The Year after the Golf Conflict Issue

After making the decision to leave the Golf Club near Thames I just played green fee games and a few tournaments for the rest of the year. I played in a 54 hole Tournament at the Golf Club near Maramarua and had a very good tournament winning a nice prize and getting some real enjoyment from the people I played with. I played green fees games at the Golf Club near Te Aroha and the Golf Club near Hauraki Plains where I had been a member at when I first moved down this way. About a month after I stopped going to the Golf Club near Thames, the local Head Master from the school near the Thames Coast rang me up for a game at the golf club near Thames on a Sunday Morning like he had always done when things were good for me at the Golf Club near Thames. He said “Are you playing golf today?” I said “Yes”. He then said “What time you want to play at the Golf Club near Thames today?” I then said “I don’t go to the Golf Club near Thames anymore but am happy to have a game with you at the Golf Club near Te Aroha or the Golf Club near the Hauraki Plains”. He then said “he didn’t want to travel that far today, but said he would ring me for a game at another course sometime soon”. To this day I have never had a phone call, email or text from him. It appears to me he wasn’t the friend I thought he was. Maybe he just saw me as a guy he could have a game with and when I left the club that he was a member at he wanted nothing more to do with me? Or maybe because he was a Rugby Referee and he was in contact with the Local Painter near Thames who was also the president of the Rugby Club near Thames and the person that I the disagreement with, and I feel he told him some really bad things about me that weren’t true and this might of influenced him in his decision to cease contact with me?

 

The Local Head Master from the school near the Thames Coast

Actually after not playing with him I didn’t really miss it. He used to never put in his bad rounds which meant he had a false handicap that showed he was better than what he thought he was. He used to try and knock my confidence with his psychology he learnt from teaching. Like when I told him if I had scored a great round the day before he wouldn’t talk about it. When he was defaulted in the 4BBB in 2011 with his son he told me he was going to leave the club and join the golf club near Hauraki Plains but he never did. Also he used to always go onto me about how the course rating at the Golf Club near Thames was too low and caused people’s handicaps to go out too fast. When I wrote letters to the committee about the issue he then told me when he found out about it to stop writing the letters. I also gave him a pamphlet on how the handicap system works and then saw him a few days later and asked him what he thought about it and he said to me “I haven’t read it yet”. If he was really keen on getting the handicap rating changed he would have read it and asked me questions about what he read. An old guy I knew for a long time always told me the definition of the Teacher is “A Man when with boys, but turns in to a boy when with Men”. I can relate this to the local Head Master from the school near the Thames Coast. I can relate this saying to him by when he said to me “How the course rating was too low at the Golf Club near Thames and it is causing everyone’s handicap to go out too quickly.” In his eyes I was the Boy and he was the Man”. But when I took the issue to the committee which in this case would be the Man in the saying, the local Head Master from the school near the Thames Coast had now become the boy and would not stand up to the Man which was the Committee. And because the Committee which in this case was the Man said “The existing rating is correct and I was wrong saying it was not right”. His opinion on the course rating issue had now become the same as the man which was the Committee in this case and he told me in a threatening manner to cut out writing the letters.

Not long after I left the Golf Club near Thames I got an email reply to the weekly Golf Blog I write from a past school teacher at the Local High School in Thames who was also a member at the Golf Club near Thames. It read “Dear Me,

Dramas seem to be flying aplenty at the golf club these

days; including the Local Truck Dispatcher abusing the ex – Duty Shop Manager on the course.  The gos is that some shit went down between you and

the Local Painter at the Golf Club near Thames and that now you are shooting thru to Tahuna; what

gives?  It will be the club's loss if you go.

 

I am over the committee thing; too much weird shit.

All the best,

a past school teacher at the Local High School in Thames”

 
The past school teacher at the Local High School
in Thames (Second row, six in from the left hand side)

He always used to be a bit sarcastic towards me like whenever I saw him on the course he would wave at me or yell out to me. One time he rang me up because it was the last Saturday of the month to qualify for the Shootout and he had rung the golf club for a tee time. The Duty Manager had told him it was Orange Ball Partners Day today and you couldn’t put in a round for the Shootout. He then rang me up and said to me “The Duty Manager is stopping me from putting a shootout qualifying round in”. I said “just turn up and tell him you are playing your shootout round and putting your shootout round in”. I then rang the Treasurer at the Golf Club near Thames and told him that the Duty Manager is stopping the past school teacher at the Local High School in Thames from putting his shootout round in and asked the Treasurer at the Golf Club near Thames if he could ring the past school teacher at the Local High School in Thames and tell him he could play his final shootout qualifying round today. I did this because I knew the Treasurer at the Golf Club near Thames had employed the Duty Manager and he wouldn’t like him talking to the members like this. The Treasurer at the Golf Club near Thames rang the past school teacher at the Local High School in Thames and told him he was quite within his rights to play his shootout qualifying round today. But the past school teacher at the Local High School in Thames said he had already started to do something else now. 

