Down In One Golf Society

Golf Break in France

The spring’s golf break took place from 6th to 9th June. Andrzej, Bob, David & Rob decided to travel late on Friday afternoon in order to maximise the weekend’s enjoyment and to prepare themselves for the ensuing golf.

On arriving in Calais the first task was to stock up on the essential items needed for the weekend such as bacon, eggs, bread and a moderate quantity of liquid refreshment for after dinner drinks. 

The house at Belle Dune was “compact” but adequate for our needs and had the advantage of being situated next to the 16th fairway.

Richard, Bob, Rob & Rod on the patio at our rented house

Richard and Rod arrived at the house in time for lunch on the patio from where we could observe how various golfers approached the 16th green. The late afternoon tee time at Belle Dune turned out to be in our favour as the temperature during the day had been too hot to play.

The competition for the Secretary’s Cup was won by Andrzej with 35 points. Rob came second with 31 points and Richard third with 29 points. Bob came last which meant his handicap was raised by 2 for the next day’s competition.

David, Rod, Rob, Richard & Bob at Nampont St Martin

David in front of the 16th fairway at Belle Dune

The allocation of the beds was decided when the Secretary was still unpacking the car. As the thought of sharing tiny bunk beds with HELP did not appeal to him he opted to sleep on the sofa bed, which had the advantage that the downstairs bathroom effectively gave him en suite facilities. 

On Saturday morning the advance party explored nearby Fort Mahon and decided to book that evening’s meal in a local restaurant. As the local restaurants seemed to be busy at the weekend the party drove to Montreuil to find a suitable restaurant for the following evening.

Presentation of the Secretary’s Cup

After overnight thunderstorms we arrived at Nampont St Martin in the pouring rain. This led to some indecision about whether we should play but as the course was not busy we were able to delay our start time until the rain stopped. However no sooner had the first group teed off when the heavens opened again. Fortunately the rain stopped altogether after a short while and the only unfavourable conditions we had to contend with were some water logged greens and a strong wind.

The lakes on the course proved an attraction to a number of our balls especially David’s. He insisted on a fourth attempt at his approach to the 7th green despite having reached the maximum 10 strokes allowed for the hole. Needless to say this attempt led to yet another drowned ball.

After 18 holes of stroke play Rod and David were declared the finalists for the President’s Putter and Richard and Rob the finalists for the DIOGS Bowl. Both finals were fought over the first three holes as everyone was keen to get away in time for the evening meal.

Fortunately David didn’t win the putter this time around which saves him the embarrassment of revealing where his wife has hidden it the next time we need to compete for this prestigious prize.

Richard won the DIOGS Bowl partly through superior play but mainly through Rob’s unorthodox route to the second green.

After a pleasant evening’s meal in Montreuil we returned to the house for after dinner drinks and a lively discussion on the meaning of life. This is when Rob found the downside to sleeping downstairs i.e. the difficulty in getting everyone to leave his “bedroom”.

Presentation of the President’s Putter

On Monday morning we took a leisurely drive to Hardelot where we were booked to play Les Dunes course just after midday. The course was crowded so after the 11th hole David and Bob decided to retire to the bar for some refreshment.

At this point Richard had a commanding lead with 26 points. However by the time we reached the 18th tee he had only managed to increase this to 29 points, a score now equalled by Rob. After a magnificent drive (A bit over the top - Ed) Rob failed to capitalise on Richard’s failure to make the fairway when he chipped into two bunkers in quick succession. In the end neither player scored anymore points and Rob was declared the winner of the Treasurer’s Trophy on countback.