After the second attempt to hold the Ken and Rose Rigarlsford Tournament had to be cancelled last Saturday because of rain, it was great that the inclement weather broke in time for both Tuesday Women’s and Wednesday Men’s Clubs to enjoy windless and sunny conditions on a course that is in great condition considering the amount of rain we’ve had, albeit still soggy and muddy in the usual places. We seem to be faring a lot better that council sports fields, many of which have apparently turned into mud baths.

Unfortunately yesterday’s rain and with more forecast today and tomorrow means that we are keeping the course closed for carts tomorrow but we will allow them on Sunday for members only – ie no hire carts. This will enable members who use carts to compete in the qualifying round for the Westward Ho! but please take extra care as you navigate your way around the course, and adhere to all the cart instructions that apply to each hole. Remember, you use carts at your own risk and we are relying on your familiarity of the course to avoid unsafe areas and damage to the course. We will then re-close the course for carts on Monday pending a review by the green keepers.

This weekend’s Events

Tomorrow our Saturday women’s club are playing the 4^th round of the Pinfold Cup, with this round being played on a stableford basis.

On Sunday men members will be playing to qualify for the knock out rounds of the Westward Ho! shield. Entries close today so if you still haven’t entered, ring/email the club now. A draw will be published tonight or tomorrow, with all players teeing off from the 1^st tee, starting from 10.02. We currently have 26 entries so with only 16 qualifiers going through to the knock out rounds, the competition should be pretty keen. Qualification will be based on nett scores, so no pick ups are allowed. Finishing places will also determine seedings for the knock out rounds, with ties for any of the placings, including16^th, to be determined on countback. Being a best nett round, those entrants who are also aiming for a shoot out qualification at the end of the year should also enter their round as a shoot out round.

Please note that we will not be attempting to hold the Rigarlsford tournament this weekend. We will check the program for a suitable date later in the year and then republish the event.

Green Keeper Update

· We are very pleased to announce the appointment of Lukas Gratzer as our green keeper apprentice. Lukas started on Monday and is looking forward to pursuing the Turf Management qualifications as part of his apprenticeship. Lukas’s most recent job was building the Kiwispan shed that is north of and visible from our 2^nd fairway so he is familiar with the charms of the South Makara Valley.

· The back up irrigation pump has now been installed. Our main irrigation pump broke down last November/December and took a couple of weeks to fix, which could have been catastrophic for our greens had it not been for the regular rainfall we were experiencing at the time. This back up pump is not equivalent to our main irrigation pump which is strong enough to activate the automatic sprinkler systems that we have around our greens. The back up pump is simply an “insurance” pump that will enable water to be available for hand watering the greens should the main pump fail and take a while to fix.

· Matt and Pat have been looking for drainage pipes around the course that may not be working and have found a couple so far. Please ignore the holes that have been dug and treat them as G.U.R. - there are currently only 2 open at the moment, one being on the right hand side of the 18th green, which is an area they are keen to get sorted as it is right in view from the first tee and also the last thing you see when you have finished. The other is at the back of the 14th green where the drain isnt working anymore and will probably need replacing with a better drain going the length of the back of the green and around the side. Members may have noticed that the middle of this green gets very wet which is contributing to poa and moss starting to grow there.

· The green keepers plan on fixing the fence behind the 3rd green next week. This probably wont solve our goat problem but will hopefully stop cows coming onto the course, as they have done a couple of times recently.

Wednesday Club

Wednesday Club results for 26 July

On a sparkling winter's day, 33 players entered the 18 hole "Par" competition, followed by 6 nine holers. We were very pleased to have Gunter Karau rejoin us after a long absence, and also welcome sometime Wednesday players, Pete McMillen and Reagan McCabe, as well as President Jono Wake. Before play began, on behalf of all those who have played on Wednesdays and entered our competitions and raffles, the Wednesday Club was delighted to present Jono with a cheque for $5,000 towards the cost of the refurbishment of the men's washroom and toilets.

Despite the almost ideal winter golfing weather, scoring in the competition was difficult with Patrick Cordue prevailing, finishing "plus 2", one ahead of Gerd Warnke, Martin Leung and Graham Presland, with Gerd taking out the second prize on countback. Doug Shearer, David Thorburn, Ian Bates and Chris Pearce all won a golf ball for finishing "All square" whilst Luke Underwood earned a ball for his efforts at the tail of the field. Steve Robinson was closest to the pin on the Prodrive 4th hole and sank his putt for a two to win 2 balls whilst Dave Thorburn (4th) and Jono Wake (6th) scored the only other twos.

Raffles were won by Alex Lim (24), Satish Chandra (28) and Athol Swann (37).

India Cup Wednesday 16th August 2017

This is one of the Karori Golf Club's long-standing trophies which has been transferred for Wednesday Club competition, so, with Indian Independence Day commemorated on the 15th August annually, we thought it would be appropriate to hold it on the closest Wednesday, which this year will be 16th August.

It is a one round, single stableford competition open to all men members so come and join us. Details are yet to be finalised but as in previous years we plan to follow the round with some appropriate Indian cuisine for which there will be a nominal surcharge.

Unplayable Ball

Those night owls able to stay up all night for the final round of the British Open, or lucky enough to have recorded it, were treated to some scintillating final few holes which showed that golf is just as much a mental game as it is physical. Especially spell binding was the 13^th hole where it took eventual winner Jordan Spieth half an hour to play his second shot, after having sliced his drive 70m to the right of his fairway, and ending up on an unplayable lie.

A ball can be declared unplayable anywhere on the course except when it is in a water hazard. A one stroke penalty is incurred and provided the unplayable ball isn’t in a bunker (which would require it to be dropped in the same bunker) the drop options as follows:

· the ball can be replayed from the place of the previous shot, or

· dropped within 2 club lengths of where it rests, but not nearer the hole, or

· dropped behind where the ball rests, with no limit on distance (ie you can go as far back as you like) so long as the drop point is on an imaginary line that is an extension of a line connecting the flag and where the ball came to rest.

It was this third option that Jordan took, having climbed the mound in front of his ball to determine that the imaginary line extended to the practice fairway which was confirmed by officials to not be out of bounds, and on which the support trucks were deemed to be immovable objects (despite having wheels!). That Jordan was able to keep his wits about him and limit the damage to a bogey, and then go onto to win the title, and for his playing partner Matt Kucher to stay in the zone during the long break, was testament to the mental fortitude of both players. And the graciousness of both of them after play was a demonstration of how to win and lose with dignity in a major event, and a credit to golfing etiquette.

50^th Anniversary Feb/March 2018

Continuing the history of our club, as part of the build up to the 50^th anniversary of the current club, the first incarnation in 1905 on Campbell’s farm lasted only a couple of years when the Campbells decided to use the land for subdivisions instead, resulting in many of the houses now around Campbell and Verviers Streets. With notice of termination of their lease, the Karori Golf Club was force to look for new sites, eventually settling for Miramar where the Wellington Golf Club was originally established in 1885 but had transferred to Heretaunga in 1906. Following this shift the club was in 1909 renamed the Miramar Golf Club. But you cant keep Karori golfers down for long – read all about the second Karori Golf Club in next week’s Friday Flash.

Happy golfing, play safely,

Your KGC Committee