Some of you have been in touch to request some more indoor tips as we wend our weary way through another tedious lockdown.  I promise there will be some soon but meanwhile I got a bit of a chuckle out of the following Peanuts cartoon sent to me by Patricia, who was fortunate enough to meet the brilliant Charles Schulz, creator of these famous characters.  As ever, Snoopy seems to verbalise our innermost thoughts!

I suppose the biggest gap between “normal” golfers like us and the best practitioners of our sport is in the quality of those innermost thoughts.  It can be a secret, often fuzzy, place and sometimes a complete mystery, as in the case of Patrick Reed, winner yet again last Sunday on the PGA Tour.  He notched up his ninth title amid a flurry of controversy over lifting his ball, unsupervised, to determine whether it was embedded or not.  In this instance I don’t believe he broke any rules but when a reputation such as his precedes him, it would surely pay to be a little more circumspect and avoid anything that could be open to misinterpretation.

Rory took relief in the very same round in the very same way and because HIS reputation precedes him there was barely a raised eyebrow.  The vitriolic twitter storm that was unleashed against Reed was appalling and begged the question ‘what goes on in the heads of these people on social media?’  Is it the fact that they can hide behind a cloak of anonymity that makes them so “brave” and “out there” with their pronouncements?  Perhaps it’s time account holders were licenced in some way and held totally accountable for their content.

Not that social media is all bad.  It can be a wonderful way of keeping in touch and connecting with friends from all over the world, as I discovered this week when I enjoyed a lockdown birthday.  Messages came in from Canada, the States, all over Europe, Britain, Ireland, Australia and South Africa.  Some were expected, many were not, but all were appreciated and enjoyed more than I can tell you.  Several were from my former life, both as an amateur and a professional golfer many years ago – from fellow players, caddies, administrators and supporters.  Perhaps it’s the fact that our izzy-whizzy life is on hold at the moment and that we all have time for more reflection that this reaching out is so appreciated.  Perhaps it’s just the mellowing of old age.

Some old-fashioned, normal, through-the-post messages also arrived including the card in the featured picture at the top.  It was from a good pal, accompanied by an apology for her poor effort of a card – the bottom of her lockdown stash, she confessed!  I didn’t think it was too bad and appreciated she remembered and, anyway, have you seen the price of a stamp?!

One of my pals from tour days eschewed both Facebook and card-sending and instead picked up the phone for a chat – probably our first in a decade or more.  As we caught up with each other it reminded me how important it is for tours like our own Ladies’ European Tour to have a comprehensive and well-documented archive.  To my knowledge there is scant information available and all those working at the tour now are too young to know anything about the players, staff and accomplishments of the early days.  The current tour stands on the shoulders of those who preceded them, a fact that the LPGA has highlighted under the stewardship of Mike Whan, their commisioner.  This connection with the past, and indeed the use of former players in ambassadorial roles, and the presentation of a solid, long-standing and developing modern enterprise all helps with commercial alliances and highlighting a quality product here to stay.  The LET would do well to take a leaf out of their American colleagues’ book while there are still journalists and players around who walked every step of those pioneering days with them.

Perhaps I do the LET a disservice but they were the only major golfing body who failed to pen a tribute to the late, great Peter Alliss.  Peter was their first president and a huge supporter of women’s professional golf in Europe.  I wonder how many players and staff at the LET headquarters are even aware of that?  Build an archive before it’s too late.

We have written in the blog before of Gloria Minoprio, an elegant Englishwoman who raised eyebrows and heart rates in the 1930s when she became the first woman documented playing golf in trousers.  As you can imagine, this was nothing short of scandalous and the fact that she would arrive in her chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce less than a minute before her tee-off time in the English Championship all added to her charm.  Throw in the fact that the chauffeur acted as her caddy (which wasn’t too arduous as she only carried one club) and that she was a member of the Magic Circle and you realise she was quite a dame.

