TAUPO AMATEURS III
2016 will forever be remembered for some bizarre administration decisions. The event began with hope and ended in despair for all but one man, a man who managed to find redemption in the quirks of these administration decisions. After deciding that a handicap system was to be introduced for the first time the committee opted to allocate penalties to each player based on the order they were picked in the pre-match captains picks. Not only did this arbitrary system provide a scattered field, it demanded players turn the bogeys into double bogeys, pars into bogeys and, well, generally demoralise all and sundry. No quality shot was rewarded this weekend but some handled the adverse conditions better than others. A titanic struggle played out for the overalls with Robert Graham’s early ascendancy fading down the stretch. Going into the 36th hole tied at 106 over par Marcus Jones & Rob Graham truely lived up to the occasion and carded quad bogey 7 & double bogey 5 respectively, giving Marcus the title in his debut event.
On the other end of the card the ultimate redemption arc was being written. Matthew Gabriel, after a humiliating introduction to the Amateurs one year previous, had been convinced to return and have another crack at it. 360 days of intense training surely paid off as he worked his lack of soul destroying penalties to his advantage and cruised through the back 9 of day 2, having the cheek to tap in for a triple bogey 6 on the final hole and claim Birdie 355 days to the day since putting on the overalls.
The committee was thankfully able to save face after the handicap debacle by dramatically improving the events catering. Beers from Garage Project were in plentiful supply and a sumptuous feast was laid out following day one for all to enjoy.
2016’s Amateurs will go down as a chaotic affair but safe in the knowledge that the mistakes from the past shan’t be repeated again. We look forward to a 2017 event with clear, concise rules and a handicap system that does not crush the soul.
