Tyrrell Hatton is after my time but how could you not take an interest in a sportsman with such a wonderful name?  And it looks as though he might be able to live up to it after becoming the first person to win the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship two years in succession – at St Andrews no less.  It doesn’t get much better than that.  With a bit of luck and a fair wind, Hatton will prove to be a real diamond geezer and train on to win major championships but winning a big title twice in a row is a big deal in itself.

Defending a title is not particularly rare but it’s not common either and at the highest level the names tend to be familiar:  Jones, Nicklaus, Sorenstam, Woods, Faldo, Inkster, Wright, Harrington, Watson, Davies, Hagen, Sheehan, Bradley, Vardon, Trevino – an elite bunch.

Laura Davies won the Standard Register Ping title at Moon Valley in Phoenix, Arizona, four years in a row and I think I was there for all of them.  It was in the 1990s when Laura was in her pomp and it didn’t seem that outrageous because she was that good – and loved the golf course.  On reflection, it seems amazing.  And it was.

Dame Laura, a serial winner.

Tiger Woods was also good at winning the same tournament multiple times in succession – the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Jack Nicklaus’s Memorial Tournament, the WGC Bridgestone Invitational, to name just three – but it’s not the norm.  No matter how good you are there are still a lot of variables and another player may be having a day of days or a week of weeks and holing everything.  Tiger won the US PGA Championship twice in a row twice – in 1999 and 2000 and 2006 and 2007 – and he came second twice – to Rich Beem in 2002 and Y. E. Yang in 2009.  Tiger won the Open in 2000 by miles (eight shots) but had a long(ish) wait before winning again, in 2005 and 2006.

Padraig Harrington, a different cat altogether but driven in his own way, elevated himself into the stratosphere by winning at Carnoustie in 2007 and Royal Birkdale in 2008.  That put him in the company of, among others, Tom Morris Senior and Junior, J H Taylor, James Braid, Harry Vardon, Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen, Bobby Locke, Peter Thomson, Palmer, Lee Trevino and Tom Watson.  Other genuine golfing greats like Nicklaus, Gary Player, Seve Ballesteros and Nick Faldo won the Open more than once but none of them won the oldest championship of all in consecutive years.

Tom Watson, five-time Open champion, with Sandra Ross

Rory McIlroy has said that he wants to be the best European player ever and he has to start by winning more major championships than Vardon, who won six Opens and a US Open and Faldo, who won three Opens and three Masters.  Only he, Nicklaus and Woods have won at Augusta in consecutive years.  If Rory manages to harness his desire and win a green jacket but then sticks on five majors, does that grand slam trump Faldo’s six titles?  Mmmm.  Good question.  I think Rory has to move on to the magnificent seven and beyond to win that debate.

As time goes on, it’s easy to forget just how good Faldo was.  In his book For Love or Money, Peter McEvoy, who won the Amateur Championship twice (but not consecutively) said, “We didn’t know that Faldo would go on to win six majors but there was something about him.  He had charisma and talent….Throughout my amateur career there was only one British golfer who emptied clubhouses and that was Nick Faldo.  Even the most cynical amateur put down his drink and went out to watch Faldo hit a golf ball.”

Nick Faldo, in his Pringle knit, pre-knighthood days, triumphant at St Andrews.

Tyrrell Hatton is, as yet, no Faldo but even if he never wins a major or even another tournament, in years to come he’ll always have those iconic photos of himself perching on the Swilcan Bridge clutching a very large trophy and the joy of musing:  “Now, which year was that?  Was I wearing those trousers in 2016 or 2017?”

“I’m not writing about The July Club this week,”  I said to Patricia a few days ago.  “I did that this time last year and I don’t want to do the same thing twice.  I’ll do a tip.”  For those of you who missed it, last year’s offering can be seen by copying and pasting  http://www.madillgolf.com/places/portstewart-portrush-castlerock-a-trio-of-golfing-delights into your browser.

