One of the pleasures missing in being based in UK to report on golf is the joy of playing golf once a month with many long-time friends living in Sydney.
Four fellows, loosely referred to as the ‘Four Founding Fathers’, headed south of Sydney in March 1979 to play golf …. well, that’s what they told us!
From this journey to Bowral, and the home of cricketing great Donald Bradman, the Laurel’s Social Golf Club was born. The club also adopted Bradman’s name in awarding the Bradman Trophy each month to the player with the ‘highest score’ – not a trophy you want to take home!
Numbers grew and it was not wanting to be left all on my lonesome in the Sports Bar of the Bridgeview Hotel I found myself also getting into golf.
So it was a special pleasure to join the fellows earlier this month for their December meeting and the club’s 425th round of golf on a very hot Sydney Sunday morning at the Muirfield Golf Club to the north-west of the city.
It was the second occasion in 2013 I got to play a golf course named Muirfield after having played the namesake course to the east of Edinburgh in the annual R & A Open Championship media outing.
And despite ‘going under the knife’ the day before to remove a small mark on my forehead and then managing to get about just three hours sleep, I started birdie, par, par and finished the day the leading Stableford points scorer with 39 points.
Unfortunately, I was the Secretary of the club at the time when we brought in a rule that visitors could not win any of the club prizes.
So it was with pleasure to congratulate playing partner Dave Knudsen who came home in top place with 38 points and walked out of the club proudly clutching a gold coloured carton of Carton and United Breweries finest larger.
Despite the heat it was a great day and great also to catch-up with so many life-long friends.
Well done again to Club Captain, Wayne Price for his continuing superb input and to new club secretary, John ‘Jack’ Jandura for his enthusiastic work and selection of tasty cakes before tee off.
Good luck to everyone in the club’s 35th anniversary year.
* Click on snaps to enlarge.
