WINTER CUP, ROUND ONE

 

Imagine the perfect round of golf - it would be a nice comfortable 19 degrees, a start that’s not too early, and a bit of cloud cover so the sun doesn’t make it hot and humid. The birds would be singing, there’d be good company, some terrific shots, the odd long putt sunk, not too much trouble in the trees, and a nice beer or glass of wine to finish off.

Now where are we going to put those novelties?

Just a minute. That was yesterday. The first round of the Winter Cup, in near perfect conditions on the Tuart course, with most having a reasonable, if not outstanding round of golf.

Ah, there aren’t many places in the world where the Winter Cup is played in such amenable conditions. Consider ourselves fortunate beyond measure.

Lynley on the entree, with Lynne on main course this week

Shelley getting in touch with her inner punk

So, to bring us back to earth, remember that from this week, the fee is $53 for those participating in the Golden Hole competition, $52 for those of you more realistic.

Bear in mind, that by the time you’ve had a drink, maybe a sandwich, bought a pack of tees or whatever, you’re probably spending around $70 on your game.

Let’s say you play 40 times a year, that’s a total of $2800. Not even counting your membership fees.

For that, you could probably be playing at a real posh club. Like this one.

However, it wouldn’t be the same, would it? You wouldn’t be able to enjoy that very special SOS ethos and conviviality. And you’d have to play golf with real estate agents, millionaires and management consultants every week. Not that’s there’s anything wrong with real estate...

Anyway, all good, and go and change those standing orders now.

BTW, we’ve received a very nice letter from WABGA, thanking us for our very generous contribution, which they promise to put to good use. Thanks to everyone who took part.

Roland weighs up his options on the ninth

The International Night is coming up soon. Do let Glenn and/or Shelley know if you’re coming, and what to expect. Guests are sort of expected to chip in $10, unless they’ve been involved in cooking or such, in which case don’t worry.

Paul duffs a shot and finds a confusing message in the grass

The novelties?

	NOVELTY	PIN	CONTENDERS	WINNER
	LD MEN	2		JAMES
	LD WOMEN	8		LYNNE
	NTP IN 2	10	BORIS, LYNLEY, PUGGY	MARK W
	NTP IN 3	14		PAUL G
	NTP IN 18	18	PAUL G	LYNNE

The draw has been made for the match play finals.

Maureen v Earle

Greg v Peter Baird

Roland v Gary

Barry v Puggy

Some interesting match-ups there. Who will you have your money on? The odds will become clearer after the auction at the International Night.

Desperate times need desperate measures

We have a new member, Trevor Harris, whom some of you may not yet have met. Welcome to the group, Trevor, and everyone do please extend a warm SOS welcome to him when you catch up.

Andrea reminds everyone that the Winter Cup is a two-week competition, for which handicaps will be frozen as they stood on the morning of the first round. She’ll put each player’s handicap on the play sheet next week so there’s no confusion.

Yep, that's two separate strokes from what appears to be a very similar spot, Andrea.

Those of us present yesterday will have heard the urgent announcement over the loudspeaker demanding that the owner of a Mercedes SUV return to his vehicle immediately. Moments later Gerry was seen slinking back to his new pride and joy to wind up the window. Many thanks to Paul G for alerting the authorities.

A paucity of birdies yesterday - maybe they’ve all flown north for winter!

Earle on the 10^th

Mark Wilson on the 5^th and 6^th . Must have seemed like an easy game teeing up on the 7^th.

And Lynley on the 2^nd. Congratulations to all of you.

And our injury list currently features:

Hilly. A fairly alarming case of toe amputation we hear, but promises to be back soon, and

Paul Cooper - recovering from a knee replacement, expecting a three-month lay-off. Best wishes ot both of you.

 

The results for the first round, plenty still in contention, and not a huge spread of scores, most had what we might call a “reasonable round”. So, all to play for next week.

After the game, there were a tense few minutes while we sat and watched the end of the Fremantle v Sydney game. If you missed it, you can watch the last two minutes here:

Congratulations to the top three - will they hold their spots next week? That's up to the rest of us. 

And to finish off, a propos of absolutely nothing at all, a picture of a False Comma, one of Europe’s rarest butterflies, only found within 10km of Midzur mountain in eastern Serbia.