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What Every Aspiring Golfer Needs…..

If you hit those golf balls regularly down the fairway onto the green and then with minimum shots into the hole, there are some basic things you need….rub of the green, a good swing, a reasonable lie,a hole in one, even decent weather and ..oh Jonathan Westoby has been and still is a pretty good golfer. He has played bridge, too, at Akarana each Wednesday since he moved to Auckland back in the 1980’s.

He sat South this particular Wednesday evening. You pay your table money for magic moments like the following….worth every cent. You pick up:

10

 J763

 KJ9843

105

and with only your side vulnerable (why is this always the case when something like this happens?!), your partner opens 2, showing less than an opener with 5 spades and 4+ of a minor.

Now, once every hundred years, your golf shot hits a tree not that far from the hole, and ricochets just where you want heading onto the green and hits the flag and disappears, just where you want. Every other time, it disappears into the long grass, the forest or the nearest bunker. Jonathan’s partner’s minor was not diamonds!

He decided, though, not to hang around in 2 to wait for the axe to fall. His right hand opponent had passed in too perfect tempo. He feared what was to come. Thus, he ventured a rather unusual 3 , pass or correct to diamonds, bid.

One of the excellent theories in our game is that we rarely make a straight penalty double of a part-score (it is rare we can do so). The style is, until we are in penalty double mode, we pass with the opposition’s suit and wait for partner, with short trumps to re-open for us. What happens, then, when both partners have too many trumps to re-open?

 

The answer is "nothing"! West would like to but could not and East was kind of happy where they were. West made the good lead of a small trump to the king but East could not quite believe Jonathan’s trumps were so bad and returned 4 not the jack.

Two North’s paid the price of their poor opening bid by conceding 800 in 2x. Two more played this ugly contract undoubled. Most East-Wests slithered home for +400 or better in 3NT. Then, a couple of pairs tried club contracts. One East-West pair could not make 5 (we are told that game is indeed makeable in Jonathan’s partner opening suit, spades…but for East-West!) and then Jonathan got an absolutely flat Swiss Pair score, 0, for going down 4, -400, in 3.

One bunker avoided. Another, though, beckoned just three holes…sorry boards, later.

What is your choice in the pass out seat with the following:

 KT87

AJ53

KQT83 

-

West had opened 1 which was passed round to you. No-one, this time, was vulnerable.

The thought of partner bidding clubs was too much for Jonathan. No double but a simple 2 bid. Fine so far. West gave up but North, your partner, bid 2. “Excellent” thought Jonathan. “I have spades well held, pretty good hearts, presumably some diamond support from partner, who must be shortish in spades and therefore have some clubs.” Time for 3NT.

The 7 was led…and the “nearly” good news for Jonathan was that the suit “nearly” blocked.

 

He tried the tactic of a desperate declarer by discarding in the colour of the opening lead but Douglas Russell (East) who had kind of guided Jonathan onto his course of self-destruction by passing 1 (what partner ever has clubs in such a situation after opening 1? The answer of course was “his”) could not switch to his partner’s suit even if he had wanted to. The clubs kept coming and when the smoke had cleared, Jonathan had conceded 5 down…-250.

The datum was not so kind for Jonathan this time. Every other North-South recorded a plus score of some kind though only two had bid to a red suit game (both of which can be defeated unless North and only North gets to the wheel in 5). The loss on datum for “JW” was a serious 9 imps.

Oh, what does every aspiring golfer need…and at the bridge table too? Why, decent clubs, of (or “on”) course.

Richard Solomon

With a special thanks to the bridge player who is “a very good sport”.

                                      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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