Different Strokes

A golf miscellany by PHILIP REID

Peerless Portmarnock: The spiritual home of Irish golf

Walking the fairways during the St Andrews Trophy and Jacques Léglise Trophy matches at Portmarnock Golf Club last Friday and Saturday was a wonderful experience for those who attended. You got to see the very finest amateurs in Europe playing a quite majestic links.

The up-close and personal experience also drove home the conviction that the links deserves to once again play host to an Irish Open.

For all the deserved plaudits which Royal Portrush received for staging the Irish Open this year, there is something about Portmarnock – in many ways the spiritual home of golf in Ireland – that is just so special.

Of course, it was the original venue for the Irish Open (back in 1927 when winner George Duncan piled newspapers under his clothing as an extra layer of protection against the weather) and has also staged the World Cup (won by Arnold Palmer and Sam Snead in 1960) and the Walker Cup (in 1991).

In all, Portmarnock has staged the Irish Open on 19 occasions. The most recent occasion was in 2003 – when Michael Campbell triumphed to add his name to a list of winners on the course that has included Fred Daly, Bobby Locke, Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer, Ben Crenshaw and Jose Maria Olazabal.

But the prospect of the club playing host to the Irish Open in the foreseeable future would appear to rest on a change in political attitude rather than anything else.

The kernel of the “problem” is that Portmarnock Golf Club is a men’s only club and, given that the Irish Open is part-funded by the Government through its sports marketing initiative, it would take a brave politician to make a rather bold decision.

Nobody should hold their breath.

Against that, though, is the fact the Irish Open – as the showpiece of Irish golf and broadcast around the world – offers the perfect marketing platform for demonstrating that Irish golf courses compare with the very best to be found anywhere.

On that score, Portmarnock ticks all the boxes: it should be put back on the agenda to one day play host to an Irish Open again!

Nigel Edwards, the Britain and Ireland Walker Cup captain, remarked of Portmarnock: "The first time I played it was 1997 in the European Team Championships when the conditions were really brutal. I thought it was a great golf course then and I really do appreciate it now. It's just the whole Portmarnock experience, the upgrading the clubhouse, the practice facility, the three loops of nine holes. It's just a quality golf course from No 1 to 18 and that's probably why the pros love coming here for the Irish Open." Hopefully we'll see that time come around again. KEVIN PHELAN

Nike not dragging their feet on shoes

Nobody could accuse Nike of failing to be innovative when it comes to developing golf shoes.

Fresh on the heels of the recently-launched TW13 footwear used by one Tiger Woods, the company is set to release its newly-designed Lunar Bandon shoes – recommended retail price €170 – later this month.

The shoes – apparently flexible and lightweight with the ability to keep feet warm and dry in any condition – seem tailor-made for the Irish weather conditions with the Nike marketing people claiming the shoe can “conquer even the wettest playing conditions” and boasting that “nature’s elements have met their match.” The shoe is purported to be “the ultimate waterproof protection.”

Lee Walker, Nike Golf’s Footwear Product Director stated, “You have outerwear, all-weather gloves, and covers for your golf bag. We wanted to complement that with a shoe that works with the rest of your gear to protect while it performs.”

Speed lacing with an easy-to-utilise toggle simplifies the fastening process and a notched-out heel maximises comfort for walking and bending to read putts.

No concessions: Hole out in strokeplay

Q In a strokeplay competition, A concedes a short putt to B and knocks the ball away before his fellow competitor can tap it in. B lifts up his ball and accepts the concession.

However, C, another player in the group, informs B that he can’t accept a concession in a strokeplay competition and that he should replace the ball to its original spot and finish out. Is he right?

A Yes. B should replace the ball and complete his score on the hole. If he failed to do so, he would be disqualified under Rule 3-2 (Failure to Hole Out). The player is required – in strokeplay – to hole out before moving on to the next tee or, in the case of the last hole of the round, before he leaves the putting green.