GOLF NOTES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 8 May 1940, Page 8

GOLF NOTES

RIVERSIDE CLUB FORM BOGEY ROUND. GREENS RAPIDLY IMPROVING. (By “Longdrive.”) During the weekend the members of the Riverside Golf Club played in a bogey round.. The members as a whole found the “Colonel” a difficult man to score against. The greens on these links are improving each week and from now on many more good scores should be registered. A player who has a good swing and controls the ball well is B. Wilmhurst. He played particularly well on Saturday and with more practice should soon get his handicap reduced. An unfortunate thing happened to R. Wearne during his round. His drive from the 13th tee hit a post and a 9 appeared on his card for that hole. F. Hallam seems to be finding touch much better now. During his first two or three rounds he could drive and putt well out his short work around lhe greens on Saturday enabled him to return a card of 64 net.

By playing consistent golf T. U. Wellington put in his best card to date, 67 net, going out in 47 and returning in 43. Another good round was also played by W. Gilliland. He finished one up cn bogey, a very good performance. It is very gratifying to “Longdrive” to see a player who is as keen as “Gillie” putting in such good scores. A player who has been off his game for the past few weeks is F. Roff. During the weekend he showed a return to form and did the home journey in 38 off the stick.

H. Knox proved that he is a sound match player when he returned with a score of 3 down.

D. Wellington also found the going rather difficult. The best he could do was a score of 7 down.

S. Onion is another player who has improved this season. On Saturday lie scored birdie 3s at the third, fourth and eighteenth holes. A. Clarkson has come on to his game again now. He played to one below his handicap but found the “Colonel” a very hard man to beat. MAHUNGA DOINGS INTEREST IN COMPETITIONS. COMMENT ON SATURDAY’S PLAY. (By “Cleek.”) Members of the Mahunga Golf Club had a double incentive to return good cards on Saturday, as it marked the commencement of the competitions proper with the first qualifying round of the Captain’s Trophy and also the initial round of the net aggregate competition. As so often happens when endeavouring to surpass all previous efforts, results do not always come up to expectations and many players who went on to the first tee full of hope and firm resolve came off the last with visions of their “dream” round rudely shattered. These temporary setbacks seem to be a necessary part of the game as the golfer has yet to be born who does not see a challenge, to better effort in those unfortunate rounds which do not, in his opinion, truly reflect his real ability.

Saturday’.s cards are particularly interesting in that the best scores were returned by players on the longer handicaps. This seems 7 to indicate on their part a cheerful disregard of the doubts and fears that beset a number of the more experienced players who failed to rise to the occasion.

N. O. Jones carried out an attack on the par of the course by scoring a net 67 and should have no trouble in qualifying for the match play. He is a young player of decided promise, his biggest asset being the confidence with which he approaches all his shots.

J. Corbishley, playing on an 18 handicap, scored his best round to date with a net 69. He is a player who gives the impression that he is capable of returning still better scores. His swing is perhaps rather abbreviated.

J. Norrie also scored a net 69, playing off a 22 handicap. Although troubled at times with a slice that on occasions assumes prodigious proportions, he is gradually overcoming this difficulty. His shots are played with a maximum of effort and possibly a less aggressive swing would meet with better results.

G. T. Wagg, a consistent performer, returned a net 69. In contrast to many players who are inclined to dwell unduly over their shots, he wastes no time in preliminaries and this method of catching the ball unaware has a lot to commend it.

M. Armstrong, a newcomer to Mahunga. scored a handy 71. playing off the limit handicap of 24. He has a nice free swing and should soon be able to reduce his handicap. N. Bach, another new player on a 24 handicap, also returned a net 71 which is equal to the par of the course. He has a keen enthusiasm for the game and for a new player is shaping remarkably well. L. M. Roach played one over his handicap of 16 in returning a net 72. He hits a golf ball with much of the precision and skill that marked his prowess on the football field when playing in the palmy days of Wairarapa Rugby. It will be surprising if his handicap is not substantially reduced before long. A word in the ears of the divottakers. There is nothing more distressing to a golfer worthy of his salt than to see large divots taken out of the links and not replaced. Apart altogether from the inconvenience caused other players, the links must necessarily suffer if all divots are not carefully replaced and stamped down. Plajers would assist the club and incidentally themselves. by ensuring that all divots are properly replaced.