From one round to another

It was 1915 and the well-meaning Englishwoman attempted to persuade Harry Vardon to join the temperance movement. "Moderation is essential in all things, madam," she was told. "But never in my life have I failed to beat a teetotaller."

Approaching the festive season, it may be no harm to remind ourselves that golf and the demon drink were comfortable bedfellows long before John Daly came on the scene. It was said that even the great Bobby Jones could drink with the best tipplers of his time. In his autobiography, Sam Snead wrote about "players floating around bar-rooms at night, trying to kiss the bartender goodnight because they couldn't tell him from their girlfriends".

Though it is claimed in the US that baseball leads all other sports in legendary drunks, golf can hold its own in the tippling stakes. "Gin rummy, drinking and golf - all of it went together," said Doug Sanders. "If I'd led just an abnormal life, I'd have won twice as many tournaments." Peter Alliss recalls: "I've enjoyed alcohol and I've hated the hangovers. For those who insist they play well with a hangover, I say, `try to play with one of my hangovers'. There were times I'd stand over the ball saying, `please God, let me hit it'."

But what of today's players? "There's so much money, they take better care of themselves," said professional turned television pundit, Roger Maltbie, who once divided his drinking into "Michelob when the sun is up and Scotch when the sun goes down". He added: "Players are now educated, dedicated athletes. It's a bit like sunscreen. Nobody wore it 20 years ago, but since we learned the sun's rays are bad for you . . . That's the way it is with drink." So there. Hic!