Yearly Archives: 2014

There was rain over-night, there was rain this morning, there was rain and hail forecast for later in the day.  But did that stop the valiant knights of Ivanhoe from venturing out and chancing their arm in a joust with the greensward of the Yarra Flats.  Not on your Nellie.  Well, at least some of them ventured out and by and large the sun shone on their parade.  The Search and Rescue helicopter was called out to search for the last group after reports that Targe had stepped in a puddle and couldn’t be found.  But mostly it wasn’t such a Beast of a day though a mini-gale did blow straight up the 17th but was followed by a contrasting dead calm on the 18th.

The wet course meant that there was a strong possibility of losing a ball on the fairway due to plugging and the yellow balls were jealously guarded to make sure that the round was completed with the ball intact.  Two teams managed to achieve that target, one was lost and the other team ‘forgot’ to play theirs.  Forget their ‘Eds if they weren’t screwed on!  Anyway, the winning team was Noodles, Chrispy, ChrisV and Mehmet.  And for the record it was -4 that won the day.

However the really important result was for the main Championship individual event and that was knocked down to none other than (you guessed it) Bill the Beast who, despite the somewhat tricky conditions under-foot and some pretty ordinary pin placements (what about the 9th?), succeeded in squaring the card to take the top points and in the process draw level for the lead in the Club Championship and to gather a bit of a break in the Seniors.  That, with his seemingly unassailable lead in the Eclectic, means that his trophy cabinet could be absolutely groaning come the end of the year.  The Tete de la course is starting to bunch up a bit setting up for a sprint to the finish but the peloton is a bit strung out and will have to work hard if they want to mount a serious challenge at the Finish on the Champs elysee.

A couple of players had their chances today and if a couple of shots had ended a bit differently there could have been an entirely different outcome.  Whitey suffered a bit from some erratic driving.  ChrisV suffered a bit from having to play with Noodles who is a bit cheesed off and doesn’t want to play with Chris anymore because Chris can hit the ball further than him.  Still a good result and a bit more of a move up the table for both of them.

Chrispy was a bit upset when the next two cards came in because they robbed him of third place and the precious points that he so craves in his bid to get to the top.  The two reprobates that toppled him from the place were Blighty and Gordo.  Blighty also played his matchplay against Targe and despite there being five points difference in their take-home score the result of the match was a win to Blighty one up.  The other placegetters displaced alongside Chrispy were Harry and SOS with -3 but according to all reports, it could have been better.

SOS was certainly hoping for better thing on the 18th when he severely shanked his drive, almost putting it in the pond.  He vented his frustration by swinging the club around his head when it ‘slipped’ out of his hands and went sailing into the air and into the waiting arms of the big gum tree on the left – and there it stayed.  SOS was fairly philosophical about it as, after all, it was only an eight iron.

Mehmet and Noodles rounded out the podium for this week which left a bare half dozen members not collecting a point this time around.

Not a huge tally of birdies this week with six being plodded and the Eagles nest is building up nicely.  There was a double jackpot for the ProPin today and it was contested on the 12th.  It seems that there was no one to claim it until the last player in the last group when someone snuck it inside the 5m limit.  That someone was none other than Blighty and he was noticed smiling broadly and spending his ill-gotten gains at the Tuck-shop afterwards.  The Nearest the Pin for a ball was on the 4th and that was collected by Mr Ed (again – and no, not the horse, though you could sometimes be forgiven).

The Matchplay competition has now made it to the stage where the finals can be played.  Blighty and Craig have to play off for the Championship and Targe and Damo have to play off for third place.  It would be nice to see this completed on the one day so if those four can liaise and sort something out.  Unfortunately we do have the Fred Howe Winter Cup coming up over the next two weeks and that will be followed by a Monthly Medal unless it can be agreed by all to play at some stage during these events.  Don’t forget, Fred Howe gathers double points for the winner so there is a good chance for those in the peloton to break out and join the lead group or for the leaders to sprint away and consolidate their spot.  Also don’t forget there will be a barbq lunch after the second round that will be catered by Oliver’s Inestimable Bangers and Burgers.

