IN THE BUNKER WITH MICK THE GRIP
SHELL'S WONDERFUL WORLD OF GOLF was a televised series of golf matches which ran from the 1960s until 2003 with a 20-year break from 1971. It kept up the tradition of "challenge matches" which were the earliest form of professional golf competition, and the list of players in these 18-hole stroke play matches reads like a roll call of golf legends. The first was played between Billy Casper and Mario Gonzalez in Rio de Janeiro in 1961. The first two matches of the series’ 1994 revival were Greg Norman vs. Nick Faldo at Sunningdale, followed by Arnold Palmer vs. Jack Nicklaus at Pinehurst No. 2.
Played on the world's finest courses, and sometimes in exotic locations, a fun aspect of these pre-recorded one hour television matches (the early ones narrated, when he wasn't playing, by Gene Sarazen) was that the golfers would interact with the on-course reporters, with off-the-cuff comments and jokes allowing viewers to feel they were walking with the competitors. Filmed during the “Silly Season” of the winter when nothing much happened, and shown in America on Sunday afternoons, the matches reflected a bygone era, with the spectators in their Sunday best, the ladies in dresses and the men in coats and ties. And definitely no shouts of “In the hole!”
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER, five-star general, 34th president of the United States, was golf-mad. Ike's popularity was at an all-time high in post-war America, and the U.S. decided that “If Ike likes golf that's good enough for me.” More leisure time for the American family meant more time for sport, and golf in particular. The number of golfers approximately doubled during Eisenhower’s two terms as president (1953-1960).
Eisenhower, who shot around the mid-80s, had a practice net erected in the White House basement, and used the South Lawn as a practice range. A personal putting green was built outside the Oval Office, and he would take practice swings with a club kept behind his desk while dictating letters to his secretary. He considered his first and only hole-in-one, at the age of 77, “the thrill of a lifetime.”
Eisenhower's 1953 State of the Union Address was written at Augusta National, in a “cabin” constructed for his use. However, even Ike couldn't get the 65ft pine tree he often came in contact with removed from the course. Clifford Roberts flatly refused, saying his request was 'Out of Order.' In 1966 the president turned up on Arnold Palmer's front porch clutching an overnight bag. “Say, you wouldn’t have room to put up an old man for the night, would you?” Ike asked. Palmer's wife, Winnie, had sent their private plane to fly the president to Pennsylvania for a surprise 37thbirthday present for Arnie. Needless to say, they played golf.
Eisenhower saw the golf course as a place to build relationships and a way to foster goodwill and understanding among the international community. What a pity Xi Xinping and V. Putin don't play golf.
Ike's tree, alongside the 17th hole was cut down in 2014 after it was damaged in an ice storm. Gary Player commented: “It was there when I played nearly 60 years ago, and Sam Snead said he used to just “cream it over that tree.” When asked how it was possible he said, "It was only 12-foot high when I did it."
WALES'S STEPHEN DODD certainly deserved a welcome in the hillsides after sinking a birdie putt to win the Senior Open at Sunningdale. He managed to look delighted, without capering round the 18th green or falling to his knees, while Miguel Angel Jimenez, waiting to see whether there would be a playoff, came out smiling to congratulate him. Ah, golf as it used to be.
DAVID HOWELL and Glen Hoddle's playing partner in the BMW PGA Pro Am at Wentworth next month will be Anton du Beke, so if they win we will expect to see a celebratory Viennese waltz.
