Golf like all sports, is one that just keeps giving. By the time I got to the first tee of todays shootout, I had three stories for this weeks newsletter Firstly though, congratulations to a worthy winner today, Mark Goodhew, one of the worlds genuine nice guys, which is good bearing in mind his profession tends to cause Pavlovian wince inducing reactions. To be fair to the dental profession, they are dedicated to reducing pain caused by our inability to avoid the stuff we really know we should, and the sum benefit definitely falls in their, and our, favour. There is just something about the sound of a dental drill coming closer to your wide open gob though.... Anyway, it was a well fought contest, and Mark deservedly won, playing the last 3 holes in Net minus 2, edging out James/Jimmy Hardgrave who spent most of the day on a different fairway to literally everyone else - yet somehow conjured wonderful approach shots from angles most of us had never seen before, even from our wildest drives. Getting back to the three tales, and the first I heard was about the furious focus demonstrated by one of our members, Mr Ronnie Hobbs. Golf, like most sports is primarily played between the ears, and as such, the ability to focus through the process of multiple muscles neurons firing off in a just-so sequence is critical. Apparently (and I should point out that this was reported to me second hand this morning, so has yet to be verified), Ronnie was focusing hard on his swing - taking the club back smoothly, and accelerating through the downswing and on to complete his follow through, clipping the tee oh so sweetly indeed. The tee. Not the ball. The ball had decided that it didn't particularly fancy being given a thwack by Ronnie, so had bailed out off the tee in the midst of his backswing, but tunnel-vision Hobbs failed to notice this and continued with grim determination to complete the job at hand with aplomb. Ronnie, I take my hat off to you, such dedication and commitment is a shining example to us all. Secondly, Pete Shaw, the angriest Aussie at the club was telling us the story of his recent purchase, a pair of new shoes, perfect in every way, but with one minor problem. While the right foot was exceptionally comfortable, the left foot was far less so. Being a well renowned calm sort of chap, Pete was getting mildly irritated by this imbalance. Now, it turns out that Pete has a habit of storing the remote for his trundler in one of his golf shoes, and amusing as it would be for him to leave that in his shoe and fail to notice it, that would be far too ridiculous. Instead, while retrieving the remote, he discovered the little packet of desiccated gel in the toe of his shoe, which had been the source of his discomfort. I am pleased to report that both of Pete's feet are now snug as bugs in rugs, and Pete is now checking all his shoes prior to putting his dainty tootsies in them. The third moment came on the opening tee itself. As we all know, that moment you step on the tee for your first shot is a moment full of nervous, hopeful, anticipation. This single moment will set the tone for your whole round. A good drive will ease the tension, slowing the pulse rate and letting the body and brain relax. A bad drive will lead to an immediate sense of impending doom and an attempt to make the best of it, despite knowing deep down that it would be a day of scrambling, wild swings and general frustration Doing this in front of a large group of your mates, who, let's face it, are not always the most supportive, is designed to increase the pulse rate of all concerned. Step forward our savior, Mr Murray Keen. Standing tall and bearing the weight of all of our expectations, as he prepared to boom his ball down the fairway with the opening shot of the competition. Unfortunately, the swing didn't quite deliver and the topped ball boing-ed it's way past the Ladies tee by a good few metres. It was as if a balloon had been burst. Everybody immediately felt a lot better, and I am pleased to report that despite the roar of laughter from everyone there, Murray proceeded to crush his next shot miles down the fairway and made par. So, all in all it was a great day, and I would recommend entering the competition to anyone, and I would like to thank Dave McEwing for organising the event; Neville for taking on the mantle of impartial referee; and to all of the competitors - I should probably thank the grounds team as well, but this is starting to sound like an Oscar acceptance speech so you'll have to wait until next time. Stay safe, play well, and I look forward to seeing you all soon Steve |