The majority of players stayed on for the meeting and there were three major items of business.  The first was to appoint a new Secretary and that post was filled by Oliver who took on the job in the understanding that the duties fit around his work and travel commitments.  The second was to fill the position of Social Secretary and it was confirmed that Mostyn was prepared to do the job and he was duly appointed.  Following on from that was the matter of the Annual Challenge trip to Murray Downs and it is imperative that organisation proceed post haste.  To that end members definitely (or almost definitely) going should advise Gordon by email as soon as possible.  It is highly likely that deposits will be required promptly after that and it is essential that this be dealt with without delay so that we do not lose face with the business at the other end.

One other matter that was discussed included the possibility of allocating Championship points (2 per head) to the members of the winning team in the Yellow Ball Teams Event with the thought that this might engender more enthusiasm than the prospect of winning a ball.  It was also asked whether there was a possibility of running an Ambrose event and whether such an event could also be played for Championship Points.  A Reunion Round, to which lapsed members would be invited with a view to rekindling their interest was another suggestion from the floor.  Any thoughts or discussions on these topics will be welcomed by the Committee.

One other item that was flagged was the running of the Matchplay and the rules and the application of them are being reconsidered.  It was flagged that there might be a supplementary Matchplay round over the next few months to test out some concepts.  Details will be advised shortly but further input is welcome.

Results for Saturday, 12 July 2014
1st Bill Eastoe(□) 2nd Chris Vinecombe(-1) 2nd Rodney White(-1) 3rd Andrew Blight(-2) 3rd Gordon Hill(-2) 4th Harry Boughen(-3) 4th Chris Priems(-3) 4th Stephen O’Sullivan(-3) 5th Mehmet Akdag(-4) 5th Stephen Butterfield(-4)

Mozzie was so excited he was jumping out of his skin and as a result he was all blurry.  At least the bag was sharp, even if he wasn’t.  Made some excuse about having to rush off to the snow but maybe the excitement was just too much for him.  So, just in case you didn’t know it already, Mostyn was the run-away winner of the June Bonus Trophy and he put in an appearance today to collect the booty.  Appearances can be deceiving but it seems likely that a new buggy will be in order if he is going to use it for everyday.  There wasn’t a great deal of evidence of the form that won him the event though as he positioned well down the field.

Not that the field was all that huge, considering that the weather was fine though the track was on the heavy side in places.  A couple of the forecast showers turned up late in the round which was just enough to be a nuisance and not enough to blame for some of the scores that were returned.  But, enough of the doom and gloom the idea is to celebrate those that managed to bring home the bacon.

For the first time in a while, it was necessary to do a count-back to determine the winner of the Medal and there was a decision required between no less than four players who all carded a nett 67.  The contenders for the Medal were Oliver, SOS, Chrispy and Targe and it was SOS who made the big turn-around between the front and back nines and he managed to win the count-back very comfortably.  Well done SOS with a 36 off the stick on the back.

Next to step up to the podium were Noodles and Bob with their favourite number 69 as the score.  Noodles wanted it to be known that he is now officially a better player than Mehm.  Not too sure what Mehm thinks of that but they will probably have fun working it out between them.  Bob continues to play steadily since his return with the new plumbing around the old ticker but maybe he should get his eyes tested or even check the handicap sheet to be sure that the correct handicap goes on his card.

That left Mehm on his Patma in third place with a fairly respectable 70 nett.  Then there was a skipped score to the three musketeers all for one and one for all on 72 consisting of Damo, Snags and Brendon.  Damo and Snags also played out their round in the matchplay and it ended up being a close run thing.  Snags was one up after the 17th and so a lot was riding on the outcome of the 18th.  Damo was off the green and Snags very courteously offered him the choice of  pin out or pin in.  After a certain amount of hemming and hawing, it was decided that it should be left in.  The shot hit the pin and bounced out whereas the general opinion was that had the pin been out the ball would have been in.  So, that was the ins and outs of it.  Snags claimed the round one up.

