Mark McGowan at Galgorm Castle
During the three-hour drive from Sligo to Galgorm Castle on Wednesday morning, my enthusiasm for the Black Desert NI Legends that I was on my way to cover wasn’t exactly at peak levels.
That’s nothing to do with the venue – Galgorm Castle’s golf course, grounds, hotel, and hospitality are always top notch – the field – major winners and more former Ryder Cup stars than you can count on a hand – or anything to do with the Legends Tour itself, but all to do with the fact that the rain alternated between heavy and torrential for the duration of the journey. And the two large cups of coffee I had brought meant I spent the final 90 minutes needing to pee but choosing dry discomfort over sodden relief.
It was still lashing when I pulled into the magnificent grounds of the golf club, and, managed to find myself a parking spot within short sprinting distance of the clubhouse and bathroom. The Wednesday Pro-Am, due to start at 12, was put back an hour and a dry and warm afternoon was forecast, I was told.
I had my doubts, but over a bacon bap and more caffeine, God turned off the tap. Literally and metaphorically, things were looking brighter and only got brighter still.
I wasn’t due to play in the Pro-Am, I must add. I’m here in an official reporting capacity, but as I loitered around, chatted with the odd pro and the many am, I decided to selflessly offer my services as a last-minute substitute at the check-in desk if one were needed.
And as it turns out, one was. The Bentley team of Richard Montgomery, Kieron Fitzpatrick and accompanying professional, Maarten Lafeber and his caddie for the week, South African Brian Shezy, had a late withdrawal, and were more than happy to accept whatever minor contribution I might bring to the table.
Like most of the Legends Tour players, Lafeber’s is a name I’d grown up seeing on European Tour (as the DP World Tour was then called) leaderboards, but one that had largely disappeared before a recent re-emergence. And a re-emergence in two forms….
One, is the Dutch master himself, having celebrated his 50th birthday back in December, and gone back touring after spending the guts of a decade as Head Coach for the Dutch National Federation.
The second, is Lafeber’s son, Guus – a 17-year-old chip off the old block who recently won the Boys Amateur Championship at County Louth Golf Club and, with a year of high school left, already has a host of scholarship offers from the United States, including ones from the ‘blue chip’ golfing universities. Remember the name.
Even if they don’t often admit it, most pro golfers aren’t overly fond of playing in Pro-Ams. And that’s hardly surprising. Imagine a premier league footballer lacing his boots to play a five-a-side astro match with a motley crew of assorted randomers, and you get the idea.
I’ve often thought that, inside, when another hacker sends a horrific slice into the trees, they must feel a little like Matt Damon’s Will Hunting in the 1997 movie about a troubled genius.
“Do you know how easy this is for me?” Hunting says, letting his frustration show when an MIT math tutor struggles with a problem that he’s already solved. “Do you have any f**king idea how easy this is? This is a f**king joke! And I’m sorry you can’t do this, I really am because I wouldn’t have to f**king sit here and watch you fumble around and f**k it up.”
Because that’s what elite pros do. They take one of the most complex and frustration-inducing sports and make it look easy. And that’s what Lafeber did. His exact score, we’re not sure of, because it was a team format and only birdies counted, but a rough estimate was a three-under that could easily have been six- or seven- if his lukewarm putter had heated up.
But far from getting frustrated with the rest of us as we three-putted from 15 feet, duffed and skulled chips, hooked and sliced drives, and each threw in the odd moment of brilliance, Lafeber was the perfect gentleman – chatted engagingly, seemed genuinely interested in the lives and professions of the rest of us, and spoke candidly about his own life, both past and present. And he told us he enjoyed it – that he always enjoys it – and what’s more, I believed him because it became readily apparent that Lafeber speaks his mind.
Back in 2002 – a year before Lafeber’s highlight home victory in the KLM Dutch Open – he’d refused to sign playing partner Miguel Angel Martin’s card at the Portuguese Open because he felt that Martin had repeatedly used his club to flatten the grass behind his ball, and in the past decade, he’s told numerous Dutch parents the news no hopeful parent wants to hear – that their son or daughter is simply not good enough to carve out a career in professional golf.
And he takes the same honest approach to his own family, so when he says that Guus has the potential to be a future tour pro, I believe that too.
But will we see a role-reversal where the father follows in the son’s footsteps and wins on Irish soil? I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t placed a modest wager on that happening this week at 80/1 with BoyleSports.
“The people in Ireland are always great. They really understand the game and the golf courses are always great,” he said. “I don’t think I ever missed an Irish Open or the European Open at The K Club when I was on tour, and that was purely because I loved playing here so much.
“Now, my son has a special connection to the country. He loved the course [County Louth at Baltray] and I believe it’s one of the top links courses in the country.
“I’m playing well. I’ve had three top-10 finishes in the seven Legends Tour events I’ve played, so I’m going in the right direction. If I’m good off the tee, I think I can do really well this week.”
In truth, I don’t need the wager to get behind the big Dutchman this week. He’s won me over and more besides….
And that’s easier said than done.
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