Chye says "hi"

Happy New Year to you and may it bring all you desire and deserve !!!
The last outing of the year saw 15 mongrels baying at the 1st tee box and sniffing a wee tot of Scottish anaesthetic to ease the pain. Having said that I think I am in great need of the 'hair of the dog' this morning.... better not to think about it as I gaze out of my office window across hazy Dhaka.... reflects my state of mind !!! There is something desperately sad about the fact that the rest of mankind wakes up this morning nursing their hangover in the privacy of their own homes whilst we have to carry it into the office for all our fellow work mates to witness!!! Oh well, better stop moaning and remember that we are paid to be in Bangy to work!!!

Back to the golf... I can see it is going to one of those days where my mind is going to keep wandering off into Dream land.....concentrate..........who was it that proudly clung to the Dog doodoo trophy at the end of the day....... it was not young Angus Mackinnon, son and heir of big Gus.... but only because it was his first outing with the dogs !!! So that honour went to Chye on 19 points. Graham had 21 and many others had equally miserable scores. At the other end and the winners of bollocks.... oh dear, my heads hurts...... we had none other than Top Dog himself in 3rd place with 31 points, Pascale, once again and despite having her handicap savaged came 2nd with 33 points. And Leader of the Pack this week is Big Douglas Broderick with a substantial 38 points. Nearest the pin on the 8th was Paul Rodgers. Well done. I have a nasty feeling that Chief Chopper will be taking his revenge on some mutts handicaps.

I am away for the next 2 weeks so will not be joining the pack on Saturday. Chief Chopper will be Top Dog for his last outing.... have fun.

Kurmitola Golf Course, an oasis of green and quietness in the madhouse that is Dhaka. A relief to tormented ears, a soothing for sore eyes and quite simply the nicest place you can go to forget about all about "it" - if, and that's a big IF you didn't have to play golf here. Lots of water, trees where you don't want them (like in front of the greens and somehow the fairways never quite seem wide enough.

The front nine are mostly manageable, but the back nine bring grown up man to their knees (quite literally so in particular when the temperatures hover around 38°C and humidity approaches 90%).

Here is the layout of the course and if you click on the hole a pop-up tells you par, rating and distances for the hole.

Entente cordiale

Merry Xmas Pack..... I hope Santa was good to you all.

Not surprisingly, numbers were down a bit this week. We had 11 dogs barking on the 1st tee box at 11.50 prepared for a cross country chase..... and for many it was more than they bargained for!!! Again with the odd exception, it was a venture into the unknown for many !!

There was a far greater battle for the honour of kennelling the Dog Doodoo over Xmas than there was for the Leader of the Pack trophy !! However, with a skill rarely seen, Barry put on a wonderful display over the last few holes (18 to be precise!!) to claim the 'smelly stuff' with 20 points. Richard and Gus were very disappointed that they went home empty handed with 21points !! Moving swiftly away from the cess pit to the bed of roses..... in 3rd place we had Steady Eddie Bob Bieniek on 32 points being pipped by a double act... Philippe in 2nd on 34 points and Madame Medeau is Leader of the Pack this week with 38 points and a new handicap !!! I have little doubt that Chief Chopper will be vicious in the extreme in his last few remaining days before he faces the 'Head-hunters'.

Next Saturday we will play Kurmitola again at 12 o'clock. Be prepared... it is Hogmanay and the Scots go mad !!!
On the social front...... a reminder to please let me know whether you are coming to Richards farewell dinner on the 4th of January. I need the numbers to book the restaurant !!!
The other event you will need to put in your new diaries is the Burns Supper on Friday 3rd February. For those that enjoyed the St Andrews Night Ball ( and those that didn't!!), there is another opportunity to let yourself go, throw your legs in the air and eat, drink and dance the night away. It will be held at the British High Commission club and the cost is taka 2000 per person. Please let me know as soon as possible whether you wish to attend.... the numbers are restricted for this event.

Chris out on a high!

Another pleasant Saturday on the course with temperatures near perfect.........so why was the golf not ???? We started with 11 Dogs on the tee box.... a smaller number than of recent as many people were away for one reason and another.

Unfortunately, one Dog dropped out after playing one hole as his golf reflected his medical condition. Brian Mooney was suffering a bit of fever so after the 1st decided to pack it up. Unfortunately for Brian, but fortunately for others, a N/R is automatically Dog Doodoo. Those, who benefitted from Brian's early exit where Ross, Richard and Teb all of whom amassed a miserable 22 points. At the other end we had Bob in 3rd place with 29 points, Gus in 2nd with 30 points and fittingly Chris Malloy as Leader of the Pack on his last appearance as a regular Dog with 32 points.. Well done Chris and good luck in Phuket.

Pack, sadly, we are losing 2 very regular and loyal Dogs very shortly. Chris is off very soon and our Chief Chopper has finally decided to call it a day in Bangladesh and will be setting up a new kennel in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, also in early January. The Head Hunters don't know what is going to hit them... poor devils !!! We can not let these 2 fine upstanding mongrels go without having a celebration. And so it is, on Wednesday 4th January, we will have a dinner at a restaurant (unless some one wants to volunteer ???) to bid them farewell. In order to get numbers, please would you let me know who will be attending this august gathering, as soon as possible !!!!! Golf next week will be as usual at Kurmitola at 11.50 for 12.

.666 per hole - devilish!

It was great to see such a good turn out on Saturday (we had 23 dogs turned at varying times to tee off !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) despite it being the 'morning after the night before' at St Andrews Ball. The Dogs filled 3 tables and it was a tremendous night full of fun.... and heavy heads the next day !! Thanks to the Dogs for making it so much fun.

Top Dog is getting tough... sorry, but it is for the good of the whole pack!! I would like to make 2 important requests and one demand.... you know what is coming...... please, please get to the club well before 11.50. With the large numbers now turning up it is absolutely essential that people are on that tee box ready to play by 11.50. Being late is inconsiderate to those that make the effort to be on time and damned frustrating for 'ball thrower' !!!! As off now, the fine for a late appearance is doubled. If that doesn't work a more serious penalty will be applied. The other request is that the pack has grown dramatically in recent days and the numbers are at about the maximum we can manage both for the golf as well as for the social events. Therefore I would ask (politely) that we refrain from any further recruitment to the pack for a while.... sorry !!! The demand is............... under the DOGS rules, people are required to put a new ball in the pot at the end of the game for the prizes. Over the past few weeks it has been noticed that some 'not so new' balls have mysteriously appeared in the pot........ not acceptable !!!!!

Now to the golf, starting at the rear end as always, Dog Doodoo of the week goes to Michael Carey who struggled to get 12 points. He was, however, not the only struggler.... 3 Putt Pete Murdoch came in with 16 points, Heather with 17 (despite playing 'tee to green' golf over the past week in Australia), Margaret with 18 and Mike Tarry with 19... oh dear !!!! Nearest the Pin this week was won by Lennart Borg, a new Dog, At the top end, we had Pascale losing out on balls to kennel mate Philippe on 32 points to take 3rd. I think this is the first time Philippe has had balls... well done !! In 2nd place we had Gus also on 32 points but getting there on countback having scored 20 points on the back 9 !! Leader of the Pack and by a long way on 36 points was our OK.... she has returned to the pack with a vengeance !! Well done, OK. I am sure chief Chopper will be visiting the handicaps...... !!!

Next week is the Rover Cup so no normal Dogs outing. We return to normal the following week.
The Dogs Dinner this coming Saturday is being held at my house at 7.30.