Stephen Hendry
The snooker legend used to play off five and once broke 70 around Gleneagles... but still finds it a challenge to actually get the ball in the hole
Stephen Hendry is widely considered the best snooker player of all time. He dominated the sport in the 1990s, clinching a record seven world titles and topping the world rankings list for eight consecutive years. He was in a class of his own.
After a glittering career spanning the best part of three decades, Hendry pack away his cue at the end of the 2011-12 season. Nowadays he’s commentating on the game for TV – “it’s second best to playing” – performs in the odd exhibition, regularly visits China to promote the game... and is battling to get his handicap back down to single figures.
I first picked up a golf club when I was about 15 and though snooker was always No.1, I didn’t turn pro until 16. Basically snooker was a winter sport back then and we used to get the summers off, so the natural progression was to get a golf club in your hands!
The first course I ever played was a municipal outside Edinburgh and the first course I joined was Gleneagles, when I was 18 or 19. Jimmy White and myself did a tour of Scotland and we got a lot of golf in and I was a Gleneagles member for 20 years.
It was a great way of switching off after the World Championships finished in early May. Generally I didn’t have another tournament until September. It was a great way to get some fresh air and when I found out I could play a bit as well, I fell in love with the game.
There are still a lot of very good snooker-playing golfers. A huge percentage played in the earlier days, though not so much nowadays because the snooker season is virtually year- round. John Parrott plays off something like 1.6, he’s a proper golfer. Jimmy White plays a bit though he tends not to last 18 holes – he gets a bit bored after seven!
My best-ever round was at Gleneagles where I used to play regularly and in a lot of medals. I shot a 69 on the Queen’s, a great little course, and the only time I’ve been under 70. Around then, I was playing off 5.4, my lowest handicap... I’m currently unofficially playing off 10.
Strangely, my biggest weakness is putting! People believe I should be a much better putter, but in golf you’re looking down whereas in snooker you’re looking along the line. Plus, the snooker table is level, or should be!
I live near Ascot so have been able to play Sunningdale a few times – it’s just incredible, two of the best courses I’ve ever played. I was a member at Loch Lomond for a brief time and that was outstanding. But Sunningdale is something else.
I’ve played in some fabulous courses in China. A couple of years back I played in a pro-am at Mission Hills with the pros and famous actors and that was pretty special. I once played with China’s basketball legend, Yao Ming, an amazing experience. He’s 7ft 6in tall and though he can’t play golf about 40,000 people were watching us! Surreal. Also, when I was in America playing snooker I got to play Bel Air Country Club and the actor James Woods played through us.
Obviously snooker and golf are both individual sports where you’ve got to be tightly in control of your emotions. But more things can go wrong in a golf swing than the snooker action which is just back and forward. Both are all about timing, tempo and being smooth and not decelerating.
Golf is such a tough sport, especially when you’re playing in pro-ams and you’re totally out of your comfort zone. I found this out to my cost in last year’s British Masters pro-am at The Grove when the cameras caught me shanking a pitching wedge from 100 yards, something I’d never done before. It’s funny now... but it wasn’t at the time.
When you’re a mid-handicapper, you can play one good shot but can’t remember how you did it! You don’t understand. It’s such a hard sport to master. In reality you never do.
Average club golfers don’t practise. You just go and play a round of golf. To get round that you need to go down to the range for a couple of hours a day and hit a load of balls. But you just want to get out and play.
Last year I played in two big pro-ams at Wentworth (BMW Championship) and The Grove so hopefully I’ve got my foot in the door now and will get some more invites. It’s great to play the top courses when they’re in immaculate condition.
The Ryder Cup is my favourite sporting event to watch, because of the head to head nature of it. That’s what I loved about snooker, and you can’t get better than that.