Germans take bold new stance

Caddie's Role: Despite the relative modernisation of golf by the arrival in recent times of the occasional, garishly-dressed Swede or incredibly athletic young player, the game in general is still very much conformist - and in Germany stiflingly so.

Their system, it seems, is geared to ensure nobody from the lower ranks of society with a latent talent to hit a ball will ever get a chance to bring that talent to light.

Easing out of Cologne train station last week, I passed chimneys belching out the smoke of the industrial heartland of North Rhine Westfalen.

I took in whatever I could of the heavily industrialised landscape before the train reached its ear-popping top speed of 298 kph. Outside became a blur, so I reached into the seat pocket in front of me to peruse the "in flight" entertainment.

Flicking through the magazine, I came across an eye-catching feature on a new and strange form of golf. There were pictures of golfers in very alternative clothing and matching swings whacking balls through urban wastelands much like those flashing by outside, or should I say expanses of land of the kind you see around industrial zones (the Germans don't really do wasteland).

The title of the article, conveniently enough for me, was in English: Natural Born Golfers. Here they were, I thought, the golf punks who were providing the alternative to country club conformity and its high-society etiquette. If the train slowed I would be able to have a look at their "courses".

The Natural Born Golfers (NBG) were formed in 1992. Torsten Schilling, their founder, was working on the production team of a sports programme for SAT 1, a German TV station. There were some golf clubs lying around as props. This was Torsten's introduction to golf. The first swing of a club he made was on a groomed lawn between two office buildings in Hamburg.

A club golfer happened to see him and offered him his first lesson. That was the invention of an alternative form of golf: Natural Born Golfers or "cross golfers". Golf away from golf courses, outside convention.

Cross golfers bring their unique style with them to their chosen "links". They don't sip the mandatory champagne aprés golf but swig warm beer from a can during golf instead. Creditworthiness, appearance and clubhouse decorum are brushed aside. Plaid has no pull.

There is no rule book for NBG. There are "organised events" arranged by Torsten and his "committee". They mainly play obstacle courses with targets like lamp-posts instead of a flag on a manicured lawn.

A recent event in Berlin started in a disused prison and ended up in a kids' paddle pool. Play is accompanied by the thump of loud music. Bags if any can include up to 30 clubs and as few as three.

Naturally, the German Golf Association are not that keen on these mavericks. They accuse them of being dangerous and a hazard to the public.

Schilling insists the only rule they have is "safety first". Of course the sight of club-wielding punks heading in your direction as you walk your dog on suburban wasteland may be a bit unnerving.

Personally, I have felt more threatened by the yelping, unleashed dogs of strollers than by any casual golfers I have encountered along the beaches of north county Dublin.

Despite the obvious concern at off-course golfers taking over public areas, the NBG phenomenon is surely an indication to the golf authorities in Germany that there is a large, untapped market out there.

Among its "worldwide membership", NBG still boast their biggest following in Germany. Perhaps officialdom should embrace these alternative golfers and give them a chance to experience the real thing.

The crossgolfers have an eye-catching logo of a skull and cross-clubs with golf balls in the eye sockets and a tee in the mouth. They are toying with the idea of bringing out their own brand of clothing, including the "Taiga Wutz" trousers, which sound remarkably like the German pronunciation of another golfer who used not be the authorities' ideal picture of conformity either.