It’s been niggling me for a while, this announcement of the grandly titled Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship, hailed in some quarters as a massive breakthrough for women’s golf.  Perhaps it is.  Fred Ridley, Augusta National’s rookie chairman, who has three daughters, is by all accounts an intelligent man with his heart in the right place, who undoubtedly means well.  But did he really think through all the implications?  He’s buggered up the ANA Inspiration for a start – or at best thrown the first women’s major of the season into a bit of a tizzy.

The leading women amateurs who used to think that an invitation to Mission Hills Golf and Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, the week before the Masters was as good as it got must now think again.  Some of the leading women professionals are saying that they might apply to regain their amateur status just so they can have a chance of playing at Augusta National.  They’re only joking but their thunder has been well and truly stolen without so much as a by-your-leave.

I don’t know how widely Ridley consulted before making his announcement but from what I’ve read Mike Whan, commissioner of the LPGA, wasn’t involved in long and detailed discussions; I’m not sure who was.  “We are always looking for new ways to benefit and impact the game,” Ridley said in his inaugural chairman’s address on the Wednesday of Masters week.  “We start with the premise and reality that we are very blessed to have the resources to do that…..I thought this was the right time to do this, right time for the women’s game.  I wanted to do this and I wanted to do it here.”

‘This’ is a 54-hole event for 72 of the top women amateurs in the world.  The first 36 holes will be played at Champions Retreat Golf Club in Augusta, a course with which I am unfamiliar, with the leading 30 players moving on to Augusta National for the final round on the Saturday before the Masters, the day before the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals.  That’s a lovely event for juniors, who have the time of their lives mixing with the game’s elite and competing at a venue that has now gained iconic status.

The golfing world is in awe of Augusta, regarding it as some sort of cross between Mecca, the Vatican and the Kremlin and the danger is that the members of Augusta National, a disparate but privileged bunch, start to believe their own publicity, forgetting their humble origins and overlooking the fact that their exclusive, invitational field makes it arguably the easiest of the four majors to win – unless you’re Rory McIlroy.

Now the women are salivating at the thought that 30 of the best of them will get to play one round on the hallowed turf.   That’s 18 holes, as a tag-on, not just before the Masters itself but before the Drive, Chip and Putt.   Thank you Fred, that really helps us know our place.

Eight women – well, some of them are still girls – who will fancy their chances of making that trip to Augusta, will be heading to Quaker Ridge, Scarsdale, New York, at the beginning of June to represent Great Britain and Ireland in the Curtis Cup.  They and their captain Elaine Farquharson-Black will be trying to retain the trophy won at a soggy Dun Laoghaire two years ago.  Winning in America is not easy.  By my reckoning, we’ve (I’m going to be shamelessly partisan here) only done it once – at Prairie Dunes in 1986 when we mangled the Americans 13-5 in the middle of Kansas in 100-degree heat (Fahrenheit in those days).  It was wonderful and I thank Diane Bailey and her team for one of the best golfing experiences of my life at a fantastic golf course that is more than worth the considerable detour.

 

So good luck to Elaine and her team:  India Clyburn (Woodhall Spa), Annabell Fuller (Roehampton), Paula Grant (Lisburn), Alice Hewson (Berkhamsted), Lily May Humphreys (Stoke-by-Nayland), Sophie Lamb (Clitheroe), Shannon McWilliam (Aboyne) and Olivia Mehaffey (Royal County Down Ladies).  We’ll be cheering you on.  We’d rather not have a BBU (brave but unavailing) but would settle for a draw – there’ve only been two of those in America, at Brae Burn in 1958 and the Honors Course in 1994.

And good luck and congratulation to Suzann Pettersen, the combative Norwegian who has been one of Europe’s Solheim Cup stalwarts for many years.  She’s expecting her first child and has withdrawn from next week’s GolfSixes shindig at Centurion Club on medical advice.  “This is a very happy time for me and my family,” Pettersen said, “but my pregnancy hasn’t been the most straightforward.  I have taken the advice of my doctor and will sadly not be able to compete in GolfSixes this year, which is a real shame as I know it would have been a lot of fun.”

Carlota Ciganda, of Spain, has been drafted in to partner Mel Reid and they’re in a group that includes the formidable Thai pairing of Thongchai Jaidee and Kiradech Aphibarnrat.  England’s Georgia Hall and Charley Hull are also playing and they’ll be taking on their compatriots Eddie Pepperell and Matt Wallace in a needle match.  Should be worth watching, not least because there’s no hanging about in a 6-hole sprint.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s hard to find something new in golf these days but I’ve just discovered something that’s going straight on to my bucket list.  I heard about it from a guy who is going to do some work on our house over the next few weeks and, knowing I was about to visit South Africa, he sent me a link to the Legend Golf & Safari Resort in Entabeni Safari Conservancy in the Waterberg mountains, three hours’ drive from Jo’burg.

