Yearly Archives: 2014

Some people have been struck by Cup Fever, some people have been struck by Cabin Fever, and Chrispy has been struck by Gypsy Caravan Fever.  He was super impressed by the Clydesdale and the way it darted into the fray (if not the other thing) and such a good time was had by all that he had to call for fresh supplies of beer by Saturday afternoon.  There were no reports on how the suspension stood up to the strain but something must have gone well as Chris broke the news that he is getting married on 28 March next year.  Congratulations to the both of you and may the next sixteen be as fruitful and happy as the last.

Mehm and Pepsi managed to shake off the Cabin Fever when they were assured that the rain was mostly gone though it did make them rather late to the blocks.  No such problem for Ed though as he was up and at ’em with the sparrows and rather than run the risk of it being declared no contest, he headed off with some other poor unfortunates into the pouring rain.

As it turned out, the wait until the death-knock of the nominated tee times paid off and the few showers that remained, and that recurred for a little while, were more an inconvenience than a problem.  Bill was so confident that it was going to be ephemeral that he almost thought about not putting any wet weather gear on but was sure that if he did put it on  it would surely go away.  Which it pretty much did.  Bill also reckons he left something in a bunker at St Andrews and that was his swing which did seem to lead him somewhat astray from time to time today.  When Harry teed off, he was the only name on the list for the C grade comp inside but the form of last week was so firmly in the past that he reckoned even if he was the only player, he still wouldn’t win the event.  This theory is unlikely to be tested as, by the end of the morning, there were several more names on the board.

As the numbers looked like being small, it was decided that there would be barely enough to warrant the 4BBB competition and the only interest for the day was the ProPin that was supposed to be on the 12th.  On the first tee, there was a certain amount of banter about Snags putting it on whichever hole he managed to get onto the green.  When the marker wasn’t on the 12th, the natural assumption was that Craig hadn’t put the ball on the green.  However, the story is that he just straight out forget – probably thinking about which horse he was going to back in the Derby.  So the event was relegated to the 15th and wouldn’t you know it, the Club Captain, Chrispy swept all in his path with a shot to 2.3m.

The other things of interest were the ongoing rivalries between selected members whenever they play.  Mehm and Noodles continue their little year-long contest and it seemed that at long last Noodles was going to break his losing run and the jinx of Habib Corner.  A five stroke turn-around on the 16th meant that Noodles had leapt into a seemingly unassailable lead with only two holes to go.  On the 17th, Noodles proceeded to put 2 out of bounds while Mehm looked to have put his into the hazard.  Still anybody’s match.  Unfortunately for Noodles, it was not quite and Mehm recovered to actually par the hole and clawed back the lead.  A squared result on the last gave victory to the Turk once more.

Chrispy and Craig were also having one of their contests cum slanging matches and Craig was giving Chris heaps when he seemed to have a strangle hold on the match.  SOS was so bemused by it all that he was consulting the Apple Oracle, Siri, to come up with answers to some of the questions being asked and as to the likely outcome of the match.  It seems that some of the questions about Craig left Siri absolutely stuck for words.

Speaking of SOS, it seems that the new family addition is at last starting to settle in.  SOS was so keen to get a good night’s sleep before today’s game that he repaired to the sofa last night but, wouldn’t you know it, bub slept through and SOS tossed and turned in his unaccustomed doss.  SOS was also very appreciative of the thought to purchase a welcome gift for the baby and he wants to thank all those who chipped in so generously.

Damo was able to take a break from his coaching duties and graced us with his presence.  At the last training, he was persuaded to ‘roll his arm over’ for a few deliveries in the practice nets.  Damo being Damo, he bent his back to the task and found out that the body maybe isn’t as young and fit as it used to be and the shoulder was giving him a bit of curry as a result.  And perhaps the effects of aging are not so surprising in that the Birthday Birdie whispers that Damian has a celebration due this week.  It seems that his son is giving him a new pair of golf shoes but there might be a problem getting them clean after today’s round.

Others lining up for birthday wishes this week are Mal and CraigC.  Happy Birthday chaps.

It was a bit hard to do a proper census for next week today so could all members please advise yes or No by email or through the Registration as soon as possible (before Monday preferably) so that we can confirm numbers with the Course Management.  We are looking for a big roll up over the next few weeks to try to keep Ed out of the points – the more players, the more chance.  Just joking, but seriously, we really would like to see better numbers to maintain our position as the premier social club at Ivanhoe.

