- THE dozen-or-so empty seats in the Media Centre could well have belonged to the hacks who suffer from arachnophobia. They beat a hasty retreat when their desks were being overrun by a plague of spiders.
But for some of us sweating cobwebs in the unbearable heat, the little mites were welcome guests because they appeared to scare off the flies! - PUTTING used to be the easy part of the game. Not any more, it appears. It's becoming as technical as a full-blooded drive, with any number of clubs on the market to help you accomplish the perfect stroke.
Latest aids on show here are a contraption incorporating a laser beam, and another resembling a medieval torture machine.
More traditional help is offered by Southport's Putting Doctor Harold Swash, who designed an indoor track at Cranford Driving Range. - IF you're coming here for the Open, don't forget to pop into the nearby British Golf Museum, where you can cast your eyes over the world-famous painting The Golfers by Charles Lees. It is on display until the end of the month.
Lees' masterpiece, on loan from its permanent home at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, was completed in 1847.
It shows a match in progress over the Old Course. - CLUB makers Ping are helping hundreds of young boys and girls enjoy something a little extra at the Open by sponsoring the clubgolf-Golf Foundation Putting Challenge.
It's giving the kids a chance to hole out like a champion and win a putter. The Junior Golf Centre in the tented village is run by the Golf Foundation and the PGA, who are providing free lessons, and supported by the R&A. - THERE'S only one winner this week, according to Manchester- based course designer Dave Thomas.
"Angel Cabrera, he's got the perfect all-round game for here and he's the best long putter in the world," said Thomas, who was at a presentation for the Hacienda Del Alamo club in Spain.
Meanwhile, the former Ryder Cup star revealed that his son Paul is working on a new course in Russia. - THE Old Course hasn't always consisted of 18 holes. It originally had 22, two loops of 11, but in 1764 it was reduced to 18 to create what became the standard round throughout the world.
Open diary: Thursday
July 14, 2005
Comments
Login or Register to comment
There are no comments about this at the moment.