Jon's 31st birthday was the occasion, Chamberlain park the venue and the J.T golf shield the event. With his main rival Clinton not released from dishes duty at home it was looking likely that that Dave the pitch and put chipperfield specialist, and the under achieving Gerard would pose little threat to Jon getting his name on the shield once again. With only 3 in the group the fourth spot was filled by Andy, a painter from St Lukes, who at first didn�t seem to grasp the prestige of playing in the midst of shield competition as he was drinking beer all through the round , but he turned out to be a good guy so we let him away with it.
Whether it was a hangover from last weeks brilliance or the fact that that he had been talking himself up all week hence falling victim to the dreaded JTTS curse either way Jon had only what could be described as a shocker by his own high standards. After carding a 9 on the second hole Jon was out of contention. With Dave�s massive drive�s and Gerard�s red hot putting the two quickly gate crashed Jon�s Party and turned this round into a two horse race . In the end it came down to the last hole with Dave and Gerard, even, on adjusted handicap scores after Dave had lead for most of the game he seemed to be wavering under the pressure of a rampant Tiger Woods like finish from Gerard.
The air was thick with tension and Andy�s beer breath, Gerard slapped his meat and taties drive straight with reasonable distance in the middle of the fairway. Dave responded by smashing a bomb 250 m long and straight, advantage Dave. With the collage of images of Jon ostracizing, mocking, taunting and waving the shield in his face Gerard knew it was time to prove his critics wrong. Grabbing his trusty 9 iron and with the adage �drive it a mile or arrive in style� reverberating in his inner being Gerard addressed and stuck the ball with the crispness of a champion axe man crashing his blade into an innocent Kauri. Needless to say the ball sailed through the air like a heat seeking missile seemingly waving at awe stuck Dave as it passed him by and with William Tell accuracy landed on the centre of the elevated green 3 meters away from the pin. In response Dave chipped to the edge of the green and then again 1.5 meters away from the pin. Gerard missed his putt then popped his ball in for a par. Dave needed to hole his putt to enforce a playoff hole between the two warriors. Having been in the same situation a month earlier with Clinton and missing, the nightmare revisited Dave and he bungled his putt. The game over, Gerard emerged the victor carding an 83 Dave 88, Andy 85 and Jon broke a ton 101.
After farewelling Andy the remaining combatants went back to the Thirsty Whale to soothe their wounds and present Gerard with the shield (pictured). Some people let a moment define them or like Gerard on this unforgettable day, they take a hold of this moment and define it, on there own terms.
Highlights
- Dave's massive drives
- Gerard�s putting
- Jon rambling on about his 74 the week before even though he shot 101 today.
- After a botched Drive (the only one) Dave only just made it over the path on the often difficult 15th. Stepping up to the ball he was thinking about laying up short of the creek. Jon chipped in and said that if Dave didn't have a go at hitting over the creek he obviously had no kahuna's. He went on to say that if Dave did not have a go, the fact that he had no Kahuna's would become history in the web site. Dave took this as an insult, grabbed the trusty 4iron from the bag (longest one he has) stepped up in true Dave style, (no practice swing) and smacked the crap out of the ball. It cleared the creek easily by about a metre. Dave looked over to Jon and said, "I always knew I would make it".
- Clinton getting dishes, vacuuming and dusting done before coronation St.
- Gerard taking 1 1/2 hours to write this report.
Write up coming
Scores Clinton Gerard Dave Jon
Handicaps Clinton 14 Gerard & Jon 18 Dave 21
Handicap result Gerard equal with Dave and Jon with Clinton a shot behind. (Gerard retains shield due to being the current holder.)
