I saw your article in this week’s edition (“‘I feel like I need to do this’,” February 24, GGP) and it is great you are giving the topic of mental health a voice. I am the executive tournament director for the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, a Rolex Series event on the DP World Tour. For the second year running we had a Mental Fitness and Recovery Zone for the players, entourage and caddies.
As far as we are concerned we want to see these sorts of zones at all events. Mental fitness zones need to be as much a necessity as range balls are to a tournament.
Your writer Joy Chakravarty wrote about our mental fitness zone recently and we are keen to keep this topic front and centre.
Simon Corkill
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
I loved your article (“Divot: Sobriquetiquette,” February 24, GGP) and fully agree with it. It brought back memories of when I was about 5 years old. It was 1950 and took place in Brockton, Massachusetts, at the Conte Club – an Italian-American club for men. My father would drop in for a short visit and the lineup of attendees went like this: My dad (Sully), then there was Screech, Shorty (who wasn’t short), Dooksie, Doggie and his brother, Mutt, and Lefty.
What great names. I’m sure that there were more but that’s the best I can recall.
BTW: My dad’s name was Vito Tomaselli. He became a National Amateur boxing champion and the first night that he fought he won three fights by knockout at age 14! So, the reporters rushed into the dressing room to learn about him and they felt that Vito Tomaselli was too much to handle. So, he became “Young Sully.” Imagine that: an Italian named Sully.
Thanks again for rekindling pleasant memories. We need more great nicknames.
Joe Tomaselli
Ormond Beach, Florida
Excellent article, and I agree with Scott’s view (“Divot: Sobriquetiquette,” February 24, GGP). You’d probably need the TV pundits to get the ball rolling.
I could see David Feherty being game, but he seems to have disappeared from our (UK) screens. Rich Beem might be up for the task if his bosses at Sky Sports were content.
Ian Poulter was, of course, known as “The Postman” when on Ryder Cup duty as he always delivered.
Soccer tends to add a “y” to players’ surnames, but when they depart from that norm they can be brilliant. The best belonged to Fitz Hall (no relation) who was known as “One Size” throughout his career.
As for golf, how about Justin “Doubting” Thomas as he always seems unsure about club selection. And the nickname “Sloth” could be given to the slowest players on tour – there’s several that deserve the soubriquet.
Deryck Hall
Birmingham, England
How about Ed “Porky” Oliver (“Divot: Sobriquetiquette,” February 24, GGP)? Aka “Snowball,” “Porkchop,” “Snobie” and “Chops.” Tempestuous Tommy “Thunder” Bolt said Oliver had so many nicknames he wouldn’t respond if you called him Ed. Another writer said in reference to Porky: “the more nicknames you had, the better athlete you were.”
John Riley
Wilmington, Delaware
Riley, a former University of Delaware golfer, is the author of “How He Played the Game: Ed ‘Porky’ Oliver and Golf's Greatest Generation.”
Best article I’ve read in a bit (“Divot: Sobriquetiquette,” February 24, GGP). I’m old school, but have played with some of the gents referred to in the article. You are correct, yesteryear can be better in some ways regarding identification of some players/characters. I can attest to that. And the caddies, a force unto themselves with personalities that set them apart in popularity from almost all of the players. In my day Angelo (Argea), “Rabbit” (Alfred Dyer), Herman (Mitchell) and Andy M (Martinez) were better known than most of the players.
Enjoyed the read – memory lane personified.
Mike Nixon
Nashville, Tennessee
A 2025 Tennessee Golf Hall of Fame inductee, Nixon played some on the PGA Tour in the late 1970s and early ’80s and served as the director of golf operations for the Tennessee Golf Trail.
The Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott comments regarding pace of play (“It’s Your Honor,” February 24, GGP) were spot on.
While listening to Maverick McNealy earlier in the season discussing PGA Tour slow play and why it’s the way it is today, it occurred to me there may be other options, probably controversial, for bringing some excitement back into the game and impacting pace of play positively. Let’s standardize all equipment and the playing ground for PGA Tour players. Don’t most other sports have standardized equipment and playing ground regulations?
A few suggestions:
Such measures would bring critical thinking, course management and player skills back into the game, which in turn would generate drama for the fans. I think it would also allow for quicker pace of play by removing some of the insanity associated with course setups and player congestion.
If we don’t innovate within our sport, interest will continue to slowly die away. Let the tour player talent shine through, not slow play and virtually unplayable courses.
Bruce Wireman
Georgetown, Texas
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