Collingwood’s got an ‘obsession’ with golf

May 15 2008 by Tim Taylor, The Journal

IT has always been a source of puzzled admiration to those who have played both cricket and golf, however haplessly, that so many top England cricketers love golf.

Former England cricket captain Brian Close, arguably the hardest cricketer of all-time, could play golf off a single-figure handicap both left and right-handed.

Mere mortals wonder how on earth anybody who has to pick up a bat straight to earn their living can keep a golf club swinging on more of a baseball bat-type plane consistently.

Indeed, when the England cricket team are producing low scores, we query whether the batsmen would not be better off staying as far away from the golf course as possible.

All of this clearly does not affect the current England all-rounder, Paul Collingwood (pictured above, right), the one-day captain who will take his regular place in the Test side, who start a three-match series against New Zealand at Lord’s today. The Consett Golf Club member had this to say about his favourite other sport in a recent magazine article: “My obsession with golf is out of control. I’ve just splashed out an absolute fortune on membership of the Loch Lomond club in Scotland.

“It’s probably the most extravagant thing I have ever done. I can’t tell you how much it cost, in case the wife reads this.” For the benefit of Vicky Collingwood, The Loch Lomond Golf Club, which hosted Colin Montgomerie’s wedding last month, currently has a one-off joining fee of £75,000 and an annual subscription of £3,250.