Top Dog 2025
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Top Dog is a pairs competition where your partner is drawn for you. You don't
get to choose who you play with. The last time I played Top Dog I was the senior
player paired with a junior. This year I am the junior. Which I actually don't
mind. Not so much is expected of the junior.
I have drawn a good partner in Brent (Taylor) who plays off a 2 handicap while I
have slid out to a 16 handicap.
Saturday, 5th, July, 2025 - Round One
Our first round match was against Brent (Snooks) (10h) and Lloyd Reynolds (20h).
With the Top Dog format being a nett tournament the lowest handicap player goes
to zero and all the other players adjust their handicaps to match the drop.
Brent T had the lowest handicap at 2 and he went to zero. The rest of us
adjusted our handicaps down two shots for the match. Snooks went down to 8, me
to 14, Lloyd to 18.
So off to the first hole we went in grey, overcast conditions, a bit of drizzle,
the fairways and greens quite wet, lots of puddles from the heavy rain we have
had.
Snooks and Lloyd teed off first, Lloyd hitting a nice shot down the middle and
Snooks slicing a big one up over the trees onto the next fairway. My drive went
down the right of the fairway and would require a recovery shot for my second.
Taylor's tee shot went a long way, but just caught in the tree line. Taylor
chipped out toward the front of the green leaving another chip shot to the
green. Lloyd and I both had problems on the hole trying to get away from the
trees. We both ended up on the green for five and took no part in the clash of
titans. Snooks had put his second into a good position and hit a magical third
shot up over the trees onto the green. Taylor duly chipped his third shot onto
the green . Snooks had 5 meters to go for his birdie and Taylor three meters.
Lloyd and I stood watching, cheering on our partners. Snooks putted first and
had his ball just curl away from the hole as it lost speed. Taylor told him
that's good, Snooks has a five on the hole. Taylor steps up for his birdie putt,
which if he makes it we win the hole. Taylor makes his stroke, looking good,
starts curling toward the hole, will it hold enough of its line to catch the
hole? It does, we win the hole, great putt Brent!
Second hole we walk off with a halved hole. None of the four of us had a chance
to actually 'win' the hole we were all to close to have an advantage. Onto the
third hole. My day was pretty much boom or bust. Hole 3 it was boom. Lovely
drive down the middle, sand wedge to the green a meter from the hole, sink the
putt, birdie, thanks for coming guys. Only Lloyd got a shot to his handicap on
that hole and his six left him nowhere. Now 2 up.
The third was another bust hole for me, my drive caught the trees short on the
left, good recovery shot, but I ended up on the green for four and watched the
others battle for the hole. Taylor had two nice shots, good drive and a wedge to
the green. Snooks and Lloyd were both on for three. Taylor missed his birdie,
got the par, and we halved the hole with Lloyd having two putts for 5 with a
shot and nett four. Still two up.
The fifth hole - another bust for me. Teed off straight into the stream in front
of the tee area. That was me gone. My partner had a bogey four on the par 3 and
we lost the hole. Down to one up. The sixth hole was a boom for me. Drive was
down the right which left me having to lay up with a wedge shot over the corner
of the dog leg as close to the green as I could. Left an easy sand wedge shot
into the green which I put less than a meter from the hole. Made my par shot and
was the only player with a four on the hole, we win, back to two up. Seventh
hole, both Taylor and I had mediocre shots, Taylor ending up with his third
bogey in a row and we lost the hole. Back to only one up. Holes eight and nine,
both holes were halved. Taylor made a great birdie on nine but Lloyd had a four
with a shot and had the nett three to halve the hole, and we went to the turn
one up. Lucky to be there.
We won the par 3, 10th with me making a good par with a shot on the hole, our
opposition making fours. Back to two up. Eleventh we halved still two up.
Twelfth we lost, Snooks making a good par on the longest par three on the
course, Taylor and I with fours. Thirteen was our hole with Snooks putting it
into the hazard on the right, Lloyd into the hazard area on the left, Taylor and
I in the fairway. Back to two up. The Par 5 14th was another half with me going
bust again, and Taylor missing his birdie and getting his par. Lloyd got his six
and had the half with his shot on the hole. Holes 14 & 15, I was starting to
struggle, my legs were trying to cramp up and checking my Blood-sugar level I
was low at 5.4. Start eating caramel bars and drinking Gatorade. Must have
worked. We lost 15 to go back to one up. Sixteen, I top my drive down the middle
on a short par four. Goes just far enough to give me a shot to the green. Pull
out a hybrid and put it 2 meters from the hole for two. Yee ha! He's back. I'm
standing there and Lloyd also has a putt for birdie from about six meters, and
bins it. Bloody hell! Now instead of a putt to win the hole, I have a knee
knocker to halve the hole. I step up and stroke it in the middle of the hole, no
sweat.
Seventeen I pull my tee shot left, pin high. Lloyd short of the green, Taylor
and Snooks are both on the green. Snooks only two meters from the pin. Both
Lloyd and I end up with fours, Taylor with a three and Snooks ruins the party by
making his two. All square going down the eighteenth. Again myself and Lloyd
struggled to get to the green, the young blasters?, no trouble both on the green
for two. Snooks has a putt for birdie and leaves it short a good chance to make
his four. Taylor has to make his putt to square the match and carry on. He steps
in, strokes it beautifully up the hill and in the hole. I remember to start
breathing again. Overttime!
Down the 19th. Lloyd and I were well tired out by now and we were matching each
other bad shot for bad shot. We both hit ok drives, then sliced our seconds into
the trees, we kept struggling onto the green for five each. Our boys were still
smashing it. Both on the green for three, both had two putts for their fives.
Halved and onto the 20th. The Par 3, 20th hole, gives everybody a chance. Both
Lloyd and I put our first shots just short of the green. The two boys both
pulled their irons to the left of the green. Somewhere amongst it all, both
Lloyd and Brent Snooks had fives, I had a four and Brent Taylor made his three.
We had won. I had to ask "did we win?" I thought we had halved the hole, but no,
we had won.
Our prize is to make it to round two where we will meet Club President - Paul
Urbahn and his partner Cliff Edgecombe. Another tough match to come.