The Part-Time Golfer: Harey Cup 2013

So, having got up at sparrow-fart o'clock to catch my flight to Malaga, I'm pleased to report that EasyJet did their jobs very well & we arrived on time, complete with luggage. After a short transfer to the hotel at La Cala (pre-booked with ziptransfers.com, in case you are interested) we checked in with minimal fuss and the man on the desk also booked us our afternoon practice round on Campo Asia.

We deliberately chose this course as we felt it had the most detail to learn ahead of Sunday's singles matches. I paired up with roomie Mark to take on the brothers Hare, the lowest handicap players in the group and certainly the most regular & consistent golfers amongst us.

As it transpired, Mark & I gelled pretty well, producing some half decent scores and taking advantage of some uncharacteristically wayward play from our opponents to find ourselves 6-up after 6 holes. A couple of par halves took us to the 9th hole, a tricky par 5 with a large waste area at almost exactly driver length off the tee. Deciding to lay up was the sensible choice; slicing my hybrid into the cabbage some 70 yards short of the waste area certainly wasn't. A fairly undignified hack out followed, my ball living a charmed life as it just found the next stretch of fairway, leaving me about 110yds to a tight pin. A punched wedge arrowed it's way towards the flag, the ball biting on the lush green and coming to a rest some four feet from the cup. Rolling in the putt for a pretty ropey birdie put Mark & I 7-up at the turn and, whilst we gave a hole back on the 10th (after a textbook birdie from Nick) and then halved the tricky 11th, the dog licence victory was to be confirmed with a birdie half on the next hole, the circumstances around which Nick will probably be fuming about for weeks to come.

Nick, Mark and Julian all hit fantastic drives into the heart of the fairway, leaving themselves a wedge into the shallow green protected by a pond in front. I, however, chose to make use of the facilities and, having pulled my drive up the right, discovered it had bounced down the cart path and come to a halt less than two yards from the pond, leaving me just a lob wedge to find the green. Mark dumped his in the drink, Julian overcooked into the rough and Nick produced a sublime approach, his ball spinning back to just five feet. Faced with an interesting lie (but thankful for having escaped a watery grave) I managed to put a positive strike on the ball and put it inside Nick's - two sunk birdie putts later and we were shaking hands on a 7&6 win for Mark and myself.

We then trundled through the final third of the course, picking up some valuable info for Sunday as some of the holes are pretty tight and tricky and tight off the tee. It's a visually stunning course, with elevation changes on every hole forcing you to think carefully about your yardages and making appropriate adjustments. The greens were receptive and the fairways in good condition, although the grass takes some getting used to, particularly with wedge shots, as it does tend to disintegrate on impact.

All in all, a good day of golf - some good play and some atrocious play, but all valuable experience ahead of Friday morning and the start of the Harey Cup.

Bring it on.

I am the Part-Time Golfer