Aberdovey Golf Club Preview

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, I’m Jim and I’m Chris and we’re here to guide you through this golfing journey.

Nish: 0:13

This is the Top 100 in 10 Golf Podcast, Episode 23, Aberdovey Golf Club Preview.

Nish: 0:22

So Aberdovey Golf Club is the second course we’re playing on our Welsh trip and that’s 50% of golf courses in Wales in our top 100 covered. Once we’ve done that, there’s only four courses in Wales, so what we’ve got a pennard.

Chris: 0:33

And Portcawl, call the other four good pronunciation, pennard.

Nish: 0:37

I’ve been listening. I’ve been listening, you do listen oh, I feel honored.

Jim: 0:44

At least that makes one of you yeah, penarth, penarth and rawport call.

Nish: 0:49

Yeah, that’s it. Obviously they’re just. They’re south wales, aren’t they? So, yeah, this is a round that I’m particularly looking forward to, because we had like a crazy interaction with abu dhabi Golf Club. It was a bit mind-blowing, really. Crazy in a good way, I think. Crazy in a good way, yeah, like it was. My message to Jim, to the guys on our podcast WhatsApp group, because there’s always a WhatsApp group was this is what it must feel like being famous. But, on a serious note, the fact that they made me feel like that.

Chris: 1:35

Yeah, I think speaks volumes for how that club is. Oh, absolutely, I mean, I think you know, I think this, certainly you know, the last few months, I think we’ve really got into the meat and bones of a lot of these clubs and we’ve had a lot of different interactions. We’ve had some very different receptions, haven’t we? Yeah, this, this is by far and away being the most you know, by quite some margin, the most welcoming I think we’re going to get the deeds of the golf club when we turn up it was just, it was crazy and it was.

Nish: 2:00

There was nothing out of the ordinary in booking. I did the same thing, you know. I rang up to book and pay the deposit, although and they were super friendly in doing that anyway, yeah, I got off the phone thinking what a lovely bunch of people. Yeah, yeah, you know it was. It was always like anything that took a little bit of time is, oh, oh, the card playing. I’m so so, so sorry. You know, they were just so just lovely, like really, really nice.

Nish: 2:29

And then we, it all started off with a very, very innocent email, I suppose, just saying we’re going to do our signature hole. We have a podcast, yeah, is it? Is there any chance we might be able to just for that one hole? Only if we can film our t-shirts, yeah, and like, I didn’t hear anything for three or four days and you sort of go. You know, whatever, it’s fine, I’m just waiting. And I’d almost got to the point where. So, on gmail, you get a little. There’s a little feature called a nudge after five days, if you’ve not heard back, if you’ve asked a question after five back, five days, it gives you a little thing. It pops at the top and it goes you’ve not had a reply. Do you want to send them a little reminder sort of thing?

Chris: 3:12

I can’t believe that I’ve never been nudged before, have you not?

Nish: 3:14

that means you’re chasing it up too soon. That’s what I mean, as in me, not.

Chris: 3:18

Oh, you don’t be email yeah I I’ve never seen that before. I mean there must be a lot of times where a lot of people have had to press that button.

Jim: 3:26

He’s not replied. He’s not replied. I’m so glad they don’t have that feature on WhatsApp, because Is that like the Facebook poke, slightly different thing?

Nish: 3:37

maybe that was a weird feature, wasn’t it, facebook poke? I didn’t really get that.

Jim: 3:42

I think it was just really to say hi, not seen you for a while. How are you doing?

Nish: 3:46

Without actually saying that Four days later, this email drops in from the office manager. Forgive me, I’ve forgotten her name. She said we’ve received your email, we’ve had a listen to your podcast, great Keep doing Great Yep.

Chris: 4:05

Keep doing that, everybody keep doing that Was that the end of the email. That was it. No further correspondence I’ve imagined the rest of it.

Jim: 4:13

We’ll send you your refund.

Nish: 4:15

You’re not welcome here, the other thing in the email was we need to do the filming. But also I was like, because at this stage we knew that you were going to play with us. So I said, can we add another person onto the round? You know, this email comes back and it’s like yeah, we’ve heard about it. This is great. Of course you can film. There’s no problem at all. Can you? When you come in? You know, please pop into the office.

Nish: 4:38

We’d love to put a face to the name and we’d love to find out how you’re getting on with the challenge. You know, it’s just stuff that you go. I could understand if somebody’s like trained to do customer service and they can do that, yeah. But this just felt above and beyond, just genuinely genuine, yeah, and I was like, of course we’d love to do that. That’d be fantastic. Of course we can add another person great, uh, and I don’t know if I should mention it or not, but they said that jim can get his round on them yeah, yeah I was like that’s not what we were after.

Nish: 5:12

Yeah, that’s such a nice thing for you to do, yeah, yeah, we were so grateful for that. Yeah, and then she goes.

Jim: 5:20

She said are they a charity as well?

Nish: 5:22

that’s probably what it just had that lovely homely feel about it. And then, then the next thing, kind of the conversation developed. I was like, oh my god, I cannot believe that you’ve you’ve offered that. That’s not what we emailed for at all. We just were very happy to yeah, I don’t know, it’s absolutely fine, we’re well. You know, I’ve spoken to our office manager, we’re absolutely fine to do that. And then she said would you be okay with somebody from the club playing with you? And it was just like, well, yeah, I mean for us, yeah, I mean that’s perfect Playing with the members. How good was it when we played with Matt at SNA. Yeah, I was like this is the holy grail, this is fantastic.

