Next Week’s Details

The first round of the Priems Cup back in April attracted a field of 15 (7 a side, plus a 15th – JQ – who didn’t count for either team).

After the dust settled on the score entries back then, Team Chris lead Team Rob by one stableford point, 209 to 208.

For those interested in a detailed recap, hit April 2024 in the Archives list on the left hand side of the home page of the website (and scroll down past “Eagles, birthdays and finally Raj!” – 27 April; and “Twinkle Toes Brendon” – 20 April, to “Priems Cup Cliffhanger!”) or put Priems Cup into the search.

Of the 15 that played that day, 8 were back for Round 2, including of course the two Priems brothers, Team Captains Chris and Rob. Such is the nature of team selection and the mid-season Priems Cup draft, other than Rob and Chris only two players – Michael and Stan – played Round 2 for the same team as they did in Round 1.

This time around it wasn’t a cliffhanger. Team Rob, lead by Dan, the day’s individual winner with 37 points and Rob himself (individual 3rd with 35) gathered 235 points with three players scoring 33 points (Brendon, SoS, Bob) and Michael and Craig both 32.

Despite the best efforts of Chris (individual second with 36 points – announced as 37 on the day but later adjusted to 36 after the Harry system score check) Team Chris could only gather 214 points, with JQ scoring 33, Stan 32, Whitey and Porks 31 and Geoff and Targe in the 20’s.

So Priems Cup bragging rights go to Rob for 2024 by a total 20 stableford points (total 443 across the two rounds, at an average score of 31.6 points per round per player) to 423 (30.2).

We have trialed a few formats for Priems Cup scoring over the years, but have now settled into this two round format (with total stableford points rather than match play) and it will be a feature on the Playing Calendar again for 2025.

Your blog writer played with Rob and Chris and they both played brilliantly.

Rob’s driving was the feature of the day. His straight as an arrow monster drives on 2, 13 and 16 would give the best of Porks and Steff a run for their money, absolute monsters!

Chris was steady all day long except a wipe on the 7th where his tee shot managed to hit a tree near the left of the tee very hard and bounce at a 90 degree angle across the 8th fairway with the ball never to be seen again, perhaps going all the way out of bounds near the river on the right hand side of the 8th. Quite spectacular effort that!

There’s a lot of run on the course at the moment and this brings the 7th into play as a fair enough choice for one of our nearest the pins as, unlike in winter, everybody can make the distance, even if it does require the best hit with a driver for some.

For those who fancy Jackpot $, go for it on the 7th this week because despite Porks effort to shrink the tape measure and get inside the 5 metre limit, Jackpot won the day.

On the 12th Rob added a ball to his bragging rights with a great shot in there and Dan added a ball on the 18th (and the Inside NTP too) with a shot to 5.63 metres.

Meanwhile on the 4th, everybody felt a bit weird on getting to the tee because not only had they cut some trees on the right hand side of the tee (which will allow the tee to get more sun and hopefully better grass coverage) but the big tree on the left had been trimmed.

In theory now you can hit a straight ball at tree height and hit the green rather than having to do a Craig (nice low draw under the tree) or a Porks (big high shot over the tree).

Undeterred Rob stuck to traditional values and hit a big high shot over the tree to the left hand side of the green, so players addicted to going over or through that tree can still do so!

With the 2024 playing season (for points) drawing to a close over the next two weeks, Brendon is keeping an eye on his lead in the prestigious Eclectic. He looks unbeatable, having birdied every hole except the 2nd and with an eagle on the 17th, has a gross eclectic score of 50, 18 under par for net 43.5. Next in line is Raj 47.3, Charles 47.4, Harry 47.5 and Bob 48.1.

Charles is obviously going to struggle from London to improve his score, but what chance a Raj (are you back this week Raj?) or a Harry or a Bob finding 4 or 5 shots, e.g. all Raj has to do is birdie 6, 7, 8, 10 and 18, or perhaps Harry can birdie 3, 5, 9, 11 and 18?

Harry, how many times has Brendon won the Eclectic previously? Do we have a list of past Eclectic winners and their scores on the website? Is Brendon’s 43.5 a world record?

