Improvement of greens most obvious

IT'S here again, the start of a new golfing season with complaints of slow, bumpy greens and beleaguered greenkeepers protesting about their ongoing battle with the elements. So, it may be no harm to remind club members of the first of the original 13 rules of golf, drafted by the Gentlemen Golfers of Edinburgh, which read "You must tee your ball within a clubs length of the hole."

As an inevitable consequence of that rule, the area around the hole was trampled by players preparing for their next drive. Holes were cut with dinner knives until the mid 1800s and it wasn't until 1891 that the diameter of the cup was standardised at four and a quarter inches and in the early years of this century, greens were unwatered, untended except by wandering sheep and goats and generally thought of as little more than extensions of the fairway.

A far cry from Augusta National, I hear you say. Quite so. Indeed it may be no harm to remind ourselves that no area of the game, not equipment nor administration nor clubhouse facilities, has shown such a dramatic improvement as the condition of our greens. Yet golfers still complain.

Before blaming the poor greenkeeper for our putting problems, we might do well to consider than the average four ball leaves no fewer than 500 footprints on a green, some an eighth of an inch deep, depending on the firmness of the surface. Each of those marks will take an average of two and a half hours to "heal."

Footprints are everywhere, except within one foot of the hole, for the simple reason that golfers are careful not to step that close to the cup. So, that area, roughly two feet in diameter, remains in pristine condition and slightly raised, with the result that the ball has to run up a little ramp on the last six inches to the hole.

Unfortunately, that is when the pace of the putt is at its slowest. And experts claim that the only way of ensuring the ball remains on line at all times is to have the courage to hit it at sufficient pace so that if it misses the target, it will finish 18 inches past.

Meanwhile, despite some of the horror stories emanating from Augusta, professionals love fast greens. Former NASA scientist, Dave Pelz, attributes this to the fact that the more "hit" which is applied to a putt, the more chance there is of it veering off line. Ideally, professionals like to putt on greens with a Stimpmeter reading of about 11, which is as much as 80 per cent quicker than the greens of the Ben Hogan era.

"For these top players, nerves aren't an issue," said David Fay, executive director of the US Golf Association. "So, I disagree emphatically with the suggestion that slower greens are easier." Against that background, it's small wonder that putting has become acknowledged as a game within a game with the unfortunate greenkeeper as a perennial whipping boy.

INTEREST was revived recently in the career of Herman Keiser, given that it is 50 years since he gained a shock victory over Ben Hogan in the 1946 US Masters. And in recalling Keiser, one is inevitably drawn to his one time hustling partner, Titanic Thompson. "What's the stranger's name?" the pool shark inquired. "Must be Titanic, the away he sinks everybody.")

I have previously written about Thompson in this column but the emergence of new stories about him makes it impossible to resist another glimpse at his astonishing career. Born on November 30th, 1892, he became known as an American version of Robin Hood, except that he stole from the rich and kept it. Yet he died in poverty in Dallas in 1974.

He took particular delight in an early hustle, perpetrated as a barefoot 14 year old with a dog, recalling "I used to watch these dudes come to fish in their elegant outfits and I wanted one of those things. I had trained my spaniel to dive to the bottom of the fishing hole and bring back a rock I tossed in. So, one day I told a dude my dog could do that and offered to back the dog against his casting outfit.

"The dude said "Mark it so I know it's the same rock. I did and the spaniel leaped into the water, swam out of sight and came up in a minute with the marked rock. What that dude didn't know of course was that the bottom of the pond was covered with marked rocks."

As a left handed golfer who could also play a useful game right handed, Thompson had money matches against all the leading professionals of the 1920s and 30s, including Sam Snead. And as recently as 1965, he met Raymond Floyd and Lee Trevino at Tenison Park in Dallas, which was known as a hustler's shooting gallery. Thompson was over 70 at the time.

"He was a tall, slender gentleman and I'd seen him watching me," recalled Floyd. "I remember most his hands. He had long, linear fingers, just perfect, like they'd been drawn. You could see how he did the sleight of hand with cards." Shortly before his death, Thompson was asked if it were true that he played lefthanded golf. "Left handed? That's ridiculous," he replied.

His eye on a hustle, right to the end.

ACCORDING to a poll of 100 of his peers, Australian II Steve Elkington has the best swing on the American tour. Winner of the USPGA Championship last August, he has dethroned Nick Price, who was the runaway leader of a poll taken two years ago. Best short game Corey Pavin Best putter Ben Crenshaw.

On the women's tour, the best swing was attributed to Beth Daniel, with a landslide 46 per cent of the votes. "I think it has to do with my height, which makes my swing look longer, freer and easier," said Daniel. Best short game Vicki Goetze Best putter Patty Sheehan.

AS we indicated last week, the torsional movement of the swing wreaks havoc on an unprepared back. So, we felt it might be appropriate to recommend some simple exercises to condition the lower back for the twists and turns of the Royal and Ancient game.

Sit in a chair, or on a seat in the locker room, with your back straight, feet flat on the floor and knees bent at right angles. Pushing your chest towards your knees, reach under your upper legs and grab your elbows. Use your arms to pull your torso forward until your chest touches your thighs and your chin is between your knees. You should feel a stretch in your lower back, just above the waist.

If this exercise is easy, try a more challenging stretch by sitting on the floor with your legs extended straight out.

Reach forward as far as you can with your hands and grab your ankles. If that's easily accomplished, go for your feet. This position will stretch the hamstrings as well as the lower back.

Here's another simple exercise that can be done while waiting beside the first tee. Swing with two clubs at once, placing less focus on the downswing and more on letting the weight lengthen your backswing. This builds quick strength and flexibility into the muscles of the back, shoulders and arms, while creating a greater feel for the actual swing. Ideally, this exercise should be done for 15 minutes, three days a week.

IN BRIEF The latest in equipment, apparel and accessories are promised at the inaugural Golf Spring Show, being staged by Irish Golf Monthly at Jury's Hotel, Dublin next Saturday Christy O'Connor Jnr has signed a new, five year contract as touring professional at Galway Bay GC Pro Fit Golf, based in Newpark Shopping Centre and specialising in made to measure golf clubs, have signed a contract with teaching professional Paul Cuddy, who trained at David Leadbetter's base in Florida Mary O'Gorman informs me that the Sisters Golf Competition, in aid of St Vincent de Paul, will be staged at Birr GC next Friday Having ended his contract with the NFL last September, Payne Stewart is now designing his own, colourful range of golf apparel, which is available at "Golfers" of Dawson St, Dublin.

TEASER A player's ball lies behind an immovable obstruction. The obstruction interferes with the player's swing and also intervenes on the line of play. In obtaining relief from interference with his swing, must the player drop the ball in such a position that intervention on the line of play is maintained?

ANSWER No. Since the obstruction interferes with the player's swing, the player is entitled to relief under Rule 24-2b. If, in proceeding under this rule, the player could drop the ball in a place which would also avoid intervention on his line of play, he is entitled to do so.