Nish: 6:00

And then suddenly you’re like, oh, you know the chairman of memberships, by the way, he’s very good at golf, so I think you know what he might have regretted making that offer but he’s gonna come and play with you and then he’s been messaging us on instagram liking all of our posts and stuff like that. And he does like amazing drone photography of golf courses as well that looks really cool, amazing, looks fantastic.

Nish: 6:22

So gareth, his name is, he’s the chairman of memberships. I’m like, what else is gonna like this? It just it totally blew my mind. Yeah, that level of, uh, care and attention and maybe, I think maybe, pride in your club, oh, absolutely, yeah. No, we want to show off.

Chris: 6:39

but I mean, that’s about the club and it’s interesting, wasn’t it? Because we, like I say we’ve, we’ve, um, we’ve experienced a few of these now, haven’t we? And we’ve had different receptions and, you know, it’s almost like going to a nice hotel. That’s the kind of level of, you know, service that we felt like we’ve had from Abu Dhabi. We’ve not necessarily had that from some of the other clubs, have we?

Nish: 7:00

It’s fair to say no, haven’t we? It’s fair to say no, um, which we may address at a different time, of course, but yeah, you know, it was so above and beyond. Yeah, none of that was expected, none of that is, and we don’t feel entitled to that at all. Yeah, all we wanted to know was can we just film on this one or can we add another goal for him?

Chris: 7:18

it’s fine, but I think it’s, and it’s still only 70 quid for the round, so it’s like it’s amazing how much it kind of adds that level of excitement that was going in there now and you’re like so much more looking forward to going there than and then I probably on any other courses we’ve got upon this year, because, yeah, you know, they’ve just given us this great big welcome.

Nish: 7:34

We’re like, well, you know, yeah, on the day that’s going to be and I think it’s going to be a great experience hopefully and I think because the way that was delivered yeah, I’m not saying to do this with everybody, of course I’m. You know that I don’t, I’m not that naive however, the way it was delivered, the the courteousness of the emails, the just you can, you can get it. I know you can’t read into tone of voice too much in an email, but it just felt really friendly. Yeah, I was like they just must be like this all the time with everybody. And if you’re a visitor going to that golf club, we’re going to be driving three hours to get there and we’re fortunate Again.

Nish: 8:14

The conversation then develops into where are you staying? And we’re staying, actually in Abu Dhabi, and it turns out the place that we’re staying, which overlooks the 18th, which is going to be amazing anyway, but that place is owned by one of the members. You know. We were like, oh my god, like this is just. This feels fantastic, and she’s one of us. Great because you’ve got two parking spaces with it. Parking’s a bit of an issue in abu dhabi because it’s a small place. I was like, I felt like a rock star but you know this is how.

Nish: 8:42

But how good is that to give as a? It takes nothing, it’s a few emails, yeah, and that’s it but it’s that.

Chris: 8:50

It’s that first point of contact, isn’t it? And that makes such a difference to your, your whole experience I.

Nish: 8:55

I feel like I need to name check who I was emailing. I feel like it was angela, but I’m not sure. But I feel like I think as well.

Jim: 9:02

You know the chairman of, you know chairman of memberships, who’s giving up his sunday, yeah, to have a round. I mean, obviously he’s well into his golf he’s definitely giving up his.

Nish: 9:13

Anna. It was Anna who was emailing me. Anna, you’re an absolute breath of fresh air. That was so just. I was, I was, I was just I was on the whatsapp group.

Jim: 9:23

I was like this is unbelievable what is actually happening, I think, when he first put it and said oh you know, do we is? Are you happy if the chairman of membership plays? And I don’t think my comment was, and it was in jest, because I was shitting myself thinking oh no, oh no, what have I signed up for? Now I’m not a part of this challenge, but yeah, I had a serious conflag with chris. You do, I know you’ve got me going I did get you going, but then I was. I was bricking myself, thinking I would look.

Nish: 9:51

I am a little bit because he also plays our four, so he’s very good, but then also it all just pales into insignificance when you go. He’s going to tell us stuff about that, golf course, that we’d never get. Yeah.

Jim: 10:05

No, absolutely the whole experience from it and I was thoroughly excited and hopefully it will give me that nudge to shut up my game.

Nish: 10:14

Yeah, I’ll try, but it just sharpens you up a little bit, doesn’t it? But? But it says gareth, who’s the the chairman of memberships. I mean, I, at this moment in time, I’m taking my credit card with me. I’ll probably end up being a distant member, sort of thing you know, it’s fine because I just feel so grateful for the way they welcomed us into the club.

Nish: 10:31

Yeah, um, and just even I think the comment that got me was pop into the office and just introduce yourselves. Yeah, you know, say hello, let us know how you’re getting on, what you’ve got planned for, but you don’t need to say that you can stop at the. We’ve given you a complimentary round. Yeah, absolutely yeah, and that’s it, and that that’s almost like a genuine interest in kind of what we’re doing.

Nish: 10:52

Correct yeah, the compound around it could be almost like oh, it’s a CRM system that’s thrown up. If podcast equals compound, you know that kind of thing. However, that extra bit of we are interested. This is a podcast like yeah, it was a bit mind-blowing. I think that kind of it feels like that kind of service has disappeared from the world. I think a little bit.

Chris: 11:10

Yeah, and I think it’s a funny one, isn’t it? Because some of these golf courses feel like they don’t necessarily need your business. You know they’re on the open road, they, you know, have got millions of american tourists coming in or whatever, and and they don’t necessarily need that, that kind of extra exposure, and you know they don’t need to give that level of service because they’re going to have people coming anyway. But yeah, and you know, just shows there’s a real kind of difference in profile of of those courses over that top 100 and it’s going to be really interesting, I think, over the course of the the 10 years, how you know the level of kind of reception we get from those different clubs at sort of different ends of the different ends of the yeah, what was abu dhabi on the 84?

