Heading home ... via Taupo

After another 6 weeks of work, it was finally time to get on the big bird again and head for home. This trip home was all about being at home for Joan's birthday, but a very happy coincidence was that it also meant I could make it to the annual G.Smith Golf Tour , with this year's venue being the spiritual home of the tour, Taupo.

This annual trip has been happening now for 20 years, after a group of us started doing long weekends away while we were in London to play Open venues around the UK, and has now evolved into a full blown 8 v 8 Ryder Cup style long weekend away, with an exceptional group of guys that all met during various stages of university life in Dunedin. Good Guys v Bad Guys are the teams, and The Bad Guys were looking for their first 3peat this year. As a long term #badguyforlife the pressure was on and I had made sure I was as sharp as I could have been while in Saudi spending a couple of hours a week in the sim onsite.

After a 36+ hour travel journey from site we arrived in Taupo and went straight to Taupo Golf Club for our first round. Unsure how I was going to hold together after the travel I managed a solid first round, scoring 35 points and Macca and I lost our match on the 18th hole, so managed to get a decent bed pick on Night 1. My snoring is well documented on these tours so I tactically chose a room that had a double bed and a single bed in it, knowing full well no one would choose the single bed. Everything finally caught up with me around 9pm after a few beers and I was done for Day 1.

Day 2 involved a bus trip to Tokoroa Golf Club, and is now a mixed format day culminating in the last 6 holes basically being all about how many beers you can make your opposition drink by playing well yourself. Ducky and I played pretty well and won all 3 mini matches during the day after Boofa and Flash were pretty badly hungover after getting a good dose of first night fever. More points on the board for the Bad Guys and we went into Day 3 with a good lead.

Day 3 is Championship Saturday and we rolled into the immaculate Wairakei Resort feeling good about the chances for a Bad Guys 3peat. Utah and I played well on the front side and took a commanding lead in the teams match and closed it out early into the back 9, then it all went a bit pear shaped as we both leaked oil coming home and we both lost our singles matches on the 18th. The work had been done by the rest of the guys though and the Bad Guys win was confirmed, which meant another free dinner paid for by the Good Guys.

Another incredible edition of the tour, with a fantastic bunch of guys. A special weekend for me every year and one I look forward to every year.

Next stop was Maraetai though and seeing Joan and the girls which I was so excited about, it was unbelievable.Read more