Well, my very near, and dear, neighbour is one John Minoprio, now well into his eighties, a professional photographer steeped in all things golf, horses and cricket.  (He took the pictures of Patricia and me for the blog.)  Gloria was a second cousin (I think) of his father and he remembers meeting her when he was a small child.  When John and I first met twenty years ago he couldn’t believe I knew of his ancestor.  Well, the happy news I learned this week is that John, who has been widowed for eight years, is remarrying in April and moving down to Berkshire.  Love has blossomed over the phone in lockdown with a lovely lady he’s known for some sixty years.  It’s joyful news, albeit tinged by the sadness that he will be selling his home of 53 years.  John, however, is like Gloria – a liver, and lover of life who embraces new opportunities with fervour.

Puts me rather in mind of Captain Sir Tom, who died earlier this week, an inspiration to us all.

 

We all know the old adage “beware the injured or sick golfer” but what about “beware the angry golfer?”  The award-winning European Tour social media content team released a new video last week called “Angry Golfers”.   It’s a supposed support group for members of the tour struggling with anger issues and is hosted by Tommy Fleetwood.  Members attending the session are Henrik Stenson, Eddie Pepperell, Matt Wallace, Ian Poulter and new recruit Tyrrell Hatton.  If you haven’t seen it yet go to the tour website and have a look.  You’ll find it under “News” and then “Videos.”  It’s hilarious and quite brilliant.

Filmed at the start of the week in Abu Dhabi it was perfect timing for Hatton, who recorded his sixth European Tour win and his fourth Rolex Series victory, earning a little more than a cool million euros, enough to calm the soul of any angry person.  And calm is exactly what he was out on the course, holing a nasty five footer on the third to avoid going three behind Rory McIlroy.  From that point on he was near flawless, shooting 66 and winning by four from Aussie Jason Scrivener, another player now benefitting from undergoing the rigours of working with performance guru Dave Aldred.

If you have played this game for any length of time at all, you’ve probably had a spell where anger has got the better of you.  I remember being out on the course at Portstewart for nine holes with Dad.  I was about 12 years old and things weren’t going my way so I worked myself up into a rage and tossed a club.  Well, that was it.  Dad came over to me and spoke to me in a very level, and serious, voice and said if I ever did that again he would walk straight in.  I knew he would – empty threats were not his style – and I knew that I would be humiliated because I felt everyone else on the course would know exactly why Dad wasn’t finishing his golf – because of his brat of a daughter!  I never threw another club and learning to control my anger certainly helped my game because, for most of us, performance usually goes south when extreme emotion comes in to play.

There are a few players, of course, who can harness their anger and turn it into a positive and actually improve their game.  One pal of mine, Linda Bayman, was such a player.  A late-blooming Curtis Cup player and exemplary ball-striker, Linda had scant time for her own shortcomings on the golf course.  She and I partnered each other for many happy years in the famous but alas now defunct Avia Foursomes.  I was always content when Linda’s patience with her own performance snapped because she would then unleash a series of phenomenally pure, laser-like woods and irons that even she could find no fault with.  I simply had to hang on for the ride, keep out of her way and let her work her magic.  What a privilege.

Trish Johnson was another prone to throwing the odd hissy fit, particularly as a junior.  Speaking now as a coach, I don’t really mind kids losing their rags.   It’s simply their passion for the game coming through and they are, at that stage, just not emotionally mature enough to know how to handle or channel their emotions to their advantage.  Those are all skills that can be learned from the right people and it’s pointless outraged club members coming down on the youngsters without taking steps to help them work their way through this patch by introducing them to professionals who can help.  Trish certainly worked her way through the red mist to a scintillating career of 27 worldwide victories and eight Solheim Cup appearances.

Another explosive character on the course was Helen Alfredsson, one of Sweden’s best.  A major winner and the current holder of two senior majors, it wasn’t difficult to know whereabouts on the course the ever-vocal Alfie was.  Betsy King, who kept her own emotions under wraps, once suggested Alfie try to rein it in a little and exert a little more control over her colourful language on the course.  Ever willing, Alfie gave it a go, but, just like a pressure cooker, she discovered that her performance suffered without her safety valve of brief outbursts of dissatisfaction.  She soon gave that experiment up – and went back to winning ways.  Rather like Tiger she learned the benefit of a quick burst of release and then it was down to business again with no carrying over of any negativity.  She found her own way to her best performances.