Nish: 11:50

was it 84, you know? I mean I suppose we’ve done the whole rankings episode, haven’t we? So obviously their routing’s not quite as good as St Andrews. However, yeah, for us, at our level, booking a one-off, two-off, you know, sort of little trip to Wales or whatever to play a top course, the fact that we’re going into it so excited, yeah, and like really looking forward to it, you know you’re going to get a warm welcome when you get in there, that’s great, but you’re not running, I don’t. I don’t feel like getting nervous going into a new golf club, but there’s always that little bit, I mean, like how welcome are we? What the member’s going to be?

Nish: 12:36

like yeah yeah, yeah, it’s brilliant, so good, so good. Proper welsh welcome yeah, absolutely absolutely proper welsh welcome. I think we, yeah, we should count ourselves very lucky, really. I think that we got that and we got like gareth’s going to play with us and he’s going to tell us everything about that course and, yeah, I mean it makes.

Chris: 12:52

It makes you know it’s such a it adds so much to, I think, your experience, doesn’t it playing somebody that actually knows the course and knows the history of the course, it’s like you know it’s just gonna add so much more value than just having a round and you want to stick to the left holes and, oh gareth, nothing happens.

Nish: 13:07

That deliberately I’m afraid if I stayed to the left.

Jim: 13:10

That’s pure luck yeah, I could just feel get, feel Chris getting more competitive. Now he’s like oh, he plays a four, does he? I’ll show him.

Chris: 13:17

I mean if I could still show him Jim, I would, but those days are long gone. Well, we’ve got Netflix documentaries. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Jim: 13:28

We need to start improving dreams as well, but it’s Coach A yeah, I’ve played Insta nicely I think it’s that kind of.

Nish: 13:36

I hope he enjoys having around with us anyway, because I think we’ll have a laugh when we go around and all that kind of stuff and we don’t take it seriously and we let him in on the challenges and whatever.

Chris: 13:45

That doesn’t really matter. Do you know what I mean? It’s not that it’s a social game of golf, right?

Nish: 13:53

yeah, he’s doing it to promote his golf club. Yeah, he’s proud of it and you know they’re that proud that they’ve gone. Yeah, we’re going to have a representative of the club who’s going to play with you. Yeah, we want you to get the full experience of knowing, getting to know this golf club, which is amazing.

Chris: 14:09

But yeah, I think we’ll. We’ll come back so much more, you know, educated and kind of in tune with what’s happening around there. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. It’s a bit like going for a walk with someone who kind of knows the area you learn so much about. I don’t know the flowers and the fauna I don’t know, and then surroundings and kind of history and all that kind of stuff. So you come back, so much more enriched.

Nish: 14:29

after that experience, I want to know about this ruck gentleman who set up nine holes and decided to just the guy that did the, the plant, the flower pots, yeah, yeah, well, you know that that’s great, that’s wonderful, like when you’re reading the history. Yeah, and we do take time, we read all the. You know, all these clubs do have a great history, don’t they?

Chris: 14:52

Yeah, of course. I mean, they’ve all been around for 120 years, haven’t they Exactly?

Nish: 14:57

and I’ll admit, I’m one of these people where I see a block of text on a website and I’m like I’ve checked out of it. I’m not really reading it, I’m skim reading it at best. Caveat that with the fact that actually our job is to go into that and read into it. But you know, stuff like that is just fascinating, isn’t it? And then you know, right, well, we’ve read about it. We know about the history of this golf club. You know, like the, the, what’s the other thing we got, the?

Nish: 15:19

it’s the birthplace of the, the welsh golf union yeah that’s one of the oldest clubs in in wales he’s gonna fill all that in now that you know that top 100 list.

Chris: 15:28

There’s some of those courses on there that are so iconic and you’re, like you know, st andrews carnoustie, like you just know it, don’t you? But there’s quite a lot on there, like abu dhabi is one of them, you know, I’ll admit it’s not what I’d really heard of, I didn’t know much about it, but actually the more you kind of start reading about it and just starting to understand the history and kind of you know where it’s come from, you start to just kind of get that extra bit of excitement. It’s almost like a little kind of added bonus of something that you didn’t necessarily know was there. And then all of a sudden there’s this beautiful golf links that we’re going to go, and kind of experience yeah, I think you go into the like.

Nish: 15:58

I do know that a little bit on history of golf. Probably a lot of that is actual golf related, like you know which players have played there and I’ve done a lot about like, oh my god, walter hagan’s played here and ben hogan’s played it, all that kind of stuff. Yeah, haven’t got that. They have got like a list of and I think, because they played quite a lot of amateur, they have a lot of amateur opens at abu dhabi, so there’s a long list of players and I was like, oh, I’d recognize those names, like people like freddie jacobson and people like that. Okay, so there is that, there’s that pedigree there, but go back to the late 1800s and that doesn’t exist. It’s a, it’s a piece of land that somebody decided to to make a golf course on. Yeah, that story to be brought to life by somebody who’s at the club, yeah, telling you you know what’s what, and those words suddenly, just they come to life, don’t they?

Chris: 16:48

and I can’t wait for that but I think it’s something we’ve touched on before as well, isn’t it? For us? And for any normal person that’s going to go and play one of these courses, it’s about that experience of that day, because it’s a special day, right, it’s something you’re going out your way. So I do think you know you might go to one of the big, you know open rotor clubs and you’d play the course and you know you might not necessarily be that welcome, but you’d have that experience of doing that. But I think it’s going to be so much fuller experience going and doing this somewhere where you get this big welcome and you know, um, you get someone that’s going to come play around with you. I think you that that that gives you as a, as a customer. That’s so much of a nicer experience, isn’t it? Going and having all that extra stuff, rather than he’s just around the golf there you go, play your 18 holes and you go home, um I’ve just got visions, a committee meeting, and they’ve got right.

