If the aches and creaks brigade, eight of whom are aged over 70, can skip around the course fast enough to allow a decent sized field to compete the time has come to crack the whip on the younger fellows as advocated on this page three weeks ago.

"Other devices should be considered along with the novel idea of making the players in the event itself move along at a decent pace thus making it possible to accept more than 120 people into the field. It is a disgrace that 120 elite players are allowed to fill a golf course from 7.30a. m. until almost dusk in the month of May. . ."

The pace of play at Royal Dublin was distinctly funereal with five hours or more being accepted for a round on a links presented in pristine condition and with the rough mowed well back and wispy except where wild men choose to roam. A disastrous scene in view of the fact that every competitor came with a big reputation based upon a handicap of plus-1 or better. Where in goodness name they get those handicaps must be questioned now, more than ever, in view of the awful scoring at Royal Dublin.

The fellows at the top scored well but 18 of the other plus5 to plus-1 men failed to break 80 in either of the qualifying rounds! Overall, there were 99 rounds, 41% of the rounds played, in the 80s or 90s!

There can be no excuses for weather. It was quite lovely for the qualifying rounds and it was only in the final round, when the statistics were well and truly in the can, that a stiff wind blew but even then it was a typical Royal Dublin story of two halves as the wind was straight against going out but straight behind and helping on the normally more difficult inward journey.

Now it is the turn of the old brigade, no angels in their own day, to skip around lovely Hermitage in more acceptable time. It will be interesting to see how they fare on the clock and on the card as only seven of those with handicaps of 5.2 managed to gain entry. Hopefully there will not be too many championship scores in the 80s and 90s.

It will be interesting, also, to see whether John Baldwin of the USA can become only the second man ever to win this title three years in a row. Home favourites include Tony Hayes, Val Smyth and the legendary Walker Cup man Arthur Pierse from Tipperary.

AMEN CORNER
EXPLAINING THE RULES RULE 16-2: Ball Overhanging Hole

Q. What happens if the ball comes to rest on the lip of the hole and subsequently drops?

A. When the ball overhangs the lip of the hole, the player is allowed enough time to reach the hole without unreasonable delay and an extra 10 seconds to determine whether the ball is at rest. If the ball has not fallen into the hole by then, it is deemed to be at rest.

If the ball subsequently falls into the hole, the player is deemed to have holed out with their last stroke but must add a penalty stroke to their score for the hole.

Rules from '2004 R&A Rules of Golf' GOLF TIP OF THE WEEK Putting: Improve your technique When putting you should always aim to hole the putt no matter how far away from the hole you are.

The first step to putting is to evaluate the speed and slopes of the green and visualise the ball going into the hole. Take at least one practice swing and then proceed to strike the ball ensuring a very smooth acceleration after impact . . . the backswing should be shorter than the follow-through. The optimum putting stroke is achieved with a pendulum motion of the shoulders and not a wrist and hand action only.

Challenge yourself before each round to break your old record of putts in 18 holes; golf professionals average less then 29 putts per round so you can set your target from this.

With Emmanuel Riblet, Golf Pro, Premier Golf Santry