It's not often that Tipperary and Kilkenny folk find common ground on sporting matters. But Tony Wall was intrigued to discover in this column last month that Eddie Keher was of like mind to himself on making the transition from hurling to golf. In short, as a right-handed hurler, Keher believes he should be playing golf left-handed.

"I have considered this at various stages of my golfing career," said Wall, who complemented five All-Ireland hurling medals with Tipperary with golf captains' prizes at Muskerry and Clontarf, along with the Lord Mayor's Cup. When I reminded him that Bob Charles and Phil Mickelson are right-handed, he replied: "Yes, and Ben Hogan was left-handed and I can remember seeing Johnny Miller writing left-handed when completing a scorecard."

Though he played to five-handicap, Wall went on: "I would consider myself to be a good competitor but I never mastered the skill of striking a golf ball. And that prompted me to think I might have played the game a lot better had my strong hand, the right, been at the top of the club."

How close did he get to changing? "Well, I never bought a left-handed club," he admitted. Neither did Keher. Perhaps the reason may lie in their acceptance of golf as essentially a social outlet, as opposed to the all-absorbing commitment of their hurling days.