Scores for Saturday 11 July 2020

A fine summer morning, a slight chill in the air, a stiff breeze, perfect conditions for golf! Or so one would think….

 

An entertaining round in our 08:30 group this morning. Our front 9 went quite well for some of us but it was a game of two halves and I must be honest, when the pressure started to tell the fractures in relationships really started to show. Early on the back 9 there were questions about Martin Deery’s credit worthiness (from Martin!) which perhaps warrant some investigation as his debt to the swindle continues to grow! Paul G, this may be one for HAL! On the 15^th we posted a solitary 1 point from our 4 ball and thigs were looking grim off the tee on the 16^th. The Martin’s both put their tee shots out of bounds and this impacted me so much that I didn’t bother to hit mine out of the tee box (6 yards left and a yard forward to be precise.) We faired better by the end of the hole with Martin Lythgoe and I holing out for a point each and Andy shooting a stupendous 6 for 2. Andy was having none of it. “Are you sure you have a point there Martin [Lythgoe]?” exclaimed the ever trusting and not at all grumpy Mr Simpkin. “[How very dare you]” Martin replied with an incredulous frown on his musketeer moustache framed face, “[how dare you besmirch my honour, pistols on the common at dawn tomorrow sir!”. Honestly it was a little awkward. Personally I don’t think the grumpy Mr Simpkin really thought it through, Martin was hardly in danger of breaking any records having only accumulated 6 points on the back 9 prior to this point. Andy was clearly rattled by the experience as he failed to post a point on the final two holes allowing Martin to overtake him and beat his back 9 by a single point. Was justice served? I’ll leave you decide this one for yourself.

 

One other remarkable moment on the course I must share with you all was a Roger Small moment. We encountered Roger working his way down the 16^th fairway toward the 15^th green, as is his custom. Roger was having a little difficulty remarking to me that he’d had 3 blobs on the previous 3 holes and 4 on the back our of 5 so far. His 4^th shot on the 15^th hole was from the rough with trees blocking any conceivable way in to the 15^th pin. Roger was not deterred by mere trees and settled down aiming toward the 16 tee, setting up ready for a Phil Mickelson style recovery shot that would bend around the tree right to left some 30 yards to land directly on the green. The tell that indicated that Roger was going for the pin was the quick check on his rangefinder watch to confirm just how much power the shot required for the perfect position on the green. The shot didn’t quite come off due to the pesky ball refusing to bend around corners! Roger, your optimism on this particular shot I found both amusing and strangely inspiring. “Non Desistas Non Exieris” -  the Small family motto. Thanks Roger!

 

Well, what actually happened out there today was nothing short of below average. Our lowest Stableford average for some time of 27.00. This is not a record, we have done worst than this but I do doubt the conditions were as favourable as today. The pin positions were probably the most significant issue for most today with most of the pins in challenging positions on the edge of slopes.

 

Birdies were still possible today and were achieved by some – Jock (4^th), John James (7^th), Paul Gardner (14^th) and Steve Reynolds (6^th) – Well done guys, good going today with those pins.

 

Our winner today was Yours Truly with 33 points. A solid front 9 (18) and a few good pars on the back 9 were enough to seal the deal. Well done me.

 

In second place with 31 points on countback from Pete Laurence is Peter Creighton. Well done Peter, a superior back 9 of 16 did the trick!

 

The front 9 goes to Andy “The Accuser” Simpkin. Well done Andy, I’m sure you deserve it! 😉

 

The back 9 goes to Paul “The Champ” Gardner with 19 points. Well done Paul, a good score with those pin positions!

 

Have a great week guys, be safe out there!