The Difficult 2nd Album – Moortown Golf Club

Nish: 0:01

Every story has an ending. Does our quest to play the top 100 courses in 10 years have a good ending? I’m Nish and I’m Chris.

JTC: 0:11

I’m Jim.

Nish: 0:12

And we’re your hosts, guiding you through this golfing journey. This is the Top 100 in 10 Golf Podcast, episode 6. The Difficult Second Album. This is the story of the follow-up, the second course we played. Our first time was so good, so how do you follow it up? Some of the best performers and acts in the world have struggled with the next one. How would our second course of 100 go? I’m going to hand over to JTC to guide us through it all, because I’ll let you into a bit of a secret. On the drive home, we sat and made some notes and we made a lot of notes. So we do need somebody to expertly navigate us through all of those points. So I couldn’t think of anybody better to do that than you, jtc, oh dear. So over to you. Do your worst, or my best even so.

JTC: 1:12

Moortown, number two of the top 100 over northwest of Leeds north of Leeds, Yep that’s right and we did discuss last time around how Moretown became number two and that was the link between the club pro at Reddish Vale that’s right yeah and Moretown, and so made those introductions and you got to meet. You got to meet the pro.

Nish: 1:44

Eddie. It was Eddie. Yeah, he was the assistant yeah, he’s the assistant. Yeah, really nice guy, really nice chap he was yeah yeah, better than that mckenzie chap, but he was a very nice guy and we ended up spending quite a lot of time talking to him, didn’t?

Chris: 1:58

we yeah, yeah had a good sort of 10, 15 minute chat with him, didn’t we?

Nish: 2:00

before we uh gave us some good tips, yeah, on how to carry on with the challenge. But, um, yeah, it was really nice welcome. It was a. It was a. That’s always pleasant, isn’t it? You turn up and you don’t feel like you’re, um, not necessarily that welcome as a visitor sometimes. You know, sometimes you’re a bit in the way, aren’t you? But it was, it was great, yeah it was.

Chris: 2:23

It was, yeah, really friendly, friendly invite, wasn’t it, into the yeah, it was fantastic pulls about the range and the club and, and a bit on the course as well, didn’t he the range, chris the range because this was a pretty long golf course by it was was six and a half thousand yards yeah yeah, yeah I’m not sure it felt like that on the day, but but yeah, certainly on, certainly on the card. It was a fairly long track.

Nish: 2:49

But we’d been obviously less than impressed with what we were going to get as a favour from turning up and knowing Andra at Reddish Vale. So yeah, he sort of said, well, you’ve got a bit of time and you can go and use the range. And I think we both sort of went right how much is a bucket of balls going to cost us here? It was free. They were just golf balls there to use, just go and hit them. And we were just both kind of a bit taken aback by that. We’re like, okay, in yorkshire in yorkshire yeah, and it was okay.

Nish: 3:24

This probably has a little bit of value, so that was quite good. I was toilet on the on the range, but you know, yeah, it was. Uh, it was good to get that little surprise, wasn’t it?

Chris: 3:35

yeah, no, it was. It was lovely. Um, yeah, not something I’ve ever experienced before no nice little added bonus.

JTC: 3:41

And so what were you? What were your expectations? Obviously you had a fairly long drive over an hour, an hour and a half or something. You know. Lots of time to digest. What to what you know, you’ve obviously read up on what more times about the history, um, how long the course is. Obviously you know the challenge that I set you last time in regards to Gibraltar, which we’ll come on, we’ll talk about later.

Nish: 4:04

We will Interesting, Very interesting. I think you might need to be a referee. Jim Might need to be a referee. We’ll see. There’s no need for a referee.

Chris: 4:15

Is it that clear cut? It’s pretty clear cut Fair enough, right?

Nish: 4:18

Okay, yeah, I mean driving over, chatting about all things golf as you do, because that’s what you’re there for. But yeah, I mean, we’re talking about all sorts, aren’t we? And there’s like video techniques and like who you watch and all this sort of stuff. But I was like which will become apparent why I bring this up now. A bit later it will become apparent. But I said my expectation or my objective, I’d be happy to shoot over 100 if I can just keep the same ball the whole way around. That was that was what I said in the car. So, uh, I’ll let you know, I’ll get on with that later on. Okay, I’ve not done that for a while. So I was like, okay, this would be a good little mini challenge. But, um, yeah, I think again, we were sort of just going please hold out weather, please hold out yeah, yeah, which did it did another nice day, wasn’t it?

JTC: 5:11

yeah, he seemed to be quite lucky. I was slightly concerned. I was walking up pendle hill, um, just the other side of the one of the west west pennines, and it was absolutely tipping it down there and I was thinking how’s it going over on a new york show over the other side? Yeah, over the wrong side.

