A society without fringe benefits

It all started in a pub in Wexford several years ago. Paddy Butler, son of the late Tramore Golf Club professional Christy, was receiving a ribbing from a biker type about his receding hairline. Butler, looking across at the blond-haired, ponytailed biker, replied: "I'm going to establish something in which you won't be able to take part," and so The Baldy Men Golf Society was born.

Butler develops the story: "At one stage we had 70 members but by the end of last year we only had about 25 or 30 guys turning up to outings, the last of which was in Dromoland Castle." Butler, who registered the name in both Ireland and the USA, has decided to call it quits for a year or two.

"We had some great fun. You had to have a receding hairline or none at all to become a member. There was no such thing as getting a really short haircut. You had to be losing it, preferably a lot of it. It was fine if you wore a wig or toupee - we used to call them divots - but when you came to the outing, you had to leave your divot hanging on the wall in the changing room. There were to be no cover-ups."

Butler, who will soon travel to the USA for a holiday, is going to explore the possibility of setting up The Baldy Men's equivalent in the States, the second time he has tried this venture. "I tried to set something up about seven years ago, distributed 3,000 flyers, but it didn't kick in. I would look to set up a website this time, calling in The Kojak American Golf Society and hopefully organise four or five outings."

But what of the Baldy Men? "I'd have to look around and get someone to run it for me. It's a full-time job. I would hope that we could revive it again."