On the Links

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 996, 12 June 1930, Page 9

On the Links

Notes for Golfers

b 2

SLOW-BACK

Golf Akarana sent a very useful team of .12 to Middlemore on Saturday, headed ' by B. J. Smith. Misled by the han- j dicaps, the Auckland match committee ! omitted some of its back-markers, ' notably H. Plumley, R. D. Wright. W. ; 9*. Ralph, W. Abbott and E. R. Bart- j leet. It won't next time. The j form of the Akarana men was excellent. They revelled in the wet sur- ! face, and putted on the heavy greens with deadly certainty. The standard ; at Akarana has made tremendous j strides, and any club not putting in j its strongest team will have cause to j regret it. In the leading match, B. J. j Smith treated H. B. Rusk to a licking I the latter does not often get. Smith's ! form was excellent, especially on the greens. Rusk could not get the ball up properly out of the heavy lies, and at the Bth was 5 down. Par figures to the 14th were no good, and Smith held all of his lead to win 5 and 4. The Colbecks, father and son, won their matches for Middlemore, and A. Lawrence and C. Jacobsen were also successful, but in the end Akarana won by 8 matches to 4. A team from Pukekohe visited One Tree Hill .and played a match consisting of 36 holes four-balls. The home team was considerably too strong, winning all the matches, but the experience will be of considerable value to the country players. It would be a good thing for golf if many more of these matches were played, and in these days of easy transport there should be no difficulty. Helensville, a very young club, sent a team to play at Titirangi, and, though it won only one match in 14. several of them were very close. Pupuke and Glendowie also engaged in an inter-club conflict, the seniors playing at Pupuke and the juniors at olendowie. At both courses Olendowie held the advantage, in the seniors by 7 to 5. and in the juniors by 6 to 2. In the leading match C. Allcott defeated M. E. Thompson by 4 and 3, but in the next R. J. Minogue scored for Pupuke by defeating R. Kiss ling by and 1. Glendowie also played a 36-hole four-ball match with Otahuliu ;<nd were successful by five matches to one, a result one would hardly have .-xpected. Croxson and Menzies. the leading pair for Otahuliu, is a strong I combination and they alone made it ; good, defeating Allcott and Trice by 2 ; up. Besides the inter-club fixtures most of the clubs put on medal or bogey i matches. At Middlemore the fastimproving T. R. Brett won the medal with SS, 16—72, and R. H. Browne, who, though erratic, shows considerable promise, was one stroke worse. At Titirangi R. J. Graham (12) and l\ T. Gaskin (10) were 2 up and were the only ones to beat bogey. The Taylor Bowl competition was continued. R. Dacre defeated R. M. George by 5 and 4 and is evidently bearing out the promise of last season. George has no luck against Dacre. The evergreen F. Trice is still in and going very strong. At One Tree Hill the Kingswell Shield for the best two out of three rounds against bogey was finally decided. The winner was J. S. Rankin (9) with cards of 2 up and 2 down, a final result of all square. Four down was the next best. At Akarana R. Rowntree was 3 up on bogey, the next best being D. Smith, all square. On Saturdaj r next the big inter-club match of the season takes place between the Auckland Golf Club and the Maungakiekie Club at Titirangi. Rast year Titirangi won on its own course, hut it will have to step out this time. The return match will be played at. Middlemore in October, when it is l oped that the new greens will be in u se. Thi* Year'* N.Z. Championships It has come as a surprise to most of us in that Palmerston North has been chosen for this year’s New Zealand meeting. It was reported in the Press that Titirangi had been chosen, but apparently there was some mistake somewhere. I think that when A. E. Conway was deputed to report on the two courses we jumped to the conclusion that the one adjudged the best test of championship golf would be chosen Those of us who knew both courses never had a doubt as to what the decision would be. Titirangi is today the best tost of championship golf in New Zealand. Palmerston North was obviously chosen partly for geographical reasons, and partly because the Auckland district had had the meeting three times in the last ten years—twice at Hamilton and once at Middlemore. It was a mistake to let it be thought that A. E. Conway was judging between two rival courses and would recommend tiie better, if other considerations were to be given weight. It is to be hoped that Auckland will be represented at Palmerston better than it was at Wanganui. Several of our possible entrants find October very awkward, but there must be enough left to make a respectable showing. Palmerston is a really good course nowadays. Fairways and greens are good, and the modern lay-out and bunkering have revolutionised the course from the point of view of golfing value. It used to be rather monotonous and the bunkering was very inadequate. M hen Brooks won the‘Open there in 1922. lie

