Cheap golf in the Algarve - Caveat Emptor

Sunterra's golfing bargain...

Even those golfers who have never been there will be aware of the reputation of the Algarve as one of the golfing paradises of Europe. Blessed with a splendid climate, and within easy reach of most British airports, the region’s thirty golf courses (many of European PGA championship standard) are a tempting prospect. So when the flyer fell out of my golf magazine offering a week in the Algarve and a free round on the famous Quinta do Lago course all for the sum of £59 it seemed too good to be true. There were, of course, some conditions attached – you had to travel as a couple (no problem, my wife is also a golfer) and you had to arrange your own flights and car hire. This wasn’t a problem either as there seemed to be plenty of low cost flight options to Faro and car hire was competitively priced as well. Flights, car hire and the holiday cost amounted in total to less than £350 for the week for the two us – not bad when you realise that the green fees alone were worth £90.

The company making this remarkable offer was called Sunterra and a close study of the small print on the flyer showed what their game was. “During your stay you are required to attend an informative presentation of holidaying with Club Sunterra…you are not under any obligation to buy, rent or purchase anything should you not wish to do so.” Fair enough. Listen to some sales pitch from a holiday company and then enjoy the rest of the time on the golf course or exploring the Algarve. We decided to give it a go.

The resort where our self-catering accommodation was located is called “Vilar do Golf” and it turned out to be in one of the best positions in the Quinta do Lago area – right alongside the golf course. Our villa was about twenty years old and showing its age a bit – but perfectly acceptable with comfortable furniture and fittings and cable TV etc. On the first day of our holiday we were invited to attend a brief meeting where we met our Sunterra representative Mark. This brief initial chat was obviously an ice breaker – no selling and really just a “get to know you” meeting with Mark who gave us some useful information about the area and, particularly, the golf (he was a keen golfer himself). We were asked by Mark to meet him again in a couple of day’s time when he would tell us more about the Sunterra offer.

We enjoyed our round on the Quinta do Lago course and also began to explore the area a bit before keeping our appointment. By the time that we kept our date we were in a positive frame of mind. The weather was lovely - in early February the temperature rose as high as 18 degrees and the skies were always clear. We had also played the famous nine hole course at Pine Cliffs in Albufeira where you have to drive across a cliff canyon to reach the green at the Par 3 final hole. So we were happy to listen to whatever Mark of Sunterra had to tell us.

We came genuinely open-minded to the sales presentation. This was one to one (or, rather, one to two as we both had to be there) and was clearly going to take some time. In short the Club Sunterra proposition was that you would buy, with an upfront payment, holiday “points” which you could then use in perpetuity to buy self-catering weeks at Vilar do Golf or at their 90 or so other resorts around the world (the weekly points cost varying depending on the quality of the resort and the season). This is similar in principle to Timeshare – but with far greater flexibility in respect of location or season. The idea seemed quite appealing in principle and the presentation (which included access to Sunterra’s website where all the properties were shown) was professional. It seemed clear that the key variables were how much the points would cost, what any additional charges would be, how easy it would be to so spend your points to secure the holiday you wanted and what the value of your points would be if you wanted to sell them later.

A quick calculation showed that if you bought 10,000 points then you would (in theory) be able to buy two weeks (at least) at Vilar do Golf pretty much whenever you wanted. The annual cost of such a purchase was a little under £600 (what Sunterra calls its annual “maintenance and administration charges”) - a hefty enough sum, but not bad if you could buy the necessary points upfront cheaply enough. It was at this crucial point in the discussion that Mark bowed out and his boss Ian came to the table. The sell hardened significantly at this point - now we were in the “Kasbah” with the points not carrying a fixed price but clearly being negotiable. From a start point of more than £26,000 for the 10,000 points we eventually ended up at £12,250 – oh and a free one week holiday (including flights) would be thrown in as an incentive. But we had to commit whilst we were still in Portugal and, although there would be a legal period of grace that would mean that we could cancel when we were back in the UK, it was made quite clear that for this offer to be available we had to make a provisional commitment now. We asked for time to go away and think about the proposed deal. On the face of it looked attractive. Two or three weeks holiday a year golfing in the Algarve – or visits to a huge range of other resorts if that was what we preferred. The points per week and per resort would always be the same so there was inflation proofing built in. The annual charge was quite a lot but although not fixed it did not seem to increase annually by too much. Was £12,250 a fair price to pay for this?

Now journalists are by nature a sceptical bunch – even those of us who write about golf. So after the “haggling in the souk” that the points negotiation had been I thought that I better (belatedly) do some research. A quick Google search on my laptop showed me that the real trading value of the Sunterra offer points was far, far lower than the deal we were being presented with. Many Timeshare trading websites have Sunterra points on offer for as low as £3000 per 10,000 points - and there were plenty of points available on EBay as well for around this cost. We had been asked to pay around four times the going rate for points and (of course) no mention of this market value had been made to us at the presentation.

The other concern thrown up by my internet search was that it seemed that many existing members were unhappy with Sunterra because it was difficult for them to get the exact weeks they wanted in the resorts they wanted. Peak weeks in popular resorts like the one at Quinta do Lago were booked up very quickly and if you were constrained (e.g. by school holidays) then you could well be frustrated. Further investigation showed that there is an active group of dissatisfied Sunterra members who are suing the company for false promises (http://www.sunterrafied.co.uk/) and that the Timeshare Consumers Association has set up a “Sunterra Compensation Group” to act on behalf of members with grievances (http://www.vogas.org/). Amongst the grievances are the above inflation rate annual increase in the “maintenance charges” and the fact that although you have to buy points at inflated prices their resale value is a small percentage of what you paid. According to Sunterra you have to be an existing member to buy points. So if despite the concerns you do find the Sunterra offer attractive (and there are many satisfied customers along with those who are unhappy) the trick is initially to buy as few points as possible directly from Sunterra and then top them up with points bought on the open market!

The buyers’ caution “Caveat Emptor” has always applied when Timeshare has been involved and for the “son of Timeshare” that points based systems like Sunterra’s are it is just the same. I cannot accuse Sunterra of unacceptably high pressure sales tactics, but they were certainly skilled salesman used to resolving customer objections. They never lied to my wife and me, but they were never disclosing the whole truth either. They created goodwill by giving us a week’s holiday at very low cost and once I advised them that we would not be proceeding with the “membership” offer they respected that decision reasonably gracefully. I should, of course, have researched Sunterra before signing up for the holiday. But would I have still taken up the one week golfing holiday offer even if I had know the facts and therefore known that there was little possibility of my buying the points holiday deal - and how I would advise readers of this magazine if they see and are temped by the offer? On balance I think that I would say “go ahead”. Enjoy a week’s golf in the Algarve. Attend the Sunterra sales pitch and politely decline. A bit sneaky perhaps – but not as sneaky as Sunterra’s determined attempt to separate a presumed golfing fool from his money!

Paddy's Sports View 29th March 2005

From "The Emirates Evening Post"

In a year when the forces of nature have caused such terrible devastation (including the near destruction of the Galle cricket ground) it may seem churlish to bemoan the way the weather has disrupted some recent sports events. Australia were denied a certain victory in the Wellington Test, the qualifying session became a farce at the Australian Grand Prix and last weekend in Florida the “Players Championship” descended into chaos as severe weather constantly interrupted play on the golf course. Other than doing their best to schedule events when the likely weather conditions will be favourable (something that cricket administrators have not always done in recent times!) there is not a great deal that can be done. Even in Dubai’s glorious winter climate the Dubai World Cup was once delayed a week because of torrential rain and I can recall a similarly rainy Dubai Rugby Sevens a few years ago.

Changing weather conditions mean that there can never be a guarantee of a “level playing field” in sport, but it is reasonable to expect that officials will be consistent. When Michael Vaughan, the England cricket Captain, mildly suggested that the umpires had been inconsistent over their decisions on bad light at the Johannesburg Test in January (something that anyone at the game or watching on television could see to have been the case) the full force of the ICC descended on him and he was fined 100% of his match fee. Quite how standards of decisions making are going to improve if International captains cannot make any comments I do not understand. Certainly cricket is a sport particularly troubled by weather problems and whilst we must expect this to continue we can also hope that umpires and other match officials will apply some consistent rules. Technology ought to be able to help them do this. Similarly in MotorSport it is nonsense to be inflexible during qualifying sessions as was the case in Australia recently. As far as it is possible the officials should try and ensure that all competitors have reasonably similar conditions for their qualifying runs – otherwise the whole thing becomes a lottery.

As my golfing friends will know I am very much a fair weather golfer. Much as I enjoy the game I have no intention of venturing onto a course when the rain is horizontal or when it is so cold that I have to wear four layers of clothing to keep me warm. A few years ago some English friends visited us in Dubai for a golfing week and I arranged for rounds at Creek, Nad Al Sheba, Jebel Ali and Emirates. They thought that they were in a golfing paradise as the sun shone and the temperature hovered around the thirty degree mark. However we were halfway round the Majlis course when quite unexpectedly a huge black cloud appeared from the Gulf and it began to rain quite heavily. I was so astonished that I dithered around not having a clue what to do. My friends meanwhile had put up their golfing umbrellas (I didn’t even carry one) adjusted their golf bags so that their clubs were protected, climbed into their waterproofs and strode unconcerned to the next tee. A golfer used to the changeable English climate comes prepared – a golfer, like me, more used to smearing on the sun block than to wearing “all weather” gear was completely at a loss.

To return to the “Players Championship” which should have been finished by the time you read this (weather permitting!); it is certainly usually a very good competition and is rightly seen as one of the best on the PGA Tour. This has led to some to call for it to be classified as a “Major” but I think that this is unlikely to happen – I certainly hope so. The current designation of three events in the USA and one in Britain (“The Open”) as “Majors” is a historic fact that I have long thought anomalous. Golf is now a world game and it is high time that the five tours (European Tour, Japan Golf Tour, PGA TOUR, PGA Tour of Australasia and Southern Africa Tour) each had at least one “Major” and that the top players were persuaded to show their skills on courses away from The USA and Europe. Why not an expand the “World Championship of Golf” to (say) ten events a year each of equal status - the four current Majors plus new “Majors” in Europe, the Far East, Australasia, South America, Africa and the Middle East?

