Thursday, July 9, 2009
Thought For The Day..............
Somebody once told me that there were more important things in life than golf.......... I think it was my ex-wife!
Sunday, July 5, 2009
What's Happening Week of 6 July...............
Coming up this week is, in my view, one of the most interesting and exciting competitions organised by the Club being the Otago Salver (gross) and Old Friends Trophy (nett) contested by way of foursomes played in sixes. Hitting only alternate shots you quite often play from parts of the course you may not normally frequent. A store of patience and an agreement not too say "sorry" are prerequisites for an enjoyable afternoon - its also a good format for a great haggle by way of skins!! Remember one player hits off the odds while the other hits off the evens, alternate thereafter until you hole out.
On Sunday the Centennial Jug is the trophy on the line in the mixed competition. The format is a a Teams Ambrose with a minimum of 4 drives per person. Tee times are from 11.30 onwards with an entry fee of $22.50 per participant. I understand Amanda and Andrew are planning a hearty roast to replenish the diminished reserves following completion of the appropriate exertions. Please note the Fathers/Sons and Mothers/Daughters day has been transferred to the new date of 20 September 2009 so there is still time to practice.
The inter club selection committee is meeting this week as we move to the next stage of our campaign to retain the Woodward Cup and win Blank and Simon. Brian Ronan will be looking after Woodward, while Rod O'Brien assisted by Alan Scott take over the reins for Blank with Steve Hicks and Rod Hayes again in charge of Simon. Our Woodward Team will have a new look to it this year but I am confident we have the depth to do well in this and the other competitions.
The Board meets for its July meeting on Wednesday and the agenda appears to be full with there having been a break in June. Generally the feedback in regards to the fairway renovations has been very positive and we will be looking at the next planning stage given our previous commitment to proceed.
In the interim good golfing and I will see you at Shirley!
On Sunday the Centennial Jug is the trophy on the line in the mixed competition. The format is a a Teams Ambrose with a minimum of 4 drives per person. Tee times are from 11.30 onwards with an entry fee of $22.50 per participant. I understand Amanda and Andrew are planning a hearty roast to replenish the diminished reserves following completion of the appropriate exertions. Please note the Fathers/Sons and Mothers/Daughters day has been transferred to the new date of 20 September 2009 so there is still time to practice.
The inter club selection committee is meeting this week as we move to the next stage of our campaign to retain the Woodward Cup and win Blank and Simon. Brian Ronan will be looking after Woodward, while Rod O'Brien assisted by Alan Scott take over the reins for Blank with Steve Hicks and Rod Hayes again in charge of Simon. Our Woodward Team will have a new look to it this year but I am confident we have the depth to do well in this and the other competitions.
The Board meets for its July meeting on Wednesday and the agenda appears to be full with there having been a break in June. Generally the feedback in regards to the fairway renovations has been very positive and we will be looking at the next planning stage given our previous commitment to proceed.
In the interim good golfing and I will see you at Shirley!
Speed of Play.... (Better??)
The afternoon ladies told me they played the full 18, from the Red tees, in 4 hours 15 mins on Saturday so hopefully we are seeing a sustained improvement in the movement of the field. Taking into account the reduced size of the participating numbers it is still too soon to say definitively the worst is over but we are clearly heading in the right direction.
In acknowledging the efforts of the members I admit that I was in a group that did lose ground on Saturday, and then again on Sunday - please be aware I have been fined by the Men's Committee for these transgressions as a salutary reminder to all players of their obligations to make best endeavours to proceed forward without undue delay!
In acknowledging the efforts of the members I admit that I was in a group that did lose ground on Saturday, and then again on Sunday - please be aware I have been fined by the Men's Committee for these transgressions as a salutary reminder to all players of their obligations to make best endeavours to proceed forward without undue delay!
The Start Sheet..................
Inevitably during the Winter months the start sheet is adversely affected by late withdrawals normally determined by the state of the weather on the day. A couple of issues arise as a consequence: firstly if you are pulling out please let the pro shop know as early as possible so we can look at filling the gaps.
Secondly the starter and the pro shop will attempt to "mix and match" the groupings particularly in a teams or pairs event to ensure as many as possible qualify for the competition of the day. This process is simplified if you can schedule your arrival and report to the starter at least ten minutes prior to your tee time as this may allow us flexibility in determining the make up and order in which groups hit off.
Please note with substantial pressure on the course during this period it may mean if you are late to the tee your time may be forfeited to the following group if they are ready to go or those members present may be asked to tee off and the late comer is sent to the second tee.
Secondly the starter and the pro shop will attempt to "mix and match" the groupings particularly in a teams or pairs event to ensure as many as possible qualify for the competition of the day. This process is simplified if you can schedule your arrival and report to the starter at least ten minutes prior to your tee time as this may allow us flexibility in determining the make up and order in which groups hit off.