After the round, and Michael’s failed attempt to take a decent photo with Priems brothers and Dan and all players looking at the camera, the Club Committee had a meeting and discussed various matters.

This includes that club finances are a bit tighter than in previous years. In due course there will be an email with information about key decisions, including handing out fewer trophies this year and a small increase in membership subscription fees for 2025.

Meanwhile it is full steam ahead with the drive to recruit new members, with Harry adding a new “Care to Join Us? New members always welcome” section at the top of the club’s home page this week. If you know anybody interested in joining, give them a copy of the new membership pamphlet (copies available in the clubhouse) or point them to the website.

Results for Saturday, 16 Nov 2024

Priems Cup Results: Team Rob {Dan Marie (37), Brendon Mitchell (33), Stephen O’Sullivan (33), Bob McDonald (33), Craig Cameron (32), Robert Priems (35), Michael Gourlay (32)} 235 def Team Chris {John Quinlan (33), Stan Blackshaw (32), Rodney White (31), Ryan Porker (31), Geoff Lyall (28), Chris Priems (36), Targe Mifsud (22)} 213

1st Dan Marie (37) 2nd Chris Priems (36) 3rd Robert Priems (35) 4th Bob McDonald (33) 4th Brendon Mitchell (33) 4th John Quinlan (33) 4th Stephen O’Sullivan (33) 5th Stan Blackshaw (32) 5th Craig Cameron (32) 5th Michael Gourlay (32)

Seniors Results: 1st Chris Priems (36) 2nd Bob McDonald (33) 3rd Craig Cameron (32) 3rd Michael Gourlay (32) 3rd Stan Blackshaw (32)

Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 7th Jackpot BallPin No 1 – 12th Robert Priems BallPin No 2 – 18th Dan Marie

No, we didn’t play a new format. But we did play as two groups of four as there were only eight members who could see their way clear to make it to Ivanhoe on a beautiful clear spring day. Conditions were pretty much ideal. Lovely warm sun after a slightly cool start to the morning. Hardly a breath of wind for most of the round, and then only the slightest of zephyrs to ruffle your hair (or what is left of it!). With no precipitation of any note during the week, the fairways had a bit of run, and the greens could be a bit quick for the unwary with a down-hill putt. There was a query as to whether putting off the green constituted a ‘shout’ or not, but, in the case of Stan, at least, he claimed that sinking the putt back from off the green negated any such ‘tradition’. The question out of all this would have to be, why, then, didn’t we shoot the lights out.

For ‘historical’ reasons, we’ll start the story with Pepsi, who tried to set up his excuses early by explaining that, having followed orders and rested his knee for a month, he was going to give it a try, or go mad if he didn’t give it a try. He’s hoping for a repair job in the New Year. He made a fine start, and was even par after four holes before dropping a couple on the next. Recovery was swift, and he was able to make the turn just one point down on 17. The back nine was completed just two over the card to add another nineteen points, making 36 points for a handicap equalling round. During the round, Pepsi managed to put one onto the 15th green, and qualified for the jackpot BallPin that was on offer there. With the announced results as solo first place getter and BallPin Jackpot winner, Pepsi was awarded four balls. However, between Blighty and Bob, there were a couple of discrepancies between the reported scores and the calculated points, and both were recipients of an extra point on holes marked as a miss. As a result Bob moved up to a score of 36 points as well. Bob’s front nine was a little mixed, and in particular somewhat mixed up on the second hole. The group behind stood on the tee and watched in bemusement, as the group wandered back and forth, and round about, like chooks with their head cut off. What on earth could be going on? Bob was adamant that he knew where his ball had finished, but that it had vanished. What sort said SOS. TaylorMade. What number. Don’t know, it has a black ring on it. Oops, says SOS, I picked that up thinking it was a lost ball! To be fair, there were, apparently, a number of stray balls in the area at the time. Anyhow, despite the dicky front nine, Bob stormed home and racked up 21 points on the back to produce the best nine hole tally for the day.

