Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[Geo the Sarge]

 (I play all sports right handed except tennis & snoooker, go figure).

I play golf, cricket and baseball left handed. I boxed as a southpaw. For everything else I am right handed, never understood it myself.

Geo

[RED-DOG]

 (I play all sports right handed except tennis & snoooker, go figure).

I play golf, cricket and baseball left handed. I boxed as a southpaw. For everything else I am right handed, never understood it myself.

Geo

Tony types left handed.

[tikay]

I wouldn't exactly call it a poofy scarf because it's all thick and woollen, but anyway not suitable attire for older people to wear indoors. It's gives out a vibe that shit even thou I'm indoors I'm still freezing because of age or thinning blood. In fact the whole outfit looks like a blind man has gone shopping in a jumble sale. I think you should embrace the opportunity to have a personal stylist Tikay, embrace it like a desert embraces the rain. You would actually suit the Cliff Barnes from Dallas look, sports jacket, open shirt and elaborate silk hanky. Perhaps even the odd cravat I mean women do go for that Nigel Havers look these days. Don't think that would be poofy either, maybe a bit camp, but deffo not poofy.

My stylist - note the "my", I'm well posh now - said exactly those words yesterday. Today, though, once we got chatting in the seclusion of the changing room, she was warmer, & said that she has seen me around the Sky complex for some years, & always thought I looked kind of cool.

Think she is hitting on me.

I thought my garb in that photo was rather neat, to be honest, you don't see many dress like that to go to work.

[kinboshi]

 (I play all sports right handed except tennis & snoooker, go figure).

I play golf, cricket and baseball left handed. I boxed as a southpaw. For everything else I am right handed, never understood it myself.

Geo

I play golf left-handed, bat at cricket or baseball left-handed, throw a ball with my right, write with my right, shoot at basketball with either, very left-footed when kicking a ball, and box in an orthodox stance.

As mixed up as you!

[tikay]

 (I play all sports right handed except tennis & snoooker, go figure).

I play golf, cricket and baseball left handed. I boxed as a southpaw. For everything else I am right handed, never understood it myself.

Geo

Very odd. I can trace my issues back to my childhood, I was a natural leftie, but the teachers insisted I write right-handed, which, in those days, was deemed to be the "correct way". Laugh if you wish, but I genuinely believe that was a bad, a very bad & cruel thing, to do, & I truly believe it causes (caused, even...) collateral problems in life, & mentally.

As Tom dryly notes, I type left handed - one hand  (one finger....) works for me - & write left handed, too.

No doubt Tom's diary will soon be discussing which hand they wipe their arse with, too.

[tikay]

 (I play all sports right handed except tennis & snoooker, go figure).

I play golf, cricket and baseball left handed. I boxed as a southpaw. For everything else I am right handed, never understood it myself.

Geo

You play baseball, George?

[tikay]

Just working through my early music tastes, as per Ralphy's request, jeez, what a question that is. Ditherage has commenced.

[MANTIS01]

I wouldn't exactly call it a poofy scarf because it's all thick and woollen, but anyway not suitable attire for older people to wear indoors. It's gives out a vibe that shit even thou I'm indoors I'm still freezing because of age or thinning blood. In fact the whole outfit looks like a blind man has gone shopping in a jumble sale. I think you should embrace the opportunity to have a personal stylist Tikay, embrace it like a desert embraces the rain. You would actually suit the Cliff Barnes from Dallas look, sports jacket, open shirt and elaborate silk hanky. Perhaps even the odd cravat I mean women do go for that Nigel Havers look these days. Don't think that would be poofy either, maybe a bit camp, but deffo not poofy.

My stylist - note the "my", I'm well posh now - said exactly those words yesterday. Today, though, once we got chatting in the seclusion of the changing room, she was warmer, & said that she has seen me around the Sky complex for some years, & always thought I looked kind of cool.

Think she is hitting on me.

I thought my garb in that photo was rather neat, to be honest, you don't see many dress like that to go to work.

This is the Florence Nightingale effect

[Geo the Sarge]

 (I play all sports right handed except tennis & snoooker, go figure).

I play golf, cricket and baseball left handed. I boxed as a southpaw. For everything else I am right handed, never understood it myself.

Geo

You play baseball, George?

Have done in years gone by. A group of us Scots military types played against a US Army side in Seattle some time back and we beat them. It was a great spectacle as we were a group of built for speed slim Infantry types and there were some very big but athletic types on their side.

We were the normal mental and fearless Jocks and at every opportunity we tried to smash the ball as low and hard as possible straight back at them. Bunch of softies moaned it wasn't in the spirit (they were used to catching ballooned, high in the air type shots which would drop nicely into their gloved hand.) Our "pitcher" was Mad Dog Murphy who was a tremendous boxer and as far as he was concerned the target area allowed for boxing was also relavent to this game we called "rounders"

Geo

[Karabiner]

Just working through my early music tastes, as per Ralphy's request, jeez, what a question that is. Ditherage has commenced.

Why? No need to go in-depth.

I could just name half a dozen bands that I liked the most off the top of my head but I was into that kind of thing.

[Geo the Sarge]

 (I play all sports right handed except tennis & snoooker, go figure).

I play golf, cricket and baseball left handed. I boxed as a southpaw. For everything else I am right handed, never understood it myself.

Geo

Very odd. I can trace my issues back to my childhood, I was a natural leftie, but the teachers insisted I write right-handed, which, in those days, was deemed to be the "correct way". Laugh if you wish, but I genuinely believe that was a bad, a very bad & cruel thing, to do, & I truly believe it causes (caused, even...) collateral problems in life, & mentally.