Nish: 5:25

Yeah, that’s it. No, it was great and actually the club was. That was stunning, wasn’t it? The clubhouse?

Chris: 5:30

was really, really nice, beautiful set up, wasn’t it?

Nish: 5:33

yeah, I kind of I took quite a lot of pictures. I’m not sure I was so strictly allowed to do that because I had my phone out a lot, but, um, they were very kind, the guys in the bar. They let us eat in. I think they call it the. Is it the Ryder Cup lounge or something? Something like that Ryder lounge or something like that. That’s the really nice pre-dinner room, beautifully decked out. You know, overlooking the 18th, and I think we, chris, said that there is a little fact on their website about how, in one of the matches or an open I think it was the English amateur.

Chris: 6:08

I think A guy hit his ball through the window into the snooker room and had to then go and play his next shot from the snooker room back out onto the green.

Nish: 6:17

So we’re just like actually you can see that now how that could happen.

Chris: 6:20

He’s right next to it, isn’t he? It’s so close yeah really close A metre or two between the kind of the edge of the clubhouse and the green, so it’s pretty close, but too close for comfort.

Nish: 6:29

Yeah, hairy, I think Like, why would you put windows just right in the back of the green? It makes no sense. Does to come coming up the 18th I think? Yeah, it was, but it was like a it yeah, like all the locker room was just like. That was amazing. I went in there and they’re proper old, like you can tell. They’re 120 year old lockers, like it’s all the old original wood. I’ve got one of those old, kind old-fashioned weighing scales in there where it says like you put two shillings or whatever in it to to get your weight working and all that. I didn’t do it.

Nish: 7:05

Obviously I don’t need to depress myself any further, but um, yeah everyone’s got their little little name on the little golden plates, on the yeah, on the lockers and it’s obviously it’s been like you can tell the really old timers, because they’re the name is the, the plate is battered and a bit old and it’s just. It was just a beautiful place and you know, I think now they’re having a dinner on, weren’t they that night. So people had their suit hangers, all carriers all hung up and it was just like it was a pucker clubhouse, you know, um, and then we got pictures of the rider cup that was great I saw that instant.

Nish: 7:39

Yeah, yeah, um, that’s nice to my life that it’s a little plug for the instant. We do have an instagram feed, jim is right. Yeah, um, that’s nice to my life that it’s a little plug for the insta. We do have an instagram feed, jim is right.

Chris: 7:45

Yeah, um, 110, yeah, top 100 um, you sacked as our social media manager.

Nish: 7:56

Hello um, but also it was cheap, wasn’t it it really?

Chris: 8:00

wasn’t? Yeah, it was. Yeah, I mean like food and drink was was really cheap, wasn’t it? Yeah, it was yorkshire.

Nish: 8:05

I don’t know if you know, but both courses so far you’ve had. You’ve had a club sandwich, have I interesting? I wonder if this is becoming a thing now.

Chris: 8:13

You should like rate the club sandwich, yeah, maybe there’s just some sort of really poor mental link that goes I’m in, I’m in a clubhouse, I should have a club sandwich, have club sandwich, maybe that’s it.

JTC: 8:24

I’d not noticed that now. So which is the best out of Moortown and?

Chris: 8:28

we doesn’t remember getting it in Scylla I don’t remember getting it in Scylla, but the Moortown club sandwich was excellent. It’s fair to say it was delicious mate.

Nish: 8:36

They had like logo paper wrapping up the chips and they had like logo napkins and everything. And I was like they’ve just done everything like really really well, um, sort of celebrating the history of their history of their club. And yeah, I was dead surprised how cheap it was. It really wasn’t expensive at all to eat and drink in there. When did he actually play the rider cup there? 29, 1929? So that’s the first one on british soil, yeah, um, but and then the course itself was stunning, wasn’t it? It was absolutely beautiful.

Chris: 9:12

Um, yeah, I think I think afterwards I said to you, nish, I said I think I’ve fallen in love with golf again yeah after that round. It was yeah, it was absolutely stunning. It was just such a beautiful place to play golf, wasn’t it?

Nish: 9:24

He said. He said bearing in mind where we played first. He said I think this might be better than Silith. He said which is his favourite, golf course.

Chris: 9:35

Yeah, I think because I’d not played there as well before. It was just and I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I don’t think I had hugely high expectations. I thought it’s number 98, yeah, um I thought it’s parkland, um, so I didn’t have huge expectations of what it was going to be. So I think that’s probably part of it. And it got there and I was like, wow, I kind of fell in love. After sort of four or five holes, it was the um I think they did everything.

Nish: 10:02

If there’s a visitor, you go in there and you’re like I’m spending in the summertime nearly 200 pounds to play you, I think you walk away from that and you go. I’ve got really got my money’s worth there because of the welcome that you got the facilities in there. You know we come so we could use the locker room and, and you know we had a drink afterwards and it was again.

