The Sydney Mail
and New South Wales Advertiser
Wednesday 23rd December 1903

*

Play and Players
I gave recently the views of the amateur champion on play and players here and in Scotland. At my request Mr. J. Hutchison professional to Canada Cycle and Motor Company, gives his views on the players he has met here and in America and Scotland. At North Berwick his father, the well known club-maker occupies a prominent position in the esteem of leading amateurs and professionals, and apart from his own ability as a players and the younger Hutchison had exceptional opportunities of playing with most noted golfers visiting the famous green, and he came through America to Sydney.

He says: "The player whose style I most admire is Alexander Herd, ex-open champion. Herd plays with a flat club, and 'sits down' a good deal when addressing the ball. His grip is more a palm than a finger grip. With irons he puts the thumb of the right hand down the shaft to ensure the club from slipping or twisting in playing a firm or jerky shot. His favourite stroke is one with his medium iron about 130 yards and at that distance he is very deadly. His style is the regular St Andrews and very pretty to watch. When addressing the ball he dances about before swinging and when swinging he appears to get off both feet, and in the actual hit he fairly jumps at it, the result of so much effort being a very long ball.

"The best man I have ever played is Harry Vardon. His success is due, I think to his even temper. When putting for a championship at Prestwick some seven years ago, I walked with Jack White, the well known professional, and Vardon. To White's great astonishment Vardon missed two putts of about a yard and only smiled.' White declared that he had found the 'secret of golf' and added 'If that had been me my putter would have been 50ft up in the air. Since then White has improved wonderfully, and is now in the very first flight.

"My experience with ex-champion James Braid was of having to hit the ball as hard as I could and still be out-driven 20 yds. Braid is the most powerful player living, especially against the wind. It is worth going a long way to see him smite the ball. As old Tom Morris says 'He is an awfu' mon'.

The oft-champion J.H. Taylor I have also played with. He is a player of quite a different stamp. He plays very much off the right leg, with a very short stiff club. His swing is more like three-quarter stroke, coming down with great force, and a peculiarity of his play is that the ball travels off his club very much quicker the first 50yds than from almost any other player. For straightness all round and mashie approach play he has no equal.

"My favourite amateur player was the late Lieutenant F.G.Tait. He was all that was brilliant besides having great nerve and resource when in trouble. It was a common thing for him to pull a hole out of the fire by laying a niblick shot out of a bunker stone dead. He was the best amateur in the world and H.H.Hilton knew it to his cost as time after time Tait beat him in the amateur championship; in fact, when he played in it H.H.Hilton never won it against him.

"To briefly mention a few other noted players I have met or played with, Mr John Ball, who won the amateur championship oftener than any other golfer, plays very much off the right leg, and is one of the prettiest of English players, and one of the few who could stand up before the late F.G.Tait. Mr. J. Laidlay plays off the left foot, and his is one of the best and prettiest Scotch players. So there is no fixed rule in golf.

"Robert Maxwell the present amateur champion who about five years ago spent some months in Western Australia with his brother is a player of the latest style. I have played with him often at North Berwick. Of late his style has under-gone a complete change.

From a long, full swing and a palm grip he changed to the interlock grip, first introduced by J.E. Laidlay, and made famous by Taylor and Vardon. He has a short swing which one might almost call a ‘heave’. The shoulders go up with the club and come down, giving tremendous force. People call him the 'golfing Apollo' and he is much admired by the ladies when playing.'

'The best amateur player I met in USA was Walter J. Travis, the Victorian who learned all the golf he knows from Scotch pro's in America. He is a beautiful putter and the essence of steadiness through the green.

'Willie Anderson is the finest player amongst the pro's in America. Like J. Laidlay, he plays off his left foot and interlocks his hands without putting his thumbs down the shaft. His scores for the last few years in America have been very brilliant, and he holds the world's record for a championship – one stroke less than Vardon's 300 in the last championship of America.

'Coming to players in Australia, I place D.J. Souter first as the best amateur player, and with practice I would place H.Howden alongside of him. ‘Personally I like Mr. Soutar's style and he reminds me of F.G. Tait with his graceful and powerful swing.

I can remember Harry Howden as a boy at North Berwick, where he won a great many school prizes and showed great promise. I have heard my father say after a tight match with him that the youngster was 'gie bad to bate'. Of other Australians I like Mr. Carre Riddell's play and Mr.E.P.Simpson's. The latter’s swing at the finish is very like that of J. Sherlock, the well known Oxford pro.

'Mr. Macarthur is the player I have played most with in Australia, and I think that with plenty of practice he will prove a very difficulty man to beat. His style is of the stiff order, but his swing is not unlike that of Mr. Charles Hutchings, the ex-amateur champion and the way he uses his wrists puts me in mind of that brilliant player James Robb of St Andrews.

'I think Dr. Gordon Craig, Mr. G.W. Holdship and especially you Blaxland of Hunter's Hill show great promise of becoming first-class players; and Mr. Christoe's style is not one you would admire but it is effective, which is the main point in winning a match. Coming to our Australian professionals, I like Carnegie Clark's style. Though under medium height, he gets a very long ball, and I think he owes that to the clever way in which he uses his wrists and shoulders.

'Martin, East and Harper are three I would put on a par. Martin's strongest point is approaching but his driving of late has improved very much and next season he ought to show good form.

East's strongest point is his approaching but his driving and long game are very good. The only weak spot in his style is his way of putting, over which he takes too much time, which I think sometimes interferes with the result; but he ought to easily overcome that little difficulty.

Harper plays steadily and drives a very nice ball, which is inclined to go rather high and on a windy day must cause him no end of trouble but he is a player that will improve considerably in the next few years.

William Thomson is not what you would term a powerful player but he is very steady in approaching and putting sometimes brilliant. His long game is on the short side and handicaps him on a long course. His eyesight troubles him and so it is rather curious to see the expression on his face when he sometimes finds his approach half-way through not having properly 'sighted' the flag.

I think the play of Australian amateurs and pro's has already reached a very high standard and in a few years they ought to be able to send players home to compete in the big events.


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