Christmas Cup

It now appears that Rudolf's famous red nose was as a result of a golfing injury:

Not a huge turnout for the Christmas Cup, but a fun day for all of those who did. Some good scores, and some unaccountably poor ones too. The hangovers start early in the season these days. 

Birthdays this week? Just the one for that little bloke in Bethlehem on the 25th. 

We're not entirely sure of who won what in the novelties, but I did witness a magnificent drive by Jan on the 17th, that I can't imagine anyone would have beaten. 

And a pretty close to the pin from the same golfer on the 9th. I'm not saying it wasn't a bit of a mishit that bashed hard into the bank before swinging wildly left and then rolling off the side of the green to sit a few inches from the hole, but that's just how golf works sometimes. 

There may have been, indeed there were other winners of the novelties, and I'll update the blog if anyone can supply details. (I had to scuttle off immediately after the game for a family event - another nine holes of golf!)

And talking of golf (yes, we were, pay attention), for those of us who are rule nazis, here follows a clarification of just what is meant by "nearest point of relief":

'NEAREST POINT OF RELIEF' DOES NOT MEAN 'CLOSEST PLACE I'LL HAVE A GOOD LIE'

Important: The "relief" in "nearest point of relief" is relief from the original condition interfering with your shot. It is NOT relief from interference or issues caused by any other condition.

What does that mean? Well, your nearest point of relief might be behind a big tree. Or in the middle of a bush. Those are the breaks.

If the NPR results in your ball winding up in a bad spot, you'll just have to deal with it as you would any other bad spot: punching out from behind trouble, declaring your ball unplayable (and going through the drop procedures for that, after the initial free relief), etc.

The nearest point of relief might also result in an improved situation: moving your ball out of rough into the fairway, for example. The NPR might result in your golf ball moving to a similar situation, a better situation or a worse (possibly much worse) situation. A little good luck never hurts!

Note that you are not required to take free relief for the situations described above except in the case of a wrong putting green (golf courses also have the option to implement a local rule requiring that you drop without penalty out of ground under repair).

You have the option to play the ball as it lies, except for a wrong putting green (and, typically, GUR). If your nearest point of relief is in a terrible spot, then you can choose to (sticking with our example) play the ball off the cart path rather than take the free relief.

So, there you have it. Interesting, huh?

Back to SOS - and the lollies for the day go to Gordon. The records don't indicate whether he shared them around or not. 

And the girls managed to form a bloc somewhat uncharacteristically towards the back of the field. Any thoughts as to what happened there?

So, the winner on the day?

	PLAYER	SCORE	BIRDIES
	Max	22
	Gordon	24
	Lynne	25	6,10
	Glen	26
	Bernie	28
	Jan	28	9
	Gim	29
	John	30
	Rob	31
	Colin	32
	Brett	33
	Ron	34
	Phil McK	35
	Derek	37
	Richard	37
	Peter	39
	Ian	39
	Greg	40

Congratulations to Greg for an excellent score. 

We gather the sponsor for the day was unaware of the fact, but so Greg didn't go empty handed, Brett offered to share his glass of coke in lieu. Very decent of you, Brett - a true gentleman. 

And apparently there also wasn't a trophy to pass on to the lucky winner. We gather Glen is to blame for the oversight. 

Well, in the best tradition of not being able to organise a piss-up in a brewery, a Happy Christmas to all. Hope at least some of us can manage to open a screw top bottle tomorrow. 

Incidentally, as I go through the pictures to go with the blog, I come across a number like this that are totally unsuitable, which is why I don't put them in. 

Many thanks to Lynne for providing scores and scuttlebutt for this weeks blog. See you for the last game of 2017 next week.