Nish: 10:22

It was just going dark and it was like a really nice cozy, that kind of leather seat kind of lounge where you sat and just overlooking the green, the 18th green, and it was like this is a nice place to have a, you know, fresh orange and lemonade. So we had but um you know it was you had a gnt, I had a gnt. Yeah, I was standard.

Nish: 10:40

Chris was like I really, really, really want a glass of red wine yeah, yeah, all right, I won’t tell anybody if you won’t, but whatever you know, um, it was not, it was just. It was just. It was a great day of golf, unexpected, like I said. Unexpected because first we booked it and then it like don’t have really know much about it, yeah, aside from the obvious facts that we brought out, but yeah, really good, and you don’t know the course, and, as they don’t make that much of the court, they keep going around about gibraltar but they don’t talk about the rest of the course, and the rest of course it was great.

JTC: 11:14

So what was eddie’s advice to you when you spoke to him about the actual course?

Nish: 11:18

did he give us any course advice?

Chris: 11:19

I don’t think he did, but he gave us advice about doing our top 100. So we talked to him quite a bit about doing the top 100, didn’t he? And he did mention a few ways, ways and means of potentially getting on to some of the um, some of the courses. So he mentioned there’s kind of whatsapp groups, didn’t he? Yeah, potentially to get into some of these places. He mentioned doing competitions, um, what else did he mention? I think it was.

Nish: 11:45

I think he said that there are reciprocal groups on like Facebook and things like that, where you can get on and you can I’m sorry, I’m digging out my scorecard here where you can basically say, look, I’m a member at this club and I can host somebody else can host me and you can potentially get lucky with if you catch it at the right time, you know, in the right place. So that was quite nice. He was really, really helpful. I mean, he still wasn’t for knocking any money off. Our round was he.

Nish: 12:17

But that was. He’s a really good face of the club. You know to get in and then free range balls. It was great free range balls that was a nice little nice little perk, wasn’t it 120 quid alone yeah I mean the, the practice green didn’t really prepare us for the actual greens and it was rounded flat.

JTC: 12:40

There is not a flat surface on that and the Mortet, I was going to come on to the actual golf now because I think it’s about time to discuss how the round went.

Nish: 12:53

We were driving it long, weren’t we? It was really good. Yeah, I hit the ball pretty well to be fair to disagree.

Chris: 12:59

I was fairly solid all day, which makes a change.

Nish: 13:02

A few little highlights. I mean again, again. I’ve not really scored very well, jim, but a few little highlights. Where I got a birdie excellent. Did you do the dance? I did the dance. You did the dance. Excellent, I did a dance it’ll be four fists it was a full-on like it was.

Nish: 13:22

It was it was on a par four as well, so that’s a bit harder. Well, I think it’s the hardest, isn’t it really, to birdie. But then, yeah, it was like it was like the perfect hole. So it was like a 260 yard drive and then approach shot with just a pitching wedge gap wedge it was and that was. It landed to within about four or five feet, I think, and then just drained the puck. I was like I can actually golf. This is great. I mean, around that I’ve got two sixes. But you know, we’ll forget about that for a minute. It was for me. It was like well, not for me, I suppose it’s the perfect hole, you know, really good long drive, great approach shot. Knock the button, you know. And that was it. Particularly hilly course, no, no not really.

Chris: 14:09

No, it’s kind of it was undulating, wasn’t it? It was kind of rolling hills, but but yeah, nothing too severe, it was quite. It was nice, wasn’t it it was? It was a nice optics, very optic it was.

Nish: 14:19

It was beautiful on the eye yeah, that course it was, and there was a lot of places that you could see practically the whole golf course and and so you could see a few people around. You’re not, you’re used to that. Actually, a lot of times you go, particularly in links.

Nish: 14:34

You sort of you’re on your own. Almost you can’t, it’s almost. Maybe that’s deliberate, you know you see your battle with golf. But yeah, there was, you could see everybody in his eye. Okay, I could see the hole, but it that. But that wasn’t a bad thing, it was a really really good thing. Like you just just see everything, it’s great. Yeah, like you’re right, visually it was a really nice, really nice golf course.

Chris: 14:53

It was yeah, um, yeah, I don’t think there were any holes that I came off and thought that was a bit. That was a bit dull. There was always something kind of interesting, wasn’t there on every hole, I think. How was Ghostwatch for you? Ghostwatch was pretty poor. Yeah, yeah, there was a bit of heather, but par for the ghost.

Nish: 15:09

I’m going with par for the ghost. Of course you will do. You want me to go through the scorecard?

JTC: 15:18

yeah, I think it’s about time we need to get to it now. Well, maybe not go through the scorecard. The final scores, the final scores okay.

