Day 286 - Legit

A blustery, blowy, winter's day today - relatively mild, but not a great day to be out on the golf course (some of the holes into the wind will have been playing l o n g!). Instead, we headed for Kingston this morning. Traffic was light but there was still a (pre-Xmas?) queue for parking and it was a bit of a struggle to squeeze the Tesla into the British parking spaces...  We went into the jeweller'' to pick up my wedding ring, which I had to have repaired after it was cut off my finger when I sprained my hand earlier in the year: I am now legit again!

After lunch, I accompanied the Lady Captain to a local shop to select a gift for an exiting Committee member: now I just hope that it's ready in time...

Thence to the Golf Club: today is Head Pro Mike's last day at Burhill and I wanted to go to shake his hand to say thanks. Together with Tom, one of the other Pros there, we had fun walking around some of the Club's facilities - both remembering what had been here 10+ years when Mike first joined and also exploring the exciting new teaching and fitting studio which is under construction and should be ready early next year.

After that I sat down for coffee/tea with Adrian who has recently been nominated for the role of Vice Captain in 2016/17.  We spent an hour or so just exchanging thoughts and experiences - during the course of which I was trying to avoid the T20 cricket being played out on the TV as I was taping it at home... I failed....but I did enjoy the final Super Over which saw England just scrape home...

Day 285 - Roll Up

I woke up this morning to a grey winter's day... but when I stepped out of the front door it was actually relatively mild and the threatened winds presaging Storm Clodagh were not yet in evidence... so I decided to make my way to Burhill for the morning Roll-Up.  This is one of the great features of the Club - on any Saturday or Sunday morning you can just turn up at Burhill and get a game. 

When I got to the Honours Bar at 07:45 it was actually pretty empty but by 08:00 it was filling up. I was keen to get out early as I had to be at Heathrow in the early afternoon, so ended up going out first with former Captain Chris and two newish members, Duncan and Chris.  Balls in the air and it was Duncan and I up against the two Chrises.

Conditions were not easy and, as ever, we had a few disaster holes but the match itself was very tight: the way things ended up, everything depended on the final 3 ft putt on the ultimate hole... and he missed.... All of which meant that the match was halved and Duncan and I had won the princely sum of 25p for the bits: we're rich!

After lunch, I headed off to Terminal 5 to collect Kathryn from her Los Angeles flight.  Waiting for her to emerge onto the concourse was very much like the opening or is it closing?) scene of Love Actually (Daughter Mine: when are we watching this over Christmas?): all sorts of members of the public waiting for friends, colleagues and loved ones. A great place for people watching!

Not that I spent much time doing so as I was transfixed to my iPhone watching the final few games of Andy Murray's Davis Cup Final match against David Goffin....  Allez Grand Bretagne!

Day 284 - Captain & Pro Challenge

Captain, Head Pro and Sir Roger
on 18th of the New

One of the highlights of my year of Captaincy has been the opportunity to play together with our Head Professional, Mike, against other Burhill members.  Today was the latest in this sequence - and potentially the last that I shall be playing with Mike before he heads off to his new life in California next month (this depends whether or our next opponents can get their act together before he actually departs...).

As luck has it, we have ended up playing the vast majority of these fixtures on the New Course and that is where we ended up today.  After some bleak weather forecasts earlier in the week, we were treated to some winter sun and had good conditions throughout.  On this occasion we managed to calculate the handicap difference correctly, which meant that we would be giving our opponents, Roger and Simon, 5 shots.  It was going to be tough as they are an established foursomes pairing.

The match itself ebbed and flowed: we were up by 1 then down by 2 until a good par on 8 and a longish putt holed on 9 put us back even after the first half.  Unfortunately, we went down 2 again quickly and by the time we got to the 16th tee had only reduced the deficit to 1.  Of the tee shots on this hole, we shall not speak - "what goes on tour, stays on tour"...

A fine par on 17 (decent drive, driver off the deck to front right of green, 7 iron chip to 3 foot, holed!) meant that we had to win the last to halve the match. Things looked good when Mike stiffed his 7i to 8 ft and Roger left his teeshot well short and right... until Simon then chipped to 6" and the Captain failed to hole the birdie putt.  A shame, but great fun!

Drinks and lunch in the Clubhouse followed, giving Mike a chance to bid his farewells to members there.  Then home for some gardening clear-up duties (and the house too before Kathryn comes home tomorrow!) and the chance to see GBR take a 2-1 lead over Belgium in the Davis Cup Final.  Whoda thunk it?

Day 283 - Black Friday

Today looks to have been a very good day to go nowhere near a shopping mall nor an online website: there is lots of e-chatter out there advertising one-off best deals etc etc yadda yadda, which I have so far chosen to ignore entirely (though the BA offers sound tempting...).

Instead, it was a day for some Disorganised Golf: on this occasion it was Alan, David, Xenos and I who lined up on the first tee of the New Course. Balls were thrown in the air and it was Alan and I against the other two.  Yes, there was some wind out there, but the conditions of the course were excellent - not just the greens, which are spectacular, but the fairways too.  The temperature too played its part - at one point, it was positively mild.

