THE GAME
YOU R VI EW
The pick of the letters and emails to hit the Golf Monthly offices this month
For young and old While we are all focused on how to speed up play and attract young players to the game, we should also be mindful of the positive impact the game has on the older generation. Our seniors’ section at the Wychwood Golf Club in West Oxfordshire is large and thriving. We have many in their 70s and 80s who relish regular competition and we recently celebrated the 90th birthday of one of our most enthusiastic golfers. We raise money for good causes and invest heavily in our excellent pro and his team. Golf remains a very popular and healthy pursuit for many of advancing seniority. Let’s celebrate its longevity! Peter Hilling, via email
Golf brings numerous benefits to seniors
Standing the test of time While cleaning my golf shoes the other day, it occurred to me that I have been doing the same thing on a regular basis for the last 12 years! Twelve years ago I bought my first pair of FootJoy Contour golf shoes and, to this day, they remain my go-to pair during the winter months. Twelve years! Having been a football player all my life, I’m one of those middle-aged dads who’s always insisted on buying black leather boots – much to my son’s bemusement, who always insists on the brightly coloured boots that seem to be all the rage these days, and last for all of three months before falling apart! The Contours remain the most comfortable shoes I have, and always 10
keep my feet warm and dry. The moral of the story? You get what you pay for, and you can’t put a price on real quality. As for the golf, I might not have won bragging rights in the Christmas duel, but I was the only one without trench foot afterwards! Colin Brunton, Nottingham
An unfair advantage? Without doubt, the pros can hit the ball further and better than we can manage as amateurs. The equipment, training and practice are certainly instrumental in this, and good for them. However, instead of making the courses longer
and more difficult, or making them use different equipment and golf balls, might there not be a simpler way to make them rein it in a bit? I certainly have the ability to hit the ball further than I do when I’m out playing, but that runs the risk of losing the ball left or right. I don’t have the luxury of ball spotters or members of the public helping me find the errant ball – just my playing partners and three minutes. So why not simply say that only the players and their caddies can look for a ball in three minutes? I know some will say that you can’t stop the spectators from pointing where the ball has landed in association with
Letter of the Month With the recent passing of golf course architect Pete Dye at the age of 94, it struck me how designers in the game of golf are underappreciated for the job they do. They create the canvasses for us to play on and yet all too often their names are relegated to obscurity. Dye, of course, was one of the exceptions to this common trend, thanks to several incredible designs that have hosted some of the biggest events in the game. Kiawah Island, Harbour Town and TPC Sawgrass often frequent our television screens and usually create mesmeric entertainment. Indeed, it is fitting that the Ryder Cup in 2020 will head to another of his famous designs, Whistling Straits in Wisconsin. I can only hope the powers that be acknowledge the genius of his design career at some stage during the event. Steve Sinclair, Berkshire The iconic 17th at Pete Dye’s TPC Sawgrass
