Medinah's tale of guns and Armour

It may be stretching things a little bit, but isn't it fascinating that all the talk this week about boycotts, cash demands and lavish expense accounts happens to be taking place in Chicago? The same Chicago where, 70 years ago, Al Capone and his cronies managed to achieve far less precision against rivals on the golf course than they did in business.

Tom Watson talked this week about an intriguing link with the notorious prohibition era. Mind you, he didn't mention the occasion when Capone accidentally shot himself through the thigh while pursuing the Royal and Ancient game. It happened when his minder overlooked to put the safety catch on a revolver secreted in Capone's golf bag and it went off accidentally. A matter of unpredictable golfing calibre, you might say.

But Watson talked about a professional by the name of Herman Scharlau, who died this time last year. Though Scharlau grew up in Chicago, Watson met him when he himself was a budding golfer in his native Kansas City. "Herman's family lost their fortune and just about everything they possessed during the great depression," said Watson. "So he started caddying here at Medinah in the early 1930s; went on to become caddie-master and was eventually assistant pro to Tommy Armour.

"Among his stories was of the times he caddied for Capone and a few other characters who had strange, long dark vehicles following them around the golf course when they played. That was at a time when things were a lot different at Medinah than they are now."

Watson went on: "There were also great stories about Armour and how Herman would set up an umbrella and a chair out on the practice ground for the celebrated Scot whom he called `The Old Man'. And there would be a drink, a gin buck, off to the side for him to sip on.

"Herman used to watch Armour give lessons and he recalled a particular occasion when the resident professional said to one of his pupils: `Mrs Smith, would you hit a few balls for me and let me take a look.' He'd be sitting on his chair. And so Mrs Smith would hit three or four balls and she would turn around after flubbing one saying, `Mr Armour, what did I do wrong?'

"Armour would reply: `It's not what you did wrong; it's what you didn't do right.' Herman taught me that way. Just like Armour, he'd say: `It's not what you're doing wrong; it what you're not doing right.' I've always thought of that as a very valuable lesson in teaching golf."

According to Tiger Woods, the Ryder Cup is an exhibition. When asked this week how he would define an exhibition, he replied: "Let me ask you: is there a winner's cheque." No. "Then it's an exhibition." Roll on next month's exhibition Walker Cup.

Given his position as the perceived ringleader of the pay-for-play issue in the Ryder Cup, it is unlikely Mark O'Meara will have been swept up the list of future captains of the US team. But he insisted: "I take offence to the fact that anybody might call me unpatriotic."

Still, was it not inevitable he would be tainted by everything that has happened, especially at Medinah this week? Not so. "I didn't mean to cause all these serious waves," he said. "The game has changed. It is definitely more commercialised."

Then came the fascinating admission: "If I got the chance to be Ryder Cup captain in Ireland (in 2005), I would welcome that opportunity. Other than that, it carries considerable responsibility and there's a lot of fine players who deserve it more than I do."

When the Frank Sinatra Invitational tournament had its lone staging at Palm Springs in November 1963, all 150 guests were presented with a custom-crafted, Toney Penna-designed MacGregor heel-shafted putter. Each of the copper-plated gems carried a caricature of Ol' Blue Eyes and his signature engraved on the head.

None was ever sold and the putters are currently regarded among the most treasured items in golf memorabilia. "Oh I adored that putter," enthused comedian Dick Martin, who lost his particular one along with an entire set of clubs on a plane a few years later.

Bobby Grace, a collector and noted putter expert, says that Sinatra originally wanted the putters to be made of gold but was talked out of the idea because it would have spoiled the implement for practical use. In the event, fewer than two dozen of them have surfaced on the collector circuit over the last 36 years. One was sold by Grace for more than $20,000 to a Japanese buyer two years ago.

Though he had plenty of enthusiasm for the game and possessed a predictably rhythmic swing, Sinatra was no more than a fair golfer, according to Bob Rosburg. "He liked to be good at everything but he couldn't play as well as Dean Martin or Bob Hope or Bing Crosby," said the 1959 USPGA champion. "And that bothered him, I think."

Medinah's most celebrated member these days is Michael Jordan, who joined the club on April 1st of this year. Since then, officials have been at some pains to point out that the Chicago sporting icon received no preferential treatment from the membership committee.

As one of them claimed: "It wasn't something structured for MJ. There were 35 perpetual memberships left; Michael was somebody who could afford it, so he got to the front of the line. Perpetuals come up for sale only every two or three years. He was at the right place at the right time. It was strictly luck."

No money has been mentioned, but a perpetual member pays no dues and it can be passed down from generation to generation. And it will allow Jordan to play host to his many golfing friends when the Ryder Cup is staged at Medinah in 2011.

With all the talk this week about charitable contributions from the Ryder Cup, it may be appropriate to look at the position with regard to payments in other leading sporting events from a US perspective. As a yardstick, Ryder Cup players each receive a stipend of $5,000 and no payment is made to charities in the players' names.

Now to other events: President's Cup - $25,000 per player with $100,000 to charity; Solheim Cup - $2,500 per player with $111,000 for entire team to charity; Davis Cup (men's tennis) - $100,000 per player per match with $25,000 per match to charity; Federation Cup (women's tennis) - $100,000 per player with $25,000 per match to charity.

Following the disclosure that PGA of America's expenses for the forthcoming Ryder Cup at Brookline will run to $40 million, US scribes have been doing some digging. As we might have expected they would. And they've come up with two rather intriguing items.

Firstly, it seems that the town of Brookline, Massachusetts recently sent the PGA a so-called service bill for $3 million. This is intended to cover the extra costs which the town will incur for playing host to such a major international event.

Then, as entertainment at one of the black-tie galas which the players love so much, songstress Celine Dion has been hired to perform an 18-minute medley of her hits. Her price? A titanic $250,000. I'm sure Darren Clarke would give them a rendition of the Mountains of Mourne and other fine Northern ballads for considerably less.

This day in golf history . . . On August 14th 1977, the USPGA Championship at Pebble Beach became the first "major" to be decided in a sudden-death play-off. It became necessary when Lanny Wadkins and Gene Littler tied on 282 - six under par - after 72 holes and the end came at the third extra hole where a six-foot par putt was sufficient to give Wadkins victory.

The 28-year-old Texan began the final round six strokes behind Littler and was still five behind with nine to play. Littler then bogeyed five of the first six holes on the homeward journey, allowing Jack Nicklaus to draw level at the 15th. But when Nicklaus bogeyed the short 17th, Wadkins carded his only birdie of the day, at the long 18th, to tie with Littler.

Teaser: In a hazard, a player's ball lies against a moveable obstruction. A loose impediment lies on top of the obstruction in such a position that the player cannot remove the obstruction without also moving the loose impediment. Under Rule 24, the player is entitled to remove the moveable obstruction, but under Rule 23 is not entitled to move the loose impediment. What is the procedure?

Answer: The player may remove the obstruction as authorised by Rule 24-1. If the loose impediment is incidentally moved in the process, in equity (Rule 1-4), the player incurs no penalty and he must place the loose impediment as nearly as possible at the spot where it originally lay.