Day 13 - Men v Ladies

An early start this morning: alarm went off at 0515, to allow for an 0530 departure.  Yes, Dad was on chauffeur duty: son, Andrew, was off to a week's skiing in Tignes with a party of 17 like minded souls from the graduate intake of his firm, EY.  Memo to other heading to Tignes this week: be warned....

An easy trip to Gatwick until we approached the North Terminal, when it appeared that the whole of the South of England also had flights to catch to Geneva.  At least we had plenty of time in hand, so no need for any panic.

Back home for a brief zzz before heading off to the Club to play in the Men vs the Ladies Hicks & Centenary teams.  This is a fixture that goes back some 10+ years and for me was a first.

As Captain, I got to partner the Junior Vice Captain, Malcolm, which was great (for me...); we were paired up against Debbie Richards (she of England fame...) and Mary Waymire, which was also great; we were playing on the New Course and were required to give them 3 courtesy shots and this was definitely not great!  Giving courtesy shots when the pars are different (as on the Old Course) is one thing but when the pars are the same, it's a bit of a nonsense.

In fact, I would need to do some serious analysis as to whether or not those 3 shots made any  real difference, as the Ladies played more consistently than we did, with Debbie expertly slotting in 3 birdies and Mary playing very solidly.  As a result we lost our match, 4&3, and the Ladies won the match overall by 5 to 2. 

All was played in excellent spirits and nobody took things too seriously which was just the way it should be.  A few drinks in the bar were enjoyed by all, and Douglas handed the trophy across to the winning captain, Kika: the Men are still ahead overall but the gap is smaller than it was before we played.

Time to go home and watch the rugby: Italy/Scotland as a starter before the Wales/France main course. If either game is as exciting as the Australia/New Zealand cricket was this morning, we shall be in for a treat....

Day 12 - Mid Week Match

A brainchild of my predeceesor, Colin, was the Mid Week Knock Out.  This was a new competition launched last year and pretty much does what it says on the tin: only playable Monday to Fridays.  In its first year, we limited entry to 64 players but this time here were almost 90 entries.

A mess-up on the diary front in 2014 had meant that I was unable to play my match and had to concede a walk over.  I was pleased therefore to have my first round game today: and what a day it was! Yes, the ground was wet underfoot but we were treated to a still, clear day with unbroken sunshine throughout.  Sitting on the terrace afterwards with a beer in hand, soaking in the rays, was a real treat.

And the result? Well, suffice to say that I played like a drain and that this managed to put off my opponent sufficiently that I managed a win: but that was all by the by. We had a good chat all the way around, enjoyed the great weather and spent the whole time just glad to be out: just what a friendly game of golf is supposed to be!

Day 11 - Classic TV

Another very wet day made the prospect of time out on the course less than attractive. I am sure that there were some intrepid souls out there but the weather forecast for tomorrow looks much more inviting...

Not a golf-free day though: the morning was spent getting to grips with the implications of the 1st March date approaching: this is when individuals who have not played 3 qualifying rounds in the past 12 months will lose their "competition handicaps". Not the end of the world, but it will mean that they are unable to win prizes or enter major competitions until such time as their handicaps are reactivated. Important therefore that we understand how it works: we didn't but we do now!

Then, this evening we got to watch some of the first round shots from the Honda Classic being played in West Palm Beach. It is always fun watching a course that you yourself have played but I must be honest and say the conditions looked a lot tougher today. At time of writing, some of the Brits are still in the frame. Wonder if they will be come Sunday?

Day 10 - Social Evening

No golf today (although the weather was relatively mild...) as there were domestic duties to be done. Guildford was the destination and very pleasant it was: hardly anyone around and even the traffic was bearable.

The evening saw me back at the Club for the first meeting of the new 2015 edition of the Social Committee.  This is the group of volunteers who do so much to make Mixed Golf at Burhill the success that it is.  The agenda tonight was all about planning for the year ahead, as well as exchanging ideas on what can be done to increase the take-up of the Social events.

All around the table there were lots of people with ideas and all were fully engaged: this bodes well for the year ahead!

Then back home in time to watch the second half of the Arsenal-Monaco game. Maybe I should have stayed at the Club...

Day 9 - Pre-Season Training

We are fortunate here that our golf courses are pretty much available for play the whole year around (as long as there is no snow...).  This is not the case in other parts of the world (Cue pictures of mega storms in the US for example). Do now is the time that the sports magazines there fill their pages with exercises to carry out at home to prepare for the new season: swing stretches, muscle workouts, flexibility regimes etc. etc.

I spent time at the Club this morning running trough a number of things with the Director of golf, for he is off to St Lucia for 2 weeks and we shall have to survive in his absence. This means that I will help by doing some of the Knock-out draws and opening up some of the April competitions to entries.  We also spent some time discussing some of the issues that will be on the table at the next Men's Committee meeting, which Pip normally attends, but that he shall miss next month.