There were some faces missing and there were some faces back.  One of those missing in action was Chrispy who was off enjoying himself in a gypsy caravan to celebrate a milestone event.  Happy 50th mate, from all at Ivanhoe.  According to all reports, the suspension on those vans is pretty sturdy.

Among those we haven’t seen for a while were the Beast back from his OS jaunt (see Where’s Wally pic below), RodG back from his golfers elbow recuperation, Zimmer and Stefan back from who knows where and Pepsi back from the sinny city.  One of these days the aces will line up and we will get a full field.

And there is no reason not to come, the weather was clement, the course is in great nick with a bit of run to be had and the rough is cut short if the extra run does take you off the first cut.  Some of the holes were set up as long as they could go and then a bit in some cases.  Not strictly within the guidelines which suggest that you should be able to take your two club-lengths and still be on the formed tee area but given that most people would like to crib a bit in the other direction does it really matter.  Except of course when it is so far back that you have a sloping lie from the back of the tee.  Though the situation has been improved in recent times, there are still one or two tees that appear to have some sort of large animal buried beneath them.  On one such, Blighty took three goes to find a spot that was just so.  When questioned, he replied that he didn’t like his feet to be below the ball to which Mehm retorted – if it’s on a tee they’re always below the ball – good one Mehm!

Anyway, enough of the fluffy stuff, down to the business of the day.  Harry and Blighty were in the same group and on nearly identical handicap and went toe to toe and blow for blow for most of the first nine with Blighty having the best of it after a bit of a hiccup by Harry on the 9th.  The back nine was not looking so flash for Andrew until the 16th when he rattled one in for a birdie and 5 (yes five) points.  H went close to emulating the five points on the 17th when his pitch into the green rimmed the cup and finished 75mm from the hole.  The easiest of birdies (but only 4 points) and it was just one of 13 carded today.

Andrew had to satisfy himself with second place, a spot that he shared with Brendon and Pepsi.  Pepsi managed to put his drive on the 17th about a metre from the hole and seemed to be almost a sure thing the collect the Eagles Nest but he too was foiled, in his case by the short stick, and settled for a birdie.  Brendon was also striking the ball well, particularly from the tee and could easily have been on top if he hadn’t taken the whole front nine to warm up.

Mehmet and Noodles continue their Battle of the Giants and today’s event looked like being a close run thing with the match being all square at the 17th.  Come the 18th green, it looked as if Noodles would at last break the jinx of Habib Corner (by the 16th tee) after Mehm was a little generous with his first putt.  Maybe it was the jinx or maybe it was nerves but the winning putt went begging as did the one to put pressure on Mehm for the tie.  That left Mehm to claim 3rd spot on his own, as well as the grudge match.

As a consolation, Noodles had to share the podium with a bevy of beauties in the persons of Stefan, Gordo and Eddie.  Gordo and Eddie went out to dinner last night and it was a noisy little Pizzeria.  Which leads one to think that Ed might have lost his voice as a result of conversing under those conditions as things were remarkably quiet out on the course today.  And finally, we come to the last podium spot for the day that was capably filled by a couple of veterans, Keith and Laurie.  Keith’s life flashed before his eyes on the 18th tee when a ball from the 17th struck his bag and cart which probably saved him from a direct hit himself.  While it’s nice to go for the green if you can hit it that far, please do have a mind for your accuracy as well so as to avoid putting your mates at risk.  Laurie didn’t get a mention at the presentations as he sold himself a point short on his card.

The  Nearest the Pin for a ball was on the 4th and the only person to give it any sort of a shake was Pepsi and he was in the second last group so all the birdies must have been on other holes (more or less).  Mehm’s baby will be able to eat again this week after he put it just over a metre away pin high on the 15th to lay sole claim to the ProPin.  This for the second week in a row.

On the birthday front, the Birthday Birdie whispers that that venerable oldie, Rodger, is lining up the candles this week and he will be joined, though with not quite as many, by David.  Happy Birthday guys.  And in other birthday news, SOS is now a very proud dad to a little girl.  Mother and baby are doing well, not so sure about dad though.

With only four more competition weeks left in the year there is a lot of speculation about.  Can anyone topple Ed from the top of the table?  It is by no means impossible and there are five left who can do it mathematically, if not physically.  It will be interesting to see how it all pans out.  The Seniors Championship is basically a three horse race and any of those three could end up victorious.  The useful birdies keep flowing for the Eclectic and there is still opportunity for any one of several to lead the field home in this as well.

