On the fifth of April, five
Dalhousie members - Derek Cavellini, Aidan McColgan, Gair Forbes, RyanWatson
and Clive Douglas - accompanied by two friends of the club from the north of
Ireland - embarked on a short, five day trip to the U.S.A. to enjoy some
excellent golf and, of course, good company. Little did they know what
excitement lay in store for them......
The trip was arranged by
Aidan McColgan, to celebrate his 50th birthday (only Aidan, of course, could
take nearly a year to negotiate with his wife to get FIVE days away from home!)
Readers might think that seven is a very odd number for a far-flung golfing
adventure, but Angus Hay had confirmed that he would be joining the group a
couple of days later.
(The hurdle which Gus had to
clear to be with them necessitated him forking out for a family holiday in
Florida for a fortnight - so that he could negotiate a four day absence to be
away with the boys! As Dalhousie members recognise, Gus is well organised (?!*)
and he put time and effort into trying to arrange an Uber car for the morning
of the chosen day, to complete the five-hour trip from Florida to South
Carolina. After encountering two refusals, however, Gus had no option remaining
but to hire a car. Bravely, he then made the long, non-stop drive himself,
arriving bang on time to tee off - a
great effort, which fully deserved the superb welcome that he was accorded by
his mates!).
During the flight over to
America, meanwhile, Derek Cavellini ( as is his wont ) decided to make the
draws for the five days of golf. It was at this point in the adventure,
however, that he found out that golf on the Sunday would have to be cancelled.
Why did this unexpected disappointment not matter in the slightest? To the knowledge of no-one in the group, Sean
McGuigan ( a friend of Aidan, from his homeland ) had purchased tickets for
them all to enjoy the final day of the Masters at Augusta!!
It was an experience of a
lifetime and, naturally, the lads found it very hard to pass appropriate thanks
to Sean for such a generous gesture - it really WAS something very special.
As far as the golf was
concerned, the Dalhousie ‘tourists’ played twice at Secession Golf Club - an
exceptional course in South Carolina, where the Professional, Mike Harmon, made
each and every member of the group extremely welcome. Sincere thanks must also
go to Colin Sinclair for his efforts in arranging it all. In addition, the
visitors were hosted by four Long Cove members at Hilton Head; once again, they
were looked after exceptionally well and were privileged to enjoy another
superb golf course. On the last day they took on the challenge of the Carmel
Country Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, which enjoys quite exceptional
surroundings.
While the golf was, perhaps,
not of the highest standard during the trip, it proved to be an unforgettable
experience, with Clive Douglas ending up as the deserved winner. During the
adventure, the Dalhousie members covered many miles and special thanks are due
to Gair Forbes and Ryan Watson who, respectively, did a sterling job with ALL
the driving and navigation.
The entire trip was
simply magnificent and, understandably, Sean was showered with thanks for
making seven middle-aged men VERY happy! Who knows? With our own Dalhousie
celebrations due in 2018, the boys could all meet up again on Carnoustie Links!
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