The Treasurer at the Golf Club near Thames rang me back and told me he had rung the past school teacher at the Local High School in Thames and explained to him he could play his shootout qualifying round today but he had now committed himself to something else. I then rang up the past school teacher at the Local High School in Thames and he told me the same thing he told the Treasurer at the Golf Club near Thames. The next day I went out to the Golf Club near Thames for a game and the past school teacher at the Local High School in Thames was doing his volunteer shift in the Golf Shop. I said “The Duty Manager at the Golf Club near Thames didn’t treat you very well yesterday did he?” He replied “Just dropped the issue, it wasn’t his fault!”. I thought back to the old guy I knew for a long time that always told me the definition of the Teacher is a “A Man when with boys, but turns in to a boy when with Men”. I can relate this also to the past school teacher at the Local High School in Thames by when he rang me up angry saying he couldn’t play his shootout qualifying round the day before I was the boy and he was the man, but when I brought the Treasurer at the Golf Club near Thames in to the issue the past school teacher at the Local High School in Thames then became the boy and the Treasurer at the Golf Club near Thames became the man. And the past school teacher at the Local High School in Thames then told me just dropped the issue and told me he would have to have a good round in the following months qualifying. 

Just before Christmas I got an email from the Treasurer at the Golf Club near Thames and it read: “Hi

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

 

Lot of people ask me if I am coming back to the golf club near Thames - Hope so I tell them.

 

We have a new Board now with only 9 people - quite a few changes. President – The Local Lawyer from Thames, The Local Farms Supply Agent - Vice President and Match Committee, An Ex – Bank Worker - Secretary, Myself, A retired Farmer, A bike shop owner - Sponsors and 

Advertising, The Local Cater at the Golf Club near Thames - Ladies Club Captain and as yet no Mens Captain 

although an Ex Foundry Worker is looking after Saturdays and Competitions.

 

Hopefully we can get a better structure sorted out. The Local Lawyer from Thames - President, like 

myself thought your situation was badly handled but it was the Match 

Committees decision to make and the fact that you were the only one that 

didn't turn up on the day and the Local Painter from Thames uncoperative stance that led to a 

bad decision.

 

I would hope you do come back to the Club - you would be very welcomed. 

Don't let a few people dictate to you. The final decision will be yours 

but I look forward to you being Club Champion next year.

 

Kind Regards

The Treasurer at the Golf Club near Thames.”

 
The
Treasurer at the Golf Club near Thames

I took this email as a bit of sarcasm when he said I was the only player that didn’t turn up on the day, because I know that a lot of the other players never turned up to play their matches on the day that I was defaulted for not turning up. They arranged to play their matches on the following day or the next Saturday because of the dangerous weather that was hitting the course that day and they also had common sense. But because there was friction between me and the local painter from Thames. I felt that ringing him to ask if I we could play our match the next day or the following Saturday would be no good because I knew I couldn’t reason with the Local painter from Thames and also knew he had a lack of common sense. And I was sure he was out to get me for the first thing he could to get me back for not turning up at the golf club near Waihi for pennants when he had dropped me from the team anyway. So when the Treasurer at the Golf Club near Thames wrote that I was the only one that never turned up on the day. I felt this was a stupid comment to make because he didn’t actually know the true facts of the situation and I believe he wasn’t even present at the course that day. I also saw a huge act of sarcasm from the Treasurer at the golf club near Thames when I was on the committee at the Golf Club near Thames in 2012. The Ladies Club Captain who was also the past cleaner at the Golf Club near Thames had gone and got $150 worth of sponsorship from three local businesses in Thames to sponsor the hole in one hole for the Club Opening day. The month before the Treasurer at the Golf Club near Thames had said to the committee that trying to get sponsorship from Local Businesses in Thames was like in his words “Trying to flog a dead horse!!”.  

