Well We Did Say It Would Be Perfect .....
Late Summer's Embrace
The sun, a gentle, golden hue,
Paints the sky a fading blue.
Long shadows stretch, a whispered sigh,
As summer's warmth begins to die.
The air, a mix of sweet and spice,
Of ripened fruit and fading rice.
A gentle breeze, a soft caress,
Whispers of autumn's soft address.
The leaves, a canvas, red and gold,
Stories of summer, yet untold.
A final dance, a vibrant show,
Before the crisp winds start to blow.
The days grow shorter, nights grow deep,
As nature gently falls asleep.
But in this change, a beauty lies,
A promise whispered to the skies.
There, a bit of poetry, a first for these pages maybe. But it was that kind of day, when the golf course was a glorious place to be. And so to the golfing exploits of the day.
In the sixes, the money was shared. Birthday boy Mahmoud, Tony and Vaughn shared the first set of 6 with Jamie, Nick, Alastair and Richard in 31 points. That second group led by Alastair won the middle set with a sky-high 45 points. On the last six a little story.
Our group wasn't having the best day and we weren't hitting our straps. When we came to our final hole, the 9th, we had 35 points in the bag. "Looks like another $15 donation" we agreed. "Not unless we get 15 points on this hole" suggested the ever optimistic Scotsman Derek. So we all teed off, and all 4 second shots found the green. Long story short, Bruce holed his birdie putt which gave a 3 for 4, Phil Ellis got a par for a 4 for 3, and Derek and I both parred for 2 points. So not 15 points but 11 wasn't too bad which nudged our score to 46 points. Guess what - 46 points was enough to win the money. Which all goes to show, you might as well keep fighting until the very last minute as you never know what's around the corner.
Winners - Familiar Faces
Browny mixes golf with one of his other passions rugby and trips to South Africa with the mighty Springboks are a regular feature. Meaning that it's only 5 times this year that Tony has managed Wednesday golf with this prestigious golfing group we all know as The Wagglers. Nevertheless, in 5 outings Browny has won the coveted gold lady an impressive 4 times. There must be something happening in Balclutha after all. 3 birdies yesterday made it happen. Congratulations once again.
30 October 2024 was the last time Neil won the Blue Jacket. On that day he collected 43 points. Yesterday wasn't quite as impressive but 39 points was enough to get the job done. Here we see Neil collecting the jacket from weekly raffle winner Phil. There was some talk from an adjacent table that one of their group might have been dudded and that he should have / could have been wearing the Blue Jacket. But a check of scorecards showed the error which was a tick in the wrong box and Kallum had 38 points. One of that group even suggested that they had 45 points and if Kallum had got 39 points they would be entitled to a share of the $150 for the last set of six. The best suggestion on that one is to take advice from Senaka on how to go about recovering money when you think you should have won.
A very generous shout from Mahmoud yesterday to celebrate his recent birthday. Thank you from all of us and thanks for your very kind generosity yesterday.
And as we stated, Phil Ellis won the raffle.
Early Heads Up - Southern Swing 2025
For all those of you who remember the disaster that was the inter-club with The Invercargill Golf Club in 2023 when we lost 11.5 to 0.5 here is an early heads up for a southern rematch in 2025.
No dates to pencil in yet but here is what it's looking like.
Day 1 - Drive down to Invercargill, breakfast at Bill Richardson's Transport World cafe, inter club with the Invercargill Golf Club at Otatara, then drive back to Gore and stay at the Croydon Lodge.
Day 2 - Short trip to the Riversdale Golf Club and play at Riversdale on Saturday followed by a BBQ at the club. Overnight at the Croydon Lodge
Day 3 - Head back towards home and play golf at Toko near Milton before our arrival back in Dunedin.
Jamie is negotiating the Friday and we'll confirm dates in November as soon as we know,.