NEW RULE?

Our Golf Correspondent reports...

Only his second venture on to the golf course this season but already Snopper is the root cause of the latest controversy.

His excursion around Hever Castle`s Princes Course today was, to be fair, respectable at least until the last two holes when the twin effects of anno domini and avoirdupois began to take their toll.   Until then, Snopper`s card contained no less than six 5s on par 4 holes and a 4 on one of the par 3s.   This led him to a post match clubhouse conclusion that, for golfers above the age of 70, all pars should be increased by one so that, for example, a par 4 hole would become a par 5 for the more senior hackers like himself.

After all, he opines, the ladies are given shorter yardages just because they`re ladies, so why can`t aged persons be given an added value par because they`re, well, aged?   It seems Snopper will stop at nothing to reduce the score on his card but I predict that if his latest wheeze fails, as it surely must, then he will simply resort to his tried and tested method of creative accountancy allied to a liberal interpretation of the Royal and Ancient Rules.     We`ll see what next week brings.  Possibly.