It only took a couple of glorious golfing days in Fife to make me change my mind and, after all, it’s not every day you get to play the Old Course at St Andrews.  Actually, that’s not quite strictly true.  There was a time many moons ago when, as a student here, I could indeed play the Old – well, maybe not every day, but in fact, quite a lot.  My £12 student fee gained me access pretty much any time to the four courses that in those days made up the St Andrews Links experience, namely the Old, the New, the Eden and the Jubilee.  But, of course, being young and foolish, there is a tendency not to take full advantage when something is constantly there on a plate for you.  In those days there was still the practice of playing the course in reverse for three months or so at a time over the winter.  And of course, being VERY young and VERY foolish, I spurned this opportunity, something I’ll regret to my dying day.  It’s only the odd weekend that the reverse route is now used.

You just have to pose here for a photo, don’t you?

So, last Monday, the July Club (consisting of Yours Truly, Gillian Stewart, Mary McKenna and Sandra Ross) commenced its annual golf week on the Old under bright blue skies, with hope in the heart and a sleeve of new balls in hand to mark the occasion.  Shortly after leaving the 3rd tee I had the feeling we were being followed by something.  A couple of crows were walking and hopping up the fairway around us.  They’d come to meet my caddy, Susan Squire, who has trained them to come and find her on the course for a small reward of a handful of porridge oats.  I can’t say that crows have ever been my favourite bird but The Runner and Psycho Crow, both of whom returned for another visit when we were on the 15th, were remarkably friendly.

Sue and The Runner

Psycho Crow arrives for lunch

We had a great day on the links, all playing pretty well, with the exception of the 11th hole which vanquished us with ease – halved in six, double the par – and made our caddies laugh.  Sue, Dave Hutcheson and Dave Lindsey, all experts at their craft, were good company and a fund of information, past and present, about the courses and St Andrews.  They enhanced our Old Course experience immeasurably.

Nailed it off 18 – and still short of Granny Clark’s Wynd!

The July Club alongside the best caddies in the business – Sue, Dave “The Badger” Lindsey and Dave Hutcheson.

The perfect end to the day was sharing a drink with Gordon Moir, the Director of Greenkeeping, St Andrews Links Trust, to give him his full title, in the St Andrews Golf Club, one of three clubs of which he’s a member.  As always, I’m drawn to the fascinating memorabilia on display and there was a great picture of the eminent professional and clubmaker Allan Robertson, who in 1858 was the first person to break 80 on the Old Course.  Try that with a handful of hickory-shafted clubs and featheries.  How strange to be looking at that picture a mere 24 hours after Ross Fisher had had a putt on the last for a 59.  Three putts from the Valley of Sin meant a 61 was recorded, a magnificent achievement, but there’s no doubt in my mind at all which was the more difficult feat of the two.  Sorry Ross.

Gordon Moir, genial host and at the very top of his profession.

So, next it was on to Ladybank Golf Club, the original stomping ground of our old pal Dale Reid and the principal reason this course has always been on my bucket list.  Dale, one of Scotland’s finest women golfers, now living in Oz, was a ferocious competitor through her multi-titled amateur and professional days, recording 23 professional wins worldwide and topping the European Order of Merit twice.  She played in four Solheim Cup teams and captained two, most famously in her homeland in 2000 when Europe defeated the USA at Loch Lomond. An honorary member of the Ladies’ European Tour, she was awarded the OBE in the 2001 New Year’s Honours List.  Although short in stature, Reidy gave the ball an almighty thump and Gill remembers her using an old wooden-headed 2-wood off the tee.  No driver for Dale!  She just loved that 2-wood.  It wasn’t always the same story with her putter, however, which I remember she was frequently changing.  But when she had her eye in – look out!  She was well-nigh unbeatable.

Dale Reid.  Hmm, time for the club to update her record, surely?!

As so often happens when we come to play a course, we discover the pro has decided to take a holiday.  Is there a message there, I wonder?  Head professional Sandy Smith was away in sunnier climes but a congenial welcome from teaching pro Gregor Wright and the members ensured a lovely start to the day and with glorious weather the course was a treat.  However, without our caddies from the day before we struggled with the reading of the greens.  “Not as much borrow as you think,” was the advice on our return to the pro’s shop.  “Too late, too late,” we cried.  Ah well, that’ll just have to mean a return trip.

Visiting Ladybank in honour of Dale.

Later in the week we moved counties – up to Angus and Carnoustie, host of the 2018 Open Championship but more of that wonderful visit another time.