At the next months committee meeting in her Ladies Club Captains report she reported that she had gone out and got $150 worth of sponsorship for the opening day tournament. I myself thought this was a good effort and sincerely congratulated her. On the other hand the Treasurer at the Golf Club near Thames who at the previous committee meeting said “that trying to get sponsorship from Local Businesses in Thames was like in his words “Like trying to flog a dead horse!!”.  Then The Treasurer at the Golf Club near Thames showed a disappointing act of sarcasm but clapping his hands loudly and yelling in a raised voice saying “ Well done the the Ladies Club Captain at the Golf Club near Thames”. When the rest of us on the committee knew that he didn’t mean what he was saying at all.  

After contemplating going back to join the Golf Club near Hauraki Plains, I decided to have a game back at the Golf Club near Maramarua just after Christmas. I played a green fee game with two golfers from the Golf Club near Huntly and really enjoyed it again. And I had a good score that made me feel good. I knew this Golf Club was affiliated to the association near Auckland and my three previous clubs had been affiliated to the association near Waikato. As I am originally from Auckland and I knew that half the members of the club near Maramarua were from Auckland I was seriously thinking about joining there. So in early in January I went up there and joined.  

A few days before I joined the Golf Club near Maramarua, I played in a 72 hole tournament at the Golf Club near Waihi and on the last day as I was waiting for prize giving I was sitting with two guys who were members at a golf club in south Waikato. They asked me what club I was a member at and I had to say “The Golf Club near Thames” as I hadn’t yet joined the Golf Club near Maramarua. They then said to me “Do I know the Golfer who plays there who is also the Local Painter in Thames?” I replied “Yes” but I didn’t say anything bad about him. They replied “He is a Bad Sport” and then they told me why. They said “Back in 2008 they made the division three pennants final in the Waikato and there opposition was Thames. One of them said he was playing the Local Painter from Thames in the singles and it was the deciding match in a very close final. He said he had never witnessed such bad sportsmanship from a grown man!!!”. He said “He would walk off the tee before all the players had teed off and he talked in a very abusive manner to him, etc”.  The golf club near Thames managed to win that Match and got promoted to division two the following year. I believed it was the un sportsman like behaviour from the Local Painter in Thames that helped them win rather than their good play. I replied back to them by saying “I had experienced that behaviour from the Local Painter in Thames in a Club Champs Match both times I played him”. It was refreshing to know that my opinion on the Local Painter at the Golf Club near Thames was the same opinion that a lot of other Golfers had of him and it confirmed to me that leaving the Golf Club near Thames was my best Option because If I went back he would just make my golfing life a misery!!

 

The Golf Club near Maramarua

The second Saturday in January I went up to have my first game on a Saturday there in the Club Scramble. I got the tee times wrong and arrived at 10:30am and didn’t realise you had to turn up before 8am for 8am tee off. I just had a game on my own which was okay. A good friend of mine who is a devoted Christian and I had known for a few years was also a member there and had just moved into the old green keepers house on the course. He was walking back to his house to put his gear away as I was just starting the back nine. I hadn’t seen him in a few years and I told him I have joined this club now. He said “come up and have a drink in the club house after my round”. Also one of the members I played with in the 54 hole Tournament a few months before hand shock my hand and said “Well done for joining this Club”. And another guy I had played with before at the Club said “I might as well join the club” I replied “I already have”. He replied “That is very good”.

After I had finished my round and I was walking past the club house the friend of mine who is a devoted Christian and I had known for a few years yelled out of the club house window “Come and have a drink after you have put your clubs away” so I did. The day before I joined the Golf Club near Maramarua one of the low handicappers in the club had suddenly pasted away unexpected. And most of the members had gone to a memorial services that morning and were playing at the special time of 1pm. The friend of mine who is a devoted Christian and I had known for a few years and few other members had teed off at the normal time of 8am because they never knew about it. It was good for me to go up and have a drink with only a few members in the club house because as I am quite a shy person. I walked up the stairs to the club house and the friend of mine who is a devoted Christian and I had known for a few years had already brought me a drink. He introduced me to all the members that were present in the club house and made me feel very welcome. This is a feeling I had not felt for a long time because at my previous golf club there was always tension in the air!!!

