Westgate - Christmas Special (5 Clubs) - Thu 12th Dec 2024

Report

After 12 months of good breakfasts, great company & gloriously gripping (or generally grotesque) golf, it all came down to a grey day at the groovy Westgate & Birchington Golf Club.  Known as a place popular with geriatric golfers, today was about the gaudy (Could anyone miss Gary's pink trousers?), the grouchy (Did anyone see Lee after he posted his 'most-golf' score?), & the gorgeous (Did anyone see Jim?)... oops... that was meant to say (Did anyone see Jim's shot on the 16th that ended just a couple of inches from the cup?). 

Following a gratifying breakfast, a good-natured welcome, a garbled description of the ins & outs of today's game, we were glad to get going: 22 golfers, gloomy skies, gruesome greens & no giving gimmes as we always putt-out...

There was a spring in everyone's step as we had the generous news that all were gifted at-least 2 points on Hole 1, which was the only temporary tee-box & green... Westgate isn't the most glamorous of venues, but it's great for our end of year, end of season, Christmas 5-club special. The gentle undulations, grandiose views & a guaranteed speedy round as there are no deliberations about club selection. 

Paul Flint was the 1st to get club selection spot on as he wins the first of eight 'nearest the pin' holes.  Jim Cornish won his 1st ever BGS 'Nearest the Pin' on the 7th, quickly followed by another one on the 16th... which was just 2 inches from the hole & gave Jim a share of the 2's money, which Carl announced was generously doubled to £44... it looked like everyone was bringing the gifts this Christmas-time, just like the Wise-men in the Jesus story that Rhodri shared at the St George's Assembly this morning.  [Our resident statto has checked the records & it turns out that Jim had forgotten about a 'Nearest the Pin' that he won 2 years ago, also at Westgate (13th Hole)]. Not bad Jim, it's just taken two years to complete the Hat-trick! 

It was no surprise that no one won 'nearest the pin' on the 10th hole, although Alan Garrett drove past the green & then chipped in for his share in the 2's club money.  Due to the 1st being a temporary green, we introduced a 'nearest the pin in 2' on the dog-leg 11th hole. The 1st couple of groups had been debating whether 'nearest the green' would be good enough, but alas, Daren Chandler had other ideas and was just 12ft away, which wasn't a bad effort with just one r (not arm!!).  Pete Kenehan made a late bid for the King Pin trophy when he won the 13th, although he didn't quite get a 2, it didn't matter as he'd already got into the 2's club on the 7th with a 30ft putt... Rhodri got in on the fun with a great 5 wood which carried onto the 15th green, getting a good-few feet inside Ed Oliver's effort, however Ed wasn't going to be denied as he won the final 'nearest the pin' on the 17th.

Ultimately, no-one managed to knock Bob off the King-Pin perch with 5 awards this season which gave him the trophy & a prize of a 4-ball kindly donated by Sene Valley.

It's amazing how often the 5-club challenge game brings seemingly better scores than when we bring all our clubs. 19 of our 22 golfers scored 30pts or more, & so our top three golfers today had earned their rewards. 4th place with 37pts was Ady, who was the only golfer whose Handicap had gone up for this game following 3 games under 30pts, however 4th place doesn't win anything... 3rd place with 38pts & his first placing with BGS was Paul 'Squeezy' Sequenza; 2nd place with 39pts & also his 1st placing with BGS was Jon 'The Beard' Martin; leaving yours truly, Rhodri 'The Rhodfather' Walters with 1st place on 41pts (& yes, there'll be a cut...) - to be fair it was my 1st BGS win since this same event two years ago (yes, the same event when Jim won his forgotten 'nearest the pin' & also came in 2nd place!).

As you can imagine, having 4 of the top 5 BGS golfers of 2024 in the final 4-ball made for an exciting spectacle (not that we had any spectators... & the expected BGS crowd around the 18th green was non-existent as everyone was desperate to get into the comforts of the bar!! - Cheers guys!).  To avoid the danger of wallowing in my win & boring the socks off everyone... (Oh the pitfalls of writing these reports... Any volunteers for next year? Please??)... Anyway, after the 15th hole, Pete & Rhod had caught last year's winner & this year's front runner Carl; & the 16th saw them both pull ahead.  The 17th couldn't separate them & so the Player of the Year comp made its way down the 216th hole of this year's season... The tricky green-side bunker cost Pete a shot & when yet another putt slowed up seemingly way too quickly, it left Rhod 1 point ahead to win the genuinely gargantuan gleaming glistening golden trophy which was returning to the grateful Welshman after an 8 year gap... (He also received a 4ball voucher kindly donated from Kings Hill).

Who's going to grab it from his grip next year?

We go again, Wednesday 8th January, at Stonelees for what is usually a game of two halves: frozen front 9 followed by a muddy back 9 - you'll love it, because to be fair, it's the great company that we all enjoy the most.  Thanks for being such a great bunch. You're all really appreciated. A big thank you to Ricky & all of you for the Thank-You plaques for Carl & I.  We're looking forward to next year already. A few old favourites to play, a few pucker courses to enjoy, a new addition to the line-up, & best of all - we get to do it together.

Happy Christmas & we'll see you soon in the New Year.