our week-ends this year, but the sequence was well broken on that day. i The heavy showers for which Auck- | land is famous quite excelled them- ! selves, and about mid-day practically ! all the clubs postponed their matches, j There was one heroic exception— I Otaliuhu. Disregarding the elements, | they played the first qualifying round j of their senior and junior championj ships under conditions which seemed impossible. It is true the rain began to ease off by 3 p.m. t and it was quite pleasant by four, but most players had finished by then. L. J. Croxson put up an amazing performance by getting round in 74, equalling the club record. This must rank among the, classic feats in the annals of the Ota-' huhu Club. W. B. Eustace also did very well to beat 80, his 77 being a most creditable effort. The second round will be played next Saturday, when it is to be hoped conditions may be a bit kinder. At Middlemore. a few early pairs had started when an extra downpour put the greens out of action and they were recalled. This means that the 72-liole medal match will now’ be a 54hole medal. The Course is now* wetter than it has previously been this winter, but two or three fine days with a drying wind will again put it in excellent condition. It had been intended to use the new’ third and 15th greens, but the rain settled that. All the other local flubs postponed their fixtures. Both S. Morpeth and J. L. Black have left for Wellington, where the Hutt Club is putting on a tournament. In both cases their fellow-members held a farewell gathering, and, besides wishing them the best of luck, made presentations as a token of goodwill. Every Auckland golfer will echo the sentiments. * * * J. L. Black When it was found that it was doubtful whether A. D. S. Duncan could go to Australia or not. the council invited J. L. Black to complete the team. J. L. Black is the elder of two brothers who learned their golf on the Hutt Club’s course at Wellington. He has been a prominent figure at New Zealand meetings since the war, and has had considerable success. Until last year he had the reputation of being a much better medal player than a match player, and it is probably true that since the war he has been the most consistent amateur in the open championship. Last year he put up some brilliant fights in the amateur championship at Dunedin. His victory over C. B. Wight, after being apparently out of it at the end of the first round, will not soon be forgotten. Then in the final against T. H. Horton he showed tenacity and determination under stress, which quite established him as a fin© match player. If that were not enough, his excellent effort against S. Morpeth at Easter time would put the seal on his reputation. A finer fighting effort against adverse odds I have seldom seen. Black as a stylist has not quite the ease and grace of T. H. Horton, but there is a suggestion of reserve power which is as good. He is orthodox and correct and can play all his clubs. He is now a resident of Hamilton, and has found that line course drawing him out and generally improving his form. At Hamilton length is needed, and Black has added to his already good length that extra bit which is so useful, and which he will find especially valuable in Australia. We expect Morpeth to be the star of our team, but will feel no surprise if Black proves to be next best.

The Australian Championships At Seaton, Adelaide, the leading amateurs and professionals will gather in the third week of August for a long and important programme. First in importance come the open and amateur championships, and besides these events there are championship foursomes and other matches. Seaton is a sandy course of first-class quality and is customarily ranked with Sandringham and Kensington as being preeminent among Australian courses. The amateur will be of especial interest to us, because S. Morpeth will be competing, and perhaps others of our Kirk-Windeyer team. If Morpeth strikes his best form he is quite as good as any Australian amateur, and might very w r ell be success!u!. His strongest opponents will be Ivo Wliitton, A. Russell, T. It. Cheadle and C. H. Fawcett, if they all go over. The open in New Zeaalnd is usually won by one of three or four professionals, though E. M. Macfarlane and S. Morpeth have broken the sequence of late years. But in Australia the' amateurs have often been successful —notably Whitton. The amateurs there seem to be quite the equals of the professionals, which is not the case in New Zealand. It is good news to hear that a team of New Zealand professionals is going over to take part. The selected ones are A. Shaw, IT. Macintosh, E. J. Moss and E. C. Douglas, but the number will depend on the available cash. At present there are lists in the various clubhouses calling for subscriptions, but. as there is a 2s 6d limit, a lot of players will have to subscribe. Something like £3OO is wanted and at once. If all four, or even the first three, are able to go, there will be an excellent chance of New Zealand winning the open. Shaw and Moss, m particular, may be expected to do well, the former because of his length and general brilliance, and the latter because of his extreme steadiness and mastery of shots. Morpeth also might do well in the open, as no player in these parts, amateur or professional, has greater possibilities. Possibly the strongest Australian professionals at present are R. Stewart, H. R. Sinclair, A. Popplewell, T. E. Howard and A. Le Fevre, but there are numbers of young professionals, . especially in New’ South Wales and Victoria, who are capable of big things. In any case it will be I an historic gathering.