I asked the friend of mine who is a devoted Christian and I had known for a few years how the Saturday Scramble golf works at my new club. He said “In the summer time they tee – off from 8am and players start turning up from 7:30am. Everybody is teed off within the hour. When you first play on a Saturday they give you a name tag and every Saturday once you have got your card and paid for the scramble you grab your name tag from the board and put it on the table and the starters for the day put the names on the starters board and you play in the group you are put in. If you are in a match you tee off first and there is no arrangement with your opponent like what was happening at my previous club I belonged to because the match committee decided your tee off time so what happened at my previous club would never happen at my new club!!”.

So my first time ever playing the Saturday Scramble at the Golf Club near Maramarua they made me up a name tag straight away. I was put in the second group off the first tee. For my first game in the Club Saturday Scramble I was paired with the reigning club match play champion, an engineer and the pennant selector. I enjoyed there company and I scored in the mid 70’s which was a good round for me. After the round I noticed the club house was full with people and this was because everyone in the scramble had teed off within an hour of each other. At my previous club some people teed off at 8am and others at 12:30pm and when we came in the Club House there was no one in there for that reason. Plus at my new club the field was away at 9:30am at the latest and that meant that green fee players could tee off from mid morning without upsetting the club players in the Saturday Scramble where as at my previous club with the Saturday Club Golf running from 8:30am till 1pm it didn’t really cater for green fee players that wanted a game and it left huge holes in the field as well. The Duty Manager was forced to put green fee players off in the middle of the Saturday Scramble field and that would frustrate club players that were having a great round and were suddenly slowed up because a group of green fee players was allowed to play off the tenth tee!!  So this showed that my new club had common sense where as my old didn’t have much.

After my round I sat with the players I played with and the player I played with who was the pennant selector asked me if I was keen to play pennants and I said I would. I thought that was a very nice gesture for him to ask me, I said I couldn’t play the first game because I was already committed to a 54 hole tournament at the golf club near Waihi on the same weekend. But I would play the remaining games where required. I went up for another game the next day and told the manager in the golf shop that I like the way you run your club days.

I continued going every Saturday and really enjoyed it and enjoyed playing with different members each week. The Pennant team played their first game of the season against a golf club near Manukau at their home course at the golf course near Maramarua. They really took advantage of the home course advantage and won by an amazing 7 points to one. I went up to the golf club near Maramarua for the Waitangi Day scramble on the following Thursday and I played with the Pennant selector, his brother and his son who all played in the winning team on the Sunday before and won their matches. I said to the pennant selector that he shouldn’t change the team for the second game at the golf club near Howick in two weeks time. I thought by saying that I wouldn’t be seen as an intruder trying to force my way into the team. I played in the Saturday Scramble the day before the second pennant game of the season at the golf club near Howick. As I was paying my money and getting my scorecard the long time pennant player and also a local farmer at the Golf Club near Maramarua said to me “Don’t you want to play pennants for us? Why not drive to my place and we will travel together?” . My reply was that I did want to play but you don’t change a winning team. After my round that Saturday I went up to sit with the friend of mine who is a devoted Christian and I had known for a few years and as I was walking to get there the reigning club match play champion who I had played with in my first ever Saturday scramble game at the Golf Club near Maramarua said to me “How come you aren’t playing tomorrow?” I replied “You don’t change a winning team and also jokingly said it is too early to get up” His reply was in a friendly Manner and was “If you don’t start playing we are going to give you more harassment than you got at the golf club near Thames”. I knew he was only joking but I now knew I would make a big effort to play the third game if I was selected. Before I left that day I went and wished the pennant selector, his brother and his son all the best for their second pennant game at the golf club near Howick tomorrow.

The next day after I had played just a practise round at the golf club near Maramarua I checked my cellphone and there was a text from one of the players in the team that I consider to be a good friend of mine. He said they had beaten the golf club near Howick’s team on their home course 4.5 to 3.5!! It was the best start they had had to the season in many years!! The following Saturday I was in the club house and I was sitting next to the good friend of mine who also plays in the pennant team and I asked him if he knew who was in the pennant team for the next week for the third round of the season? He said “I believe you are”. I was playing with his father who was also in the pennant team in the scramble that day and he asked me if I had played the Golf Club near Pakuranga before because that is where the next game is being played? I said “I had a couple of times but years ago”.

