Letter: Golfers' defence of a worthy game

From Mr Christopher Spink

Sir: Genevieve Fox has obviously never played the "Royal and Ancient" version of golf. While I agree with much of her sentiment about the harmful, ludicrously expensive and unnatural golfing developments, such as the £40m London Golf Club at Sevenoaks, the rest of her article gave vent to the most prejudiced attack on the game I have ever read. She even questioned whether golf was a sport at all, claiming that the game "does the sporting world a disservice".

At a time when football's shame and sleaze is weekly paraded in the press, perhaps Ben Crenshaw's recent gentlemanly victory at Augusta should give true sportspeople a worthy example to follow. Lord Wellwood said in 1890:

to play golf aright requires nerve, endurance, and self-control, qualities which are essential to success in all great vocations.

Yours faithfully,

CHRISTOPHER SPINK

Cambridge

29 April