Arriving home with time to spare before putting the dinner on (slow roasted shoulder of lamb, from Australian MasterChef, if you're interested!), I decided to spend some time doing my own form of pre-season training: getting the hang of the new trolley.


Those who know me already are aware of the fact that (and as any who read this blog will soon learn)  I am a sucker for the latest gadget.  When I heard about the new Bluetooth enabled Stewart Golf X9 trolley, I was immediately hooked: an electric trolley that would follow me about the course wirelessly, how cool would that be?!

Accordingly, the order was placed and on Sunday I collected my new toy. Mike Evans advised some practice at home before letting it loose on the course so today was the day I tested it out.


Well, in Lego Movie speak, it was "awesome"!  The trolley happily followed me around the garden, down the drive, along the road, basically any where I went. As long as you keep the transponder n your pocket, the trolley will keep up with you but at a respectful distance.  And for the tricky bits, you can use the remote control to guide the trolley on its way or, heaven forbid, you can even use the handle like a normal trolley.

This is one very clever piece of kit: over -priced, over-engineered for the purpose but will give me hours of amusement in the year ahead! Just keep out of my way and warn me of any lakes in the vicinity....

Day 8 - the 3Ws

Today was to have been the occasion of the playing of the annual PGA in Surrey Dinner Pro Am - normally to hosted by Woking, Worplesdon and West Hill (the three Ws).


Burhill always enters strong teams and has been successful in the past, so this is looked forward to with some anticipation: what more could you want? An afternoon's golf at a top quality Surrey course followed by a dinner and prizes at the Epsom Downs racecourse: perfect.

The first indicator that all was not well was the announcement that West Hill had to withdraw as a host course this year as a result of the bad state of the course after the winter, and would be replaced by West Surrey.  Not quite as prestigious, but does at least start with a "W".

Burhill had entered 6 teams: one each with a Pro and three members, comprising four Men's teams and two with a Pro plus three Ladies.  Expectations were high...

Then came the news that recent rains ("What rains?", Editor) had so damaged the courses at both Worplesdon and Woking that neither of them were now able to hold the event.  Given that the Burhill courses are both playable at the moment, this was a great disappointment to all.  All credit to our green keeping staff!

The event has been rescheduled to 30th March but this may not be easy to make work...

This meant that an empty afternoon loomed. What better way than to spend it than with the Vice Captain discussing the year ahead and some of the complexities of on-line golf management?  And as we sat looking at the cold grey and damp weather outside, maybe we had had the better of the bargain...

Day 7 - Playing Fields

Today was supposed to see me teeing off at 0848 in the Playing Fields Cup. This is a medal competition and notable for the fact that half the entry fees are donated to the Surrey Playing Fields Association.
Unfortunately, the excitement of yesterday was clearly too much for the body and am back in bed with a fever.
Considering I was supposed to have 4 days of consecutive competitive golf, this is all rather boring...  I hope that Normal Service shall be resumed as soon as possible.

P.S. Congratulations to yesterday's winner, Neil Martin who pipped the field by a solitary point!

Day 6 -Headmaster's Study

Well, I got to the Club today!  I had been picked to play for the Rest of the World team (last year's winners!) against Scotland, but had already decided yesterday that it wasn't going to happen. Fortunately, I had a replacement ready and raring in the starter gate: my son, Andrew.  As John, Captain of the RoW team said, "I am always happy to trade one Lawrence for another, better looking one, with a better handicap!".  And, for the record, he and partner Alistair had a stonking 11 hole win.

It was good that I had gone laong to greet the players when they came in, as the event organizer couldn't be there. It was therefore left to me to collate the scores and announce the results. This I achieved with a 66% success rate as I managed to misunderstand the England-Ireland result; a jeer from the crowd soon put me right though...  The important news is that the competition is finely poised with all to play for in the two rounds to come.

In the days when golf clubs had waiting lists (remember those?), one of the more nerve-wracking aspects of joining a new club, was the Interview With The Captain.

I can remember donning jacket and tie for mine in 2002 and feeling very much as if I was in the headmaster's study.  O tempora, o mores.  Things have now changed, with the balance of power shifting very much in favour of the applicant.  Nevertheless, a part of the on-boarding process is still an introductory meeting with the Captain.

Accordingly, I met two new members today to welcome them to Burhill Golf Club and to answer any questions they had.  I am pleased to report that neither of them had sworn at me in the way in that morning (see here, if you don't know what I am referring to!). I hope that Phil and Ken enjoy their new golf club - I am sure they will!

Day 5 - About a Boy

Another day stuck at home, though signs of improvement give some hope... I had been supposed to be playing for the Vets 5 Nations team (and from the look of the final results of that competition, they needed some help!) and also attend the celebratory lunch thereafter.  I am afraid neither of these things happened... but I did sit down in front of the fire and enjoy watching About a Boy.  There is something very decadent about watching a movie in the afternoon...