From Royal Dublin to the fields of Flanders

When the guns on the Western Front fell silent 80 years ago this week, the estimated 50,000 Irish who perished in the Great War included the country's finest golfer. But it was December 14th, 1918, before his family were notified of the death of Michael Moran, the first Irishman to win prize money in the British Open.

Moran had been mortally wounded in Germany's desperate offensive in the spring of that year. According to the magazine Irish Life, he died on April 10th at the War Hospital Le Cateau, which was in German hands at the time.

Only eight months previously, the wonderfully-gifted player, who first saw the light in a modest abode in the heart of the Royal Dublin links (between the present third and 13th holes), displayed his skills here for the last time. He had returned on a visit from Seaham Harbour GC in Co Durham, where he had taken up a prestige appointment as professional in 1914.

It was a memorable occasion. Using borrowed clubs and attired in British army uniform, down to spurs, Moran played exhibition matches at Hermitage and Clontarf in August 1917. Sadly, Royal Dublin was out of commission during the war years when it was used at a musketry range, so there was no opportunity of a farewell trip around the beloved links he knew so well.

At Clontarf, a few of the members put together a set of odd clubs for their celebrated guest. Then, attired in his "ammunition" boots, puttees and a cap, Moran played the nine holes at Mount Temple in a remarkable 32 strokes - three under par.

It was also a nine-hole score which had captured the imagination of spectators at Royal Liverpool, Hoylake, on the afternoon of Monday June 23rd, 1913. With a superb homeward 33 in the second round of the British Open, Moran had become an improbable hero, even allowing for his five successive Irish Professional Championships, starting in 1909.

With a halfway total of 150, he was placed third, only three strokes behind the holder, Ted Ray, and two adrift of the incomparable J H Taylor. According to The Irish Times, the slightly-built 27-year-old drove the ball "with great power", and his only slip in recording the lowest nine holes of the championship was to three-putt the short 11th, more commonly known as the Alps.

Almost incredibly, Moran was a serious challenger for golf's greatest prize when he stood on the first tee for the third round the following morning. But within minutes his dream was shattered. In high winds and driving rain, he knocked his second shot at the opening hole out of bounds and later took four from a bunker to run up a disastrous 10.

The London Times reported: "At present, he (Moran) seems fated to have one bad round and 'till he is a little more master of himself, he probably always will. If he could school himself to take things rather more quietly, he might easily win, for he has grand golf in him."

In the event, he carded a third round of 89, but rallied to an admirable closing 74 for an aggregate of 313. Taylor got the famous claret jug and £50 for winning the title, and Ray received £25 as runner-up, while Moran collected £12.50 for the distinction of sharing third place with Harry Vardon.

While at Seaham, he enlisted in the South of Irish Horse Regiment of the British army and was posted to France where he transferred to the Royal Irish Regiment. He was only 32 when he died, at an age when most players are approaching their prime.

"I started playing golf five years ago. I don't know about you, but for me it was really humbling. I like it but it's so frustrating." Aspiring Augusta National member and 25-handicapper, Bill Gates, whose wealth is estimated at $56 billion.

Readers seemed to get particular pleasure from David Cannon's photograph taken last January at the President's Putter at Rye GC, which appeared in our supplement on October 27th. As it happened, the weather was remarkably clement when the members of the Oxford and Cambridge Golfing Society had their annual get-together.

But Cannon told me of other occasions when conditions were horrendous. Like the time in 1983 when winds were so severe as to cause a ball at rest on the putting green to be struck by the flagstick, which had been removed from the hole.

As a player was about to putt, a sudden and fierce gust of wind lifted the flagstick like a piece of straw and blew it across the green and against the competitor's ball. So, was the player in breach of Rule 17 which imposes a penalty for a ball striking a flagstick which has been removed from the hole?

In this case, no. It was ruled that the flagstick was an outside agency and the ball was replaced without penalty.

On reporting for work at 8.30 a.m., one of Elizabeth Sloman's first actions is to check the security TV screens in her office. One scans the area outside her door and the other scans the locker-room. Incidentally, that's the men's lockerroom: the women at Burnham and Berrow GC in Somerset, where Sloman became club secretary 12 years ago, don't have such security checks.

Not surprisingly, the situation has raised a few eyebrows. "There were a lot of jokes when we first had the screens put in," she said. "You know, were Liz (her assistant Liz Thomas) and I going to sit watching what the men got up to." It seems that the absence of a camera in the women's locker-room hasn't anything to do with their greater honesty. The club simply haven't got around to it yet.

Meanwhile, the women's first names are never used by the members. "It just keeps a fractional distance between us, just as it should be," the women explained. So, how is Sloman accepted in what was once perceived as an exclusively male role? Very well, according to the male members. Said one: "She brings tact, tolerance and patience to the job. Women are much better at those things."

Visitors, however, still have trouble in coming to terms with the notion. "You'd be surprised at the number of visitors who ring, make a booking with Liz or myself and when they arrive at the wrong time they insist that `the gentleman they spoke to said . . .' They simply won't accept that they hadn't spoken to a man." Not unlike a phone call to Lily Savage.

New Zealand's sports betting agency, the TAB, are planning a million-dollar (about £350,000) hole-in-one during next week's World Cup at Gulf Harbour, when Paul McGinley and Padraig Harrington defend their title. In an interesting twist, it's the player, not the punter, who will win the money if the shot is achieved.

At the moment, the TAB is considering which hole to select for the biggest single jackpot in New Zealand sporting history. "We might even make the approach to the par-four 16th (464 yards) the golden shot," said a spokesman for the company. "Either way, it's going to create huge interest."

It's not clear what the punter may expect to get from the exercise, but TAB seem determined to make it exciting. And they are promising a number of attractive options throughout the tournament, including doubles, trebles and head-to-head betting on individual matches. Sounds like a fluttering good idea.

This day in golf history . . . . On November 14th, 1988, Curtis Strange birdied the second play-off hole - the short 17th at Pebble Beach - to beat Tom Kite for the Nabisco Championship of Golf and a top prize of $360,000. On one of golf's most difficult par threes, Strange hit a four iron to within 18 inches of the cup, for a tap-in birdie.

It made him the first player to surpass $1 million in a season on the USPGA Tour. With the US Open as one of four tournament victories that year, he ended the season with $1,147,644 from 24 tournaments. Not surprisingly, he was chosen as tour's Player of the Yea' and was described by Hale Irwin as "The best player in the world today."

This year, Strange finished 192nd in the money list with $78,836 from 16 events. How the mighty . . .

In Brief: Sinead Buckley tells me that Corporate Fairways are offering special hampers this Christmas - the Green, the Par, the Birdie, the Eagle and the Big Hitter.

Teaser: A player searches for his ball in a bunker and in the process makes numerous footprints. He subsequently finds the ball. Before playing his stroke, may the player smooth the footprints?

Answer: No, such action would be a breach of Rule 13-4. However, there would be no breach if the player's caddie smoothed the footprints on his own initiative, provided that the smoothing did not improve the lie of the ball or assist the player in his subsequent play of the hole.