To those of us of a certain age, it came as something of a relief when Al Balding admitted to being "whipped" at Royal Co Down last Sunday. On a physically demanding links, the 77-year-old Canadian completed four competitive rounds in as many days, twice beating his age.
So, what's the secret? "The key to good golf is not to think about what you're doing," he said. "You can't consciously play this game. I believe that anyone who ever hit a good shot, didn't know what he'd done. Golf is a game of the subconscious." By way of illustration, he recalled the numerous occasions he played in the company of Christy O'Connor Snr, especially in the World Cup. "Christy knew the answer," he said of a player a few months his junior. "I never saw him look uptight on a golf course. He had a wonderful, relaxed attitude to the game." Balding's rangy frame, stretching to 6ft 2ins, was more ample before he underwent heart by-pass surgery three years ago. Since then, he has been more careful about what he eats, while physical mobility is maintained through regular stretching exercises, sometimes twice daily.
A native of Toronto, he qualified for his first visit to Newcastle by winning the Senior Canadian PGA Championship last year with three rounds of 70. But he was over on this side of the Atlantic during the second World War, as a soldier in the Canadian army. "I didn't start playing golf until 1950, when I was 26," he said.
Balding soon made up for lost time. He won four Canadian Matchplay titles from 1952 to 1961 and was also a four-time winner of the Canadian PGA. But his biggest successes were on the US Tour where he became the first Canadian winner, capturing the Mayfair Inn Open in 1955. There were three further US victories in 1957 and the Mexican Open title in 1963. He was 44 when he and George Knudson captured the World Cup for Canada in 1968, when he also won the individual title.
"I'm not ready yet for hit and giggle golf," he went on. "In fact I'll keep playing as long as I can maintain flexibility. On my home course in Toronto, I beat my age most times I go out, generally with rounds of 70 to 74.
He loved Royal Co Down, despite the difficulty of maintaining focus on its blind hills and hollows. "I lost my rhythm over the last two rounds (80,82) and couldn't play a lick," he said. "But if I get the chance, I'd love to come back." In the meantime, he left me with the question: "How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were?" Then he added with a grin: "When you figure that one out, you're ready to continue playing the game without setting limits."
"I think it's absolutely a coincidence. We have no members from Hungary either, and none from Lithuania and Estonia." Sound, reasoned argument from a Texas lawyer, reacting to a report that four of the most expensive golf clubs in Dallas have no so-called minority players.
