Match report from the Skins
The founding “Player’s Rep Skins” event was one of the most enjoyable events on the 2010 calendar and I was very much looking forward to the 2011 competition. The format favours those Society Members who have natural flair and the nerve to go for every shot because, in my opinion, there is absolutely no point in shooting a net par round of eighteen 2 pointers. The format requires; full beans off the tee, soaring, majestic long irons, pitching in, sinking long puts and leaving nothing short – 100% of short putts don’t go down. It is the Tour Event aimed at the real men in the society, not the mice.
In 2010 Ronnie had organised a WHV Banner (and a Brown and Cooper one), a very, very entertaining Pedro Master Class (check the video), society photographs, personalised score cards, a straightest drive line down the centre of the fairway with additional GS Stein and a spot prize (a round with Brown and Coops, which to this day I have no idea if it was ever collected or not, but due to the relaxed nature of the winner (Aust) I assume not and I imagine that the offer has now expired) – what could Juice bring to the PR Skins party I wondered…Well he couldn’t arrange a Pedro Master Class, because Pedro had bailed at the last minute – pulled his hamstring playing soccer down the park with some local urchins apparently – or perhaps he bailed due to the nightmares that still haunt him from the last time we played at Ingon on Tour and the lost ball expenses he incurred or perhaps it was just a continuation of the current level of commitment he is affording the WHVGS in 2011, after Noz conspired against him at the 2010 AGM, or perhaps it is the embarrassment that he is yet to pay his 2011 Membership subs (I Hall is the only other “regular” still owing his 2011 tenner), or perhaps he has had his head turned by a girl, we shall never truly know, all we do know is that he didn’t show up and gave minimal notice – very disappointing.
Juice couldn’t do the straightest drive for the Stein because the TD nabbed that prize for the Gibbon, when he failed to get the line marked on the first fairway. The WHV banner was not visible and nor was the Brown and Cooper banner and there was no group photo – largely down to the poor attendance….However, make no mistake, Bruce delivered, no question about that, he delivered a tight, hard fought, nip and tuck competition, won by a worthy winner, he delivered £40 of hard cash into the sustainable funding model, he delivered a Sponsor’s spot price opening himself up to 35 quid of personal exposure, he delivered some superb steak and mushroom pies – albeit served in an sauna – he delivered a new WHVGS Tour air-loom, in the form of an engraved pewter hip flask, the PR Skins Engraved Pewter Hip Flask – excellent stuff.
The 8 entrants met in the Ingon Greenhouse and after consuming the excellent pies (including a couple of spares due to the late drop outs…) they headed to the first, still discussing and debating the format, (Aust tried to hire a buggy, to no avail), should the drawn skins be carried forward to the next hole, should spot prizes be included as skins at all, what spot prizes should be played for at all, etc.. etc.. blah, blah – Sense finally prevailed and to my delight, we kept the traditional format.
Skins do not carry forward and spot prizes (in this case just the Dog and Shark) count as skins – 20 skins up for grabs. Juice also personally stumped up £5 a man for anyone who could drive and hold the 310 yard, downhill, par 4, 4th. Some people were close(ish), but ultimately Bruce’s dough was safe.On the tricky 18th Noz and I, after a couple of excellent drives avoiding both the drink and the traps – discussed at length whether it was a full hammer 56 degree or 60 degree shot to pop it over the bunker protecting the front of the green, with a bit of check and roll up next to the flag for a gross birdie to claim the final skin… This is not the sort of conversation we would have been having a few years ago…
Suffice to say, I pulled my shot, whilst giving it full beans, missing the green by about 30 yards left and had no check, whereas Nozza put his to about 6 foot, he then missed his birdie putt leaving himself about an inch – a putt that he “missed”, due to a twitch whilst addressing the ball to card a 5, Millers almost chipped in, but didn’t.
The attachment (courtesy of the Donk, thanks Donk) shows a hole by hole analysis, of who won each hole or how it was drawn and how the lead changed – it also shows that 13 of the 20 available skins were won, 2 spots and 11 holes were won out-right; 5 won with net Eagles and 6 with net Birdies, 7 holes were halved 4 with net birdies and 3 with net pars and the WHVGS’ collective best score was 20 under the card.
