Otago Here We Come......

At 9.05 on Friday morning I questioned the wisdom of travelling to Dunedin for the annual Otago Golf Club match given the uninspiring weather forecasts that had been promulgated. Notwithstanding my pessimistic outlook the convoy assembled and headed South.

Our advance party of Alan Scott, Joe Mullins, and Grant Osborn flew in on the 7.00am flight and immediately headed for Balmac. Their early report was encouraging - on the 4th tee and no rain while for us the windscreen wipers were working overtime. Occasionally there appeared to be a lightening towards the south but inevitably the rains continued. The advance group finished the round in a light drizzle. In a reversal of previous form it appeared that those on the road partook in their first alcoholic beverage (at Fleurs) before the after match drinks!!

The closer we edged to Dunedin the worse became the weather. A halt was called at Waikouatiti in order to watch Miss Moet race at Motukarara. A strong second placing lifted the travellers spirits despite payment of a relatively small dividend. We reached town just after 5.00 and any chance of a late afternoon round disintegrated as the precipitation continued to fall.

We booked into the Law Courts and adjourned to the bar to welcome each new arrival prior to heading to Little India for dinner. Sukhi Gill was delayed in Wellington by the weather and was lucky to arrive just as we finished the entrees at 8.30. Meanwhile the rain continued unabated.....

I wish I could say Saturday dawned clear and fine but I can't. After breakfast I donned wet weather gear and trudged uptown in search of real coffee in the hope that the dismal scene would improve - it didn't. By 11.00 we assembled in the bar for the transfer to Balmac. Whatever the state of the weather we received a warm welcome from the Otago team but tinged with scepticism about the wisdom of playing golf - it was after all still raining heavily and the course had been closed. The specular view from the club rooms only showed a grey bleak outlook as the Low appeared to have centred directly above the clubhouse.

The four team captains met and decided that after a late lunch a course inspection would be undertaken by Ken Fergus and Danny Gin to ascertain if and when we could tee off. Soon they disappeared off in a cloud of water that almost engulfed their cart. They returned very wet somewhat later to announce that golf would commence at 2.30 with 3 holes declared unplayable 1 , 17 & 18. The senior foursomes match for the Hanmer Shield would proceed. Unexpectedly the Friendly teams also evinced a desire to battle the elements (it was still raining - hard) in a fourball format.

The Friendly match was immediately hampered by the fact Barry Fletcher was unable to take a cart onto the course for health and safety reasons so his match with Sam Kerr was declared null & void. Martin Toon then agreed to play Ian MacPherson in a singles match so as not to waste the afternoon - as a precursor Ian stipulated that if he was to get drenched the match must count towards the Shield.

As always the Friendly match was keenly contested. Scottie and I battled the elements for the 15 holes to finally secure a half with me having to make a 3 foot put on the last - the ball aquaplaned in and almost floated out. Having missed a similar putt on the previous hole for a win it was with some relief we posted the half. Sukhi Gill and Grant Osborn were unlucky to lose one down having come from behind to reach square with only 3 holes to play. Meanwhile Joe Mullins and Barry O'Neill confirmed they play better in the dry losing 6/5 on a day when nothing went their way!

Grant Mitchell (who hadn't played in the rain since last century - in anticipation he had on Thursday bought new wet weather gear) and Stuart Kemp secured a vital win at the top of the order to keep us in the match. The fate of the Christchurch team now rested with the two greyhounds who had zoomed around the course at the head of the field. When eventually tracked down in the clubhouse drying out Martin was able to confirm a 3/1 win. We were now tied 2 1/2 each going into the singles on Sunday - and the rain continued to fall.

The senior team were not quite so lucky Ken Fergus and Karl Kitchingham secured a 4 up win and Bruce Cooper & Kerry Haycock won 3 up to give us some hope but the golfing gods were against Christchurch as JB & Bong lost 6 down as did Rod O'Brien & Dave Robinson - tall stories were told of the difficulty of the climatic conditions but the outcome was a 5 hole win to Otago and the Hanmer Shield changed hands.

We returned to the hotel to dry our drenched clothing and gear in anticipation of more golf on the morrow. First of course came the formal dinner which was as always a delightful event where much merriment and fun was had during the course of the evening despite the rain continuing to fall outside. It was a chastened bunch that assembled on Sunday morning to be told at 9.30am there was no chance of play (it was still raining) and golf together with the lunch was cancelled. At 10.00 we headed out the gates and back to Christchurch with the wipers working overtime. As holders we were deemed to have retained the Friendly Shield and the other Senior Trophy.

After a detour just past Oamaru because of flooding and when it finally stopped raining a light luncheon was had at Timaru and we arrived back home just in time to see Danny Lee play the last few holes and win the Johnnie Walker. It was sad to say but the rain did ruin what was otherwise a great weekend. All other matters are concealed under the blanket of "What happens on tour stays on Tour!".We look forward to welcoming Otago in 2010.