Nish: 17:37

There’s six of us. There’s six draws a year.

Jim: 17:41

This is the shortest one oh, and then you draw, come on gareth, you’re off oh bugger.

Nish: 17:49

Um, I don’t believe that at all for a second. I haven’t, obviously gareth. I’ve been talking to him on Instagram and the fact that I’ve found out about his secondary hobby I suppose it is and maybe business as well. He was obviously a very passionate golfer and a lover of golf.

Chris: 18:08

Yeah, that’s just kind of like it. But yeah, I think some of it like obviously you’ve shown me, I’ve had a look on his Instagram, but some of those like the drone footage he’s doing over some of those Welsh courses and some other courses at the minute is absolutely spectacular, isn’t it Spectacular? A lot of work at Penarth and that looks absolutely incredible, doesn’t it? So, yeah, it’s going to be interesting to chat to him about that side of things as well that he’s doing.

Nish: 18:28

So one of the other things I’m looking forward to, chris, is that there’s quite a lot that the club talk about a chap called Bernard Darwin, yeah, who was a an eminent sports writer and also the grandson of Charles Darwin nice, but he absolutely loved Abu Dhabi, okay, there’s loads of quotes from him on the website and he was then inducted into the world golf hall of fame because he was such a good golf writer right and I think there was a.

Nish: 19:00

There’s a story that I watched, a video. It was a peter finch video. There’s a recent one that he’s done where he’s really bigged up abadovi, and just said look, this is like an amazing value, top 100 golf course, yeah. And then there’s one previous to that and I think he was talking to, I want to say like a chairman or someone like that actually at the club. Yeah, and they um, they were kind of running through some of his articles because they have a more framed up and all this kind of thing, and I think he did this big long love letter, basically 500 word love letter, to abu dhabi golf club. Do we have to write one of those as well?

Chris: 19:36

Maybe that’s our homework.

Nish: 19:37

I think you should Homework from Gareth Right you, you got your round for free.

Jim: 19:44

You get to do the letter. I didn’t, because I paid just as much as you did.

Nish: 19:49

No, that’s not actually true, that’s not actually true. You can’t prove that. You can’t disprove what I’ve just said.

Chris: 19:56

I’m pretty sure there’s WhatsApp proof that we can no no it’s deleted it’s done.

Nish: 20:01

Yeah, we did share your savings app to me. Yeah, he said, did this big long love letter to Abu Dhabi Golf Club. And then he was talking about and I can’t remember what the golf club was, but I’m going to say it was something like a Robert, something like that. It was a really, really famous you had to get very early.

Chris: 20:19

Yeah, yeah, yeah, Twice. I mean it’s been at least 10 episodes. Oh, the 18th? No, I’ve not mentioned it.

Jim: 20:24

You did today you are early.

Nish: 20:26

Did I mention it earlier in St David’s one episode? Did, did I? Yeah, oh, it just happens now you don’t know, don’t even know. I thought we were doing a running count of this. We were gonna do a running count. Yeah, you need to get your chart out, jim. But yeah, he sort of did this and it was like a four paragraph review and it was just like, yeah, great golf course, golf was fantastic, whatever, just kind of you know, totally went. Yeah, it’s fine, they don’t need any extra oh, what words.

Nish: 20:51

Of burke down the review for for the place. That I can’t say. But that was his love and affection for the place and it was a great little story to kind of just hear from him that he sort of saw this place in such glowing terms. But again, it’s not really popped into either of us. I mean, you’ve obviously played very well from a very young age and it’s in Wales, so it’s not that far away.

Chris: 21:15

Yeah, yeah, to not have really heard about any kind of concept of it being there. Yeah, I think, I think it’s. I think that’s almost the beauty of this, isn’t it? It’s it’s the top 100 courses, but there’s still a lot of hidden gems in there. Right, yeah, there’s quite. There’s probably 30, 40 golf courses on there that I’ve never really heard of, but actually I think they’re going to be some magnificent courses when we actually get there. So is there’s like little, uh little gems in the crown.

Jim: 21:37

Suppose you know you’re playing championships and all depends on where the competitions are when you’re younger.

Nish: 21:43

Yeah, yeah I know, but you think you’d have heard of a club though. Yeah, because I thought you’d never heard of them. That’s, that’s the one that I I’m not expecting sorry, I’m not expecting to have heard of men, of some of the sort of far flung ones, because this wasn’t even a thing for me until chris started it. So that’s when it was like, oh yeah, okay, let me start reading into these sorts of things. And also, I didn’t I didn’t really play when I was young, so I never, like, went around to places or even met people who were members of other clubs or anything like that. Because I think when we interviewed ellis, he kept mentioning all these clubs and I was like I have no idea where you’re talking about.

Jim: 22:19

But you were like, oh yeah and yeah, oh yeah, that’s a normal, that’s just a circuit kind of thing.

Nish: 22:24

You knew it. Yeah, yeah, for sure. And the fact that it’s not on any of that, yeah, I suppose I mean maybe again, that’s a little bit, you know.

Chris: 22:30

So there may be a little bit like silith, where it’s just it’s kind of out the way a little bit, isn’t it in terms of geographically, um. So there’s probably an element of that, and I think that that almost makes me think that we’re going to be going into something like a silith, where it’s probably actually quite heavily underrated, because looking at the course online looks absolutely spectacular, yeah, like beautiful, huge, great big dunes, like it looks I was just going to ask you that.