Bruce scored 38 Stapleforth points and had it been a Stapleforth based event he would have won, The TD played as well as many people (including himself) have seen him play for a long, long time and if he could putt, (which he can’t) he would have won, Aust would have won easily had the skins been allocated on a “carry-over” basis, which they weren’t or he had been driving a buggy rather than slogging up and down the hills, Millers claims that he was robbed, Pedro would have probably won, if he hadn’t bailed at the last minute and I got 7 or so blobs and lost about the same number of balls – although Miller in the group behind did find one of my errant “Pres” balls in the deep sh1 te somewhere around the 15th – it’s fair to say that the player who played the most aggressively, taking on the tiger lines and the try to hit every ball as hard as you can approach (with mixed success) was victorious and is now the inaugural holder of the superb PR Skins Engraved Pewter Hip Flask, kindly donated by the 2011 Players Rep, lovely.
The scores on the doors were:·
Champion (3 skins) inc. the Big Dog : £10.00, the PR Skins Engraved Pewter Hip Flask** and the Dog·
Runner-up – Miller (2 Skins) : £6.66·
Third Shark (2 Skins) inc the Shark – Web Donk : £6.66 and the Shark
Other cash prize winners:·
Juice (2 Skins) : £6.66·
Aust (2 Skins) : £6.66·
Bacon (1 Skin) : £3.33·
Nozzer and the TD, no skins.
The PR Skins Engraved Pewter Hip Flask** :
NB – the 2 former organisers of the PR Skins have agreed, which has been ratified by the Board that the following rules should apply to the PR Skins Engraved Pewter Hip Flask:The PR Skins Engraved Pewter Hip Flask, (the “PRSEPHF”), must be present and fuelled up with a suitable, (but undefined), drink of the Holder’s choice with an alcoholic beverage, with a by volume rating of 20% or more, (the only exempted beverage to this rule being port (tawny, aged or otherwise), at the commencement of each round of the Any Austin and WHV Open Championship and at the AGM / End of Season Social and therefore available for anyone to have a “nip” from until it is consumed on that day – It is not mandatory for it to be consumed each day.
It is not compulsory to have the PRSEPHF at any other WHVGS event, but the PRSKPHF can be utilised at any event (WHVGS related or otherwise), that the current holder sees fit. It is also the responsibility of the Holder’s to get the back engraved with winner’s name and the year, this will not be retrospective for 2010 – because the PRSEPHF was not in circulation in 2010.
D Baxter
| Skin | Result | Position |
| Hole 1 | Won by the Web Donk with a net birdie | Donk Winning – 1 skin |
| Hole 2 | Won by Millers with a net eagle | Donk and Millers tied |
| Hole 3 | Won by Pres with a net birdie | Donk and Millers and Pres tied |
| Hole 4 | Won by Pres with a net eagle | Pres Winning – 2 skins |
| Hole 5 | Hole halved by Noz and Bacon with net birdies | |
| Hole 6 | Hole halved by Noz and TD with net pars | |
| Hole 7 | Hole halved by Millers, Pres and TD with net birdies | |
| Hole 8 | Hole won by Aust with a net birdie | Pres still winning |
| Big Dog | Won by Pres | Pres has 3 skins – Donk, Millers and Aust have one each |
| Hole 9 | Hole won by Aust with a net birdie | Pres has 3 skins, Aust has 2, Donk and Millers have one each |
| Hole 10 | Hole won by Bruce with a net eagle | |
| Hole 11 | Hole halved by Donk, Millers, Bruce and Noz with net Pars | |
| Hole 12 | Hole halved by Noz and Millers with net Birdies | |
| Hole 13 | Hole won by Bruce with net eagle | Pres has 3 skins, Aust and Bruce have 2 each, Donk and Millers one each |
| Hole 14 | Hole won by Bacon with net eagle | |
| Hole 15 | Hole halved by Pres and Aust with net pars | |
| Hole 16 | Holed halved by Millers, Aust, Bruce and Bacon with net birdies | |
| Shark | Won by Donk | |
| Hole 17 | Hole halved by Donk and Bruce with net birdies | Pres has 3, Aust, Donk and Bruce have 2 each, Millers and Bacon have one |
| Hole 18 | Hole won by Millers with net Birdie | Pres wins with 3. Millers 2nd on countback, then Donk, Bruce, Aust, Bacon |
WHV Society collective score of 20 under the card.
