Consolation Final – RAGC vs KGC
23 August 2024
Signing Off Season 2024
The immortal Bobby Jones once said ‘I never learned anything from a match that I won’. That being the case RAGC’s elite senior golfers have learned a lot this Interclub season!!
The season concluded with a consolation final (for the bronze medal) against our traditional rivals Kooyonga Golf Club over a shortened Glenelg Golf Course.
There is little point in prolonging the anticipation of this reporter’s faithful readership – we lost 4 matches to 2 in a contest that would likely have had a different result if the venue could locate its two missing holes.
Our finals team lineup saw Eddie Bell volunteer (nay, insist) on playing number 1 in an attempt to salvage something from his rookie season – a free lunch from his opponent; Nudge moved to Number 2 with Purple at 3 grouped with the MCSRW (read last week’s report for the glossary), Terry from No Laying Up at 5 and habitual winner of coin tossing, Greg Chappell at 6. On the surface a strong enough team to challenge any opponent, but don’t dig too deep!!
As this report writer was contesting a match there are only snippets of the overall contest available.
GC was tasked to contest the coin toss – his opponent called incorrectly and the great man deployed one of his classic cricket Captaincy lines: ‘you can bat… after us’. From all reports his match was a closely contested affair only decided in his opponent’s favour on the last hole (the 16th, not the real 16th – actually the 18th but the 16th hole played – this golf course continues to do my head in).
Our No Laying Up recruit battled manfully all day but, as with last week, his low bullet fades were no match for his opponent (the opposition’s MCSRW) and his putting failed to render any assistance. (You’ll note that I have given up asking Jake to stock some putters that work). Terry eventually succumbed 4/2.
Purple and the MCSRW were both locked in tight matches throughout the day. I had deliberately paired myself with Purple to capitalise on his intimate knowledge of the course given he is a former Club Captain and in the hope that he might impart some wisdom on some of the more challenging holes. Sadly my cunning plan was for nought as the only advice I received was after I had either completely misread a putt (should have gone to Specsavers) or played to the wrong side of the fairway (like playing the wrong bias on a lawn bowl – come on, we’ve all done it). Notwithstanding, both Purple and I came to the 18th green (the 16th hole if you recall – not the real 16th etc etc) on level terms and watched our opponents implode. Two wins, both 1 up.
Playing at Number 2, Wayne’s brother was always in the hunt – though not really (I just wrote that to make him feel better) eventually losing 2/1 – it’s clearly not a course for lefties (or is it leftys?).
So with the representatives from the club slightly north of the airport 3-2 in the ascendancy it came down to Eddie and his lunch match. As reports filtered through throughout the day it was apparent that no quarter was being asked or given and yet another match moved to the 18th (the 16th … bla bla). Eddie’s opponent played two terrific shots to the green and was left with a putt of around six feet. Not to be outdone (should that be one word or two – Legal?) Eddie produced an approach shot of cataclysmic proportion into the cavernous right green side bunker with the flag some eight feet from the edge of the green at the foot of a slope – loves a challenge this lad. At this point I’ll return to another of the great Bobby Jones’ observations – ‘Too much ambition is a bad thing to have in a bunker’. Need I say more.
Despite our season yet again failing to produce any silverware, I would like to sincerely thank the 17 players who represented our club this year. I know you all enjoyed the competition and the opportunity to play on some of Adelaide’s best golf courses.
As Bobby Jones has featured prominently in this edition I’ll conclude with another of his more uplifting quotes for our elite senior golfers: ‘Golf is the one game I know that becomes harder the longer you play it’.
Position Vacant
MCSRW
No experience necessary
KPI – Finish no lower than 4th in a four team competition)
Signing Off