Napier Two Auckland golfers who were over at Napier recently are loud in their praises of the reconstructed course. I saw it last year when the new greens had been laid down, but was too busy playing to study the new layout, Napier was at one time one of the best of our championship courses, and was regularly the scene of the championships. A series of dry summers had a very sad effect on the grass, and during the .war the course went back. It is only recently that determined effort on the part of the members has brought the course anywhere near the old standard. A new lay-out was planned by C. H. Redhead, and the work has been carried out under the direction of F. C. Fryer. Lack of money has curbed their ambitions to some extent, but, even so, excellent results have been obtained. Some favourable seasons have restored the grass, but more reasonable grazing has helped considerably. Our two Auckland friends say that the fairways and greens are excellent, and that, when the bunkers are made, golf at Napier will be the real thing. As one

I who has for a long time had an affect tion for Waiohiki (despite the name)4 I was delighted to hear of the success j of the copimitee. I read with con-i j cern that the recent floods had done j some damage, but hope it is not be- * yond repair. Now. you tournament golfers, what about this for a holiday? The Rotorua tournament is in the last j week of August and ends on the j Friday. Over to Napier on Saturday j and Sunday, stepping off at Wairakei j or The Terraces, and then the Napier tournament from Tuesday to Friday. A fortnight put in like this is as good a holiday as I know. “Lucifer” Empire Competition It comes as something of a shock to see the list of entries for the Lucifer Golfing Society’s Empire competition, which is open to members of recognised golf clubs Throughout the British Dominions. I hadn’t time to count ■ the entries but there must have been nearly two hundred, all of them overseas golfers visiting Britain in June. ‘‘.South Africa and India supplied the greatest numbers, but Australia ran them close. There were also several New Zealanders. We noticed the names of Louis H. Campbell, Christchurch, Henry Horton, Auckland. O. P. Parkinson, Christchurch, and 11. I’. F. Blundell, Wellington. The match was to consist of two rounds of medal play, and* was arranged for Walton Heath — a pretty testing course. An Empire banquet at the Savoy was included in the programme, and. if the speakers werd- well selected, it should have been a great success. Another Hole in One Some* weeks ago I described two holes in one made at the Crossways hole at Shirley. It may be remembered that Frank Graham's effort was rather unusual in character. But how about this? The following is vouched for by the Associated Press representative at San Francisco. Robert France, a member of the Sacramento Fire Brigade, was handling a club for the first time on the practice course behind the- station. After two or three swings he smote the ball with vigour. The ball hit a barn, a garage, a bucket, a dishpan, a piece of fire hose, and then lodged in the hole, 150 yards away. WAITEMATA CLUB The members of the Waitemata Golf Club will play the second round of the Duder Memorial -Cup on Saturday afternoon. This week’s draw will remain the same as that published for last SaturdaV, when a postponement was necessary. AKARANA LADIES’ CLUB Following is the draw for a four-ball best-ball bogey match to be played by members of the Akaxana Ladies’_ Club tomorrow:—Mrs. McCarthy and Miss G. Hodge v. Miss Darrach and Mrs. Sutton: Mrs. Cox and Miss M. Feet v. Miss Cox and Miss Young; Mrs. Preston and Mrs. Gilmore v. Mrs. Young and Miss P. Peet; Miss T. Jones and Miss Miller v. Miss D. Hodge and Mrs. Fearnley. Following is the draw for the second round of an eclectic competition for Mrs.

