We were about halfway round the course when Roger opined that he could see why I might have chosen the particular novelty format we were playing because I was bound to be playing with a higher handicap than normal. I am sure that this was just a casual observation with no malice intended at all and I can honestly say that this thought had not entered my mind when devising the scheme but I can also honestly say that I was quite happy with the outcome when it occurred.
Eight BBs signed up to play and all arrived so we were able to stick to the plan which was to play in pairs in a Stableford competition in which everyone drove off and then you played your partners ball for the next shot and then the pair woudl choose one ball to continue with and play alternately from that point with the first player being the player whose second shot it was n’t – hope that’s clear.
The immediately obvious risk is that your partner could hook or slice your perfectly fabulous drive which is lying in the middle of the fairway, into the woods and, if he had already put his drive into the same woods and you were already rooting around in the undergrowth looking for his ball, then this might be a recipe for strained relationships between you and your partner.
The handicap for the pair was a straight average of the individual handicaps so Roger was right inasmuch as whoever I was paired with would result in me enjoying a higher handicap than normal but that was the same in all pairs including for Roger himself so a slight touch of the kettle etc……………
RobM and I were partnered and we were playing alongside Roger and Alan and we teed as the last group following MikeS partnered with Bill and Stuart partnered with RobA. They tee’d off first and despite the impenetrable freezing mist we could see sufficiently to observe that each member of a pair had hit their ball either distantly left or distantly right. By the time we tee’d off the mist had magically disappeared and as the morning wore on it became warmer and warmer in the Spring sunshine.
While I had put my first drive into the right-hand trees, my partner Rob had hit one of his very long straight down the middle shots from where I was able to put it on the green and we came away with a par, In the meantime Roger and Alan had found the first of the many bunkers they were to “enjoy” on the way round. Mostly this situation entailed each of them endeavouring to get out of the bunker in turn until the golfing gods took pity and allowed them to escape from the sand. Although they seemed happy in the sandpit it wasn’t a good strategy for racking up the points and after 5 holes they had 3 points and we had 10.
They then mustered 8 points over the next 4 holes including an excellent 3 for 4 points on the 8th where they 2-putted masterfully from several miles away however we kept them at bay to lead 20 to 11 at that point. Of course we had no idea how the pairs in front of us were doing.
On the 11th hole, Rob deposited my perfectly OK drive firmly into the left-hand hedge and possibly into the road where it was lost and gone but he made very good amends by finding a virtually brand new Pro V1X which he gave me in exchange and the partnership continued on a level footing for the rest of the round. Both pairs scored 3 points on the 18th which made for a happy ending to a fun day which had demonstrated just how strong the bonds are that bind the BBs together.
We were joined in the clubhouse by MikeW who is now out and about and PeterR and the 10 of us had long conversations about the amazing behaviour of the Him over there who shall apparently be worshipped as he might be the Second Coming and who definitely moves in mysterious ways.
The scores were:
MikeS and Bill 16 + 17 = 33
Stuart and RobA 15 + 17 = 32
Roger and Alan 11 + 14 = 25
Richard and RobM 20 + 17 = 37
Three pairs shared the back 9 BashCoins which has led to multiple fractional awards!
