February 2nd 2008
GOLF, SLEDGING AND PHOTOSYNTHESIS.
Last week saw us miss our first Saturday golf of this winter season, and for the child in most of us, waking up to a beautiful covering of snow, I imagine we all thought in unison “now where did I put that sledge? ”. Most of us, that is, except hardened golfers, nervous green-keepers, and even more nervous greens convenors. I say that very much tongue-in-cheek, as, although I , like most golfers, accept that golf in a covering of snow is not possible, the impact on the 12 th green used to alarm me greatly when I witnessed the great mass of sledgers, skiers and snow-boarders turning the side of the “Ranol” hill into a mini Cresta run.
I used to imagine untold carnage on the 12th green, its surrounds and across the 13th, 2nd and 18th fairways.
I could not comprehend that before my stint overseeing greens, it had ever snowed on the golf course before; that the grass had grown back, and that before the end of the season, the recovery would be so complete that we would never have known it had been winter at all. Luckily for me, Alasdair MacLeod, our head green-keeper, has seen it all before, and when he simply shrugs his shoulders against the inevitability of kids ( and adults) doing what kids do when it snows, I should have known not to worry. The grass gets a little “flattened” and the greens a little trampled, but as long as there is sun in the sky, water in the clouds and photosynthesis to work its magic, then we will surely have growth and restoration.
Footnote to all: the 2009 Island games are in Scandanavia.
The Castle Grounds are a fantastic resource for the town of Stornoway; not only used by golfers but by kite-fliers, mountain bikers ,picnickers ,ornithologists, runners, walkers, dog-lovers, snow-lovers, sun-lovers and plain old-fashioned lovers.
We should all take care of them, nurture them and use them to their fullest. They are a very sustainable asset if we use them wisely, and, in the case of this correspondent, get used to the idea that a little snow, and a lot of sledging, won’t make a shard of difference to the long term prospects for golf on the island.
I hate missing my golf, as do we all, but as a Leosachd I must accept that “weather” will very often dictate how my Saturday afternoons are spent.
The week was not a complete wash-out, as my senior correspondent reports.
Senior’s Winter League – w/e 02/02/08
Our miserable weather continues with play possible on only a couple of days, and that was before the snow came and put a complete stop to all golf.
Half a dozen cards were completed and with three players on 23 points the “pot” is carried over. We might have had another card if Norrie MacKenzie had managed to finish even one round out of his two outings.
He had a reasonable card going on Tuesday, but when the heavens opened none of his three partners were willing to accompany him beyond the Dardanelles. Cowards all!
The notion that senior golfers have been playing 18 holes for what seems like forever is not always true. Some take up the game at an early age but give up for various reasons (work, family etc.) and come back to it in later life. Others only take up the game after they have retired and need a compelling excuse to get out from under the wife’s feet. Into the latter category falls Mick Butterworth who took up the clubs about two years ago. I don’t think Mick would ever call himself a truly natural golfer, but he has persevered and reached the point where he is hitting a very consistent ball off the tee. His top placing alongside Dennis Hall and Harris Mackenzie (a pairing that can probably claim a hundred years of golf between them) is just reward for his efforts.
No change at the top of the league table. Dennis Hall increased his lead to three points – the rest of the pack are marking time on last week’s scores.
Senior’s -Top Scores
Mick Butterworth 23
Dennis Hall 23
Harris MacKenzie 23
Norrie MacLean 21
Senior’s League Table
Dennis Hall 240
Norrie Munro 237
Norrie MacLean 229
‘Bronco’ MacArthur 225
Norrie Mackenzie 222
Duncan MacLean 222
Friday night saw the second quiz in the “Spring” cup series, and the winners, after a fiercely contested ten rounds, were the team of “I’m Spartacus” who beat “The Sahara Kayaking Club” after a play-off. With several Kirk Douglas look-alikes in their line up, they demonstrated a better awareness of the position of the equator in relation to South America than their counterparts from the “dark continent” to settle the evening after both teams had tied on the same score. We are looking to “fine-tune” the quizzes to ensure equal enjoyment for all abilities, and welcome the feed-back received to date.
The “I’m Spartacus” Quiz Team.