Please note with substantial pressure on the course during this period it may mean if you are late to the tee your time may be forfeited to the following group if they are ready to go or those members present may be asked to tee off and the late comer is sent to the second tee.
The Week That Was..................
Saturday was what can be termed a "raw" day with most of the players well rugged up against the biting cold and a rampant chill factor. Competition of the day was a teams Irish stableford where for the first 6 holes 1 score counts, for the next 5 holes 2 scores count, for the next 4 holes 3 scores count and for the last 3 holes all every body's score counts. Those with access to a calculator or a mathematical bent will have calculated that a score of even 2's gives a target of 80.
An early morning team carefully crafted by David Wallace to include Chris Barraclough, Peter Davey & Mike Stenhouse whizzed past that and compiled an impressive total of 94 points. This was enough to see off the "so-called " dream team of Struan Cain, Shane Gloury, Tony Park & Andrew Vincent who could only amass a mere 90 points from David Barley, Peter Hollister, Liam Cumberpatch & Peter Wardell with 89 in third from Brad Clark, Nathan Gilbert, Adian Millar & Mitchell Vincent in 4th with 88 points.
The two's pool stood at $220 and there were 16 winners each receiving $13.75, the 2x2 jackpot was new and opened at $65 to be won by Nathan Gilbert. Martin Toon was the winner of the Linden Leaves sponsored nearest on 2 for 2 while John Dickson and Brad Clark won $40 each for the nearest the pins on 3 & 11 respectively. Drew Butcher was the winner of the Benjarong Thai Cuisine prize on 18 (Drew also had 6 birdies on the back nine). For the first time in a few weeks the nett eagles pool ($75) jackpots after hole 11 was drawn.
The weather on Sunday was clement enough to tempt a number of competitors to advance their match play events. In the Top Dog competition my partner Dean Palmer and I were fortunate enough to see off the father and son combination of Michael and David Kerr 3/2 in what was a tightly contested battle. As the winners of Section A we move into the semi finals and await the outcome of the Maguire/Bond -v- Sloane/Corry game to determine the winners of Section B.
The Page Trophy also moved onwards with Alan & Karyn Scott being successful over Julie & Barry O'Neill. In a match scheduled later in the day Struan & Terry Cain were victorious over Paddy & Jane Helmore. Both days ended with a convivial crowd of members seated around the fire heating various parts of their anatomies that had been subjected to the bitter conditions outside.
An early morning team carefully crafted by David Wallace to include Chris Barraclough, Peter Davey & Mike Stenhouse whizzed past that and compiled an impressive total of 94 points. This was enough to see off the "so-called " dream team of Struan Cain, Shane Gloury, Tony Park & Andrew Vincent who could only amass a mere 90 points from David Barley, Peter Hollister, Liam Cumberpatch & Peter Wardell with 89 in third from Brad Clark, Nathan Gilbert, Adian Millar & Mitchell Vincent in 4th with 88 points.
The two's pool stood at $220 and there were 16 winners each receiving $13.75, the 2x2 jackpot was new and opened at $65 to be won by Nathan Gilbert. Martin Toon was the winner of the Linden Leaves sponsored nearest on 2 for 2 while John Dickson and Brad Clark won $40 each for the nearest the pins on 3 & 11 respectively. Drew Butcher was the winner of the Benjarong Thai Cuisine prize on 18 (Drew also had 6 birdies on the back nine). For the first time in a few weeks the nett eagles pool ($75) jackpots after hole 11 was drawn.
The weather on Sunday was clement enough to tempt a number of competitors to advance their match play events. In the Top Dog competition my partner Dean Palmer and I were fortunate enough to see off the father and son combination of Michael and David Kerr 3/2 in what was a tightly contested battle. As the winners of Section A we move into the semi finals and await the outcome of the Maguire/Bond -v- Sloane/Corry game to determine the winners of Section B.
The Page Trophy also moved onwards with Alan & Karyn Scott being successful over Julie & Barry O'Neill. In a match scheduled later in the day Struan & Terry Cain were victorious over Paddy & Jane Helmore. Both days ended with a convivial crowd of members seated around the fire heating various parts of their anatomies that had been subjected to the bitter conditions outside.
It's All About Me.........
For those of you absent from the Clubhouse on Saturday let me tell you about no.4 which you will recall was playing downwind with the prevailing southerly. I hit driver off the tee along a line of the left bunker and centre fairway. The power fade gathered momentum as it was picked up by the wind, and was subsequently described by Johnny Parlane as being sneaky long, as it finished to the right and just short of the 180m mark. I pulled 5 iron from the bag and taking direction from the lamppost shaped a high shot left to right around the dog leg to pitch on the green and roll to within a metre of the pin - sunk the putt for an easy eagle 3 and 5 stableford points. Apart from a birdie on 18 it was they were the only two good shots of my round!
