Report CITCO round 9 – Kikuoka – 9 August 2017
Oh no, surely not him again! Can’t we do something? Grumble, grumble. Surely we can. What do the bloody statutes say? Ho hum. So…ramble or results first? Results or ramble? Ok, you win let’s go ramble. Those of you looking exclusively for the results section are advised to fast forward about…Now! And before you go, a great big thank you to our sponsors, Citco! Now then, off you go…
To the results… Several traditionally friendly Frog faces were absent since they had been on a dedicated golf day trip to darkest Germany. The truly dedicated returned to follow up their 18 German holes with the extra 9 at Karaoke so a big well done mention must go out to Dennis, Craig and Jess for making the effort. That’s the spirit, chaps. Merve was down to start but suddenly became a Dan K lookalike on the first tee yet there they both were in the bar afterwards. It can be hard to keep up sometimes. In the end, 23 dedicated Froggy type people (which included two guests; the gloriously named Allard Fontein (could be a fine wine, no?) and Eric Masset) tip teed off having been wined and dined by the returning to the big time ever pheasant/effervescent Luc. Gone (for now) are the days of foie gras and Chateau Margaux, it seems. These things will almost certainly return. Small bags of very plain Jane Ready Salted crisps and cans of local beer offered a pragmatic current compromise and were thoroughly welcome. Some sort of odd tasting Dutch cough syrup that Luc was frantically talking up somewhat was also offered and generally gleefully accepted. Not exactly a class A product in my view but we’ll try anything at least once. Well done Luc!
Despite fine playing conditions throughout, there was a standard scratch score of just 14 [15, Ed.] points. Certainly not great. Maybe that English idiot friend was right? Oh rats. As James, suitably supported by Jess, eloquently intimated during the presentation over an efficiently served dinner of fish and chips or steak and chips, this can largely be explained by the significant battle that went on for last place. Although both John and Will recorded uncomfortable single points figures, Delboy elbowed his way in to the reckoning with a miserable but well deserved 8 points. Meanwhile, we all recognise that Colin has all the attributes to be an excellent golfer. Nice shoes, colour coordinated outfit, smooth swing, regular practising. Looks the part in fact. Keep it up, matey. His mammoth 6 points took the pink ball. Thanks for coming, Colin. Our two guests, Allard and Eric came home with 15 and 3 points respectively. Respect and another pink ball respectively!
The prize for Nearest the Pin went to Will, the Bijnens Leary prize to Daniel and the Longest Drive to Craig. Congratulations to all of you.
Dennis came in at 6th with 14 points. Ayzo and Mark both hit 14 but nudged ahead on countback for 5th and 4th places. Craig made 18 points in perfect fashion. Playing off scratch, he made 9 pars. Morally, Craig was easily the real winner of the day by far. Quality stuff. That fluffy ginger beard is starting to look slightly ridiculous and should be attended to urgently, however. Dan and myself both managed 19 points and when I left the club, poor Dan was still analysing the scorecards seemingly trying to work out just how he didn’t manage the overall victory. It’s tough when you care deeply about something, isn’t it? Oh well, I assume that he found the answer somewhere. On the plus side, coming second at this level leaves room for improvement, Dan. Stay focused and you’ll get there. Life can be so very tough and unfair at times, don’t you think?
My particular flight involved the two winners of pink balls and the winner. A rare combination. An opportunity? I think that the attached photo recorded this moment appropriately.
The next Frogs event will be critical to those looking for pomp and ceremony and honour. It will be the decider. I have no idea when it is but I know it’s at Grand Ducal. Hopefully, someone will tell you all about it when they’re ready [24 August, Ed.].
Enough is enough.
Tony.