Paddy's Sports View 22nd March 2005

From "The Emirates Evening Post"

I have seen International rugby at all of the grounds in the British Isles over the years but without question the one where the emotions run highest is in Cardiff. It was in 1973 that I went to the old Cardiff Arms Park to see England taken apart by a Welsh team that must rank as one of the finest to have ever played Test rugby. The print on my match programme is fading somewhat but the names are clear and each is a legend (overused word, I know, but accurate in this case). J.P.R.Williams; Gerald Davies; John Bevan; Phil Bennett; Gareth Edwards; Delme Thomas; Derek Quinnell; Mervyn Davies; John Taylor…all members of the Rugby hall of fame. In that match thirty-two years ago England were beaten 25-9 and (I am ashamed to admit) I left before the end because I could not stand listening to yet another rendition of "Land of my Fathers" from the hordes in red surrounding me. The team that won on that day held together for the next five years and won their final "Grand Slam" in 1978. The hegemony of Welsh rugby seemed secure and one wondered what the other home nations (especially England) had to do ever to challenge their power. Well, as we now know, that 1978 "Grand Slam" was actually to be Wales's last for nearly three decades as age caught up the heroes and their replacements never quite hit the same heights. In recent times Wales have sometimes been the worst not the best team in the British Isles and there have been humiliating "Wooden Spoons" for their fanatical fans to cope with. But now the long, long wait is over and a new Wales team has emerged to capture the "Triple Crown", the "Six Nations Championship" and (above all) a long awaited "Grand Slam".

Margins in sport at the top are often so very fine and Wales's triumph has not been all plain sailing. But when it came to the crunch they always had sufficient reserves to prevail. There was an absolute will to win in the squad and formidable teamwork as well, which enabled them to cope with setbacks when they needed to. And then there was also that extra factor - the edge given to them by their extraordinary supporters. Rather as England did in the Rugby World Cup in Australia the Welsh supporters managed to be visible (and make enough noise) almost to turn away matches into home fixtures. At Murrayfield, for the Scotland game, there were apparently 40,000 Welsh fans in the ground. Where they all managed to beg, borrow or steal tickets I have no idea but they certainly out-shouted the Scots on the day. And then at the Millennium Stadium, for the final match against Ireland, there was a sea of red all around the ground and had the roof been closed they would certainly have made enough noise to have raised it. As it was, fine weather and perfect conditions make for a great spectacle of rugby in the open air and there was never much doubt that the Welsh would triumph.

Rugby fans now look forward to the British Isles tour of New Zealand in June. The "All Blacks" have every claim to being the best international team in the world and the fanaticism of their supporters rivals that of the Welsh. But curiously New Zealand seem very vulnerable in the very big tournaments - they won the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 but lost in the final to South Africa in 1995 and have failed at the semi-final stage in the other tournaments. Last weekend a highly fancied New Zealand team lost to Fiji in the final of the Rugby Sevens World Cup in Hong Kong - again a failure by the standards that the All Blacks set themselves. The visit of the British Isles "Lions" to New Zealand will be the first for twelve years. It comes at a time when not only have the All Blacks got some outstanding young talent emerging but when Rugby in Britain and Ireland is very strong. Although the Lions team will be managed by England's World Cup winning coach Clive Woodward it is unlikely that many England players will be in the squad which should be dominated by the Welsh (and Irish) players who made the 2005 "Six Nations" such an exhilarating tournament. And the Lions play in Red as well - the non Welsh supporters better learn the words of "Cwm Rhonda"!

Paddy's Sports View 15th March 2005

From "The Emirates Evening Post"

The sign of true champions in any sport, be it a team or an individual, is the ability to win even when not at the peak of your form. When things are not going quite right it is the latent reserves of technical ability or pride or ambition that take over and drive the great sportsmen on - often to an improbable success. We have seen this a few times in the last couple of sporting weeks. By his own exceptional standard Ernie Els was not at his imperious best at the Dubai Desert Classic. He explored parts of the Majlis course which, whilst familiar to many of us, were unknown territory to the "Big Easy". Drives that would usually split the fairway were sheering off and landing amongst the bushes. Putts, which would normally move unerringly to the hole, were stopping short or passing too swiftly by. Of course there was also the effortless birdie, the approach which stopped within a whisker of the hole, and the phenomenal length off the tee which turned the Par fives into fours - but Ernie was not consistently destroying the course as he had in previous tournaments. Nevertheless Els was in the last pair for the final round and you sensed that however well the estimable Miguel Angel Jimenez was playing Ernie had something in reserve. He didn't play particularly well - and Jimenez played superbly - but when it came to the finish it was Els who produced the Champion's flourish to win. As an encore Ernie flirted with a missed cut after a very poor opening round the following week in Qatar but once again clawed his way back and produced the round of the week to win in the end. Back to back wins on any tour are very rare indeed but with Els achieving this feat when not at his best what more can which expect from him in the 2005 season? Quite a lot I think!

Ernie Els is one a small number of outstanding talents at the pinnacle of professional golf. With Tiger Woods return to the best of his form, and with Vijay Singh's ambition undiminished we can anticipate a few stirring battles between these three this year. It will be interesting to see whether this triumvirate maintain a gap with the rest or whether Mickelson (also a back to back tour winner this year) or maybe a new face will join them at the top. Perhaps that new face will be Padraig Harrington whose win at the weekend in the Honda Classic was his first on the PGA tour. The Irishman's final round of 63, which had only five pars in it (along with eleven birdies and two bogies) was nothing short of astonishing.

If the ability to turn a weak sporting situation round and to drag success from the jaws of failure is the mark of a true champion then no individual nor team has this quite to the same extent as the Australian cricket team. It is easy to forget that the Aussies do, occasionally, get themselves into difficulties that would destroy weaker teams. In the First Test match at Christchurch last week New Zealand had Australia on the ropes. The Kiwis scored 433 in their first innings and then reduced Australia to 201-6 a position from which the New Zealanders must have expected to force a win. The reason that the Aussies are a great team is that when they are in trouble someone always "steps up to the plate". Centuries from Katich and Gilchrist and fine bowling from Warne and Gillespie gave Australia a comfortable win in the end.

Finally in a week of sporting comebacks it was also good to see a Pakistan team show real character to deny India a win in Mohali. Pakistan have too often in recent times fallen well short of the results that their individual talents should deliver. Their recovery to draw the First Test match was a fine achievement and maybe they will have now established the confidence that will ensure that the series in India will be competitive. Confidence comes from self-belief as the achievements of Ernie Els, Padraig Harrington and the Australian and Pakistani cricket teams have shown us. The great sports stars can always inhale the rarefied oxygen of self-belief when they need it the most.

Paddy's Sports View 8th March 2005

From "The Emirates Evening Post"

The strike of players in the National Hockey League in the United Sates and Canada is one of the more extreme examples of player power in sport in recent times. It is difficult to feel much sympathy for the players whose average earnings approach $2m per year and whose on-rink behaviour rarely sets an example that young spectators could admire. That player earnings have reached these levels is a characteristic of American sports where the normal economics that govern businesses do not really apply. The drive for success of the owners of Baseball, American Football, and Basketball and Hockey franchises in North America is such that they are quite willing to give almost unlimited sums of money to the teams to try and get it. Much of this money goes to the players. In a recent book, "Leveling the Playing Field", Paul Weiler calculates that in 1947 the average baseball player earned $11,000 a year, a little more than four times the pay of the average American worker. By 1999 the average baseball player was earning $1.57 million, while the average worker earned just $28,000 - a ratio of 56 to one.

Whilst North America is the extreme example of sporting salary escalation it is clear that the phenomenon has spread to many other sports and other parts of the world. David Beckham’s salary at Real Madrid, for example, is $8 million dollars and the rest of the “galacticos” in the team will not earn much less. Whilst Real Madrid is a big business generating substantial income from ticket sales, media rights and sponsorship you can be sure that it is still not big enough to cover these huge player costs. As is the case in England with Chelsea, and their Russian benefactor Roman Abramovich, the only way that these salaries are payable is because a billionaire owner writes the cheque.

Far removed from the rarified world of American sports and European football is the current shambles in West Indies cricket. The West Indies is the poorest of the major Test playing countries with far lower income from sponsorship, ticket sales and other sources than (in particular) Australia, England, India or Pakistan. West Indies cricket has run at a substantial loss for around five years and although a new sponsorship deal giving West Indies cricket around $5m a year has been negotiated with the phone company Digicel this is only a fraction of the sponsorship income of other major countries. The West Indies Board proposal would mean that a top player (Lara or Sarwan) who played in all of the Windies Test and One Day internationals would earn around $210,000 per annum (retainer and appearance fees). This compares badly with the earnings of the top players in other Test nations – Ricky Ponting’s salary is around $500,000 and Michael Vaughan’s is even more. And both these two international captain’s will more than double these earnings with personal sponsorships and other related income.

The financial basis of England cricket is secure following the $400m TV rights deal negotiated at the end of last year and a significant proportion of this income will go to the England contracted players. Cricket Australia is currently locked in negotiations with the Australian players but it is unlikely that the outcome will be anything other than a deal giving the players good earnings. So it is understandable that Brian Lara and other West Indies stars have sought to augment their more modest salaries with personal spronsorhip deals. The problem is that these deals include ones with Digicel’s competitor “Cable and Wireless” – and that is a situation which the Windies Board, understandably, finds unacceptable and is one of the principal causes of the current problems.

Whilst the greed of North American hockey players brings that sport into disrepute and will have caused long term damage the plight of West Indies cricketers is one that we can regard with much greater sympathy. It is no exaggeration to say that the very future of cricket in the Caribbean is in the balance at the moment and, with the Cricket World Cup in the region only a couple of years away, this is a worrying situation indeed. This is an issue that should be fairly high on the International Cricket Council’s agenda – but they seem not to be in the loop. Curious priorities!

