Hold Tight !!
That was one heck of a storm on Thursday last week. Some of the strongest winds I've ever experienced and the damage around town is clear for all to see. Have a ride past the Hocken Library if you get chance and look at the carnage there. Then there's a car parked on the road where the rugby players train near the stadium which looks a total right-off with a tree lying all over it.
And so it was with some doubt that we would get a game of skins in a day later. Being good sorts many of us pitched up to the club on Friday to help Craig and his team clear the mess. Fortunately we only had one tree down and that was out of the way on the right hand side of the 4th hole. But there were branches and all kinds of other debris everywhere and with the Otago Matchplay Championships due to start over the weekend it was important to tidy the place up. With many hands making light work we did OK and our golf course looked a whole lot better in no time at all. 5 of us still managed 9 holes of skins but the hard work had clearly taken a toll with many missed putts and other tales of woe. Those who won something know who they are, those of us who should have won something also know who we are.
Then we woke up to this earlier this week.....
In Southland the general advice is you can plant out your veggie garden over Labour Day weekend as all danger of frosts have passed. Yeah right ....
Anyway, the good news is the forecast for this weekend is light winds and temperatures nudging 20 degrees - YES !
Let's Have A Wee 5
The ever-obliging good sort Bec from behind the bar is always willing to help out offering service with a smile and a laugh. With the rugby on a couple of weeks ago we hadn't time for a proper drink but with people still thirsty we needed something smaller to see us through......
Then Fairway Phil latched onto the idea. As we know Phil must be home for the 6 o clock news and again Phil didn't have time for a big boy's drink......
Wonderful Wednesday
Despite a spirited performance the Otago rugby boys couldn't quite tip over the Canterbury boys on Saturday. But a great atmosphere in the clubhouse watching it all on the big screen. And so to Wednesday with a day forecast to improve as the wind dropped. And it did. But before we dissect this week another couple of rules questions ...
Pictures tell a million words. This was where Eddie's tee shot on 15 finished up on Saturday and the ball was plugged. So the simple question is; Is the ball in the bunker ? If yes Eddie must play it as it lies, if not Eddie gets a free drop. The crowd on Saturday in the clubhouse was split 50 : 50 between the "of course it is" to the "of course it isn'ts".
Then my mind wandered and given the Otago Matchplay Championship was on I wondered about the following situation as absurd as it might be...
You're playing a match and your opponent has a long putt. You have a 3 footer left. Your opponent does a great job and lags his putt to 3 inches from the hole. At which point without saying anything you take your putter and knock his ball back to him. At that point he says "you've just played a wrong ball, my hole".
Now I get you might want to wrap your putter round his neck but from a rules perspective, what's the verdict ?
Back to Wednesday.
Despite the improving conditions, scoring wasn't that flash. In fact it was a major surprise to our little quartet that we cleaned up the first and final sets with only 28 points and 45 points respectively. Us being Kallum, Duncan, The Nugget and David B. Mahmoud, the Walking ATM, Warren and Murray Copper did OK in the middle set with 41 points.
A mighty performance from President Morgan saw him walk away with no money but the other two major prizes of the day after scoring 40 points and 2 birdies.
Having won the raffle, Tony Attenborough was last seen heading to the Cayman Islands with $25 to invest in some credit default swap or other financial derivative ....
Jamie's Birthday and Other Non- Associated Oddities
Before we get to Jamie's big moment it was great to see Eric in town for the occasion. Good stuff Eric, hope you enjoyed your day and hope to see you again soon. Now to Jamie and his big 66th birthday ...
Many happy returns and trust you enjoyed your big day. Thanks again for the shout.
Now Jamie's whisky wasn't the only whisky on the table. Jamie had Nick in his 4 but he wasn't the culprit this time. Bob from Alex making his regular monthly visit hit a booming drive off the 17th tee. He hit it so well. So well in fact it hit one of the trees on the right and rebounded back past the dreaded green pegs. One nil to the trees.
Then we heard reports of strange shots defying the laws of physics. One person did that amazing thing where you hit a fairway wood and it goes backwards. The best bit is when you look at the person's face as they are clearly asking themselves " how the heck did that happen ?".
Then as a kid we used to play a game called piggy. The piggy was a wooden shaped object which was tapered at one end. The game was simple; with the piggy lying on hard ground, you hit it with the stick which if you did it right, it would pop up in the air. Then with a swift movement you hit the piggy with the stick and tried to hit it as far as you could. Not sure if that game migrated to New Zealand, but you get the drift.
Well we didn't play piggy yesterday but we had something close. There was a long putt on a green which didn't quite go to plan. A bit like piggy instead of the ball rolling towards the hole, its first movement was up in the air. But the next movement was the follow through with the putter which somehow caught the ball mid flight and the connection was pretty sound. I know it only counts as one putt but it did look like 2 putts with one stroke. Amazing skills.
Couple of notices to finish...
Tee Timers at 8:30 am on Monday morning. Bring strong gloves as we'll be helping Craig attack some gorse. Our job is to pick it up and load it on to the Workman truck.
Next Wednesday before golf, pro shop Callum will hold a Waggler's chipping clinic. These popular group clinics cost $20 and are a great way to get some training in before Wednesday golf. 11:00 am at the pro shop for all those who are interested.
And that was that.