CROWTIMES

SEPTEMBER 2016

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For private circulation only. Please mail your comments and suggestions to bgc1876@gmail.comPublished by the Honorary Secretary, Bangalore Golf Club.

Continued on Page 3

It is a TGIF evening, and the mood is on an upswing in anticipation of the two golf outings over the weekend.

Time that will be spent in the company of a four ball that has weathered the vagaries of time, wins and losses, temperamental outbursts. What keeps this group alive is the bonding that only golf can provide.

Club golf among groups is all about making a game as interesting and challenging as possible and this is done through the many formats of the game in existence and new ones being devised with every passing week.

Match play is the most common format that is used among four ball groups at the club level as this provides the participants with a high degree of challenge, keeps the players attentive even in a casual round and ensures that both partners hold their own in order to

make sure that the opponents do not depart the course after tickling their pride and drilling a hole in their pockets. Match play gives a golfer the latitude to use his or her discretion within the confines of the rules of golf during the match. Very often, by observing their temperament and etiquette during a match play round, you learn more about individuals than you would even if you knew them for a considerable period of time.

Sometimes match play becomes mundane, so to spice up the game, the auto press format is also introduced. On a good day, auto press will ensure that you sip a good whiskey at the 19th, and if you have had an outing that almost made you bend your club around a tree trunk, your pride will be in your pocket and the pocket housing your wallet will feel much lighter. Additional

WHEN & WHERE40th Ryder Cup Friday, Sept. 27 – Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016Hazeltine National Golf Club Chaska, Minnesota, USA

CROW TIMES SEPTEMBER, 2016 2

Tournament Calendar

SEPTEMBER CLUB GOLD MEDAL 15th, 16th, 17th September, 2016

BGC SENIOR CITIZENS TOURNAMENT (AGE 60+) 23rd September, 2016

OCTOBER GENERATION CUP - JOINTLY CONDUCTED BY BGC & TIGER SPORTS 7th, 8th October 2016

KARNATAKA AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP 21st, 22nd, 23rd October, 2016

PIONEER CUP KNOCKOUT 26th October, 2016

SOLI K DASTUR MEMORIAL CUP 28th, 29th October 2016

Hole in One

T. Seetharama Rao - S-61712th August 2016 • 7th Hole

Independence Day Celebration

B. Sreenivas MurthyEditor

Mulligan

Search engines have revolutionized the way we look for information. Almost everything you want can be found through Google or some intense research on social media or the myriad of apps that are out there, telling you the best courses you can play on, recommending the choicest of cuisines and possibly the spa of your choice.

At BGC also, we are slowly and surely adopting technology to disseminate information to members about the different activities in the club, be it golf or entertainment or sudden announcements. Besides text messages and e-mail and the Crow Times, we also have strategically placed information boards in both the club houses and near the change rooms as well. Most importantly as a policy, members are welcome to meet with the office bearers at any time to seek any information they desire, be it policy matters, status on projects or the finances of the club. One can also talk to the Administrator or write to bgc1876@gmail.com or whatsapp +91 89712 42084 for a quick response.

Happy Golfing.

ShivapradeepHon. Secretary

From the desk of the Hon. Secretary

Kudos to the Captain and members of the MC. BGC is buzzing with activity, be it the new introduced fortnightly bar nights at the new Kingfisher Birdie Bar at the upper deck of the NCH or the fancy buffet lunches at the now open ‘fine dining’ restaurant.

Many new initiatives have been taken up to improve the overall experience of members:

• Modernization of the kitchens with better cooking facilities and exhaust systems

• The starter hut for better control of ingress and egress into the golf course

• Fully functional Snooker room with a full time marker

• Introduction of new tournaments such as the parent-child generation tournament, the state-wide inter club tournament and the junior golf tournament held on 29th August.

Office Bearers and Managing Committees of the KGA and BGC met recently, ushering in a new era of co-operation between the two clubs for the promotion of Golf in the City.

Independence Shield Cup

CROW TIMES SEPTEMBER, 2016 3

variations like Individual matches (Indees), skins, points for two partners making pars on the same hole, par versus Bogey, Green some, Texas scramble and many other combinations can be introduced in order to make that small white ball appear constantly in your dreams, whether good or bad.