Paddy's Sports View 1st March 2005

From "The Emirates Evening Post"

The recreational game that most club golfers play is, of course, “Match Play”. You turn up on a Sunday morning and have a friendly single (or more often fourball) against other club members for a modest prize – then you repair to the nineteenth hole for a convivial post round tincture before going home to the long suffering wife. The appeal of “Match Play” is both the competitive element and the fact that if you do have one or two disastrous holes (and most golfers do) it is not the end of the world – you can always try and come back at the next and repair your loss. In professional golf, however, “Match Play” is comparatively rare with only the “World Golf Championships Match Play Championship” (played last weekend in California) and the similarly named “World Match Play Championship” (played at Wentworth in the Autumn) in the calendar. The PGA Championship used to be “Match Play” as well but it switched to four round stroke play (like the other three “Majors”) many years ago. Given that the peak for most professional golfers on both sides of the Atlantic is to play in the biennial “Ryder Cup”, which is of course also “Match Play”, it may seem surprising that this form of competition is not played more often at the top of the game.

As is so often the case in sport these days, the reason that that there are not more “Match Play” tournaments has to do with strictly commercial considerations. The TV stations that covered the “World Golf Championships” took a gamble that the Final, played on the key day of Sunday when the potential audience is at its peak, would make compelling (and, therefore profitable) television. Had the match been Tiger Woods versus VJ Singh, and had it gone to the 36th hole, then the gamble would have paid off. Unfortunately for the TV and the sponsors this year this did not happen and whilst no disrespect to David Toms and Chris DiMarco is intended, the match between these two was unlikely to rivet many to their seats in front of the TV. Indeed not only was a match between the world’s number 16 and the world’s number 18 unlikely to glue people to their screens but Toms was so dominant (winning 6 and 5) that the match was over an hour early – a disaster for the TV schedules!

It is said that today we live in a world dominated by celebrity and this is certainly true for professional golf. The value of a tournament is greatly enhanced if Tiger Woods is in the line up and that is why the appearance money that he receives far exceeds his potential earnings as a winner. The same applies, but to a much lesser extent, to Singh and to Ernie Els and a few of the rest of the golfing elite. In this week’s Dubai Desert Classic Els (twice a winner in the past) is the one really big name. The rest are either fading stars from the past (Montgomerie, Norman, O’Meara, Bjorn…) or journeymen Pros from the European Tour. This does not mean that it won’t be a compelling event - the quality of the course and the excellence of the organisation always make the Classic a truly splendid experience for spectators at the course, but the TV audiences will be small (especially in the USA). The (US) PGA Tour is unrepresented this year with the only Americans playing being defending champion Mark O’Meara (World ranking 100) and sponsors pick Ben Curtis (world ranking 137).

Ben Curtis has had a terrible time on the Tour since his astonishing win in the 2003 “Open Championship” at Royal St George’s. You do not win Majors unless you are a very good player indeed and Curtis is certainly that. But it must be humbling to be brightly in the spotlight, Open Champion and “Rookie of the Year” one minute and really to be nowhere the next. Whether the “Open” in 2003 will prove to be Curtis’s only “fifteen minutes of fame” remains to be seen. The Desert Classic is an ideal opportunity for Curtis to recover his form and prove the doubters wrong. He is away from the glare of the American media and whatever pressure he may have felt last year as always being announced on the First tee as “Open Champion” will have been removed. Good luck to him and to the rest of the competitors in what should be a great golfing week.

Paddy's Sports View 22nd February 2005

From "The Emirates Evening Post"

The last time that the Olympic Games were held in London in 1948 I was eighteen months old - so I cannot share with you any personal reminisces. But I do know that to hold the Games in a city still devastated by German bombing, and in a country struggling to recover from the after effects of that conflict, was a courageous thing to do. The 1948 Games were a great success attended by huge crowds and in more ways than one the Olympic movement was helped back on its feet by London's capital. Aside from the symbolism of replacing armed conflict between nations with sporting challenge there was also the recognition that the Games had to be wholly apolitical. The previous Games were in Berlin in 1936 and they were used by the German regime as an opportunity to showcase the Third Reich in all its ghastly glory. That Berlin '36 damaged the Olympic movement was beyond question and that London '48 helped re-establish the movement's significance and its principles is also true. So London has an important place in the history of the Olympic Games - a fact which the 2012 London bid team I am sure will have talked about when the Games evaluation committee visited the city last week.

Whilst London has some emotional capital still in its bank from 1948 that is unlikely to be a very significant factor when all the Olympic committee members vote in July as to the venue for the 2012 Games. As a Londoner I very much hope that London will be chosen, but I am still worried that our bid, excellent though it clearly was, will fail for reasons other than the purely practical. As far as facilities are concerned London has a large area of land in the east of the city which is in strong need of rejuvenation. The Olympic Park will transform the area, a factor that the evaluation committee has apparently taken seriously and has welcomed. Indeed it is unlikely that the committee will have been disappointed on any of the practical considerations. Transport, accommodation and sporting facilities available either are, or will be, well up to Olympic standards by 2012. With the new Wembley Stadium, Wimbledon, Henley and even Lord's cricket ground being venues for various events there is a good muster of places with true international sporting resonance in the plan. It's a very good bid and with the clever and well-connected Sebastian Coe heading it up it should have every chance.

In the final analysis the decision will come down not so much to the practical issues - expect the bids from Paris, New York and Madrid (if not Moscow) to be equally proficient - but to emotional and political considerations. In one respect London has a real advantage emotionally, not just its honourable history from 1948, but its unique status as a global city. In the last 50 years or so London has become home to an extraordinarily diverse mix of peoples. One of the British newspapers recently published a map, which showed the extraordinary ethnic mix of the city - virtually every national, racial and religious group is strongly represented. This multi-culture adds hugely to the character of London and it is rarely a source of tension. New York was in the past similarly diverse, but in recent times it seems to me when I have been there that it is more introspective and less inclusive and welcoming (perhaps understandably in the post 9/11 years). Paris is quintessentially French and Madrid proudly Spanish - nothing wrong with that, but they are not international cities in the way that London is.

So we can expect that most if not all of the Olympic delegates in Singapore in July will have positive feelings about London and that many of them will see it as a second home. But London is also the capital of the United Kingdom and in the same way that the Iraq war will have dogged (even destroyed) New York's chance London may suffer by association with the UK's involvement in that conflict. If you are a delegate who believes that the Iraq war was wrong (as many will), and you have on the one side three cities (New York, London and Madrid) from countries that instigated the war and on the other side Paris the capital of one of the most resolute opponents of the war, this may well sway your vote.

Paddy's Sports View 15th February 2005

From "The Emirates Evening Post"

Algarve, Portugal

Having written a couple of weeks ago about the problems with water shortages being faced by the operators of golf clubs in South Africa I found the same situation last week in the Algarve in Portugal. Here there has been little rain for three months (normally a rainy season) and restrictions on water usage means that the fairways are uniformly brown - and at some courses the greens are suffering as well. The talk in the clubhouses is of climate change – and it does seem that the golf industry is going to have to rethink its plans. There are, of course, rather more urgent social and economic consequences of drought than the effect it has on golf resorts for the rich. But if golf course development proceeds without properly sustainable environmental planning then it seems that around the world the game will have a seriously negative effect on the quality of life.

In the Algarve there are now around 30 golf courses, mostly resorts with hotels, apartments and villas dotted around the holes. The courses are generally excellent (water shortages notwithstanding) and if you visit off-peak the green fees are not exorbitant. We played the famous Quinta do Lago courses where the Portuguese Open is regularly played and our round cost 60 Euros ($80) – not unreasonable for a championship course of this quality. The Algarve region, especially along the coastal strip, is something of a golfers’ paradise and there are many permanent residents for whom golf is their life. What surprised me was how many of these are English! In the clubhouse of two clubs that we visited, “Pinheiros Altos” and the “Old Course” at Vilamoura, the sphere was so English that you could have been in Tunbridge Wells. I am tempted to burst into verse about this expatriate enclave as I am sure that there is plenty of material for a poem or two along the lines of my “Jumeira Jane” book (still available in all good book stores in Dubai!).

Property prices in the Algarve have gone through the roof in recent years. A small (two-bedroomed) terrace house on a golfing estate will set you back around half a million Euros ($650,000) and if you want a larger family home you would pay twice that amount. Whenever the word “golf” is attached to anything the price increases, but there is no shortage of willing buyers it seems. Golf, unlike any other sport or pastime, has become not just a game but a lifestyle. For the well-heeled retired (or semi-retired) person a life in a pleasant climate, with a house on a golf course and membership of a club whose members are kindred spirits, is quite an attractive proposition. This, of course, is also the offer in the Middle East – especially in Dubai and soon also in the Oman. But the Algarve has the advantage of genuine all the year round golf (unlike Dubai where only the eccentric will play in the blisteringly hot summer months).

Golf is really the only sport that you can play well into your sunset years. Indeed retirement communities around the world (mostly on the Florida model) are often built around a golf lifestyle. In the Algarve, if you are well heeled, you can live in true golfing splendour. But even those with more limited budgets can enjoy a golfing retirement in the region. If you are prepared top live away from the golf estates then property is available to buy and rent at much more modest costs and membership and green fees at the less fashionable clubs is also more affordable. Another option, if you already own a home elsewhere and only want holiday visits, is to buy a quarter-share in a property. Whilst this is not quite the same as owning your own home outright it is an attractive idea for those retirees who do not want completely to relocate.

My own golfing limitations are such that I am unlikely personally to try and create a “live to golf” way of life – I would be a candidate for psychotherapy very soon if this is what I chose to do. But it is enjoyable to play golf in different countries and to encounter new golfing experiences. In the Algarve there is one golf hole that is worth the visit on its own. The ninth at “Pine Cliffs” is played across a cliff (see photo) and I am only telling you about it because, yes, your correspondent did drive the green!

Paddy's Sports View 8th February 2005

From the "Emirates Evening Post"

As is the case for senior managers in so many areas of modern life one of the key challenges for top sports administrators is to find the right balance between the need for change and the need to preserve good traditions from the past. Global sports such as Cricket have undergone major changes in recent times in response to challenges that are (in particular) caused by the greater commercialisation of the sports.