Nish: 22:52

So, like what, what are your impressions of the course? Let’s see, do you think it looks stunning? And it looks absolutely it looks incredible.

Chris: 22:57

So it looks like it’s a full-on, like you know, feast for the eyes, for the eyes and a proper, proper lynx golf course. So I’m really excited about this one. I think both from, yeah, two aspects just looking online, looks like a beautiful place. I think the signature hole, which we’ll talk about later, looks like a like a brilliant, a brilliant golf hole, and then, like the welcoming part, I think, like I say, I think we’re going to be a really good mix of good company and good golf, which you know, which is ultimately what we’re doing this for, right, is it? Oh, right.

Nish: 23:26

Is there another agenda? I don’t know. I don’t know. There seems to be quite a lot of competitive elements sneaking in somehow. Yeah, there’s also that as well, absolutely Well, we might as well get to it now, the signature hole challenge. So Jim found out what the signature hole was. The 12th hole. Yeah, and that’s a par 3. Par 3. Which, obviously signature hole, is easy because it’s whoever wins the hole. That’s fine, but the side bet will be.

Jim: 23:54

When I looked at the video of this hole, highest score looks amazing. It really does, it does. It’s right on the beach, isn’t it? Yeah, right next to the beach and uphill par three.

Nish: 24:05

There’s not many uphill par threes that you go. Yeah, I’m excited about playing that.

Jim: 24:09

It’s a raised green where it looks brutal if you don’t look at it, you won’t hear it. It’s almost like a taboo, isn’t it? But?

Chris: 24:17

it’s also there’s just like. It’s like green rough yes Beach.

Nish: 24:22

Green rough beach. There are your options, that’s it.

Jim: 24:25

Hit the green One side and then the other side.

Nish: 24:28

Let’s hope the wind is non-existent or favourable.

Chris: 24:39

I mean, mean, it’s only like 150 yards, isn’t it? So I guess that gives you some chance, but I like that. I like that about a par three where you got, like it gives you a chance because it’s quite short, but also, if you, if you miss that chance, like that’s, you’re gone game over yeah, game over.

Nish: 24:45

It’s a bit like kind of sawgrass, isn’t it, where you just you just got kind of water around it, whatever but is there a fence at the back of this thing that if we I mean, I feel like somebody’s going to end up on the beach can we just jump over and come get the ball back? You have to ask a friendly dog walker.

Chris: 24:59

Well, you don’t have dogs on a lot of welsh beaches, I guess come on gareth.

Nish: 25:04

Go and earn your crust. Go and get that ball. It must be a little like secret doorway somewhere, surely?

Jim: 25:09

yeah, I think it’s going to be a real challenge, but it’s one that I’m really relishing.

Chris: 25:15

Rather than nearest the pin we’re just doing nearest the green.

Nish: 25:18

Do you think the person who hits the green wins? I think that’s probably it, that’s it. Does it have to?

Chris: 25:26

stay on the green. I’ve just thought of something.

Nish: 25:30

Oh, dear Side bet. Obviously, signature hole challenge it. It’s gonna be who won the pre, who got the lowest score in the previous hole. Yeah, it’s gonna go through side bet. You know you’re obviously involved as well. Yeah, what are we doing? Full-on official. Who’s got the honor for the side bet as well? Is that how we do it? Or do we say jim, you’re new to the side bet as well? Is that how we do it? Or do we say Jim, you’re new to the side bet, so you can go first?

Jim: 25:57

I won’t be new, because we would have done one the day before. Yeah, I mean, it’s a reference to both really. I’ll take the honour.

Chris: 26:03

I think we should, let’s just yeah it’s tricky, isn’t it?

Jim: 26:07

It’s tricky, isn’t it?

Nish: 26:07

I don’t know what to do. I’ll show you how it’s done. Yeah, fine, I mean imagine you just rock up Bang.

Jim: 26:14

Smack it to within two feet.

Nish: 26:16

Brilliant.

Jim: 26:17

All right, that’s been known occasionally. Yeah, that’d be amazing, wouldn’t it?

Nish: 26:22

11 holes of Gareth going. Who is this guy?

Jim: 26:25

Yeah, yeah, and then suddenly suddenly comes into that side bet yeah there’s pride on this.

Chris: 26:30

Yeah, isn’t there pride on this? Yeah, based on my recent history, form, that’ll be me that’ll be you, yeah, oh, is it challenge?

Nish: 26:37

is it? Yeah, okay who knows.

Chris: 26:40

One thing we’ve not really discussed is the format of what we’ll do that day, because when we’ve had four players before we’ve done match play, haven’t we? Oh, we just, yeah, we’re just keeping match play specifically for the rider cup venues now, because we kind of said we would do that I feel like go on, Go on.

Nish: 26:53

You’ve got to say something there, Jim.

Chris: 26:55

I’m just thinking we could pair Gareth and Jim up.

Nish: 26:58

I feel like we might need to give Gareth something to keep him motivated.

Jim: 27:05

Yeah, yeah, yeah, you’re carrying me.

Nish: 27:07

Yeah, well, if he’s just like right, I’ve got to be the one who’s scoring against these two absolute behemoths of the game. Look at these guys. I can see why he’s got p790s. It’s pretty good. Um, oh, total tangent, total tangent right, because I was going to say about ping driver right, but I saw a video of somebody getting a custom fitting for a putter and they said they were trying out a ping right. And they said will do you think when I hit this I’ll get the ping noise?

Chris: 27:43

okay, I didn’t know that was a thing yeah, so back in the day the ping putters used to is that is that why it’s called pink.