As an on-course broadcaster I’ve been on the receiving end of a few mouthfuls from prickly players who don’t like where I’m standing or who are just plain looking for someone to blame for their poor play.  I was certainly always wary when assigned to a Darren Clarke or Colin Montgomerie group.  Darren had a spell when he seemed to be thinning a couple of chips or pitches each round and I soon learned that the opposite side of the green from him was not the place to be.  The ball would come whistling across like an exocet missile, closely followed by Darren himself who had the ability to quell you with a look.  Undoubtedly his expression is much more benign at the moment having just notched his second consecutive win on the Champions Tour.  Go Darren!

Monty was always a challenge too.  I remember one year being assigned to the group behind him at the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond.  I was down near the landing area of the tee shots on the par 5 3rd hole and when all of my group had played I ducked out from under the ropes to go and get the yardages for the second shots.  Next thing I hear the galleries calling over to me and shouting my name.  I look over and dozens of spectators start gesticulating towards the green which was over 270 yards away.  The pin was central, only six yards on and Monty was twelve feet behind the flag, arms akimbo and blood boiling.  I knew from his trademark, teapot pose that I was putting him off as I moved from one ball to the other in the fairway.  He was not happy – even less so when he missed the putt.  I made sure I kept clear for the next few holes!

I think we all have the capacity to be angry golfers but the smart players ensure their performance is enhanced rather than damaged.  Hmm, now where do I sign up for that support group?

Your six-week break from us is over!  Welcome back.

In the interim I’ve been on the golf course a total of four times – one full round and three nine-hole outings, the last of which was on Christmas Eve.  I bet you think I’ve taken advantage of this latest edition of lockdown life to hone my golfing skills as much as possible for re-emerging on to the fairways – whenever that may be.

Well, I haven’t done a tap.  Not a single swing in the practice net (which has been permanently up in the garden since last March), not a single putt on the carpet, not a single effort to work on my mental game.  Fanatical as I am about the game, it is an easy game not to play – particularly when there isn’t the prospect of even a few holes.  And when the diary is startlingly white and empty there’s no urgency to do anything at all.  I think it’s called drifting.  Am I the only one who is suffering from this?

Those who earn their living from playing the game are doing anything but drifting.  They’re working hard, building their confidence, their fitness, their mental strength, their technical games brick by brick, piece by piece.  Nothing new there, then – folk have been doing that for decades.

But, hold on, one person is working to the point of blacking out such is their effort level.  Who else could that be but Bryson DeChambeau?  He is heaving and grunting his way into the history books as far as physical training undertaken by a professional tour player is concerned.  His winter training has included swinging the club so quickly for so many repetitions that he has lost consciousness.  That’s the first time I’ve ever heard of a golfer training with that intensity.  I do remember years ago watching a training regime followed by (Sir) Steve Redgrave and (Sir) Matthew Pinsent which resulted in them both throwing up at the end of the session, but a golfer blacking out??  That’s a whole new frontier in our sport and it is fascinating to see where it leads.  So far it has led to one major and Bryson is eyeing up many more.  Are we witnessing the Gary Player of the modern era, I wonder, and will it yield the American a career grand slam, just as it did for the diminutive South African?  It’s going to be fun to watch how he fares in 2021.

It’s not possible for me to mention Gary Player without wondering why on earth he and Annika Sorenstam went to the White House the day after the attack on the Capitol to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Donald Trump.  I was very disappointed in them both and as representatives of our sport it was another instance of golf missing the bigger picture.

One piece of news that did gladden my heart was the recent engagement of Mel Reid to her partner Carly Grenfell.  The couple have recently moved to Jacksonville in Florida where Carly has started a new job working for the social media division of the PGA tour.  It surely signals the end of a tumultuous near-decade for Mel which started with the tragic loss of her mum Joy in a traffic accident in Germany.  Ensuing disenchantment with her life and golf resulted in some tough times but with the help and support of good friends and family Mel turned things around.  In 2020 she came out as gay and won for the first time on the LPGA tour and hopefully there are more happy, fulfilling times ahead.