You know that conversation we’ve all had at one time or another…..”What would you do if you won the lottery?”  Well, I am set to wonder no more and I may even start buying the odd ticket.  Two of my favourite things – going on safari and going golfing – are combined under one umbrella in this fabulously scenic country but here’s where my interest is really piqued.  The 18-hole golf course has each hole designed by a different designer, starting at the 1st with former Masters champion Trevor Immelman and ending with another South African, two-time US Open champion Retief Goosen.  In between there are holes designed by Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose, K J Choi, Raphael Jacquelin and Padraig Harrington, to name but a few and collectively these holes make up the Signature Course.

Irresistible as that course may be, it is their 19th hole that I want to play.  The Extreme 19th is a par 3 measuring 391 yards and the tee, perched precariously on a ledge of the aptly named Hanglip Mountain, is accessible only by helicopter.  The hoped-for destination of your golf ball is a green, shaped like Africa, which sits in a valley nearly 400 metres below you.  If you’re lucky, it takes thirty seconds for your ball to find its way to the putting surface from the tee.

“This is the most unique spot that I’ve ever hit from in my 55 years as a pro.  It’s quite a thrill,” was the verdict of Gary Player.  Harrington – that’s him on the tee in the featured picture at the top of this piece  – was the first person ever to record a par on the hole and said, “It’s a real fun golf hole.  You can’t get over how long it takes for the ball to come down.” 

I have to admit I’d just love a go at it, notwithstanding suffering from a touch of vertigo.  And one of the really cool things is that every person who tries it has their score recorded – even the No Returns.  To date the highest score returned (apart from the NRs) is 76 but I did notice that Lynette Brooky, the talented New Zealander who used to play on tour with me, recorded a 4.  Pretty creditable, I’d say.  There have been a few birdies but no holes in one – yet.  The resort says the first person to get a hole in one will receive $1million.  Another good reason to have a go.

Postscript:-

A few weeks ago I wrote about my goal of climbing Table Mountain, which was quite a challenge not least because of a few health problems last year.  Well, I’m happy to report that the challenge was met head on – and attained!  Thanks to all of you who inspired and helped.  You know who you are – we’ll have a glass when next I see you. [No water for me – ed.]

 

 

We in the UK and Ireland all know this is the time of year when the golf season really starts.  For years it has been the Masters in gloriously technicoloured Augusta that has been the inspiration to shoo us out of doors and dust off the clubs.  For some reason, however, I seem to be trending in the other direction.  As I write, my last 18 holes were at Muirfield on March 25th and barely a clubhead has collided with a ball since then.  There are good reasons for that – speaking engagements; teaching commitments; family get-togethers at Easter; a week’s broadcasting at the Masters; and then, last weekend, two old schoolfriends, Rossie and Tricia, came to stay.

You can’t imagine the amount of chat and blethering from three Irish women who were last all in the same room together in 1984 – or perhaps you can!

Husband Brian was relieved to escape back to work on Monday.  (Yes – he’s “unretired” himself.)  He took himself off on his motorbike on the Saturday while we walked the walls in Chester but his arrival home sparked great interest from our two visitors.  Tricia, in particular, was keen to experience riding pillion after an interlude of several decades and a Sunday outing was planned – Brian and Tricia on the bike and Rossie and me in the car.  Amazingly, Brian has lived to tell the tale – and Rossie and I needed oxygen after uncontrollable laughter overtook us.  Tricia’s efforts to get her leg over the bike left us doubled up.

So, you see, there’s been a lot going on, some of it golf related certainly but not much playing of my own game.

I’m beginning to find it very easy to slip into a mode of “making do” with my golf.  As long as I hit the odd decent shot I seem to be settling for that and not minding too much.  Where has my fierce competitiveness all disappeared to?  Is it simply the logical acceptance of anno domini and of someone who no longer is prepared to practise, I wonder?

That last round I played at Muirfield was foursomes.  Foursomes is the name of the game at the Honourable Company and my partner for the second 18 that day was Gabrielle Macdonald, former Scottish champion and oft-capped International player who is working hard to see if her future will, indeed, lie in the professional ranks.  Frankly, Gabrielle inspired me.  She has reignited some competitive juices and I want to call a halt to putting up with my woeful standard of play and my mindset of the days of being a “proper” golfer being behind me.  It was a pleasure to hear the sound of crisp iron shots leaving the face of the club and to witness a deft touch around the greens.  And I found that I want that for myself again.  I know I can do better and it’s time to put in a bit of effort.  So, I’ve decided to take myself off to Somerset next month and see my old pal and former coach, Lawrence Farmer, who has retired with his wife, Sally, to cider country.