Sport has to reflect the mores and behaviours of the times. A sporting world where the principle driver is often commercial, and the principle measure of success the amount of income generated by an event or paid to a sports star, is very different from the mainly amateur world of less than 50 years ago. But when sports administrators consider issues which could lead to a significant change to their sports they need measures and advice which go beyond the strictly commercial. Cricket, in particular, is a sport which has a huge inheritance from the past and part of the charm of the sport is that those of us who love it wish to see all the good traditions preserved. Some of these traditions may seem somewhat barmy to those who are not steeped in the sport. To play a five day Test match only for it to end in a draw may seem odd to some who feel that sport always has to have a winner (try explaining it to an American!). But no-one (I hope) would suggest that if at the end of a Test match the game ended in a draw there should be some sort of “tie-breaker”. Draws are part of the game - which brings me to the whole area of cricket records and statistics.

Cricket is a sport in which the variants of types of game are greater than any other. It is played over any period from one to five days. Limited overs matches range from 20 overs to 50 overs per side and the Laws are amended depending on the type of game. What constitutes a “First Class Match” is subject to a rigorous check by the cricket gurus and the same applies (with even greater rigour) to the definition of what is a Test Match and what is an “official” One Day International. In the latter case, in recent times at any rate, there has been little room for debate. There are Test playing countries and when they play one another over five days in a properly sanctioned event then it is a Test Match. Similarly when these countries along with a number of others (like Canada or the UAE) play one another in sanctioned 50 Over “Limited Overs” matches then it is an official One Day International (ODI). All cricket records reflect the established practice that Test matches and ODIs have been played on this basis. But it is possible that this is about to change. The International Cricket Council Executive Board has ruled that the Tsunami relief matches between Asia and the Rest of the World (ROW) will be given official ODI status. Further there is pressure on the ICC Board from their own Chief Executives’ Committee to accord the same status to the one day matches to be played between Australia and the ROW later this year (the so-called “Super Series”) – and even to give Test match status to the six day match to be played at the same time.

The cricket world can be proud of the Tsunami matches which did everyone involved great credit. But there is absolutely no need to distort cricket’s records by calling them official ODIs (which they patently were not). There is even less justification to call the upcoming “ICC Super Series” official ODIs or the six day match a “Test match”. The ICC’s rules clearly state that ODIs and Test matches can only be played between countries. The ICC can change its rules, of course. But to do so would distort cricket’s records to no benefit other than some expectation that the matches would be more commercially successful if they are accorded “official” status for statistical purposes. If the ICC wants to ignore tradition and history solely because they think that the income streams from sponsorship and media rights would be higher then that is an example of a sporting administrator which has got its priorities all wrong. But I wouldn't put it past them!'

Paddy's Sports View 1st February 2005

From "The Emirates Evening Post"

The 56th Formula 1 season is only a month away – the season’s opener takes place in Melbourne on 6th March and the teams are well into testing of their new cars. As is now customarily the case the “off season” has been reported as having been characterised by an unseemly struggle for power at the top of the sport. I have been watching F1 for almost as long as it has been in existence and have become deeply sceptical of such reports. This is not because such struggles don’t take place, but because, in modern times, the sport’s supremo Bernie Ecclestone always emerges in charge – and usually unscathed. Like any serious global sport Formula 1 is a business as well as a series of competitive events - and a world scale business at that. Bernie is a single-minded leader, not as autocratic as some would think, but nevertheless a man who knows that the commercial fundamentals of the sport have to be right if it is to succeed.

I have been fortunate to have been fairly close to two great Formula 1 teams over the years (McLaren and Ferrari) and I can certainly say from my own experience that it is true that many businesses could usefully learn some lessons from them – although they are completely different from each other. McLaren is a team with a single-minded, almost obsessive, leader at its helm in Ron Dennis. Dennis has been in charge at McLaren for twenty-five years during which time the F1 drivers championship has been won nine times with four different drivers (Lauda, Senna, Prost and Hakkinen). The last win was in 1999 and whilst Dennis has experienced similar fallow periods before, you can be sure that he will be determined that the failure of 2004 is not repeated this year. Last year the best McLaren driver (Raikkonen) finished only seventh in the championship and drivers from BAR and Renault (as well as Ferrari and Williams) finished above him. This will not have pleased Ron! This year Raikkonen is joined in the team by Juan Pablo Montoya and if the new McLaren car can perform well from the start either of them has the natural talent to be world champion.

Standing in the way of McLaren and all the other aspirant champion teams is, of course, the formidable Ferrari team and the extraordinary Michael Schumacher. Since the passing of Enzo Ferrari in 1988 there has never been a single individual at the helm – Ferrari is much more of a complete team than McLaren or Williams. Whilst the drive for success is just as great I have always been impressed that Ferrari’s recent imperative has been to assemble a team of all the talents. The team’s overall director is the quiet and rather undemonstrative Frenchman Jean Todt and he acknowledges that the team’s success is attributable (in particular) to the partnership he has with Technical Director Ross Brawn and, of course, Schumacher ( it is remarkable that team as nationalistic as Ferrari none of these three is Italian)

One of the most fascinating things to watch in F1 in 2005 will be to see whether the success of BAR and Renault and the comparative decline of McLaren and Williams will continue. If we look at championship wins over the past twenty years the successful teams are McLaren (8 wins) Williams and Ferrari (5 each) with only Benetton (in 1994 and 1995) breaking their dominance. Benetton’s driver was, of course, the young Michael Schumacher. Predicting outcomes in sport is a hazardous game but I have a feeling that we will see Ferrari continue their success this year - but that the gap with McLaren will have been narrowed a lot. I would be surprised if Williams (who have yet even to confirm their second driver behind Mark Webber) mounts a serious challenge. I would expect the real challenge to Schumacher will come from his team mate Rubens Barrichello, the two McLaren drivers, Jensen Button of BAR and Renault’s brilliant Fernando Alonso. It could be a very exciting year and let’s concentrate on the sport and try and ignore the political and power dances at the top if we can!

Paddy's Sports View 25th January 2005

From the "Emirates Evening Post"

If Tiger Woods knows the sporting aphorism “Class is permanent, form is temporary” he must have had some doubts as to whether it applied to him over the last year or so. Although he has won one or two matchplay and other tournaments he had not had a strokeplay win since October 2003. This is an extraordinary period of drought for a player who was regarded by some as the finest golfer ever. This has now changed with Woods win in the Buick Invitational last weekend – and the smile on his face was a yard wide when he collected the trophy.

The factors affecting Woods comparative decline were both physical and mental with the need for a remodelling of his swing because of back problems very significant. The American TV coverage of the Buick showed Woods when he won the same tournament as a tyro in 1999 and compared his swing then with now. The elegance and confidence is the same – but the power seems more effortless since the remodelling. There is less attack through the ball, which might cost Woods a few yards in distance, but surely places less of a strain on his dodgy back. This year the Tiger putted exceptionally well and that is a threatening thought even for the world number one Vijay Singh. If Tiger has sufficient control to guarantee reaching the greens in regulation every time, and putts as well as he did at Torrey Pines, then he will be unbeatable again. In fact Woods long game was a bit shaky in the Buick. He was only 49th in the statistics that the PGA produces in respect of “greens in regulation” – but he was 2nd in respect of Putts per round (only 26.5 per round) and this made the difference. Drive for show – putt for dough!

Whilst improved physical fitness and confidence helped the Tiger that other factor in golf, Lady Luck, played a part as well and no more than at the final hole. The eighteenth at Torrey Pines has a character which will be very familiar to Dubai golfers – it is a long Par 5 with a final shot across the water. Just as at Emirates the call for the pros is whether to lay up with your second or go for the green. The American Charles Howell was in contention at the final hole and he elected to lay up. He then hit a superb wedge of perfect length and distance and watched as it fell into the cup – and then out again! The shot definitely entered the hole (the rattle was audible) but it then somehow not only managed to jump out again but it actually rolled back into the water. A certain Eagle 3 became a Bogey 6 and Howell’s chance was gone. Tiger hit a good drive and elected to go straight for the green. He then totally mishit a 2 iron but luck was with him and instead of heading for the water it skewed to the right of the green. Tiger got down in two (with a 20 yard putt) for a birdie and a tournament win by three shots. With rounds of 69, 63, 72 and 68 it was a well merited win for Tiger Woods - but he would be the first to admit that the golfing gods were with him!

Tiger Woods’ win so early in 2005 sets the year up nicely as we can expect that there will be a battle royal between him, Singh and Ernie Els at the big tournaments. Singh is an extraordinary player blessed with the perfect temperament for golf and with an absolute drive for success. Els is the more talented stroke maker but the Big Easy seems less obsessive and driven. Nevertheless Ernie will be annoyed about being in contention for three Majors last year and letting them all slip. He will want to put that right in 2005. There is also a gathering posse of young Turks eager to move closer to the top in the rankings – Howell, Donald, Campbell, Scott and Casey look the pick of the bunch behind. Predicting Major winners is a mugs game – there have been many surprises in the last few years. But I would expect Sergio Garcia to win one soon and Goosen and Mickelson will be sure to be in contention. So an attractive golfing year is in prospect – look out, the Tiger is on the prowl again!

Paddy's Sports View 21st January 2005

From the "Emirates Evening Post"

A common feature of most cricket stadiums around the world is the array of refreshment outlets around the ground. From samosas in Delhi to hot corn soup in Port of Spain there is usually a good choice of food and drink available to sustain spectators during a long day’s cricket. At the “Oval” in London there is a vending point called “Mario’s Lamb delights” from which Mario himself sells delicious lamb kebabs and well-filled lamb rolls to hungry customers. Between the innings at the ICC Champions Trophy final last year I made my way to Mario’s. His stand was there as usual, but a large blank sticker had been place over the word “Mario’s” on the fascia above his stand. All other references to Mario’s name had been similarly obscured. “What’s up Mario?” I said “Are you suffering from an identity crisis?” “No mate”, he replied, “It’s the ICC innit. They won’t let me display my brand.” And indeed, for that day only, the “Oval” had been transformed so that any brand name (even one as low key and innocuous as Mario’s) other than that of the ICC’s main sponsors had been obliterated. I recalled the same from the Cricket World Cup in 2003 where there was an almost totalitarian control of advertising at the stadia. If you had a bottle of the wrong brand cola in your bag it would be confiscated and woe betides any spectator who wore a “Things go better with…” T shirt!