Nish: 15:26

So Chris did very well actually, and this is again. I’ll let him explain about the putting in a minute. And remember I said about there’s a thing on Rick Shields video that was I’m not going to tell you this because it’s going to get into your head and the about the putting in a minute. And remember I said about there’s a thing on rick shield’s video that was I’m not going to tell you this because it’s going to get into your head. And the thing was he said the putting at this golf course is really difficult and there’s there’s never a place where the hole was on a flat. There’s lots of undulation, mackenzie course, lots of mackenzie greens which are tiered, so if you get it a bit wrong, you could be miles away.

Nish: 15:58

Um, and I think I don’t have amazing putting, but I’m pretty consistent with my putting. Eight, I four put it a couple of times which was like I was distraught about and I don’t do that. Like three put is like I’m kicking myself, so that’s it’s one bit of my game that’s relatively consistent and I even I walked off. I was like that was that wasn’t great. So I think chris probably did he’s like I’m kicking myself, so it’s one bit of my game that’s relatively consistent, and even I walked off. I was like that wasn’t great.

Chris: 16:23

So I think Chris probably did some analysis of his round. I did do some analysis. So, like I said, I hit the ball fairly well. So I was like actually it’s fairly encouraging signs, I’m hitting the ball okay, but just around the greens I just couldn’t get it at all, could I? So yeah, it was that bad that on monday morning got to work and I was like, right, I need to, I need to figure out what happened here. So I did a little spreadsheet when I got into work just to see how bad my golf was christian accountant by the way, yeah, so I took 57 chips and puts in a day, that’s in a total score of 94.

Nish: 16:57

94?. Which is good. That’s good shooting on an unknown course, but yeah.

Chris: 17:05

Nearly 60 shots were on the greens In and around the greens. So that’s way too much.

Nish: 17:12

I mean, what’s that leaving you? Then Quick maths what’s it? 94 minus 57? Is what? 37, 37? So you’re taking two shots to reach every around the green in each hole, which is what you would do. Yeah, and that includes your par 5s as well.

Chris: 17:28

That’s yeah, oh dear so yeah, I think yeah better than.

JTC: 17:33

Sillith. Much better than Sillitha. Much better than Sillitha, and shows that there’s the opportunity there to actually hit a pretty low score at some point.

Chris: 17:40

Yeah, absolutely, if I can sort my chip in putting out, then I’ve still got the ability to shoot some scores.

Nish: 17:46

I mean, you took 16 shots off, so next time you’ll be shooting a 72 yeah, I mean I can take 20.

Chris: 17:52

I should be taking 20 shots off that fairly easily.

Nish: 17:54

You could take 20 shots off that. I mean, that’s putting you into an almost level par territory, isn’t it? Yeah, that would be pretty amazing. And the par was 71. 71. Yeah, so yeah, chris got 94. I got 100 dead on. So remember I said about my I’ll take a score over 100. I got 100. It’s 101 at S at sillith, so trending downwards. So by 100 the 100th course I should be like doing it in two shots should be great, not gonna happen.

Nish: 18:21

I’ll say 100, and so it’s like take care of what you wish for, sometimes on the drive over. So I think next time I’m gonna maybe speak a bit more positively about what my, what I want from the round I did play the whole round with one ball.

Chris: 18:33

Just fyi, take it, you didn’t mish. I nearly did, nearly. I nearly did play the whole round with one ball.

Nish: 18:36

Just FYI, you didn’t Mish. I nearly did, Nearly, I nearly did so. The location of Moortown is stunning. It’s incredibly moneyed, there’s mansions everywhere and also I don’t know what it is, but there’s Reddish Vale, like I say, is right next to a housing estate. This is right next to all these mansions. There’s lots of fairways and stuff where the houses are flanking the side. I made it to the 18th tee with the same ball and then I drove it into a mansion. So I won’t put the date that we played, just in case they want to try and trap me down and hunt me down for compensation.

JTC: 19:14

But you know, if you live next to a golf course, you’ve got to expect somebody like me turning up and whacking one into your house at some point they might recognize you’ve used one of the balls with the with your face imprinted on it. You’re going for your birthday. Is that, oh, your birthday round?

Nish: 19:30

uh, yeah, mansion got got it, so I was. I’d let the thought enter into my mind on the 17th tee that I still hadn’t lost a golf ball. I think it was the 17th par, it was a par three. We played that really well, didn’t we? And we both got hit the green. Yeah, I mean actually that tee shot that hit. I genuinely had a look of surprise on my face when I hit that because the lead up to it wasn’t great. But yeah, me had a look of surprise on my face when I hit that because the lead up to it wasn’t great. But, yeah, and I was like, okay, that’s all right, just one more left. Nice, easy swing on the 18th and it’s just what’s left. Yeah, and we didn’t hear a clatter but always a good sign and I’ve probably gone into somebody’s swimming pool.

