2013 - The Official Wash Up

[KristianJ]

After 3 days of golf, drinking, pool and various other journeys, NSW's first foray into an official Champs weekend is over.

The Southern Highlands provided an all in all fine setting for the inaugural NSW Champs, with the customary Friday social hit at Moss Vale GC followed by Round 1 at Mt Broughton (coincinding with their Monthly Medal event) and the championship round at Highlands. In between the golfing was time spent at Mittagong RSL contributing to their bar and bistro sales, and annoying one of the bar attendants whenever the pool tables wouldn't give us the white ball back.

FRIDAY

The 6 Friday players were greeted by the rural charm of Moss Vale Golf Club. A little tight in spots, but it was a pleasant round after the 2 threesomes joined up at the 2nd hole and enjoyed the scenery and tested each other's drivers, fairway woods and 2 iron heads with +1" 8 iron shafts (often with a response implying a desire to buy said club in the future).

Scores:

6th Liptout 29pts
5th Stuartd147 30pts
4th RqRox 30pts
3rd AnfieldRed 31pts
2nd Matty 33pts ($20)
1st KristianJ 37pts ($40, spent on a case of Stella Artois, most of which has ended up back in my fridge at home)

Check in at the motel followed by dinner, drinks, escaping Friday night's in house "entertainment" (2 middle aged gents singing 70's covers), and chat about various topics ranging from disciplining children to Liptout's various sporting and motorcycling aspiratons. Half retired for shuteye at 10:30 and the others continued contributing to the club's bar sales until they closed at midnight.

SATURDAY

Under clear blue skies the combatants assembled at Mount Broughton, arriving at various times between 9:30 and 11am, to find that the competition of the day was stroke (Monthly Medal). Despite this, the decision was made for the Champs competition to remain stableford.

As we got on the putting green, there was a sense that our experiences with the flatstick might be a little difficult - indeed there were a few bemused comments to be heard about the roughness of the surfaces post-maintenance. Slowish, a little bumpy...personally as a first timer there it put a little dampener on the experience - I enjoyed the course otherwise.

Word got around that wazandnic had popped his hip out on the 3rd tee, yet he was able to soldier on and complete his round. Jono (who, after his post shoulder surgery weight loss was almost unrecognisable) had to withdraw mid round after that shoulder started to cause him dramas.

Lost balls a plenty in the fescue/lantana and the railway line (one player was heard to say that he almost shot the lights out after putting a ball OOB on 14 that passed near the railway signal lights), plus a couple of lost balls after shots that seemed to be near flawless.

The putting comp was, as expected, dramatic to the end. As the competition was whittled down to semi finalists and finalists, the typical putter ho's tried each other's flat sticks, dibs were made, and Jado came out on top, being the first to sink the 6 metre putt (which went right, left and straight at various times) and enjoy the adulation of those looking on.

Scores:

1. Stuartd147 (38 - also a winner on the day with 70 nett)
2. stealth2 (37)
3. rqrox (35)
4. TS (34)
T5: matty, KristianJ, titleist (33)
T8: Dotty, 7rabbits (30)
T10: virge666, JADO75, Liptout, Anfieldred (29)
14: The Castaway (27)
15: Peppas (26)
W/D: Jono, wazandnic (Saturday play only)

15 blokes returned to the motel and Mittagong RSL. Dinner, drinks and chat ensued, and when Saturday night's in house "entertainment" kicked in, (a chick and a guitarist singing, yep, you guessed it, 70's and 80's covers that were so predictable that you knew an Eagles song would be played some time during the night), we migrated to the pool tables, where Stu showed his skill on the felt and a few of us made some arsey flukish shots to look impressive. More drinks, talking about how awful the Socceroos have become, and other topics before a few headed off to bed and a few were taken on a wonderful journey around the poker machines which may or may have not looked like a Ponzi scheme...

SUNDAY

The early start was off set by the fact that Highlands was a couple of minutes up the road from the motel (never mind that a couple of cars missed the entrance...).

Undoubtedly the pre-round highlight was the sight of Liptout, who appeared as if he was crouched near a reed-filled water hazard in solemn reflection, only to turn around and vomit into said hazard. In hindsight, that may have been the spark he needed to get him going and he may have actually expelled the driver demons that plagued him the previous day as well as whatever other stuff is now in that pond.

Highlands only knows one type of par 3 - the type that is all downhill and easy to either over club or under club. Swirling winds didn't help, plus the altitude bit and what not...

As the round closed, word spread that rqrox had managed a spectacular 23 points on the front 9, jostling with Stu for the lead in that group.

They were square as they came to the 18th, not knowing any of the other scores that had come in, so when Dicky put his tee shot into the hazard and Stu played safe, sinking his birdie putt and raising his arms in jubilation, little did he know that there had been one of those career type rounds played by someone else...

Aggregate scores:

1. matty (33 + 43 = 76)
2. Stuartd147 (38 + 34 = 72)
3. rqrox (35 + 35 = 70)
4. Liptout (29 + 38 = 67)
T5. TS (34 + 32 = 66), titleist (33 + 33 = 66)
7. stealth2 (37 + 28 = 65)
T8: virge666 (29 + 34 = 63), JADO75 (29 + 34 = 63), Dotty (30 + 33 = 63), KristianJ (33 + 30 = 63)
12: The Castaway (27 + 35 = 62)
13: 7rabbits (30 + 29 = 59)
14: Peppas (26 + 30 = 56)
15: Anfieldred (29 + 25 = 54)

So all in all, it was fitting that the man who set the wheels in motion is the first to have his name engraved on the NSW Perpetual Trophy.

The other guys who were there: feel free to comment as you wish - post highlights, lowlights, any other lights that come to mind. Plenty happened that this rambling gibberer didn't see for himself.