Sponsors pay a lot for the privilege of having their brands on display at sporting events and in a way one can understand the wishes of the ICC and other sporting administrators to deliver the maximum value to the brands which pay. But there are limits - and the ICC has become almost paranoid in its determination to pander to the sponsors. But then anyone who doubts that all of the ICC’s decision making is driven by commercial considerations has not understood the realities of the world of international cricket that the ICC is striving to create. If you want to know more then do read Nasser Hussain’s excellent autobiography “Playing with Fire” in which the ICC’s amorality over Zimbabwe, their failure fully to get to grips with match fixing and corruption in the sport and their naked pursuit of commercial advantage is well-described by someone who was at the centre of international cricket for a long time.

In many ways sponsors have transformed sport and the much better incomes that sportsmen have, and the much better facilities at grounds these days, are in part attributable to the funds that sponsors provide. When it is done well sponsorship can add a lot to the game. When it is done badly it can be intrusive and even (worst of all) it can actually impact upon the sport adversely. One of the smartest companies when it comes to sponsorship is Emirates Airlines which seems to get it right most of the time. For Emirates there is a clear strategy to get brand name recognition through such sponsorships as that of the umpires who stand at international cricket matches. The “Fly Emirates” slogan is visible on the umpires’ shirts and there will be few watchers of the sport on TV who have not seen the message. A similar strategy has been followed as shirt sponsor of Chelsea Football Club (a bargain given Chelsea’s success this year) and in the securing of the naming rights of Arsenal’s new stadium (the “Emirates Stadium”. The key thing here is that Emirates see their brand recognition sponsorship as a part of their overall communications plans and that they also produce quality advertising with “reasons to buy” messages. As a sponsor of the Ferrari Formula 1 team Shell has been similarly successful and smart. The key point about an oil company’s sponsorship of F1 is that it is more than a badging or a brand name recognition game. Although, of course, Shell pays a lot for the privilege of sponsoring Ferrari there is much more to I than that. Shell technicians work with Ferrari engineers to get the maximum performance from the fuel and lubricants that Shell provides. Then Shell exploits this in advertising - “Why Shell’s partnership with Ferrari improves their products for the ordinary motorist”. It’s a good positioning to take and Shell does it well.

Paddy's Sports View 14th January 2005

From the "Emirates Evening Post"

The introduction of golf in such climatically unpromising countries as those of the Arabian Gulf is one of man’s more remarkable triumphs over the elements. To turn a few acres of barren desert into a verdant golf course like Emirates or Creek is an astonishing achievement - but one that perhaps visitors and residents alike now almost take for granted. But as in other areas of modern life where the technology and the resources exist to make changes it is vital that golf course development is sustainable – i.e. that it is not only short term commercial considerations that drive decisions. In some parts of the world golf tourism is now so lucrative that the side effects of golf course building are sometimes ignored.

The need for a sustainable development plan to be in place both for new and for existing golf developments is essential and on my recent trip to South Africa I saw for myself what can happen if the balance between competing stakeholders for resources is not maintained. The most important raw material for golf is water – and water in very substantial quantities indeed not just in the construction phase but over the lifetime of the course. In Dubai the first course developments had the guarantee of water in sufficient quantities and at reasonable cost from the start. Emirates, for example, uses water that is a by product of Jebel Ali’s industry and that works well. More recent developments may not have such an advantageous commercial position but although they may pay more for their supplies they can guarantee sufficient quantities are available and they can factor the cost into their business plans. There is sufficient water (at a price) for all. In South Africa this does currently not apply and authorities are faced with difficult judgments as to how they allocate water which is a very scare resource in many areas. In the Western Cape, for example, a long period of drought has meant that there has been a serious water shortage for some time. Even those of us who love the game of golf, and who admire South Africa’s many fine courses, would not argue that they should have precedence over people and communities when it comes to allocating water supplies! This has to be an area of public policy decision making and it would be quite unthinkable that water allocation be left to the market.

During my South African trip I visited a number of courses in the Cape Town area and played on some. Now a sun baked fairway suits my “game” as my topped drives can scoot along a concrete like surface far greater distances than if they were stopped by the healthy grass of a well watered fairway! However the brown tops on the approaches to many holes were not designed to help the high handicappers – they were a sign that water is in short supply. At “Erinvale” a course twenty kilometres or so or so from the centre of Cape Town, the professional told me that they had half the water that they really needed and that if there was not a significant amount of rain in the next three months the course might be forced to close. And this is one of South Africa’s premier courses where major tournaments are held.

I do not know the extent to which sustainable development considerations played a part when speculative commercial golfing ventures like Erinvale were at the planning stage. That a golf course created from barren land can over time establish its own eco-system we have seen in Dubai and one of the great delights of playing at Emirates, the most mature of all our courses, is that there is now well established flora and fauna to be seen that belie their desert location. A bird watching expedition around the Emirates lakes will throw up many surprises. In the UAE there has been proper planning of all aspects of golf course development and providing adequate water can continue to be made available at acceptable prices there is no reason why an almost unlimited number of courses cannot be built. But in a highly populated country like South Africa, with desperate needs for water just for normal living, golf course plans need to be very robust, and the social aspects need to have been properly considered, before authorities should give permission for any new course construction.

Paddy's Sports View 5th January 2005

From the "Emirates Evening Post"

At the very top of International sport, coaches and sportsman alike always seek that magic recipe that will make the difference. It may be a piece of equipment, an innovative motivational programme, a new fielding position or a new formation for the team on the pitch. But how often, I wonder, do they think of trying to use the hidden advantage that dedicated spectators and supporters can bring. At the end of a successful football or cricket match the winning team will often go to their spectators (especially at away matches) and return the applause. This is a smart as well as a courteous thing to do. It may seem obvious but the reason that in most sports the home side has an advantage is because they can hear and respond to the support they receive. Conversely the visiting team may find the atmosphere hostile and that can prevent them from playing at their best.

I am at present in Cape Town for the third South Africa v England Test Match and one of the most remarkable phenomenons at the ground is the English team support. The Barmy Army has quite a few battalions here in South Africa and they make much more noise than the Proteas supporters who outnumber them. The extent of the penetration of the Barmies into the psyche of English cricket supporters became clear to me at a remarkable event on New Years Eve. I was at a very good, if rather formal, Cape Town sports club to see in the New Year alongside more than twenty members of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). Now MCC members are generally as well behaved as they are well heeled. In the spectrum of British society MCC is well to the conservative end – not a membership that would be a natural resting place for the radical. But as the strains of Auld Lang’s Syne died out after midnight I heard a small rumble beginning at the MCC tables. Suddenly these pillars of the community to a man and a woman started a loud and raucous “Barmy Army, Barmy Army…” chant! It was very funny indeed – not least because of the shocked reaction of the good (but rather sedate) burghers of Cape Town at the other tables!

The MCC’s willingness to align itself with the sometimes outrageous (and always irreverent) Barmy Army was an amusing jape at a rather over-dignified event - but there is a serious point to be made. Although not all English cricket supporters who follow the team abroad are members of the Army we all rather admire what they do. In the West Indies last year the huge Barmy Army presence really did make a difference and England’s overall success in 2004 can be in part attributed to this hugely vocal set of supporters. For the team to know that they have support in the ground from a large group who have travelled thousands of miles at their own expense to be there is very motivating. The Barmy Army is unique, and whilst I would not suggest that it is necessarily a model for other cricket teams, it does show that vocal and good natured support can help a team’s performance.

At Newlands, the Cape Town ground, the South African cricket authorities made a very smart decision in respect of the spectators. During the lunch interval we were invited to go on to the playing area and to walk around and have a look at the pitch. Obviously the pitch area itself was roped off but we could go anywhere else. Thousands took advantage of this invitation and everybody behaved well and obeyed the stewards. By their decision the organisers of the Test Match have made many friends amongst local and visiting supporters alike. It was a smart move which cost nothing and where the risk of abuse was small. No doubt the International Cricket Council (ICC) will not be amused if they hear the story. The ICC is obsessed with rules in respect of all aspects of International cricket and they prefer to keep cricket spectators at their distance at matches and put a raft of other onerous constraints on them. Try wearing a Coca Cola T shirt at an ICC event if you want to see what I mean! It might be time for the millions of cricket supporters around the world to ask to be treaded with respect and to be trusted - and the ICC could do well to look at the example of the Barmy Army to see why supporters are so important.

Paddy's Sports View 31st December 2004

From "The Emirates Evening Post"

The margin between success and failure is often a very narrow one in sport. The edge that is caught at third slip is only a fraction of a millimetre off the bat different from the cut which speeds its way to the boundary. The free kick that flies into the corner of the net is almost identically struck to the one that bounces harmlessly off the wall. And in golf, at any level, it an accumulation of tiny differences of skill or luck which divide the good round from the ordinary. For a professional an opening round of 67 in a tournament will put him at or close to the top of the leaderboard whereas a round of 76 will have him struggling to make the cut. And yet there is only a one stroke every two hole difference between the good and the bad (and only a stroke a hole difference between the good and the really ugly!).

It is the tiny margins of error that make the difference in golf and that is why so much of the coaching and the self-help literature focuses on tips that claim to be able to improve your game by (say) five strokes a round. Now those readers who have had the misfortune to be with me on a golf course will know that a book entitled “Paddy’s ten tips for a better golf game” is unlikely to be a best seller. Not deterred I will pass on to you the one thing that I am convinced can make the difference to any golfer. It derives from the famous Gary Player remark "the harder I practice, the luckier I get". But adds that it isn’t the fact that you practice that makes the difference but how you practice.