Nish: 27:48

Yeah, it’s a thing like metal things when you get a little, I did not know that because I don’t think right, because obviously not. They don’t go the metal faces anymore, but yeah right didn’t know that, didn’t know that, so I think it was. He was trying out like an and I’m like it was an old putter that he was trying out, like an old butter that he was trying. So yeah, he was like see if I can get the ping noise. I’m like that’s why it’s called ping, is it? I don’t know.

Chris: 28:14

I don’t know. I don’t know that. That’s why it’s called ping.

Nish: 28:17

Unless the word ping came from the brand. I don’t know.

Chris: 28:20

Who knows, that’s one. To Google google, that’s another episode right there.

Nish: 28:23

Sorry, total tangent, but I think we should do. We should do so. It’s always nice to do something like that, as we also keep our individual scores anyway, but a little competitive match play. Let’s do it yeah, it’ll sharpen us up for ganton as well come on, sorry jim, you’re gonna get a match play. If we get to like, jim’s gonna get some trash talk now, isn’t he from from chris? Because he’t he from Chris. Yeah, yeah, mate, it’s definitely 7-9 here.

Jim: 28:50

I’ll just speak to my mate Paul and see how he dealt with it pretty easily.

Chris: 28:54

To be honest, there wasn’t much to be dealt with hey, paul was on my team the only thing he had to deal with was me effing blinding as I was whacking it into the roof by the time it got to the sharp end of the competition.

Nish: 29:08

Chris was crying.

Chris: 29:10

Yeah, I mean. That is definitely the closest I’ve come to tears on the golf course.

Nish: 29:13

I will never forget that when you hit his T-shirt and he turned around to me and it was just this like dead-behind-the-eyes. Look, it’s like what’s happened. I don’t know what’s going on. Going on, I don’t even know if I can actually play golf anymore. Clubs are going on eBay straight away. All that kind of stuff.

Jim: 29:29

I’ve got 98 more.

Nish: 29:31

Oh yeah, Is it okay to back out of my own challenge now Go?

Jim: 29:35

away.

Nish: 29:38

Actually, yeah. So what are we saying? It is? What is it? Just you hit the green. No, it’s got to be nearest to the pin, it’s got to be nearest to the pin, unless, we just want to go for the lowest score in the hole.

Jim: 29:49

There could be some pretty high scores if we don’t hit the green. Very true, I think we need to. It looks a pretty good challenge.

Nish: 29:55

Fewest beach balls. We need to have an attitude adjustment here. I reckon I think we’re all going to hit the green.

Jim: 30:03

I think they said that.

Nish: 30:04

I think we’re all going to hit the green, so I think the nearest to the pin is the determiner, isn’t it? I think we’ll all do it. It might not be in our first tee shot, but I think we’ll all.

Chris: 30:14

Let’s go one step further, nish. Let’s be more positive. Whoever gets a hole in one wins, the hole Wins life.

Nish: 30:21

do you get a hole in one in a signature hole?

Jim: 30:25

you’re buying the drinks, do you get?

Chris: 30:28

I’ve never had a hole in one, and I’ve played a lot of rounds of golf.

Nish: 30:30

I have. I mean that was on a par 3 kids course, but yeah, you verified it.

Jim: 30:38

The thing was, when you announced it on a whatsapp group, you were so pleased as punch, but you were so coy about it, as well as where you played, who was there to? And yeah, it was.

Nish: 30:49

It was an 80 yard shot. It was legit. I mean I felt like it didn’t go anywhere near the hole, but it was in the hole.

Chris: 30:55

I mean it’s essentially you know it happens probably once every three rounds. It’s basically chipping in is what happened?

Nish: 31:01

it’s not really a hole in one yeah, it went down one on a, on a shitty little bit of a4 scorecard. So you know that’s.

Chris: 31:09

But yeah, like interesting for you what do you think the odds are on one of us getting a hole in one on one of the top 100 golf courses, and can we put a bet on that now at like the bookies, like rory’s rory’s dad did for him to win the open?

Nish: 31:23

yeah, like you know, people putting bets on like michelle way to win like a men’s. Like you know, people were putting bets on like Michelle Way to win like a men’s championship, weren’t they? And within 10 years and stuff like that.

Chris: 31:31

I think if we go to a Bucky’s tomorrow and say, right, this is us two, here’s our golf swings. What odds are you going to give us on one of us getting a hole-in-one on one of the top 100 courses? What odds would you give us if you were the bookie?

Nish: 31:45

jim, you’re a maths man you’re a maths man yeah I was gonna say it’s like they don’t give you that.

Jim: 31:51

I don’t think they give you that 200 to 1 brilliant odds so 100 rounds of golf.

Chris: 31:55

We’ve already played three, so we’ve got 97 rounds of golf left. How many?

Jim: 31:58

rounds of golf have you played in your life?

Nish: 32:01

yeah, oh well let’s, let’s, yeah, yeah, starting to starting 97 is probably.

Jim: 32:07

Let’s maybe put it this way Some worth of golf In those three rounds.

Nish: 32:11

how close have any of us got to getting anywhere near the hole on a par three? Not really.

Chris: 32:17

I mean I’ve had a few. So I’ve had two or three that have bounced out. I’ve hit flags. So I’ve been close before. I’ve never had not this. I’ve licked out a few times okay but I’ve never had an actual hole in one this is a great question.

Nish: 32:30

This is a new episode. What? Are the odds nish what would be the odds on yeah, what’s the probability? What? Would be the odds there’s usually four, isn’t there. We’ve got 400 holes, 97 more rounds to play. Yeah, so nearly 400 goes. Oh no, it’s not that many, is it? And it’s not that many. It really isn’t that many. That’s not that many, it’s 400 tee shots.