For reasons that we won’t go into, Michael’s card had the appearance of a dog’s breakfast. His GA number was written on it, scribbled out, written on again, not scribbled out, but we were assured that it was his Club card. Despite the scribblings, it does appear that the scoring calculations were correct, and Michael rambled home with 33 points, which was enough to snare him second place points to extend his total in the Championship table even further. He did show some signs of unhappiness with his game today, particularly when he played a ‘cricket’ shot rather than a ‘golf’ shot. His self described ‘shank’ on the 15th robbed him of the chance to challenge Pepsi for the BallPin Jackpot. Blighty’s card was a good example of why it pays to do a hole by hole check of points recorded because, even though the totals reported on both cards agreed, there was a compensating error on each that disguised the ‘missed’ point. In the process, Harry’s hopes of picking up an extra point were dashed when Blighty’s total moved to 30 points to collect third place. Harry held on to 4th place with a disappointing 29 points due largely to a major fade-out on the back. Stan picked up the last point on offer for his fifth place winning 28 points.

There was a Jackpot ProPin on the 12th, and there were a few hopeful strikes that didn’t quite cut the mustard. However, SOS was able to slot his within the required distance at 3.9m, and so the day was not entirely pointless for him. No birdie was forthcoming for SOS and there was none for Pepsi on the 15th. However, Pepsi did manage to score two elsewhere and another, down to Michael, brought our total for the day to three. Nobody could get the ball onto the green at the 18th, so that will Jackpot to next week. And speaking of the 18th, it seems that the CCTV camera systems, installed at the tee and green, form some sort of money printing scheme, where you can ‘pay’ to have your shot and result filmed on the off-chance that you get a hole-in-one. The details are a bit vague at the moment, as there was no sufficiently knowledgeable management available when the question was asked.

SOS was bragging about the fact that he was able to hit the same tree twice with the same club as he played the 6th hole. Apparently, no club was injured in the process. And, yes, it was a club involved, and not a ball. SOS was also minding his own business waiting to play a shot on the 11th when Blighty played a ‘stray’ one that whistled pretty close by his left ear. Pepsi managed to sky one shot that, reportedly, travelled higher than it travelled long. Harry’s drive on the 3rd looked to have mixed it with the trees on the right, so he opted to play a provisional. Stan came across Harry’s ball in the middle of the fairway. Had it hit a tree and done a Priems? If it did, it was a mightily delayed effect, as H was in the midst of hitting his provisional when the ball re-entered the playing area.

Don’t forget, it is the second round of this year’s Priems Cup. The Captains would like to have some players to select from, so get in there and register early (but there’s no point in registering often). It’s just like a normal round, and the Captains add up their team’s total scores to determine which team wins (provided that they remember who is on their team!). CJ has the first round lead by a single point, so there is everything to play for, and the prize is anybody’s.

Results for Saturday, 09 Nov 2024
1st Bob McDonald (36) 1st Andrew Petricola (36) 2nd Michael Gourlay (33) 3rd Andrew Blight (30) 4th Harry Boughen (29) 5th Stan Blackshaw (28)

Seniors Results: 1st Bob McDonald (36) 2nd Michael Gourlay (33) 3rd Andrew Blight (30)

Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 12th Stephen O’Sullivan BallPin No 1 – 15th Andrew Petricola BallPin No 2 – 18th Jackpot

Maaaagnificent! As Rex Hunt used to scream as he commentated the footie way back when. The weather turned on a beauty, though it was a little on the fresh side at tee time. But, it soon warmed up, and, by the end of the round, a brisk northerly was in evidence, and the temperature had climbed into the dizzy heights of the twenties. This is known because JQ was asking if ‘the heat was getting hotter’ or was that just a symptom of getting older? Hot flushes anyone? To put him out of his misery, SOS fired up his trusty Apple watch to confirm that the temperature had indeed climbed to 21C. The course was fairly firm (including the teeing areas), and there was plenty of run to be had, provided that you stayed on the mowed areas. Not quite so much off the fairway, which made close in chips a tad more difficult to get just right. On the face of it, there appeared to be absolutely no reason why the fourteen members who turned out should not score well, and there was an expectation that sub-handicap results would be required to hoist the Medal.