Nish: 20:11

You didn’t you?

JTC: 20:12

didn’t hit it into the, into the rider cup lounge either, so that’s no I didn’t, because actually my approach shot was.

Nish: 20:16

Well, I thought it looked absolute worldy. When I hit it it was like about 80 yards approach into the green full sand wedge. I went right give it full beans and I’ve seen it soar and it landed. I think, well, that’s really close to that. I’m well happy, buzzing about it Rocked up, and it’s still about 20 feet away and I’m like, oh, actually there’s nowhere near it. And then you’ve got these undulating greens that you’ve got to try and negotiate. So, yeah, still shot a seven on that, on that hole. But but, yeah, but trending downwards and it was all right, but I think otherwise I’ll go yeah, birdie, birdie and two pars I got.

Chris: 20:50

But I think my, uh, my second into the 18th was a little bit hairy, to be honest. It was heading in that direction. It was, oh, was it? It was a little bit short but yeah, my heart was definitely my mouth when it, when it hit the ball, I was like, oh yeah, snooker cue for the next shot, I think did you think?

Nish: 21:06

did you think it was?

Chris: 21:07

oh yeah, I didn’t think that because it was a bit of a downhill lie and I probably had an extra club in my hand.

Nish: 21:11

I was just trying to hit it easy I mean, that was, that was a beautiful approach as well wasn’t, it was yeah, we were getting there.

Nish: 21:16

It was just going a bit dark. Actually, just to the 18th it rained. So we, you know, we got away, got away with it, um, but like it was all lit up and it was a beautiful looking approach, but yeah, I think, yeah, maybe heart and mouth if you just got, I think I’ve overhit this, but yeah, that’s that’s going right for the window if that’s got an extra 10 yards on it. Forget the mansion.

Chris: 21:35

I don’t want to don’t want to annoy the club, you know?

Nish: 21:37

um, yeah, it was. Uh, yeah, it’s pretty good. And then I’ve got bananas written down in my notes. But that’s because we I didn’t realize, but chris does the same thing as me we take bananas with us on the course to give us a little boost of energy, and every time I’ve done I thought I’ve got off the course and played. All right, I’ve always had two bananas. So that’s like a new superstition now for me.

Chris: 22:00

You think okay, Although we also discussed a little bit about leaving bananas in bags, didn’t we? Oh yes, which I opened my golf bag yesterday to find said said banana sat in my sat in my golf bag still, oh lovely.

Nish: 22:13

Yeah, that was eating clean up operation, wasn’t it? Yeah?

Chris: 22:16

yeah, the next, the next outing yeah, that’s the only problem with bananas but a bit of advice.

JTC: 22:21

I did this at school, left a banana in there for days, um, actually probably weeks. Don’t spray it with links afterwards, it never goes links africa and bananas.

Chris: 22:31

Not a great combination then?

JTC: 22:32

no no, I had to get rid of that school bag. No, actually, I had to use it for the rest of the year, but oh goodness yeah what a mistake, that was yeah that sounds pretty bad rancid, rancid um and obviously the challenge for this particular course between four that we’d set last um a couple of weeks ago was the par three, gibraltar.

Nish: 22:54

It was which was an interesting hole we sort of. It’s just after the halfway hut which, by the way, every good golf course should have. I think we should start rating halfway huts. And that was a nice, you know, I had exactly the same thought this week.

Chris: 23:05

We’ve not spoke about that, but I had the same thought we should rate the halfway huts. Yeah, it was nice, wasn’t it? It was a good little halfway hut, although I realised that, so I was like I really, really need a wee. So I was like halfway up, perfect, got there and there was no one manning, it was it.

Nish: 23:19

It was my self-service yeah honesty system.

Chris: 23:23

So I kind of stuck my head around the back and there was a door there For some reason. I thought that must be the entrance to the kitchen. So I was like I’ll just go for a wee in the woods and there was a few members just looking and then Nish kind of came around the other side and just walked in through the door into the toilet.

Nish: 23:35

He’s like ah, that’s what it was. That’s what it was yeah, yeah, good job. It wasn’t the kitchen, yeah, yeah. Imagine not having that sausage roll, cool, but yeah, but the lead up to that to the eighth, the ninth, sorry, where, then, the halfway is situated? Off the back of the ninth green, as you’re walking up to then. What is gibraltar from the, from the side profile, where that is? It does that green looks really stunning. It’s not as impressive from the t-box, though, is it?

Nish: 24:11

it’s not, no it wasn’t like oh, this is the greatest hole in the world, sort of thing.

Chris: 24:16

It was like yeah, I mean if I’d have given that Mackenzie chap my entire budget to build that one hole, I think I’d have been a bit disappointed. It was a beautiful hole, don’t get me wrong, but I think they were impressed enough to give him 17 more holes. You know, True, true, I mean he kind of done a bad job because we both came off and went. That was incredible, yeah yeah, like the course.