Last in the field of many to receive points were Trev and Whitey with 73’s.  They were grateful for the point apiece but probably won’t be going home and bragging around the pub about it. Trevor did alright as far as his eclectic went with three improvements including a birdie on the 7th which is no mean feat in itself but this was achieved from a chip out from under the trees and a fair way out.  The whole course wondered what Ed was shouting about.

While on the subject of birdies, there were a fairly paltry 7 accumulated today and the fact that the ProPin on the 15th jackpotted again says volumes for the general accuracy.  Ed managed to get onto the 18th for the Nearest the Pin and then went charging around the course in a cart looking for the tape measure that had been ‘lost’.  Ergh, Ed, we don’t use the tape on the NTP.  Still, he got a ball for his trouble.

Walking between the 9th and the 10th, Targe detoured and announced that he would be back shortly.  Almost goes without saying.

There will be a Meeting after the round next week to deal with a couple of items of business.  The top priority is to get somebody to take on the job as Social Secretary as Ben finds that pressure of work does not allow him to continue in the role.  Give it some thought chaps.  The main priority at the moment is the Annual Challenge organisation and somebody needs to be picking Ben’s brains sooner rather than later.  There was a suggestion that Mostyn would pick it up but until that is positively confirmed anybody else who would be prepared to take it on or help out should let Gordon know.  The same applies to the job of Secretary.

Whitey has arranged a voucher for 2 hours of time for up to 4 players at the Golf simulator facility at Coburg.  Use your own clubs or borrow from the facility.  Extra time can be paid for at the time if required.  This will be run as a raffle and tickets will be sold over the next few weeks to give everybody a chance to get to an event and buy some if they wish.  $2.00 each or 3 for $5.00.

Results for Saturday, 05 July 2014
1st Oliver Gross(67) 1st Targe Mifsud(67) 1st Chris Priems(67) 1st Stephen O’Sullivan(67, MM countback) 2nd Stephen Butterfield(69) 2nd Bob McDonald(69) 3rd Mehmet Akdag(70) 4th Damien Lee(72) 4th Brendon Mitchell(72) 4th Craig Sharp(72) 5th Trevor Jackson(73) 5th Rodney White(73)

A couple of members have raised a question about the ‘fairness’ of converting a Par Event score to Equivalent Stableford by adding 36 points.  This method was used in the June Bonus Trophy Event and is also used in the GolfLink handicapping system.

The basis of the question is along the lines that if the player picks up as soon as he loses the hole to Par he might still have scored a Stableford point and is therefore potentially missing out on a ‘scoring’ opportunity.

However, the way to think of it is that, by adding 36 points, you are getting two extra points per hole so every minus is accruing one Stableford point, every square is accruing two Stableford points and every plus is accruing three Stableford points.  So, in actual fact, where you miss out on points are those holes where you would have scored four Stableford points or more – and how many of those do you see in an average round.  On the other hand, you score an effective Stableford point on every hole that would have otherwise been a gash and it is pretty certain that these are much more common that four or five pointers.

Putting it another way, if you were either bad enough or unlucky enough to score minus 18 in a Par Event, you would still be credited with 18 Stableford points but it is highly likely that in accumulating such a score you could very easily have made fewer than 18 points if the same event had been scored as Stableford and certainly would not have scored more.

So rather than being ‘unfair’, on balance, the method for converting Par to equivalent Stableford is rather more generous (on average) than it should be.

Well, well, well.  Those of you who didn’t come along today missed out on the inauguration of the new look Ivanhoe Public Golf Course with its unique island tee on the 2nd and a beautiful running stream in front of the 6th green.  All we need now is a suitable stone bridge and you could imagine yourself somewhere in Scotland.  Just lacking the fine old bluestone clubhouse in the background.  In reality, something went wrong with the control system on the new water management system and now all of the water from the underground storage at the sportsground is now spread across parts of the course.  At least the ducks were having a ball.  But a few people had to resort to one of those extendable ball retrievers to avoid getting their shoes full.