Chris: 32:59

I feel like I’ve got to do this now. Now I’ve kind of mentioned it and’ve got it. There is like a need to get one as part of this challenge.

Nish: 33:06

So paul, the chap who’s invited us up to carnew st thanks, paul. By the way, I know you listen every time he is doing a, a hole-in-one challenge in 2025. Okay, so the courses that he’s playing, I think is the one that’s his, his normal local course okay, every day he’s going out and filming a t-shirt.

Chris: 33:24

He’s got close quite a few tires but you know what we’re getting to march now he just plays like the same par three over and over again.

Nish: 33:29

I think he’s played a few different places, but it’s generally the ones. The ones that he’s posted every day seem to be the same same course. Right, he’s got one shot, though, so it’s just one shot, that’s it. So we’ve got the. If we were to do that, the, the added challenge is it’s 400 different holes. Yeah, right, so the things that need to like. There’s no previous knowledge. There’s no like, actually, if I go off to the right there it’ll feed in and all that kind.

Chris: 33:55

There’s none of that um does anyone know what the odds of actually getting a hole in one are?

Nish: 34:00

it must be like one in a million this, this, this is definitely google territory now, isn’t it? Yeah, the the the odds of a golfer getting a hole in one ever? That’s the first one, I suppose, isn’t it? And then we obviously multiply that a little bit to go in this 400 t shots. We gotta do it.

Chris: 34:20

Yeah, I feel like I’m manifesting this now, so one of these is gonna getdeen.

Nish: 34:24

I mean, it’d be fucking amazing if you did it. This would be.

Jim: 34:28

Here are the odds, I’m sorry. An average golfer has a 12,000 to 1 chance of a hole-in-one Okay, while a low handicapper has a 5,000 to 1 chance. 12,000 divided by 430.

Nish: 34:40

I was saying it’s a 30,000 to 1 chance.

Jim: 34:42

I one chance, I think if you were getting at odds. Obviously they’re not going to offer you that ability maybe, maybe we’re not talking about odds.

Nish: 34:46

We’re just talking about what are the chances that one of us is going to get, rather than what the odds would be so what are the chances of just? Ever of holy one yeah, that’s over a golfing career. So that’s over, like somebody playing for 40 years or something like that. Right, we’re condensing that into 400 rounds. Yeah, chances, sorry, this is a fascinating 50,000 to one.

Chris: 35:13

Are you taking that? You’re taking that. Bet jim 50,000 to one for either of us to get a hole in one on this challenge I think it’s gonna be longer than that.

Nish: 35:23

I mean, you know you’re playing some tough courses, some tough par threes, a lot of links, so wind is a massive factor.

Chris: 35:32

Yeah. You’ve got 400 goals in it, but then you’ve also got wind, but you’ve also got like the roll on the ball right, so you’ve kind of got more chance, I’d say, of getting a hole in one on a link.

Nish: 35:41

Oh, I see what you mean.

Chris: 35:42

yeah, You’ve got to roll up to the hole, rather than having to kind of pitch it directly into you, but I don’t think that chance increases.

Nish: 35:49

does it?

Chris: 35:50

It’ll just be the same. I’m trying to make myself feel like I’m more likely to get a hole-in-one during this challenge. You’re not.

Jim: 35:55

You just want to get some money out of me somehow, aren’t?

Chris: 35:57

you? Yeah, essentially I know he’s a hustler for such a long time. Do you know what’s going to happen now? Now you’re re-employed, Jiv.

Nish: 36:05

I know what’s going to happen now. We’ll do this Welsh like weekender. Right, you can see it. Now Chris is going to nail his drive on the first hole, both holes. They’ll be like oh, should we do a new challenge like the first hole?

Chris: 36:18

how far do you?

Nish: 36:19

hit your drive down the middle.

Chris: 36:21

What I’ve not told you is my party trick is just like just chucking a hole in one out whenever I need to just yeah it’s in my locker.

Nish: 36:28

Just cheat the bookies, yeah just do it now, alright, okay, yeah, fine yeah, if I must, I’ll stick you alright go on, then I’ll do that. How many pros have done it like I bet? I bet pros go through a whole career and never get hold of one. Sure, yeah, yeah.

Chris: 36:46

Interesting. Yeah, I mean, I think I’m just really looking forward. I think I’m yeah, I’m looking forward to that Probably the most of one of the courses we’re going to play this year A, because I think I’m dead excited. Abu Dhabi itself looks like a beautiful little village. It’s been really welcoming, so I think we’re going to have a really Feels like Gareth is going to buy us drinks all night.

Nish: 37:07

One night, gareth.

Chris: 37:10

Although we’re there on a Sunday.

Jim: 37:11

When me and him beat you, surely you have to pay for the drinks.

Nish: 37:15

Yeah, good shout, oh wait. But when I get a hole in, one I’ve got to buy.

Chris: 37:20

Everyone drinks.

Jim: 37:21

Mind you as soon as we play, you get your insurance. Now I say all this, we’re clear enough as soon as we play.

Chris: 37:25

Get your insurance now. I say all this.

Nish: 37:26

We’re clear enough as soon as we leave.

Nish: 37:28

I fact-checked that we finish. Sorry, as soon as we finish. Yeah, we’ve got to drive home. We’ve got to drive home, but I reckon all of the I’m going to call them the characters and I don’t mean that in a derogatory manner at all All the characters in this story, a wonderful story of how this round at abadovi has developed into something that I’m so excited about. I think all of the characters are going to be in the pub on a saturday night when we’re in there, they’re going to be like oh it’s, yeah right, it’s nice to see you.