Nish: 24:39

Yeah it was. I mean, the course was what it was. It was done a good job with it generally you don’t need to know anything else do you about gibraltar?

JTC: 24:45

it was underwhelming.

Chris: 24:46

I think I want to know got closest to the pin there is a picture, actually, so there is a picture which we should show you, so this is do you, do you want the full story about what happened?

Nish: 24:55

I think we should show Jim the picture first Okay, right, you adjudicate.

Chris: 24:58

He can adjudicate which is closest.

Nish: 25:02

I did paste them out. It was very close it was very close. Well close with an asterisk and I’ll get to the asterisk in a second, but I pasted it out and it was nine paces For each ball To the hole. However, we have to discuss the technicality of it all I mean, it’s not really a technicality, is it nish? It’s kind of the rules of golf, but it just depends what you meant by. When you said closest to the pin. Did you mean off your first tee shot? Well, there is that.

JTC: 25:34

I thought that was the asterix in fairness.

Nish: 25:37

So yeah, my first effort went about 40 yards into the heather in front of us, which I found, so it was fine. I didn’t lose the ball. That was great stepped up, as this is just classic golf, isn’t? It happens that everybody and everybody’s always frustrated by it. You hit your provisional ball and I absolutely buttoned my seven iron like it went. It just felt so sweet when I hit it and it was like that’s tracking for the flag, that is. And then it wasn’t like the wind caught it but lands on the green. I think from where we were, that looked, that looked. It was closer. It did look closer, but I think when we got there it was very, very, very close.

Chris: 26:16

They were pretty much equidistant, I think.

Nish: 26:19

Yeah, I think good word, I like that.

JTC: 26:22

Yeah, yeah, it was the thesaurus before I came over I can’t say it, but I’ve read it um yeah, but so I think you know, sticking to the traditions and I know you that you are very traditional when it comes to me, you know um that we, you know, we have to say, I think, in this, uh, in this situation, that, um, that chris obviously will be the victor well done, mate, even though I mean I hit a better.

Chris: 26:52

you made my life much easier by hitting your first tee shot, 20 yards.

Nish: 26:57

The pressure’s off there was no pressure there at all. It was a terrible first tee shot. That one Pressure was on and then, as soon as it goes off, wallop To be fair, though, Nish throughout the day.

Chris: 27:13

there’s a rule in golf Whoever won the last hole normally tees off on the next hole. We were we’ve been pretty casual about that all day, if you’re ready.

JTC: 27:19

You just go ready just go.

Chris: 27:20

Uh, we were both ready at that hole, so we’ve just been to the halfway hook. We both stepped on the tee, and he was, and nish said, um, should I go first? Then I was like, yeah, you go first. Come on, mate, you go first. Nish, you won the last hole, um, so I did kind of set you up for failure.

Nish: 27:33

A little bit, didn’t I? Oh you, let me win.

Chris: 27:35

The last holds right well, I’m not sure I was thinking that far, that far ahead. But yeah, I certainly, I certainly wasn’t racing to get up onto the tee ahead of you yeah, so yeah, one nil chris one nil chris I think, yeah, but it was good, like I enjoyed it and it was and actually.

Nish: 27:52

but I was kind of expecting to walk up to that team, this thing, because the way it was billed that it’s going to be this unbelievably daunting T-shirt and it isn’t actually, and I think the whole course is like that. There wasn’t anywhere that you thought I can’t play this. It’s too good for me. You could get a score there, couldn’t you?

Chris: 28:09

Yeah, absolutely.

Nish: 28:22

Like I say, if I’d have been chipping and putting like a normal human um I I would have said of rory mcelroy.

JTC: 28:25

Yeah, I think. Uh, yeah, that was good. It was a good side bet. I enjoyed that excellent one. We’ll we’ll keep tallying up the scores as we move along and then, um, yeah we’ll throw in some surprises there as well, in terms of full fits and whatnot. I’m not going to make you wear stupid things to fancy dress going around the golf courses, because obviously that’s against all traditions. Yeah, real tradition, isn’t it? Yeah, absolutely. But what are your thoughts? Post round then?

Nish: 28:48

Chris sent me a message which I didn’t even think about. I’m a bit gutted now, but we should have done match play because it was a Ryder Cup venue, cup venue, yeah, and actually it would have gone down to the 18th yeah, so we, we did a bit of a count back on the card, didn’t we? I would have pipped it on the 18th on the 18th yeah and that would have been the errant drive yeah so yeah, missed an opportunity there, I think but nice to.

Chris: 29:12

I’m pretty sure I’m pretty sure they would have given me the riderder Cup as well. Probably would have done Just get it out of the case for you.