Club tournaments infuse much needed variety to the regular four ball rounds as these tournaments are mostly played on the stroke play and stableford formats in addition to the match play events. Here in BGC we have tournaments that are conducted based on all the three formats and a regular club member associates the name of a particular tournament with the format that it is based on, such as: BGC Independence Shield: Par Competition BGC Senior Citizens Tournament: Stableford Club Gold Medal: Stroke Play Pioneer Cup Knockout: Foursome Match Play

Since match play rules most of our golfing lives, an event that will keep us enthralled and engrossed as we watch the teams display their mastery of the game, the brilliance of the gaming captains, the bonding between the teammates and their patriotism. This event is the mother of all match play tournaments the one and only Ryder Cup.

Established in 1927, this biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States was named after the English businessman Samuel Ryder who donated the trophy.

Ryder was an English seed merchant and entrepreneur from St. Albans in Hertfordshire who made his money selling penny seed packets. He had taken up golf relatively late in life to improve his health and employed Abe Mitchell, one of the golfing greats of his era, as his personal tutor.

Ryder was enthralled by the match at Wentworth. ‘We must do this again’, said Ryder in the bar afterwards and The Ryder Cup was born.

Ryder donated a small but striking gold cup that today epitomizes all that is good in sporting competition. It cost £250 and the small golfing figure atop the cup, as requested by the Ryder, stands as a lasting memorial to Abe Mitchell.

Originally contested between Great Britain and the United States, the first official Ryder Cup took place in 1927 at Worcester Country Club, in Massachusetts, US.

Since the 16 matches since 1979, Europe (Great Britain, Ireland and Continental Europe) have won eight, the United States seven, with one match tied.

Having represented Europe in no fewer than five Ryder Cups, Darren Clark will captain the reigning champions for the first time this year.

Davis Love III, 52, was announced as the captain of the USA team by the PGA of America President and U.S. Ryder Cup Task Force in February 2015 with Tiger Woods as the Vice Captain.

- Jaganath Kotekar

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Obituary

Mr. Rakesh S. (R-658) 30.07.2016Mr. N. V. Krishna Murthy (K-094) 08.08.2016Mr. Bharath P. Shah (B-235) 09.08.2016Mr. D. Byrappa (B-115) 19.08.2016

Bar Deals

BUY 2 GET 1 FREE(For members only) Offer valid till stocks last

Ballantine’sBlack & White, VAT 69

Pro Shop DealsPurchase a Great Big Bertha DriverGet a Great 3 wood Big Bertha

`4,999/-MRP: `17,490/-

X Series Packed Set

`83,499/-MRP: `1,34,990/-

BGC WHATSAPP +91 89712 42084

If I encounter a situation of red ants, snakes or bees affecting my stance in a hazard, can I take relief under the rules of golf?

Applicable Rules Decision 1-4/10

Yes, it is unreasonable to expect a player to play from a dangerous situation and unfair to require a player to incur a penalty under Rule 26 (water hazard) or Rule 28 (unplayable) although these rules remain an option if applicable.

If the ball lay in a hazard, the player may drop a ball, without penalty, within one club-length of and not nearer the hole than the nearest spot, not nearer the hole that is not dangerous. If possible the ball must be dropped in the same hazard and, if not possible, in a similar nearby hazard, but in either case not closer to the hole.

Rules of Golf

If it is not possible for the player to drop the ball in a hazard, he may drop it, under penalty of one stroke, outside the hazard, keeping the point where the original ball lay between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped.

Key to understanding this rules decision

Dangerous situations are most unusual situations that do not occur on a regular golf course and can cause serious bodily harm to the player, while that may cover beehives and snakes and a severe red anthill infestation, they would not cover a few red ants out on a stroll.

(The above is contributed by Mr. Jude Lobo - our in-house referee and rules official. Based on an actual enquiry by a member)

Entertainment

07th Sep: Ganesh Narayanan14th Sep: Hitesh Mehta21st Sep: Yaseen and Rumana28th Sep: Team K J Ravi05th Oct: Ganesh Narayanan12th Oct: Jr. Sonu Nigam and Vidya19th Oct: Samanvitha and Govind26th Oct: SUUHAUS

ChitrahaarWednesday

03rd Sep: Retro English Music by Bhanu17th Sep: Retro English Music by ZACH01st Oct: Retro Music by Joshua

& Rachna Ramdin15th Oct: Retro English Music by THE RETROS29th Oct: Retro English Music

by Shyam and The Westwinds

10th Sep: Butterfingers & DJ Mahaneet24th Sep: DJ CHAAN 08th Oct: HARD ATTACK 22nd Oct: DJ SHINE

