Doherty hosts charity swingers

CRAZY GOLF. Ever play it? Bet you didn't. What you probably played is that seaside putting lark under bridges and. through tunnels where worn pieces of Astro Turf substitute for grass and your kids still manage to lose the ball. That's not Crazy Golf.

Stephen Hendry and Steve Redgrave were playing Crazy Golf yesterday at Royal Dublin. They teed off just after 1.30 p.m. with Ken Doherty for company and it was their third consecutive round of the day in their third different. country. The Sun Longest Day Golf Challenge, sponsored by Carlsberg, was on its third leg in Dublin.

Hendry and Redgrave were volunteers for this year, with last year's couple, Scotland's Gavin Hastings and England's Jeremy Guscott, press-ganged into some rugby work out in South Africa. After Dublin, Dalmahoy in Scotland provided the final leg. Having teed off in the twilight at 4.15 a.m. Redgrave and Hendry expected to finish at 10.00 p.m..

The multiple champions of rowing and snooker hit their first ball in England at Royal Mid Surrey Golf Club, hopped into a helicopter and played another 18 holes in Celtic Manor Golf Club in Wales. From there an aeroplane took them to Dublin Airport and another helicopter to Royal Dublin on Bull Island where the breezy links provided a doughty test, particularly for Redgrave, who had never played on links before.

They whirled in and were ushered straight to the putting green.

"You don't want us pointing a cue at that surely," said a surprised Hendry, before prostrating himself on the ground and pocketing a golf ball for the cameras.

Hendry, not unlike his play on the snooker table, is a totally-controlled golfer. He has a smoothly-crafted swing, very long and very straight. With a handicap of 10, he's probably a bit of a bandit and could easily be a single figure player if he hadn't to concentrate on that other game he's so good at. As one of the young ball markers commented: "He's the first snooker player I've ever seen with a tan.

Redgrave is enormous. Four Olympic gold medals. A heavy-weight of Olympic sport. He's what the psychology books call a high achiever. Redgrave had just won a coxless four race in Paris at the weekend in a World Cup regattta. He flew home from Paris and pulled the clubs out of the boot of his car for a game of Crazy Golf.

After he finished in Scotland he was due to head back to England to be ready for a 5.00 a.m. training session this morning.

"Jaysus, if you had him for a dad you'd be the best boy in the world," offered one of the ball-hunting young lads as Redgrave's shadow eclipsed him.

For all of Redgrave's size, Hendry out-drove the 18 handicapper every time with much slighter 16-handicapper Doherty using his natural, em, side spin to move the ball left to right and hit more consistently than Redgrave. Doherty is working on the tan, probably his next step, having already prised the world title in snooker from the six-time champion Hendry.

"I see you're having problems finding the fairways, Stephen, a young fella sarcastically remarked after Hendry knocked another straight-as-an-arrow tee shot about 300 yards. Even the great Christy O'Connor, who joined in for the last four holes, seemed impressed with Hendry's driving.

Having given Doherty a quick lesson on hip and shoulder alignment, O'Connor turned to the gallery. "He's loaded. Wait till you see the hill I send him for that."

Doherty said some time ago that teeing off in a celebrity golf game was far more pressurised than potting balls in a snooker world championship. And he repeated this yesterday.

"This is shear pressure, this is," he said before almost knocking one into the bird sanctuary. Hendry was used to the long-drawn-out plots, the mind games, the concentration over hours of play. They were now into their 12th hour of golf. As Redgrave hit another into the rough and failed to get out, the Scot screwed up his eyes in a smile and turned to the rower: "How are you enjoying links golf so far Steve?"

They were aiming to raise around £80,000 for the Central Remedial Clinic, with £70,000 of it coming from the Irish leg of the challenge. Hendry and Redgrave were playing Stableford with the rower having collected 37 points and 34 points respectively in England and Wales and the snooker player 34 points and 36 points. A 40-point total for Hendry at Royal Dublin, which took his total to 110 points for three rounds, compared favourably to Redgrave's 32 points and 103-point total. Doherty's stableford total for the one round was 31 points.

Hendry said: "I played alright. I was finding the fairways with my drives okay. I'm a bit surprised, because I expected to be a lot more tired than I am. But I've been here before. I played in a pro-am with Christy O'Connor. It's a good course, but hard if you're not used to it."

In England, Redgrave had chipped in from a bunker from 35 yards, but, in spite of finding the Irish rough very rough, was stoic.

"I'm not so much tired as frustrated. I've never played a course like this. It's . . . different."

The ever-approachable Doherty, who has been offered free access to Powerscourt, Woodbrook and the K Club, and who is an official member of Knockanally in Kildare, was there to lend a helping hand.

"I don't really play much golf to be honest, only in summer time when I have a bit of spare time. I like to get out. It's a nice release, good to get a bit of fresh air, a bit of colour in the cheeks. Normally snooker players are pale. We have to. try and get out to get a bit of fresh air.

Fresh air. As good an excuse as any.