That was our sixth July Club outing and next year it’s Ireland’s turn again.  So, new venues to be discussed, accommodation sourced and plans to be made.  It’ll be a tough call to top having the Home of Golf as a base and a round on the Old.  We can’t be bested by the Scotties, though, so any suggestions, anyone?

Last week was a good one for the Irish – triple-y good.

First of all, the headline writers had a field day, – “Well Dunne, Paul!”  “The boy Dunne good.”  “Job Dunne.”  And so on.  These proclamations were celebrating the maiden win of 24-year old Paul Dunne, born in Dublin, resident of Greystones.

You may remember the name.  A mere two years ago the fresh-faced youngster shared the lead in the Open after 54 holes – as an AMATEUR.  Alas, a not wholly unexpected final round of 78 tumbled him down the leaderboard to finish in a tie for 30th spot. Still, it was more than a valiant effort.

Initial disappointment in the Open – but what a springboard!

Later that year he threw his hat into the professional ring and steady progress over the next 18 months saw him, last April, once again in the lead after 54 holes, by two shots in the Trophee Hassan II in Morocco.  This time his final round effort was a 68 but a super-charged finish by the Italian Edoardo Molinari, who had two eagles in the last nine holes, forced a play-off, which Dunne subsequently lost at the first tie hole, where he had a bogey.  It was his best professional performance to date.

Earlier in the year – at Portstewart.

And then came last week and the British Masters, played at Close House in the northeast of England near Newcastle-upon-Tyne.  Going into the final round only two shots separated the top ten players with Swedish veteran Robert Karlsson one shot ahead of a group of five, containing Paul Dunne.  Rory McIlroy was also handily placed in the peleton a shot further back.

Rory – still time for a young fan in the heat of battle.

Dunne’s statement of intent was made as early as the 1st where he chipped in for birdie, almost repeated the feat at the next and then knocked his second stiff at the 5th for another birdie.  His faultless round continued, withstanding a late charge from countryman Rory McIlroy but with two to play, and Rory in the clubhouse, the lead was only one.  The hours of practice proved their worth.  A chip and putt birdie at the short par 4 17th doubled his lead giving him a cushion.  He missed the green at the par 3 last but coolly bookended his round with another pitch finding the bottom of the cup for a closing 61.  Talk about winning in style – and at the same time withstanding the ominous presence of Rory, who closed with five birdies in the last six holes, reminding us of what makes him so special.  It was an Irish one-two to be celebrated – a new star from the Emerald Isle and the welcome return to the sharp end of a tournament of the world’s most exciting player.  What could possibly top that?

The 2017 British Masters Champion.

Enter Seamus Power stage left.  Seamus, alongside three-time major champion and all round good egg Padraig Harrington, represented Ireland at the Rio Olympics last summer.  Hanging out for a week with Padraig and team captain Paul McGinley must have been a priceless experience for the Waterford man and may just have provided that last little extra slither of something that enabled him to retain his playing rights on the PGA Tour for the 2017-2018 season.  Last weekend the Web.com Tour Championship in Florida was the scene of high drama with the weather forcing a Monday finish, not to mention many bitten fingernails and the odd snapped club.  Power survived the cut by a single shot, going on to shoot 70,  71 to finish 48th and secure the final of the 25 cards on offer to the players who earn the most cumulative money in the four Finals events.

Seamus Power – looking forward to a rosy future.

It all boiled down to $287, a measly sum that is the difference between being on the big stage with millions to play for or…..well, or not.  That $287 means that he teed it up yesterday in the Safeway Open in Napa, California, the first event of the new season, as a fully fledged cardholder.  In this game even one careless shot can cost you your livelihood.

So after an up and down weekend, extended painfully into Monday, the cocktail of Dunne, McIlroy and Power proved compelling and inspirational for all young Irish players.  And for us older ones – well, how about a drink to celebrate and bring the ole heart rate back down to normal?  Mine’s a triple Irish!

“Don’t you ever get bored with playing golf?”  my brother-in-law, an occasional golfer who has pretty well given up fighting with his clubs, asked.  He said it with the air of a man baffled as to why anyone could be in thrall to this baffling and frustrating game.  I’d just recited what I’d been doing over the last few days and it included rather a lot of golf of one form or another, ranging in quality from good to bad to indifferent to downright dire.

