Soaring price of land may be spoilsport

It was a delight to be back at Black Bush this week, 10 years after first making contact with its founding members. And the changes were positively stunning from the time that Seamus Ryan, the current honorary secretary, took me on a tour of their embryonic, 180-acre site, formerly owned by the Craigie family.

Much has been said about the dramatic increase in the price of houses in the greater Dublin area. But the boom goes beyond that. "We could never have founded the club in today's economic climate," said Ryan, when we played golf together on Wednesday.

Jolted by the notion of this thriving haven for 950 members not actually existing, I sought an explanation. And as one might expect from a schoolteacher, Ryan had the figures. "Back in 1988, we bought 186 acres for £300,000 and then sold off six acres for £27,000," he said. "So our net outlay was £273,000."

Ryan went on: "At that time, land was £1,500 per acre compared with current prices of £6,000 - and that's conservative. So the current purchase price would be £1.09 million. Then there is the cost of building the course. We did our first 18 holes (they have 27 holes) for £84,000 10 years ago and the same contractor told me that it would cost £450,000 today.

"This tells me that it would now be virtually impossible to finance a community initiative of this nature, like we did when four of us came together in 1988." That was when they succeeded in enrolling the first 129 members who produced the £100,000 which effectively made the club a reality.

Situated just outside Dunshaughlin, Black Bush are no longer open for members. Yet, curiously, the beautifully-developed 27-hole layout still has plenty of tee-time to offer societies or individual visitors, especially during the week. Which is why the club were this week promoting their second Cara-Compaq-sponsored Pro-Am to take place on Friday week, June 19th, when professionals will be playing for £9,000. It's nice to know that through their presence in the field, leading players such as Philip Walton, Eamonn Darcy and Christy O'Connor jnr appreciate the progressiveness of this fine club. Indeed Australian Rodger Davis will also be in this month's event which launches a so-called weekend Festival of Golf.

Meanwhile, the clubhouse which was built in 1990 at a cost £300,000, was being extensively renovated during my visit. Like all things that were difficult to come by, Black Bush cherish what they have.

"Byron Nelson's record single-season stroke average of 68.33 has stood for more than 50 years." - The Callaway company, this week opposing contemplated restrictions on their products.

Ever thought there was something slightly odd about the idea of present-day professionals being so proficient at escaping from greenside bunkers, that they would actually prefer to be there than in a lush fringe? In fact they seem almost guaranteed to get up and down, while a remarkably high percentage of recoveries are actually holed.

Give the matter a little more thought and you may begin to wonder why such traps are still called hazards. As originally conceived, they should be no-go areas for the prudent practitioner. And that is precisely what the US Golf Association intend to make them in the forthcoming US Open at San Francisco's Olympic Club.

"This year, players will find the sand in the bunkers is softer, so it will require a lot more skill to execute successful escapes," said Olympic course superintendent, John Fleming. "Normally, with murderous rough five or six inches deep in a US Open, some guys aim for the bunkers in the belief they'll have an easy up and down. But by making the sand softer, there are going to be plugged lies which means that players will probably be better off in the rough."

All of which has prompted defending champion Ernie Els to respond: "Olympic is difficult enough as it is. They should leave the bunkers alone. We need help somewhere. You can't be making it tougher for us all the time." Want to bet?

Frank Thomas, long-time equipment expert with the US Golf Association, was quoted extensively in advertisements taken last weekend by the Callaway company in leading US publications. This is the latest episode in a battle over equipment which is certain to hot up considerably this month.

Using the USGA official's words to defend their position, the manufacturers of Big Bertha quoted Thomas as saying: "Anytime anybody says we don't have a problem with the game of golf, that's not reported. But if (Jack) Nicklaus gets up and says we've got to do something about the ball or the club, that's reported."

He concluded: "Complaining is part of the game. We're inclined to have selective memories. I remember reading an article stating that if the USGA doesn't do something about the ball soon, the average drive will be 300 yards. The article was published in 1907."

I keep telling you this hole-in-one business is a minefield. There I was, thinking I had neatly wrapped up the various exploits at Royal Dublin's 16th with the help of Cecil Rowden's letter last week, when I was set upon by another reader. "You overlooked Maire Griffin," he chastised. And he was right.

Maire, a 12-handicap member of Clontarf, holds a very rare distinction indeed. Not only did she have a hole-in-one at an all-male club but she did so at a par four - Royal Dublin's 16th. It happened in 1985, the club's centenary year, when she and her late husband Aidan, the former Dublin county goalkeeper, played a mixed foursomes opposite local member Paddy Higgins and his wife Marie.

"The tee was well forward of the men's and I holed out with a four wood," said Maire. "It was only then that somebody explained to me what an albatross was." She added: "The club very kindly presented me with a Waterford Crystal dish and I later received a Smithwick's Award from the Evening Press."

Shoulder to shoulder, they trudged along in the relentless downpour as gloomy afternoon progressed into gloomier evening. Stout-hearted men you might say who, if their clothes had been squeezed into the correct mixture of hops, barley and yeast, would have created a splendid, steaming brew that their company could have been proud of.

These were the so-called Guinness Eight - current club captains with the common bond of having been former employees at St James's Gate. No doubt because of its proximity to the Liffey, they were at The K Club earlier this week for a celebratory round of golf with some company friends.

"My hands hadn't been so wet since I did the dishes 10 years ago," said Leinster Branch Chairman, Paddy Murphy, who became part of the not-so-merry throng, headed by Clive Brownlee, assistant managing director of the brewery. The captains were: Larry Reynolds (Royal Tara), P J Fogarty (Newlands), Dave Thompson (Lucan), Frank O'Reilly (Craddockstown), Clifford Forsyth (Rathfarnham), Eric Wardrop (Mount Juliet), Maurice Palmer (Beech Park) and Neville Pickering (Carrickmines).

That's the order in which I received the names. And at the end of it all, the last was first, with 11-handicapper Pickering claiming top prize after an admirable score of 33 points.

This day in golf history . . . On June 6th, 1982, Des Smyth nearly won the Jersey Open at La Moye. So did Eamonn Darcy. In fact both Irishmen were beaten in a playoff for the title by Bernard Gallacher who, having won the Martini in May, would later describe it as "my best year since I became club professional at Wentworth."

An Irish success seemed the likely outcome when Smyth and Darcy shared the first round lead after opening 65s. And Smyth looked certain to deliver the spoils when he entered the final round with a three-stroke lead over Gallacher, with Ian Mosey and Darcy two strokes further back.

But a final round of 70 from the Scot and a 68 from Darcy against a 73 from Smyth, meant that all three were involved in a sudden-death playoff. As it happened, Darcy was the first to drop out, at the second tie-hole, and Gallacher secured victory two holes later. It was to take Smyth six years to capture the elusive title, which he did in 1988, but Darcy never came that close again, in an event that had its last staging in 1995.

Teaser: In a match, the two players agree in advance to concede all putts within a specific length. Is this contrary to Rule 1-3 (Agreement to Waive Rules)?

Answer: Yes. The players agreed to exclude the operation of Rule 1-1 and should be disqualified under Rule 1-3. Under Rule 2-4 (Concession of Next Stroke, Hole or Match), the only stroke which may be conceded is the "next stroke" and it cannot be conceded in advance.