Me and Brothers Three

 Back in July when I was in Auckland for my Mother's birthday I got to play a bit of golf .............

One game in particular was a truly unique and momentous experience and one that, back in the days when I was recovering from surgery etc. I could never have imagined happening.

Me and three out of four brothers all on a golf course together!

I have often commented how appropriate my surname is for a golfer- Linklater
but here we were, all 4 of us Linklaters embarking on a round at the lovely Links course at Waipu.
And check out the name of the cafe we had our lunch in:

Did I say it was raining?

Northland Rain..........

Bucketing down!

We spent about an hour in the cafe looking out the windows

 wondering if it was going to clear, imagining we could see a lightening of the sky off to the Nor'east.

We had already delayed our game by a day because of the weather and now here we all were, three of us having travelled up from Auckland and No 4 brother coming down from Whangarei to meet us at Waipu.

Colin( No 4 brother), had free tickets for a round of golf that he and some mates had won several years ago in a Hospice Charity Fundraiser and as they still had not used them we twisted his arm to use them so we could all play together for my  26th round.

 

 Many thanks to him and his mates for making this 'event' happen.

If only the rain would stop!

Colin went for a reccy to see how bad conditions were:

It was pretty bad.

 But  we were here now  so we decided to stop procrastinating and just get out there in the elements and get the round under way.

Some of us had quite good wet weather gear and others mere flimsy coats but although it was so wet it was not cold. But water running down the collar of your coat is still unpleasant whether it is warm or cold it has to be said.

A quick workout on the Practice Green was had by all

 quietly hoping the rain might still ease before we headed out on the course proper.

It didn't.

Well it was a first for me playing golf in such adverse conditions. Hard to line up the shots on a course you don't know when the green is obscured by sheets of torrential rain.

The ground is heavy and very wet and it is hard work getting the ball up and out of the thick Kikuya grass.

There is a bit of action around the bunkers for Bruce and I manage to overshoot the green but not go in the water,Colin keeps hitting too big but Hamish is quietly confident.

We score 8,8,9 and 7 respectively. Miraculously Hamish manages to hold all our scores in his head the whole round as the rest of are just trying to hit the ball!

As we head down the second Fairway the weather gets worse.I am finding it hard to grip the clubs as my glove is soaked through completely and my Katmandu trousers are clinging unpleasantly . Umbrellas are out but even they are no competition for the pelting rain that drives in at all angles. It is a relief to get to the big trees at the end of the green on No2 . We rest for a moment but really we are so wet we must just press on.

I try to take a photo of the brothers on the Green at No.3 but the rain has got onto the lens  and from then on any photo I take is strangely distorted.

 Somewhere out there the sea is crashing in to shore. I can hear it over the rain and I have a sense of it through the torrent. This course is supposed to have delightful views of Bream Bay but I am thinking we will be lucky to catch a glimpse of it today.

Sea is out there somewhere.

 I have to admit I can't really remember much about the next few holes as the weather just gets worse and we are all hunkered down into our coats and struggling on with the adverse conditions.There are lateral water hazards to watch out for and lots of casual water too and the rough is thick and very difficult to get out of in such terrible conditions.

Somehow Hamish manages a steady game , goes into some zone or other and never shoots over an 8.Bruce with his set of hire clubs is struggling in the rough a lot, whilst Colin and I are neck and neck on most holes.

Filling in the score card is quite tricky and several cards disintegrate in the rain....

There is a brief easing of the rain as we head up the 6th and we are hopeful of sun and views but by the time we make it to the green it is pissing down again!

Trying to fill out the card.

 Waipu is one of the longer courses I have played and in the rain it of course seems twice as far as it would do normally I am sure.My pedometer reads 4.8 km when we finally get back to the cars.

We climb Cardiac Hill to No 7.