Nish: 37:55

You know we’ll see you tomorrow at the course it’s I mean that it has that kind of feel to it doesn’t it?

Chris: 38:00

it’s going to be dangerous for the actual golf on sunday, though, isn’t it? We’re just in the pub all night.

Nish: 38:05

We’ll go back to what we were talking about in the Royal St David’s preview, which is how you’re right with heavily drinking.

Jim: 38:13

Aggressively drinking.

Nish: 38:14

Aggressively drinking and then playing golf.

Jim: 38:17

Yeah, but the day before after a grounder golf is different, surely?

Nish: 38:21

Yeah, you can have a pass out on that. Can’t you Drink as much as you like Once. You can have a pass out on that, can’t you? Yeah, Drink as much as you like. Once we tell Gareth that it’s a two on two match play, we’re cutting us off after a couple of pints.

Jim: 38:31

Here’s the score right now.

Nish: 38:32

Right, that’s it, we’re done now. Sorry, jim I think she’d be on water now, yeah, yeah, come on. Come on.

Chris: 38:47

Have a Bar, this particular round of golf.

Nish: 38:49

I’m also just excited to just get back out there and go to some of these amazing golf clubs, because it’s been too long, hasn’t it? It’s been itching, hands are itching, beards itchy.

Chris: 38:54

I’ve got some cream for that.

Jim: 38:55

actually, I could go to the doctors.

Nish: 38:58

Nah, just let the immune systems handle it, it’s fine. Yeah, I just can’t wait. I think it is made special because we’re doing it as two courses in the same trip. We’re going away, jim’s coming. Yeah, that just adds a little bit of extra spice to the weekend, doesn’t it? I think, don’t do that, actually Don’t do spice.

Jim: 39:25

I don’t think you’ll be doing anything, though.

Nish: 39:27

But it’s going be, it’s gonna be, amazing.

Jim: 39:30

It will be definitely I’m beaming about this round of golf both rounds and I, and I think, I think abu dhabi is going to be particularly special. It’s going to be one that really sticks in the memory.

Chris: 39:41

Um, I mean because I’m not participating in this challenge at all yes, this is going to be one of your few kind of entry points into it, isn’t it, Jim? Yeah, absolutely.

Jim: 39:49

It feels like a great one.

Chris: 39:51

I will just add sorry, chris, I was going to say this year we’re going to have been to well, apart from Ireland. So we’re going to have done Scotland, england and Wales by the end of this year Correct, and I’ve never played golf in scotland or wales, so to tick those two countries off.

Nish: 40:11

Yeah, I mean it’s, which is scandalous really, because like two hours away from wales and two hours away from scotland, yeah, never made it right, it’s like an hour to the border yeah, like it’s it’s ridiculous really that you know, and of course, at conway for example, that conway is very, very highly regarded. Yeah, never made it over there. Yeah, I think to get those two countries sort of you know the ball rolling actually 50 of wales done, but yeah, it feels like my list was like a big step, doesn’t it to kind of?

Chris: 40:35

yeah, yeah I’ve done all three countries, even though we’ve still only done 10 of the courses. But let’s not, let’s not focus on that.

Nish: 40:43

Let’s not, yeah, let’s, let’s focus on the positives. Absolutely, yeah, yeah. On the 12th we’re going to hit the green, all of us are going to hit the green.

Chris: 40:48

Pardon me, I’m going to get a hole in one. It’s going to go straight in.

Nish: 40:51

Yeah, but if you dunk it, that’s not hitting the green. So technically speaking, you’ve not hit it.

Chris: 40:56

Technicality Jim’s still going to. I get 50 grand from jim. That’s what we’re saying.

Nish: 41:13

Happy days, fine, I mean I’m happy you’re all right with that no deal I’m all right, I’ll tell you where I am, yeah, my uh handicap thing. It seems to be a thing that I’m picking up on now, but my handicap would jump from 18.7 to on the gold tees, which I imagine is what we’ll play it’ll be, 21. So that tells me not a crazy challenge, not that really difficult. So what?

Chris: 41:39

just to put that into context. What have we seen so far on the other courses? I can’t remember what’s the highest you’ve gone up to.

Nish: 41:45

I went up to 23 on sna. Interesting, that was the highest I went up to because sna sna didn’t feel particularly like punitive, did it.

Chris: 41:54

I challenge the bat.

Nish: 41:54

Nine did the front nine was. I was barnstalled on the front yeah, you were the bat.

Chris: 42:00

Nine felt every bit of that yeah that’s what I did, that, like we said on the day, I think, um, they said they cut the rough back quite a lot, didn’t they? So that probably makes it a lot easier. But yeah interesting. It, just it, just it feels like an interesting comparison, comparison point now.

Nish: 42:14

Yeah, yeah, what does your handicap change to and does it feel like that?

Chris: 42:19

on the day like it. Yeah, basically we’re just going to scrutinize the handicap system, see whether it’s just total bullshit I like that.

Nish: 42:24

Yeah, it’s a good idea, yeah the more you get into it, the more you find out that a lot of people are not happy with the new handicap system, are they? Yeah, I don’t think anyone was happy with the old one either, like who’s ever going to be happy with it? Always a bone can say is to our what’s, what’s cheers in welsh, yakida yakida, because I know borida, which is obviously good morning. Yeah, yakida cheers. Yeah, we shall reconvene once we have played these two wonderful courses.

Chris: 42:58

We’ll reconvene in wales.

Nish: 42:59

Hopefully we can actually play them we can actually yeah, yeah, yeah doesn’t make any sense, does it? Next time, on the top 110 golf podcast, we’ll review our round at royal saint david’s golf club. And boy, does it feel good to say that.