Nish: 29:18

Just have a little picture on the green. That’s another thing I just wanted to bring up, actually. So I’ve now seen a few pictures of Samuel Ryder, of Ryder Cup fame. He looked miserable. That man Never smiled in a picture. Cheer up, mate, cheer up. People are taking a picture of you, you. But if you didn’t want a picture taken, don’t put your name to the trophy, just create it and say in the back, like his name, his face is everywhere.

Chris: 29:46

You know people people didn’t smile in the 1920s, though this is like the done thing?

JTC: 29:50

yeah, I don’t think so, yeah and also having been, uh, you know, around paris with you and emma maybe, maybe you just had someone trying to take a million photographs of him.

Chris: 30:00

I don’t know what you’re talking about.

JTC: 30:01

Jim, when he’s got the worst hangover in the world. In 30 degree heat.

Nish: 30:05

He got short shots shrifted. Can he just have this one last picture on the bridge?

JTC: 30:09

No, You’re going into the Seine with your phone, into the scene with your phone.

Nish: 30:17

Then the other thing was we heard, didn’t we, from Chris there that he did 57 shots around the greens. I mean there’s one green, which one was it? Now I’ll get it from the scorecard because I think we should just get the number right. I mean, I think he still scored well enough. I think it was like either the 6th or the 7th or something like that.

Chris: 30:36

Yeah it was like either the sixth, or the seventh or something like that.

Nish: 30:38

Yeah, it was around, that’s it, because he didn’t be parred. After that he recovered well, but um, uh, christy, chris, big, long, booming drive, great approach, shot just but went to the right of the green and then chipped over the green backwards and forwards three times. Just couldn’t get it, just could not get the technique right.

Chris: 30:58

I mean this is we’re talking what like five, six feet off the green. It’s not a long shot, yeah, but I just couldn’t hit the ball. I just thin it through the green. I was like, oh crap, I’ll try again from the other side. Same result, Back to where I was Try it again. Same result back to where I was tried, again back to where I’d just come from it was that’s a normal round for me.

JTC: 31:18

It was pretty maddening, wasn’t it? Yeah?

Nish: 31:20

I had to get my tin helmet out at one point. I was like oh my god it’s coming for me, and apparently Chris had practised his short game the day before worrying, worrying, isn’t it?

Chris: 31:31

yeah, you’ll be pleased to know they’ve been practicing some more this week, so uh oh lovely might be even worse.

Nish: 31:37

Next time I’ll make I’ll wear a like a bulletproof vest or something so and I’m holding the flag. Um, yeah, so that was that again, like I nearly made it with the same balls. I was happy about that. And then there’s a guy behind us playing um with a member coming from australia and they’ve just been like he won one of these groups just mentioned. I’m in the leeds area, I’d like to play, uh, more town. And then we just signed him in and they had a round together and he was pretty happy. We probably should have talked to him, really, shouldn’t we?

Chris: 32:10

we should have really, and it was a bit of an afterthought for me for me because I was kind of eavesdropping on their conversation a little bit. It’s obviously quite a little secret club because he was basically the guy. So the member was saying please just don’t post any pictures of me on the group. Is that what he said? Yeah, I didn’t know that and I’d not clicked until kind of afterwards, and I think you mentioned it later, jim, didn’t you?

JTC: 32:33

Oh, I don’t know if I could mention this.

Nish: 32:35

I don’t know, is this the underbelly, the dark underbelly?

Chris: 32:39

of golf, the secret societies. I think we’ve stumbled on a bit of a secret society, haven’t we? Yeah, cults.

JTC: 32:49

Chameleons.

Nish: 32:50

Chameleons.

JTC: 32:54

We don’t know, Jim. Well, it’s pretty similar to what you’ve already just described. It’s a group where you have a member from a club and somebody who’s a member of a potentially reciprocal club can play at very, very late notice and take them around.

Nish: 33:12

Right.

JTC: 33:13

But you have to effectively live right next to the golf course because you can get called at a moment’s notice yeah, so I think that’s us, isn’t it?

Chris: 33:22

that’s the new challenge, isn’t it? I mean, we can be near st andrews.

Nish: 33:25

We’re only what six and a half hours away, near everything. I think we worked that out, didn’t we like pretty central to everything, so yes, that’s kind of what, um, what eddie alluded to, wasn’t it?

Chris: 33:34

yeah, beforehand that there are some groups maybe he was a chameleon, maybe he. It might not be. Maybe we just need to sing, sing Boy George at each club we go to and see if anyone picks up on it. See if anyone picks up on it Do you remember what?

Nish: 33:50

Yes, please, is that somebody singing Culture Club? Yeah, it’s like you don’t have the. You don’t have the. What do you call it? The flashlight with a bat symbol in the sky, do?