was seldom on the right fairway, but he got the greens all right. Wander- ; ing will not pay today, and accuracy is j needed to get the figures. It is I to be hoped that the weather will be j kind, for a very nasty cold wind can ; blow over the Manawatu plains. Foursomes It seems of little use extolling the f merit of the old-fashioned foursome these days. The four-ball bolds sway. A good game the four-ball, but the foursome is in many ways a better. One often hears the highest praise of the game from players who have taken part in one of the infrequent foursomes on the club programme, but it is noticed that they j are playing four-balls at the next op- I portunitv. lam not going to try now j to persuade golfers to play four- ; fconies. but I want to call attention to j cn© or two excellent efforts in that admittedly difficult and testing form 1 of the game. At Miramar in 192 8, . when the Kirk-Windeyer tournament was on, T. H. Horton and H. B. Rusk ; went round in 72, about four better than the standard scratch score. This was in a medal foursome. Then in the Kirk-Windeyer foursomes against New South Wales, T. H. Horton and E. M. Macfarlane at Shirley put up a great first round of 70. It wasn't all plain sailing either, for about the middle Macfarlane had two or three lapses and dramatic recoveries had to be—and were—made. Now comes news of a mighty effort in the New South Wales Championship Foursomes —two rounds of medal play. Keane and Thompson did the morning round in 68. The course is not mentioned, but it must have been either Rose Bay or Kensington, probably the latter, as the cable says that Hagen did a 67 on the same course, and he did a 67 at Kensington. S. A. Keane was with the New South Wales Kirk-Windeyer team and was playing second at Christchurch. H. W. Hattersly and R. W. Hore had two rounds of 75 each, but Keane and Thompson were six better on the aggregate. Good golf, this. St. Andrew’s On the bleak and inhospitable eastern shore of Scotland, stretching along the coast from the old University town i of St. Andrew's, is a sandy waste of many hundreds of acres. Hopeless as an agricultural proposition, its value for golf has been recognised for centuries. There are today three courses there, the Old Course, the Jubilee and the Even. We are here concerned only with the famous Old Course. It is tl: e despair of the critics, and the joy j£ the golfer. All the rules of golf architecture are broken, and it would go hard with anyone who suggested any structural alteration. The turf is the natural seaside grass which thrives on the salt air from the sea, and it owes little to cultivation. The bunkers have been formed by nature herself. The probable explanation of these bunkers is that to certain places the balls were drawn by natural slopes or the natural wickedness of the players, and that the surface turf was hacked away, the wind doing the rest. There are no fairways as generally understood, and the holes can be played from several positions. The player can choose which way suits him best, his own powers and the varying winds being taken into consideration. An American critic of standing, a Mr. Joshua Crane, invented a scheme of allotting points for various excellences and deducting for faults. On his principle lie ranked St. Andrew's about 12th among British courses, and the golfing world laughed. The merit of the Old Course cannot be assessed in terms of mathematics. When Bobby Jones went there first, hekeondemned the course heartily. It not conform to any of the ideas he had been brought up on in America. There I the penal school was in power, and anyone who strayed from the straight and. narrow path was infallibly in a bunker or worse. At St. Andrew’s one could wander at will, the only penalty being an extremely interesting—perhaps impossible —shot for the green. After a visit or two the subtlety of ! the place caught Jones’s fancy, and he soon became an enthusiastic admirer of the course. So well did he master its subtle difficulties that he wbn the open there in 1927 with the wonderful score of 285, and has just reached the summit of his ambition by winning the amateur championship there. No New Zealand golfer on a trip home should fail to make a pilgrimage to St. Andrew’s. INTER-CLUB MATCH AUCKLAND V. MAUNGAKIEKIE Following are the starting times for the match between the Auckland and Maungakiekie Golf Clubs to be played at the Titirangi links on Saturday: 11.40 a.m., H. Plumley V. J. M. Hockin: 11.44 a.nt.. XC. G. Itainger v. K. G. Tallis's; 11.48 a.m., K. Bartleet v. W. L. Robinson; 11.52 a.nt., V. "Wilson v. R. L. Wilson; 11.50 a.nt., X. Iwmisson v. X. H. Hockin; 12 noon, T. Kissling v. R. J. Hamilton; 12.4 p.m., X). llacCormack v. A. B. Joplin; 12. S p.m., H. Tidmarsh v. J. Murray; 12.12 p.nt., O. Jacobsen v. A. J. Good; 12.16 p.m., R. O. Gardner v. F. Trice; 12.20 p.nt.. A. Donald V. H. A. Randrup; 12.24 p.m., H. L,. Rees v. E. F. Burns; 12.28 p.m., ft. D. Johnston v. E. Ohlson; 12.32 I p.nt., H. B. Busk v. H. D. Brinsden; ; 12.36 p.m.. W. S. Ralph v. T. A. Gould- ! ing; 12.40 p.m., R. D. Wright v. R. M. : George; 12.44 p.nt., S. Colbeck v. R. R. i McCrystal; 12.48 p.m.. Dr. Abbott v. ! A. E. Robinson; 12.52 p.m., Dr. Coverdale V. J. Methven; 12.56 p.m.. H. I Leese v. A. M. Goulding; 1.0 p.m., P. ! J. Western v. R. M. Dacre; 1.4 p.m., j D. Mansergh v. H. E. Robson; 1.8 p.m.. f J. P. Aldred v. C. G. Fisher: 1.12 p.m.. I J. B. Lusk v. A. V. Peace,

