My last meeting with Ernie Els was during the US Open a week ago. That was when he took it upon himself to order an Irish colleague and me out of the locker-room at the Olympic Club to which, incidentally, we had unrestricted access. It was behaviour somewhat at variance with the popular image of him as the "Big Easy."
I had sought him out after a third round of 75 in which he finished with two bogeys. The objective was for some preview material for the Murphy's Irish Open, which he is returning to at Druids Glen next week, no doubt in receipt of handsome appearance money. An NBC camera crew were also keen to see him.
In the event, Els had had several minutes to cool off, if he needed to, when a USGA official informed us that he would not be coming to the interview area. The official then suggested that my colleague and me might try talking to him in the lockerroom, though it would be out of bounds to the camera crew.
When we arrived in the locker-room, Els happened to be walking towards us. I said: "Ernie, I wonder . . ." whereupon he responded: "Give me a minute." As I stepped back he suddenly snapped "Leave me alone." Then, waving an arm he shouted "Get out of here", as one might address a meddlesome dog.
It was an extraordinary outburst, totally unprovoked. My colleague, himself a former professional sportsman, attempted to take an understanding view of the situation. He considered it to be so much out of character, that there was bound to be an apology when Els cooled off. That, as I say, was a week ago: there has been no apology.
I suppose people these days would scoff at the quaint notion of respecting one's elders, but the point did cross my mind when I thought of the difference in our ages. Then it struck me how sadly symptomatic it was of increasingly fragile relations between professional players and golf scribes.
It seems that hardly a week goes by without a player claiming to have been "stitched up" in some newspaper article, or a pressurised scribe expressing outrage at the non-co-operation of someone who has conveniently forgotten the responsibilities that go with his tournament riches. Men behaving badly.
Perhaps it is an inevitable consequence of mutual exploitation, with cash taking precedence over courtesy. But golf wasn't supposed to be this way. It was meant to bring people closer together, not drive a wedge between them.
Players such as Greg Norman have proved that a balance can be struck between common courtesy and protecting one's privacy. But in general terms, I fear that the trust and respect that existed between scribe and player, are becoming very scarce these days. Which is a great pity.
"I would never take a lesson from somebody who couldn't beat me." Lee Trevino commenting on the rash of golf gurus.
Two, three, four, five is the sort of simple progression that would appeal to a man of figures. Like a banker such as Frank Gannon. Which prompted him to contact me about his brother John's children, who are the proud possessors of handicaps in those figures, partially as a result of performances this week.
Off two is John Jnr, a 22year-old former boy international. Then comes three-handicapper Jenny, the current Irish Girls' champion and a junior international. He had the best score, a nett 72 off four, in the Lady President's Prize at Baltray last Tuesday but as an intermediate member, was not eligible to receive it. So she got the best gross instead.
Last Monday, 15-year-old David shot a 74 at Skerries when representing Co Louth in the Leinster Club Youths' Championship. Then, playing off the medal tees on his home course on Wednesday, the four handicapper was four-under-par gross after 17 holes and though he double-bogeyed the 18th, a nett 67 was still good enough to win.
His 17-year-old brother Paul, off five and much admired by professional Des Smyth, played in the same competition and shot a nett 69. All of which goes to prove that the rest of us have been wasting our time all these years. Golf can become a very easy game when you pick your parents properly.
Memories of Seve Ballesteros in the Irish Open at Royal Dublin are revived in a charming letter from the indefatigable Larry Gunning, who tells me he has been a member there for 62 years. It concerns the 16th green where, incidentally, he witnessed his brother-in-law, Dermot Herlihy, have a hole in one - with a two-wood tee-shot.
But to Seve. Larry recalls: "His tee-shot at the 16th finished on the little dome to the right of the green. The crowd were pressing in on him and I was waving my flag (as a steward) to try and get them to retreat. All the time, Seve was getting madder. Finally he stormed: `They all right. It's your damn flag Larry.'
"Of course I was crushed, particularly when he fluffed the chip. But he holed the second chip for a birdie and gave that special Seve smile. Later, he came to me in the locker-room and apologised."
Today's aspiring tournament professionals are setting themselves up for serious back trouble, by the very effort of acquiring the right game. According to Tom Boers, the acclaimed Dutch physical therapist, they are overloading their body at the worst possible time.
"When you are 15 to 17 years old, your bones outgrow your muscles for a while, so your mechanical systems are flawed," he said. "It's during that time that kids today are practising every day. That's why we see so many 30-year-olds with degenerative disc problems. The groundwork was set early."
Boers, whose prominent clients include Ernie Els, Seve Ballesteros, Davis Love and Fred Couples, also laid the blame on the demands of the modern game. "In their heyday, Ben Hogan and Sam Snead had an off-season," explained the 45-year-old, who is based at the Hughston Sports Medicine Clinic in Georgia.
"Now, golfers play all year round, which means more air travel, sitting, riding, meeting and practising than ever before. It's not the golf swing that does it, it's the `too much' that's hurting these guys."
During last week's press conference at the Olympic Club, USGA executive director David Fay declined to name any clubs banned recently by his organisation. But there have, in fact, been some horror stories about implements not submitted for approval.
A celebrated case of recent years concerned Bullet Golf, which introduced its Hollow Point Driver without sending a sample to the USGA. It was a grave error. The club, containing a cut-out section in the metal head, was declared non-conforming even though it was already on the market.
Stunned by the implications of the USGA ruling, Bullet covered the open space with medal to make it legal, but the club didn't perform as well as it had done. And it quickly died a death. Bullet now has new owners and is back on the market with a new line of clubs.
This day in golf history . . . On June 27th, 1950, Chandler Harper won the USPGA Championship at Scioto CC in Columbus, Ohio, beating Henry Williams by 4 and 3 in the 36hole final. For the Ryder Cup player born in Portsmouth, Virginia in 1914, it became the highpoint of a career that was later distinguished by some remarkable scoring feats.
Harper gained the distinction at Brackenridge Park, San Antonio in 1954 of shooting 63, 63, 63 for the last three rounds of the Texas Open. It set a tour record for 54 consecutive holes which stood for 42 years before being equalled by John Cook (64, 62, 63) in the opening three rounds of the St Jude Classic at Southwind in 1996. But Harper gained the further scoring distinction of shooting 58 on a course measuring 6,100 yards.
In Brief: Grange Castle public course, designed by Paddy Merrigan at Clondalkin, is to have its official opening next Monday . . . Having had a delightful visit there earlier this year, I have to mention open week at Dunmore East GC which starts on Monday next and has competitions every day until Sunday . . . I am informed that Sam Torrance will be hitting the opening shot at the official opening of McGuirks Golf Shop at Blanchardstown next Tuesday . . . The Licensed Vintners GS, who are having their annual golf outing next Thursday, are making the splendid donation of £25,000 to Cheeverstown children . . . Paddy Murphy informs me that the Heart Foundation are having a Golf Day at Druids Glen on July 20th. Details from (01) 6685001.
Teaser: A ball is lost in a tree growing in an area marked as ground under repair. Is the player entitled to relief without penalty under Rule 25-1c?
Answer: No. Such a ball is not lost in ground under repair, because the margin of ground under repair does not extend upwards. The player must proceed under Rule 27-1 (Ball lost or out of bounds).