JTC: 34:00

you. No, it’s just anyway, I’ll try and find out some more about the group anyway.

Nish: 34:09

But yeah, okay, yeah, no problem, yeah, but we should have a match play. I think that would have been. We definitely should have a match play.

JTC: 34:14

Yeah so that’s something you’re gonna. You’re gonna arrange for future venues where where the rider cup has been held. Good question.

Nish: 34:23

it’s nice to have a little thing I want when I play casually with a few people. We do obviously keep our score, but we do play, match, play, yeah, it sharpens you up a little bit doesn’t it?

Chris: 34:32

Yeah, I’m always up for match play. I do enjoy match play. Yeah, yeah, I’m up for that yeah okay, should we the? Rally Cup venue. We do match play.

Nish: 34:43

Deal, deal. Okay, yeah, I’ll have awareness of it this time, yeah.

JTC: 34:47

Because that would have been amazing. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Nish: 34:49

The 18th going. Mate, we’re level. Somebody needs to win this. I mean I might have smashed mine into the snooker room. Yeah, If that was to win. Can you imagine, though You’re in the snooker room, chaps not happy with you, any final points and more town great course like genuinely very happy with that it’s 98th, I think, yeah, on the list, and if that’s anything to go by with an unknown course, there’s loads.

Nish: 35:19

Of course I’ve never heard of um god, we’re in for a treat. We really are in for a treat with this challenge, I think, aren’t we? That it was. That was a right blend of challenge, that, golf course it was yeah, um, I think we were.

Chris: 35:33

We were like two kids in a sweet shop on the day, weren’t we like? We were genuinely just giddy, yeah, and like we got off afterwards and we were just like, oh god, that was I’m. I’m pretty sure that was the best round of golf I’ve ever played. Yeah.

JTC: 35:45

Yeah, it was just brilliant, wasn’t it? We were both just buzzing, weren’t we? Yeah?

Chris: 35:49

Yeah, it was just a great experience, wasn’t it?

JTC: 35:50

I mean, I think everybody was expecting to see Instagram posts almost immediately and they didn’t arrive until about nine o’clock at night. Everyone was messaging going is Nish all right?

Chris: 36:02

He’s in the dungeon of a mansion somewhere in Old Woodley smashing the orangery window yeah, how did it go?

JTC: 36:08

did they play? I have no idea. Not heard from him at all. So, um, yeah, yeah, people, people are obviously, you know, they’re starting to get involved as well. I mean, why would you not be interested in being invested?

Nish: 36:19

in the whole thing. Yeah, it was, it was a full-on. We we had so many elements at sylith that came right and good on that day. That made it amazing. Kicking off the challenge, all that kind of thing. This felt like it was like in the middle of the challenge, even though it’s not as right to start, but it felt like it was the middle of the challenge, what you would maybe term as a more normal round, as we’re going to do, but yeah, just to come off that and the course and just go. That was amazing. That was brilliant, just just the right degree of challenge, really interesting, not a boring hole on there at all, beautiful to look at. It was just, it was everything. It was everything your soul needs if you play golf. It was immaculate conditions.

Chris: 37:00

well, wasn’t it? Everything was just to a t. Just beautiful, that’s. It’s it Beautifully manicured? Yeah, just easy on the eye Branded bins. Yeah, everything was branded. Yeah, loved it. Even Nish got branded on the way out. Yeah. Smashing the captain’s window on the ATV.

JTC: 37:19

Dare I ask how much money did you spend on merchandise?

Nish: 37:23

I didn’t you didn’t I didn’t.

Nish: 37:24

You know, you didn’t, I didn’t, I bought. I bought my ball marker. I always buy a ball, a ball marker, at every club I play at, regardless of whether it’s this challenge or not. Yeah, yeah, that was kind of it, I think. When we got there I was like it’s a bit chilly. I hadn’t brought a long sleeve top with me and I thought, oh, I think I’ll buy one. But then, yeah, I think by the time we got to the second hole, it was like warmed up and it was fine. So saved myself a bit of money, which is really unlike me. I hope that’s not a sign of things to come. I like my new gear. Cool Right, I think. That’s it really, I think. Thanks for your time, gents.

Chris: 38:02

Yeah, nothing more to say I don’t think.

JTC: 38:11

I think I’m really beginning to enjoy these, enjoy these chats how’s it for you good?

Nish: 38:14

yeah, yeah, yeah, good fun, fantastic, you gotta do that, yes. So yeah, I’ve got to do my clap, do the clap at the end yes, okay, anyway, I think we should leave that in oh 100 next time on the top 110 golf podcast. I think we should leave that in. Oh, 100%. Next time on the Top 110 Golf Podcast, we preview our next course, southport and Ainsdale, and find out a bit more about the dark underbelly of playing the Top 100 courses.