It's my own fault. Last week I might have made a snide remark about New Zealand golfers being inclined to avoid inclement weather (sometimes referred to as "shower-dodgers" in the UK). I should have known this was going to come back and bite me, and today it did. Today, I and 3 club stalwarts woke up praying for the forecast to be wrong (usually a fair chance of that happening, honestly, I used to think the UK met service was bad until I came here). Wrong in any direction would have suited us. If the rain was early, then the match would have been postponed. Late, and we could have got in before the worst of it. Instead, our rounds started off with a bunch of already damp diehards standing around under the eaves of the clubhouse at Denfield looking all the world like a line of dogs that really, really didn't want to go for a walk - but the owner had committed to the enterprise; they had put on the wet weather gear, and "Fido" was going to get his exercise, it will be good for both of them darn it. And so it was for us, We had made the effort to be there, and while our levels of optimism had peaked at the coffee shop on the drive up, we were going to sally forth regardless. The driver was making his excuses before I had even sat down (and to be fair, he was spot on in his assessment of his odds, although he came right in the last couple of holes - there it is again, just when you think you have had enough, something snags you and drags you back in). While, the skipper was making his excuses before he even got in the car, and then later complained about how tough it was for him as he was having to play left handed while teeing the ball up right handed (we didn't get it either) - as someone pointed out, this was possibly the most first world problem ever to be voiced in all of history (I might have added that bit). Battle against the elements was thus engaged, in the sort of weather that makes me quite homesick for the sheer miserable greyness of it all, and we subsequently performed as you would expect. All of us hit some remarkably good shots, and also some remarkably bad ones - honestly, I don't thin I have ever hooked a ball quite as badly. Our equipment got very wet, and I mean all of it. My grips were outright lying about their true nature, and my glove by the end of the round looked like a prop from the movie of Roald Dahls "The Witches". At one point, I suffered the ignominy of having the club slip in my hands as I made contact with the ball (not the first time today), and thus watching the subsequent chip rebound off the tree in front of me only for the ball to end up behind me. I strongly suspect that my golf gear won't be dry this time next week, but despite all that, it was still a good day. Our playing competitors were suffering just as much as we were, and we all just decided to make the most of it and try to enjoy ourselves (I use the term loosely). And enjoy ourselves we did. Eventually. In the bar. The nice warm, dry bar with beer and toasted sarnies. I think I might be converting into a native - sod golf in the rain for a game of soldiers, next time I'll prop up the bar with my mates - sounds like a much better plan Stay safe, stay warm and dry, and play well Steve PS - Congrats to Doop on his two on the 5th hole. No doubt he will say that he was lucky, and yes he was, but it takes an awful lot of talent to get the ball in the right place to have a chance of being lucky. Rest assured though that I will be contacting the guy who did the wildlife count recently to let him know that we just had an albatross on the course. |