At the end of a particularly memorable evening at the Portmarnock Hotel and Links, the honoured guest was accorded a standing ovation. And with all his wealth and influence, Mark McCormack was still clearly chuffed to have been officially acknowledged as a "Legend of Golf" by the eponymous society.
Through a witty and informative speech, McCormack contributed so much to last Monday's celebrations that it immediately struck me to share some of the material with readers of this column. When I suggested this to him, he protested that he was saving it for a future book. But he then smiled and gave what I interpreted as tacit approval.
One of his stories concerned the popular American image of Britain as a terribly class-ridden place, particularly its exclusive, male-dominated golf clubs. To illustrate the point, he recounted what could be termed a quintessential tale of British golfing snobbery.
McCormack told his audience: "All his life, a distinguished English barrister wanted to play Sandringham (sic). And though aware of its status as a very exclusive club, he one day plucked up the courage to approach the secretary. `Member?' he was asked. `No sir.' `Guest of a member?' `No sir.' `Sorry,'
"As he turned to leave, the lawyer happened to see a familiar figure seated in the lounge reading the London Times. It was Lord Wellesley of Park. So he approached him and said: `I beg your pardon your lordship but my name is Higginbottam from the London law firm of Higginbottam, Willoughby and Barclay and I'd like to ask you a huge favour. I wish to play this delightful course as your guest.
"His lordship gave Higginbottam a rather long look before inquiring `Church?' To which the lawyer replied `Episcopalian, sir - the late wife Church of England.' `Education?' `Eton and Oxford.' `Sports?' `Rugby, sir, a spot of tennis and I rowed number four in the crew that beat Cambridge.'
"`What about military?' `Coldstream Guards, VC and Knight of the Garter.' `Campaigns?' `Dunkirk, El Alamein, Normandy.' `Languages?' `Private tutor in French, fluent German and a bit of Greek.'
"His lordship thought for a minute and then turned to the club secretary and said: `Nine holes."'
Another of his stories concerned a certain challenge Brian Barnes made in the Italian Open some years ago. He recounted: "Brian was on the 14th hole at a course near Milan and had a birdie putt of about 20 feet. There was only one spectator, who happened to be positioned directly behind the hole.
"Looking towards the spectator, Barnes indicated left and then right, hoping for a response. But there was none. Whereupon he called over a policeman and explained to him that the guy was directly in the line of his putt and could he move a little.
"There then ensued a long conversation between the policeman and the spectator. Eventually, Barnes was informed that the policeman had made a decision. The spectator didn't have to move. `Why?' inquired the player, mystified. `Because he paid to get in sir. You didn't."
In terms of singing for his supper, McCormack gave a veritable recital.
"I'm playing for my livelihood; I'm playing to pay the mortgage and buy my son's Christmas presents." - Welsh professional Paul Affleck speaking last weekend in Belgium, where he earned enough to retain his European Tour card.
Class-Conscious
Britons are having to come to terms with some rather disturbing facts about the Royal and Ancient game. Figures released this week reveal that golf is attracting a more ordinary player. Indeed there are further indications that the lower classes may be forcing the toffs off the course.
According to a survey carried out by analysts Mintel, the game is played by 16 per cent of Britain's top-earning professionals - the A-B group. This represents a fall of three per-cent in the last six years. Meanwhile, the so-called C1s and C2s, which is marketspeak for white-collar workers and skilled manual workers, are both up by seven per cent to 17 per cent each.
But by way of assuring the future of the game, the biggest boom in British golf has occurred among youngsters aged between 15 to 19. In contrast, the number of players in the 35 to 44 age-group has fallen. But not only does it remain a male- dominated game: while the figure for women (one per-cent of the population), has been unchanged over the last few years, the proportion of male players has increased from 12 to 14 per cent since 1992.
Meanwhile, over the same period, spending on golf equipment in Britain has soared by 41 per cent to £365 million a year, or £1 million per day. And if customers follow the professionals, they will be buying Mizuno irons and Callaway woods.
Approaching the close of the European Tour season, Mizuno is established as the number one iron and Cleveland the number one wedge, while Odyssey and Ping are battling for the position of top putter. Callaway dominates all of the world's tours but sports marketing surveys report that Taylor- Made, Makser and Titleist are serious challengers.
If they maintain current form, Prince Andrew and playing partner Forbes Singer might well be receiving invitations to some of the more lively team events on the Irish golf circuit. They clearly acquitted themselves admirably when joining Mark O'Meara in the winning team in last Wednesday's Dunhill Cup Pro-Am. The fourth member of the team was Lord Worcester.
According to O'Meara, `HRH' displayed a very solid, all-round game when shooting a gross 76 off seven. But his 18-handicap partner produced two gross birdies and no fewer than 10 pars, which would make him a very worthy addition to even the most ambitious line-up.
Meanwhile, there was a decidedly Gaelic flavour to the third-placed team, which was beaten on a countback. Colin Montgomerie, whose contribution was a four-under-par 68, clearly got considerable assistance from his partners Dermot Desmond, Eddie Jordan and J P McManus.
Overall, the line-up was decidedly star-studded, including such celebrities as Michael Douglas, Samuel L Jackson, Ivan Lendl and Ian Botham. Batman, aka Michael Keaton, was in 13th place in the team led by Steve Elkington.
As someone who is unashamedly besotted with St Andrews and everything it represents, I was delighted this week to discover that the magic of the place is not lost on the younger generation. Paul McGinley, for instance, displayed a deep knowledge of the Old Course when we chatted on the eve of the Dunhill Cup.
Describing the bunkering as both random and strategic, he was aware of their original placement. They were constructed at a time when the course was played clockwise, or as a left-hand circuit. The next development was for it to be played as a right or left-hand circuit on alternate weeks before the right-hand circuit became the established round.
This explains why so many of the original bunkers on the course now play "blind." It is particularly evident on the 12th where the fairway, though peppered with wicked, pot bunkers, looks perfectly harmless from the tee. "It's an amazing place; I love it," said McGinley.
This day in golf history. . . . On October 10th, 1937, Bruce Devlin was born in Armidale, Australia. Before turning professional in 1961, he won the 1959 Australian Amateur and the 1960 Australian Open. And he was a member of the victorious team which defeated the US in a play-off for the inaugural Eisenhower Trophy at St Andrews in 1958.
Though spending most of his professional career in the US, Devlin will be remembered with affection in this country as the "Thin Man" who captured the Alcan Golfer of the Year tournament at Portmarnock in 1970. It was the last staging of an event worth $55,000 and Devlin swept to victory by seven strokes.
He was especially proud of four drivers, made for him by Ben Hogan, but in addition to a sparkling playing career, Devlin has a fine reputation as a golf-course architect in partnership with Robert von Hagge. They have 140 designs to their credit.
Teaser: If a player's ball lies in a bunker completely covered by casual water, what are his options?
Answer: The player may play the ball as it lies or: (1) Drop the ball in the bunker without penalty at the nearest place, nor nearer the hole, where the depth of the casual water is least (Rule 25-1b ii); or (2) Drop the ball behind the bunker under penalty of one stroke; or (3) Declare the ball unplayable and proceed in accordance with Rule 28.
