Grant Smith helps Simon Mitchell rummage for his ball amongst the 13th hole vegetation. For the record, Mitchell wound up with a quadruple bogey seven.
Once again Stonehaven’s Saturday golf was blessed with fine weather, 88 players taking part in the monthly Innes Medal. The scoring wasn’t as good as the conditions suggested they might be but don’t tell that to Willie Pittendreigh who won Div I with a splendid nett 63 or John Neal winning Div 2 with a nett 62. Div 3 was won by Ally Reid but let’s not put any bunting out for a nett three over par 69 shall we?
I found myself enjoying a long lie for a change ahead of a 9:16 start. I’d usually be on the back nine by then but agreed to a later time when Simon Mitchell pleaded with me to partner with him and Grant Smith. My putting stroke being revered throughout the club, I’ll occasionally fulfil special requests such as this to play with folk who’re struggling with that element of their game. It’s good to give something back.
Mitchell’s stated desire on the first tee was to break 40 over the first nine holes and this he did, parring the 9th to return an admirable 39 for someone of his poor quality. He then snaked a birdie putt into the cup on the 10th sending him into nosebleed territory, he was now +5 with only eight holes remaining. An hour later however, he was signing for a +24 return of 90, haemorrhaging no less than nineteen shots to par over the final few holes. Starting from the eleventh hole, he notched scores of 12,4,7,6,4,6,5,4 in a pantomime Christopher Biggins would be too embarrassed to star in.
Mitchell’s quadruple-double bogey on the 11th was bad enough, three balls out of bounds from the tee followed by six strikes of his fourth effort. More was to come though on the 13th when a duffed tee shot dropped him into the hay thirty yards in front of the tee, and his second attempt barely left the tee box. A few minutes later he was tapping in for a hapless quadruple bogey with the wheels well and truly having fallen off, it really was a pitiful sight.
In his defence, it persuaded me to go minking along the side of the 11th hole the following day, to bolster my own depleted reserves. I found 26 balls no less and will be sure to return Mitchell’s Penfold Commando to him, found in the trees approximately 120 yards from the tee.
Results
Division 1
| 1 | Mr William Pittendreigh | 70 – 7 = 63 |
| 2 | Mr Robert Leggate | 75 – 11 = 64 |
| 3 | Mr Steven Brown | 70 – 5 = 65 |
Division 2
| 1 | Mr John Neal | 78 – 16 = 62 |
| 2 | Mr Craig W Innes | 79 – 15 = 64 |
| 3 | Mr Craig McKechnie | 82 – 17 = 65 |
Division 3
| 1 | Mr Ally Reid | 87 – 18 = 69 |
| 2 | Mr John Christie | 91 – 22 = 69 |
| 3 | Mr Graham Ritchie | 94 – 22 = 72 |