Author: Gill Warnock

It was just a bit too dreich and blustery to entertain the thought of 18 long holes. Especially with the forecast so poor. So all six intrepid golfers headed out instead of a quick social sweep over 9 holes.

 

It was windy and rainy all the way round. Fortunately, we’re all nails so there was hardly any whining to be heard. Mainly because we had so many layers of hats on.

 

Nobody made it round blob-free. But a creditable three of us managed to hold it down to a single blip.

 

 

On a few tees, the odd golfer was blown off-balance by the gusts. But we soldiered on…

 

We scooted round at a fair lick and got back to the clubhouse to the delightful sight of fresh muffins courtesy of Gerry. How kind!

Banana, maple syrup & walnut muffins still hot from the oven…

 

On the drookit scorecards, it appeared to be a tie between Elena & me for top spot.

Next week, we’ll try the medal again and hope the weather is kinder to us.

 

 

After storms Ciara and Dennis put the kibosh on the last two weeks’ play, we were all suffering rather badly from cabin fever. Luckily Storm Jorge was considerate enough to delay his arrival long enough to let us set out for some fresh air. Full disclosure: I wasn’t keen having walked up and aquaplaned across – sorry- inspected the first green. But I got run over in the stampede of players who headed for the first tee in eager anticipation. Who was I to argue?

So seven, stir-crazy golfers set out in the dazzling sunshine to do battle for another 10 points in the fast-closing Winter League.

 

Don’t be fooled by the sunshine, the course was fairly wet underfoot. As a result play was challenging. Or maybe that was just me?

 

 

 

 

Quickest out of the blocks were Janette and Erica. They both grabbed 5 points at the first two holes. Making a mockery of the tricky conditions in fine style.

 

The best score on the 7th today was from Elizabeth who bagged a very creditable 3 points.

Having blobbed three-in-a-row earlier, I arrived on the 8th green mentally composing the Ebay ad selling my golf clubs. To my surprise, my approach shot had ended up not too far away. I managed to putt out and bag the only 5 of the day. For a measly 3 points.

 

 

Coming down the 8th, the storm arrived with a rather exciting flash hail storm.

 

Glady, we raced down to putt out and get back to the clubhouse for very delicious apple cake courtesy of Elena.

 

No two’s glory or holes in one today. Not surprising as the ball was hardly running.

 

Nobody managed a blob-free round either – though there were a few valiant attempts.

It was crowded in 3rd place with four golfers tied on 12 points:

3rd: Marena, Elena, Gill & Janette

 

Despite starting in blobsville, Kay recovered well – helped along by a 3 for 3 at the 4th! – to finish a strong second with 13 points:

 

2nd: Kay

 

And scoring steadily all the way round (four 2’s and a 3) apart from a teeny-tiny blippeterini at the 8th, was Erica who finished in top place on a great 14 points:

1st: Erica

A great round to stretch her lead at the top of the Winter League. Very well done 🙂 ?

 

Next time we get to play on Saturday 29th February will be 2048!

The weather had improved markedly since last week, despite the horrific forecast. We had 7 golfers line up for the February Medal.

 

Marena & I set off as the second pair behind Erica & Elena. Janette, Linda & Anne brought up the rear (not a euphemism).

 

We both managed to stonk our drives up to summerish distance!

 

And a couple of actual par 4s set us up nicely on the first hole. Ahead of us Elena had also started with a lovely wee 4.

The wind was pretty gusty which made club choice interesting (ie a lottery!) Unsurprisingly, there were no 2’s at all. The pot is building nicely…

 

Up ahead Elena in particular was having a great round through the first 7 holes. Unfortunately for her card, there followed some unexpected blippage on the 8th and 9th before normal service resumed. Other notable scores on the front 9 included: Elena notched up a 3 on the 4th, Anne bagged a 4 on the 6th and Linda scored a nice 3 on the 7th. I was the only one to blag a 5 on the 8th.

 

 

Either the conditions got trickier or we all faded as everyone (except Elena) scored a wee bit higher on the back 9.

Marena was the only one who managed a 3 at Spion Kop on the way back. But the scores were less noteworthy on the whole…

 

 

After 18 long holes, we had…

1: Gill (74)

2: Elena (78)

3: Marena (82)

 

For full results: click here

Back to Winter League next week.

A balmy 19 degrees in New Galloway today…delicious for golf…

………aye, right! 19 degrees fahrenheit maybe…aka 7 degrees celsius.

Not warm.

Nor very dry either, as you can see from my gloves after a 9 hole round…

And a touch breezy…the fourth green isn’t usually the windiest place on the course.

So five of us  saw the rain lessen and thought ‘it’ll be fine, let’s go out’. Needless to say, it deteriorated quickly and stayed grim until we got back to the clubhouse. Luckily we’d only committed to a quick 9 holes.

There will be few photos. Although my camera is waterproof, the scorecard sharing the pocket on my bag wasn’t. And it was, frankly, too unpleasant to faff around taking photos.

