The trophy of the Irish Ladies' Golf Union, which is a remarkably handsome worked silver bowl, had, after a good fight, together with much steady play, including some glorious long putts, been won by Miss Cox, Miss Maclaine being the runner up. An open meeting was held the day before the Golf Union Championship, where the scratch prize was easily won, with the fine score of 89, by Miss Sybil Wigham, the first Scotch representative to attend one of these events. Miss Wigham's style was grand, being both easy and sure, and she proved herself equal to sending terrific long balls from any lie. It was much hoped that she and Lady Margaret might meet in one of the heats, but being unused to play before so large a crowd, Miss Wigham's nerve rather gave way in her match with Miss Dod, and she suffered defeat by two up and one to play. Two of the finest matches of this championship were those between Lady Margaret Scott and Miss Phillips, in the opening heat, and between Lady Margaret and Mrs. Ryder-Richardson in the semi-final, wherein the latter player was four up at the eleventh hole to the champion, who after this gradually assumed the lead, and won in the end by two up.
LADY MARGARET HAMILTON-RUSSELL.
(Winner of the Championship, 1893, 1894, and 1895)
Perhaps the marvellous coolness and self-possession of Lady Margaret were never seen to better advantage than in this match. The course at Portrush seemed to abound in bunkers at every conceivable and inconceivable corner. The greens were in excellent condition, and the whole links sporting as anyone could wish to play over. If anything the soil was a trifle too sandy, for it was dangerous to take the least scrap of turf with one's brassey or iron, for fear of a foozle. The end of the meeting found Lady Margaret for the third time champion, with Miss Lythgoe, of the St. Anne's Club, as Silver medallist.
The 1896 championship meeting, at Hoylake, was remarkable for the number of very close matches, many of which were only decided on the eighteenth, nineteenth, or twentieth greens. Miss Pascoe ultimately became the winner after many hard tussles, with Miss Lena Thompson, of Wimbledon, as runner up, Lady Margaret Scott not being among the eighty-two entrants. It was noticeable what an improvement in all parts of the game had taken place within the last three years, many of those who had witnessed the St. Anne's Championship being present, and stating this as their opinion. In the length of the tee shots and brassies, in getting out of difficulties, and in putting, the improvement was everywhere visible. The first visit of the Union to the home of Golf, viz., Scotland, took place in the middle of May, 1897, when Gullane, on the East Lothian coast, was the place of Meeting. Gullane is famed not only for the excellence of its links and the very superior quality of its turf at the present time, but in early years it was a great Pictish burial place, and the ruins of an ancient church, dating from about 1170, still stands in the middle of the village. In after years it was known as the birthplace of the celebrated racehorse, Blair Athol, as well as of several minor lights of the racing world. Gullane indeed is a spot of many varied interests.
The links are most sporting, and it is altogether a splendid course for a big event like the championship. The only regret murmured—and that but faintly—was that some would have liked more hazards to carry from the tee, as is the case at North Berwick. However, this want was well atoned for by the manner in which the greens were guarded, a style of defence that would do credit to a first-class engineer, and which taxed the powers of approaching not a little. Especially was this the case at the twelfth, fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth holes, where grief unlimited awaited the topped or foozled ball. Starting with the record entry of one hundred and two competitors, the whole meeting, if one excepts the weather, was an unqualified success. For the first time, the Scotch and English women-players met to do battle for the same trophy, but it was to be regretted that in so many instances the draw had coupled two very strong scratch players together, or in the same way put English players to do battle with each other, when it would have been both so much more exciting and interesting to have found them pitted North against South. In the first round two of the best matches were those between Miss Pascoe—the holder of the cup—and Miss Issette Pearson, and between Miss N. Graham—the Irish Champion—and Miss Nevill, the holder of the Midland Counties Championship. Miss Pearson, who gave one of the finest exhibitions of golf that she has ever shown, won after a hard fight by four up and three to play. Miss Pascoe too made some magnificent shots, but she certainly did not display the same deadly accuracy which characterised her game so much at Hoylake, in the previous year (1896). However such thorough knowledge of the game was shown on both sides, that some of the old Scotchmen in the crowd were heard to exclaim, "Hoot, mon! This is fair golf, and worth coming to see."
The match between Miss Nevill and Miss N. Graham was even closer, the latter losing only at the last hole. In the next round the matches of Miss Maud Aitchison v. Miss G. Graham, Miss A. L. Orr v. Miss Frith, and Miss A. Maxwell v. Miss M. R. Nimmo, attracted the most attention, and in each case were won by the first-named player. Round number three contained many more tight matches, especially those between Miss Titterton and Miss Maud Aitchison, which was carried to the twenty-second hole, Miss Titterton winning ultimately. Whilst Mrs. Edward Smith beat Miss N. Haig, the Yorkshire champion, only at the twenty-first hole, Miss Bertha Thomson beat Miss Lugton at the nineteenth green, and Miss Dod only succumbed to Miss Blyth on the last green. The fourth round was not marked by any special feature, although all the matches were well contested. But the fifth heat had some grand fights, notably those of Miss Titterton and Miss Madeline Campbell, which only finished on the eighteenth green, and Miss Kennedy and Miss Nevill, which was another display of real golf soundly well played, Miss Nevill losing by two holes only. The sixth and semi-final round was indeed exciting, Miss Kennedy playing a magnificent match against Miss Orr. The play on both sides was bold, free, and accurate, Miss Kennedy's shots from the tee and through the green were brilliant, especially so at the sixteenth hole from whence she reached the green in two, a distance of 314 yards from the tee. It was in putting alone that she lost to her formidable and well-known North Berwick opponent. Miss E. C. Orr, who was playing a most beautiful and steady game, downed Miss Titterton by two up after a fine match. The final between the two Miss Orr's was a good exhibition of steady golf, but Miss E. C. Orr out-played her sister somewhat easily, her shots all through being beautifully judged, especially the full iron shots or half iron approaches, which never failed to be within a putt of the hole. Indeed it was in these shots that she obtained such an immense pull over her opponents throughout the whole of the meeting, and one might with advantage take a lesson from her in this most useful and necessary department of the game, for it is undoubtedly in approaching and putting that so many of us fail. There is nothing very hard in hitting a good long drive or brassey shot, but when it comes to pitching the ball perfectly accurately on to the green, so that it may be within a putt's length of the hole, or at the outside within two such strokes, then it is that we seem to be "all over the place." Perhaps once or twice during the round, we may lay an approach or two fairly dead, but to do this consistently for eighteen holes we cannot, and it was here that Miss E. C. Orr and several other Scotch ladies, scored heavily.
The competitions that are held at many open meetings for "approach shots," generally result in anybody but the scratch players being the winners, and show that this branch of the game is neglected by many good players. Somehow far less pains are taken about this kind of shot, than for the drive. Notice before the drive, how the player will fuss about the height of her tee, the position of her feet, the waggle and swing of the club, then notice the same player on nearing the hole, when she takes up her iron or mashie. Just a glance at the hole, then a quick hit and the ball lights somewhere on the green, perhaps with such a run that it is nearly as far off on the other side as it was on this side, before the stroke was played. No pains as to position, stance and angle of the club-head are taken; an iron shot in the direction of the green being the stroke played, instead of an approach shot at the hole, which just makes all the difference. Putting, too, is much more natural to some people than to others, but it is surely within the power of everyone to improve themselves in this useful science.