Tt&tjuly2009

VIEWPOINT

tour tales & true

Grant Dodd In defence of pro-ams

L

54

Australian Golf Digest

JUly 2009

Pro-ams needn’t be a five-hour yawn.

aged lady with a hire set and a pair of shoes that might generously have been described as sandals, except for the fact that they were thongs. An owner of a local small business, she had decided to sponsor a hole at the last moment, and despite having not played or picked up a club for the best part of 30 years, she thought it a good idea to head out for a hit on pro-am day. She scored no Stableford points. At no point in the round did she putt for a point. And she didn’t once pick up on any hole. Needless to say, she got value for money for her sponsorship dollar. Another memorable pro-am round was in Kuala Lumpur in 1998. I had received my card from the starter, complete with names and handicaps. After introducing myself to a group of local businessmen and checking their details, I was informed that there had been an error with the information provided. It seemed that all of their handicaps had been significantly understated. The error corrected, we hit off for what turned out to be an exhibition of golf I won’t forget. One was a creatively handicapped 19marker who putted for birdie on every second hole. In a two-ball aggregate event, we finished a cricket score under par for the round and won the event by the length of the straight. The massive crystal vase I won and lugged back to

Australia sits self-consciously at the rear of the trophy cabinet, seemingly self aware of its dubious origins. Not all pro-ams are notable for their notoriety. I played in one at NSW Golf Club in 1995 with a group that included the CEO of a major Australian company, and a distinguished, well-spoken man with a hybrid Welsh/Australian accent and the confident demeanour of someone used to receiving his share of attention. The man in question was the Australian wine industry legend, Len Evans AO, OBE. I struck up a friendship that endured until his death in 2006, in the process igniting a passion for wine that merely intensified with time. The CEO was a gentle man who afterwards was corralled in the clubhouse by Len and exhorted to sponsor me. He prevaricated, in the process perhaps demonstrating an eye for value inherent to those who rise to such positions of power. Little did I know that it was to be a day that would ultimately change the direction of my life. Five hours it was, but certainly not a waste of time. Grant Dodd has been a member of the Australasian PGA Tour since 1993 and played in the 1997 and 1998 British Opens. To ask Grant a question, visit winingpro.com

ANDREW REDINGTON/GETTY IMAGES

etters to the editor over the past few months have made for interesting reading. A proportion of them have taken umbrage with some of our leading players’ attitudes towards pro-ams. The genesis of these aggrieved responses is an excerpt on the “Final 9” page at the end of each issue, where tour professionals offer a brief insight into their thoughts and ideas on a range of matters. The general tone is quite light-hearted, if not flippant. This perhaps explains the throwaway nature of retorts like “waste of time” and “five long hours” in response to the question, “In three words, describe ‘pro-ams’.” Reflecting tone and context within such a framework may be possible for a Nobel laureate, but it is likely to sit outside the skill set of the average touring professional. While the players in question undoubtedly meant no offence, it would be stretching the truth to suggest that tournament golfers are overjoyed by the prospect of playing in pro-ams. As a rule, they are long days, often spent looking for golf balls in the rough hit by guys who have dusted off the Kel Nagles and laced up the Niblicks for the first time in many years. But the simple truth is that every tournament golfer owes their livelihood to the very people who front up with their hard-earned at tour events and small country towns alike. The proam is the backbone and lifeblood of professional golf. Each experience tends to be unique, and often memorable in its own way. One round that comes to mind was a pro-am at Bermagui on the Sapphire Coast of New South Wales in the early 1990s. My group was waiting for our final member to arrive on the first tee, when along the path came a middle-