McGimpsey a legend in his own time

RESPECTED by his young rivals as "The Legend," Garth McGimpsey is set to enhance his status as one of the most distinguished amateurs in the history of Irish golf. Barring something untoward at Moray next month, he will pass the century mark in matches for Ireland, strictly in the Home Internationals.

It represents a richly-deserved milestone in the career of a player who first represented his country at Ashburnham in 1978. Indeed McGimpsey, who has played 97 matches in the Home Internationals, would already have passed 100 but for the fact that the 1979 series, scheduled for here, was abandoned because of the troubles in Northern Ireland.

Now 41, the Bangor player may be nearing the end of a splendid career, which contains 13 championship triumphs, including the British Amateur of 1985. But his tremendous dedication remained very much in evidence in the recent Irish Close at Royal Co Down where he was runner-up to Peter Lawrie.

McGimpsey's international record is: European Team Championship 40 matches plus 14 strokeplay qualifying rounds; Quadrangular Internationals (v Sweden, France and Germany) 30 matches; St Andrews Trophy team 18 matches; Walker Cup 11 matches; Eisenhower Trophy - 1984,1986, 1988 (winning team). Unofficial matches - Four v Wales at Royal Porthcawl in 1979.

That adds up to a grand total of 200 representative matches, quite apart from strokeplay appearances. And in terms of consistency and longevity at the highest level, he is right up there with John Burke, Joe Carr and Cecil Ewing.

GIVEN that he celebrated his 67th birthday yesterday, it seems appropriate to note Peter Thomson's agreement with most of the observations made by USGA expert, Frank Thomas, in last week's piece about golf equipment. Thomas held that little if any advantage in length was to be gained from the latest, high-tech clubs. But in Thomson's view, he failed to confront the major source of the long-hitting by modern players.

"The professional score for most courses these days should be 68," said the five-times winner of the British Open. "Instead of accepting this, we re making courses long and narrow in an attempt at keeping scores artificially high. This makes for negative courses which throw up odd winners."

He went on: "The problem lies with the golf ball - and it's a problem that's been obvious for the last 20 years. In trying to deal with the dramatic improvements in golf-ball performance, the authorities have restricted its speed (initial velocity) and size. What they should be looking at is its weight."

Thomson explained: "By making the ball lighter, you will make it shorter. And you will make it much more difficult to control in the wind, thereby demanding much greater skill, especially on links courses. That's what the authorities should be doing." On that point, he would certainly find no argument from Jack Nicklaus who, some years ago, advocated the adoption of the so-called Cayman, a 60-compression ball, rather than the standard 90 or 100.

Though he enjoyed a sparkling career on this side of the Atlantic, Thomson won only a modest $64,941 on the regular US Tour. But he certainly made up for lost time when returning there for the Senior Tour in 1982. Between the 1984 (two wins) and 1985 (nine wins) seasons, he captured 11 tournaments. After nine seasons, he quit in 1990, having earned a total of $1,061,118 in prize money.

Meanwhile, it is interesting to note that in 1955, when Thomson won the second of three successive titles, the British Open was televised for the first time at St Andrews. It was done by placing a camera on a mound at the "loop" end of the course, from where play at the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, 11th and 12th holes could be filmed.

Viewers were treated to some interesting play but it was soon realised that the score at the end of a round was what really mattered. So, a camera was installed at the 18th and programme changes were made to permit end-of-round coverage. Including Thomson's moment of triumph.

IN a recent note, Sean Og O Ceallachain introduced me to the Callaway System. This is the same Sean Og who, not content with having been a low-handicap competitor for many years, holds the distinction of having had a hole-in-one at each of the four short holes at his club, Hermitage.

Anyway, the Callaway to which he referred, has nothing to do with Big Berthas, or small berthas for that matter. It is an automatic handicapping system for those who are not club members. And O Ceallachain recalled: "It was in use in a Knights of Columbanus Golf Outing in which I played in New, York in 1968.

The system can be applied to three categories of player - Class A, B and C. In Class A, if a player shoots a level par round, you deduct nothing; for a score of one over par to 75, you deduct half his worst hole; for 76 to 80, the deduction is his worst hole; 81 to 85 - worst hole plus half next worst hole; 86 to 90 - two worst holes; 91 to 95 - two worst holes plus half next worst hole; 96 to 100 - three worst holes.

The process is continued for Class B, which covers scores from 101 to 125: for instance, for 101 to 105, deduct three, worst holes plus half the next worst hole and for 121 to 125, the five worst holes plus half the next worst hole are deducted. And the progression is maintained into Class C which covers 126 to 150.

"I was off three then, but I could see that it was an ideal way of establishing handicaps for societies golfers who were not members of golf clubs," concluded O Ceallachain.

Incidentally, the Callaway System card which he gave me came compliments of a certain Eddie Di Mattia, professional, Commack Hills CC, New York.

WHEN we think of trick-shot artists in golf, names like Joe Kirkwood and Noel Hunt spring to mind. But we should also be aware of a remarkable woman who made a significant contribution to this popular element of the game in the US almost 50 years ago.

It was 1948, a few years after Betty Grable's pinup was decorating soldiers' lockers along the western front. Sexism hadn't been invented when Jack Redmond, a New York golf professional, decided he could make a fortune out of a 17-year-old model by the name of Jeanne Carmen.

With the help of Jimmy Demaret, he set about turning Carmen into the game's first female trick-shot artist. By the time she was 18, the attractive brunette could hit a driver 210 yards, standing on one foot. She could also stack three balls on top of one another, hit the middle ball and catch the top one before it hit the ground.

She could use Redmond's giant sandwedge and hit six balls out of a bunker, landing them all near the hole. And most remarkably, from 150 yards she could hit a flagpole with one out of every three shots. Another trick saw her hit a ball teed up in the mouth of a member of the audience.

"Have you done this before?" Redmond would ask. "Once," Carmen would reply, smiling demurely. She would then make a sloppy swing, hitting the ground about a foot behind the ball. "Oops," she'd say, to heighten the tension. But when it came to the real thing, she never missed. Small wonder that she was soon earning $1,000 a show - huge money back then.

IN BRIEF: Noel Fox and his younger son, James, are currently defending the World Invitational Father and Son tournament at Waterville. A fascinating field includes Dermot and Ross Desmond J P and Kieran McManus John and Thomas Magnier, Denis and John Mahony and Mick and Haulie O'Dwyer.

TEASER: On the day of a strokeplay competition, a competitor, before starting his round, played one practice stroke from a forward tee at the first hole into an out-of-bounds area. What is the ruling?

ANSWER: The competitor infringed Rule 7-1b and was subject to disqualification. However, the committee would be justified, in the circumstances, in modifying the penalty to two strokes under Rule, 33-7. If the competitor played more than one such stroke, modification of the disqualification penalty would not be appropriate.