Inside Golf, Australia. August 2014 | Page 69

chips and shanks Bob’s putter collection grows R EMEMBER Bob Abbott from Gympie in Queensland? He’s the guy whose aim it was to collect 500 putters – and then stop. Well, at the time of writing, Bob, who was fast running out of space in his garage for the vast collection of flat sticks, picked up his 677th putter. “I am about to build a couple more stands for the additional putters,” he told Inside Golf. “A golfing friend rang me a month ago and told me he had an Aeroplane putter I could have. The Aeroplane putter has been added to Bob Abbott’s vast collection. “Then my brother-in-law from Maryborough gave me a PING Zing putter and another golfing mate from veterans gave me a Robert Forgan, St Andrews putter. “Then I did a trip down to the Sunshine Coast and picked up a Sam Snead Wilson, Lynx Model 4 Parallax (the shaft and grip are all made of the same material). “And an ex-Gympie player from Cooroy gave up a left-handed Odyssey tri-ball white steel putter.” Stuffed croc baffles Scots IN some countries the discovery of a crocodile on or near a golf course is, well, par for the course. Perhaps it’s why concerned golfers in Scotland called in animal welfare officers when they discovered a crocodile, albeit partially stuffed, next to a golf course. The reptile was spotted in a creek at Carnwath Golf Course in South Lanarkshire. No one knows how the 1.4m long protected West African dwarf crocodile got there or how it ended up stuffed, but the Scottish SPCA’s Heather Lawson is treating it as a prank. “I first thought it was a prank when I received a call saying there had been sightings of a crocodile but when I IN recent years, Carbrook Golf Club in southeast Queensland has copped its fair share of damaging storm activity. After the last big wet, the club thought the large bull sharks that reside the golf course’s main dam had been washed out but they are still there, according to the club’s general manager Scott Wagstaff. Anyway, Scott gets a little nervous when storm clouds gather and goes into overdrive. That’s code for “grab my camera”. That’s exactly what he did the last time the wild weather moved in. He took a number of amazing pictures (see above) and posted them on the club’s website. “I always keep a close watch on the weather,” said the man known as shark whisperer. Storm chaser might be another moniker for the award-winning golf club manager. Shark in commentary box investigated I found it was real,” she told Heather Saul from The Independent. “The crocodile was dead and oddly had tape wrapped around its head. “It seems someone has attempted to stuff the crocodile as it had no insides and there was straw stuck in its legs. “We now know it was a West African dwarf crocodile and it’s a complete mystery how it got there. “These are protected animals and anyone who owns one in this country would need to have a dangerous wild animal licence.” Museum celebrates Thomson’s glory The National Sports Museum at the MCG is recognising the achievements of an Australian golfing great whose success at the British Open saw him become arguably Australia’s greatest ever golfer. Running until August 26, Blazing a trail: Peter Thomson at the British Open features the seven medals won by Thomson at the British Open: • Five Open Championship winner’s medals (1954, 1955, 1956, 1958 and 1965) • Two Ryle Memorial medals as winner of the Open Championship and a member of the Professional Golfers Association (1955, 1958) Unable to keep the perpetual Claret Jug, winners of the Bri ѥ͠