As MikeS, Alan and I stood on the 1st tee at Temple facing a biting north-easter we had serious cause to doubt our sanity – it was very cold indeed and even five layers did n’t seem enough. However our spirits were hugely improved when we saw how far the ball ran on the iron-hard ground. Alan’s very languid drive off the tee ran all the way down the hill from where he put the ball easily onto the green and walked off with a par. Mike did even better with a shot from the left-hand side of the fairway finishing 4 feet from the pin and he walked off with a birdie. I managed to pull my drive into the left-hand trees (I blamed that on the 5 layers which resembled a suit of medieval armour in terms of flexibility) but I managed a par with the second ball and was thereby mollified.
Over the front 9 holes it became apparent that Alan’s languidity had a lot going for it when it came to gaining maximum distance with minimum effort. However we all had problems working out to stop the ball bouncing all the way to Marlow when attempting to put it on the green and getting it to stay there. I became a casual observer as Mike and Alan battled it out and they reached the turn with 17 and 16 points respectively while I was some distance behind on 13.
But, as always, golf is a game of 2 halves and, although it had taken me 9 holes to work it out, I started to use my 8-iron for every shot within 125 yards of the hole and I scored pars on the 11th and 12th and then sunk a totally fluky 25 foot putt on the 13th for a birdie which put me a point in the lead over Alan and 2 ahead of Mike.
My hopes suffered a slight blow on the 15th when my trolley ran out of battery and I had to push it. These Motocaddy trolleys are excellent when under power but a total waste of space when not. I very nearly needed the Air Ambulance when I pushed it up the 17th and doubted that I would ever make it back to the clubhouse. I tried to recall what Oates had said in the Antarctic blizzards as I planned a honourable demise in the rough beside the 17th fairway. However a lucky drive on the 18th coupled with a mighty shank by Mike boosted my spirits and endurance and I finished with a par and a 2-point victory. Alan had lost his mojo on the 14th and failed to find it again – it is out there somewhere in the frozen wastes – there’s good money available for its return in working order.
Final result:
Richard 13 + 20 = 33
Mike 17 + 14 = 31
Alan 16 + 12 = 28