On the Tuesday of the next week I got a text from the Pennant selector telling me the time for the pennants at the golf club near Pakuranga on the Sunday coming and by getting this I knew I had made the team. The next Saturday I was playing a handicap match play semi – final and I won the game easily and scored 74 off the stick which was my best round to date in the Saturday scrambles since I had been a member there at the golf club near Maramarua. When I was up in the Club House the pennant selector gave me a brand new pennant shirt to wear tomorrow. I was sitting with the good friend of mine who also plays in the pennant team and I told him the long time pennant player and also a local farmer at the Golf Club near Maramarua hadn’t told me where he wants me to wait to be picked up tomorrow. When the long time pennant player and also a local farmer at the Golf Club near Maramarua came into the club house the good friend of mine who also plays in the pennant team asked him where he wants me to wait to be picked up tomorrow? The long time pennant player and also a local farmer at the Golf Club near Maramarua told me “Lyons Road” at 7:50am.

I turned up at “Lyons Road” at 7:50am and we arrived at the golf club near Pakuranga on time. I was playing number eight in my first pennant game for the golf club near Maramarua and the good friend of mine who also plays in the pennant team was playing number seven so we were in the same group. I got off to a bad start and was three down at the turn. I fell to four down after 11 holes and my situation looked hopeless when I halved the next two holes and was now four down with five holes to play. The good friend of mine who also plays in the pennant team’s opponent walked off on the 13th hole conceding him the match. He stayed on to give me support and his encouragement inspired me and I went on to win the next five holes and win the match one up!! The team halved the match with Pukekohe four points all!! And Maramarua were still on top of the points table after three rounds. I went in the club house afterwards and the whole team was in good spirits!!

The following Saturday I was playing the good friend of mine who also plays in the pennant team in the tray handicap match play final and I think I must of inspired him with my coming from behind win in my first game of pennants the previous Sunday because he scored his equal best score ever at the golf club near Maramarua which was 71 one under par!! He beat me 5&4. But I was happy for him and knew that I had to be really playing awesome golf if I was to match him that day. We went in the club house and I brought him a drink for winning the match. The friend of mine who is a devoted Christian and I had known for a few years was playing in the other tray final that day and afterwards in the club house he showed me how to play some of the tough holes at the golf club near Pukekohe where the fourth pennant game of the season was being played tomorrow. He showed me by drawing it on a piece of paper. The next day I drove up to Lyons Road again and got a ride with the long time pennant player and also a local farmer at the Golf Club near Maramarua. We arrived at the golf club near Pukekohe on time. I was playing number eight again and the good friend of mine who also plays in the pennant team was playing number seven so we were in the same four again. I had a very good front nine and turned four up; I eventually won the match 4 & 3 which made me very happy!! The Maramarua team had their first loss of the season but it was still a good game with us gaining 3.5 points to the golf club near Pakuranga’s 4.5 but we were still leading!! The team in the club house afterwards were in good spirits!!

I got another text from the pennant selector on the Tuesday night confirming I was in the team to play the golf club near Auckland Airport at the golf club near Remuera on the Sunday coming up. I arrived at the golf club near Maramarua the following Saturday and saw the long time pennant player and also a local farmer at the Golf Club near Maramarua to see what time he wanted me at Lyons Road tomorrow? He said he is not sure if he is playing and to see the son of the current President to get a ride up to the golf club near Remuera. I saw the son of the current President after my game and we exchanged cellphone numbers. He said to meet him in the golf club near Maramarua carpark around 6:30am and we would go up to the golf club near Remuera from there. I meet him in the carpark at the golf club near Maramarua at 6:30 am and drove up to the golf club near Maramarua. His Father who was also the president of the Golf Club near Maramarua also came to caddie for his son. We arrived at the golf club near Remuera just after 7:30am. The weather turned shocking throughout the round with high winds and very heavy rain!! And the golf club near Auckland Airport decided to play six of their players from the top team because they had a bye and I thought that was very un sportsman like and not in the spirit of the game. They ended up beating us 8-0!! I lost my game 3&2 to my opponent but I fought back well after a poor start. And that basically ended any of our hopes of making the semi finals!!

The next Saturday I went to the Scramble at the Golf Club near Maramarua and all the players in the Pennant Team that played in the game the previous Sunday at the golf club near Remuera against the golf club near the Auckland Airport were chatting about how we got cheated. But our pennant selector told us to move on and get ready for the next game in four weeks time. The Saturday before the game at the golf club near Auckland Airport verse the golf club near Onewhero. I was playing another first round match in another handicap match play competition at the club. I played a very nice older man and played a great round of golf and scored 75 to win the match 6&4. I had arranged to by text to get a ride with the son of the current President at the golf club near Maramarua and I was to meet him at 6:30am in the carpark at the golf club near Maramarua and we were to travel up to the golf club near Auckland Airport. I meet him at 6:30am on the Sunday Morning and we arrived at the golf club near Auckland Airport at about 7:20am but we had to wait till 9am till we teed off. It was annoying because if we had know we weren’t going to tee off till then were would of left later.