No 7 is a mere 145 metre Par 3 and looks like a potentially low scoring hole but oh how wrong one can be when thinking things like that in this crazy game called golf. Bruce and Hamish manage to pull off a respectable 5. I muff my drive but refuse to take a Mulligan and play it as it lies(Foolish girl.) scoring a quadruple bogey! Colin just keeps overshooting the plateau where the green hides for a lousy 9.But hey the sun is attempting to break through and the rain has eased off.Things are looking up.

Finally on the Green- the ground falls away on all sides.

Yep the sun makes a brief appearance and it is photo opportunity time:

 

 Two holes to go and the late afternoon light bathes the course and a slight lifting of the cloud finally allows brief glimpses of the sea and out to Marsden Point as we head down the very long (495 metres) No .8.

 

We play the last two holes as the sky lightens up and our clothes begin to steam.

Three triple bogeys scored on this hole and Bruce has his worst of the match(which shall remain unmentioned). No 8 was all downhill to the sea which means of course No9 is all uphill to the clubhouse.

At last some disaster befalls Hamish the Steady

 but there is no way any of us can catch him at this late stage.

I score the worst I have had in a while with a terrible 71 and Colin is well pleased to have beat me by 1.

Bruce has a very generous score whilst Hamish wins the day with a fantastic 61.

A most glorious adventure made better by the adversity.

I feel very lucky to be alive and able to spend such a wonderful day with three of my most excellent brothers playing the Ancient and Royal Game of Scotland. 

I even wore my new tam'o'shanter for the occasion.

 Thanks guys for making it happen and participating so willingly in my golfing odyssey.

26 played................24 to go

and counting........

With Apologies to No 1 Brother

So did anyone spot my mistake?
 When I was listing my Caddies I missed out my most diligent and dedicated Caddy to date ,
 although I have mentioned him before.

No picture, as he probably would not like his visage bandied about the Internet.

 But certainly oldest brother did a mighty fine job of caddying for me at Waitakere (still my favourite course!) a very steep course with lots of tricky holes where a good caddy was much needed to gallop ahead and tell me in what direction the hole lay and to climb hills to spot my ball as I sent it flying into the unknown.
Many thanks No 1 Brother.

Caddies and Butlers

When I tell people that I am playing 50 golf courses this year to mark my turning the half century they always ask me who my caddy is?

Well now chance would be a fine thing having someone to push my trundler and release the clubs from their covers and wipe the dirt from them after the shot has been played!

A caddy to calculate yardage and advise me on which club would be most appropriate for the next shot.
 In the professional golfing world the caddies often know more about golf than the actual player!
 This was certainly the case with the original caddies on the Links courses of Scotland who were usually working class fellows that knew the course like the back of their own hands and probably played it more frequently than any of the lairds for whom they carried the clubs around St. Andrews.

So far on this mission of mine I have only had the privilege of the company of three kind caddies, two of whom knew nothing about golf but whose main mission was to take some photos and the third being my partially blind Father, whom  although he knows a bit about golf admitted it was a bit of a draw back not being able to see where my ball went once I hit it.


Picture gallery of the Loyal and Brave:

Wilma at St.Andrews

Dad at Takapuna

Carla at Waitoa Park

 


 











Wilma has accompanied me on several courses(Westport,Karamea,St.Andrews and North Otago) and even had a few hits a couple of times.

A few hits, that being a natural athlete as she is, were surprisingly accurate.Although not this one.
Can you see the little yellow ball flying off in the above shot? 

Yep! That was the last we saw of that one as it disappeared into the pine trees never to be found. 

The novelty of being my caddy wore off rather quickly, but just the other week I discovered a new way to encourage her participation:

Caddy? I'll be your Driver Baby!

 The EZ-Go golf cart was a winner and had us all smiling on the day we played "Posh Golf" at Terrace Downs Golf Resort.

( more about that later when I bring you up to date on my current score of courses played to date)

Bloggers....

