Annual Golf Outing - Brechin

From http://bvetsfootballgroup.blogspot.com/

Despite a spate of late withdrawals, the six of us who did play yesterday at Brechin had a fine afternoon - and we now have a new name on the trophy - Geordie Ziegler! Given his winning ways with the Football Forecasts competition, perhaps it was no surprise that Geordie also turned out to be a winner at golf too - although there was a fairly lengthy discussion after the round about what handicap he should be given. Geordie doesn't play very often, and we hadn't agreed his handicap before the start of the round.

After a fairly inauspicious start, it must have quickly become clear to his playing partners - Messrs McDonald and McRae - that Geordie was no beginner. It was also soon pretty clear to Jeb, Andy and I, playing behind them. We got to the 3rd hole, which was our first Nearest the Pin. It's an uphill par 3 with a 2-tier green, with the pin right at the back on the top level. It's 140 yards of carry to the pin - Geordie was past the pin, with what we discovered later was a 9 iron - impressive stuff.

Even more impressive was Geordie's drive at the 16th hole - the nominated one for our Longest Drive. Splitting the fairway at precisely 284 yards off the tee, Geordie also won this easily. It transpired that he had borrowed Ian McRae's driver just for this shot.

For the record, defending champion Ian McRae got the other Nearest the Pin at the 10th. Back in the clubhouse, the Handicap Committee (McDonald & McRae) eventually decreed that Geordie should play off a handicap of 24. This gave him 37 Stableford points, beating me by one point, with John one further point behind.

Here's the team at the first hole:

Ian Stewart, Jeb Tyrie, Ian McRae, John McDonald, Andy Gore & Geordie Ziegler

Jeb hit some great shots - eventually - but he struggled when he got in the bunkers. This was one classic example - check the marks - there's at least six, and each swing was getting progressively faster than the last. Finally, the wretched ball came out - at 100 miles per hour - and sailed clear out of bounds and out of sight:

Time for the prize-giving - here's Ian presenting the shield to Geordie:

and then, the famous "green" jacket:

The most important prize was left to last - Jeb took the dreaded Filofax home:

and, to prove he was a real sport, Geordie turned up at the Legion later, complete with green jacket and shield, but wearing a baseball cap, for which he was promptly admonished by the steward:

This was our 21st outing since the first trip to Spey Bay in May, 1991, and Geordie becomes the 11th name on the trophy. Brechin was the 14th course we've played in that time.

The responsibility for deciding on next year's location falls on Geordie, and it's likely to be held slightly earlier than usual, as Geordie is returning to California at the end of the school term. Watch this space.