OTAHUHU CLUB The qualifying round of the F. S. Ballin Cup handicap matcli-play competition will be played by members of the Otahubu Golf Club on Saturday. A medal handicap will be held in conjunction and plav will commence at 1.15 p.m. Following* is the draw and order of starting: B H Menzies v. H. J. Levy, R. G. Wallace v B. O. Heather. G. E. Currie v. C. Bigo-c ‘ a F. Burnett v. H. C. Luscombe, r ° G.’ Moffitt V. A. F. Eustace, L. J. Croxson v. J. B. Simpson. K. R. Kay v. T. Easterbrook. H. Fromherze v. G. Cox, TV. B. Eustace v. C. R. Reader, F. Todd v e TV. Stephenson, R. R. Brown v. R. Malloeh. W. Biakey y. F. C. Macdonald, tT Robb v. F. Xioholl.?, R. Hipkins t. E. Burton, A. !>. Leys v. R. F. Pleasants. J. E. Logan v. another. AKARANA CLUB \ match will be played by members j of the Akarana Golf Club on Saturday ! for the monthly button and the third round of the Tyle's Memorial Cup. i Players may choose their own partI n ers PAPAKURA CLUB A bogey match will be played by memi bers of the Papakura Golf club on Saturj day Following is the drawßradstreet I v Langford. J. E. Elliott v. Olsen, Smith v Hutchinson, Pavitt v. Brooks. BridgI man v McLennan, Matheson v. WiddowI Tov V Elliott v. L. Watson, Tilston v. ; Robbins. SS. Wilson v. Blair. D. McLenI nan v Beams. Wishart v. G. Henderson, ' Johnstone v. Mctnnes. Watts v. A. Hen- | darson, Prince v. Knight, Pegler v. an-

