She was also helped by the advice from Mary Butler to have 1.5-inches cut off the shaft of her putter. Bingo. Everything started to drop or roll up dead to the "ag.

Everyone knows the importance of putting. It constitutes at least 45 per cent of the game and can be mastered by anyone but is, inexplicably, a source of torture to most. It requires no physical skill. Anyone who can stand up can swing a wee stick 10 inches back and roll a ball 20 yards. Watch a non-gol"ng old lady nonchalantly knocking them in from 12 feet on the public putting green in Tramore, until some helpful soul sidles up and remarks that it is dif"cult. She then becomes one of us.

By the way, it has been a great year for the Healy family at Kilmashogue. Elaine partnered Betty MacAnaney to foursomes glory and her mother, Rosemary, won the club singles.

SUCCESS ON THE COURSE A FAMILY AFFAIR FOR CAREWS Brother, oh brother, go easy with that knife! That is the cry of the Carew family in Clane where handicap secretary Seamus Carew has just reduced his brother Tommy to plus-one at age 60! This is a domestic handicapping issue, in every sense of the term, you understand. Local rules in the club condemn winners of hampers and turkeys to deep handicap cuts for the remainder of the festive campaign.

Brothers Tommy and Anthony Carew finished first and second last week and were cut six and three shots respectively.

Not that these sportsmen mind as the whole family lives and sleeps golf with Seamus playing off seven, PJ and his son Gregory playing off five and scratch respectively in Edenderry, and their sister Phyllis Power playing off 20 at Laytown.

This leaves another sister, Marie Kelly, who has yet to make her mark in the game.

She doesn't want to know but may have little choice as the gang has just bought her a new set of clubs.

BIG PLAYERS' MOVEMENTS COULD MEAN BIG CHANGES Property stories are notoriously dif"cult to verify early on. But the K Club has been awash with rumours all week that JP McManus has bought Luttrellstown Castle.

This would give McManus a very nice Dublin base and move him into line with friends Michael Smur"t and Dermot Desmond as golf course owners. This is a fashionable occupation nowadays with John Magnier amongst the few big names left out.

Elsewhere, the Clane Golf Club is watching with interest the possible disruption of its sporting life at Clongowes Wood College. Talk abounds of rezonings and the existing course is sure to come under pressure.

And Newlands Golf Club is embroiled in bigspending plans also. It is losing a sliver of its course as the Belgard Road is widened. There may be a connection between this and plans to spend over 3m on clubhouse improvements.

THAT MAGIC NUMBER SEVEN TIMES OVER FOR DUNNE Seven threes in a row is a feat seldom achieved by anyone, amateur or professional, so hats off to Fintan Dunne who butchered the field at Lucan last weekend by doing just that. Ironically, he failed to make par at the short fourth and 16th in the same round.

His great display followed a driving range session with 10-year-old son Jordan at Carton House. Jordan teed the balls and dad hit them. Then Jordan caddied for his dad on the big occasion for a local reprise on the Jack and Jackie Nicklaus show at Augusta in 1986. The great round was witnessed by Fintan's dad Toddy, still a good swinger at age 75, and brother Pat.

The fourball was completed by Mick McNamara who was a welcome independent witness in view of those numbers.

COUNIHAN AND LEGGE ROLL BACK THE YEARS AT MILLTOWN Word that Dr Harry Counihan had won his "rst ever turkey at Milltown aged 84 prompted some serious thinking. What was the true cost of such a bird? Taking it that today's entry fee is 5, that the relative fees adjusted for in"ation have stayed somewhat the same through the years, that a man might play 10 such events annually and that Dr Counihan has been playing since 1932. . . that comes to 3,700.

Of course, there must be thousands of Irish golfers who have spent hundreds in entrance fees trying to become a winner. But the Counihan story became both less and more when he was contacted to check the facts.

Contrary to popular belief, he has won turkeys in the past. But he is aged 88, not 84, and these details matter as one moves along in years, even in a club such as Milltown which is preparing to celebrate its centenary next year blessed by the presence of several members whose careers span more than half that time.

The club cherishes its elders with reductions in annual dues for different categories of senior citizens and those aged over 80, who are not employed, play free. The late Hector Legge, a towering "gure of Irish journalism and sport for over 60 years, was a regular turkey and hamper winner until he "nally gave up the game at 92. He rejoiced in the decency of his fellow Milltown people who dropped his annual dues at age 65 to just 50% of what he paid in his "rst year of membership in 1950. So he paid a scale of fees falling from a high of £5 to zero for his last 27 years of play.

Milltown staged a 90th birthday party for Legge and proved that they can be naive when limiting his speech time to 20 minutes. How could any man, much less a man of intellect and words, be con"ned in that way? They brought the roof down with applause , not with relief but in admiration, when he "nally sat down after 90 minutes.

These are special men. Men who shoot their age and can give eye witness accounts of the play of legends like John Burke, Jimmy Bruen and Cecil Ewing. The Milltown centenary promises to be quite an event with such deep and eloquent contacts with the past.

ROYAL DUBLIN KEEP ROLLING IN BRITTAS BAY FRIENDLIES The Royal Dublin Golf Club plays three socalled friendlies each year and likes to win as many as possible. Which isn't always easy against Royal Portrush, Royal Belfast and The European Club. A carefully constructed scoring system saw the home team emerge with the honours by 112 points to 109 at Brittas Bay this week.

Short game artist Maurice Moore was carefully managed by Eamon Grumley to produce a top score of 39 for the royals, only to be trumped by two by Noel Kelly and Peter Lawlor. Professional Leonard Owens and honorary secretary Paddy Walsh tried to get the edge with 38 points only to be countered by 39 from Des Cullen and the everlasting Pat Coyne.

With two of five cards counting, and the scoring dropping off on both sides, 32s were the best either side could manage after that and so it ended. The other royal players were Liam Browne, Liam Bergin, Pat Synnott, Cathal Mullen, John Holland and team manager Denis McAdams.

Filling out for the hosts were Gordon Birch, Joe Kelly, Alan Kennedy, Niall O'Neill, Eddie Fallon and team manager Pat Ruddy.

DONNELLY GOES FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH Hugh Donnelly just goes on winning and seems more skilled than ever after playing for Ireland at senior level a couple of years ago. He has just won South County's Club Championship . . .

after a "nal which went to the 20th before he overcame young Shane McGlynn . . . and Club Mixed with Evelyn McGrath. South County obviously isn't a place where one will pick up a handy championship but it is lovely to play.

New members are welcome at this club in Brittas and a tradeable share will cost just 16,000. Contact Roger Yates at 01-4582965.

ONLY ONE WAY TO FINISH FOR MURPHY AT CASTLEROSSE What a lovely way to finish. Jack Murphy had a hole-in-one at the last to win the betterball event at Castlerosse last Sunday with Jonathan Murphy as his partner.