Golf, gin and good dinners

Bill Elliott is back in the land of the nearly living after a short break to report on gin and good food, and yes, some golf.

RIGHT, hello, I'm back in the land of the nearly living. You may recall that last time I told you I was off to the golfwriters dinner. I haven't blogged since then because (a) I've not had time and (b) I have been nursing the mother of all hangovers. This was cured by a visit last night to the Hendrick's Gin distillery just up the road from my house for the week in Girvan.   It may seem unlikely but a few belts of decent gin turns out to be a terrific livener for those of us jaded by the previous evening's revelry. A good turn was had by all at he distillery, especially the journalist who elected to ride a penny-farthing bicycle and then fell off. Not once, but four times. Another journalist, Peter Corrigan of The Indpendent and who is both the nicest bloke and worst golfer - and most enthusiastic - I have ever known, won a watch after pitching in to a punch bowl set up for the evening.     While the rest of us went for high, soft pitches, Peter's cunning plan was to top every pitch. The fourth one worked, his ball whacking against the target, shooting straight up in the air and then nestling in the old punchbowl. Extraordinary.   Anyway, back to the dinner thing. GM's playing editor David Howell volunteered to make this his debut as an after-dinner speaker. The boy done well too, encouraging genuine laughter several times. Bit I liked best was his reference to the fact that "as a pro golfer I have always dreamt of making a speech in front of a large crowd. I never thought it would be at something like this and in front of you lot."   This got me quite a few laughs when I retold it in the champagne tent yesterday lunchtime. By then I had walked the last half dozen holes with Tom Watson as the old boy plugged into that 1977 magic and transformed it into a 2009 fairytale. As he walked off the final green Tom stopped and handed his ball to a lady in a wheelchair, cupping her hands to his and grinning. Top bloke.

Where next?

- More Golf Monthly blogs - Blogs from the Open Championship - New equipment reviews - Peter Thomson interview

 

Editor At Large

Bill has been part of the Golf Monthly woodwork for many years. A very respected Golf Journalist he has attended over 40 Open Championships. Bill  was the Observer's golf correspondent. He spent 26 years as a sports writer for Express Newspapers and is a former Magazine Sportswriter of the Year. After 40 years on 'Fleet Street' starting with the Daily Express and finishing on The Observer and Guardian in 2010. Now semi-retired but still Editor at Large of Golf Monthly Magazine and regular broadcaster for BBC and Sky. Author of several golf-related books and a former chairman of the Association of Golf Writers. Experienced after dinner speaker.