We have all been there. It’s the monthly medal and you want to play to your best. The clubs are clean; the brand new golf balls (the ones with that magic combination of distance and grip on the greens) are in the bag. You get to the club early, find a place on the range and take the driver out of the bag. Confidently you strike a dozen or so shots with power and precision into the distance. Yes it’s going to be your day! On the first you congratulate yourself with your smart decision to have a work out on the range as you see your splendid drive twenty or thirty yards ahead of your playing partners and right in the middle of the fairway. Then you play your approach to the green and it catches that awkward little mound and rolls into a bunker. From the bunker your shot skims across the green into longish grass and the chip from the grass is still some way from the hole. Two putts later and you have an opening 6 on your card – two over par after one. Your playing partners, the ones with the wimpy drives, have two pars and a bogey between them – it’s you to drive last at the Second.

Now the reason that this tragic but familiar little story is told is in that other sporting cliché – “drive for show - putt for dough”(not just putting, of course, but concentrating on all aspects of the game fifty yards in from the green can make the difference). How often do we hear a golf commentator say “Els (or Woods or Singh) has a wonderful short game? You all know these great players well – but have you heard of David Mobley? David who? Well he is the world’s long drive champion – he hits the ball further than anyone else and makes a decent living from demonstrating his skill. But he’s not on the tour – nor anywhere near it!

So next time you go to the range leave the driver and the rest of the clubs in the bag and arm yourself with a nine iron and a wedge. Look at the distance board which says 80 yards, not the one that says 250 and try and groove in the lob and the pitch not the drive. And then glance sideways smugly at the poor sop in the next position on the range as he powers his practice drives into the far distance and who, you know, is destined for disaster when he gets to the course whereas it’s definitely going to be your day at last!

Review of the Sporting Year 2004

Hail the conquering sporting heroes of 2004 -

From "The Emirates Evening Post" 20th December 2004

A pessimist’s look back at the sporting year 2004 would find much evidence of the darker side of international sport. Drug users, cheats and the customary gaggle of incompetent administrators have been in the headlines far too often and sport has all too frequently been brought into disrepute by greed and arrogance. But true to the spirit of the season let’s put these events to one side and concentrate in this review of the sporting year on the sportsmen and sportswomen who by their performances and the manner of their success have enthralled and entertained us. Let me hail my personal conquering heroes of a remarkable sporting year.

For me the heroes of 2004 divide into three main categories – the “Predictable”; the “Surprising” and (thirdly) those who have really “uplifted our souls”. In the first group we must include the extraordinary Michael Schumacher who won his seventh Formula 1 Drivers championship. Aside from his technical excellence behind the wheel Schumacher is also an absolutely key member of the Ferrari team both in track testing and in respect of the team’s overall strategey and race tactics. Whilst at the beginning of the season it was thought that Raikkonen or Montoya might challenge Schumi in fact his contribution to the overall excellence of the team was such that it was his team mate Barrichello who was runner up. Rubens is a good driver – but his success is in no small measure due to his team leader – as he himself admits.

Whilst Ferrari was a solid team with a genius at its head the same can also be said for the USPS cycling team led by the legendary Lance Armstrong. No superlative is too great to describe this astonishing man who has now won the Tour de France six times and overcome serious illness to do so. Whilst his win this year may also have been predictable it was none the less another astonishing achievement by this iconic sportsman. Moving towards the icon category is Roger Federer who, although comparatively new to top class tennis, was this year at the Schumacher or Armstrong level in his dominance. Despite winning three out of four Grand Slam events in one season Federer seemed never to let his fame and success go to his head. Whether the same can be said for the all-conquering six times Athens gold medallist swimmer Michael Phelps remains to be seen. He faces trial for a serious motoring offence later this month and we must hope that this fall from grace will be seen to be a sin of youth (he is only 19).

Phelps may be a victim of celebrity and there has been no shortage of other sportsmen who have appeared as often on the front pages as on the back this year. But let’s draw a veil of taste over the off-pitch antics of the football stars like Beckham and Rooney. Instead let’s pay tribute to a team whose success was in no small measure attributable to their collective motivation as a team as well as to their individual brilliance. The Australian cricket team have shown that they are streets ahead of the rest. The Aussies may be predictable winners – but they are never boring and they continually surprise in their powers of recovery when, just occasionally, they do get in trouble. One of my two “Teams of the year”.

In the “surprising heroes category” pride of place must go the Greek football team who won Euro 2004. This extraordinary success presaged a great year for Greek sport with the success of the Athens Olympics also being a surprise to some. That the games were well organised, secure and classy was a delight to see – especially as those know-all pessimists who had filed gloomy copy for months before the Games were all proved wrong. Sad that for the Greeks there was a sordid drugs debacle involving two of their stars athletes. But let’s hail the surprising and satisfying XXVIII Olympiad for the stunning success that it was. Similarly surprising was the emotional win of the Boston Red Sox in the World Series. Few if any of the Red Sox supporters were alive 86 years ago when they last won. My second “team of the year” is the European Ryder Cup winning squad who surprised us not by showing that they are good golfers (this we knew) but by showing that teamwork makes a difference even in this most individual of sports. The Americans lost because their whole ethic is individual – look what happened when they paired their two best players (Woods and Mickleson) together - they just didn’t know what to do.


Finally in this very personal review let me look back at those other sporting moments which uplifted my soul. Special mention should go to Sheikh Ahmed al-Maktoum who won the men's double trap shooting Olympic Gold Medal – the UAE’s first ever. Victories like this in the genuinely amateur sports such as the equestrian events, shooting, rowing and boxing are particularly uplifting because we know how much effort goes into preparation - and the rewards of winning are absolutly untarnished by the prospect of rich earnings just around the corner. This is even more so in the Paralympics which this year were the biggest ever and which attracted huge television audiences around the world. The courage of the thousands of competing athletes was stimulating and humbling and reminds us that there is more to sport than fortune and celebrity.

Last week I was privileged to be at a lunch in London at which some of the conquering heroes of the sporting year were fêted. Along with the cricketers, rowers, sailors and athletes there was the seventeen year old Amir Khan boxing silver medallist in the Olympic Games. It looks likely that Khan’s success and fame will be an inspiration, as was Nasser Hussain’s before him, to all young Brits of Asian origins. This brings me to the sporting event of the year that for me that uplifted the soul more than any other - India’s cricket tour to Pakistan. As a neutral I was largely indifferent to the results of the matches. But as someone who believes that sport can be a force for good in a troubled world, transcending nationalism, religious and racial strife and hatred, the successful outcome of the series was a joy to behold. The cricketers of India and Pakistan set a fine example with their sportsmanship and their courage. I salute them.

Interview with David Morgan of the ECB published in "Yes No Sorry"

The England and Wales Cricket Board has agreed with the counties that they will not commit contractually to more than one overseas player for the 2005 season pending a review of the whole issue of non England qualified players in county cricket. In this edition of “Yes, No, Sorry” Paddy Briggs has obtained an exclusive interview with David Morgan, Chairman of the ECB to discuss this subject.

Imagine for a moment that Michael Vaughan had a gap in his schedule that would allow him to play cricket overseas for a couple of months. Imagine further that a struggling Australian State like Western Australia was in need of a class batsman and was able to offer Vaughan £100,000 for a short term contract to play for them. Finally imagine that Western Australia was able to afford this deal only because Cricket Australia gave them a substantial handout from the proceeds of international matches. Vaughan would no doubt jump at the chance, not only to get some hard experience of Australian conditions that would help him on the next Ashes tour, but also to make some handy money. It won’t happen of course – and not just because Vaughan’s schedule is unlikely to allow it. There is no way that the Australian cricket authorities would encourage the financing of their rival team’s players, and the State side has a plenty of home grown talent available anyway. But this situation, peculiar ‘though it may seem, is the norm not the exception in English County Cricket. In addition to the pragmatic signing of overseas Test players by the counties that can afford it there is also the issue of the employment of players with European passports – like Kent’s Danish born Amjad Khan or the many “European” South Africans (such as Nic Pothas, Kevin Pieterson, Greg Smith and Sven Koenig) who can’t play for England but will develop their skills and line their pockets with income generated by the England team.

Mercenaries

Let us take Kent as the example of the current practice and, although this county is in some ways exceptional, it is far from the only case of the current practice of hiring overseas Test stars and EU qualified players as mercenaries. Late in 2002 the county hired the Australian Captain Steve Waugh on a short contract which saw him play four first class and five one day matches at the tail end of the season. The gamble that this would lead to success in either the County Championship or the National League did not pay off and Kent was out of the money in both competitions. In 2003 Kent employed, as well as the Danish Khan, Andrew Symonds, Greg Blewett, Mohammed Sami, and Muthia Muralitharan – so over twelve months they had six different foreign players most on part-season contracts hired to plug gaps created by injury or other absences or to help them achieve specific short term goals. The hiring of Murali was successful in that in five first class matches he took 33 wickets - although in eight one day matches he took only a rather disappointing 13. Nevertheless Murali’s signing kept Kent in the first divisions of both competitions for another season. In 2004, when Mohammed Sami was called away by Pakistan, Kent immediately signed yet another overseas player as “short term overseas player cover” as well as contracting the New Zealand Fast Bowler Ian Butler and Symonds again.

The ECB view

David Morgan described the hiring of Muralitharan as the “gunslinger” approach to employment. As in the Wild West a hired hand solved their problems for them – although the choice of the word “slinger” has perhaps unintended other implications in Murali’s’ case! Morgan was less than enthusiastic about Kent’s decision and proud that his beloved Glamorgan has prospered without over reliance on overseas stars and without signing any players with European passports. But if Glamorgan can do this, why not other counties? According to Morgan the problem is to do with European Union employment rules which could mean that the imposition of any quota on counties could be ruled unlawful. He referred to the case of Maros Kolpak, a player in the German handball league, who was released by his club because of a set quota on non-EU players in the league had been reached. Kolpak took the matter to the European Court of Justice and the court found that, once a non-EU national had obtained a work permit to ply his trade in a particular field in an EU country, he could not be restricted from doing so by arrangements such as quota systems. Morgan said that the ECB was still seeking counsel’s advice on the implications of Kolpak for English cricket but that so far counsel’s opinion on the general issue was that EU laws were likely to restrict rather than support any intent on the part of English cricket strongly, be selection and by quotas, to favour England qualified players.

