Why punk rocks

It is no surprise that Golf Punk's champion is Ryder Cup star Ian Poulter, he of the multi-hued hair and fancy pants cut from a Union Jack, who is attracting a new teenage gallery to tournament golf.

Now comes news that television hosts Ant and Dec are seeking an ITV commission for their Celebrity Cup which promises to hit out of bounds the misconception that Jimmy Tarbuck, Bruce Forsyth and little Ronnie Corbett are the only showbiz stars who own sets of clubs.

If Ant and Dec get their way, then later this year Montgomerie and former Open champion Mark O'Meara, of the United States, will captain two teams of A-list celebrities in a television special based

on the Ryder Cup format. Likely players? David Beckham, Tim Henman, Cindy Crawford, Samuel L Jackson, Jonny Wilkinson, Jodie Kidd and Catherine Zeta Jones.

Iestyn George, deputy editor of Golf Punk, said: "I don't think ITV would consider putting their most charismatic presenters in a show like this unless they thought there was a massive audience there. If it is going to add to the general feeling that there are things changing in golf, then I think it is a good idea.

"We're still scarred by A Round With Alliss back in the 1970s when Tarby and Brucie and Henry Cooper playing golf with Peter Alliss on television probably did more to hinder the long-term development of the game."

Traditionalists may baulk at the sight of putting punks, but they're finding it's a case of adapt or die.

The new youth-led brigade tend to be more spend-free. They buy into new technologies developed for clubs and balls, want to look good out on the course, and like to discuss draws and fades over mountains of food and buckets of drink. It all counts at the cash register.

Most crucially, the newcomers want to do it all their way. If club rules are too restricting, they'll take their business to the new breed of pay-and-play courses that offer more relaxed golfing.

John Dean, Golf Punk's publishing director, explained: "We don't want this old clubhouse traditionalism. There are people who absolutely believe that golf is rock and roll."

Such as DJ Spoony, who plays off a handicap of 12 when he's not making music for BBC Radio 1 or talking football and golf on Radio Five Live.

Spoony said: "In the short time that I've been playing I've seen the game change. People I know that played, they kind of kept it quiet like it was almost a dirty little secret. But now, people seem to be more confident in coming out and saying they play golf."

It was Spoony who introduced close friend Poulter to William Hunt, the Saville Row tailor responsible for the tournament winner's distinctive on-course wardrobe. He said: "The way that I'm dressed, and the way that 'Poults' is dressed, always conforms to the etiquette of golf, which is only right.

"But there are ways of varying things and, of late, people have become a little more individual. That can only be a good thing. It makes the game bigger. What you'll find is you'll end up with more and better public golf courses like they have in America.

"It's got to be good that the game will open up like that. Who's to say that a young kid growing up in an inner city can't be the next Tiger Woods?"

The recent 'awards' issue of Golf Punk saw J Lindeberg named Golf Fashion Label of the Year. Johan Lindeberg, who dresses Jesper Parnevik, Freddy Jacobson and Aaron Baddeley, insisted: "Golf needs to move forward.

"Golf fashion has been stuck in a 1980s sand trap. I want to change the whole establishment through the world of golf."

Is it any wonder that Dawson's Golf Punk is thumbed through from cover to cover?