As Tom dryly notes, I type left handed - one hand  (one finger....) works for me - & write left handed, too.

No doubt Tom's diary will soon be discussing which hand they wipe their arse with, too.

This was still going on during my school days, although I was right handed so never suffered the indignity of having my left arm tied to my side during lessons.

The one thing I have never been able to do that really hankers with me is draw. I am absolutely useless at it. I was the square with a trianle on top for a house type of guy and all castles were drawn in that square, missing teeth type effort.

One of my greatest pleasures was visiting Cardiff castle before an APAT or blonde bash, looking at the castle there and thinking "yeah, that's how all castles should be cos that's the only way I could have drawn them."

Geo

[RED-DOG]

 (I play all sports right handed except tennis & snoooker, go figure).

I play golf, cricket and baseball left handed. I boxed as a southpaw. For everything else I am right handed, never understood it myself.

Geo

Very odd. I can trace my issues back to my childhood, I was a natural leftie, but the teachers insisted I write right-handed, which, in those days, was deemed to be the "correct way". Laugh if you wish, but I genuinely believe that was a bad, a very bad & cruel thing, to do, & I truly believe it causes (caused, even...) collateral problems in life, & mentally.

As Tom dryly notes, I type left handed - one hand  (one finger....) works for me - & write left handed, too.

No doubt Tom's diary will soon be discussing which hand they wipe their arse with, too.

This was still going on during my school days, although I was right handed so never suffered the indignity of having my left arm tied to my side during lessons.

The one thing I have never been able to do that really hankers with me is draw. I am absolutely useless at it. I was the square with a trianle on top for a house type of guy and all castles were drawn in that square, missing teeth type effort.

One of my greatest pleasures was visiting Cardiff castle before an APAT or blonde bash, looking at the castle there and thinking "yeah, that's how all castles should be cos that's the only way I could have drawn them."

Geo

You're a wonderfully descriptive writer though Geo

[Claw75]

is left-handedness hereditary?  Hannah's left handed and her dad does everything but write with his left hand, which makes me wonder if he was 'taught' to write with his right hand as a youngster. 

Interesting 'fact' for gatso to call bullshit on, but apparently you can tell by whether the hair at the crown of a baby's head goes clockwise (right) or anti-clockwise (left) which hand they will favour.  Was true for my little 'un.

[Claw75]

decided to look it up myself.  looks like there might be an actual link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_whorl

[henrik777]

The Old Course plays anti-clockwise, but very unusually, the Course can be played clockwise, too, which used to be the case from time to time. These days, you can only play it clockwise on three days each year, at the start of April. Tradition & quirkyness ftw.

The Course is closed to golfers every Sunday, too, except when the The Open & a few others big jobbies are in town. Locals & Tourists are free to roam the course at any or all times, (imagine trying that @ Wentworth or Loch Lomond GC....) but on Sundays particularly. The Course sits right next to the old Town, & St Andrew University is a only a 5 iron distant.

The Course is publically owned, & home to 4 or 5 Golf Clubs, including the R & A - Royal & Ancient - who set the rules for golf worldwide. They have a magnificent clubhouse by the 1st/18th, but they have no greater rights to the Course than the other resident Golf Clubs & Societies.

Even odder, 14 of the Holes have "shared greens", HUGE things, half the size of a football pitch, with hills & valleys & all sorts, breaking every which way. A 100 yard putt is quite usual there. Holes 2 thro 8 share greens with holes 10 thro 16. The shared greens always add up to 18 - 4 with 14, 6 with 12, etc.  The fairways have no rough as such on the left, just the course coming back the other way, but trouble lurks all the way round on the right, and for a right-hander like myself, a slice is a very bad thing there. (I play all sports right handed except tennis & snoooker, go figure).

The fairways are things of beauty, acres wide (because mostly shared), smoother than greens at some courses, but they are never flat, they are full of bibbly bobbly up & downy lumps & bumps.

I doubt there is a Golf Course like it anywhere in the world, & I'm blessed to have been able to play it, or at least, hack my way round. It's not expensive, either, all things considered.

Like many posh tracks, it has a starter with a little hut by the 1st Tee, - Mr Starter, if you will - who is a very severe looking dour local usually. He sort of gives you the visuals, to ensure you are properly attired, quite right too, don't want chavs & low-lifes playing it, do we? I don't think it is mandatory to hire a caddie, but it's "expected" you will, which is sort of embarrassing, as the guy will advise on club & shot selection, which is a tad redundant on me. He's saying "I think Sir requires a nice soft 6 iron, with a touch of fade", & I'm thinking "I'lll give this a good thwack this with my three wood".

Only in these wonderful isles, & all that. If you are a golfer, & have not played it, do it, you won't regret it. There are 6 or 7 other Golf Courses in & around St Andrews, too. The wind can be a right bugger when it gets up though.  One day the Couse plays short, next day, unplayable.

I have no idea when The Open next returns there, but I'll be glued to the telly from start to finish, I've promised myself that.

The course is closed on a Sunday in agreement with the locals so that walkers don't invade the rest of the time. It's public land is run by the Links Trust for the people of the town. There are six courses. Old, New, Eden, Jubilee, Strathtyrum and Balgove. The seventh run by the Links trust (Castle) is just outside the town.

The R & A don't set the rules for everyone but they do work with the USGA jointly.

If you think there are 6/7 courses in/around St Andrews then you can't count very high. There are probably 30/40 within 30 mins drive of the R & A clubhouse.

It probably cost you, for 1 round (if you paid), the same as it costs a resident for a season ticket for all 7 courses.

Open in 2015.

Sandy