Gullane 1

15th March

Weather: Distinctly damp at the start, but improved after an hour or so.

Winner: Kenny

2024

Interesting!

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Events today began at 9.45 when  ten Freens foregathered at Gullane’s main clubhouse.  Eleven had been expected and there were three absentees which were noteworthy.  JM was not there on account of having migrated to Planet Watters, which meant he was unaware we had an outing today.  Barney was child-minding on account of Sue’s trigeminal neuralgia (get well soon, Sue) and it was too early for Psycho to be expected.   Webmaster referred to his proposal that members should take turns in reporting on outings and invited a volunteer to step forward.  KC did, but he has already done it a few times.  No doubt everybody else was eager, but were afraid that by stepping forward they might thwart a fellow Freen’s ambition to achieve literary immortality, so silence reigned.  Hence the usual.

That was not, however, an end to matters.  Our rugged, wet-suit-in-a-hurricane-wearing Freen (DL) announced that conditions were a bit damp for his liking and took himself off home.  This meant that the number of players for the day was reduced to 9.  Anyone paying attention to the arithmetic so far might have imagined there ought to have been 10, but the reason for the apparent disparity was that Leo had recently dislocated a shoulder while skiing and was along for purely social reasons.  He arrived looking like Houdini about to enter a giant fish tank in order to make a dramatic escape (see below.)

So that’s everything tied up then? Well, no.  The reason for this was that time had rolled on and Psycho was still absent.  Matches were slightly re-arranged in order to leave the last time for DP and Smithy to be joined by Psycho.  Time passed.  Fortunately there was no one down to play behind us.  A little more time passed until Smithy excitedly exclaimed that he could see Psycho’s car coming along the road, and that was indeed the case.  The exultation this caused was, however, swiftly moderated as Psycho’s car was seen to make a smart right turn into the car park for Courses 2 and 3.  Then the great man exited his vehicle and quickly dashed into the Visitors’ clubhouse (no doubt to confer with JM!)    At that point Leo kindly offered to inform the miscreant of his error and stumbled off accordingly.  Leo did his job and we were then treated to the sight of an Alfa Romeo screaming through the chicane  from one car park to the other.  Nearly there.

We were delighted to hear that it was only through a last moment of acute observation that our man hadn’t ended up at Dunbar!!!!  He also added that he had managed to comprehend that we were due to start sometime around 11, and he wasn’t wrong there!  Just to round this episode off, the spectators on the 1st tee were treated to the sight of your man addressing his ball with shoelaces undone, jacket hanging open and a longish scarf flapping about his neck before sending the projectile straight down the middle of the fairway about 30 yards past his playing companions.

Little more to add other than the day was ended by the runner-up (DJ) presenting the missing (duplicate) rivet to the winner, Kenny.  No information disclosed concerning the retrieval of said rivet (and its predecessor remains undiscovered.)

18th April

Weather: A.M. - dreich, wet and windy; P.M - dull and very windy

Winner: Kenny

Winterfield

Digger thwarted

The following report is from our roving reporter on the day and one who has supped from the same springs as Oscar Wilde and William Butler Yeats, not to mention one who can be relied upon in a crisis - it’s yer man himself!

“A real Dunbar welcome from the team at Winterfield. Food offering  5 star again - choice of egg, bacon or sausage for morning rolls as well as tea and coffee. Lunch was soup and a choice of 4 sandwich fillings and a 2 course evening meal. Everything served fresh, hot and by smiling faces, all helps to make for a great day.

A lot of good golf played by all at different holes in their round! All the chat in the clubhouse was about Digger defending his title and he made a pretty good go of it with 35 points.  This, however, was only good enough to put him 3rd with Dr Bob recording 36 points for runner-up to Kenny who followed up his Gullane triumph by scoring 38 points. These were all great scores in the conditions and I was privileged to witness Kenny's back nine, which was special.  He was also in an epic match with DP v DJ/Jug and it finished all square thanks to DJ playing excellent golf as well.

This was the first outing under the new lower fees membership rules where £5 is collected on the day from each player and becomes the prize for the day. Kenny's winnings were £60 and some of it was spent on an "Auchentoshan" for the roving reporter (everyone has a price.)

This was also the first outing where the 10 minute rule was applied to ensure all scorecards were with Stato Lindsay to enable the result to be confirmed. I am very happy to report no misdemeanours, although we  had one Freen who sailed very close to the wind!

After a few drinks and a lovely lunch we were ready for a Texas scramble with 3 teams of 4 - I took Dr Bob's place but only putted on my team! The weather got better but the wind remained strong and challenging! Lots of great golf as the the scores were 59, 60 and 61.

We were ready for food and the team again delivered a delicious meal to have hot starters and mains for everyone piping hot and freshly made. This made for a perfect finish to our day with blue skies and the sea on view from our table.

Everyone is very grateful to Mr Ian Smith (Smithy") for organising such a great day for us and there was much talk of this being an annual fixture, just like The Masters, only better!”

16th May

Weather: A fine bright day all day with a brisk wind

Winner:  DL

Weather: A “jumper oan - jumper aff” day with some fine spells

Winner:  TT

This outing was arranged by Leo through his friend, Donnie, who is the current captain of the West Lothian club.  He joined us and was kind enough to say that he found us “a decent bunch of guys” (or words to that effect.)  Those of us who made it along had a grand day of it.  A clearly in form (and over-handicapped?) (Just asking!) TT swept all before him despite some stout resistance from Jock, Juggy and Bob.

It seems that the catering in most clubs we visit is, at least acceptable, but in some, and particularly here, it can be truly exceptional.

More stories of the day would be very welcome.