I was playing number eight again and the good friend of mine who also plays in the pennant team was playing number seven so we were in the same group. I played good and won my match 3&2 but the team lost 5.5 - 2.5 and our chances of making the semi finals were definitely over now which was a shame as the first four games of the season we were leading or tied for the lead in the competition. 

The next Saturday I played in the club scramble at the golf club near Maramarua and I had a match against the good friend of mine who also plays in the pennant team. This time it wasn’t a final but again I must have inspired him because he played some awesome golf and scored 71-1 and he beat me 4&3. I was trying out my new set of golf clubs so I wasn’t two disappointed. The following Saturday was club match play champs qualifying, it was different to my previous club with only one qualifying round and then four straight knockout rounds of match play the following four weeks. My qualifying round was very good with scoring 36-1 on the front nine; I struggled a bit on the back nine and scored 39+4 but scored 75+3 for the 18 holes and qualified second. The next day I met the son of the current president at the golf club near Maramarua carpark at 6:40am as I had arranged the day before. We were heading to the golf club near Manakau to play the golf club near Remuera. We arrived there about 7:30am. My opponent was a very good golfer and in a close match he prevailed 3&1 and the team unfortunately lost 6-2. So after a very promising start to the season we eventually finished second to last in our division but we managed to stay in the Captains Division for the 2014 season.

I went up to the golf club near Maramarua the following Saturday to play in the scramble and none of the seniors in the club match play championships had a game in the first round because there was only six players that turned up to qualify the week before. I played with the pennant selector and two new members. I had very good start to my round and was 2 over with four holes to play but couldn’t keep it together and ended up with a score in the high 70’s. But I had a big win in the hidden holes so that made me happy. A couple of Saturdays later I had my semi – final senior club champs match play game. I looked at the radar before I left and knew it must be raining at the golf club near Maramarua but I knew if I didn’t show up I would lose by default which was fair enough, a lot different to my old club. When I was driving up to the golf club near Maramarua I thought I would show them the MetService Website to see the radar on it and how close it was from clearing. When I arrived there and went in the Club House to get my scorecard I saw they already had the website on their computer and were looking at it. At my previous club they wouldn’t even have know how to get that website up. The weather finally cleared at 9am and we were first to tee off the first tee in our semi finals club champs match play game. They played the two Semi – Finals Club Champs match in the same group which I myself feel it is the correct way of doing it. I played a phone line worker and unfortunately he beat me 3&2. I had my chances but never took them.

I went up the following week and played in the scramble and it was also the final of the club championships match play. I played an average game and after my game I went in the club house and the two finalists in the Senior Men’s Championship Match play came and sat with me. I wished the winner who was already the current Club Champion Match Play Champion congratulations for winning and said “Good effort” to the phone line worker for coming runner up. The following week was the first round of qualifying for the Top Dog Trophy Match play. My partner was the friend of mine who is a devoted Christian and I had known for a few years. We qualified in the middle of the draw. In the first round we drew the good friend of mine who also plays in the pennant team and one of the duty managers in the golf shop. It was a very close match but we managed to have a slight edge throughout the match and eventually won on the 16th green, 3&2. We had a drink with our opponents afterwards and they were very gracious in defeat.

The next week in the quarter finals we played a business man and a retired man. We turned two up and went to three up after ten holes. But they fought back well and suddenly we were all square after 15 holes. I then birdied the 16th and 17th holes and we won the match 2&1. We had made the Semi – Finals!! Our opponents were very gracious in defeat. We shared a drink with them in the Club House just as we had done the week before. Our Opponents for the Semi – Final the following week were a Phone Line Worker and a Storeman. We got off to a bad start falling three down after five holes but our opponents were two under par!! I birdied the par three sixth to get it back to two down. We halved the next three holes to make the turn at two down. We halved the next two holes to still remain at two down. Then we won the 12th and 13th holes to get back to even with five holes to play. We halved the next hole. But the store man won the 16th hole and suddenly we found ourselves one down with two to play. We halved the 17th hole and we were still one down with one to play. But I made an excellent birdie up the last to make the match all square!! So we headed back to the first for extra holes. We were both looking good for pars but the store man went one better and made a birdie to win the match. We congratulated them and wished them all the best for the final next week.

