Cynics would have us believe that a gimme is an agreement between two losers who can't putt. There were times when Dundalk GC member, Martin Smith, was tempted towards that conclusion, before his outlook was brightened dramatically at the recent PGA Merchandising Show in Orlando, Florida.
For Smith, the Gimme is a putting aid which we featured in this column a few years ago. Basically, it is a short piece of putting carpet with a red light embedded behind the spot where you place the ball. When set up so that you see the light, your head is properly over the ball.
Then, by watching the light as you make a stroke - it turns from red to green about a second after impact - you've eliminated the fundamental putting fault of head movement. The device also incorporates a little plastic tab which helps the player achieve a straight-back takeaway.
At the time, I thought it an ingenious little item, though its chances of success in our limited market seemed rather remote. Smith rated it so highly, however, that he retired from his career as an Army officer in December 1996 "believing we had a product ready to go to the international market".
He then encountered dreadful production problems, however, leading to many sleepless nights. He sold his car and re-mortgaged his house. So it was a long, difficult road which eventually had its ending on the Bord Trachtala stand in Orlando.
The upshot of it was that out of 4,000 exhibitors at the show, the Gimme was one of only three products chosen for transmission on US network television. And it has got further, priceless exposure in the "Marketplace" section of the current issue of Golf Magazine, with a star-rating of four and a half out of five.
"We have also been in Links Magazine, Herringtons (the catalogue that helped launch Callaway), Golf Product News, and Golf Today," said Smith. "And after the fair, USA Today promised to feature us on St Patrick's Day. It has taken over three years to get this far, but the signs are most encouraging."
Smith is currently negotiating with potential agents in Canada, the UK, Sweden, Germany, France, Holland, South Africa and Japan. At £37.50 ($49.95), the Gimme is set to deliver.
"The trouble with this game is that they say the good breaks and the bad breaks even up. What they don't tell you is that they don't even up right away." - Johnny Miller.
News of the US court ruling permitting golfer Casey Martin, who has limited use of his legs, to use a buggy, received a rather cool response from the Royal and Ancient.
"We believe that walking is an essential part of golf and I don't foresee the rules being changed here," said Michael Bonallack.
"The only way it could happen would be through a court ruling, but that would be a sad day for sport."
Back in 1977, the then 52- year-old Christy O'Connor Snr took a similar view, prior to the 36-hole final of the World Senior Championship in Ports- mouth, Virginia. His opponent, Julius Boros, who was five years older than the Irishman, wanted to use a buggy because of a bad back. But O'Connor would have none of it.
"The regulations specifically stated that golf carts could not be used and I made it clear to Boros that we would walk and play the game as it was meant to be played," said O'Connor. Needless to remark, the bould Christy went on to win the final by 6 and 5 for a prize of $4,000.
During A recent spell in hospital, an old friend of this column, Joe Healy, turned to golfing matters to while away the time. This is the same Healy who was captain of Mullingar GC during their centenary year and who, it has been claimed, taught Jimmy Magee everything he knows about sports quizzes.
Anyway, having done the research, Healy decided to inflict his findings on me. So, onwards to you, dear reader, goes the record of the game's leading players in the professional major championships, for the period from their first to last triumphs.
From Healy's enthusiasm, I suspected that his idol, Ben Hogan, emerged strongly in the findings. But the Hawk's record was not as impressive as that of Bobby Jones, even excluding the amateur titles he won. From the 11 professional majors which Jones contested from 1923 to 1930, he won seven - a success rate of 63 per cent.
And if one adds the US Amateur, which he won five times during that period, and the British Amateur, which he captured in 1930, the success rate is reduced only slightly, to 62 per cent (Jones made a total of only three appearances in the British Amateur, in 1921, 1926 and 1930).
By way of furthering his case for Hogan as the supreme champion, Healy points out that the Hawk had a 100 per cent record in the majors in which he competed in 1951 (US Open and Masters) and 1953 (Masters, US Open, British Open).
In terms of capturing the grand slam of the season's four majors, Palmer and Nicklaus were the only players to come close. In 1960, Palmer won the US Open and the Masters, was second in the British Open and seventh in the USPGA Championship and, in 1962, he won the British Open and the Masters, was runner-up in the US Open and tied 17th in the USPGA.
For his part, Nicklaus won the US Open and Masters in 1972 when he was also runner-up in the British Open and tied 13th in the USPGA. In terms of high finishes, however, the closest he came to the Grand Slam was in 1971, when he won the USPGA, was second in the US Open and Masters and fifth in the British Open.
Despite the attention being devoted to certain of President Clinton's (alleged) indoor activities right now, the more astute students of US presidential behaviour will be more concerned with what he gets up to outdoors. Like on the golf course, for instance.
Thirteen of the last 16 incumbents of the White House were devotees of the Royal and Ancient game. Interestingly, Woodrow Wilson played 18 holes before declaring war on Germany in 1917 and towards the end of his second term, Dwight Eisenhower had to be called off the golf course to deal with the U2 spy-plane crisis.
This Day In Golf History . . . On February 21st 1945, Maurice Bembridge, one of the first of golf's modern adventurers, was born. Enthusiasts in this country will best remember him for a spirited challenge in the 1982 Irish Open at Portmarnock, where he lost by a stroke to John O'Leary. But he found international fame on hallowed turf in the US.
That was in the 1974 Masters at Augusta National where he had a spectacular final round of 64. Having played the front nine in 34, he took only 10 putts in a back nine of 30, equalling Ben Hogan's record of 1967. Still, he could finish no better than equal ninth behind Gary Player.
Bembridge, who was the only player to break par on a stormy opening day of the 1982 Irish Open, with a 71, competed far afield, winning in New Zealand, Zambia and Kenya, apart from nine European triumphs. He was four times a Ryder Cup player and halved a singles with Jack Nicklaus at Muirfield in 1973.
Teaser: During the play of a hole, players exchange information concerning the distance of their respective balls from the hole for the purpose of determining the order of play (Rules 10-1 or 10-2). If this permissible?
Answer: Yes (As from January 1st of this year). However, it is recommended that the players determine the order of play in another manner to eliminate any question as to whether a breach of the advice rule (Rule 8-1) has occurred. Any doubt on this point must be resolved against the players.
