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10 of us ignored the dire predictions by the weather bureau for torrential rain all weekend and travelled south for the 5th year in a row, only to be faced with torrential rain - but only on the Saturday.
For the 7 of us who went early enough to play skins on the Friday, we managed 12 holes in fine and overcast conditions before scurrying to the clubhouse just in front of the rain. Alan Bell won 5 of the skins, Trevor Gough won 3 and Kieran McGuire managed one with 3 undecided when the rain arrived.
We visited the Bowling Club for dinner on the Friday night and ran into the manager of the golf club having a social break. We understand there are ongoing discussions between the two clubs for a possible joint venture in the future which might well be good for both clubs in this small town long by-passed by the highway.
Saturday was a complete washout with the course closed and a temporary river appeared flowing down the first fairway. We shared our hard earned dollars around town at various times moving from the golf club to the Services Club and then back to the Aussie Hotel variously watching golf, cricket, races and, later, the two finals of the Rugby League World Cup while spending a small fortune in the process.
The weather cleared on Sunday and we managed to play the 18 holes stroke event without getting wet. The course held up well after the 80 plus mls of rain in the previous 24 hours and although a bit cool, we survived unscathed. Full scores were not kept but Phil Sheppard won the '$5 in winner take all' by one shot from Mark Thomsen. JV got the NAGA when he failed to break 90.
The first year aside, we have always managed one comp winner somewhere over the weekend and this year was no exception when Lindsay Lewis won the NTP on the difficult uphill par 3 eleventh hole to keep our record intact.
Despite the inclement weather, it was an enjoyable weekend and the more I play the Yass course the more I like it. It is both a challenging walk and a challenging golfing experience, despite no water or bunker hazards and I for one will be back again next year, confident that I will have a good number of fellow tragic's to accompany me. |
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