The end of the year is almost upon us, so another call for anybody with perpetual trophies on their mantelpiece to get them to Gordo or other Committee member at the first opportunity.  Nominations for next year’s Committee are required week after next (8th November).  If you don’t like the way the Club is being run, nominate.  Also, don’t forget that there will be the Stroke Play Championships played over the three weeks from and including the December Monthly Medal.  If it isn’t on your calendar, put it there.

Also note that, as the Course management have changed their order of play (probably by accident), our calendar for the rest of the year has changed slightly in terms of Par and Stableford events.  Medals and majors are unchanged.

Results for Saturday, 25 October 2014
1st Harry Boughen(38) 2nd Andrew Blight(36) 2nd Brendon Mitchell(36) 2nd Andrew Petricola(36) 3rd Mehmet Akdag(35) 4th Stefan Belevski(34) 4th Stephen Butterfield(34) 4th Gordon Hill(34) 4th Ed Kloprogge(34) 5th Keith Delzoppo(33) 5th Laurie Mannix(33)

The weather looks as if it might be settling into a cycle with fine conditions on the weekends for a change though the few showers during the week did little more than dampen the enthusiasm of those playing on Thursday.  So the course is fairly dry, there is a bit of run and the greens were hard and fast.  Bob was obviously expecting it to be hot and sunny as he turned up channeling Johnny Depp playing Tonto in the Lone Ranger or maybe he was just trying to strike fear into the hearts of his opponents.

Bob ended doing no real harm to his reputation as a Par Competition player with a square round today but the big turnaround came in the person of SOS who absolutely blitzed the back nine (2 under par) to take the trophy from Bob’s grasp on a countback.  SOS was obviously playing a cagey game as Chrispy, who was playing with him, thought he was struggling a bit and when told on the 15th that SOS was +3,  Chrispy thought his leg was being pulled (again).

Gordon made a claim during the week that he was going to have a good round and win the event.  It was an OK round at square and that, with last week’s +1, was good enough to score him second spot on the podium.  His score might have been even better if it had not been for a draughtie on the 15th.  This caused Chrispy to break his resolution to have a dry week-end.  And Ed complicated the issue by buying a round for no particular reason.

ChrisV and Keith managed mirror image rounds to end up square over the two weeks and that was enough to slot them into third place.  Laurie was a little more consistent with his golf and finished with a very creditable -1 overall to gather fourth on his ownsome.

Last, but by no means least, on the podium was Chrispy who, despite the moaning and groaning, managed to get points despite having one of the toughest card marking tasks that he has had for a long time.  And he thought he had picked an easy one with only one card to mark but he forgot to allow for the fact that the card belonged to Ed.

As for the rest, Mehm just missed out on the points and the others don’t bear thinking about.

The Nearest the Pin for a ball was on the 4th and the lucky/skillful player to collect that was Oliver which probably brightened his day just a little.  The ProPin was on the 12th and Mehm added to his ever growing pile of cash by getting his name on the board for that.  He reckons that by the end of the year he will have collected enough from Noodles to be able to afford a new driver to go with his brand new set of irons.  Maybe he should have played with his old clubs instead.

The after round bar-be-que featured a selection of delicacies courtesy of Oliver who excelled himself in both the catering and the cooking of the fare (with help from SOS).  There certainly wasn’t a huge amount left on the hot-plate at the end but there was a rather large jar of pickled gherkins that Oliver forgot to put out.  They should keep till next time provided that Gordon doesn’t scoff them in the meantime.

There have been more movements on the Tables and there is quite a bit of interest in the remaining five competition weeks of the year.  There are about six within striking distance of the front runner so it could easily go down to the wire.  The Eclectic race has hotted up with some serious moves over the last couple of weeks and if the new birdies keep flowing any number of people could snatch victory at the last.

Mike Gourlay and Mark Berthelsen came along today and played their first official round.  Mike managed another steady +1 from a 70 off the stick and showed signs a couple of times that he wasn’t too happy with how he was playing.  Mark was struggling a bit early on but some coaching from Trev improved his game and his back nine was much more respectable.  It was decided not to apply the penalties for giving and taking advice.  Trevor also had his moments and in particular his chip in for a birdie on the 7th was something to behold.  Harry seems to be refreshed after his holiday producing some consistent hitting and his putter bagged about five singles in a row but a slight loss of consistency on the back resulted in an overall of +3 on the day.

