When Snead camped out at St Andrews

WHILE the train rattled along the railway line, which in those days went right into St Andrews, Sam Snead caught his first sight of the Old Course. Never the most cultured of men, Snead immediately raised the hackles of proud locals by voicing the opinion that the famous links must have been destroyed by bombing during the war.

That was 50 years ago when, after a break for the second World War, the British Open resumed in 1946. On reflection, it was richly ironic that Snead should have spoken in such terms about an area where German prisoners of war had been deployed to do clear up work in preparation for the championship.

Reflections on the career of one of the game's greatest players are prompted by his 84th birthday next Monday. Only last month I saw him at Augusta where, in the company of Tom Watson, he used his famous side saddle putting method to sink a treacherous eight footer downhill for a birdie at the ninth in the par three competition.

During that infamous visit to St Andrews, Snead expressed disgust at just about everything, commenting. "Whenever you leave the USA, you're just camping out." And after capturing the championship by four strokes from Bobby Locke and Johnny Bulla, he dismissed it as just another tournament win. In fact the prize giving ceremony had to be delayed while organisers tracked him down to his hotel.

Yet for all that, he has been unquestionably one of the game's greatest players. One has only to consider that in August 1974, three months past his 62nd birthday, he finished third in the USPGA Championship, behind Lee Trevino and Jack Nicklaus and ahead of Gary Player. That same season, he was runner up to Dave Stockton in the Los Angeles Open where observers had difficulty in detecting much difference between the quality of his play then and 40 years earlier, on the occasion of his Ryder Cup debut.

It would also be reasonable to describe Snead as a highly influential figure in the development of Irish golf over the last four decades. His appearance as Arnold Palmer's partner in the Canada Cup at Portmarnock in 1960 sparked off an enormous upsurge in the game in this country.

America won the title by eight strokes from England, but despite rounds of 71, 68, 67 and 75 for a total of 281, Snead finished two strokes behind Belgium's Flory Van Donck in the battle for the individual title. It eventually came to him a year later in Puerto Rico, however, where he beat second placed Peter Thomson by eight strokes.

Reputed to be mean with money to the extent that he buried his winnings in tins cans in his backyard, he protested. "That began mostly due to my unwillingness to hang around clubhouse bars after tournaments and swap drink checks with the boys." Perhaps the greatest tribute to him was by an observer who remarked. "If Snead's skill could be transmitted and auctioned, the bidding would be never ending."

"IT was too tough for me," admitted Christy O'Connor Jnr about The Oxfordshire, where he failed to make the cut last Friday in the Benson and Hedges International. Later, from the comfort of his home in Galway, O'Connor watched the horrific happenings in the gale force winds of Sunday's final round.

"You don't have to build such a monster to test golfers' skills," he went on, referring to the overall length of 7,205 yards. "As far as I can gather the idea was to achieve links character at an inland location. If so, it clearly hasn't worked."

O'Connor, an outstanding golf course designer in his own right, believes that a significant free planting programme is necessary if a repetition of Sunday's mayhem is to be averted. "It's a brilliant layout but it requires about 100,000 frees," he said.

"As it was, you might as well have been in the Antarctic. Even when I played it on Thursday and Friday, the parlour 12th (457 yards) was totally out of reach for me."

He concluded "The change in the wind direction meant that some key pin positions were desperately difficult. But I believe the officials could have eased the problem through better use of the considerable options off the tee." The designer Rees Jones was present last weekend but he effectively washed his hands by stating that he had no control over how the course was set up.

THE £64,309 Russian Open, a Challenge Tour event, will be staged on September 5th-8th next season it will graduate to the full, European Tour. In the meantime, the Moscow Country Club is concentrating on domestic events, starting next Friday with the inaugural President of Russia Golf Cup, which is being dedicated to International Children's Day on June 1st. The event, endorsed by President Yeltsin, has attracted entries from politicians, diplomats and business executives from around the world. A hotel and conference centre, attached to the club, is scheduled for completion next spring.

WHEN Ernie Els travels here for the Murphy's Irish Open at Druids, Glen in July, his baggage will contain a rather special piece of equipment. In fact he thinks so highly of it that he was alarmed to discover he had left it behind him in South Africa, when he arrived for a tournament in Miami earlier this year.

What then is this precious item? His favourite putter? Wedge? Lucky balls marker? The answer is none of these. It is an Austrian made Rangefinder, which sells for about $3,300. And he shares a reliance on it with such notables as Ben Crenshaw, Arnold Palmer, John Daly and Davis Love.

Resembling a pair of binoculars, the Rangefinder is equipped with modified laser optics similar to those found in gun sights for military aircraft and artillery. As such, the high tech, hand held device, which is effective up to 1,000 yards, is ideal for measuring not only the precise yardage to a specific target, but also for showing golfers how far they carry the ball with each club. They simply aim at the target and a push of the button produces a digital readout of the distance.

As an artificial aid, it cannot be used in competition but is a tremendous benefit during practice rounds. And caddies love it. As one of them explained. "It removes all doubt from the player's mind." And, no doubt, all blame from the caddies.

RYDER Cup enthusiasts should note that tickets for the 1997 matches at Valderrama will go on sale next week. To ensure the widest availability, the PGA in Britain will allocate a maximum of four tickets per application. These are for individuals only no companies need apply. Further information, including package tour details, may be had from Advance Ticket Applications, The 97 Johnnie Walker Ryder Cup, Virginia Water, Surrey GU25 4GB.

IN BRIEF Michael Dolan informs me that the most formidable par in Irish golf remains intact. Ray Moore of Laytown and Bettystown managed only to equal it when capturing the Mount Temple Scratch Cup last weekend with rounds of 72 and 74 . . . Friends of Bill and Bob invite competitors for their inaugural team classic over the Bundoran, Murvagh, Rosses Point and Strandhill courses on September 17th to 20th. Further details from Chris Larkin at (01) 2856767 or 2851749.

According to David Feherty, it furnishes golfers with "an a la carte menu of exceptional value." At a cost of £52.50 Open Fairways is a fascinating concept offering attractive discounts at courses, hotels and restaurants throughout the country. Further information from (0801247) 471277 . . . Margaret Gallagher (01 884 4211) informs me that the Forte Posthouse Hotel will be staging their fourth annual Golf Classic in aid of St Francis Hospice, Raheny, on June 17th at Malahide GC. . . On request, Eddie Thornton of Eurauto Ltd will supply copies of the booklet "What to bring before you Swing 13 tips from Aideen Rogers" to interested women golfers.

TEASER Colin Montgomerie's kicking incident in a bunker at The Oxfordshire last Sunday guided us to this little conundrum. A player's ball went into a bunker. The player accidentally kicked a pine cone and it rolled into the bunker. He picked up the pine cone which was not interfering with his stance or the area of his intended swing. Did he incur a penalty?

ANSWER Yes. A pine cone is a loose impediment and may not be removed when both the impediment and the ball lie in a hazard (Rule 13-4c). By removing the pine cone from the bunker, the player incurred a penalty of loss of hole in matchplay or two strokes in strokeplay for a breach of Rule 14-4c.