Golf is good for health but could strain a marriage

A FAVOURITE taunt by club golfers to particularly dedicated colleagues is that they are playing as often as professionals. Which, as it happens, might not be all that often by the standards of the true golf fanatic.

My interest in this aspect of the game was heightened by a recent contact with Dr Morgan Crowe, a consultant physician with a special interest in the elderly. In his view, golf is invaluable towards maintaining physical and mental health among, senior citizens.

So, who are the most active golfers? Hardly the younger brigade, who are either at school, university or working. Nor the middle aged practitioner, who is unlikely to play more than three rounds per week or about 150 a year. Nor the working woman, who can't play at weekends, if she happens to live in Dublin.

Meanwhile, the average professional would probably play no more than 230 rounds each year. That allows him or her five rounds for each of 35 tournament weeks (four rounds plus a practice round) and a total of 55 rounds for the remaining 17 weeks.

The game's most active players are among the older members of society, who find the time in retirement to indulge the passion of a lifetime. And after a totally non study of the subject, I have come up with compelling proof in the person of a certain Jake Engel.

According to the US Golf Association, the guardians of the American game, Engel played a record 10,076 golf holes (560 rounds approx) last year, breaking the previous target set in. 1969. Normally he would be content with 400 rounds in a year, but on hearing of the record last March, he picked up the pace appreciably. And he walked nearly every hole, reluctantly accepting a buggylift only at the end of an unusually long day.

"I didn't think it would be quite so hard on me," said the 64 year old retired manager of a convenience store in Oklahoma City. "My body was starting to give out as I came near the finish." Small wonder, given that he often played between 36 and 54 holes each day and on one occasion stretched his stint to an amazing 63 holes before being halted by a thunderstorm.

In the process, he developed stiffjoints and a sore hip wore out five pairs of shoes, a couple of golf bags - and sent his handicap soaring from eight to 17. "Concentration is where it really bothered me," he said. "I'd be playing along, shooting from 87 to 91, when something could come along and jar me for a while."

His best round was a two over par 72 at Lincoln Park and his worst, a 103 in a three club tournament. He had no eagles nor holes in one. "There's been more than once, usually early in the morning, when I'd ask myself `Why are you doing this?' And I can't answer it. I just go out and do it.

Incidentally, if you're wondering where his wife was during this odyssey, Engel is divorced. Now, there's a surprise.

WITH the British Open returning to Royal Troon in July, memories will he revived of a rather special happening there 24 years ago. It involved the remarkable Gene Sarazen, who celebrates his 95th birthday next Thursday. When I last saw him, in Chateau Elan four months ago, he still had an extraordinary serenity about him and the most welcoming of smiles.

The 1973 British Open marked the 50th anniversary of Sarazen's first appearance in the event, so the Royal and Ancient gave him a special invitation. And at 71, he responded with a truly memorable shot at the short eighth, the famous "Postage Stamp.

Sarazen recalled: "People ask `How could you use a five iron on a 135 yard hole', but there was a gale blowing right at us. I can tell you that wind was really hollering. And in it went. The next day there must have been 10,000 fans around that green. They expected me to do it again.

He went on: "Well, I hit into a bunker on the right but then I blasted out, right into the hole. I played that little hole three under in two days and never had a putt." Obviously, part of the magic stemmed from his expertise with a sandwedge, the club he invented shortly before winning the Open ala Prince's in 1932.

"I wasn't sure that the R and A wouldn't outlaw the club," he said. "So I hid the sandwedge upside down until play began. I played great with it in the tournament and my five strokes winning margin was the biggest in any of my grand slam victories.

READING the latest Harvey Penick book, "The game for a Lifetime," it is easy to understand how his most celebrated student, Ben Crenshaw, became such a good putter. Penick seems to lay great emphasis on putting and on the leading exponents of the art: on players like Horton Smith.

"He (Horton) told me the method he used to teach putting to young Tony Lema (winner of the 1964 British Open)," said Penick. "Horton would have Lema put his own left hand on his left thigh at address and then make an ideal stroke with his right hand and arm.

"Once this right handed stroke felt correct, Tony would place his left hand on the handle along with the right and copy the stroke. I think this is an excellent system. In putting, you must have a system you can rely on, and Horton's is as good as I ever heard of."

WOMEN associates in The Island GC apparently report of the annual general, meeting of the Irish Ladies' Golf Union. In reference to the passing of a motion obliging the ILGU to actively lobby for equal rights legislation, I described it as "a significant triumph for the Women in Golf pressure group.

Through phone calls and correspondence, it has been pointed out to me that the motion in question was, in fact proposed by The Island, seconded by Beaverstown and backed by many other clubs. Not by "Women In Golf." Which, of course, is quite correct.

In reporting the a.g.m., however, I was acknowledging the fact that the success of the motion owed much to the pressure exerted by "Women in Golf" over a protracted period. In a temperate letter, Dorothy Robinson of The Island seems to have some sympathy with this view.

She writes: "I acknowledge that Women in Golf started the move towards equality some years ago but I feel that the process has now gone on from there. The fact is that a majority of women who have nothing to do with WIG are now interested in having a say in the running of their club.

"I find the three tier system very acceptable (i.e. a men's club women's club and a third club comprising representatives of both sections, who would run the facility). I am not interested in being involved in the organisation of men's golf and I would not agree to the men's section having a say in the running of the ladies' game.

"I am very keen, however, that the ladies should have a say in the running of the clubhouse and all that that entails. The clubhouse committee would be responsible for expenditure on the clubhouse and golf course, on catering, the intake of new members and in attempting to get agreement on allocating appropriate tee times for ladies on Saturday and Sunday. Trust can be established through the process of working together.

"Finally, equality means choice. By this I mean that our daughters and granddaughters wishing to play golf, should have the same choices and opportunities as our sons and grandsons."

IN BRIEF: David Sheahan will have the chance of showing the youngsters how it's done, when he captains the UCD graduates team in their annual match against the UCD under graduates at Royal Dublin tomorrow. Sheahan will have current Walker Cup player Jody Fanagan in his line up and the opposition will be led by Irish Close champion Peter Lawrie ... Nick Faldo wants more Irish entries for his Junior Tournament. Regional finals are at Royal Co Down (March 27th), Killarney, (May 5th) and Mount Juliet (July 25th). Entries close on March 15th. Enquiries to (0044)181 879 1001 ... Of the four home nations, Ireland has been the most welcoming to the members of the Golf Club Great Britain, for a combination of weekend golf and discounts.

TEASER: In removing loose impediments from his line of putt by brushing with a putter, a player brushed along the line for about one foot before brushing the impediments to the side. Did the player infringe Rule 16-1?

ANSWER: Under Rule 16-1a, a player is allowed to brush aside loose impediments on his line of putt. The casual movement of the putter along the line of putt would not be a breach of the rules unless in the process the player did something to the putting green which might influence the movement of his ball when played.