Ever had one of those days were you just can't win from the start?? Well Wednesday did it for me. Having heard the alarm go off at 7.00 I turned on the radio and the next thing I comprehended was the news it was ten to eight. Getting out of bed I found I didn't have an ironed shirt, rushed down stairs found my daughter had taken the last of the milk, put on the kettle, cooked toast while ironing then discovered the raspberry jam jar was empty but still in the cupboard, pondering this I realised the kettle hadn't boiled; having checked the plug, switch and stand ascertained the kettle was stuffed - heated water in microwave.
Headed out of the door having shaved showered and scoffed toast to arrive for morning fix at coffee shop, looked at watch to see how late I was and found an empty wrist, as swearing remembered I hadn't taken the chicken out of the freezer for dinner (after a disagreement with daughter over the soup for dinner the previous night this did not bode well!!). Got to work slightly stressed and strained to turn on my computer to find an empty docking station having left the bloody laptop at home. So not a great start to the morning.
After a golf club meeting got home late to find I had left the iron on all day and disgruntled daughter hadn't undertaken any food preparation!!!
Month end routinely has me reviewing budgetary expenses to clarify why again I have no money. A review of cash flow was able to establish I spent more on coffee than I did on petrol but when added together didn't equal the amount attributed to wine. To avoid a recurrence of this scenario I have now decided to show reds and whites as separate line items.
Ever had one of those days were you just can't win from the start?? Well Wednesday did it for me. Having heard the alarm go off at 7.00 I turned on the radio and the next thing I comprehended was the news it was ten to eight. Getting out of bed I found I didn't have an ironed shirt, rushed down stairs found my daughter had taken the last of the milk, put on the kettle, cooked toast while ironing then discovered the raspberry jam jar was empty but still in the cupboard, pondering this I realised the kettle hadn't boiled; having checked the plug, switch and stand ascertained the kettle was stuffed - heated water in microwave.
Headed out of the door having shaved showered and scoffed toast to arrive for morning fix at coffee shop, looked at watch to see how late I was and found an empty wrist, as swearing remembered I hadn't taken the chicken out of the freezer for dinner (after a disagreement with daughter over the soup for dinner the previous night this did not bode well!!). Got to work slightly stressed and strained to turn on my computer to find an empty docking station having left the bloody laptop at home. So not a great start to the morning.
After a golf club meeting got home late to find I had left the iron on all day and disgruntled daughter hadn't undertaken any food preparation!!!
Month end routinely has me reviewing budgetary expenses to clarify why again I have no money. A review of cash flow was able to establish I spent more on coffee than I did on petrol but when added together didn't equal the amount attributed to wine. To avoid a recurrence of this scenario I have now decided to show reds and whites as separate line items.
An Update From Steve Ellis.........
I have received another update from Steve Ellis and should you wish a full copy please let me know, part is attached below. Alberto's health continues to decline and and Sarah's emotional support is being maintained by Steve & Sue such that Steve will in the interim be remaining with her. I am sure it goes without saying that Steve, Sue and Sarah are often in our thoughts during this difficult time.
Sue is to depart for NZ this Tuesday the 7th, arriving back in CHCH on the 10th. I will stay the journey with Sarah. To this end we moved from our rental Apartment this morning and I will stay on in Alberto and Sarah's Apartment located some 200 metres from Olga's, where they have been domiciled. We feel this is the best practical means by which we can support Sarah as its not going to get any easier from here on in.
I can state that Sue completes her " Italian Housewife Degree " with Honours. She has only been exempt one " Unit " - that being " Queue Jumping Italian Style " through use of the Ruse - " I'm just a tired, little old Italian lady with an oversized shopping basket, so let me through! " Sue's shopping basket/bag was considered not lethal enough! She has been a marvel having to adapt to some really challenging situations over the past nine weeks. Sarah and I will miss her. And we all know how she is being so " good " about missing the Annual Italian retail shopping Sardi ( Sale ) Season, when the prices plummet. This Season starts today and runs for the month of July.
In an attempt to provide a break with the daily routine for Sarah, we have used our Sundays to get out of Bergamo and gain some R & R. A couple of Sundays ago it was a Train and Lake Ferry navigation of Lake Iseo to the east of Bergamo. Not the grandeur of Lake Como, but still very scenic, taking in the numerous and very picturesque small town stops around the Lake.
Last Sunday saw we three, together with Giuliana, our rental Apartment Owner and her daughter, Sophia, ( a member of Italy's 2009 Ski Training Squad ), travel by car 50 kms north into the Italian Alps to the small village of Ornica ( 800m asl ). We then tramped through forest and uphill some 600 metres along a small river bed out into a lush green belt to a largish stone cottage dug out from a rock outcrop. The Cottage was supported by various agricultural and O/nite accommodation units. The Italian style these as Agritourismo Ventures - an opportunity for Town to meet Country.