On the second (yearning for the clubhouse already) Erica had a lovely chip in. As per usual, I was miles right. Why, oh why, do I *never* learn? I blame the wind this week.

By the 4th, even Kay who is usually willing to tramp up and down hills in all sorts of weather was looking less than delighted.

The traditional view over the loch was surprisingly clear…

Noteworthy scores from our group included Kay getting a 5 for 3 on the third on her way to a cunningly blob-free round. Erica scored a delightful 4 for 3 at the second with a great putt. I also managed a 4 for 3 on the second thanks to a reasonable chip down (from the RIGHT obviously, I have so *much* practice from there it’s not a surprise frankly).

The other group must have set a new land speed record the speed they played at. We barely glimpsed on the course! From the scorecard, Elena had a varied round, with a couple of blips, but also a couple of 3’s and many 2’s. Marena logged the only other blob-free round of the day with some very steady scoring.

This resulted in a three-way tie in first place:

1st = Kay (15 points)

1st = Elena (15 points)

1st = Marena (15 points)

(Edit: mistakenly put them up as 12 points each – was in fact 15. D’oh!)

Very well done on those scores in the, ahem, less than ideal conditions.

Back to the clubhouse to dry out over lunch.

Weather permitting, we have 5 more Winter League fixtures to go. This results put the cat among the pigeons a bit – there’s only 5 points in it at the top of the table…

Let me assure you that the late arrival of the blog is in no way a reflection of the magnificence of the golf played this week! Week 12 of the Winter League turned out to be a hotly contested affair. We had our closest result in a month.

Six intrepid golfers headed up into the chill to do battle with the Winter League/the course/themselves…

 

The leading group made an excellent start with two 2’s and a 3 on show. Proving to Linda it was worth it to run back to the clubhouse for her putter! It earned her the lovely 5 for 3. Those of us in the following group had a slightly more mixed fortunes with 3, 2 and 1 pointers between us. You might be able to tell from the following expression, who got the 1 pointer…

 

In our group, Marena made the strongest start over the first three holes, earning 3, then 2, then 3 points (with a lovely 4 at the 3rd – an excellent score in any conditions). Erica and Elena went head to head with steady 2’s all the way in the first 3 holes. And Linda was on a great streak with 3, then 1, then 3 points.

Onto the 4th, and in our group, no-one picked the right club for the unexpectedly stiff breeze. All three of us were well short. From halfway down the fairway, I was chuffed to bits with this chip down to within a few feet of the pin…

 

Just as well I took a picture, as seconds later Marena chipped down from the right hand side of the fairway and re-bounded off my ball. Hers stopped mere inches from the pin whilst knocking mine several yards away! Apologies to the leading group who assumed my outraged hollering meant a hole in one or at least a two had occurred!

Using the reference photo, I was able to replace my ball to where it lay. And miraculously putted out for a somewhat unlikely 3 (but only for two measly points. Gah!) Kay ignored our shenanigans and sailed serenely onto a 3 herself (for 3 points. Pah!)

Onto the 5th and once more into the wind…

 

Up to Spion Kop where Kay and I excelled ourselves by earning 3 for 3’s despite neither of us driving the green (IIRC).

 

Back to the clubhouse for some delicious birthday cake courtesy of Erica…a slightly revised apricot and almond cake. Utterly delicious and at least one of my five-a-day.

 

Totting up the scores, we didn’t have any holes-in-one or twos today. But we did have some excellent scores.

I managed a partial return to form for the front half only and amassed the same amount of points I scored in my entire round last week (19 for the record). Sadly, I collapsed faster than an English batsman (though, as someone helpfully pointed out, I didn’t swear nearly as much as an English batsman!). After Kay remarked on how well I was doing at the turn, I didn’t even manage to get into double figures on the way back. Boo! But just about enough for joint 3rd with Marena who had a very steady 14 in each half to gather 28 points.

It was a very close run match in the other group with Linda on 15 points, Erica on 16 points and Elena on 17 points at the turn. On the inward half, it stayed extremely close. Both Erica and Elena racked up the only blob-free rounds of the day. Erica scored a tremendous 3 for 4 points on the 12 hole (mainly to annoy Kay I imagine?)

Overall, it was Elena who triumphed with an amazing 32 points. It was an exceptionally consistent round with only two slight slips to 1 point, nine net pars and four 3-pointers. Only one other player has scaled the giddy heights of 32 points this season so far. Speaking of Erica…she finished a mere single stroke behind on 31 points. Sadly, it wasn’t quite enough for 5 victories in a row. But she has maintained her overall lead in the league and is the first golfer to break 100 points. Ton up! as I believe they say on the darts.

Well done to both on excellent scores in not the easiest conditions. And a great victory for Elena on only her second week back after a few weeks away.

Next week…more Winter League excitement.

 

A terrific turn out for today’s golf  – there were ten players champing at the bit to get a round in.

