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I am sitting here writing
this column in the club house
of the Upper Course of the
Rossland-Trail Golf Club,
probably as picturesque a
setting as one could find in
many miles of travel around
a province noted for its
beautiful golf scenery.
The reason I am sitting
here is that this morning is
Retirees' Day and I am one
of the guys who is in charge
of operations today. Well, of
course, it rained earlier and
Percy Cutler and I came
down around seven not
expecting too much
business, but we were
mistaken as 30 golfers
showed up fo play the course
which was pretty wet by the
time the golfers had all teed
off. I elected to stay behind
to tally up the scores as they
came in and with time on my
hands I thought I might as
well do some writing to pass
away the time.

Last week all the members
of the R-T Golf Club received
a questionnaire asking them
to evaluate the Birchbank
course according to
challenge, playing conditions, hazards, etc. Since
then I have talked to quite a
number of my retired
friends who play both Birchbank and the Upper
Course. The consensus
seems to be that quite a lot of
the people who play them
would like to see some
money spent on the rough
spots on the Rossland layout.
One of the worst spots up
here is that awful mudhole in
front of No. 7 tee. It's not so
much of a hazard as it is an
awful eyesore. If the water
there is unavoidable, why
not dig out the area and
make it a little scenic pond
extending across the whole
fairway? It would be just
wonderful to have a little
bri~e over it to make it a

beauty spot, instead of an
ugly scar on the course.
Anyway, it will be interesting to see if we get any
feedback from the board.
The competition this week
was hidden holes. No. 3 was
low and No. 6 was high, and
the longest putt on No. 9.
Then there was a ball for the
low net and one for the most
honest golfer. When all the
scores were tallied up
Morris Sawyer had the
longest putt on No. 9, an
admirable stroke from about
20 feet away. Jim Scott had
the hidden hole low, a par on
No. 3. Bob York won the
hidden hole high, a 9 on No.
6.
Bob Walley won low net
with a sparkling 35 and the
runner-up was Tim Jenkin
with his 36. Harry Simpkinson was judged the most

the helm and we can look for
some devious machinations
as we try for a ball next
week.
This week sees the annual
Pat Morris Day, this year to
be held at the Birchbank
course. All the previous
celebrations of this event
have been played at the
Upper Course but the story
goes that the number of
people signed up to play this
event makes it necessary to
have a shotgun start at an ll'r
hole.
Next week, an invitational
to Nelson, a course I have
never played before. Hope I
can make it!

Now, to veer away from
the usual format, to soccer
for a while and the
tremendous record of the
honest.
Whitecaps in particular.
Next week it will be Lou Those 50,000 plus crowds
Crowe and Morris Sawyer at must be really_bringing out
the best in John Giles' team.
With the injury bug giving
them the kind of a deal they
are getting they could be
excused for a slackening-off
) slumps, but no, they are
playing their reserves and
• they still win. Can we expect
· another NASL championship
inl983?
I watched quite a lot of the
) 'f'l presentation of the World
University games at Edmonton over the past two

weeks and we in Canada
should be proud of the effort
expended by the athletes
who represented our
country. Third place in the
world is certainly no small
feat. To our athletes we owe
a debt of gratitude for a
magnificent performance
and a job well done!
I feel a little sorry that I
could not make a trip out to
the Birchbank picnic ground
where they recently held a
barbecue honoring, among
others, a very good friend
and fellow-worker of mine
for some years. Sometimes
he even got to be my boss. His
name is Doug Johnson and I
want to say right now how
sorry I am I could not attend.
Some very pressing business
prevented me from doing
that but I want to wish Doug
many years of the same kind
of happy retirement I have
enjoyed since 1977. Maybe
we can get together at
Rossland in the near future,
Doug, and play a round of
golf. I just know it will be a
riot!
And in closing I would like
to say that it would be nice to
see a little more of Old Sol It
seems to me that be bas been
laying down on the job of
late; everything in the garden is just laying there waiting to be give a little boost.
Sure would be nice!
See you next week.