The Manors Open Scramble
The Manors Open Scramble, where do I begin. This event was like nothing I’d yet experienced in my 2.5 years of serious golf playing, and it was an event I nearly missed. If not for a timely message from my good friend Ollie and a slight misunderstanding on the ticket structure, I likely wouldn’t have even signed up. But sign up we did, and what a great decision that turned out to be.
The day started as many a golfing day does, up early at the alarm, clothes on, teeth brushed and out the door with my clubs. After a stopover at Gail’s for a much needed coffee and porridge, I collected a rather hungover Ollie on the train as we prepared to join the 120 golfers descending on Brocket Hall Golf Club for the event. I’m lucky not to suffer any degree of social anxiety so the thought of that many strangers wouldn’t usually phase me, but the thought of two strangers being in our group watching my golf game did fill me with a bit of dread, especially given my recent swing struggles… but after finally snagging an Uber from Welwyn Garden City to the course, those fears quickly dissipated when I saw we were nearing a group of individuals much like ourselves. Golf obsessed, Manors loving, ready for some fun.
From the welcome speeches from the brand founders, the energy in the room was palpable, anticipation and excitement for what was the come hung in the air heavy, and seemingly as quickly as we had arrived, we were off to get as warm as we could to try and do right by our teams. A few swings on the range, a few chips to a tight flag pin, and a putt to make sure we’d keep it in the dustbin and we were off on our way to tee 15 to get ready to head off into the unknown of the Scramble. Ollie and I were paired up with Mark and Craig who had come all the way from Norwich. Craig, quite helpfully, was a pro, but given the format, this wasn’t a guaranteed win for us, with a minimum of 4 tee shots from each participant required. I was very pleased to get my first one out of the way quickly and we walked off 15 with a birdie. And then 16 with a birdie. And then 17 with a birdie. And then 18 with a eagle… and suddenly we all started thinking the same thing… could we win this?
The thought of actually doing well at the event had never crossed my mind before learning that my putt on 18 had secured us a 5 under through 4 start. I’d entered the event with no expectations, just wanting to participate in a unique day on the golf course. Getting to play a full round with a pro is something special in itself. The way they move, the way they analyze a course, analyze the shots, the way the ball sounds when it hits, is just a different game. Craig also happened to be one of the nicest, softest spoken guys I’ve met. And for a man that averages 310 carry off the tee, that’s not something you find often in a world of bravado.
It was already turning into an incredibly special day, perfect weather, great company, when magic happened. Coming off hole 1 with our first par of the day, reality had set in a bit that of course we couldn’t birdie every hole. As we walked up to Marks drive 280 yards down the fairway, we were faced with a 100 yard pitch shot to try and get back on track. After Craig, Mark and myself came up short, up stepped Ollie. Kirkland wedge in hand, he swung down to the ball. No sooner had the ball come off the face than he proclaimed “thinned it!”. Looking at the shot you’d never know. It flew 108 yards and stuck pin high just back over the flagstick… then it revved up and spun back.
“It went in!” I exclaimed.
“No it went off the back.” Shot back Ollie
“No it couldn’t have, you thinned it, it’ll spin” I retorted.
And as we approached the green, all balls were present apart from Ollies. “Check the hole, you have to check the hole.”
And check he did, and nestled against the pin was his TP5! Many jumps, hugs, high fives and fist bumps followed. Even in a scramble, walking off the 6th hole with your second eagle feels momentous. The greenskeepers even gave Ollie a round of applause. Without a doubt the moment of the day.
The day continued with excitement in the air, we made birdies, we made pars, but crucially no bogies. As we approached the hole-in-one challenge hole, of course an extra level of pressure entered. An £85,000 looking on in our back swings, no one apart from craig managed to hit the green, the insurance company definitely breathed a sigh of relief. As the round was coming to a close, we approached the 14th hole, our final one, and met Short Side aka James Wilson aka Mr. Manors. The lad responsible for, in my opinion, the best golfing content on Instagram. Again with only Craig managing to beat his fellow pro in the closest to the pin, we walked off with a par and rode in together, music jamming on the speaker.
The evening came to a close with a fantastic barbeque before the awards ceremony. When we handed in our card, we sat at -12 gross, a number we felt was quite competitive, but in classic golfer style, we felt we could have done better. Knowing that some handicap allocations were yet to be applied, we were cautiously optimistic, but didn’t want to get ahead of ourselves. And as JoJo the founder read out the names of 3rd place, we all slowly realized we’d done it. Not won, but placed. And in that moment, it was funny, for someone as competitive as me, I’d usually be disappointed at not winning. At feeling we played well, but without walking away with the ultimate result, but in that moment I was content, and not just content but overjoyed.
It was a powerful reminder of how perception can change. When I arrived that morning with Ollie, I had zero expectations, and throughout the day us playing so well applied expectation, but in the end, even walking away with prizes, I knew I would have been happy anyway. I spent a day playing golf with great people, supporting a brand I really relate to and that’s the greatest prize of all. It also was the spark that made me decide I wanted to start this project, so thank you to Manors for a fantastic event, for the fantastic prizes, the awesome golf and most importantly the subtle kick up the rear I’d been needing to take a step in the right direction. To Craig, Mark and Ollie… run it back next year?