No excuses then for not playing well... And on this occasion, Alan and I did exactly that: we mixed and matched effectively (always a killer in the 4BBB format) and managed a win by 3&2. The match itself was played in great spirits and a good time was had by all: exactly what DOGS golf should be!

As I returned to my car, I noticed that the new sign is up in the car park: strange that nobody asked me what I thought though as I always prefer the inclusion of my second initial, to differentiate myself from brother Matthew.  And I shall not repeat the Lady Captain's views on her "Ms" designation...

Back in the Clubhouse and we switched on to the Davis Cup Final.  I don't think that we were the cause, but the young Englishmen playing his debut seemed to have everything under control until we tuned in, after which it all rather petered away... Fortunately, in the second match, the man from Dumblane put things back on track...

A long FaceTime chat with Mrs L in California - how good a technological breakthrough is that: video on the screen from across the world at zero cost!  Then it was time to watch the Sky+ of the second T20 against Pakistan. Wow... great drama... and we just snuck through....

Day 282 - Thanksgiving

We have been married for more than 30 years and yet I think that this is the first time that Kathryn has spent Thanksgiving together with her mother and all her sisters - unfortunately they are in Los Angeles, so that I am unable to join them but I was there in spirit! 

In truth, we have not been very good at celebrating this most American of holidays as a family - in part because we have been out of the US for so long, and often living abroad too, but maybe also because although I love the concept of getting the family together, I must confess not to being over-keen on the actual food that is served. Turkey is not my favourite meat, jello salad does nothing for me, pumpkin pie is also not a favo(u)rite and let's not even get started on sweet potatoes topped by marshmallows...

When I lived in the US back in the 80s - and remember this is before I was married - I would often be asked at this time of year "do you celebrate Thanksgiving in the UK?".  Initially, this left me a it nonplussed and I used to mention something about Harvest Festival until I decided instead to reply, "yes, but on the 4th of July"....

So no turkey today and no golf either as I spent the day up in London at an Ofwat board meeting. Not many reasons to give thanks either, though some good and fruitful discussions were had.  Back on the course tomorrow!

Day 281 - Walton Heath

A number of months back, I was playing with a fellow member at Burhill, Peter, and we were discussing the challenges of finding a truly waterproof golf shoe (or indeed two...). He shared with me that he had purchased a pair from Nike which were ideal for his home course in the state of Washington in the USA, itself well known for the occasional rain shower.  He did warn me that he got some stick for the color/style of the shoes, but that they were very effective.

Nike Lunar Bandons

Accordingly, when in the US last week, I looked around and managed to find a pair of said shoes at a knock-down price of the equivalent of £50 (very reasonable as I have seen the latest models on sale here at £149...).  They got their first outing today and I am very pleased with them: yes, they look a bit space age, but they kept my feet warm and bone dry...

I was playing this morning in a Surrey Captains fixture at Walton Heath, just down the road from here.   I always enjoy playing there, not only for the courses themselves but also to look around the memorabilia in the Clubhouse celebrating the holding of the 1981 Ryder Cup there.

It was a large gathering today (~130) - so many that we took over both the New and Old Courses. My tee-off time wasn't until 10:04 which gave me plenty of time to enjoy the splendid English Breakfast that was on offer.  The golf itself was played in far more benign conditions than I feared: yes, there was a chilly Northern wind but no rain and we even saw the sun briefly.  My playing partners were David and Richard, former Captains of West Hill and West Byfleet respectively, and we had a very convivial round.  I played pretty steadily and might even have won the whole thing if I could have handled the fast greens better in the first few holes.  As it was, visits to fairway bunkers on my final two holes took their toll and I ended up playing to my handicap, just 1 shot out of the prizes...

On the way home, I drove past the gates for the new top-tier golf course being built just down the road from Walton Heath: the Beaverbrook. It looked as if good progress is being made on the construction but it will be some time before the place has the same traditional atmosphere of Walton Heath...

Day 280 - Rustenberg

I had been scheduled to play some disorganised golf this morning but when I did my calculations, I realised that I wouldn't have time to do so - and boy was I right!  I don't know how I would have managed if I had spent4+ hours at Burhill.  And it rained this morning anyway!

Instead, I was fully occupied getting things ready for tonight's Men's Committee Meeting. Given that our Head Pro, Mike, is leaving the Club I wanted to take the opportunity of thanking him for all his hard work by inviting the team around for dinner.

Cooking for 9 is never simple: how to manage the quantities (making too little would be a disaster...) and at 5 pm, I rushed out to get some more wine in, just in case (I needn't have bothered, many drank beer instead..).

No harm done though as Waitrose had one of my favourite reds (a Rustenberg Cabernet) on special offer: list price £14.99 reduced to £11.99, minus a 10% special deal on wine, 5% off for buying 6 bottles plus a £6 off voucher for spending more than £60 and another special discount of £2... they were practically paying me to take it off their hands!

I did manage all the prep work well enough though, so that by the time everyone arrived, I had everything ready. I had pre-prepared Coq au Vin. with mustard mashed potatoes and parcels of carrots and green beans wrapped in bacon...yum!  A blackberry and apple crumble, with ginger and cloves, and ice cream combined with a successful Committee Meeting sent everyone happily on their way...