Whilst David Morgan clearly sides with those who want to restrict non England qualified players in County Cricket he points out that the counties are divided on the issue. Carl Oppenshaw, the Chairman of Kent, told me that both Waugh and Muralitheran “paid for themselves” by adding to the gates in the games that they played. Morgan thought this unlikely but did agree with Oppenshaw’s other defence of Kent’s decision that both of these players had helped Kent’s younger players with coaching and advice whilst they were briefly with the county. Oppenshaw points out that in First Class matches last season Kent employed 20 players who between them made 198 appearances. Only five of these players were not England qualified and their 33 appearances was only 17% of the total for the county. Dennis Amiss, Chief Executive of Warwickshire, shares this view and points to the time in the 1970s when he played for the county alongside the West Indians Kanhai, Kallicharan and Murray – an era when notwithstanding this England held the Ashes and got to a World Cup final.

It is clear that the ECB feels that their hands are tied on the issue of overseas players both by their concerns about staying within the letter of the law, and by the less than unanimous views held by the counties themselves. One likely approach will be to introduce some financial inducements which will encourage counties to employ, select and develop prospective England qualified talent in preference to the hiring of cricketing mercenaries from overseas. But as is always the case with England cricket, there will be much debate and no doubt argument before this becomes a reality.

Paddy's Sports View 31st July 2002

When your team has just been knocked out of the World Cup it is easy to empathise with the words of the great Bill Shankley "Football is not a matter of life and death, it’s far more important than that." But when the emotions have cooled, and reason returns, most of us can philosophically reflect that it is only a game. Sadly, and sometimes tragically, the passion that sport arouses can create gross over-reaction to the outcome of events. The cricket followers who in their disappointment burn down stands. The football supporters who can only deal with bad results by going on the rampage and destroying property. The disappointed cricket fans in India or Pakistan who take their own lives because the national team has lost.

Sporting support should be passionate, but it should also be fair and take place in a context which recognises that, at the end of the day, all sport is ephemeral and trivial. If we agree that sport is ultimately unimportant (albeit that it can be the modern opium of the masses) then this can lead to the creation of a moral framework within which it takes place. Formula One (F1) motorsport is an interesting case in point. When the commercial imperative dominates then you get the amorality that we saw from Ferrari at the Austrian Grand Prix. And you also get the unsavoury bowing to pressure of the British and other governments when the F1 dictatorship threatens to take away their national Grand Prix unless they allow tobacco advertising and sponsorship. On the other hand the huge increase in money in F1 has made it an infinitely safer sport, and the organisers are to be congratulated for ensuing that F1 does not kill drivers or spectators as regularly as it did in the days when I was first a fan.

F1 is a sport that has used its financial strength to ensure that safety is the number one priority. All motorsport is dangerous, but so are many other sports where speeds are high and participants are exposed. Skiing and other winter sports are not free of risk, and contact sports such as rugby can have freak accidents in which players are injured or killed. As with F1 every precaution must be taken in all sports to protect participants and spectators and ensure that risks are minimised. This usually happens today, and whilst no sport can be completely risk-free, with one glaring exception, sports are generally played in a context that recognises that it is “only a game”. The exception to this is, of course, boxing.
All sports reward those who are stronger, faster, and more skilful than their opponents. When Sachin Tendulkar scores a century he has won the battle with the bowling attack. When the Brazilian football team triumph over the opposition it is talent, team work and mental strength that produces the result. I would be the first to accept that a great boxer like Mohammed Ali was also a supremely talented athlete – one of the greatest of all time. But Ali’s “sport” is unique because what boxing is about is causing brain damage to your opponent. To win a boxing bout the best way is to knock your opponent out cold - and knocking somebody out will damage the brain. Sometimes the brain will recover- more often not. Repeated attacks on the brain over a boxing career cause permanent damage – as we see today with Ali. And all too often there is death in the ring. When the Japanese boxer Akira Taiga died during a fight in October 1997 he was the 27th Japanese professional boxer to die from wounds inflicted in the ring since 1952. Around the professional boxing world death and injury is the norm, and has been since the sport began. Hardly surprising because that is the object of the game. To physically harm your opponent in such a way that he collapses or gives in – or dies.
In the Emirates, and across most of the Middle East, there is no real boxing tradition. Let us hope that nobody tries to create one. The plan to stage a boxing world title fight in Dubai between Roy Jones and Vasily Jirov should be resisted and the evils of this so-called “sport” should be brought to the attention of the authorities. There is room for many sports in Dubai, but professional boxing is a barbarism where life and death are in the balance in every bout. Dubai doesn’t need it.

Paddy's Sports view 10th July 2002

The last time India played in England in a Test series was in 1996 and I was at the Lord’s match of that series when two young players made their debuts in the Indian side. Rahul Dravid was one of them and he came close to the very rare feat of scoring a century in his first Test match – and the even rarer one of doing this at Lord’s. The other player was Saurav Ganguly, and he went one better than Dravid by scoring a superb hundred, thereby getting his name on the famous centurion’s board in the dressing room at his first attempt. It is good to see these now mature masters back again this year.

Six years on the tyros are Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh. I saw Sehwag in the Lord’s One Day International and he looked superb scoring 71 runs off 65 balls and putting on over a hundred with his captain. But it was Yuvraj who really caught the eye. First he bowled seven overs of attacking spin taking the successive wickets of Flintoff, Thorpe and Hussain and reducing England from 201 for 2 to 222 for 5. When India batted Yuvraj came in with India struggling at 141 for 4 chasing 271. He then hit 64 runs at a run a ball and, together with Dravid, saw India home to an excellent victory with an over to spare. Yuvraj deservedly won the man of the match award and his form has continued in the other matches in the series – including an amazing 40 runs off 19 balls in the next England match - as well as significant “ship steadying” innings in the two Sri Lanka games.

India look to be the form side in the One Day series and will now play England in the final at Lord’s next Saturday. England are a strong batting outfit at the moment scoring over 500 runs in an innings in each of the Sri Lanka Tests, and also batting well in the one-dayers. But so far this English cricket “summer” has been marked by an absence of top class bowling. Murali was the only bowler high in the world rankings in the Test series, and he was less than fully fit. In the one day series none of the three teams has a bowler of real class playing (except for Harbhajan Singh, who seems unsuited to English conditions). So for the batsmen it is “help yourself time” and many of them have relished the opportunity. My guess is that it may be the same in the Test series and I would not be surprised to see some high scoring draws amongst the four matches. From an English perspective the key is whether Darren Gough will be fit and whether Matthew Hoggard can regain the form that seems to have deserted him for the moment. These two at full pace could cause some problems for the Indian batsmen. If we get a spell of decent weather, and some hard pitches, then the Indian spinners will be on more friendly terrain and England’s notorious vulnerability to spin might be tested. But at the moment it does look like the Tests will be more agreeable for the batsmen on both sides, than the bowlers.

This has been a damp old summer so far and my guess as to why Sri Lanka have so under-performed is that they are fed up with grey skies and constant interruptions to play – and who can blame them. The Lankan team has been here since mid April and they have rarely had conditions that suit them. The spirit seems to have gone out of the side and even Sanath Jayasuriya has found it hard to motivate them. They look like a side that cannot wait to get home – their first long tour to England has not been a happy one.

For India their tour has only just begun and it is very much “so far so good”. But any lover of Indian cricket knows that it would be premature to claim that the corner has been turned and that a consistently performing side has now emerged. Amazingly it seems that their new star Yuvraj Singh will not be staying on for the Test series - Sunil Gavaskar says that Yuvraj is “not yet ready for Test cricket”! From what I have seen he looks ready for any sort of cricket – I am sure that England supporters will breathe a sigh of relief when he boards the flight back to India next week!

Paddy's Sports view 10th July 2002

The last time India played in England in a Test series was in 1996 and I was at the Lord’s match of that series when two young players made their debuts in the Indian side. Rahul Dravid was one of them and he came close to the very rare feat of scoring a century in his first Test match – and the even rarer one of doing this at Lord’s. The other player was Saurav Ganguly, and he went one better than Dravid by scoring a superb hundred, thereby getting his name on the famous centurion’s board in the dressing room at his first attempt. It is good to see these now mature masters back again this year.

Six years on the tyros are Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh. I saw Sehwag in the Lord’s One Day International and he looked superb scoring 71 runs off 65 balls and putting on over a hundred with his captain. But it was Yuvraj who really caught the eye. First he bowled seven overs of attacking spin taking the successive wickets of Flintoff, Thorpe and Hussain and reducing England from 201 for 2 to 222 for 5. When India batted Yuvraj came in with India struggling at 141 for 4 chasing 271. He then hit 64 runs at a run a ball and, together with Dravid, saw India home to an excellent victory with an over to spare. Yuvraj deservedly won the man of the match award and his form has continued in the other matches in the series – including an amazing 40 runs off 19 balls in the next England match - as well as significant “ship steadying” innings in the two Sri Lanka games.

India look to be the form side in the One Day series and will now play England in the final at Lord’s next Saturday. England are a strong batting outfit at the moment scoring over 500 runs in an innings in each of the Sri Lanka Tests, and also batting well in the one-dayers. But so far this English cricket “summer” has been marked by an absence of top class bowling. Murali was the only bowler high in the world rankings in the Test series, and he was less than fully fit. In the one day series none of the three teams has a bowler of real class playing (except for Harbhajan Singh, who seems unsuited to English conditions). So for the batsmen it is “help yourself time” and many of them have relished the opportunity. My guess is that it may be the same in the Test series and I would not be surprised to see some high scoring draws amongst the four matches. From an English perspective the key is whether Darren Gough will be fit and whether Matthew Hoggard can regain the form that seems to have deserted him for the moment. These two at full pace could cause some problems for the Indian batsmen. If we get a spell of decent weather, and some hard pitches, then the Indian spinners will be on more friendly terrain and England’s notorious vulnerability to spin might be tested. But at the moment it does look like the Tests will be more agreeable for the batsmen on both sides, than the bowlers.