CROW TIMES SEPTEMBER, 2016 4

Results

Independence Shield 2016Winner Runner Up

Open Event Roshan Raj +2 Prafful Chand -1Handicap 0-9 Sanjay Raju +4 Nikhil Mohan +2Handicap 10-18 Balakrishna L +6 Manpreet Sachdev +5Handicap 19-30 Krishnappa +6 B. G. Muthappa +6Ladies Open Event Ishwari Prasanna -6Ladies Handicap 0-24 Champa Kabra +5

Raymond Cup 2016 (Shanthanu Gurjer Memorial)Winner Runner Up

Open Event Prafful Chand Roshan RajHandicap 0-9 Shankar Gopal 141 Amitab Poddar 141Handicap 10-18 Neeraj Shetty 130 Sannabathappa 138Handicap 19-24 Surya Prakash 132 Brig. Sreedharan 136Ladies Handicap 0-15 Sri Lakshmi B 136Ladies Handicap 16-34 Champa Kabra 138Longest Drive Amitab Poddar 253 YardsClosest To Pin Meena Prakash 2 Feet 11 Inches

Caddies Tournament 2016

Religions have traditions. Golf to a true golfer is the ultimate religion sans anything. One of the traditions of golf is to round off a session on the golf course with a sitting at the 19th. At the 19th, golfers form the bonding that keeps golfing groups alive through thick and thin. This is where differences arising during the round of golf are sorted out, yarns are told, wagers are settled and the winners of the day play host to their less fortunate buddies of the day.

Hark back to the days gone by when musicals ruled the motion picture world. Do you recall the block buster “Fiddler on the roof” One of the most memorable performances in this movie was that of Chaim Topol enacting the song “Traditions”. The wordings of the song led us to search for the dwindling practitioners of the tradition of the 19th hole at BGC.

On a balmy evening at the BGC deck area, we caught up with two of the staunchest of the 19th hole traditionalists, Mr. Raja Vishwanath (Raja) and Mr. B.C. Ponappa (Ponnu). Come rain or hellfire, these two gentlemen, after a round of golf will always head to the 19th and spend as much time as possible adhering to the customs of the 19th hole.

Both these gentlemen come from backgrounds as diverse as possible. Mr. Raja Vishwanath is an old Banglorean, having done his schooling and graduation in Bangalore. He set up his own business here and in due time married and raised his family in Bangalore. During this time,

Raja became a member of most of the recognised clubs and actively pursued various sports, badminton at Century club, cards and swimming and a shot at Billiards at Bangalore club. With advancing age and knee joints affected due to the strain of the Badminton court, Raja shifted to golf. From then on two rounds of golf were etched in his weekly routine of activities. Raja has been very particular in following the customs and traditions of all the clubs that he is a member of.

Mr. B.C. Ponappa, spent most of his early years in Eastern India and graduated from St. Xavier’s College in what was then the good old Calcutta. After graduation, Ponnu ventured into the world of tea plantations in the northeast. These tea companies were mostly owned by Britishers who, as we all know were the founders of most of the better known clubs in India. Traditions and customs were rigidly followed in these Tea companies and the clubs that were instituted by these companies to ease the loneliness of plantation life. This is where Ponnu imbibed the club culture which required the club member to very strictly follow rules and regulations and also be the bearers of the institutions customs and traditions.

As the shadows lengthened and twilight melted into darkness, the number of Teachers and Pipers doubled, both our stalwarts began reminiscing about the good old days at BGC. Camaraderie, friendship and a sense of bonhomie prevailed among the members of our club. Sportsmanship and

A Veteran's Tale

gentlemanly behaviour were the defining attributes of BGC members in those days. They talked about the transition of the course from bald to green fairways and from browns to greens. Much was said about the excellent work done by the caddies of yore. They rued the fact that the club had to transition through an uncomfortable phase in the recent past but were happy about the fact that the institution was slowly getting back its old and lovable character. One thing they equivocally stressed was that the staff in BGC were the best among all the clubs in Bangalore.

One for the road went down the hatch, Ponnu and Raja departed leaving us in charge of the 19th. As the evening progressed many of our fellow members joined us intent in doing justice to that evenings edition of the 19th. Time flew, voice levels rose bar by bar but soon it was packing up time and we all went our ways content in the knowledge that the tradition of the 19th well and truly alive in BGC.

