A Setback, Not a Surrender – A Wet and Wellow Beating!

Wellow 5 – Boundary Lakes 1

(14 – 4 points)

One difficult afternoon doesn’t undo a season of good work.

Some away trips have a habit of reminding you why they’re difficult. This was one of them.

With history offering little encouragement, Boundary Lakes headed to Wellow on Monday hoping to change the script. A slightly different-looking side had been assembled, spirits were positive and there was every intention of giving the hosts a proper contest. Unfortunately, nobody had told Wellow they were supposed to follow the new script.

The weather wasn’t exactly welcoming either. Rain greeted every pairing on the first tee, and when it finally relented, the wind decided it was missing out on the fun. In fairness, Wellow’s course stood up remarkably well to the recent downpours, with the greens rolling nicely and only a couple needing to be moved to escape the standing water. Sadly, the Lakers couldn’t claim to have coped quite as well.

Two halves and a few headaches

There were, however, some determined performances amid the gloom. Jason Murdock and John Knight led the way, with seven consecutive halved holes before Jason’s par at the eighth finally put the Lakers ahead. Things were going reasonably well until an unfortunate encounter with the wrong ball at the 13th undid the advantage. A Wellow birdie at 15 added to the pressure, but Jason produced a magnificent recovery, chip and putt at the last to rescue a thoroughly deserved half against two formidable single-figure handicappers.

Graeme Cook and Reeves were involved in another terrific tussle. Behind for much of the front nine, they fought back to take the lead at the 11th before the match swung back and forth. With everything resting on the final hole, Graeme held his nerve to secure another valuable half. Those two 18th-hole performances proved particularly important. Without them, the afternoon might have ended in the sort of whitewash normally associated with decorating rather than golf.

Hannah and Schwodler also put up a spirited fight. Their match was all square through 13, but a late flourish of birdies and a nett birdie from the home side eventually sealed a 2&1 defeat. Elsewhere, Blake and Rowlands, Heal and Fanstone, and Pibworth and Willis found themselves facing opponents who simply weren’t giving much away. All three matches ended at the 15th, allowing the players an earlier-than-planned return to the clubhouse. Under the circumstances, the prospect of somewhere warm and dry may have been the day’s most welcome consolation prize.

When the best-laid plans meet a wet fairway

There had been plenty of thought put into this fixture, with past results studied and a plan devised to give the Lakers every chance of overcoming their difficult away record. Unfortunately, the careful calculations appear not to have included a setting for torrential rain, soft fairways and a home side in determined mood. The spreadsheet may have taken a beating of its own.

But that’s golf. You can prepare, plan and analyse every possible advantage, only to discover that the game has an entirely different script in mind. And credit where it’s due. Wellow played excellent golf, made full use of their home advantage and thoroughly deserved their victory.

One afternoon doesn’t define a season

It’s easy to get carried away when results are going your way, just as it’s tempting to dwell on the disappointment when they aren’t. But let’s keep some perspective. Boundary Lakes remain right in the thick of the league contest, and that position has been earned through performances, determination and results over the course of the campaign. None of that disappeared in the Wellow rain.

Every successful season has its bumps in the road. Sometimes they’re little ones. Occasionally, as Monday demonstrated, they’re large enough to make the suspension creak. But a difficult away day doesn’t suddenly make a good side a bad one, and there’s a long way to go before this particular story reaches its conclusion.

You don’t get to the top end of the league by winning every match. You get there by making sure the difficult days don’t define your season.

Next stop: Crane Valley

And there’s no time for dwelling on disappointment, with another demanding away fixture at Crane Valley next on the calendar. Another tough examination? Almost certainly. But these are precisely the challenges that make a league campaign interesting, and the Lakers have already shown they have the quality and determination to compete at the sharp end.

The journey home from Wellow might have been quieter than usual, but the league table still makes considerably more pleasant reading than Monday’s scorecard.

One result. One afternoon. Plenty still to play for.

And perhaps, before Crane Valley, somebody should check whether that spreadsheet comes with a weather forecast.