AGC whitewashed by Al Ghazal Golf Club
Source: Onny Martin, 5th Feb 2017
(See the original photo - 5MB file size)

   A band of Awali Golf Club representatives ventured beyond the safe shores of their home course during the weekend of the 3rd and 4th of February, going forth to Abu Dhabi, in the sixth installment of the annual inter-club matchplay against Al Ghazal Golf Club to compete for the Hindmarsh Trophy. The weekend proved eventful and in terms of the result, AGGC gave the AGC visitors a total pasting, achieving a home victory to the tune of 9 games to zero under a four-ball better-ball format. However, the result was not the whole story.
   Historically, the 2010/11 season saw the first occasion of a match-play competition between AGC and Al Ghazal Golf Club of Abu Dhabi, hosted by AGC in January 2011. For this first match, Keith Hindmarsh was a member of the AGC team and donated a trophy for the event, the Falcon Head Trophy. However, during the 2011/12 season, Keith died suddenly following a short illness. The next occasion of the match was held in January 2013, hosted in Abu Dhabi by the Al Ghazal Golf Club. Just prior to this, the AGC Committee decided to honour Keith's memory, with the renaming of the Falcon Head Trophy to the Hindmarsh Trophy.
   On the previous outing in 2016, AGGC were hosted by AGC in Bahrain. At that time, Al Ghazal had the audacity of winning the event on away turf, the first time a home side had lost. So AGC had dented pride to recover from in this 2017 rematch, and the respect of those members not playing in the event to be regained. To better their chances, AGC thought, the biggest ever contingent made the trek, eighteen players in all.
   The lead-up to the event saw everyone's concentration focused on the weather forecast. With some predictions that there may be winds as high as 50 knots blowing down the Gulf on the Friday - abating somewhat to more normal conditions for Saturday (the day of the actual matchplay) - the competitions scheduled back home at AGC's sand course in Bahrain were postponed in advance. This was an extremely rare decision, as postponement is normally only due to imminent wet weather.
   However, the jet-setters had booked their flights and were determined to live down to the Club's reputation for having fun in traditional style and so a mere weather forecast was dismissed with disdain. Some serious players took advantage of their flexible schedules to travel in advance and limber-up, enjoying golf on an Emirati course with a strange green surface. With the majority of players safely in the chosen Yas Island hotel, some even managed to find the energy to limber-up in the small hours of Friday morning, practicing their swing on the dance floor.
   The bleary-eyed awoke early Friday morning to the ping of messages announcing "Today's practice competition cancelled - ball not remaining stationary on green due to wind". Looking out the hotel windows confirmed that the weather forecasters had been pretty accurate: howling winds and rising sand everywhere. With AGC's Captain Bill Scarth leadership, a huddle gathered to discuss this news, musing whether it was a tactic by the home team to gain advantage, especially as about half of the visiting team had not played on Al Ghazal's course before. With golfing pride at stake, the idea to decamp down the road to Dubai to watch the Desert Classic gained less votes than going to Al Ghazal and playing come hell or high sand, so as to gain some familiarity with the battle ground.
   Friday thus saw the Awali players attempting to find their way around the course, only a couple of locals being brave enough to venture out in the somewhat atrocious conditions. After play a headcount was made, the result of which indicated that no search party would be needed, as everyone had made it back and thus celebrations started with a warming cup of cocoa. Back at the hotel, the Captain held a strategy meeting to maximize the chances of success and sent everyone off to bed early. It is believed that some renegades may have not exactly complied with the command.
   The bleary-eyed awoke Saturday, cautiously peered beyond the curtains and were flabbergasted to see that the weather forecasters had got it right two days running, being greeted with a beautiful clear-blue sky and only light winds. The more cynical were overheard suggesting that this was yet another below-the-belt tactic by the home team to gain advantage, as the AGC visitors had only the chance to practice in the palm-trees-nearly-horizontal conditions of the previous day.