With some 15 other day trampers we were rewarded for our endeavour with a Fantastic authentic local Meal that comprised - Soup of wild mountain herbs/vegetables/pancetta, home made pasta, braised Cow tongue, pigs trotters stuffed with herbs & slow baked, ( known as Cotechino ), lamb ribs, polenta, then Ricotta tort and/or peach tort, hand made cheeses and all washed down with a jug of a very decent local Red! Brilliant! The kinds of tastes you chase on local restaurant menus and rarely succeed in finding. And all prepared in a minuscule kitchen set-up on a wood range. The return downhill was a breeze.
With NZ never far from the mind, and as an official CCC Anti Boy Racer Ambassador, it would be poor if I didn't report Overseas Findings on the Issue. I know Bob will be keen to learn that the Italians have cut their Boy Racer Issue in HALF. Yes, the little twats over here all ride scooters and superbikes!! Valentino Rossi has a lot to answer for!
I feel as if I am developing traces of that very Italian trait of speech with this Email, that is - " Never use 10 words when 100 will do!! " So I had better close with a word of thanks from Sarah, Sue and I for all all your messages and thoughts. Our time all together over here is drawing to a close and it would be fair to say that as a trip, it has provided not so much a Photo Album as a Scrapbook of memories. It's been a very interesting journey to say the least.
Ciao, Sue Sarah Alberto and Steve
Sue is to depart for NZ this Tuesday the 7th, arriving back in CHCH on the 10th. I will stay the journey with Sarah. To this end we moved from our rental Apartment this morning and I will stay on in Alberto and Sarah's Apartment located some 200 metres from Olga's, where they have been domiciled. We feel this is the best practical means by which we can support Sarah as its not going to get any easier from here on in.
I can state that Sue completes her " Italian Housewife Degree " with Honours. She has only been exempt one " Unit " - that being " Queue Jumping Italian Style " through use of the Ruse - " I'm just a tired, little old Italian lady with an oversized shopping basket, so let me through! " Sue's shopping basket/bag was considered not lethal enough! She has been a marvel having to adapt to some really challenging situations over the past nine weeks. Sarah and I will miss her. And we all know how she is being so " good " about missing the Annual Italian retail shopping Sardi ( Sale ) Season, when the prices plummet. This Season starts today and runs for the month of July.
In an attempt to provide a break with the daily routine for Sarah, we have used our Sundays to get out of Bergamo and gain some R & R. A couple of Sundays ago it was a Train and Lake Ferry navigation of Lake Iseo to the east of Bergamo. Not the grandeur of Lake Como, but still very scenic, taking in the numerous and very picturesque small town stops around the Lake.
Last Sunday saw we three, together with Giuliana, our rental Apartment Owner and her daughter, Sophia, ( a member of Italy's 2009 Ski Training Squad ), travel by car 50 kms north into the Italian Alps to the small village of Ornica ( 800m asl ). We then tramped through forest and uphill some 600 metres along a small river bed out into a lush green belt to a largish stone cottage dug out from a rock outcrop. The Cottage was supported by various agricultural and O/nite accommodation units. The Italian style these as Agritourismo Ventures - an opportunity for Town to meet Country.
With some 15 other day trampers we were rewarded for our endeavour with a Fantastic authentic local Meal that comprised - Soup of wild mountain herbs/vegetables/pancetta, home made pasta, braised Cow tongue, pigs trotters stuffed with herbs & slow baked, ( known as Cotechino ), lamb ribs, polenta, then Ricotta tort and/or peach tort, hand made cheeses and all washed down with a jug of a very decent local Red! Brilliant! The kinds of tastes you chase on local restaurant menus and rarely succeed in finding. And all prepared in a minuscule kitchen set-up on a wood range. The return downhill was a breeze.
With NZ never far from the mind, and as an official CCC Anti Boy Racer Ambassador, it would be poor if I didn't report Overseas Findings on the Issue. I know Bob will be keen to learn that the Italians have cut their Boy Racer Issue in HALF. Yes, the little twats over here all ride scooters and superbikes!! Valentino Rossi has a lot to answer for!
I feel as if I am developing traces of that very Italian trait of speech with this Email, that is - " Never use 10 words when 100 will do!! " So I had better close with a word of thanks from Sarah, Sue and I for all all your messages and thoughts. Our time all together over here is drawing to a close and it would be fair to say that as a trip, it has provided not so much a Photo Album as a Scrapbook of memories. It's been a very interesting journey to say the least.
Ciao, Sue Sarah Alberto and Steve
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