EVERSLIE CLUB The following players will represent . the Everslie Golf Club in a match to be played with the Waiuku Club at the ! Everslie links on Saturday: Hogan, j Dykes. Rhind, Beechey. TVardell, J. O'Neill, A. G. Smith, Brewer. Rico, ' Goddard, I. O'Neill. Searell, T. G Smith. Busing, Hobson. PAPAKURA LADIES’ CLUB The following team will represent the Papakura Ladies’ Golf Club in an interclub match against the Otaliuhu Ladies’ Club to be played on Saturday at Papakura:—Miss White, Miss Wilkins, Mrs. Elliott. Miss G. Walters. Mrs. Rushton, Mrs Foote. Miss M. Walters, Mrs. Brooks, Miss Walker, Mrs. Tilston, Miss McLennan, Mrs. Pavitt. Reserves: Miss j O’Callahan. Mrs. Langford. A stroke competition will be played by , remaining members, players to choose J own partners. PUPUKE CLUB Following is the draw for the second monthly medal to be played in conjunction with the second round of the Hawes Cup by members of the Pupuke Golf Club on Saturday:—Short, v. Johnston, Goldwater v. Saunders, Mills v. Bennett, Chambers v. Sheriffs, Thompson v. Howie, Minogue v. De Clive Lowe, Robinson v. Hunt, Gould v. Greville, Ansell v. Chisholm, Close v. Drower, Matthews v. Lush, Lane v. Kingsford, senr., Entwistle v. Hopkins. McCorkingdale v. B. Kingsford, Grimwade v. Malcolm, Norris v. Sellars, Stephenson a\ Spiller, Taylor v. Stemson, J. Williams v. Freakes, R. Williams v. Davidson, Skeet v. Kingsford, junr. AKARANA LADIES’ CLUB j Following is the draw for the first j round of tlie eclectic competition to be i played by members of the Akarana j Ladies’ Golf Club on Saturday: Miss j McKerras v. Miss I. Deacon. Miss | Roberts v. Miss Jinks, Miss Wynyard j v. Miss Darrach, Miss Hickman v. J Miss Longdill. Miss Tyler Davies v. Miss Smith, Miss Cousins v. Miss K. Knott, Miss Joyce v. Miss McGee, Miss Fearnley v. Miss Connett, Miss Griffin v. Mrs. Sutton, Miss McMath v. Miss Dowling. Following is the draw for the C grade match: Miss Lawson v. Miss Neville, Miss Barton v. Miss Hoe, Miss Farrow v. Miss Bentley, Miss Broadby v. Miss Crabtree, Miss Parvin v. Miss Tracey. Miss Yates v. Miss Walmsley. WAITEMATA CLUB The members of the Waiiemuta Golf Club will play the first round of the 36 holes medal match for the Ferry Cup on Saturday afternoon. Following is the draw:—Porter v. Hogan, Layzell v. Grahame. O’Connell v. Jackson, Clouston v. Whitley, Taylor v. Baxter, Prime v. Miller. Rae v. Sludge, McLeod v. Hume, Naisniith v. Spraggen, L>uder v. Muskett, Macindoe v. Langbien, Bartley v. Ormsby, Downer v. another, O'Connor v. Chapman, Walsh v. Robinson, McGregor V. Compton, Jones v. Weir, Bailey v. Joughin, McKenzie v. Bruce, Hunter v. D. McLeod, Rowan v. Wilson, Anderson v. Ash, Mundy v. D. Hume, Burgess v. TV. Hume, Mason v. Brambley, Spence v. Simmonds, Gooding v. Aldis. The following team will represent Waitemata against Helensville during the week-end at the Waitemata links: —Warren, Hogan, Layzell, O’Connor, Baxter, Chapman, O’Connell, Porter, Grahame, Rudge, Jackson, Taylor. Emergencies: Prime, Whitley, McLeod, Duder, Hume. Macindoe. CAPTAIN’S PRIZE TOURNEY i Following is tlie draw for the first round of the captain’s prize tourney to be played by members of the Glendowie Golf Club: N. A. Chine v. E. Hutchison, A. Sloman v. R. Edmonds, L. Keys v. H. Goodwin, R. Barslow v. Dr. Horton, M. Miller v. A. Churchhouse, P. White v. F. Hintz, C. Allcott v. O. Wolfsrramm, W. Laxon v. F. Lintott. N. C. Snedden v. G. Metcalfe, H. O. Thomson v. J. Stedman, J. K. Kissling v. F. Trice, F. Faram V. G. Kissling, J. Sheen v. K. Brookfield, E. J. Richardson v. C. Newsom, C. Lovegrove V. G. Warren. V. Johns v. IT Jefferson, H. G. Thomson v. A. G. Graham, J. R. Rendell v. F. ICronfeld. P. Bradley v. A. Stedman, T. Martin v. A. O. Horspool, N. Harrison v. R, Kissling, B. Lockhart v. A.. Howey Walker, A. R. Wilson v. G. K. Mathieson, G. Brown v. IT. Wright, U. A. Forgie v. L. Harrison, C. Rattray v. F. Restail, J. Hall v. D. Morrison, C. B Thomas V. C. Woods. J. C. Graham v. F. Coombes. T. Russell v. C. Biernacki. P. Kiccolls v. C. Johns, W. Newsham v, D. Tunks