Akira’s Green Jacket at First Start

Thirty one players loaded on to buses and cars on a cool, breezy morning headed for Mt.Shadow golf course for the second time in about three weeks.

The report from the earlier trip showed some disappointments at the condition of the course and of the clubhouse. Nothing has changed, unfortunately.

The fairways are drying out now, as many courses are, but the watering practices seem to be haphazard at times, so many dry patches are starting to appear.

The greens are varied with some quicker and truer than others, leaving one guessing what surprises the next one holds. Watch out for the downhills, says Mitchell.

Overall, perhaps good to average marks for the course, but below that for the clubhouse. The problem with no water to flush toilets seems to be ongoing and the whole place is overdue for a lick of paint..

Akira Sekiya came to play with us today for the first time and certainly left an impression. His 37 points easily won “A” flight and his first Green Jacket.

The dynamic duo of Phil Davies and Maurice Roberts followed with 34 and 32 points respectively, while fourth place went to one half of the Links Matchplay champs, Michael Wright, with 30 points.

Apart from the first four, most players struggled as the best that “B” flight could muster was 29 points from Colin Service, while Derek Phillips got back into the placings, albeit with 28 points, and Mike Tottenham filled third spot.

The “best nines” followed the trend with very low points scores, but good enough.

Near Pins: Mitchell Carlon (5), John Doyle (8), Phil Davies (15), Pete Seil (17)

 “A” Flight (0-15)

1^st  Place – Akira Sekiya (12 ) -37 pts

2^nd Place – Phil Davies (11) -34 pts

3^rd Place – Maurice Roberts (13) – 32 pts

4^th Place – Michael Wright (10) – 30 pts

“B” Flight (16+)

1^st  Place – Colin Service (16) – 29 pts

2^nd Place -Derek Phillips (18) – 28 pts

3^rd Place – Mike Tottenham (19) – 27 pts

Best Front Nine ( non winners)……Will Brown – 14 pts

Best Back Nine (non winners)……John Collias –16 pts

Mitchell Carlon had neither the lowest nine hole score or the lowest overall score, but Phil decided to award the “silly hat” to him for having a near pin on hole 5, and then three putting. This from a 10 handicapper. The downhill ! There’s hope for the rest of us yet.

Iain Craigen is still learning the game and this course was no help in his progression, he wore the “wig” again.

We really hope Mt. Shadow can come up with some improvements, but for some, it’s already too late.