There are so many hectoring health messages kicking about these days, the sound of the actual Four Minute Warning would probably be something of a breath of fresh air amid all these joyless, dietary declarations spouted by some pious, twig-munching mantis.
Over the past couple of weeks, for instance, this scribe has read articles declaring that too much sleep is bad for you, drinking too much water is bad for you, eating too much fruit is bad for you and taking too much good cholesterol is bad for you. And that was before you get to the usual damning judgments about too much booze/fags/pies/microwaveable hermit swill etc.
The conclusion? Reading too many articles stating that too much of this, that and the other is bad for you is also bad for you. At least you only need to digest the Tuesday column once a week. Everything in moderation eh?
In the world of golf, meanwhile, England’s male golfers are over-indulging at the top table to the point where they’ll probably get a sponsorship deal with Gaviscon. Matt Fitzpatrick’s win in the Omega European Masters on Sunday was the ninth victory by an Englishman on the European Tour this season.
Since Justin Rose ended the nation’s 17-year wait for a major at the US Open in 2013, England’s men have landed over 40 tour titles in that time. Have a scroll down the leaderboards on any given week and the cross of St George tends to be splattered all over the upper echelons. The sheer volume of players is quite formidable.
Here in Scotland, we have to settle for more modest fare, but comparing ourselves with the might of our friends across the wa’ is never a great barometer on the basis of weight of numbers alone.
At the weekend in Ireland, Denmark, with a population broadly equivalent to Scotland, won the World Amateur Team Championship, a title the Scots won a decade earlier. With the nation having a young Ryder Cup player too in Thorbjorn Olesen, Danish golf seems to be in good fettle.
Whenever a country of similar size and climate to Scotland achieves some success, the usual reaction is to snort with despair, mutter something about “why can’t the home of golf not do this?” and then blame him, her or them for a variety of ills. ’Twas ever thus.
Scotland finished 12th in Ireland. In a field featuring just about the best the amateur game can offer – eight of the world’s top-10 were in action – it certainly wasn’t a disgrace and followed an 11th in 2016 and a ninth in 2014.
Just the other month, an Icelandic team of professionals won gold at the inaugural European Team Championships at Gleneagles. “Suddenly they’re the best in the world,” said the Scottish Golf chief executive, Andrew McKinlay, during a recent get together with the domestic golf writers. “We do beat ourselves up a bit.”
McKinlay is long enough in the sports administration tooth to know that you cannot close your eyes to what goes on in other necks of the golfing woods, but getting things right in his own backyard on the development front is one of the many things on his to do list.
When it comes to nurturing talent which can, hopefully, thrive on the professional stage in the future, there are no shortage of folk keen to lend a hand. Getting youngsters into the game first and foremost has to be the priority. Getting one or two of them to prosper as a pro is the dollop of icing on the cake.
The thriving, inspiring Foundations of Paul Lawrie and Stephen Gallacher do terrific work, the Team Scottish Hydro programme remains a valued, effective enterprise and the continued financial input of Aberdeen Standard Investments across the board is a vital resource.
There are a number of admirable jobs being done here and initiatives being performed there but there is still a lingering sense in this country that the approach remains somewhat piecemeal.
We have Scottish Golf, we have the PGA we have various backers and benefactors and we have mentors willing to offer experience, guidance and expertise.
The ingredients are there. Bringing them together and formulating some kind of decisive, single strategy could bring benefits. It’s not quite as straight forward a recipe, though.
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