THE HEMISPHERE CUP
Founded 2000
4th
Hemisphere Cup -
How does one some up the 4th Hemisphere Cup?
If you were from the South, some excellent golf, good concentration and well taken putts resulted in a crushing victory.
If you were from the North, the weather was great and the
views of
Maybe this explains a lot about the result, a 12.5 to 7.5 victory to the South. The team from the South are obviously more accustomed to the Sun than the people form the North who at the first glimpse of decent weather start taking their clothes off and saying “how nice it is for this time of year”. Whatever the excuse, the Southern team were deserving of their victory over the Ailsa and Kintyre links. A strong team performance with everyone delivering at least one point was far too much for a Northern team shorn of their strongest drinker.
If anyone was the star of this years event though, it must be Turnberry itself. What an amazing venue, and what an amazing few days of weather (There goes my Northern Hemisphere desire to talk about the weather again!). The course, the hotel, the food and the staff were all fantastic and the only problem will be trying to match this again in years to come.
What of the golf itself? There was some great golf played, along with the not so good. My own personal highlight was my caddy telling me he had seen just about everything on the 1st tee, before I impressed him with a unique display by hitting two balls out of bounds to the left. You have never seen someone look so anxious about the round ahead!
As usual the build up to the event was one of nerves and missed practice putts and by the time James and Julian had decided to catch a flight the scene was set…….
Round 1 –
Fourballs on the Ailsa Course
Had the North turned up? Obviously not as the South shot straight into a 4.5 to 0.5 lead. As the South tucked into a hearty supper the North were held back in the changing room for a ‘Ferguson Hairdryer’ style team talk. Only Mike and Ollie were absolved from any blame, and a special pre-recorded pep talk from Sarge was played to try and re-build confidence……
Round 2 –
Fourballs on the Kintyre Course
That should actually read the Kintyre ‘Gourse’. It may be pretty but it is a ‘kin nuisance when you are playing golf. My arse still hurts from all that ball searching, or is it from another beating by the South who took the games 3 to 2 to take a commanding 5 game lead. Sarge’s team talk had had no effect whatsoever and the South remained in a dominant position. Lunch was spent working out the best plan to deliver the 8 (Eight!) singles matches required to steal a victory…..
Round 3 –
Singles on the Ailsa Course
Well is was not to be. Though some pride was restored by halfing the singles matches 5-5, the cup had slipped from the grasp of the North back to the South 12.5 to 7.5. Paul M and Graham delivered some convincing wins but many of the games went down the 18th. So as the sun set over the back of the 18th green onto the famous old hotel, it was time for a quick change and to get ready for the Championship Dinner…..
Individual Write Ups on Matches
The Championship
Dinner
The Aftermath
It was with sore heads and lighter wallets that everyone drifted away on the Saturday morning. The only remaining question being how much stamina Paul 'Porno' Marais has……….
Photographs
Photographs of the 4th Hemisphere Cup
Detailed Results