THE END OF THE LINE..

More from our golf correspondent...

The photo above perhaps conjures up visions of heroic failure coupled with more than a little desperation.   And the same might be said of Snopper`s golf trolley, which carried the name `Kingsway` and which was, of course, the brand name for Woolworths` own brand products.  And it was all of 35 years ago that that purchase was made, since when that same trolley has carried Snopper`s eclectic array of golfing equipment around an equally mixed series of golfing venues.

In the last year or so, his redoubtable trolley has been showing its age, signs of wear and tear, perhaps reaching a tipping point last Autumn when the tyres began to fall off.  In a fit of inspiration, Snopper simply removed the tyres and trundled on regardless.  Trouble was that without the tyres, the trolley made a frightful noise especially when dragged along gravel paths, all of which led to complaints and exhortations fro club members and the sparse galleries for him to buy a new one.

And yesterday, following much detailed analysis and research, the deed was done and Snopper is now the proud owner of an ultra efficient and quietly wheeled trolley.  Maybe it was this event which led yesterday to arguably one of the least propitious rounds of his long and undistinguished career.  Although there was at least some redemption when he parred the difficult par three fifth, the rest of his round epitomised that same heroic failure and desperation that encapsulated the demise of Woolworths all those years ago.

But maybe we should forgive him these trespasses, as he has had an emotionally difficult time of late.  It was one thing to say farewell to his Greg Norman golf ball but quite another to see his 35-year old Kingsway trolley finally come to the end of the line.  It felt like losing Woolworths all over again.