We enjoyed Royal Troon so much in 2013 that we returned the next year to the adjacent course, Prestwick. This course held the first 9 Opens and deservedly so. It has a wonderful uniqueness, quirky in parts but also a genuine links.

 

This tournament saw Mr Newbury join our ranks and he smiled from ear to ear the whole time. It also saw the emergence of the TML claret jug trophy. 

 

We stayed in a small but perfectly formed hotel opposite the course. Bryn and Richie got back to the hotel on Thursday night at 1ish and decided they hadn’t rinsed every last drop of fun out of it. A taxi soon arrived and took them into Ayr where they proceeded to have a great night, drinking shorts and standing around in a club, looking out of place and generally wishing they were in bed, like all the other members. Saturday night was spent in Glasgow with members taking full advantage of the town in all its finery. 

 

The golf was also truly memorable. All members present will remember the first tee nerves with the graveyard wall down the righthand side. They will also remember the fiendishly difficult 17th hole, with a blind approach over a steep hill to a heavily bunkered green. The 18th hole looked like a formality by comparison but still proved a trap for the unwary. The last group exchanged the lead all throughout the final round but Gaz evened the score on the 36th green and took Rolfey into a play-off. Both hit solid tee shots down the first but Rolfey then slightly blocked his second shot into the graveyard, opening the door for Gaz to take his 3rd title with a regulation par 4. 

 

Scores:

 

The scores for the first round were lost in 2017 but the final round scores survived! We have since hired a firm of accountants who have worked out Gaz’s and Rolfey’s first round scores based on the fact that they ended up in a play-off.  The remaining members are ranked according to their second round scores only.

 

1. Gaz (5): 32, 34: 66

2. Rolfey (13): 34, 32: 66

3. Barry (14): ?, 32: ?

4. Ant (12): ?, 29: ?

5. Bryn (6): ?, 28: ?

6. Richie (20): ?, 25: ?

7. Andy (20): ?, 25: ?