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YOUR VIEW
Star quality
I’m now in my late 70s, but in the 1970s
and ‘80s I was fortunate to be invited by
various airlines to play with celebrities
and pro golfers and had games with
Greg Norman, Mark James and others.
On one occasion I was playing with
Nick Faldo at Moor Park and on the 17th
he drove his ball into the rough, while
mine was in the middle of the fairway.
I hit my next shot on to the green and
we found Nick’s ball under a bush.
“Wow,” I thought. “I’m going to win this
hole.” He took his club out of the bag
and proceeded to smash his ball out of
the bush and over the trees. It landed
two inches from the hole. I said to Nick
it was the most amazing shot I’d ever
seen, and that remains the case today.
He said, “Well, it surprised me as well!”
Those were the days!
Ray Stockton, Kent
The perfect gift
I’ve been toying with the idea of writing
to you ever since I was the happy
recipient of my first ever year’s
Letter of the Month
I wanted to write to you about ‘Everyday Ted’, my father. He’s nicknamed
Everyday Ted because he is invariably at Harrogate Golf Club every day!
He’s 88 years old and still plays four times a week – walking of course, not
in a buggy!
Ted Waddington joined Harrogate Golf Club in 1972. He first learned to
play in Nigeria where he worked in the ‘50s and ‘60s, with rolled sand and
tar greens and placing on mats for fairway shots. Having been down to a 5
or 6 handicap in the ‘80s, he had a break from the game due to ill health.
However, he bounced back (now on his third pacemaker and having
had two strokes, one on the course) and currently has a handicap in the
20s. He’s never had a hole-in-one but is still trying – a recent close effort
took place on Harrogate’s 12th hole. I hope you’ll give him and his mates a
smile by printing something about him.
Simon Waddington, via emailin association with
subscription to Golf Monthly for my
birthday last year. The highly useful
tips and guidance have contributed to
me playing the best golf of my life at the
age of 51 and my handicap is now the
lowest it’s ever been (12).
What prompted me to finally put
finger to keyboard was the fact that in
June I recorded my maiden hole-in-
one at my home club (Torquay) on our
170-yard par-3 18th. My delight at
seeing the ball land on the green,
come down across the slope then
disappear into the hole was like
nothing else I’ve ever experienced in
our wonderful game!So thanks to GM and all of its
contributors who have helped me
realise a goal that’s been 25 years in
the making. Get in!
Jonny Wilson, TorquayDown memory lane
Your article on Bandon Dunes [Open
issue] brought back memories from
when my wife and I played two
consecutive days on the original
course in April 2001. We turned up
without booking and on enquiring
about green fees and tee availability
we were advised that all golfers had to
have a caddie!THE GAME
Faldo: a master
from the rough‘Everyday Ted’
after coming close to
a maiden hole-in-one