The minnows of football hit the fairways

WITH Croatia involved this year, how long can it be before such well known golfing strongholds as Liechtenstein, Monte Carlo, San Marino and the Faroe Islands join them in European competition? Probably never, say the European Golf Association (EGA), who seem to have no wish to follow their soccer brethren in supplying sports fans with esoteric geography lessons.

We became sidetracked into such speculation by the line up for the European Men's Amateur Team Championship, which is to be played at Portmarnock in June. Two years ago in Antwerp, 20 nations took part. This time there will be 22, with Croatia and Slovakia as the latest debutants.

"There's been a dramatic increase in our membership over the last five years," said John Storjohann, general secretary of the EGA, from his Swiss headquarters. "The newcomers include Hungary, Russia, Poland and Turkey, none of whom will be in Dublin."

But what of the smaller states? "We have a rule that a country must have at least one golf course on its territory before being admitted to the EGA," replied Storjohann. "Interestingly, the Liechtenstein Golf Federation have Golf Club Bodensee, but it happens to be in Germany. In fact, it is affiliated to both the German and Swiss federations."

He went on: "Monte Carlo have a much more famous course - but it is in France. And I am not aware of any course to which San Marino can lay claim. So, we won't he having any of these nations competing in EGA competitions, as they do in soccer.

Croatia, incidentally, has two courses and about 300 players. Their standard is modest, however, as reflected in a team for Portmarnock containing players ranging in handicap from eight to 14. Meanwhile, Estonia, with one course and another under construction, have most of their leading players based in Sweden.

From a golfing standpoint, the strongest of the newer states is unquestionably the Czech Republic, with 12 courses and 4.000 players. "Most of these countries get financial support from their national Olympic committee," said Storjohann.

The EGA official concluded: "We find it interesting that their enthusiasm for golf is prompted more by business than sporting concerns. For instance, in their attempts at promoting tourism and business, the former Soviet Bloc countries discovered that golf can open many doors."

"MY dream scenario for the rest of the year is for Tiger Woods to win the next two majors and then for me to hole a 10 footer on the final green of the USPGA Championship at Winged Foot, for my first major and to stop him winning the Grand Slam." English Ryder Cup aspirant, Lee Westwood.

YOU arrive at your golf club with time to spare before you're due to tee off in the captain's prize - only to discover to your horror that you've left your clubs at home. Or it could be that after arranging a crucial golf date with your boss, you find you have gone to the wrong course.

Fear not: these are familiar experiences for the dreamers in our midst. And similar, anxiety dreams are a common occurrence for tournament professionals, who may find themselves wakening in a cold sweat, panic stricken, convinced they've missed a tournament winning putt or arrived late on the first tee.

"As a rule, my clients don't talk to me about anxiety dreams, but, if they did, my advice would be to forget them," said Bob Rotella, professor of sports psychology at the University of Virginia. "Instead, I would urge them to dream about good stuff and think about good stuff."

In fact everything Rotella does is aimed at getting a player to think like a winner - to forget about mistakes and to remember shots that worked out.

In his landmark work, Interpretation of Dreams. Freud argued that anxiety dreams, even though they may be accompanied by feelings of dread, are a way of getting the dreamer to think positively. According to Freud, the tests people dream about are usually those they have already passed.

So in future, when you wake up with feelings of anxiety, tell yourself calmly that you've already passed the test. In that way, the dream will act as a reminder of your competence. Or so the experts say . .

EARLIER this week I received the latest edition of the Golfer's Handbook with a sad, covering note acknowledging the recent death of its editor, Michael Williams. Inevitably, its priceless fund of information increases each year, hence the 944 pages, as opposed to 915 in the 1996 edition.

As with all the best gags, however, the older stories seem to retain most fascination for me. So it was that I was drawn for the umpteenth time to the tale of one of the most remarkable scoring feats ever recorded, as recalled by the late Henry Cotton.

It concerned the exploits of Joe Ezar, one of the game's most colourful characters prior to the second World War. And the occasion was the Italian Open, which, as it happens, is currently in progress at Gardagoll, Brescia. In the 1936 event, won by Cotton at Sestriere, a club official offered Ezar the following bets - 1,000 lira for a 66 to break the course record; 2,000 for a 65 and 4,000 lira for a 64.

"I'll do a 64," replied the professional, who proceeded to jot down the scores, hole by hole, he would do the next day for that total. Astonishingly, with the exception of the ninth and 10th holes, where he scored 4-3 rather than his predicted 3-4, Ezar accomplished the feat exactly as predicted. And, of course, he collected the 4,000 lira. And that when a lira was a lira.

JOHNNY MILLER was 50 last Tuesday. Which means that he celebrated his 12th birthday on the day before Ben Hogan shot an opening 69 in the Colonial National Invitation tournament on April 30th, 1959. Hogan went on to win the event for a fifth time - his last US Tour victory.

A golfing legend from the Id women's game will be 69 tomorrow. As it happens, Betsy Rawls is probably the only professional golfer, woman or man, to have combined outstanding academic ability with a stunning, competitive career.

After paying the celebrated Texas tutor, Harvey Penick, 1.50 for a lesson, he never charged her again, she claimed. And in an attempt at explaining her 55 tournament victories, Rawls said: "I always played well under pressure because it didn't bother me. It was just in my physical makeup that I could perform under tense situations.

"Having majored in physics at the University of Texas, I had every intention of being a physicist. I played golf for fun and never considered turning professional, because there was no money or glamour in the women's game at that time."

But a contract from the Wilson company drew her into the tournament scene in 1951. So it was that when she and Betty Hicks were travelling together in those early years, Hicks recalled running out of petrol in a swamp in New Orleans. "I hitched a ride with a truck driver to the nearest gas station," she said, "while Betsy sat in the car reading Will Durant's The Story of Civilisation".

Winner of four US Opens she had at least one tournament victory each year from 1951 until 1965, and went on to gain a further five victories before retiring in 1975. Rawls then became tournament director of the LPGA, and in 1980 became the first woman to serve on the rules committee for the men's US Open.

In brief: Some gaps remain in the timesheet for May 11th qualifying in the annual Clontarf Open Mixed Foursomes, sponsored by the Denis Mahony Group. Details from (01) 833 1892 ... Woodbrook, whose 18 new, redesigned greens are expected to be open for play in August are imposing a ban on metal spikes from June 1st. Members and visitors can have Softspikes fitted for £4 Ned Fahy tells me that Killiney GC are raising funds to send their assistant, Peter O'Brien, to the European Tour Qualifying School. To that end, a Rumble is being held on June 22nd. Details from (01) 285 6294 . . . The ISPCC are holding a Golf Classic at Old Conna on May 22nd. Details from (01) 679 4944 . . . Leslie Brooks (837 2100) tells me that Donabate GC will hold the Dickie Rock Charity Classic on May 30th.

Teaser: After a player putts, the flagstick attendant removes the flagstick and a knob attached to the top of the flagstick falls off. The knob strikes the player's moving ball and deflects it. What is the ruling?

Answer: Once detached, the knob was no longer a part of the flagstick. It was an outside agency. Therefore, the stroke is cancelled and the ball must be replaced (Rule 19-lb).