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Doon vs Mayo Old Boys’ - 2nd Gibson Goodwill Golf
By Gurmeet Singh (883-TA '82)
The 2nd Gibson Goodwill Golf Tournament between Doon School and Mayo College alumni took place on the 6th of December 2003 at the Jaypee Greens Golf & Country Club, Greater Noida, U.P..
As in the past, we had 50 participants from each side and the matches were played per team Match-Play system on 75% of handicap (maximum permitted handicap was 18) – each of the 25 sleeves had a result.
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The Tee-off time was 12 noon and registration started at 11 a.m. I must add that much to my surprise, both the team members were ON-TIME for a change and the event started on the right note. Each participant was handed a Tee-shirt, Fleece jacket, a sleeve of golf balls and other goodies before the Tee off. The shot-gun start saw last minute cheering as we were led to our respective starting tee-boxes.
The match had begun ........ before you think that it got too serious ........... the sun was shining ..........and in amongst several others, a Vodka bottle was a prize to be won in each four ball ....... so what do you expect ........ a whole lot of fun and bonhomie and camaraderie. It was an eventful afternoon with a lot of fun as well as no team giving an inch to the other, and yet on the other hand I do feel that with every year this tournament has the potential of becoming an annual reunion of both the schools and look forward to many more to come !!
As the sun set, the scores had started coming in and both sides left Jaypee Greens on the 6th evening (after several beers and snacks) feeling that their team had won ....... and the suspense continued till Sunday evening (the following day), when the prize distribution over drinks & dinner was to be held at the Park Hotel, Connaught Place, New Delhi.
I for one was at dinner on time (8PM) as I did not want to miss out on the drama and announcement ..... but unfortunately, whether they are Doscos or Mayoites, punctuality is not our forte !!! We finally got down to the Prize distribution at 10 pm. The suspense continued as Gautam Chadha (389H-1971) who with the concurrence of his Mayo counterpart, Jasmeet Singh, decided to announce the result of each 4-ball (25 of them!!), and lo and behold after great drama and suspense, guess what was the result ........... you will not believe it ....... it was a TIE (12.5 points to each school) for the SECOND YEAR IN RUNNING!! Much heated discussions and several drinks later, all was forgotten and both the teams and OBs who attended, felt that it was probably poetic justice ..... but only till next year !!
The Mayo team suggested a fair-play award for Anand Bhatia (70T-1963), as he forfeited a hole after realising that he had played his partners golf ball (well I suppose we could have expected that!).
The endeavor to continue this event comes from the fact that it has become an event where every old boy, whether from Doon or Mayo, who plays Golf, wants to be part of their respective school team ....... so we do hope that in the year 2004 not only will we see another close and great tournament, but also a greater participation from the entire Obs’ fraternity !!
The success of the event was through support in the form of sponsorships by Godfrey-Phillips Ltd, Johnny Walker Whiskey (the real stuff!), Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd and Pepsi with voluntary support from Ranjan Bhalla (368J-1972).