Our Winner From The Sunshine Coast
We have a winner. We knew that Geoff Laney had made a rip-roaring start to the week and shot out to an early lead. We also knew that hot on his heels was at least one fighter - Kallum.
However that man who only last week was trapped in a toilet, in the dark, all by himself clearly shook off any angst it may have caused and had catapulted his game into pole position and had yellow jersey honours. But he's clearly looking worried. Has he done enough to win The Archie ?
Noooooo !
I guess it's only fitting that in the Sunshine State of Queensland and on the Sunshine Coast, the leader of the Sunshine Band, K C himself, should win The Archie. That Maillot Jaune as the french call it looks a bit of a tight squeeze but well done Kallum.
Now ..... This is a man in hot form. He's won the Archie on the Sunshine Coast, he's currently in the silver medal position in the Race To Waitahuna, and he's leading the race to be the first name engraved on the Eric Olsen Trophy. Beware the Mid Canterbury Stampede !
Here are the boys on tour.
Tales From Afar - Thailand
Look out ladies, start your engines boys and girls and strap yourselves in for a wild ride. What's cookin '
No more stories about golf this week but it sure looks like everyone's chilling out.
Could be the nearest thing Derek has come to a birdie all week !!
Now I'm very careful on these pages not to use swear words or anything which might offend. It is after all the world wide web and is open to all and sundry. So you're going to have to use your imagination with this one and I'm not going to spell it out. Two questions.
Q1 - what's the word for a male chicken ?
Q 2 - how many can you see in the picture below ?
If you're offended blame the President for the week - Trevor Trump ....
More Tales From Afar
A Bit Harsh ?
Saw this for sale in a bookshop recently.
My first thought was ...
I didn't realise they'd had that many.
More Tales From Afar
Golf In Scotland
Played at one of my favourite spots on Friday. The Rosemount course at Blairgowrie Golf Club in Perthshire.
The Rosemount Course at Blairgowrie has Old Tom Morris in the design, throw in a little bit of James Braid, and top it off with a little Alistair MacKenzie. All three have had a hand in the design. For the 3 days before I played, Blairgowrie had hosted final qualifying for the Senior Open Championship being played nearby. The course was in absolutely superb condition. A real joy to play.
Fancy A Sunningdale ?
When I played at Blairgowrie the chap I played with said " Let's play a Sunningdale."
Here's how it works.
You play off the stick - no handicaps
You can play it as a haggle either as a singles match or pairs.
All that happens is as soon as either an individual or as a team goes 2 up, the next hole they give a shot. They keep giving shots on the hole(s) so long as they are 2 up or better. As soon as the match gets back to 1 up or square, it's played off the stick.
The big advantage is that because there are no handicaps to worry about, you don't have to worry about who is giving a shot on any particular hole. You don't have to worry about stroke indexes. Its advantage lies in its simplicity. You give shots when a team is 2 up or more, if not it's off the stick.
My friend said "it's amazing how many matches go to the 18th"
Try it some time.
Golf at Dunkeld and Birnam Golf Club
Golf courses everywhere in these parts. Today I tried Dunkeld and Birnam and it was OK. Another hilly escapade meaning lots of elevation changes. Great fun though
Did You Know ?
Heard this from my playing partner at Blairgowrie on Friday. I'm led to believe it's true.
As we all know one of the governing bodies of our great game is the R and A; the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews. But how did it get that name ?
In 1824, King William IV conferred on Perth the first royal status and they became the Royal Perth Golfing Society. We have some of their golf clubs they very kindly donated to us in a cabinet at the top of the stairs in the clubhouse.
Golf had been played for a long time at St Andrews and they appealed to the king that they should be the first of any royal golf clubs or societies. King William IV was having none of it and informed St Andrews of his decision, Perth was to be the first royal golf entity.
St Andrews asked if they too could have royal status to which the king agreed.
St Andrews then asked if their name could be the Royal AND ANCIENT Golf Club of St Andrews to recognise their longevity and history and that they had been around for a long time.
So that's how the R and A got its name.
Royal Perth might have been the first, but the Royal and Ancient claims to be the oldest.
Meanwhile Back in D Town
“More withdrawals than an ATM on payday”
20 starters, well No, 16 eventually made it to the first tee, including a couple of ‘iron men’ from the Aussie trip. Staunch effort that. The results of the sixes were shared around.
31 points was enough to take the first six, with Sonny, Keith and the POD taking the spoils.
40 points was the winning total for the second six, with Sonny, Keith and POD, as well as Nic, Wazza (Egen) and Mr 40 points Geoff Laney.
A commendable 52 points saw Murray Cooper, Grant Woodham, Alastair Adam and Fairway Phil streaking the field to take the last six.
So our travellers, Phil, Keith and Geoff featured strongly in the results. But wait there’s more.
Keith amassed 41 points to take the Blue Jacket. Which leaves a MASSIVE question hanging.
On the 15th of July Keith won the Blue Jacket
On the 22nd of July Keith was in Straya
On the 29th of July Keith won the Blue Jacket
So the question is ..... If Keith wins the Blue Jacket next week or next time he plays, has he completed the never been done before THREEPEAT ? Or, to achieve the Threepeat, has it got to be on 3 consecutive Wednesdays. Could the wise elders please make a ruling or can there be a plebiscite.
LIV Pro in waiting, Mike made 2 birdies to grab the trip to the Riviera of the south.
In other news, Vaughn Keenan’s classy structure claimed another Waggler victim, with Grant Woodham shelling out some of his winnings for the rest of his team.
Cheers
Trevor Trump
