The journey began in NSW and, after 50 sun-dappled summers in this business, it’s been a hell of a rideJournalists of a certain era tend to embrace the perpendicular pronoun with all the enthusiasm of Scrooge hugging Tiny Tim. “I” might be the skinniest word but it punches its weight in vanity. Hugh McIlvanney famously would perform linguistic gymnastics in his perfectly crafted sentences so as to refer to himself as “this reporter”, thus diluting any suggestion it was the great man himself at the centre of the story – even though it often was.He understood the pleasant fact that we are regularly hurled into the orbit of the famous. It can be a perilous place, where the trick is...
First black golfer to play in the Masters will be an honorary starter next year but Lee Elder’s achievement deserved to be recognised soonerUntil Lee Elder played the Masters in 1975, most of the black people at Augusta National were there working as caddies, cooks, and waiters. When Elder came up the 18th fairway at the end of his first round, those staff came out of the clubhouse to clap him home.“The other patrons cleared the way for them to come to the front, and they were instantly recognisable by their uniforms,” Elder told Golf Digest years later. “This moved me very deeply. I couldn’t hold back the tears. One club employee shouted in this booming voice that rose above...
Enforced absence during lockdown serves as a reminder how much playing sport – however badly – enhances our livesFor my last shot on a golf course for at least a month I was confronted with a “Dennis Wise”. This is a mischievous description, albeit a little dated, of the putt that confronted me on the 18th. How can I explain without upsetting old fans of Wimbledon and Chelsea or indeed Mr Wise himself? Let’s just say it was a tricky little five-footer. To no-one’s great surprise I missed it.I may have tugged it a little to the left but, as far as I’m aware, I did not break any laws. I attempted to sink this putt on Wednesday, the last...
David Abeles, president of leading manufacturer TaylorMade, says making the game more difficult should not be the aimGolf’s flourishing as a pandemic-compliant sport is a comfort to those who had feared for the future of a time-consuming pursuit. There remains, however, an elephant in the clubhouse; one visible as Bryson DeChambeau powered his way to US Open glory and subsequently posted detail of a 400-yard drive.Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy have been drawn back into the equipment debate in recent weeks. Gary Player insisted golf “must cut the ball back” or a mockery will be made of venues. The R&A and USGA, the lawmakers on either sides of the Atlantic, continue to study the impact of enhanced driving distances. To...
Remote but iconic Ayrshire course has been sidelined but a change in the White House could boost championship claimsHow does golf explain Donald Trump? The truth is, it hasn’t really had to in the four years since he was elected as the 45th president of the United States. This may be Trump’s sport of choice and, yes, his courting of high-profile players has created the odd ripple, but golf managed to navigate itself to the position whereby tawdry episodes have largely been avoided. A World Golf Championship, once held at Trump-owned Doral in Miami, seamlessly shifted to Mexico City in 2017.At this point, it hardly seems harebrained to predict a Trump election defeat in 2020. Somewhere, if admittedly not anywhere...