This has been a damp old summer so far and my guess as to why Sri Lanka have so under-performed is that they are fed up with grey skies and constant interruptions to play – and who can blame them. The Lankan team has been here since mid April and they have rarely had conditions that suit them. The spirit seems to have gone out of the side and even Sanath Jayasuriya has found it hard to motivate them. They look like a side that cannot wait to get home – their first long tour to England has not been a happy one.

For India their tour has only just begun and it is very much “so far so good”. But any lover of Indian cricket knows that it would be premature to claim that the corner has been turned and that a consistently performing side has now emerged. Amazingly it seems that their new star Yuvraj Singh will not be staying on for the Test series - Sunil Gavaskar says that Yuvraj is “not yet ready for Test cricket”! From what I have seen he looks ready for any sort of cricket – I am sure that England supporters will breathe a sigh of relief when he boards the flight back to India next week!

Seve Ballesteros - In Memoriam

In the early years of the Dubai Desert Classic there was no more popular competitor than Severiano Ballesteros. Seve was usually a contender to the last – and indeed was the winner of the tournament in 1992. He has continued to take part over the past few years despite the obvious fact that his golfing powers were waning. In recent years, in contrast to the smiling Seve of before, we have seen a man clearly not at peace with himself, or with his golf. I remember at Creek two years ago watching him struggle off the tee, and on the greens. His face was grim and he seemed older than his years. He was still courteous and professional, but the easy smile which used to signify how simple he found the game was gone.

Seve recently had to withdraw from the Irish Open having signed for the wrong score on one hole (a 10 instead of a 12!) - and he has now announced that he will not take part in this year’s “Open Championship” at Muirfield. Is this the end of his great career? Seve’s slump in form has lasted so long that one perhaps must accept that he will never again play at the highest level. On the other hand Nick Faldo, only a couple of years younger than Seve, seems to have a new lease of life and is competing very close to the top again. Faldo’s performance in the U.S. Open was superb, finishing in the top 10 and also scoring the lowest single round of the championship. It would not be a total surprise if Faldo won at Muirfield, a course on which he has already won two “Opens”.

It would need a highly skilled sports psychologist to explain why Ballesteros has so lost his form and why Faldo has regained much of his. I would like to suggest one reason. Nick looks as if he is enjoying his golf again. Reunited with his long term caddie Fanny and newly married (again!) Faldo looks at peace with the world and with himself. Those who bumped into him during this year’s Desert Classic commented how charming he was (not a word always associated with the rather brash young Nick Faldo)! Seve, on the other hand, looked tired and drawn. When things went wrong (as the always will, at any level, in this diabolical game) Seve looked as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders. Any smile was forced - more to mask despair than as a natural reaction.

What can the ordinary golfer learn from the trials and tribulations of Severiano Ballesteros (and the contrasting better fortunes of Nick Faldo)? First and foremost we must learn that golf is only a game. Those of us who pay money to play do so (presumably) because we want to. Because we enjoy the experience. When it becomes a burden if we lose our form, or if we think that we always get the wrong rub of the green, then the enjoyment goes with it. This can then lead to a vicious circle of golfing depression. We play badly. The luck goes against us and we play even worse. We don’t enjoy the experience and so we play even more dreadfully! When we play well then we can enter a virtuous circle. A couple of good holes and we begin to believe that, yes, we can play the game. So on the next tee we drive with confidence, and not with worry. And so we may carry on playing better.

The extremes I have sketched out do not, generally, happen like that, of course. In any one round we will have the highs of good holes mixed in with the lows of the disasters. The challenge, which every golfer knows, is always to move on to the next shot, the next hole, and the next round and forget what went before. Easier said than done.
But for Seve it does look as if (in the words of Grantland Rice) that the “last game may be done” and that his “last score may be in”. If so then we can all, without question, say - in the words of the same poet - that he deserves to enjoy his retirement and to be the one who “in the night, beyond the fight …finds his rest at last”. With Seve we will remember his great triumphs, but we will also remember with great affection “how he played the game”. He has earned his rest.

Paddy's Sports View 19th June 2002

The massive expansion of golf around the world in the last few years is such that the choice for the golfing aficionado has never been greater. The construction of golf courses, and the associated leisure facilities, is a potential source of considerable revenues for the developed world and the developing world alike. If you have a good climate, available water, reasonable access to an international airport and suitable land then a golf course can be a very profitable investment. And in many ways Dubai is a model for other parts of the world. From the early days when the construction of the Emirates “Majlis” course from out of the desert seemed almost miraculous, we now take for granted the fact that a bare desert landscape can be converted into rich green fairways.

The burgeoning of golf tourism and the opportunistic creation of new golf courses to meet the demand not only widens choice, but also makes golf far more accessible for more people. When I was young in England in the post war years golf was a traditional, and rather elitist game. The courses dated back fifty years or more and all of them were member’s clubs which only tolerated non-member players with great reluctance. The club in Kent that my father was a member of used pricing and prejudice to keep out players who were “undesirable”! I remember driving to the club one day and as we approached the road which led to the clubhouse I noticed a prefabricated, metal roofed building on the course. I asked my father what it was and he said (somewhat shamefacedly) that it was the “Artisans” hut. He explained that the Club committee some years earlier had decided that there was a potential source of revenue available from “Artisan” (working class !) players. These players paid a small subscription for which they were allowed to play on the course on weekdays (when it was not so busy) - but they were not allowed to use any of the club’s member’s facilities or to play at weekends. Whether this golfing “caste” system still exists I doubt (I certainly hope not). Hopefully the massive growth of new facilities in Britain over the past few decades (including the construction of some excellent new “public” courses) has made such socially divisive systems unnecessary.

The need to keep a balance between the needs of members, and the requirements of casual players (especially holiday makers) is a tricky one to achieve. Many Emirates members feel that there are too many visitors on their courses and they resent the fact that it is not always easy for the members to get a tee-off time on popular days. But it is at Nad Al Sheba that some of the members are most aggrieved at what they see as an excessively commercial focus in recent times. A few months ago my wife and I were playing with a friend in a three-ball and as we reached the twelfth hole a marshal zoomed up in a golf cart and dumped a new player on the tee. This player was a visitor (paying cash no doubt) and on a busy afternoon the only way that the Club could accommodate him (and take his money) was to insert him into our three-ball. The fact that we were more than halfway into our round, and that we had developed a pace and style of play, was irrelevant. Now any golfer knows that the quality of a round is hugely affected by the interaction with your playing partners. You establish a way of playing, and to have it disrupted in this way was very unsettling.

Nad Al Sheba has become much less of a member’s club and much more of a commercially driven business in recent times. Indeed it is difficult to see what the advantages of membership are (other than the right to play in club competitions). The new membership structure is so complicated that even the club officials don’t really understand it. And one of the basic rights that members of gold clubs around the world enjoy (the right to sign for purchases and receive monthly accounts) has been taken away and you actually have to deposit money with the club if you want to have signing privileges!

The golfer (including the Dubai golfer) has never had more choice. Nad Al Sheba and the other clubs need to make sure that they cherish their members if they want to keep us in the future!

Paddy's Sports View 12th June 2002

An hour or so after take off on EK003 from Dubai to London last Friday the pilot came on the public address system with an announcement. “Ladies and Gentlemen, here is an important message for passengers…’England 1…Argentina 0 is the final score!’ Now I am sure that this column’s loyal Argentinean readership will forgive me if I tell you that my customary dispassionate objectivity was cast aside for a moment and that I leapt from my seat and cried out “Yippee!!!”

Long standing rivalries are a key element in sport and without them one’s enjoyment would be lessened. In football England’s two greatest sporting enemies are, of course, Germany and Argentina. For England to have beaten these two in “World Cup” matches in the last six months has been sweet indeed!

Now I am sufficient of a realist to know that there is a long way to go in these “World Cup” finals (and that England may not even qualify for the next round if they blow it against Nigeria in the final group match). But from what I have seen so far, it is shaping up to be a tournament to remember and there is no reason why there could not be a surprise winner – maybe even England! We shall see. But what is pleasing is that many of the matches in the early stages of the finals in Japan and South Korea have been worthy of the description that all-time-great Pele used for the sport – he called in “The Beautiful Game”.

The beauty of football is its absolute simplicity of purpose and its instant accessibility. I have written recently about the awesome task of trying to explain cricket to someone who has grown up somewhere where the game is not played. With football no such problem arises. It is not just the ubiquity of the game which makes it so great, but the fact that there is really only one objective - to get the ball in your opponent’s net more often that they get it in yours. And there have been many great matches where there has been no scoring at all. Can you imagine the idea of a goalless draw in Baseball, American Football or Basketball? Indeed these sports don’t allow the possibility of a “tie” at all – there always has to be a “tiebreaker” in American sport – there always has to be a winner.

Whilst there is simplicity to the task in football that makes it unique (and sometimes “beautiful”) this is not too say that the game never disappoints. Football can sometimes be drab and dull or be blighted by cynical fouls - often when the stakes are too high or the discipline is too lax. But the game more often delights, than it disappoints. Part of the delight is that the form book is upset far more often than in other team sports. Senegal beats France. Croatia beats Italy. The USA beats Portugal. And any of the sides which reach the last sixteen could win the tournament - and that greatly adds to the general enjoyment of the spectator.

In referring to the simplicity of purpose of football I am not at all meaning to suggest that the tactics of the game, at the highest level, are simple. The best coaches develop football strategies worthy of the great generals in battles or military campaigns. Alf Ramsey, who managed England’s “World Cup” winning side of 1966, was the first coach to play a team without wing forwards. Before Ramsey the line up had always been 5:3:2 – with the front five having two wingers, two inside forwards and a centre forward. How ancient these terms sound today! As with many sports improved fitness levels, and a far greater requirement for all-purpose players who can attack as well as defend, have changed football a lot. But notwithstanding these changes the game itself is in many ways much as it always was. And the rules have hardly changed in a hundred years either – a time traveller from a century ago could go to one of this year’s “World Cup” matches and understand it immediately.

Beauty and simplicity, combined with fact that all you need to play the game is a bit of waste ground and a ball, have made football by far the world’s greatest sport. And the “World Cup” is football’s greatest tournament. Which is why I will continue to leap out of my seat if England wins – providing, of course, that the “fasten your seatbelts” sign is not illuminated!