Top Dog 2025
 

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Top Dog is a pairs competition where your partner is drawn for you. You don't get to choose who you play with. The last time I played Top Dog I was the senior player paired with a junior. This year I am the junior. Which I actually don't mind. Not so much is expected of the junior.

I have drawn a good partner in Brent (Taylor) who plays off a 2 handicap while I have slid out to a 16 handicap.

Saturday, 12th, July, 2025 - Round Two

On the Friday the rain hosed down. We got to the golf club and the ground under foot was wet with little rivers running across some of the fairways. Much more rain and it would become unplayable. But the Head Greens keeper and Club Captain said it was a go for play. So we played.

I got to the club, assembled my gear and went and had a bit of practice chipping and putting. I had felt about 70% that morning and had toyed with the idea of ringing the club Captain and getting a substitute player to take my place for the day. But I didn't want to let my partner down. Brent turned up a few minutes later, looking like something the cat had dragged in. His eyes were puffy and he did not look good. He said "Sinusitis". Say no more I have also suffered with that in the past. Brent told me he had also considered ring the Captain for a substitute. So there we were to half crippled players, playing against two players who were both fit and well.

We were playing Paul Urbahn and Cliff Edgecombe. Brent was the low handicap player on a 2, Paul on a 3, me on a 16, Cliff on a 17. We adjusted everything down two shots with Brent going to zero. Paul would get 1, Me 14, Cliff 15. It looked on paper like it would be a close match. Off we went to the first hole. Our names were first on the list we teed off first. We then halved the 1st, halved the 2nd, halved the 3rd, halved the 4th, halved the 5th, halved the 6th. My partner then said we have to stop this boring golf. Everybody had a laugh. Down the 7th and both Brent and I hit into trouble, Cliff had a shot on the hole which he used making a nice par on the hole winning it for his team. Brent should have kept quiet! We halved the 8th with me making a nice par. We went down the 9th and Cliff got us again with his shot on the hole, two down at the turn. Nothing too bad to worry about.

10th hole, we lost again, Cliff was on fire, winning his 3rd hole. We halved the 11th, with Brent making a nice par. We halved the 12th with me making a par. We lost the 13th, Cliff making a very good par four with Brent and I making fives. Things were now at the desperate stage. We had not won any hole and were four down. One more loss and we were history. Off to the par 5, 14th hole. Paul and Cliff tee off and put them down the middle, they have been doing that all day, boring! Brent tees off and slices it up over the trees and a long way down the parallel 15th fairway. I go down the right and catch a tree dropping the ball down and short. I hit a good recovery and should be able to make the green for three with a good shot. Both Paul and Cliff have good seconds as well. Brent hit a great shot up over the trees and just short of the green. I slice my third into the trees on the right and will need a good shot to make the green for four. Paul hits a good shot to the back of the green for three. Cliff is short of the green for three, chips onto the green for four. I chip onto the green for four but a long way from the flag. My putt first and I leave it short of the hole for five, Paul gives me the next shot, in for six. Paul is next and has a 20 meter putt from the back of the green down to the front. Strokes it nicely, tracking, tracking, getting close, still on line, hits the pin and drops in the hole four a birdie four. Cliff picks up, he can't do better than that. It is all up to Brent to make his four from about four meters. Brent eyes up the putt, steps in makes a good stroke, tracking to the hole, starts losing speed and curls to the right, just shaving the hole.

We have lost, 5 down/4 to play. Cliff knocked us down and Paul finished us off with a miraculous putt. Hats off to Paul and Cliff. I asked Paul how much he wanted for the lesson they had just given us. I bought him his drink which he said tasted all the sweeter since I had bought it for him.

Short post mortem: last week we had five birdies between Brent and I. This week none. Our physical handicaps cost us dearly on the day.


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