> Basil Smith's trophy, to be played by G ! grade members.—Mi-s Todd v. Mrs. Eng- • land, Mrs. Coppard v. Miss Dalton. Mi's. I Blakey v. Miss Iverr-Taylor, Miss V. | Clark v. Miss Keen. Miss Birch n ; Mrs. Darrach, Mrs. Long v. Mrs. Zahar.i. Miss Marshall v. Miss Floyd. I Saturday players will play the sealed 1 hoi.' competition postponed from last i Saturday. Players are to choose their I own partners. ! The best medal scores returned last week were;—Miss T. Cox, PS. 24—74: Miss r>. Hodge. 115, J* —79: Miss G. H<vip . 11$, 36—80; Mrs. McCarthy, 9!*. is—si. I AUCKLAND LADIES’ CLUB i Following were the best scores returned in the bogey match played by the members of the Auckland Ladies' Golf Club Senior Grade.—Mrs. Craven. 2 up. Mis> C. M*»i;in:' , 1 up; Mrs. Rutherford, a’i square; Miss M. Ridings, all square. Mrs. Green. 1 down. Junior G :d»‘.—Mrs. Cox. 2, up. Miss p. ; tel. 2 up: Miss N. Ncakes. 2 up; Mis- : T>. lining* r-. 1 up: Mrs. J. F. Brown. 1 >p. Miss M. Walkley, all square; Ms L S Tl: • |*l;:> off between Miss Xoukes. Mb B’qllibon.- nnd Mrs Rutherford, for tlv i HfUia Bloomfield Cup, resulted in a wi ; f, i* Miss Noak. .'Hollowing is the draw for the club . . h. *i ipion.-hip. the first round of wldcb I is Vi bo p ayed on Tuesday next-—Mr-Wilfcm V Mrs. Smith. Miss Graham ' Mb.Jl pton. Miss Moginie v. Miss Buddie. ; Mrs-. Crave n v. Miss Culling. Miss Me Gov. 411 \ Mrs. Roberts-, n. Miss Cut field v. Ml-s Wilson. Mrs. Ferguson v. Mrs. TowhjL Mrs Wright v. Mrs. Abbott. Mr Cre. tih. Miss Ma.-Cormi.-k. Byes Mi.--Ratlibrtne, Mrs. Marshall, Mrs. Rutherford. :n > Buttle. Miss Bavly. Miss Han. lin. Mik- Hodges. The iftiw for the junior championship, to be played on the same day. is as follows -•-Mrs. 11. Hanna v. Mrs. Foster. Miss I>. .Rainger v. Mrs. Carr. Miss Rallantyne *'• Miss Egerfon. Mrs. WvldeBrowne * Mrs. Macindoe. Miss Clark v. Miss C. iS »yl>\ Mrs. J F. Brown v. Mr:j XeviT. Byes- Mrs. Ratnger. Mrs. Con Mrs. Fiat »r. Miss C. Martin, Miss Noake-. Miss WnlA'oy. Miss Jackson. Mrs. Richmond, Mr.f Grant, Mrs. Leary. FRANkUN LADY PLAYERS Owing to Che wet weather the cham- ' pionstaipa foCUidy pUyera in tin* Franki lin district gftyf dubs, which were to b ; decided on tlita Fukekohe links on Saturday. have b*jgn postponed Indefinitely. This decision was reached last evening ! by the coamifte<*. TAURANGA -LADIES’ CONTESTS In the Tauranlr.i Indies’ golf competitions. the senior* bogey match for Mrs. Sanders’ trophy won by Mrs. Maltbv, who finished all The C grade match for Miss Fjtx’s trophy was won by Mrs. Candy, 2 dfcwn on bogey. papakOra club The following tedfcu will represent the Fapakura Golf Clulk against Everslie at Papakura on SaturdHW:—Smith. Olsen. J. Elliott, L. Spencer, K* Mafheson. Favitt. Langford. Gilmore, T- McLennan. Bridgman, Brooks, Hutchinson. Beams, V. Elliott, Tilston, D. McF^nnan. TAUMARUNUI LADIES’ GOLF For the C grade flag rfafi'b to be played this week, the followirfg draw has been posted:—Miss R. Stefunson v. Miss O’Brien; Miss Dunn Miss Bake well; Mrs. Hutton v. Mrs. Andrew; Mrs. Boles v. Mrs. Card; Miss fcfcirnand v. Mrs. Brinkman; Mrs. v. Mrs. Ceresford: Mrs. Bailey v. Mai-. Moore; Mrs Burtenshnw v. Miss BollaMd; Mrs. Harris v. Mrs. Kinnell; Mrs. Vm>od v. Scorer; Miss Franks v. Miss Brawl; Miss Davis v. Miss Jefferson: Miss Hjpllings v. Miss Treacy; Miss Autridge v. JMiss Fierce.

AKARANA CLfIB A Canadian foursomes mutch will be played by members of the Aatarana Golf Club on Saturday. Players anp to choose their partners and opponents^