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4-- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tues. February 26, 1985 editorial comments Last Kick "At The Cat There is a regular meeting of Scugog Township council scheduled for March 11. And there is every indication that the controversial sidewalk snow removal by-law will again be on the agen- da at that meeting. For all those Township residents who have been hibernating for the past four weeks (or maybe soaking up the sun in Florida ) the sidewalk snow by-law has been just about the hottest issue to come in front of council this year. The proposed by-law would require residents living on certain designated streets in Port Perry and parts of Prince Albert to shovel the snow from the sidewalks in front of their property, or the Township will have the work done and tack the cost on the tax bill of the particular property owner. The proposed by-law even has a provi- sion whereby failure to comply could result in legal ac- tion and a fine on conviction of not more than $200. Three weeks ago, the by-law was given first and se- cond reading, and a week later, it failed to get the necessary majority support for third reading which would make it law. So, there it sits, a by-law two-thirds of the way legal. If the four members of the council who support the by- law are in their places at the March 11 meeting and have not had a change of heart, the thing will go through at that meeting. : And let's hope that will be the end of it. Just about everybody has had a kick at this cat, including this newspaper, which has carried several stories and even a front-page photo last week of a local resident shovell- ing his way through a snow-clogged sidewalk in front of his home on Queen Street. There is no point, at this stage, in trying to change anybody's minds on this issue. Some people like the idea, others hate it. We suspect that a heck of a lot of Township residents just don't give a damn. As we said, council will most likely deal with the mat- ter once and for all on March 11. And no matter what happens, hopefully, the issue will die. The weather may have something to do with that, too. But there are a couple of points that should be made. Firstly, if the by-law goes into the books, there is no way Scugog is going to send an army of enforcers through Port Perry to lean on elderly widows, heart at- tack victims or anybody else who simply cannot remove snow from the sidewalks. In the first place, the Township has one by-law enforcement officer and he has more than enough to do looking after building permits, inspec- tions and enforcement of all the other by-laws on the books. And secondly, this municipality does not have a reputation for stupid public relations. Heavy handed and blanket enforcement of the snow removal by-law would be just that: stupid public relations. Woe strongly suspect, that if the by-law is passed, enforcement will be highly selective and the chance of a violator winding up in court is remote, at best. We also strongly suspect that if the by-law is pass- ed, the vast majority of citizens will continue to do what they have done all along: make an effort to keep the sidewalk in front of their property at least passable for the convenience and safety of their friends and neighbours. If that's the case, what's the point of a by-law? Frankly, after listening to council kick it around for a month and hearing numerous citizens talk about it in the coffee shops and the post office lobby, we're not sure what the point is. There are good arguments and silly arguments on both sides of this issue, and we have heard them all. It is time for the council to either pass the darn thing or throw it out the window. After all, there are other important things for the council to be doing at this time of year: like setting a budget and striking a mill rate. we Ses. NG EA CA gr RE. A 8 rz" SSC 5 =" 14 3,7 chatterbox by John B. McClelland ANYONE FOR GOLF? There is no question in my mind that the most dif- ficult sport is the game of golf. Some people will argue this, of course, saying that golf isn't really a sport at all, but a form of recreation. They may also say that to play the game well does not require the pure athletic ability necessary for hockey, soccer, the high jump, or the marathon. Fair enough. You don't have to have muscles of steel or the lung capacity of a distance runner to swing a golf club. But as anyone who has ever picked up a five iron will tell you, playing the game well is no easy feat. Why is it that a lot of very gifted athletes, people who excel at just about every sport they try, are total- ly bewildered when they try to hit a two-iron, blast from a sand trap, or sink a 15 foot putt to save par? Why is it that at every golf club in the country, there are only a handful of exceptional golfers; the ones who can consistently play within a couple of strokes of par? Why is it that the vast majority of club golfers think they have had a great day on the course if they break 90? The nature of the game is such that outstanding natural athletic ability does not automatically make a good golfer. However, anyone who is a good golfer must have unique athletic abilities. Whenever I hear someone say that golf is not a sport, I say "Rubbish. Just try it." Golf is on my mind this week for several reasons. First of all, I plan to take the sport up again this sum- mer with a weekday membership at Pine Ridge. It has been a long time since I've been a member of any club, and I'm really looking forward to hitting the links in the early morning hours when the air is still and fresh. I also noticed an item in the daily paper last week that the MacGregor Company has come up with the design for a new golf ball, and Jack Nicklaus tested this new ball at a course he designed at Grand Cayman in the British West Indies. I gulped when I read that Nicklaus teed it up on a 176-yard par four hole and belted the ball all of 120 yards. It must have been a typo, I thought to myself. Every golfer knows that Nicklaus can drive a ball better than 300 yards and for a shot of 176 yards, he'd probably take a half-swing with a seven iron. But no, the new ball is designed to go less than half the distance of a conventional ball because it is lighter and the compression has been cut to about 70. ° The idea behind it all is to allow for shorter courses. A conventional 18 hole course requires more than 100 acres of land, and the costs are making this prohibitive. So, design a ball and a course where only half the amount of land is needed. MacGregor, which is owned by Nicklaus, spent about $100,000 on research for this new golf ball. Maybe the idea will catch or in Japan or the West Indies where land is at a premium and half-courses are a necessity. But somehow I can't see North American golfers getting much satisfaction out of the perfect drive that travels all of 120 yards. Heck, every golfer I know just lives for that day on the first tee with all his buddies watching and he con- nects for the perfect drive: straight as an arrow with a flat trajectory, the ball coming to rest some 280 yards down the fairway. One shot like that in a season makes up for all the duck hooks, the worm burners, the shanks -and the skulled nine irons. These are part of the game, of course, part of what makes golf so intriguing and challenging. I have seen grown men; rational, sane, intelligent men reduced to tears or a fury of frenzy over a triple boagy on the 18th when all they needed was a par to turn in their best round ever. Golf stories, of course, are almost as much fun as the game itself, and every golfer has a treasure of fun- ny things that have happened to him or someone he knows. One that I still chuckle over was witnessing a pret- ty good golfer trying to get his tee shot across a rather large pond. After three shots hit the drink, he didn't jump up and down, curse or swear or throw his driver in the pond. No, he took the whole bag and cart and dumped them in the water, then his glove and hat, even the golf shoes met a watery fate. Grim faced and bare-foot, he stalked off the tee and headed for the clubhouse mut- tering something about 'this &°§+ + @ game." It was a priceless moment. Another favourite golf story involved four very good club players who had a good money game going one day with most of the marbles hinging on the outcome of the 18th hole, a long par five. One of the foursome had hit two super shots to put him no more than 50 or 60 yards from the pin, just an easy half-wedge for a great chance at birdie. He stook back for a moment gazing at the pin, took several fluid practise swings and addressed the ball. His - nerves must have suddenly taken over for he stepped away and went through the same routine. Finally, he stroked that half wedge to the green. But the ball did not arch softly like a good wedge shot should. It sailed from the club face and whistled through the air no more than five feet off the ground. That ball did not drop or rise an inch on its scream- ing journey past the flag-pole, over the green and into a thick hedge that protected the clubhouse patio from errant shots like this one. The golfer, of course, knew the moment he hit the ball that the shot was headed for deep trouble and as it whistled at eye level over the green, he shouted, 'Bite, you little beggar, bite" (Turn to page 6) EL eT N ii ig 19 1 i } ! 13 4 13 2 ) 4