 

And there was an even better turnout for Not-the-Xmas-lunch as a couple of currently non-playing members joined us for the feast.

 

It was great to see a few regulars who were able to join us after a few weeks off. And there wasn’t much rustiness on view. Anne got off to a terrific start with a 4 at the first. Annie had a steady round with 8 net pars and two net birdies to finish up in third spot. Elena tallied up an impressive blob-free round to grab herself second place.

 

But nobody could get near this year’s most consistent Winter Leaguer – Erica. She scored the only other blob-free round of the day in the process of amassing a brilliant 32 points.

 

As the rest of us will testify, conditions weren’t easy and this was a terrific round from Erica. It as her 7th win from 10 Winter League entries this year and her 4th on the trot! She’s now wrested the sole top spot on the Winter League back from me (to be fair, I only got the lead back a few weeks ago when I played and Erica didn’t!)

Back to the proper golfing and a particular highlight of Erica’s tremendous card was a 5 for FOUR on the 14th. Very nicely done.

There was no two’s glory this week. I understand Kay had a few tickles but decided to let the jackpot rollover to make it a more worthwhile prize(!)

 

More Winter League frolics up next week.

 

And for no prize…all the captions are lyrics from which band?

 

Golf – A Haiku

Gusty break of day
A better, rainy golf swirls
watching the mince pie

(thanks to the Haiku generator – click here)

Or in plain English? …

The weather wasn’t great.  Not as bad as I’ve seen but not pleasant either:

I was willing to go out. Mainly thanks to the lingering effects of my most recent audiobook ‘Can’t Hurt Me’ by a ridiculously hard-core former Navy Seal and ultra-athlete. If you feel you need some gung-ho-up-and-at-’em in your life – this is definitely the book for you! Click here for details

 

But I was out-voted by wiser heads on safety grounds (real risk of falling branches and lethally, slippy slopes). Instead, we did the chores, drank tea/coffee and ate mince pies.
It wasn’t all bad then!

Plenty of that liquid sunshine on the course today. And six golfers turned out for our first Winter League competition of the New Year.

 

We set off in the second group under some glorious skies…

 

 

The course proved a bit challenging this week. So there were no blob-free rounds. Though Erica got within touching distance. She made it all the way to the 15th before having a minor blip. So consistent!

There were some tremendous chips from our group…

Kay into the 7th here…

 

Linda on the 8th…

 

Linda, again, chipping down to the 15th…

 

Even better (though sadly not caught on camera) was a spectacular two on the 10th.

Janette had driven the green. And the group were busy having laugh about how it was hardly worth winning the two’s this week. A brief aside: thanks to last week’s two’s winner Sandra for donating her mahoosive prize to the Captain’s Charity. A classy move 🙂

Back to the 10th…

Marena hadn’t reached the green. But she held her nerve and chipped her ball down and into the hole! Sadly Jeanette didn’t quite sink her putt. So she’d to settle for a 3 for 3. This left Marena with a 2 for 3 (not enough!) and all the two’s glory this week. Very well done.

Bereft of twos in our group, we were reduced to admiring the scenery…and one symmetrical tree in particular…

 

…and the fungi…

 

And something that had caught my eye sitting to the left of the path down from the 8th tee. The internet says maybe Tremella mesenterica (brain mushroom)?

 

I know you’re wondering about the lack of commentary on my round (!) Maybe because I was having a bit of a shocker I haven’t much to say apart from two highlights – both Seve-esque escapes from the gorse in front of the 6th green. For the first, my ball had made it half-way through the gorse to rest next to a three inch wide root. I took a  swift, careful, swipe with an iron – remembering my bruised hand from last week’s encounter with the rocks here. My ball shot out onto the green a few yards from the hole. A lucky putt saw me bag an entirely unlikely four.

Having learnt my lesson, I went a club up for my approach shot the second time round. I was feeling pretty smug about my course management skills. Right up to the point where I mis-hit it. It ran up and under the front of the gorse bushes to the left. Knowing I didn’t have a card to ruin, I went reckless again. I blew the cobwebs off my 4 iron and had a swipe. I somehow found the minuscule gap underneath the two gorse bushes in front of me to reach the green-side. This time it was an unlikely 5. I will *not* be trying anything like those shots next week with a medal card in my hand 😉

In proper golfer news, Kay managed to ignore my antics long enough to score an impressive 16 points on the front half. A great score in the smirr and gusts and muffled swearing. Linda also kept the heid and bagged herself four 3-pointers on the way round. Fabulous scoring there.

And Erica had the hole of the day with a 5 for 4 on the 14th. Superb.

 

The final standings:

1st: Erica 27 points

2nd: Kay 25 points

3rd: Marena 24 points

 

Back to the clubhouse for belated birthday cakes for Linda…

 

Delish.

 

Next week, it’s January medal and the homage to Seve shots will definitely be staying in my imagination!

 

PS This week’s captions courtesy of song titles/lyrics