As it turned out, there were no sub-handicap rounds to be seen. The best that we could manage were a couple of handicap-equalling rounds, with both Bob and Michael fronting the judges with net scores of sixty-eight. This meant that the judges had to go through the mental gymnastics required to carry out a count-back to determine just who would hoist the silver-ware. After checking the recording and the arithmetic to confirm the tie, the calculations for the net back nine result were done. Wouldn’t you know it, the scores were still tied on 32.5 apiece. The process then moved to the last six holes, with two thirds of half handicap being rather easier to work out for Michael’s case. A check and a recheck (and the computer eventually agreed), the medal was awarded to Bob with 20.66 to Michael’s 21.00.

CJ was pretty T’d off with his performance on the front nine, and his playing group had pretty much written him off as a chance. However, he stepped up to the 10th tee, and declared that he was going to par the back nine, and get back into the game. And, that is exactly what he did. Nary a birdie nor a bogie sullied the card as he came back with a vengeance to finish in second place with a net score of 70. Harry had a mixed day with his short game, and produced a number of Goldilocks chips and putts. Some too cold, some too hot, and some just right. This allowed him to put together a net 72, and left him with the thought that it could have been better. JQ had a run in with some trees on the left from the tee on the 2nd hole. He threaded one out down the fairway, and followed this up with a shot that finished on the green, but well past the hole. Unperturbed, he rattled it in with a ‘drainer’, for what, even he admitted, was an unlikely par, considering the starting position. He, too, managed a net 72 to share third place with Harry.

Dan has been racking up the kilometres with his trips back to Melbourne, which we like to imagine that he does just for the joy of playing with us. His game was not quite up to his recent form, but a pair of triples and a quadruple, made a pretty big difference to the bottom line. His net 74 was enough for fourth place. Prez should be nominated for an award at the presentations for Unobservant Member of the Year. Actually, maybe that should be the Decade, as Rob, only today, became aware of the column on the handicap sheet that shows the number of games that members have played with Club. In that case maybe the UMOY award should go to Targe, who just today noticed that the new Honour Boards had been installed in the hallway leading to the facilities. Anyway, Prez also finished net 74 to share fourth place. Despite SOS telling Brendon that his GA card should go to the back of the deck, somehow it got placed in the main part, so SOS didn’t actually score a point for fifth as announced. But, Brendon, who did actually finish with 75, held his place and filled fifth place on his ownsome.

The ProPin today was set for the 12th hole, but nobody was able to get close enough to put their name on the card, which means that there will be a jackpot to next week. There is not only a shortage of skills in the building industry. There is also one in the BallPin marker placement industry. The first BallPin was supposed to be on the 15th, but an unnamed President of the Club ‘forgot’ to put it out! So, we will call that one a Jackpot to next week as well. There have been some mysterious posts appearing around the course in recent times, and today it became obvious that they are supports for solar-powered cctv cameras. Intended to catch vandals was the logical conclusion. However, rumour has it that they are intended for catching cheats instead. Anyhow, Michael wanted to wait until the one at the 18th green is commissioned before he scores his hole-in-one so that it is recorded for posterity. So, today he left the ball 0.47m to the left of the hole to collect our ball, and, almost certainly, the ProShop ProPin.

Michael was resplendent in a ‘new’ pair of shorts after a shopping spree at the Salvos, in which he snapped up a bargain on a three for the price of two deal. SOS made a reverse Priems shot on the first when his drive found something pretty solid in the trees that sent it flying high into the air and hard left to finish on the edge of the 9th fairway. Prez was pretty chuffed when he chipped in for a birdie on the 9th. Brendon was off the green and asked Prez whether it was OK if he chipped in as well. Prez was in a magnanimous mood, and agreed that it would be OK. So, Brendon lined up and chipped in for birdie as well. Those two brought our tally of birdies to six for the day. Michael also contributed a couple to the birdie tally. The ‘gimme’ on the 18th pales in comparison to the outcome on the 10th. A stray drive into the trees ricocheted into a veritable graveyard of balls on the 13th fairway, and a lost ball was on the verge of being declared when, by Michael’s estimate, 2 minutes and 59 seconds had passed in the search, the ball was found close to the penalty area. Michael then smashed one over the trees and onto the 10th green, and sank the putt for the birdie.