I hear on National Radio can suffer from despondency when they realize no one is reading their latest posts nor commenting for encouragement. 
I have started thinking-due to your lack of comments- that the only people reading these posts are my elderly and appreciative parents for whom I print off hard copy.
Where are your comments folks?
No one has had a crack at the question about the significance of the number 382 in relation to golf balls?

If you get the answer right I may let you come and caddy for me(okay okay we will hire a cart!)

 

And what about Butlers I hear you ask?

Well if you knew the size of my house you would realize the ridiculousness of the very idea...where would I put a Butler?
 I would constantly fall over him each time I went to the kitchen.

Mr Butler smile at the ready.

No the Butler I am referring to is Mr  Butler  

 my dear dog friend.



Until very recently a round of golf on a Thursday or
a Friday was invariably followed by a long walk with
my little friend on Brighton Beach and then back home over the Rawhiti golf course.



I first met Mr Butler after the February earthquake when
I answered an advert for a dog walker.
Due to major disruption caused by the quakes his 'Mum' 
was having to spend long stretches of time away from him and being quite young and with the high energies of a terrier he 
was getting a bit barky and strung out. 


My good friend Carl in Melbourne, with whom I have been Skyping for the past few years since I met him through the Head and Neck Cancer Support Network, had often amused me with tales of his three little Westie friends that gave him so much joy .
Yes, I thought, a dog to hang out with  would surely lift my spirits! Perhaps a Jack Russell as they always make me smile?

And then ...... Mr Butler enters my life.
When I answered the ad his 'Mum' had already found someone for the job but I said I could do an extra day and did not want paid just the privilege of hanging out with her dog.
So we met and I have to say it was love at first sight for me when I saw Butler.

He was PERFECT!
Such a funny little chap and hard not to smile from ear to ear just being with him.
The other walker did not work out and soon I was re-arranging my days so I could go and take him out every second or third afternoon. 

I got acquainted with the charms of dog parks .
 I took out library books on training techniques.
I purchased dog treats and toys.
I laughed a lot and did a fair few kilometres on the beach.
 I introduced him to my friends, one of whom was so charmed she decided she wanted a dog just like Butler.
Then there was a trip to Motueka to pick up a little female Parsons Jack Russell, Vida.
And then there were two dogs in my life.......

Butler and Vida

 

When we had another big Earthquake in June I was able to get to Butler's house , pick him up and look after him until his 'Mum' finally made it home.
We became pretty good buddies................

And even when life settled back down and he no longer really needed an extra walker his 'Mum' continued to share him with me until he became a regular fixture in my life.
There were a few breaks away for holidays but always on return I'd be rushing off to see Butler Boo before even catching up with human friends.

As I said in my last Blog, hanging out with Butler was as good if not better than having a game of golf!
That is a pretty high rating little fella!


Sadly, for me, at the end of September Butler and his 'Mum' moved to the North Island.
I have a picture of him here beside me on my desk and just knowing he is out there wagging his tail, enjoying his new beach and making passersby smile makes me happy but I do miss him so.
I haven't been to the Beach since but perhaps I will just have to go visit him at his new beach.
I hear there is a very nice golf course at Ohope.


In the past couple of years as I have been recovering from the surgery,chemo,radiation and gradually coming off all medication when people ask me what I "do" I say "only things that make me happy and begin with the letter G"

Gardening

Golfing

qi Gong ing

Going out with Butler

 Well in truth there are a few other things that make me happy that don't start with G but you get my drift.

Thank you dear Butler for the part you have played in my recovery.
Miss your waggy tail!

Last Day on Brighton Beach

  

I like the way ladies play!

 

Golf that is!
Last week the weather was kind for Canterbury Golfers and I got out to play three times.
On Monday I played in a 9 hole tournament at the Coringa Country Club out at McLeans Is.
It was the first time I had been to an official tournament at another club.
But it is already October and I have a fair few course to play yet to reach my goal of    50.
So I figured it was a good opportunity to go play another club and cheaper than it normally would be with the added extra of prizes!

