GOLF.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 154, 16 November 1912, Page 7

GOLF.

Only last month Braid's failure to qualify in the News of the World competition was chronicled, and now there' is to record a feat performed by Braid which is probably unparalleled in the history of golf. He went round the JS-hole course at Hedderswick, near Dunbar, in 57 strokes. As the course is three miles round the score is truly marvellous. Some months back Taylor's 28 for nine holes in the play-off of the tie for the Baden-Baden championship was the "talk" of the golfing world; but even Taylor's fine score pales into insignificance beside this 57 for 18 holes. Braid's figures were:—Out: 4, 3, 3, 2, 3. 3, 4, 3, 3—28. In: 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 3—-20; total, 57. Six consecutive 3's, and thirteen 3's out of IS holes! It quite takes one's breath away to think of it. The Hedderwick course, the scour of this most amazing performance, is not by any means a ''long" course; nine of the holes can he reached from the teeing ground, and none of the others call for more than a good.iron shot-after a decent drive. But'the putting greens are small, and their \urfa-ce varies considerably. The striei pat of the' round mny be set down at'(! 3, and it had been holed at that figure. Braid thus icduccd the record by six strokes. He never made the semblance of a mistake, and fortune was never kind to him; she had scarcely an opportunity of helping, since even the longer putts which he holed were so truly struck that only an earthquake could have kept the ball out of the hole.

It was noted that during his record round Braid did not bring the ball in from the right, according to custom. This is interesting, and may be regarded as a sign of the times. Not so very long ago the man who could drive with a bit of a pull was regarded with admiration and envy by his fellows, notwithstanding the fact that, the pull sometimes degenerated into disastrous hook. Mr. John Ball was perhaps the outstanding figure among the "out-and-iii" hitters. Now he. especially when playing up to the hole, seems as a general rule to start the ball away in obedience to its natural inclination. Among the professionals, Vardon, Ray and Duncan, though they have the pull stroke in reserve for emergencies, employ it as seldom as possible. The change is implements is partly responsible for the change in tactics. Longheaded iron clubs are required for fancy shots, and it is generally desired to curtail rather than to increase artificially the run of rubber-cased balls. In. some sort the game has been simplified, and there are many golfers who would win more matches if they could realise the fact and regard over-ambition as a fault. In an article dealing with the value of style in sport, Mr. P. A. Vaile writes th'usly of golf':—(Jolf is perhaps the game of all field sports, which demands- the greatest mechanical accuracy, so let us examine the style of Harry Vardon. which is practically perfect. Here we have one of the finest examples in the world of athletics of that style* which is worthy of all respects and admiration, inasmuch as it proceeds from correct mechanical execution. The perfect rhythm of Vardon's swing is due to the wonderful manner in which he preserves what may be called the centre of the swing—in other words, Vardon's head is practically motionless as he does, nearly the whole of Vardon's weight is, at the top of his swing, placed on the left leg and foot, instead of, as all the books tell us it should be, on his right. The result of all this is that Vardon's centre of swing is practically constant, and his stroke is executed with a graceful ease and a rhythmic action wherein he obtains the greatest amount of accuracy and power with the least possible expenditure of energy. This is an illustration of the kind of style which pays.

Let us turn for a moment to consider the play of Edward Ray, the present open champion. At the, top of his swing his weight is on his right ],ig i aS] indued, we are told hy the hooks that it should be; hut Ray himself knows perfectly well that, although he won his first open championship by this method, it is not expedient for others to follow him. find he himself has said so; for it will be. evident that the, moment his weight shifts hack on to his right leg, the centre of the swing, if one may still call it so, has altered, and that a greater degree of inaccuracy has heen imported into the stroke. It would hardly he possible to get two more pronounced instances of the importance of style than Edward Ray and Harry Vardon, and there can be very little doubt which style, would bo the' more successful in a series of contests.