WEEKEND COLUMNISTS The most important, though so far largely overlooked, consequence of Fidel Castro’s long-awaited retirement is its significance for golf. Cuba is one of the world’s great unexploited golf opportunities. I once had dinner with the charismatic Cuban leader after playing the island’s only course at Varadero. But he showed little interest in golf even when I mentioned his match against Che Guevara, a photo of which hangs in my study in London. Cuba, with its agreeable climate and a convenient geographical position, is ripe to be turned into a land of milk and honey – in golfing terms at least.
However, the last thing Cuba needs is a proliferation of dull developer-driven resort courses surrounded by low-end holiday homes. To prevent this fate befalling a country whose economy has been held back for decades by Castro’s misguided policies, a golf dictator should be appointed with a brief to make the island into the world’s premier 21st-century golf destination.
The first step is to set aside parcels of land of 200 acres in the most attractive coastal and inland terrain for golf. By allocating so much land for courses, large areas of undisturbed habitat could be created between the holes in which all sorts of flora and fauna can flourish. No more than 50 homes would be allowed to be built around each course.
Hotels would not be permitted within a mile of any part of any fairway, green or tee. Instead cottages will be provided for visiting golfers who want to stay on site.
Special attention would be paid to making facilities appeal to women and children because the survival of the game in the 21st century depends on it not being played mainly by men.
Motorised carts and buggies would be banned. Distances between green and tee would be kept to a minimum. No round would last more than four hours and any group of golfers who exceed this limit would have to terminate their games, regardless of whether they have reached the last hole.
No four-ball matches should be allowed on any course before 11am. To encourage two-ball foursomes the charge for four players playing two ball foursomes would be half that for four players hitting their own balls.
Meticulously maintained practice grounds should be located close to the first tee at every course with balls ready to be hit throughout the hours of daylight. These facilities should include video cameras capable of measuring and analysing the swing of any player who uses them. In addition to state-of-the-art showers a spa with trained masseurs would be incorporated within all the clubhouses so that aching muscles could be toned up after each round.
Adopting this approach would ensure that Cuba’s reputation among discerning golfers would be unmatched. Few countries have the chance to build a whole new infrastructure and, in a spirit of unselfish generosity, I am available to take on the post of golf dictator, on a part-time basis, with only unlimited upper-class return fares to Havana from London as remuneration.
Technology has improved television coverage of golf in many ways, especially the slow-motion pictures that make it possible to analyse the finer points of the swing. However, the tendency to make every slope look flat persists as undulations on fairways and greens remain almost invisible. This means that watching golf on television is both more fun and meaningful when the course is familiar.
At California’s Pebble Beach, a course that many Europeans play and can appreciate on TV, Fijian Vijay Singh threw away a three-shot lead over the closing holes four weeks ago. Missing greens from 150 yards isn’t what the game’s most obsessive players should do and raises doubts about whether Singh can contend for a major championship again.
The following week, the US Tour moved to Riviera, Hollywood’s own club in the Pacific Palisades with an entrance hall as impressive as the homes of the local movie moguls. This course sits in a beautiful bowl sprinkled with eucalyptus tress and overlooked by the club house. I played there once as the guest of a big shot in the film world. After a strong start my game deteriorated and my host lost interest in me as quickly as he would a box office flop.
What was striking about this TV coverage, which I watched from Australia, was the total neglect of the leading British contender Luke Donald who finished a creditable third. Even the presence of Nick Faldo on the commentary team could not persuade the editors to show Donald until his approach shot to the 18th green.
Faldo’s comments were a highlight in the otherwise mediocre Fox Sports Channel broadcast that contained too much talk and not enough golf. By the end I was thirsting for the BBC and Sky Sports, who (whatever their shortcomings) do focus on the golf and recognise that some players outside America know how to play.
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