   To recover from the ravages of the Friday's winds, the grounds-staff had been on-site from 5am and had successfully achieved a transformation, with all the greens bearing an immaculate layer of oiled sand, allowing balls to indeed remain stationary. Following the mandatory photo shoot, the 10:30am shotgun klaxon sounded and swishing commenced.
   The magnetic water maintained its attractiveness to many a visiting player and the sand fairways hampered the progress of many an Awali ball. This was felt acutely by the AGC ladies, this being something they were not used to due to the rock fairways of the Awali course providing a much greater roll distance. Meanwhile, the hosts generally kept their nerve with steady play.
   For the visitors, noteworthy attempts to salvage the day were made by partners Nicki & Dave Bailey, Liz Kaila & Phil Trueblood and Nicki Park & Bill Scarth, as they managed to hold their own to the very end, losing on the last hole. The other six matches were, ahem, not quite so close.
   Following play, a buffet was served at the Clubhouse terrace, followed by competition formalities. An introductory welcome was given by AGGC's professional and concluded with the announcement of the result, diplomatically describing this simply as a win to the home team Al Ghazal, who thus retained the Hindmarsh Trophy for the third year running. Local Club Captain Herman Groenewald, together with Lady Club Captain Sandra Grenet, then welcomed the AGC visitors and apologised for the previous day's playing conditions. The formalities ended with AGC's Captain thanking Al Ghazal for their hospitality, this followed by the heavy burden of presenting the winning Captain with the Trophy.
   The afternoon continued towards sunset with the usual machinations of where it went wrong, where it went right and where it went wrong again, before the teary-eyed visitors aimed themselves back to Abu Dhabi airport for their sheepish return home. However, the story would not be complete without a reference to what then transpired at the airport.
   A couple of players arrived early at the gate and on occasions noted a grounds-staff person wandering around asking, in a rapid-fire, heavy Indian sub-continent accent, what was thought to be the words "Elizabeth Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor, is Elizabeth Taylor here?" To which, you may have guessed, there were bemused looks as reincarnation would have been necessary to achieve the aim. Half-an-hour later the ground staff tried again, this time with success as they were interested in AGC's very own Publicity Member, a certain Elizabeth Kaila. With even more tears in their eyes, the gathered clan waved goodbye to Liz as she was told to accompany the grounds-staff back to the check-in because there was something awfully suspicious in her check-in baggage.
   The doubly dispirited team, no Trophy and now not knowing if they would ever see one of their band again, sunk further into melancholy. But charging over the horizon with a blaze of euphoria came AGC's Dave Bailey. After gaining everyone's attention, he opened one of his carry-on bags and with a rabbit-out-of-the-hat type feat said "Look what fell into my bag!", promptly displaying the Hindmarsh Trophy! Gasps of incredulity were to be heard. Accompanied by fellow accomplice John Parker, they had smiles that had not been as big since they went scrumping in the local orchard in junior schooldays and got away with it.
   Their dastardly plot was then revealed to the hushed audience. In the aftermath of the whitewash, it was thought that, if he were looking down on the AGC team, Keith Hindmarsh would have had been saying something like you can do better than that! Taking this to heart whilst noting that the proof of the pudding was actually that AGC could not do better on the golf course, they decided that the spiritual home of the Trophy should be Bahrain. With a sub-committee hastily formed, a plan was hatched: it would have to be a raid. With nonchalance they approached AGGC's trophy cabinet. Finding the Hindmarsh Trophy on display behind an unlocked door, it was promptly kidnapped. With nimbleness of foot, they bade farewell to their hosts and casually strolled off to the awaiting taxi.
   Awali players thus boarded their getaway transport, Hindmarsh Trophy in hand, if not exactly by the expected method, thinking that surely Keith would have been proud of the resourcefulness. The story ended with a red-faced Liz Kaila finally boarding the plane just before the doors closed having been released from custody, to the cheers of the rest of the team. What a weekend.
   See all the photos in the gallery.   See the detailed results if you must.

Addendum (added 12th Feb 2017):
   See how happy the Trophy is, snugly-bugly back with all its old chums in the nest that it calls home, here.