On the Links

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1056, 21 August 1930, Page 6

On the Links

Notes for Golfers

By

Slow-Back

Auckland Golf It is curious how often the wind goes wrong at the week-end. on Saturday, after some days of L«*_utiful southerly weather, the wind got to the north-east, and we were lucky to escape as well as we did. As it was, by 3 o!elock some rain had started, and though the worst of it was over by half-past four, it put an effectual stop to the usual late Saturday four-balls. At Titirangi, the qualifying rounds for the championships were played. Conditions were very good, but the northerly wind spoiled some of the holes. The scoring was not so good as it might have been, only one card of under SO being returned, a fine 73 by R. M. George in the first round. T. A. Colliding and R. M. George beaded the list with 160, if. D. Brinsden being next with 165. The last to qualify had 177. Among tlie juniors S. T. Gaskin easily distanced the field with 172, and this, less his handicap of 26 for the two rounds, gave him the handicap medal. The match play in the various events begins next Saturday. At Akarana. the qualifying rounds for the club championship were completed, B. J. Smith with 157 having a 10-stroke load from'the next best. Glendowie had a medal match, and, judging from the returns, the handicappers will be busy shortly. R. Bradley, 84, 16—68, and 11. Rawlinson, 82, 13 —69, gave the back-markers little chance. R. Kissling had the best gross round, an SO. The Auckland Ladies’ Golf Club held an open day at Middlemore last Friday. The weather was gorgeous and the course in excellent condition. Over ■ 120 took part in the various events, which included a medal match, approaching competition and continuous putting. The gathering was in the nature of a benefit for Mrs. Hosking, of Titirangi, who not only had the best gross score, 85, but also won the approaching and putting competition, and the continuous putting. The medal handicap was won by Aiiss S. Buddie, 88, 16—72, and in the junior division Aiiss C. Rainger had the best card, 106, 29 —77. The day was a great success. The ladies’ provincial championship is being played at Titirangi this week. The Auckland Club continued its four-round medal competition on Saturday. V. E. J. Wells played a magnificent round of 72, 4 —68, which was the best return, though H. Abel’s card. 77, 7 —70, would have been good enough to win as a rule. R. B. Wilson fell back a little with a net 76. and J. AlcK. Wilson was nett 82. The position now is that R. B. Wilson leads with 221 for his three rounds. J. AlcK. Wilson being 227. V. E. J. Wells lias two rounds in of 75 and 68, and another decent round should see him very close. On the other hand both R. B. and J. AlcK. Wilson may improve. The position is very interesting. A team went to Glendowie to play fourballs in an inter-club match, but judging by the results it was a long way from being strong enough. Otahuhu sent a team of 12 to Middlemore. and some of them showed form better than their handicaps would lead one to expect. With play under more favourable conditions, several of the Otahuhu players would reach pretty low marks. The spring tournaments begin next week, Rotorua being the first. A strong contingent is going up from Auckland, and given decent weather the usual great success will be scored. A. E. Carr is showing excellent form at present, and the visitors will find him pretty hard. On September 9 the Napier meeting begins.

Jones and Vardon It was inevitable that the question of the relative merits of these two mighty exponents of the game should be discussed again this year. Alore \ than one English paper contains 1 opinions on the matter, and “Golf Illustrated” (London) goes one further and brings young Tom ATorris into the discussion. Seeing that young Tom died in 1875, there can be very few in a position to give any personal opinion, but there must be some. Then, again, as one grows old, the tendency to exalt the past at the expense of the present become stronger. One can imagine grandpa: “This Bobby Jones is very well, but he would have found young Tom a hard nut to crack.” The real difficulty of comparison lies in the fact that conditions and materials have changed so rapidly that little real information can be got by a comparison of records. Young Tom won the open four tmes in succession; Vardon, six times; and It. T. Jones, three times. But the difference in the class of the competitors, and other factors, makes this information nearly, useless. Nor do the scores mean much. All young Tom’s wins were at Prestwick, and his average a round was SOU but think of the balls and clubs! Vardon never beat 300 for the four rounds. “Bobby” did his four rounds at St. Andrew’s in 285. It is impossible to compare values where conditions differ so much. But what can be compared is style. The authority who gives the opinions in “Golf Illustrated” says that in long wooden play there was little to choose between them. Both had perfect rhythm of the swing, but Jones’s drive was perhaps more of a one-piece movement, and less likely to go wrong. In long iron play Vardon supreme. As his shots were mostly from the wrist, hands, and feet, he got snap and power into them, which Bobby’s waist and shoulder control could not equal. Both could play the right-to-left and left-to-right shots at will. But it is in short play that Jones is definitely the superior. His short approaches up to, say, 100 yards, are models of ryhth.mic perfection, but with Vardon there was a slight hesitancy. On the green, Vardon lost most of his strokes. Plis putting never reached the perfection of the rest of his game. But Jones plays a loot putt with the same beautiful rhythm that characterises the rest of his game. And the reason why these two "excel their contemporaries is just that ryhthm. In the writer’s opinion, Jones is the greatest player that ever lived, because he develops a greater degree of rhythm than any other known golfer. * # . * Miniature Courses Hamilton is to have a miniature course on the Domain. The plans have been prepared by 11. T. Gillies and the Domain Board has adopted them. The vogue of the Tom Thumb course an Britain and America has been surprisingly great during the last three or four years—in fact in some of tlie great cities, of America it is the only golf most people get. The courses vary considerably, but most of them are on a very small area and consist of holes from 30 yards to 130. They are often cleverly laid out and well bunkered. In America they are usually proprietary, and a charge of anything up to 50 cents a round is made. One enterprising man recently sank 5,000 dollars in such a venture and actually took it in fees in three weeks. If these little courses are good, they will be well patronised. Lots of people can find an hour who cannot find time to get out to their clubs. The Auckland Golf Club is laying out a miniature six hole course in front of the club-house at Middlemore, between the 17th and 18th fairways. C. H. Redhead has drawn out the plans, and it is hoped to sow down the area next week. The little course should be a great attraction for those waiting their turn to start, and even for its own sake. Hamilton is to be congratulated on its enterprise. An Apology An English paper has just published an apology which may yet be followed by another apology. Perhaps “Punch"

will get liold of it. In a leaderette on the recent open, it owns to being guilty of the following statement: “This year Mr. R. T. Jones first, Leo. Liegel second, Macdonald Smith and our own Fred Robson third. This of course should have read: This year .Mr. R. T. Jones first, Leo. Liegel and Macdonald Smith second, and Horton Smith and our own Fred. Robson, third (!) For this error we would tender our apologies etc.” How Horton Smith and Robson can be third when Jones, Liegel and Macdonald Smith all beat them, it is hard to see. The same error has appeared in some of our own papers.