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MORE than 40 competitors competed in the unique John Gunby 3 Club Golf Classic at Awali Golf Club (AGC) playing with only a putter plus two other clubs allowed in each bag.
The May Day competition has been on the calendar since 1985. AGC’s professional Rory Young decided to play the nine holes with only a putter for every shot, aiming to beat the previous putter-only record at the club: 53 strokes, set in the 1980s by the aptly-named Eric Nutter.
Veteran member Onny Martin took up the putter-only challenge too.
Playing the back nine, on the first tee, Young’s putt drive was annoyingly perfect, nearly 250 yards down the middle.
He went on to achieve a new record of 45 strokes, making a par on the 409-yard hole-16, on the green in three and a one putt.
Martin’s gross 56, was also commended, with the highlight of his round being the par-5 489-yard 18th, where he was at the front edge of the green in three strokes and with two putts, holed out for par.
After play in the AGC clubhouse, president Mark Hodgkinson took up the challenge of result calculation. Being open to non-handicappers as well as handicappers, a ‘Modified Callaway’ scoring system, was used.
Peter Hughes demonstrated the best combination of three club dexterity and Callaway scoring tactics, and was presented with the John Gunby Cup. Results were: 1st: Peter Hughes (adjusted net 36, gross 42), 2nd: Balbir Singh (37/40 - lowest gross score), 3rd: Kevin Dismore (37/41). Best Lady: Susan Scott (39/51).