In the middle of the year my car needed a CV Joint replacement and my Dad suggested I take the car to the Son of the best Man at his wedding many years ago. The Son of the best Man at his wedding many years ago had his own mechanical business in the town near Thames and could replace CV Joints. Dad rang him up and he said to bring the car in next time I am coming to the town near Thames. I took the car into see him and arranged a time to get the CV Joints replaced. When I arrived there the Local Painter from Thames also was there getting something done on his van. I hadn’t come this close to him since I left the golf club near Thames. He was just leaving with his repaired Van. His reaction towards me was still the same by just staring at me. I spoke to the Son of the best Man at my parents wedding many years ago and he said he would replace both CV’s the following Thursday. He took all the required details to order the CV Joints. I took my car to him early on the Thursday Morning as he requested. Dad came over and picked me up so I didn’t have to wait with him. Dad dropped me back to pick my car up before I had to start work.

A couple of days later I noticed the idling speed of my car had increased and I couldn’t work out why? Dad rang up the Son of the best Man at his wedding many years ago and he said to bring the car in the next day and he would have a look at it. I did and he did a computer check on the engine but it came up with nothing wrong. He said to bring it in the next day and he would replace a part that he thought it could be. When I told Dad about what he was going to do he suggested to not to go back to him because he thought he was trying to cheat me. Dad said “We will find another Mechanic to fix it. The next day I noticed a clicking noise starting to develop when I turned the steering wheel for a right or left turn. It got worse in the days ahead and we thought that is the noise that you start to hear when the CV Joints wear out on the car but that should not be happening because the Son of the best Man at my parents wedding many years ago who has the mechanical business in the town near Thames replaced them just a couple of weeks earlier!! So now I had two problems with my car which were a fast idle and CV joints needing replacing and I believe both were caused by the Son of the best Man at my parents wedding many years ago who has the mechanical business in the town near Thames. What I believed happened was the Local Painter from Thames when he saw me drive into the Son of the best Man at my parents wedding many years ago who has the mechanical business in the town near Thames that day. The Local Painter from Thames after he left phoned the Son of the best Man at my parents wedding many years ago who has the mechanical business in the town near Thames and said to him “Am I getting my car repaired by him”? The Son of the best Man at my parents wedding many years ago who has the mechanical business in the town near Thames would of replied “Yes, Why”? Then the Local Painter from Thames would have replied “Don’t do the repair properly because that guy needs to be taught a lesson”! The Son of the best Man at his wedding many years ago who has the mechanical business in the town near Thames would of then asked the Local Painter from Thames why are you talking like this?” and he would of replied “He left the pennant team at the Golf Club near Thames a player short last season in one game and made us look silly!!” and he would of also said some more horrible things about me.

 

The Local Painter from Thames

I believe the local Painter at the Golf Club near Thames was the reason why my CV Joints weren’t replaced properly and the idling speed of the motor increased were because the Son of the best Man at my Parents wedding many years ago who has the mechanical business in the town near Thames was influenced by the Local Painter at the Golf Club near Thames to sabotage my car repairs when he did them. It ended up costing me over three times the price to get the CV Joints and fast idle fixed. This proofed to me that even though I had left the Golf Club near Thames the local Painter at the Golf Club near Thames was still out to get me and bring me down or Sabotage anything I own and the best thing for me to do was to stay well clear of him at all times!!

In the middle of the year the golf club near Maramarua had an interclub with the golf club near Tahuna and the golf club near Hauraki Plains. The three clubs played on the golf club near the Hauraki Plains and I was surprised how many players from the golf club near Maramarua supported it. Comparing it to my last year at the golf club near Thames where we couldn’t get enough players to even make a team up. The Club Captains had arranged a breakfast for all the players travelling down from Auckland in his place that is near the golf club by Maramarua. I didn’t go because I travel up the other way. It was done on the best average stableford for all the teams and the golf club near Maramarua won by the slightest of margins!! It was the first time we had won it in years!! And we all had a team photo afterwards.

