The Avengers? Overrated.
The Famous Five? Fine.
If you want real heroes try the Ilfracombe Nine.
Nine teed off, nine finished eighteen
But what happened in between?
The forecast was grim, there were no ifs
It would be rough on the Ilfracombe cliffs.
The bloke in the Pro Shop, he had no doubt
‘Sure, take a buggy - but the glass might blow out’.
The wind was howling as we stood on the first
We all suspected it would get worse.
It did.
The rain started gently, like the hotel shower
(cold, and no power)
Then someone turned on the taps
The rain found the gaps down the neck, through the hat
(Water’s like that)
Soon it seeped through the shoes
Then the trousers (bad news!)
The scorecards were like a damp rag
As was the stuff in your golf bag
The people in glasses struggled to see
I should know, one of them was me.
But no one gave up, no one walked off
Which poses the question, are we daft or tough?
(We’d have given up on another day but the clubhouse was too far away.)
The scores were much lower but it hardly mattered
The Ilfracombe Nine were totally shattered
It was much later when our very own Vorders
Read out the scores in no particular order.
An exceptional day, it was so strange
That for future Tours the rules will be changed
Fighting the course, getting throughly wet
This is one round we’ll never forget.
So fill up your glass, your choice, beer or wine
And let’s raise a toast to the Ilfracombe Nine.
