


The Day
With scenes like this the day before, it was no wonder that a few players decided to hunker down at home. Parts of Jakarta remain flooded, including the Eastern Promise pub (again), and rescue operations are continuing throughout the city. In typical resilient Jakarta style though, by Sunday the tolls were already clear of water, the access to Riverside was not affected and the course was in surprisingly good condition. And, after bucketloads falling in the days before, the rain held off all day, and the sun came out.
On a date that sounded like a concert sound check….2-1-2-2-1 (sorry band joke), it was a combined Tee Set/Jakarta Inter League round today, with an estimated 80 players competing, 46 officially submitting cards to Tee Set . Big welcome backs to Tapio and Detlef, always great to see you, as well as Sandbagger El Guapo and JAWS tycoons, Divya and Chris. No newcomers today.
The Play

So……first for the Tee Set competition, which was played in parallel with Inter League. It also included some memorable matches featuring two former Presidents, one Whispering who played Jude and the other, Singing, who played Dan the San Miguel Man. Geoff had three birdies but it was still not enough. After a mix of brilliant and woeful shots, both matches were squared going into the last hole. Dan chipped close and made the par putt to win his match and Jude took advantage of some waywardness from The Whisperer to take the honours there, and also win Low B Grade in the net competition on a countback. He was joined in the winners’ circle by the non whispering, non singing, but always collecting, former President Roger taking A Grade with a Net 66, lifted by his responsiblities of leading out the Pocksia team. Patrick joined them taking C Grade on a count back, a very popular winner, Patrick, is a Tee Setter who is happy to be paired as it suits, and as a result has become known quickly to a number of us for his good company and sharp wit.

After deserting the captaincy of Tee Set to captain JAWS, reportedly in a lucrative transfer deal, Simon led his new team from the front with a fine 76, returning to Tee Set briefly to collect our Low Gross award…and looked rather happy about it in the picture below. Rika, a regular feature in our winners’ circle, made up for countback disappointment in C grade to take First Sandy. The First Birdie went to Dave, who also took out Longest Drive in the Inter League. Mike topped the putting with 26 Putts and topped B Grade scoring, a double top, but missed the B Grade prize to Jude on a countback. The last to wake up, or the Most Improved by 10 strokes, was awarded to Phillip, who returned some of his winnings later for Most Strokes on a hole. Phillip was also part of the most lively table today, featured heavily in the social photos, which are hidden away here.





And now for our battlers, all from that same lively table!!!!! Max with Frans in one of our best skirt photos for a while, Hana joining Phillip for Most Strokes on a Hole, and Max up again (no fine this time) with Dimitri sharing Monster Putter.



Tee Set Inter League Team
Captain Sam was the most nervous we have ever seen him, prowling the grounds of Riverside like a caged lion, having declared on taking the job several weeks ago that he had his eye on the prize. Despite sleepless nights and obsessing over Amen Corner, Sam won his singles (below), leading Tee Set to secure 8 out of a possible 10 points, and move into second after the first round. He then collapsed into his chair in emotional exhaustion, unable to drink the Tanqeray he generously supplied, but with just enough energy to provide some notes, so thanks Sam.

Seven friendly societies competed, with JAWS and DOGS joining for the first time, putting some much needed bite into the competition. To accommodate an odd number of teams, the organisers devised an innovative format, which mixes matches across the different teams, as opposed to the old head to head format.
The Sandbagger in Chief, Fernando “El Guapo” showed some great form in the first singles match, using his shots to advantage to take a 5/4 win over our number one, Matt. Our Captain Sam then played Jens in a very tight match, won eventually by Sam 2/1. Sam had never seen Jens’ innovative putting stroke before and thought he was stretching, so was still chatting with playing partners on the first green as Jens prepared to putt. He quickly realised, apologised and enjoyed the show.
Following a pre-season recruiting coup, Tee Set managed to lure Lis back from Pocksia to play in the first pair with hubby Ric. Pairing hubby and wife at golf can be a disaster but it worked a treat in this case as they combined to take a 3/1 win, protecting Lis’s undefeated record in Inter League……no pressure there, hubby. Andy and Dave, in their first appearances with Tee Set, snatched a victory on the last hole. They were giving away a hefty stroke advantage to their opponents, Pocksia’s William and Ruth, but pulled out a stunning upset; this pair of Big Dogs were no sacrificial lambs at all. In the final pair, Tee Set reigning matchplay and eclectic champ, Arnold, was paired with Mike, rejuvenated after practice and intensive grooming by Captain Sam. They combined well to win 2/1 from Sandbaggers Willi and Ola. Mike shot a net 68 and his approach to within 3 feet of the pin on the treacherous Hole 3 – their 16th – to set up the win, was like he was throwing darts. Arnold was solid as ever picking up the holes that Mike did not.
Of course, many Tee Setters competed in other teams, and will be mentioned in their newsletters 🙂
The next round will be held on 14 March.
Next Up: Sunday 28 February 2021, Monthly Medal, Cengkareng, 12 noon
We are back to the great staff and facilities offered by Cengkareng for our premier event of the month, the Monthly Medal, played off the blue tees for men. Because we use a net scoring method for other weeks, we use a stableford scoring method for Monthly Medal rounds….just in case you are wondering…this is how we have always done it and yep we like to be different. Green fees have been capped at last year’s level of 875k, based on walking. Those preferring carts can book directly through the course, but please check before you leave home if the course is in condition to take the carts. It was not last time we played.
Sign up here as usual.