19 July 2024
Report courtesy of Rob Manton
A Game of Two 9’s.
We have all experienced a game of golf when our two 9’s are so diametrically opposed that one could be excused for feeling that one is suffering an out of body experience. So it was when RAGC’s senior elite golfers stepped out for Round 2 of the 2024 Senior Interclub season at The Grange Golf Club (East Course) on Friday 19 July.
In weather conditions that made the third round at the recent Open Championship look like a perfect day for the beach, the team of David Cherry, Gavan Fox, Rod Phillips, Greg Chappell, and debutantes Richard Huebl and Eddie Bell were drawn to play reigning champions Glenelg.
The Front 9
Capitalising on the vast experience available and determined to get a win on the board early, GC was deployed to contest the coin toss and duly delivered – a significant morale boost for the team (he’s still got it!!).
With a roaring gale behind them, each of RAGC’s players flushed their opening drives 180-190m down the middle of the East Course’s 1st fairway – we were clearly up for the fight.
At Number 6 GC played solidly through the opening 7 holes in appalling weather conditions to stand on the 8th tee 1 up – or so he thought. In what can only be described as attempted gamesmanship, his opponent tried to convince him that Greg had in fact won the 7th hole and was 2 up. Standing over his tee shot, Greg was clearly distracted replaying the 7th hole in his head and for the first time in 40 years… missed the fairway. If it wasn’t for the tempest raging around the course you could have heard a pin drop – the miss reverberated through the team.
At Number 5 Doc Cherry was finding the centre of the club from both tee and fairway (except for the par 3, 5th hole where his hybrid into the gale on the 190m hole missed the green by 189m right clearing the boundary fence), but his putter was as cold as an esky full of dry ice. Despite winning the 1st hole Doc was 3 down through 5 but wrestled a hole back to be 2 down through 7 when GC struck his now infamous blow from the 8th tee – it remained to be seen how that would affect the rest of the matches.
At Number 4 rookie Eddie Bell was firing, then he wasn’t, then he was, then he wasn’t. Clearly relishing the hurricane like conditions, Eddie was ahead early before surrendering his lead to be 1 down standing on the 8th tee. Despite having an uncooperative putter (can our pro shop please stock some putters that work Jake?) Eddie was displaying the typical bulldog-like tenacity that is in this elite group of senior players’ DNA.
At Number 3, Purple (if you don’t know who that is read last week’s report… or look at the attached team photograph) began solidly until the heavens opened and he had to don his lycra fitting wet weather gear. Looking more like a competitor in the Tour de France, Purple lost a couple of holes between numbers 3 and 6 before deciding that the lycra like jacket was clearly an impediment to his smooth flowing swing, removed the offending garment and clawed back to 1 down through 7.
Making his debut at Number 2 in the order, Richard Huebl was pitted against one of Glenelg’s stalwart team members. On reaching the 7th green Richard advised that he had made his opponent putt a 6 inch putt on one of the early holes that clearly had the desired effect as he was playing far better bad golf than his opponent and had moved to a 2 up lead. Gotta love the rookies!!
In the top match Wayne’s brother was drawn against one of Glenelg’s Simpson Cup players (playing Simpson Cup players in this event is clearly not in the spirit of the game) who has a handicap well south of anyone else in the competition. After halving the 1st hole, Rod relaxed knowing he could not lose by the maximum margin and kept his opponent in view though trailing by the proverbial length of the straight. At 2 down through 6 Rod hit his approach to the par 5, 7th green into a greenside bunker. As matches are played in groups of 4, Richard’s opponent was also investigating the same bunker and played his shot onto the green. Rod did the same, executing an excellent bunker shot to ‘spirit of the game’ gimmie distance (read 5 feet!!) only to be subsequently advised that Richard’s opponent had hit Rod’s ball and Rod had duly reciprocated – 3 down through 7. Rod’s only retort – ‘he hit the wrong ball first’.
The storm was now raging as players battled their way into the wind on the 400m par 4, 8th hole. Umbrellas were observed rolling down the fairway on 9 like tumbleweeds in a deserted old west town. In an unseemly display of a distinct lack of athletic ability, a number of their owners were seen chasing their runaway accoutrements – senior players should know better; it is most unbecoming!!
At the turn we had managed to snatch the lead in 3 matches and were 1, 2 and 3 down in the remaining 3. The back 9 promised to be an enthralling battle.
The Back 9
There was no back 9!!
By mutual agreement the players agreed to call all matches square and retire to the clubhouse to discuss what might have been.
RAGC 3 – Glenelg 3.
