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Porthcawl links is
not an easy course, particularly in the strong wind which blew on
that second day. (In the St Andrews Open the 68s scored by Hagen,
Mitchell and Wood were the only three sub 70 rounds out of 232
played over the Old Course by the 58 qualifiers).
John went on to win by two shots from Reginald Whitcombe, with
Aubrey Boomer taking third place and the defending champion, Percy
Alliss, fourth. The local press had shown little interest in the
event and Golf Illustrated reported that there were no photographers
present to provide a picture of the winner - John provided them with
one of his own.
I finished on 303 in joint eighth spot with Bill Branch, from the
Henbury club in Bristol.
Henry Longhurst told a Hagen story from that tournament. Walter,
still in London, had been advised by telephone that he would be
paired with a ‘certain Ryder Cup player’ and his tee time would be
10.30am. “I’ll start at 3”, was his reply. It would not have been
accepted from anyone else in the game, but the schedule was
re-arranged just for him and he arrived with his 16-year-old son,
Walter Junior, in a huge Daimler genially waving a large cigar. A
huge crowd watched him tee off and followed him to the end, to see
him complete his round with a 7 at the last, to record a second 81
and miss the cut. He had a bigger crowd than any of the stars of the
day; it did not matter that he performed well below his best – they
had seen Hagen play.
The Haig got into conversation with three young ladies, who offered
to give him a lift to Cardiff the following morning. They arrived at
his hotel and waited around growing increasingly agitated. At noon
Junior came down to the lobby to tell them that he was still in his
bath. “He can’t be” they said, reminding him that they had been told
that at 11 o’clock. “Gee you don’t know Pop”, replied Junior. “He’d
do anything”. That was Walter in a nutshell. He eventually came down
to graciously accept his lift - at 1pm!
 My friend Charlie Ward was a small wiry figure with a lightning fast
swing, hence his nickname: ‘Whip it quick Ward’. Charlie and I were
by now regarded as the leading midland professionals and Dick
Wheildon, the pro at Charlie’s club - Moseley, discussed our styles
in June of that year in his column in the Birmingham Gazette called
Gossip from the Links:-
“Gadd is very powerfully built with very large, strong hands and he
plays his full shots in exactly the same way as Walter Hagen – a
perfectly timed forward body movement on impact which makes him a
long driver. Ward, slightly built, has a perfect and delightfully
easy swing, but on impact his body is all at the back of the ball.
Contrasting styles, but very interesting to study. Both were
possible candidates for Ryder Cup selection. Bert Gadd is in great
form and improving daily and we should hear great things of him in
the future”.
(Dick Wheilden was a fine golfer himself. He equalled the course
record of 66 at the Roehampton Tournament that year and had shared
16th place with my brother George at the 1922 Open).
I did have high hopes of becoming the second Gadd to be picked for
the Ryder Cup that year, following in the footsteps of brother
George six years earlier, but I was rejected on the grounds that I
lacked experience. The man who was chosen instead was Allan Dailey,
who was born the year before me not far from St Andrews, but spent
most of his career at various English clubs, including The
Berkshire. His early promise earned him the title of the ‘Scottish
Harry Vardon’ and he had played in the Ryder Cup trials in 1931. He
won the 1933 Roehampton Tournament, beating three internationals
including Charles Whitcombe, who he trounced by 8&6. It was probably
this that gained him his place but, with nine tried and tested
players to choose from, the captain, J. H. Taylor, left him out of the
victorious side and he became the third of the British players who
were selected but would never get a game since my brother George in
the first match at Worcester, Massachusetts. (The second was little
known Scot, Stewart Burns who was sidelined in 1929, along with
Percy Alliss, on the occasion of Percy’s first selection. (Alliss
was to go on to play in three matches)). If I had been selected in
1933 and left out by J. H., the Gadds could have been the only
brothers on the list of seven to have that unwelcome distinction.
Charlie Ward didn’t make the 1933 team either. His best years came
after the war and he had to wait until 1947 for the first of his
three consecutive Ryder Cup appearances.
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