UNCLE SAM

This weekend I got myself a free pass for the Travis Perkins Senior European Masters at Woburn Golf Club. Parked the Astra in the public car park and strolled past a nice collection of motors and a few modern thermoplastic motor-homes. My favourite was an old Ducato, it looked great, probably from the 70’s in beige and a left hooker.

Didn’t have the correct pass to walk through the clubhouse to mingle with the players, security guards directed me around following the scent from the burger stalls. The tournament sponsors were giving away a free 10 minute golf lesson. All you had to do was wait-in-line and register your name. I was feeling quite confident hoping for some positive feedback. My teacher was quite a small elderly chap, he handed me a seven iron and asked me to hit a couple of shots into the net whilst he filmed my swing.
You’re quite stiff in the leg, which is good, most people are a bit loose, then he paused, ah yes, you have a major swing fault. You tilt forwards, when turning your shoulders on your backswing. I must have frowned at that point. He then demonstrated a couple of exercises I could practise and said it would be difficult for me to improve without correcting it. That really cheered me up, where’s the beer tent?
Now, who to follow? It’s a bit like deciding which protruding belly to follow. I hadn’t heard of most of them and then I spotted a board saying Woosnam, the dynamic pint-sized Welshman. Unfortunately he’d just finished, but luckily I chanced upon a three ball with Sam Torrance. Ok he’s a funny shape, but hits the ball a country mile. Sam was quite chatty with the crowd and smoked roll-ups like a trooper. Watched him drive on the par 5 fifteenth and smack a ball 350 yards straight into a gorse bush. An eagle-eyed ball spotter pointed Sam towards a thick bush and he dived in there to retrieve his ball. I asked his caddy if he was going back to the tee, but Sam decided to walk back a few yards, line of sight with a penalty stroke. Hit a good recovery shot 80 yards short of the green and then played a great wedge to within 2 feet of the pin for a tap in par. Easy.
These seniors may look past their prime but they’re still fantastic golfers.
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