It will be very interesting to see what 2021 brings us in terms of golf – in our own games, of course, as well as in the golf we watch and follow.

There are nine professional majors slated, five women’s and four men’s, an Olympics, a Solheim Cup and a Ryder Cup.  That has never happened before and is unlikely to happen again.  With nothing too exciting to occupy me at home (aside from freeing up storage space on my devices and trying to limit the amount of time I spend watching utter rubbish on telly) I have decided to publish my wish list for each of these events.  I have two self-imposed rules.  I must select someone I really think has the capability to win the event and I can’t nominate the same player for more than one victory.

So, in calendar order, here are my hopes and purely emotional picks for golf in 2021.

ANA Inspiration – Charley Hull.  Time for this uber-talented player to step up and really assume the spotlight.

Masters – Rory.  Who else?  A career grand slam would give us all something to smile about.  Cue another Irish major championship party!

PGA Championship – Hideki Matsuyama.  Am beginning to think the majors may pass him by and I don’t want that to happen.

US Women’s Open – Carlota Ciganda.  Have admired her and her game since first meeting her when she was 14.

US Open – Tommy Fleetwood.  This would be sensational for the “rockstar” and his incredible coach Alan Thompson, both fairly local to where I live.

KPMG Women’s PGA Championship – Anne Van Dam.  Such an exciting player to watch and the maturity she will gain from contesting and winning a major will lead to even greater things, I feel.

Open Championship – Rickie Fowler.  One of the most gracious interviewees in the game and a sensational bad weather player.  Also, it’s criminal he is, so far, major-less.

The Evian Championship – Minjee Lee.  The Australian is one of my favourite players to watch in women’s golf and as a nod to all my Aussie friends from tour days I’d love to see Minjee bring joy to her sports-mad country.

Olympic Men’s Golf Championship – Justin Rose.  A successful defence for the Rio gold medal winner and a thank you for all he and his wife Kate did for the women’s game in 2020.

Olympic Women’s Golf Championship – Mel Reid.  Has always viewed herself as an athlete first and a golfer second.  Suspect she would cherish this above a major.

AIG Women’s Open – Lydia Ko.  This former world No 1 has had a revolving door of coaches and advisers over the past few years but has stayed in the game with endless grace and class.  Carnoustie may well give her the opportunity to show off her supreme shotmaking and re-enter the major winners’ circle.

Solheim Cup – Europe, of course.  To hole the winning putt and achieve only the second ever victory on away soil – Emily Kristine Pedersen,  Europe’s No 1 player.  This would help erase the unhappy memory of her Solheim debut in 2017.

Ryder Cup – Europe.  Need you ask?  To hole the winning putt – Bob McIntye and another special golfing moment for the bonny country.

And that would conclude my perfect golfing year.  What about yours?

The 75th US Women’s Open Championship started yesterday, at Champions Golf Club in Houston and it has a very different feel in this pandemic-disrupted year.  It’s being played in December for the first time, on two courses, the Jackrabbit and Cypress Creek, for the first two rounds, with two-tee starts.  The final 36 holes will be on Cypress Creek and, of course, there are no spectators, so those of us glued to our telly screens will have a great, unhindered view of the action and large brown swathes of dormant Bermuda – the grass not the island; it’s described as having wiry rootstock and it’s tough to judge your shots out of it, so look out for a few glares and frustrated swipes as players seeking perfection have to accept that Dr Bob Rotella is right and golf is not a game of perfect.

This looks like being a proper US Open test, favouring patience, pars and from the look of Cypress Creek’s huge greens, a sublime touch with the putter.  At the end of the first round, the leaderboard was a vexillologist’s delight, featuring, in no particular order, the flags of the United States, the Philippines, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Sweden, Germany and England – come on you Charley Hull. The total purse is $5.5 million with a first prize of a million dollars, well worth staying in a bubble for before heading home to celebrate.