The next Saturday I went up to the Scramble just like I always usually do and the good friend of mine who also plays in the pennant team was playing the Store man who I lost to in the Top Dog Semi – Final in a handicap match play final. The good friend of mine who also plays in the pennant team turned up ready to play but the store man was home in bed sick with the flu. The good friend of mine who also plays in the pennant team was very sorry that the store man didn’t turn up and generally wanted to play the final match but because the rules of the golf say “that the player who turns up ready to play and his opponent has not, then the player who turned up has won the game by default”. So the good friend of mine who also plays in the pennant team was awarded the handicap match play title by default. All the members in the club that had played there for years didn’t make a deal about it because they knew that that was the rules of golf. And also all the store men’s mates never tried to tell the good friend of mine who also plays in the pennant team that he should wait till the store men’s well and play the final at a later date. This was a completely different to my previous club because when this happened to one of their mates and I was playing them and they didn’t turn up they would just say “Play him next week or when he has some spare time”. But if the boot was on the other foot and I never turned up then I would be defaulted with no questions asked and they would just laugh at me next time I came face to face with them. So this confirmed to me more that the club I now belong to plays by the rules of golf compared to my previous club who make up the rules as they go to suit their mates!!

In mid November the golf club near Maramarua that I am a member at held a competition where if you could land your golf ball in a two metre circle you would earn three balls in the grand final which would be held after the prize giving at the Christmas Open in early December. It cost $5 for three balls and $10 for six balls. Also if you qualified for the final you got $20 back for doing it!! It was on Saturdays after the scramble and on week nights when there were twilights on. Nearly everybody in the club had at least one go at it. I managed to get one in to qualify for the final. There were eight of us in the final after the Christmas Open prize giving and I drew the short straw and had to go first. The best I could do with my three balls was six feet from the flag stick and I came third out of eight golfers but it wasn’t enough to win one of the two big prizes that were on offer but I enjoyed the concept of the competition and will certainly give it a go next year. My previous club would never have had the imagination to dream up a concept like this and even if some did dream up the idea someone else of importance would quick knock it back and say “That will never work!!”

So not only had I joined a club that played by the rules fair and square they also had great imagination to dream up competitions like I just mentioned and had people who would work together and volunteer their time to make sure they did work!!

The first Saturday in December was the AGM at the Golf Club near Maramarua and the way they did it was everyone was to attend because the Scramble wasn’t to begin till after the AGM had been completed. At my previous club they used to hold the AGM on a week day night meaning there would be a poor attendance. But at my new Golf Club they had a very large attendance and I feel that it was because they did it before the scramble on a Saturday. So that was another reason why the committee at the Golf Club near Maramarua had more common sense than my previous club.

They also ran their 54 hole tournament much better than my previous club in my opinion because they seeded the draw for the Sunday on the scores from the first round on Saturday meaning that the players who had the lowest scores on Saturday were playing last on Sunday, just like the PGA Tour do. But at my previous club they would just say you are playing in the same group on Sunday to Saturday which I myself thought was very lazy!! And one time at my previous club I was leading the gross after the first round and teed off in one of the early groups on Sunday when I should have been teeing off last with the people that had the same scores as me and we even had five players in our group because there was an extra player!! This also reinforced to me that the Golf Club near Maramarua were more focused on the proper playing of a 54 Hole Tournament where my previous club was just treating it as weekend where there mates were just meeting up with each other to have a good laugh!!

The Golf Club near Maramarua also had a much better way of running their Christmas Open with it being a shot gun start at 9:30am meaning they used every tee and everyone finished relatively at the same time. And the prize – giving was held around 2:30pm. Where at my previous club it was always a rolling start from 8:30am to 12noon and the prize – giving wasn’t till after 6pm and this meant that people that teed off at 8:30am would be finished and ready for prize giving around 1pm but would have to wait another five hours to get their prize if they played well. Whereas at the Golf Club near Maramarua everyone would finish almost at the same time and not have to wait hours to get their prize if they played well because prize – giving was straight afterwards and be free to do something else with their afternoon. Considering that both Christmas Tournaments had around 100 starters in them I feel the shot gun start was a much better concept than a rolling start. As the Christmas Open in every golf club is always the biggest one day tournament of the year it needs to be run with a lot of thought put into it. Again it show me that golf club near Maramarua’s Golf Committee had more common sense than my previous clubs one.

The good friend of mine who is a devoted Christian and I had known for a few years said to me “that the people at your previous club who were very nasty to you and displayed a lot of animosity towards you and drove you away from the club would be judged by God and made accountable for their actions”. But he also said “I would have to forgive them for what they did to me as well”.