Last Saturday, there was a ding-dong of a match at Whittington Heath in the mixed friendly against Beau Desert, where all four of us struggled to string a couple of good shots together but there was never more than a hole in it and Gareth, our opponent, hit a cracker of a 3rd shot to about 6 feet at the last to salvage a half.  Undistinguished scoring perhaps but classic golf nevertheless.

On Monday, in a howling gale, three of us headed to Nottingham to play a practice round at Wollaton Park, where the women of Whittington are due to play Branston Golf & Country Club in the final of the Taskers on Sunday.  Well, strictly we’re competing for the Ian Burtoft Trophy and the men’s Taskers Trophy final is between Hillsborough and Lutterworth, with Chevin and Beauchief contesting the men’s plate.  The teams are seven-a-side so it’s a big deal for those involved, with photo shoots, team briefings and a starter on the tee.

If a stag is roaring, you make yourself scarce.

There’s the added spice of having to steer clear of the deer that roam the course – it’s the rutting season and the stags are not to be messed with.  If they want to tramp across the green just as you’re shaping to putt, you give way and repair the hoof marks as best you can and if they choose to lie down in the middle of a fairway, you may need a free drop to negotiate a safe route to the hole.  I drove at the 15th just as a stag with quite a harem decided to warn off a lone stag that had been lying quietly munching the grass on top of a bunker on the 14th fairway (we picked up there, not wanting to get caught up in a potential power struggle).  The loner took the roars seriously and ambled onto the 15th, where he lay down plonk on our line 100 yards or so from the tee.  We weighed up our options, deleted bravado from the equation and walked to the adjacent 17th tee.

Hoof marks: hardly a greenkeeper’s dream but the order of the day at Wollaton Park.

Then it was off to Harrogate for another serious seniors’ comp, the Brenda King Foursomes, organised by England Golf no less and not my usual habitat, with names like Janet Melville, Pat Smillie and Sandy Catford dotted about the draw and Claire Dowling and Tracy Atkins on the list of distinguished winners.  I was a late reserve and my partner Anne Fern was patience personified, as she needed to be as I struggled to  do anything right.  I love foursomes but it’s a tough old format if it’s strokeplay and every shot counts, very unforgiving for us ordinary golfers, especially in tough conditions – wind on the first day and rain, with a bit of breeze on the second – with the course playing long and giving you nothing.

Anne, Patricia and the two Sues kitted for battle.

Still it was great fun and if more proof were needed that golf is a very small world, it came when we met our partners for the second round:  Sue Stradling, of Worplesdon and Sue Hill, of Hankley Common.  I was wearing my Royal Portrush gilet (please take note Wilma) and Sue Hill asked if I was a member there.  Not any more, I said but I’m a member of Portstewart.  Oh, sez Sue, I grew up in Portstewart.  So did I, sez I.  Looks of astonishment.  It turned out that Sue’s parents were Nancy and Jim Rankin, stalwarts of the golf club and good friends of Mum and Dad.  As a young teenager Sue played golf with Mum, who said she wished her two girls would take up the game!  It wasn’t really a day for chatting – too much mopping and dripping – but Sue and I still did a pretty good job of upholding Ireland’s reputation as a land of talkers…

On the golfing front, Anne and I were leagues away from the leaders – congrats to Amanda Mayne, of Saltford and Joanne Shorrocks, of Bigbury, who won for the third year in a row – but we were far from last and improved substantially on the second day in the teeming rain.  One of the stalwart ball spotters, cheerful on a cold, miserable morning, told us he lived five miles to the east and his wife had rung to say she’d just hung out the washing!   Sodden, we didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Harry Vardon’s famous grip providing inspiration on the way to the 1st tee at Harrogate.

Maureen hates it when I try to squeeze in too much but more congratulations are necessary this week:  to Whittington members Bev Chattaway and Sue Spencer, who were in the prizes at Harrogate, with their respective partners Caroline Corrigan, of Ingestre Park and Caron Harrison, of Sherwood Forest; to Catherine Lacoste, on the 50th anniversary of her victory in the US Women’s Open, still the only amateur to win the title; and to Bethan Cutler and Tristan Jones, two of the nicest people in golf, who work tirelessly on behalf of the LET and got married last Saturday.  Every happiness.

Mr and Mrs Jones.