Back to Cray valley again today, but one of the usual crowd was missing… Owing to family birthday commitments Mark wasn’t with us today, just Russ and myself, but what an event he missed !!

Off to a good start as I was on time today !!

It all started when we arrived at 8:00am, we were greeted by a bloke in the pro shop who had obviously got out of the bed the wrong side this morning as there was no smiles just a grunt of acknowledgement when we paid our green fees. I made a remark to Russ that he was a right grumpy sod, but Russ (being the diplomat he is) commented that he had probably been up since 5am !!

We made the short walk to the first tee expecting to see an army of amateurs waiting to tee off, but when we arrived at the tee it was like a ghost town…Not another golfer in sight anywhere on the 1st hole !.

We teed off and I did a massive drive about 180yds down the middle of the fairway, Russ teed off and went straight into the rough on the left bank.. We walked down and spent a few minutes trying to find Russ’s ball but to no avail, Russ dropped a ball and I thought I was in luck today and might win a round (oh was I wrong). Russ’s second shot was now his third due to the lost ball. He was next to the bank about 170yds away from the green and the flag was not visible, he let rip with a great iron shot which seemed to be in the air for ages. I saw it bounce on the green and congratulated him on a great recovery shot. I took my next 2 shots to hit the green then we both walked up to find our balls.

I was on the green by it looked like Russ had gone off the back, I left my clubs and started to help Russ look for his ball, and thought I would just take a glimpse into the hole when I was stunned to find Russ’s Nike ball looking back at me !! – Can you believe it, a dropped shot and he still Birdie’s the hole… Can this guy do no wrong ???

Onto the second hole, both got a 5, which was about average.. The third hole was appalling, the grass throughout the course had been freshly mown on the fairways and the cuttings left so the wheels on my trolley had been amassing the cuttings, the wheels were starting to resemble Monster Truck wheels, at this rate by the time I reach the 9th I will need a step ladder to get to my clubs !

The rough was in a bad condition also, not only was it long but wet which made things difficult for us both, at the 3rd we both went off to the right in the rough and took 4 shots each to get over the trough in front of the green.. the usual 3 putts each meant we got a 7. Russ had already opened a 2 shot lead on me.

The short par 3 4th hole meant that Hawkeye took another damn Par. I could only manage a hefty 5, which now made me 4 behind with 5 to play.

As Russ had not been on good form in respect of his tee shots I thought I might be able to make up a few shots on the 5th hole, Russ teed off and fluffed it only about 50yds in front of the tee. I stepped up with Bertha and rattled off a drive, which went just to the left of the green about 30yds from the pin. Russ’s second shot dropped him straight into the bunker, which left me with a good chance to catch him up again. It took Russ a further 5 shots to sink his ball into the hole, but as he was putting on the green I was amassing a total of 8 extra shots to get my ball out of the wet long rough and cover the 30yds I was away from the Hole, what an absolute shocker !.

By this point at the 6th tee, I was now 6 shots behind Russ, yet again this was going to prove to be his day and not mine. Russ teed off and went just short of the green to the right, I stepped up with my 4 iron and let rip… There was a mighty twang and the head of my 4 iron went off into the distance. The head of my club actually went further than my ball. This was clearly a bad day for me..

After I had managed to control Russ’s laughing I took my second shot and put the ball just the other side of the green. We both managed a 5 on a par 3, but to fair with the way I was playing I’ll settle for that !!.

The 7th hole was a bit of a bore, we both did alright for a change, but Russ still managed to nick another shot on me on the hole. I was now 7 shots behind Hawkeye.

Here we were…. The Rupert Hole !, not a favourite of any of ours, but we still have to tackle it.. Russ teed of and went just past the 150yd marker to the right of the fairway, I knew I had to pull a stroke of genius out of the bag in order not to make myself look a lost cause

I unleashed hell with a drive that came to rest just before the tree to the right of the green, we reckon the drive must have been at least 230yds. Obviously with the way we had been playing It took me a further 5 shots to put my ball down, Russ actually dropped a shot and I had managed to win my first hole with one to play… Now only 6 shots behind Russ.

We had finally reached the 9th and final hole.. It was only 9:30am ?, was we both that hungry that we had rushed our way round ?? …. We both got on the green in one and Russ 3 putted, I was on for a par but the Ball just stopped on the lip of the hole and I had to settle for a 4. This was just about my luck today.

Russ ended up beating me by a whopping 6 shots and scored a respectable 45 (13 over) with me on 51. Maybe at some point I’ll beat him eh ?

We had played 9 holes, eaten our breakfast and arrived back home before 10:30am which must have earned us both some extra Brownie points with the other halves. Tee hee…

Shot of the Day – Russ’s 3rd shot (should have been second) on the 1st hole from 170yds away straight into the hole for a birdie

Song of the Day – The Birdie Song by the tweets to celebrate Russ’s amazing birdie on the 1st hole.