The Birthday Birdie whispers that Dick and David have something to celebrate in the next few days.  Chrispy hits a major milestone next weekend but he won’t be joining us as he is off for a weekend jaunt in a gypsy caravan.  He muttered something about if the van is rockin’ don’t bother knockin’ – can’t imagine what that means.  Happy Birthdays Guys.

In other news, SOS is getting around on tenterhooks awaiting the arrival of a bundle of joy.  A bit over-due already and if nothing happens over the rest of the weekend there will be a definite arrival early in the week.  After today’s round there is some chance that the chosen names will include Fred or BackNine.  Sort of has a nice ring, BackNine O’Sullivan, don’t you think?

Another reminder that we are getting near to the end of the year and there are Nominations required for office bearers for the Club and the Committee really needs to get back all of the perpetual trophies so that they can be updated and available for presentation.  If you have one, please make arrangements to get it to Gordon in the first instance either during the week or bring it along on Saturday.

Results for Fred Kitson Spring Cup
1st Bob McDonald(+4) 1st Stephen O’Sullivan(+4 – trophy c/b) 2nd Gordon Hill(+1) 3rd Keith Delzoppo(□) 3rd Chris Vinecombe(□) 4th Laurie Mannix(-1) 5th Chris Priems(-2)

While the cat’s away the mice will play.

Lots of things have happened over the last month but information is a bit thin on the ground.

What is obvious is that the thought that the handicapper had at last caught up with Ed was obviously premature, with Ed picking up two gongs including the October Monthly Medal.  How low can this man go?

Another person who can obviously go low is Michael Gourlay who has now qualified with his three cards, the last of which was a 70 off the stick with no less than four bogies on the back nine.  Was he playing for handicap or not?

Mark Berthelsen also qualified with his third card and promptly finished in the points table in his first competition.  Welcome to the Club guys.

The player stats page has been updated (usually done after the medal round) so if you want to see how you (or your mates) are going get in and have a look.  If you are not there, it is probably because you don’t have enough rounds in competition yet but if that is not the case, let the handicapper know.

The Eagles Nest was building up nicely and the big bird was pretty pleased with his clutch when along came Constable SOS to slam home an eagle on the 6th to clear out the nest and, no, he didn’t use his truncheon as a putter.  Very next week, Oliver, back from his travels, repeated the performance on the same hole and had to settle for a solitary egg.  Not the best timing Ollie.

There has been a bit of movement on the various tables with Ed back at the top of the Championship and nipping at the heels of Bill in the Seniors.  The Eclectic is also getting a bit more interesting as Bill’s holiday has given a couple of people a chance to close the gap and there is now a tie with Gordo with a couple of others within a stroke so some more birdies could really set the cat amongst the pigeons.

Sixteen players fronted for the first round of the Fred Kitson Spring Cup, one was qualifying and one withdrew leaving 14 players in contention.  The weather was beautiful and the competition fierce so there was no reason not to have been there (injury, illness, work, overseas travel etc excluded).  Maybe it was because it is a Par Event (thanks Fred!) but then again some people seem to like Par events.  The conditions and the event certainly seem to have suited out Round 1 leader, Bob and if memory serves he has done well at this form of competition in the past so he could easily be the man to catch.

However, there is quite a crowd within easy striking distance and Par is the event that can give you a quick turn-around.  To channel Anthony Green,  this falls in the ‘too close to call’ category.  It might even be Chrispy who has been whingeing about the fact that it is Par and how badly he is playing, but hey, he still managed to square the card and might yet get back in front of Ed.

As usual there will be a Club Bar-b-que after the final round so there is no reason not to turn up even if you didn’t play the first week.  Oliver is organising the catering and, if his previous efforts are any guide, it would be worth the outing just for that.  The first group will be doing the cooking so if it is not up to scratch you can blame them.

It is getting towards the end of the year so the committee will be looking for perpetual trophies to be brought in so that engraving can be arranged.  We know you love having them on the mantel-piece but unfortunately they do have to be returned.  There will also be a need for nominations for Committee and all positions will be open for nomination/contest.  It is known that Brendon will not be nominating as Treasurer for one.  Give it some thought and start lobbying your mates (if you have any :)).

FRED KITSON SPRING CUP – LEADER BOARD ROUND 1

1st Bob McDonald(+4) 2nd Keith Delzoppo(+2) 2nd Chris Vinecombe(+2) 3rd Gordon Hill(+1) 3rd Dennis Tiernan(+1) 4th Laurie Mannix(□) 4th Chris Priems(□) 4th Stephen O’Sullivan(□) 5th Mehmet Akdag(-2) 5th Oliver Gross(-2)