20th June

The morning got off to a disappointing start as the catering team did not turn up to provide rolls, teas and coffees. The morning was saved by JM and The Roving Reporter (Leo) going to a cafe in the high street to buy filled rolls to feed the "starving Freens" back in the club-house. The Catering team had arrived and was able to provide teas and coffees to wash down our rolls. She apologised for not being there and also reimbursed JM for the rolls purchased.

We were also advised that we would be catered for in the small bar for lunch and evening meal as large funeral party had booked the main room for the rest of the day.

There were 11 attendees on a bright and breezy day. The course was in good condition and  much to the liking of DL who won the outing with 37 points and joint runners up BJM and JR on 34 points.

DJ was holidaying in the Algarve honing his game for Royal Pumpherston! He was also reflecting some great days he had here with our much missed Freen, Robin. He then saw on the club website that “Dons’ god,” Mixu is a member and reflected on how excited Robin would have been about the prospect of bumping into him. DJ advised that “Robin particularly enjoyed The Bottle (17th), so, in his memory, there will be a special prize for the first Freen to get a 2 there."  (Nobody did in the morning and a Texas Scramble one in the afternoon didn’t qualify…boo hoo.)

DP came closest from the Freens I saw and there is a short video of how close he came to winning the prize!

We were able to enjoy drinks in the sun before lunch and a lovely lunch of soup and sandwiches before deciding on a Texas Scramble for the afternoon. For some reason a decision was made to play this without handicaps and there was only ever going to be one team winning this event!

We were well looked after by the chef for our evening meal and the rest of the Team who recovered from a disappointing start.! Overall a very enjoyable day and well done to Tom for organising.

(As with Winterfield, report gratefully received from Leo)

This outing was arranged by DJ and rumour has it that it began with some difficulty for him on account of a run-in of some sort with the chef - further details are awaited!

The weather has been reported on and it’s fair to say that there were some rumblings on account of it, but eleven brave souls set out to face the elements.  After some high-handed and undemocratic rearranging of the draw by some unnamed individuals, the first group, which had been a 3 ball with buggy, was converted into a 4 ball with buggy and it duly set off on a crazily tacking path down the 1st hole.  Fortunately that aberrant behaviour was precisely that and things did pick up as the round progressed.

The thought occurred during the round that a gentleman in Australia then abed might think himself accursed that he was not there to emulate his achievement of 2011 (Eagle on the 17th - what! Really?), but, on the other hand, the weather might have given him some solace.

It’s fair to say that there was an “incident” in the course of the round.  It’s location is illustrated by the picture on the left which shows the tee on the 12th hole and the arrow shows the path of Psycho’s first tee shot on the hole.  His “provisional” second shot reached the middle of the fairway and his playing partners set off only to discover that Psycho was no longer with them.  Much to their astonishment he had entered the primeval forest in search of his ball.  They were disinclined to join him in his enterprise.  Minutes passed and his partners decided to set off and play their balls.  Having done so they turned again to see a scene from “Deliverance” as  Psycho appeared with a four inch gash on his skull and blood running down his forehead, muttering about holly, barbed wire and fallen trees.  Memories of Slaley Hall  (or was it Linden Hall?) and “Who’s Psycho?” Immediately sprang to mind.  (Further illustration, it’s hoped, appears below.)

15th August

Weather: It was an interesting day weatherwise.  It was fair to say that it didn’t look promising on arrival.  It was overcast with a distinct hint of the forecast rain, and there was a distinct windy deluge just over half way round, but the afternoon was beautiful.

Winner:  DJ

In light of the weather forecast some more cynically minded Freens suspected that Barney (Dr. Bob’s afternoon substitute) might be in touch to inform us of some back issue/family emergency/monkey pox affliction, but there was general surprise and delight to find that the great man was waiting for the morning contingent to arrive and subsequently enjoyed the afternoon’s scramble, although his enjoyment was tempered to a degree by the one stroke success in that competition of a smug Tyke and his team.

Our roving reporter saw fit to video DP’s attempt at a 2 on the 17th.  Anyone with the time and inclination can see it by clicking on this link.

And if anyone cares to see DJ honing his skills in the Algarve at his early season training camp, please click here.

It could be reasonably argued that all the sights in these two pics are not altogether edifying, but they do illustrate the fact there was a hill or two on the course!

The Victor Ludorum caught in an unguarded moment during his victory speech

25th July

Arguably not an “official” Freens outing as it was the competition for the much coveted “Watters Jug”, but given that it was included in the season’s fixture list and in view of the pictures below (especially the third along!), It could not reasonably have been omitted.

You can see who the winner was, but an augmentation of this report would be much appreciated

Who’s up for a nice, friendly 4 ball?

25th September

Lowlights 

Highlights

Weather: - Started brightly then dulled over, but not bad for golf

Winner: Phil - by a mile!

26th September

Weather: - What a wind!  Thank God the course is not straight up and down, north to south.

Winner: Who else could it be, but yer man - again!

Highlights

Dunbar

27th October

“I’m starting to feel some sensitivity.” -  Muir!?

Weather: A very pleasant day indeed.

Winner: Leo

Weather: - The wind was still here and this is a course that is straight up and down, north to south.

Winner: The wind!!

27th September

Weather: - The wind was still here and this is a course that is straight up and down, north to south.

Winner: The wind!!

Lowlights 

The decided highlight of the day was the return of Runce.  He nearly trumped his reappearance by driving straight into and clearing the green (???) ropes at the first tee, but that was narrowly averted.

Lest it should cause any fainting or cries of “I don’t believe it!” it should also be explained that the strapline quote above was his answer to a query about the state of his recovery from his recent acrobatic activities!