- Ed Team

Par 71 course, Reserva de Marapendi Rio, BrazilR1 -3 (68) Tied 7th R2 -3 (68) Tied 7thBriefly tied for the lead after 35 holesR3 +8 (79) Tied 31st R4 +5 (76) finished 41st

Rio Update: Aditi Ashok

Desig

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by A

KAW

CROW TIMES SEPTEMBER, 2016 5

Know your Sub-committee

Chairman: Sanjai Ashok Anand PollMembers: Tournament & HandicappingShridev • R.N. Shashank • Santosh Kadam Rajesh KumarSpecial InviteesK.S. Suresh • Bina Sreedhar Shankar Suryanarayan

Members: Information TechnologyRakesh Kumar C. N. • Srinivasan TPratap Thumboochetty

Tournament, Handicapping, Driving Range & IT

Junior Golf & Indoor GamesChairman: Uma ManayMembers: Indoor GamesAnand Srinivasan • Dr. Sameer HarianiVed Manu Moola • Jaideep

Special InviteesDroupadi Ramachandran • Bharath M. K. Karan Mallik

Members: Junior GolfAnand Srinivasan • R. N. ShashankRaghunandan S. K. • Narasingha Rao

Special InviteesKarthik Gupta • D. Jawahar

• Most tournaments will be held on Thursday, Friday & Saturday, so that the regular Sunday golf is not disturbed.

• Prize distribution will be held frequently, as appropriate, rather than grouping them

• New formats like parent-child teams are envisaged.

• A state-wide interclub tournament is being planned on a modified Ryder Cup format.

• Sponsors are being actively pursued so that club expenditure on tournaments is minimal.

4th Monday of the month with a guest fee of Rs. 200. Four guests are allowed per member. The member needs to accompany the guest at all times during Housie.

• Yoga classes are being conducted thrice a week by qualified yoga teachers - Mr. Vijay Dhruv at the Old Club House and Miss Sheetal at the New Club House.

• In order to help improve the health of members with weight and knee injury problems, Aqua Aerobic classes are being held. Even members who can’t swim can attend these classes. Monday, Wednesday and Friday: 6:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday: 11 a.m.-12 p.m.

• Miss Varshini conducts beginner and advanced coaching classes in the heated pool on a regular basis. Please call +91 97403 88091 for more details.

• New special training classes are being scheduled in the NCH. BGC has two well-equipped gyms in both the NCH and OCH.

• Billiards and Snooker Room is open for members from 2-10 p.m. at the NCH.

• The OCH has a cards room for the cards enthusiast.

• Bridge classes will be in the NCH by Kiran Poll on 3rd Sept. The charges are Rs. 3,500 for 12 classes, for every Saturday from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Members are requested to register at NCH.

Junior Golf:Golf at an early age helps in all-round development of the child. Aside from playing golf, children will also receive focused physical training and counseling.• Junior Golf (age 5 yrs. – 21 yrs.) is

managed by one of the leading coaches of India - Tarun Sardasi.

• Monday, 9 holes are open from 3:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. for the junior golf children to play golf.

• Keeping academic commitments in mind, a night program has been initiated as well. A weekly class with two batches starting from 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. - 10 p.m. is scheduled. Children have to register for a minimum of 3 months.

• Regular video analysis on the progress of each child will be sent by e-mail to the parents.

• A Junior Golf tournament will be held every 3 months.

• Handicapping continues to be done as per USGA system. There is no manual intervention and is completely software driven.

• Plans to enhance the facilities at the Driving Range are on the anvil. Mechanized ball picking, ball washer and automatic dispenser, better lighting are some of the improvements.

• The BGC website is to be re-furbished and re-launched with additional features such as handicapping and tournaments’ online scores.

The year 2016 is filled with new beginnings for the club as well as the members. Keeping the members’ health and fitness as a priority, BGC has crafted a variety of indoor fitness classes. The fun quotient has been elevated with some of the newly introduced indoor games as well.Indoor Games:• It’s time to Tambola! On high demand,

Housie is making a re-entry into the club on Sept. 12th from 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. at the New Club House Party Hall with an Inaugural Bumper Prize of Rs. 25,000. Housie will be conducted every 2nd and

Anushka Borkar, aged 12 years, was invited to play in the U.S. Kids World Championship in Pinehurst, North Carolina, USA that was held from 4th-7th August 2016. Competing with 136 girls in her category from over 50 countries, Anushka came 4th Place after her final round, after leading in the 2nd round.

She was also invited to the Van Horn Cup as part of the International Team to play at the Prestigious Pinehurst No. 2 course. 

Anushka credits her achievement to BGC for being her home club and encouraging junior golfers to reach greater heights.

Junior Golfer: Anushka Borkar

• Through the year more than 20 tournaments will be conducted.