I’ve had a few coaches throughout my golfing life starting with Johnny Hunter at Portstewart Golf Club and P. G. Stevenson (Stevie) at Royal Portrush.  Gentlemen to their fingertips they both spent decades at their respective clubs and were both succeeded by their sons who followed suit in the longevity stakes – a couple of true golfing dynasties.  As I made my way up through the ranks I had half a dozen years coached by the great John Shade at Duddingston Golf Club in Edinburgh before his untimely death.  He coached me to my two British Amateur titles and I still have notes taken during those sessions. My memories are of laughing endlessly with him as we wrestled my swing into shape.

Denis Comboy of Delamere Forest was another who made lessons so enjoyable and spending time with him on the practice ground was never a chore.  But, with all due respect to these fine teachers, Lawrence is by some distance the best coach I’ve ever worked with.  This has sometimes been to his detriment as, during his time on the Seniors Tour he was in such demand from his fellow competitors wanting him to cast his eye over their game that I’m sure his own golf suffered for it.  Anyway, I’m off to see him next month and I just can’t wait.  No more dampening down of my passion for this game.

So, now that the sun has finally made a welcome appearance it’s time to flex those golfing muscles.  No matter what age or stage you are at your enjoyment will be enhanced by a few lessons with a PGA coach.  We can’t do it all on our own – a set of eyes on us does help and, if you choose the right coach, you’ll have a lot of laughs along the way.

You know what they say about buses?  No sign of one for ages and then two come along within seconds of each other.  Well, it seems to me that the same sort of thing is happening in golf as regards change.  Nothing of any great significance happens for years and then a flurry of activity explodes centre stage.

On Wednesday I was the guest speaker at the Hertfordshire County Ladies’ annual dinner at Porter’s Park golf club, a venue and dinner I first spoke at ten years ago.  There’s a lot going on in the county at the moment, what with the men’s and women’s side of things amalgamating and new initiatives and names coming into being.  In my experience this is seldom a smooth path, with the inevitable flexing of muscles on either side but with patience, strong listening skills and an eye on collective goals and aspirations I have no doubt the joining together of the two sections can and will be successful – and Hertfordshire golf will be the better and stronger for it.  With members the calibre of Elaine Radcliffe, former professional and Curtis Cup player, in their midst, Jane Walter, the intrepid captain in this time of change and Lesley Hewitt, the first president of the new collective, there is a strong and stable base for success.  I just hope that there remains room in the new association for some separate men’s and women’s dinners and lunches.  After all, everyone enjoys them and surely we don’t have to be joined at the hip ALL the time, do we?

My evening at Porter’s Park was made complete by meeting up again with Brickendon Grange member Deirdre Martin from my home town. The dinner brought us together after forty years or so!  Our fathers were great pals and had a regular fourball for many years at Portstewart and when they were a man down I was called in to make up the numbers, first doing so at the age of 12.  The boys played off anything from 7 – 12 handicap and, believe you me, it was a tough school – no quarter given.  I loved it and those games certainly helped shape my golfing career.  Meeting up with Deirdre again made the decades slip away and it was just lovely.

At the weekend it was off to Muirfield for our annual match against the members of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers (HCEG) in the Madill Trophy.  Huge change is afoot here too.  Scaffolding is shrouding a large part of the clubhouse as preparations are made for building ladies’ locker rooms and readying the club for the inclusion of the fair sex within its walls as members.

We are homing in on this match’s quarter-centenary celebration and although there has been undeniable momentum towards history-making changes there has been one indisputable constant – the welcome and hospitality afforded us by our impeccable hosts.  That has never altered.  This year we were treated to the club’s famous Sunday lunch and, afterwards, just prior to the trophy presentation, my February landmark birhday was marked by a cake and a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday. This was accompanied by a gift of Peter Brown’s lovely photographic book of the 2013 Open at Muirfield – the one in which Phil Mickelson triumphed.  I must admit I never thought I’d be celebrating a birthday within the hallowed walls of the HCEG but I came crashing back to reality when it came time to present the trophy to secy Stuart McEwan as his team won for the third time in the last four years.  They are closing the gap!

Life is unpredictable and one of the only things we can be sure of is that things never stay the same.  Any change can be scary, uncomfortable and disorientating but as I said earlier, as far as golf is concerned, if we have a positive attitude and collective will I believe we can make our great sport even better and share the fun we all have with even more men, women and children.