It is just over a year now since the record 12-stroke victory by Tiger Woods in the US Masters prompted all sorts of lavish predictions about a possible grand slam. More importantly, it had America's black community dreaming wild dreams about a bright new dawn for their young golfing hopefuls.
Though he is no longer champion, Woods has surely left a significant legacy through his activities during the last 12 months. Or has he? Sadly, one keenly-interested black observer sees not even the hint of change. Indeed Charlie Sifford says despairingly: "I don't see much future for black golf."
Sifford, 75 this year, was the first black golfer to taste success on the USPGA Tour, even if his achievement failed to bring a Masters invitation. "In 1965, nine black players were on the PGA Tour, including me," he recalled. "Today there are two: 49-year-old Jim Thorpe, ranked 225th on the money list last year, and Tiger, a great player who correctly says he is multiethnic, not exactly black.
"I doubt we'll see many more blacks on the tour anytime soon, because so much is working against them." The two main problems, in Sifford's view, concern golf buggies (carts) and public courses. "Caddying used to give black kids a way into the game but now golf carts have taken over," he said. "And where there used to be affordable, accessible public courses, they are now crowded and expensive."
Pointing to the existence of the United Golf Association (UGA), the so-called black tour, he described it as a proving ground for players like himself and Lee Elder. But it is long gone. "I'm not saying the old days were so great - I faced blatant and vicious prejudice," he said. "But things are now going backward and it disappoints the hell out of me."
While conceding that Woods achieved some progress by getting millions to view him as a hero, he couldn't help noticing that "out of 75 kids in the junior programme at my home course, not one is black". It has led him to conclude that the game may have failed the founders of the UGA in the 1940s and sportsmen like Joe Louis and Jackie Robinson who supported them.
At a time when so much progress is being achieved in other social areas, it seems appalling that this pioneer among black golfers should be forced to wonder "whether the greatest game in the world has room for a few more faces like mine".
"A couple of girls in my dorm came by and said `Hey, are you Jack Nicholson's daughter? I loved him in The Shining'." Nancy Jean (Nan) Nicklaus, recalling her days as a student at the University of Georgia.
With A decision yet to be made by the European Tour, it is clearly premature to link the 2005 Ryder Cup with a specific venue. Still, people have their own ideas and betting people can recognise an attractive gamble when they see one - like the possibility of it going to The K Club.
This was the basis of a fascinating charity auction during the Audi Chris de Burgh Classic earlier this week. Michael Smurfit invited bids for three nights' accommodation at the five-star Kildare Hotel, all expenses paid, during the 2005 Ryder Cup - assuming of course, that it is staged there.
"I'm offering a simple gamble," he said. And it had undoubted appeal, judging from an immediate bid of £25,000. And as quickly as you could say `serious loot', the prize was knocked down to businessman Brian Lynam for £28,000. "If the Ryder Cup comes here, that accommodation will be priceless," said Smurfit, who indicated that all other rooms in the hotel would be allocated. And if it doesn't? The successful bidder will have paid a rather inflated price for a two- bedroom suite which currently costs £2,100 for three nights: breakfast and trimmings extra. Not counting inflation, of course.
How blessed we are in these islands to have 47 courses better than County Louth! Mind you, the less kindly among us might take the view that the Golf Monthly panel are some way off the mark in their `100 Greatest Courses in the British Isles'. Particularly interesting is that one of the panellists, Peter McEvoy, who should be familiar with our courses from his design work here, didn't consider any Irish venue, north or south, to be worthy of inclusion in his top 10.
Greg Norman should be removing the sling from his left arm next week, following recent shoulder surgery. He is still unlikely, how- ever, to fulfil his dream of driving the pace car in the Indianapolis 500 later this month. "We're talking about May 24th and, realistically, that's a small window," said Bart Collins, president of Great White Shark Enterprises in Florida.
But Collins added: "If it's humanly possible, Greg's going to drive the car." The Sharkman then spoke of a "drop-dead date" by which they would have to inform race officials if Norman were unable to drive, so they could find a replacement. "We haven't figured out yet what that drop-dead date is," he said.
Norman's love of speed is reflected in a "toy" collection which includes six Ferraris, a Rolls-Royce, a Bentley, a Mercedes, three Harley-Davidson motorbikes, six Chevrolet runabouts, the 87-foot fishing yacht "Aussie Rules", two jet- skis and a couple of smaller boats. Then there is his personal jetliner and a $4 million Bell helicopter.
Driving the pace car would require two strong arms, as its function is to bring the field to the line at about 120 mph. And Norman would need some practice, though he apparently drove 250 laps after the Players' Championship two months ago. "So he knows what it takes," said Collins.
It will be late August before the Shark can think of hitting golf balls again, making this his longest absence from the game since he turned professional in 1976. Yet he can see a silver lining to it all. "Instead of my children going on the road with me, I'll be at home with them for the summer," he said.
Back to Monday's auction, where I learned of the only occasion that Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer and Sam Snead played together. It happened in the 1965 First Invitational Exhibition at the Preston Trails club in Dallas, Texas.
On a visit to the US, the remarkably resourceful Cecil Whelan managed to get not only a photograph of the illustrious quartet, but the balls they used - which were autographed, naturally. Beautifully presented, it was bought for £6,000 by Michael Smurfit for display in the Arnold Palmer Room at The K Club.
This day in golf history . . . On May 2nd, 1982, Mark James won the Italian Open at Is Molas, Sardinia. Events later that summer, however, would make the tournament more memorable for one of the players tied second. Bobby Clampett, a slim young American with a liking for plus-twos, shot rounds of 72 and 70 over the last two days in Sardinia to share runner-up place with Ian Woosnam, three strokes behind James.
Ronan Rafferty, four strokes further back, was so impressed that he made Clampett a fancied outsider for the British Open at Royal Troon. It seemed an inspired prediction when the American swept clear of the field with a halfway total of 133. But he then crashed down the leaderboard with dismal rounds of 78 and 77, to finish in a share of 10th place behind Tom Watson. These days, he is a member of the CBS golf commentary team.
In Brief: Competitors will see significant changes to the famous "quarry" holes when the Clontarf Open Mixed Foursomes, sponsored by Chapmans Volvo, takes place from May 10th to 16th. Entries will be welcomed at (01) 8331892 . . . The Friends of St Luke's are staging their annual Golf Classic at Royal Dublin on May 11th. Further information from (01) 4974552 . . . While playing with his mother Mary, 10-year-old Eoin O'Carroll from Castle Avenue, Dublin 3, used a five-wood to score a hole-in-one on the 140-yard fifth on the Boystown course in Co Wicklow. No matter that he took an 11 at the next!
Teaser: In strokeplay, A played a long shot to the green and the ball appeared to have come to rest in a bunker beside the green. The ball was not found in the bunker. A dropped a ball in the bunker and played it onto the green. A then discovered his original ball behind the green. What is the ruling?
Answer: A's original ball became a lost ball when he dropped another ball in the bunker under Rule 27-1, and the dropped ball was in play. Since the place where the ball was dropped was well in advance of the spot from which the original ball was last played, A was guilty of a serious breach of the relevant rule (Rule 27-1) in failing to go back to that spot, and he should have been disqualified unless he rectified the breach as prescribed in Rule 20-7b.
