Each week, four of the NCG team get together to ask each other the pressing questions. The only rule is the question must be golf related. In this edition, James Savage, Keel Timmins, Alex Perry and Mark Townsend take to the tee to discuss the one mulligan they pine for and much more…
James: What annoys you the most about your own game? I’m constantly tweaking things when it comes to putting – changing my grip, ball position, length of backswing. I almost feel like I’m trying something new or different every time I hit a putt.
Keel: My driving is extremely temperamental. When it’s good, it’s very good. When it’s bad, I basically can’t score. I’ll go with that.
Alex: Either my long game is on song, or my short game is. They never seem to both click during the same round, but are more than happy to both desert me.
Mark: I invariably hit the wrong club due to the fact that I don’t like my 5, gap and lob wedge. I seem to think a wedge will go 130 and the gap is 25 yards shorter, it isn’t. I’m also not a huge fan of my 3-wood off the tee if there’s bund just in front.
In short I talk myself into the wrong club due to my odd suspicions when it’s just a piece of metal with a number on it.
Keel: You’ve been granted special access to the very first invented time machine. What moment in golf history would you most like to go back to and witness first-hand?
Alex: It seems so obvious, but the way Tiger Woods’ chip at The Masters in ‘05 still makes me feel watching on video, imagine how it would have been to see it live. I’d also love to go back to a completely different era – like the 1930s – and just see what golf was like back then.
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Mark: Watching Bobby Jones just play golf but particularly follow him around in 1930 when he won the two Opens and two Amateurs. Following that spending a weekend at Turnberry in 1977 or St Andrews in 1984 would have been pretty spectacular.
James: Medinah in 2012 would have been amazing. Just imagine slowly noticing the mood of the home crowd change during the final day and then the absolute scenes at the end. I’m certain I’d have been invited to the after party and everything.
What would you do with a career mulligan, and where would you most like to see The Open Championship played? The answers continue on the next page…
Alex: The US Open is over and we’re all starting to get excited about The Open. Logistics aside, which course would you like to see host golf’s oldest major? You can’t say Royal North Devon, because that’s mine.
Mark: Having the Open, with all its over-priced merchandise tents, would go against the very soul of RND. That said I’d love the Open to be held in Wales and the only place that could happen is Royal Porthcawl. This will never happen sadly.
James: It would never happen for logistical or political reasons but I’d love the see the world’s best playing at Trump International in Aberdeen. It’s such a cool and unique course it would make fascinating viewing. I’d also like to see the Open back at Turnberry – one of the best stretches of golf holes anywhere in the world. But there’s another problem with that place too…
Keel: The South West of England is in need of some love. There are some stunning courses in Cornwall. I’ll go with Trevose.
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Mark: I’m offering you a career mulligan so you can replay a certain shot that has haunted you for years. Mine would be a shank from some hard pan at the 1st at Royal Mid Surrey in a well-known foursomes competition in 1988. It was a 36-hole comp, we had six shots and we opened up treble-treble…
James: Playing against a colleague in one of our annual match play tournaments I was 3 up with 3 to play. Nerves kicked in and I found myself 1 up going down 18. I reached the edge of the green in two, my opponent was on the green in two. I had a shot. If I’d have just bunted an 8-iron towards the middle of the green, I’d have an easy two-putt to win the match. I duffed a couple of lob wedges and made a 6 as my opponent two-putted for a 4. It was right at the start of the season and gave me bad vibes for the rest of the year.
Keel: I was in a team fourball match and was two up with three holes remaining. We were comfortable and the lead really should have been a lot more. Somehow we lost the next two holes so we were standing on the 18th tee all square. My partner topped his drive into the nearest bush so it was all on me to hit a good one. Of course, I hit the biggest hook you’re likely to ever see into a forest. We managed to save bogey, but one of the guys we were playing against rolled in a 30-footer for par to win the match. I still think about it to this day. If only I had got that drive in play…
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Alex: Years ago I was playing at Wyke Green in London with some friends. I hit two of the best shots I’ve ever hit and found myself with a three-foot, dead straight, uphill putt for eagle. At that point I’d never had an eagle on a par 5 before and, for some reason, I decided to announce this information to my playing partners BEFORE I hit the shot. Obviously I missed it. I’ve had one since, but I think about the one that got away a lot.
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