Kings/Queens Birthday Weekend. Each year this comes in two parts. Town -v- Country on the Saturday and a $30 entry tournament on the Monday. I normally choose one or the other and this year I chose the Saturday tournament.
Town -v- Country sets members against each other in match play conditions based on handicaps, the players playing for either town or country depending on where they live. Because of the weather we have had, the program is a couple of weeks behind schedule. This time last year I was playing Chris Hill in the semi-finals of the Club Champs, which I lost on the 21st hole. (Still gutted) Today I had my chance for a bit of revenge. Chris and I arrived at the Club at the same time and decided we were happy to play each other, both on a handicap of 16, so it would be off the stick.
We entered the comp - Chris playing for Town, me for Country. Deja-vu. I said to Chris "Hill comes before Miles you tee off first". Chris gets up, addresses his ball, whack, going left, keeps going left, over the fence, out of bounds. This week I step up and slice my tee shot into the trees on the right. As far away from the road as I could get. Chris' three off the tee went down the middle, a good drive. I get to where my drive went and could barely see my ball. I was playing a red ball, but it was so deep in the grass it was not going to be an easy shot. It wasn't, tried to hack it out, barely hit it, and chunked it down the wrong fairway 30 meters. Two. Lined up my next shot which was still in the deep stuff and decided just to put it over the trees next to me and back onto the right fairway. Chonk! hit the tree in front of me. Three. Finally could see between two trees and onto the fairway. Bunted it between the trees and out onto the fairway. Four. I was now 20 meters ahead of Chris' three off the tee. Neither of us played that hole well. I still had a chance to win the hole with my last putt which ended up 3cm beside the hole. We halved the hole in 8's.
That started off a day that neither of us really enjoyed. Chris had his worst score for some time, 52 on the front and 51 on the back, for a 103 total. I had 46 on both the front and back 9's, for 92. My six shot difference on the front had me three up at the turn. I won 10 and 11, halved the 12th, and won the 13th. Match over, 6up with 5 to play. While neither of us played well, the breaks went my way, for a bath for Chris. Revenge is supposed to be sweet but that was almost a bitter pill. Win, lose or draw, a close match is much more exciting.
The first hole can be terrifying. Out of bounds all down the left.
Return to Golf page: