Golf ball hero Fudge raises a huge smile down at the Prestwick fairways

Happiest story of last week was the tale of Fudge, the golf ball collecting Cocker Spaniel.

Owner John Swiatek has trained him to find stray golf balls – and after an incident of cancer in his family - John decided any money raised from selling them should go to Ayrshire Cancer Support. How nice is that? I reckon John could raise even more cash - giving ball- finding lessons to other dogs!

My infamous mutt, Eric the Terrible, was hopeless.

He couldn’t even find the balls I threw into the rough while I was trying to train him.

He must have been the only golf course canine ball hunter who came back with fewer balls than he started out with!

The other interesting aspect to four- legged fund raiser Fudge’s story is that he can retrieve thirty or forty balls a day at St Cuthbert Golf Club. Thirty or forty? A day? I mean - how many short- sighted duffers can one golf club membership have?