Our first course was the superb course at Irvine. I bet you all remember the talk from the golf secretary (or V.I.) about the course & its history.
Tenko started the proceedings with a superb drive straight down the middle. Oh how his playing partner Edgie would have liked to have done that!
Daz had a very steady start with only 14 points on the front 9.But he saw that the competition wasn't all that strong on day 1 & cruised to victory with a back 9 of 21 points & a grand total of 35 points.
Badge was in 2nd with what proved to be a very steady & consistent 33. Simon Gadd (Gaddy) also had 33 points but as he was a newcomer he was placed 3rd. (He was told it was done on the count back!!)
Day 2, Glasgow Gailes was, as many people said after playing all the courses the toughest of all 4 that we played.
Even Tenko (who was complaining constantly on the practise putting green that he had been cut to 11 "How am I ever supposed to win if I am cut for playing to my handicap on day 1, maybe I'll have to slow down a bit!" he was heard moaning to fellow players) struggled with the front 9 but managed to score 16 points.
He came storming back with 19 points for a winning total of 35 points.
This gave him a 1 shot win over his biggest rival Stewart (I played with the same ball the whole round) Wilson.
Paul Mathews with a handicap of 6 (our lowest on tour) carded a creditable 31 points, to take 3rd place.
Day 3,the course that was many peoples favourite Kilmarnock Barassie.
A quote was heard by one of the members as the 4 ball of Gaddy, Davie G, Cliffy & The Edge started the proceedings "Looking at those 4 Tee shots I'd expect the winner to be from another of the groups".
Little did he know that all 4 were in the top 7 - the best 4 ball of the day.
But there was only 1 winner with a storming front 9 of 22 points and a very steady 18 points on the back 9 (which included 2 blobs!), Gaddy stormed to a 3 shot victory.
On being told of Gaddy's score Wils was quoted "Right he's drinking with me tonight - see how he gets on then".
Badge once again claimed 2nd (on the count back) with an excellent 37 points, he tied with Davie G who after 6 holes had beaten his previous days total!
Day 4, the last round of the week, played on the first parkland course the picturesque Belleisle. It was decided that the lowest scores would go out last with the highest out first, in order for people to watch the final group up the 18th.
It was also expected that the winner of day 4 would come from one of the later groups as these people had been playing the better golf during the week - Andy Widd had other ideas.
He was joined on the fairways by Davie G & Paddy & he was determined to show everyone what he was capable of. With that he stormed out of the blocks with a front 9 score of 20 points.
Even though the other 2 in his group didn't play all that well Andy kept his calm & secured the win with a back 9 of 16 points, to give him a total of 36 points.
Big Wils with a score of 35 points claimed 2nd place, just edging Willie Will into 3rd (who also saved his best round to last) & Tenko into 4th on the count back who 'blew up' with 2 blobs on the back 9 under immense pressure from Wils, as they were both aiming to be overall champion of Ayr.
Starting the last day there were only 4 main contenders. The final group was as follows -
| 1 | Simon Gadd | 103 |
| 2 | Jason Lee | 97 |
| 3 | Stewart Wilson | 95 |
| 4 | Martin Lewis | 94 |
In a roller coaster of a last round from the final group all 4 players felt that they could claim the title, but sadly for 3 of them "There can only be one Winner" was the quote from our on course reporter & that turned out to be true.
Tenko stormed away & scored 13 points from the first 5 holes to catch Gaddy up Wils with 9 points & Badger with 8 points had both kept themselves in contention.
By the 10th hole Tenko had claimed the lead having scored 23 points for a running total of 117 points, he was now the On course reporters favourite for his own title.
Gaddy was still clinging on to 2nd with 13 points from 10 holes his running total was 116 points.
Badger had scored 17 points from 10 holes making 114 points & Wils 18 points from 10 holes keeping himself just in touch with a running total of 113 points.
The next 5 holes showed how well these players held their nerve under the pressure.
Wils claimed 11 points, Gaddy clawed his way back with 9 points, Badger & Tenko both claimed 8 points each.
With 3 holes to play the running totals were -
| 1 | Martin Lewis | 125 |
| 2 | Simon Gadd | 125 |
| 3 | Stewart Wilson |
124 |
| 4 | Jason Lee | 122 |
The 16th hole was a 391 yard par 4 with a Stroke Index of 4, so all players gained a shot & were equal. But who could handle the pressure?
| Martin Lewis | BLOB |
| Simon Gadd | 1POINT |
| Stewart Wilson | 2POINTS |
| Jason Lee | 2POINTS |
WAS IT GETTING TOO TENSE FOR TENKO? COULD HE HANDLE THE PRESSURE COULD IT GET ANY CLOSER?
The 17th hole was a 142 yard par 3 with a Stroke Index of 14, Badger was the only player too gain a shot. He made it count as well 3 points for his par/nett birdie. Gaddy struggled on for 1 point with Tenko & Wils both scoring a par for 2 points each.
Coming to the 18th tee any one of the 4 players could still win the title.
The 18th was a 503 yard par 5 with a Stroke Index of 10, this gave the advantage to Wils (H/Cap 13) & Badger (H/Cap 16) as they had a shot. Both Tenko & Gaddy had a Handicap of 9.
As Wils was walking to the 18th green it was clear to see that he was in the driving seat by the CHESHIRE CAT GRIN on his face. Tenko & Badger dejected looking, as they lagged behind, Gaddy still not in site.
Gaddy fell away with a Blob to total 24 points.
Badger also struggled with a 7/6 for 1 point, for a total of 31 points.
Tenko claimed a par 5 for 2 points and 35 points in total.
But this was not good enough as Wils also scored 2 points from his 6/5 for a total of 35 points.
Some unanswered questions
Did Tenko bottle it?
Did Badger not believe in himself?
Did Gaddy regret drinking with Wils the night before?
Was 'The Big Man' too good when it mattered?
The final positions show how close it was.
| 1 | STEWART WILSON | 130 |
| 2 | Martin Lewis | 129 |
| 3 | Jason Lee | 128 |
| 4 | Simon Gadd | 127 |