Golf balls used to come in different sizes. There was the American and the British, which was slightly smaller. This was due to differing regulations from the two governing bodies, the R&A and the USGA, regarding the minimum allowed size for the ball.
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The change toward conformity didn't begin until 1974 when the R&A ruled that the small ball could no longer be used in the British Open. Before then virtually all the visiting American competitors, including the likes of Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, switched to the small ball for The Open. The reason? A bit of extra distance and better performance in the wind. As club players back in the day we'd tend to have a few of each in the bag (not, it should be pointed out, in any way due to any form of management) and it was not at all uncommon to switch from hole to hole in accordance with conditions.
More Brian Burke: Aspirin please! I'm sick to death of the 'reviews'
It wasn't until 1990 that the bodies finally agreed on a minimum size. They went with the American and so the small ball was no more.
The rules have tightened up considerably since those days, some would say bizarrely so. Now on most professional tours they have a 'One Ball Rule,' and no - that doesn't mean if you lose it you go home. The rule insists you must use the same 'brand and make' of ball.
After a round at a PGA event last week American Russell Henley was signing his used balls for fans when he realised one of them was a very slightly different type of Titelist. Being a golfer (only in golf - we really are a different breed...) he went to the officials and dobbed himself in. He estimated that he'd probably used the ball on four holes. The officials rewarded his honesty with a two-shot penalty for each of those holes. Eight Shots! From an in contention 69 to a cut missing 77!
People have been applauding Henley's sportsmanship, and in our modern sporting mentality of win at all costs (are you reading this cricketers?) he really is to be admired. But what a rule! It seems, to me, to go quite a bit too far.
Snooker champ shout out
There was a story in last week's Mercury on our currently number 4 in-the-world ranked snooker champion, Neil Robertson, winning this year's Champion of Champions. Robertson has been world number one at various stages but is hardly an Australian household name. In spite of his accomplishment (did I mention World Number One?) he has gained next to nothing of the notoriety given to other star performers on the baize such as Charlton or Lindrum. He really should, so in the interests of boosting his profile I'm going to give him, and his noble art, a bit more press here.
Now on most professional tours they have a 'One Ball Rule,' and no - that doesn't mean if you lose it you go home.
Robertson achieved what is virtually the unachievable earlier this year in the Welsh Open when he scored 147 points, what is known in snooker as a 'maximum.'
A 'maximum,' for those unfamiliar, requires sinking all the balls, with a black for every red and then the colours. It's extremely rare, occurring in competition only around four times a year. The most famous one is Ronnie O'Sullivan's from 1997 when O'Sullivan achieved the feat in an astonishing 5 minutes and 20 seconds. If you haven't seen it it is well worth a look on Youtube.
But what sets Robertson's Cardiff 'maximum' apart is that he scored his perfect break from the break itself. The first shot of the match. His opponent did not get to so much as approach the table. This is virtually unheard of, an event that World Snooker describes as so rare that its incidence 'escapes statistical analysis.'
Nice one, again, Robertson. (Australian - currently number 4, previously, and possibly future, number 1)
More Brian Burke: For Pete's sake, he sure is talking a good game
And now a bit of snooker trivia for you: It is little known that, despite 147 being to all intents and purposes the maximum amount of points able to be scored in a game, in certain precise circumstances it is theoretically possible to score higher.
Enter Irish maestro Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins who once made 155. This is how: The rules of snooker allow that if your opponent fouls on the break, leaving you snookered on all fifteen reds, then you are allowed to nominate a colour to substitute as a red, which, upon potting, will then be re-spotted.
This was the unlikely situation 'Hurricane' found himself in in a match in the mid seventies.
Higgins potted the nominated colour/red, followed it with the black, and then continued flawlessly.
Voila! 155. Unfortunately the tournament Higgins managed this in was not officially recognised so it remains 'off the books' so to speak. But people still talk about it, and the 'Hurricane.'
Maybe Neil Robertson needs a flashy nickname.