Green Keepers Revenge and Pro Shop Comps....

The Naked Golfer had his first (and likely last) crack at the Green Keepers challenge on Thursday. These people have truly sick minds. Those guys down in the Greens shed must have had a lifetime of abuse from golfers or something because they really do seem to hate us don't they?

Joking aside, it was interesting to see how well our course can be defended from good scoring by some strategic (sadistic) positioning of the flags and an increase in the green speed. The call in my group whenever someone hit the green on a par 3 became "good luck for your 3" as opposed to the traditional well wish for the birdie.

All in all an enjoyable experience though, and long may it continue. (Although I will be scrutinizing my calendar very carefully before venturing out on another Thursday!)

Moving along, word on the street reaches my ears about some discontent around the way the pro shop runs the haggle on days where members are playing matches. The Mens committee has noticed, it seems, that a rule of golf (No33 if you're interested) is being breached whenever golfers enter the pros stable-ford comp on a day when they are playing a scheduled match.

Now, no matter what your opinion of this (for example you might think "So what? I like going in the comp. It doesn't make a difference does it?") there is no escaping the fact that it is not within the powers of any committee (well, possibly the R & A committee) to waive a rule of golf. No matter how insignificant it may seem, if a committee waives one rule because it suits them, where does it stop? Do we tee off 20 yards in front of the markers because we find a particular hole too long? Do we just pick up all the 4 foot putts and write down that we holed it because we're scared we might miss? Do we kick it out from under a tree because we don't fancy the lie? Of course not, and in the view of the Naked Golfer, this matter is no different.

The rules governing stroke play and match play are fundamentally different. There are different penalties for the same infraction in the different forms of the game, and for some rules you have different dropping options or suchlike for match play than you do for stroke play. Anyone who is engaged in a match as their primary form of play for the day, can't really put their hand on their heart and say they are having a formal stroke play round as well.

I applaud the honesty of the Committee in bringing up an issue that is obviously unpopular in some quarters. At the end of the day, we are all members of a golf club, and golf is the game we love and commit our leisure time to. We must follow the prescribed rules of our game, or else it's not really golf at all is it?

Anyway, it seems that some compromise has been reached in that the players who are involved in match play can still enter the side bets for the 2's and the hidden hole. Hopefully the people in power will get their heads together soon and clarify this so that the members can have some certainty moving forward.

I will also add that the club has a responsibility to reinvigorate it's match programme, so that members have competitions they are excited about being involved in, and take pride in the trophies they are competing for. It seems back to front to me (but understandable none-the-less) that members are more worried about a side bet in the pro shop than they are about their main club event. At the end of the day it's our club, we are the stakeholders, so if we aren't enjoying the product that is being served (not just in terms of club comps, but every aspect of club life) then we will make the choice to go elsewhere. Anyway, possibly a topic for a future blog!

So there it is, I have my first game of golf under my belt (albeit a fairly disastrous one) in the slow build up to the stroke play champs in 3 weeks time. Lots of work to do between then and now so I'd best get too it!

The Naked Golfer

P.S Welcome to the blog Chopper as the first official follower! Tell your friends.....