Gordo had to finish the round using his trusty two iron as a putter after an equipment ‘failure’ on the 13th green. He reckons that he actually putted better afterwards, and swears that the impact with the ground was ‘relatively minor’. Examination of the failure by the resident metallurgist suggests that there actually were signs of a pre-existing start of fatigue failure that initiated the brittle failure that followed. Stan made a bit of a mess of his tee shot on the 2nd, and didn’t quite make it to the red markers. On the 6th, Targe flushed the bird-life on the pond beside the tee, not with his shot-gun, but with his ball, and also did not surpass the red markers. Faced with the prospect of two rounds of drinks, Targe and Stan negotiated a deal that the lower ranked player in the event would buy the drinks. Stan should have had no trouble paying with the fresh folding stuff in his wallet from selling a set of clubs to Harry’s tradie. It had been reported that Bob refused to give up on searching for his worn out old Pinnacle golf ball. As he was lining up to collect a new one for his win, JQ offered to do him a swap of three second hand for a new ProV1. No deal, said Bob. A couple of birthdays to be marked this week for Damo and Craig, but there are no reports of Priem’s style weekends away for either of them.

Results for Saturday, 02 Nov 2024
Winner Bob McDonald (68 c/b t6) 1st Michael Gourlay (68) 2nd Chris Priems (70) 3rd Harry Boughen (72) 3rd John Quinlan (72) 4th Dan Marie (74) 4th Robert Priems (74) 5th Brendon Mitchell (75)

Seniors Results: 1st Bob McDonald (68) 1st Michael Gourlay (68) 2nd Chris Priems (70) 3rd Harry Boughen (72)

Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 12th Jackpot BallPin No 1 – 15th Jackpot BallPin No 2 – 18th Michael Gourlay

Brendon was hoping to hit the headlines today and his drive on the first into Charlie’s bush was indeed the day’s big early news.

Blighty then went one better with a drive that dribbled off the first tee and didn’t even make it to Charlie’s bush.

We really should get a plaque for that bush.

Meanwhile, with third placed Blighty’s form not improving (-6 on the front 9 and -10 for the day) the big heavyweight title fight for the Fred Kitson very soon just had JQ and Craig in the ring punching and counter-punching.

Craig wiped the first even though he had a shot there, while JQ’s 5 for a half saw him extend his lead to 3.

But Old Reliable was soon back in town with a par for a plus on the 2nd, another on the 4th after a great tee shot there, two more on the 7th and 8th and he hit the turn at +3 for the day and +5 overall.

Meanwhile JQ had kept things steady and turned with +1 for the day to match Craig at +5 overall.

Game on!

Ali and Frazier had three big heavyweight fights back in the day, the Fight of the Century at Madison Square Garden in 1971 (Fraser in 15 rounds), Super Fight II in 1974 also at the Garden (which was a bit of a dud, Ali adopting controversial holding/clinching tactics and being lucky to be given the win on points) and 1975’s Thriller in Manilla which is remembered by many as one of the best and most brutal fights in boxing history.

Playing partners Blighty and Michael had the best seats in the house as Craig and JQ went at it over the back 9.

Ivanhoe’s Thriller in Manilla saw both Craig and CJ get themselves out of trouble to salvage great 5’s for half on 10, JQ sinking one of his new trademark 15 foot putts and Craig chipping sideways after being stymied by a tree.

Both parred 11, with Craig making a good up and down there. However with JQ sneaking a shot there off his 14 handicap (and Craig with no shot) it was advantage JQ by one.

The first crack in Craig’s armoury came on 12 when he missed a short par putt. JQ up by two.

Craig bounced back with two great shots into 13 to about 10 feet while JQ had been all over the shop out on the 10th fairway with his second and had left himself a 15 footer down the hill for a half. It was looking for all money like a two shot swing and back to all square but JQ nailed the putt! JQ one up.

Still all square after 14, both fighters hit the green on 15 but faced long putts, 40 feet or so. JQ’s magic putter won the battle there, putting to gimmie distance while Craig 3-putted. JQ by two.