Still and all, there was preferred lie but quite a few of the tees were well back and it made for pretty tough going out there particularly for those that like to get a bit of run on the ball.  As a result the scoring wasn’t all that spectacular though there was a not too bad tally of ten birdies from a small field of Club members.  Thank goodness for our two guests, David Quinlan and John Bubis and one tag-along (who might be inclined to return), Marcus.  Speaking of birdies, the Beast would like it to be known that he hasn’t birdied the course, the 8th continues to elude him, and the handicapper apologises for his cross-eyedness.

While on the subject of the Beast, while he would surely love to be on a 14 handicap, he doesn’t get a stroke on the 17th and so, instead of having two on the winners podium, the outright winner today was none other than ChrisV with a total of 35 points.  Bill’s little computational error put him back into second place and given that there had been a gap in the field, that served to rearrange the rest.  And while on the subject of rearrangements, the disposition of the ball-run probably should be corrected as well.  Tsk, Tsk Bill!

Instead of coming in late because he was flying in, Oliver wanted to get away early because he will be flying out but that didn’t stop him from gathering some more points alongside Brendon with 33 of the best.  Brendon’s round was mostly unremarkable other than a birdie on the 13th that bounced, hit the pin, fell to ground and spun back into the hole.  If Ryan hadn’t seen it nobody would have believed it.

Then along came Gordon, who despite a couple of birdies on consecutive holes (followed closely by a PDBSU) managed to garner 32 points.  Pepsi was down from Sydney and, for him, didn’t have a great day but managed to still get a point with his 30 points.  Commiserations to those who might have had points but missed out.

ChrisV managed to wrest the Nearest the Pin for a ball on the 4th from Pepsi who had it, a long way short of the hole, until the last group.  Things were even worse on the 18th for the ProPin which was not graced with a signature today so there will be a jackpot next week.  What’s the bet that Eddie comes back just for the occasion.  Ed was so concerned about his lead in the Championship Table that he rang Gordo up after the game to see who had won.  Couldn’t even wait to read it in the blog.

Ed probably should be looking over his shoulder as there are a few people sneaking up on him in both the Open and Senior Table.  Bill is the leader of that pack but it seems that he is going to head off in September on some sort of Round the World golfing jaunt and somewhere or other he will be linking up with Gordo so watch out the courses of Scotland and the US, you are about to be torn apart (one way or another).

According to all reports John and David are likely to fit right into the Club as there was some first class sledging going on.  Either it was effective or they are running dead as both cards left a bit of room for improvement.  Gordo had a select little group going today to use the game and cart vouchers that were played for a while back, taking the opportunity to make John and David feel more welcome.  They had their moments and the display on the 9th would have not been out of place in a Benny Hill with carts and people trundling back and forth, back and forth.  All it needed was the film to be speeded up and some of that jittery music and we could have been SOSL’d.

Now, for the news that you have all been waiting for.  The one person who had even a remote chance of rolling the leader couldn’t play today because he had to be in court.  No, not in the dock – probably because he had the keys to the cuffs on the one in the dock.  So, all it needed was for somebody to put together a mere 42 or more points and they could have wrested the June Bonus Trophy from the grasping hand of Mostyn.  A very respectable total of 115 points over three rounds.  Well done, mate.  It seems that Mozzie was so confident, that he celebrated until all hours over in Adelaide and led numerous other people astray at the same time.  The sun wasn’t quite up yet when the night finished.  Some people did improve their position today but the efforts fell well short.  Just goes to show, it pays to get the good ones in early.  Playing catch-up sucks.

Results for Saturday, 28 June 2014
1st Chris Vinecombe(35) 2nd Bill Eastoe(34) 3rd Oliver Gross(33) 3rd Brendon Mitchell(33) 4th Gordon Hill(32) 5th Andrew Petricola(30)