Back in Staffordshire, at the less rarified level of WHGC’s Christmas comp, we were colourful and creative in our attire but our scoring was less festive and we finished well down the leaderboard despite hitting plenty of decent shots between us.  Suppose it was that Eric Morecambe thing:  all the right shots, just not necessarily in the right order….Most of you will have the good sense to realise that that is a bit of an exaggeration, verging on gross….And playing 18 holes again was a bit of a shock to the system after several weeks out, it could take a while to get back to match fitness.

Talking of shocks, a few days ago I looked a bit too closely in the mirror and decided to treat myself to a facial, telling a friend who’d never had one that they were wonderful, so relaxing, a real indulgence, pampering at its best, a real winter reviver.  I opted for something called the Caci Synergy signature facial that promised simultaneous skin rejuvenation and facial toning.  Just the ticket, I thought.

Well, it pays to read the small print.  What I’d failed to notice was the phrase:  “using microcurrent, microdermabrasion and LED light therapy”.  There I was, comfortably settled, waiting for some deep cleansing, followed by delicious lotions and potions, applied with the sure, soothing touch of an expert in her field.  What followed was more like torture, perhaps devised by the people who designed the electric chair.  There were electrodes involved, designed to tighten and tone and at one stage an amazing light show, like being at the optician’s.  I did make the mistake of opening my eyes at one point, to see bundles of wires descending towards me.  I didn’t open my eyes again until it was all over.

I concede that there may have been a firming up of a bit of cheek at one stage but I spoiled it by bursting out laughing, although mostly I was thinking of dungeons and the Gestapo and how it wasn’t at all what I’d expected.  As I was leaving, I picked up a brochure and read phrases like “non-surgical face lifting”, “tiny electrical impulses that mirror the body’s own natural bioelectrical field”.  Ah.

The FAQs section started with “how many treatments should I have?”  The answer?  “Although a remarkable difference is seen after the first treatment, the benefits are cumulative and typically a course of 10-15 treatments will be required for optimum results….After a course of treatments you will see real improvements in how your skin looks and feels.  Your facial contours will look lifted and toned with a fresher, more youthful appearance.  A monthly top-up treatment is then recommended to maintain results.”  Aaaagh.

The brochure is now in the recycling.  I’m close behind.

Talking of recycling, the LET have just launched a sustainability initiative called “Celebrating the Green”, presented by Dow and also supported by the GEO Foundation for Sustainable Golf.  The aim is to make a real difference, helping to conserve “our fragile biodiversity; reduce pollution of air, water and oceans; and address climate change….”   Among many other things, they’ve teamed up with OCEANTEE and will be using the company’s bamboo golf tees.  I’d never heard of OCEANTEE but founder Ed Sandison has big plans:  “By working with the LET not only will we continue to increase the use of bamboo sustainable tees but we will also be able to educate the golfers of tomorrow about the importance of sustainability and the impact of pollution.”  They’ll also be working with the Marine Conservation Society and all being well, several events are planned for next season.

Have a look at the LET website for more details, it’s quite impressive.  All that flying about is not too eco friendly but, for instance, Aberdeen Standard Investments offset all player and caddy travel to and from this year’s Ladies Scottish Open and is working with ClimateCare to support the Golf Rainforest protection appeal in Sierra Leone.   So, we can all do our bit, the planet is not yet lost.

Sadly, we have lost the incomparable Peter Alliss and Mo pays her own tribute to a lovely man.  As the lowly editorial assistant at Golf World (UK), I used to have to transcribe his tapes and corral his flights of fancy into some sort of order.  Not always easy but great fun and great training.  In memory of those days Dave Oswald, GW’s former art editor, posted this picture on his Facebook page.  He recalled that it was an Open preview recce at Royal St George’s in 1981, very windy and he and Alliss played from the roped-off championship tees and barely reached the fairway at the 1st.  Still, Peter managed a 75.

If you get a chance, have a look at Alliss speaking at his induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2012 and his priceless pay-off.  I won’t spoil it for you – it’s too delicious to butcher – but it involves Mrs Weymouth (sp?), the teacher who told his parents that Peter would never amount to much…..

Finally, if you’re finding it hard to drag yourself out on these grey, winter days, wrap up warm, head out and revel in the conditions on a round with Alice.

Season’s greetings and all the best for 2021.