Craig counterpunched again on 16 with two greats shots in there and slotting the 10 footer for birdie. It was a “double plus” that unfortunately for Craig only counted as one. JQ halved 16 and saw his lead back to one.

Off his 14 handicap JQ had a shot on 17 but Craig didn’t. Craig had another 10-15 footer for birdie and it just missed. JQ then had a rare putting blemish missing a short par putt but his 5 a half was enough to keep the lead by 1.

Before heading to the 18th, Michael gently enquired about the state of the contest. Having forgotten that JQ got a shot at 11, Michael had calculated them even, which is probably why he never got invited to score the Ali-Frazer fights.

JQ professed to not know the scores (bullshit thought Michael as they were marking each other’s cards) but Craig clarified that yes JQ was 1 up. With both having a shot on 18, it was a bit tense out there.

Both hit good shots into 18 but they pulled up a fraction short. If Craig could get up and down for par and JQ made a 4, it would be all tied up and a countback would be required (which Craig would have won by the way). If JQ stuffed up and made a 5, Craig would win outright.

But that all became academic when JQ, after hitting a dodgy chip to about 15 feet (his new pet distance with the putter) stepped up and knocked it straight in. Another 15 footer!

Craig, realising the fight was over, then carelessly 3-putted 18 to leave JQ the winner by 3. But that margin belies what a tough, close, high quality knock ’em down drag it out fight it was all day long.

JQ at +6 over the two weeks (+2 this week) and Craig at +3 overall (+1 this week) pummelled the rest of the field, with the best the rest could offer being Michael (-3 overall for 3rd), Steve G and Brendon -7 overall for joint 4th) and Gordo 5th with -8.

Note: when JQ and Craig next saddle up, JQ (14 into 10) will no longer have those cheeky strokes on 6, 9, 11, 17 that a good player like him shouldn’t need. Craig is back in single figures (10 to 9).

In other news of the day, the same driver of Brendon’s that crashed Charlie’s bush on the 1st drove it onto the green at 14, quite an effort considering the tee was about as far back as it can be there. Not to be outdone, SoS nearly drove the 16th green (only problem was the shot was from the 14th tee).

SoS did manage the win the money for a great shot to 1.91 metres on the 12th, while Adam hit it close on the 7th to win the ball there and Michael won the ball on 18.

When it comes to member temper tantrums, Harry can chuck one as good as most, especially when his putts keep rimming the hole. On 17, Harry had another one doing the rimming thing and Gordo was reported to be running for the hills fearing the blowing of the Harry volcano. Luckily the putt did a full 360 and dropped in. “Phew” said Gordo.

Earlier, Gordo had shocked his playing partners with a big long high drive on the 16th, a launching path much higher than his usual low worm burners.

Harry also hit a birdie on the 8th, but it was the feathered kind. Reports suggest no major injury to the bird.

It was great to see Raj come down for the BBQ. He is planning to be back in a fortnight or so and play in a cart for 4-6 weeks and then hopes to be back to normal and walking and playing in 2025.

As always, big thanks to the BBQ chefs and others who pitched in to help with organisation and clean-up. Our BBQ’s are one of the 10 “selling points” in our new club brochure designed to encourage new members to join us.

If you know anybody who might want to join us for the 2025 season and they need a bit of convincing, give them a copy of the brochure (copies available in the clubhouse).

Judging by today, JQ and Craig need some fresh competition.

Results for Saturday, 26 Oct 2024
1st John Quinlan (+4, + 2, + 6) 2nd Craig Cameron (+2, + 1, + 3) 3rd Michael Gourlay (-3, □, -3) 4th Steven Gervasoni (-6, -1, -7) 4th Brendon Mitchell (-5, -2, -7) 5th Gordon Hill (-5, -3, -8)

Seniors Results: 1st Craig Cameron (+2, +1, +3) 2nd Michael Gourlay (-3, □, -3) 3rd Steven Gervasoni (-6, -1, -7)

Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 12th Stephen O’Sullivan BallPin No 1 – 7th Adam King BallPin No 2 – 18th Michael Gourlay