I didn't win any prizes but it was an interesting experience and what an impressive sight seeing all those golf carts lined up and ready to go. Over 60 'ladies' attended.

Ready when you are!

 I realize I have become so much more confident from all the different courses I have played and actually playing with three ladies I had never met before did not phase me as once it would have. After all we were all out to enjoy the day and do something we all love to do - no matter how bad the scores may have been.

A Phalanx of Lady Golfers set off to do 'battle'.

Golf truly is a very civilized game and those points of etiquette that the uninitiated think are picky and antiquated really do help things flow along.


Well at least with the ladies!


Which brings me to Friday.
A few of us 9 Hole 'ladies' usually go out on a Friday afternoon for a friendly match at Avondale.

Mind you Fridays are always a little hair-raising as the men are also out playing.So the air is filled with the cry of "Fore"(if you are lucky) and the 'Thunk' and 'Thwack' of numerous golf balls ricocheting off trees and coming at you from all directions.
Men, in general, seem to just get up there on the Tee box and whack the hell out of the little white things with blatant disregard for the concept of direction or control. 
Well they certainly get some distance but often end up two Fairways over from the Green they are headed too. Add a few beers into the mix and it all gets pretty wild and woolly out there, and you often find yourself flinching as yet another ball plops down beside you from who would know what direction.

But last Friday when three of us turned up at our club we found it was closed! Shock,horror not that we are addicts or anything but... , feeling in need of a little stress release( yep! EQC had something to do with that for at least one of us) we fumed for a minute or two then decided to go for a game at Rawhiti just up the road.

And most welcoming they were too, with discounts all round.

But it was Friday!

The Fairways are narrow at Rawhiti!

There were lots of men out playing and drinking the beers!

We were putting our lives on the line.

We let some guys play through whilst we orientated ourselves. Two of us had brilliant starts with balls out of bounds, and in my case missing in action.

The Easterly was blowing in off the sea and playing havoc with our high flying balls, but after playing a 'practice ' hole on the ninth we settled in to the back nine.(ie. we played holes 10 through to 18)

But we had a trigger happy , beer drinking bunch of chaps playing up behind us. And they seemed to be totally ignorant of the etiquette of appropriateness of play.
At first we gave them the benefit of the doubt, thinking perhaps they were having lucky shots that were going further than they imagined they would. But after about the fourth time a ball landed right beside us putting us off our own approach shots to the Green we realized they were just plain ignorant.

Remember we had a foursome playing in front of us so we could not go any faster than we were playing or else we would have been hitting up on them. Something by and large ladies do not do. It is standard practice in the Royal and Ancient game of Scotland to wait for the players in front of you to hole out before you hit your own shots up to the green and you certainly don't continually hit up behind players in front of you on the Fairway.

Angry words were muttered, withering glances were thrown but finally clubs had to brandished in their direction and assorted abuse hurtled before they finally got the message.

Ah well! It was still a good game . But it did cause me to utter"I do like the way Ladies play".
Although we do not have the strength to hit as far, more often than not our shots tend to be more accurate . Strategic thinking rather than rip shit and bust? 

Sadly, I can't count Rawhiti as another course played as I had  already played the front nine back in February. It was interesting finally getting to play the back nine though as I have spent quite a bit of time walking over the area with my wee dog friend and have played the holes in my mind on many a late Thursday or Friday evening coming back from the beach.
Last Friday, playing the course I felt a little sad as my dog friend has now moved away and our regular rambles gathering pine cones on the golf course of an evening are a thing of the past.
Cheers little man hanging out with  you was about as much fun as playing golf and that is saying something! 

We go side on!

 




Actually, I really like the way I played today!

We had our club tournament today with about 45 players attending.
I scored 20 Stablefords to take second place in my division.

And despite the dangers of Friday golf I will no doubt be out there again tomorrow.