Maybe somebody up there is looking upon us favourably for Stuart’s Memorial Event as the weather could not have been better if we had put in an order for it.  Admittedly there was a bit of a chill in the air first off and only a few of the tougher members headed off in their shirt-sleeves  though after a few holes pretty much everybody had discarded their outer layer.  Eddie jumped the gun a bit and turned up resplendent in his best beach shirt and maybe it was just a ploy to put off the opposition by dazzling them with the brilliance of it all.  As it turned out, he didn’t have to do much dazzling as he turned in one of his major winning performances to take the spot as Clubhouse leader at the half way mark.

Noodles obviously came to play today as he had lined up to meet Mark in their Matchplay round and the two combined nicely to leave him in second place with a nicely positioned 38 points and to win him the match over Mark 4 & 2.  Whilst on the topic of Matchplay, there are not too many weeks left before the deadline for the first round is upon us and we really do want to keep to the schedule this year.  Next week and the social round on Easter Saturday would be excellent times to get them done rather waiting till the last day the week after Easter.  Members who know their round 2 opponent already should start planning to play at the first opportunity.

JohnQ, Paul and ChrisV are also well placed to pounce for the big prize just another point behind Noods.  Paul did particularly well after having shown his support for the West Indian cricket team on the first tee.  John made out that he was less than happy with the way it was going during the round but maybe that was just one of those relative things.  Chris is undecided as to whether he will be gracing us with his presence next week and maybe that has something to do with the fact that he is getting married in a couple of weeks.

Must be something to do with the name as Chrispy also won’t be gracing us with his presence all because of a small matter of having to go to a wedding – his own.  Should have organised things a bit better than that Chris.  Particularly as he is well within striking distance alongside Pepsi  just a few points back on 37.  Pepsi brought tears to the eyes of our venerable Eagle by knocking it in for a three on the 6th to take home four extra balls.

But, there are others who are better placed.  Mehmet is managing to put together some of his old form on a regular basis and is right up there alongside Bob and well placed to cause an upset with a five point turn-around.  Mind you, Bob could easily have been front runner if it hadn’t been for four non-scoring holes on the front nine.  This was interesting because most of the other leaders did significantly better on the front and faded a bit on the back.

The full leader board is posted under the Competitions menu if you want to see how the rest of the field went.  The field will go out more or less in reverse score order next week with the front group detailed to get the bar-b-que going and making sure that the filet steak for group 3 is done to a turn by the time that they come in.  Or at least that is what Gordon would like to think would happen – tell ‘im he’s dreamin’.

Although we did have the Eagles Nest raided this week, the birdies were remarkably thin on the ground given the number of players and compared to recent weeks in that there were only 10 altogether.  One who probably did get one on the 12th was JohnQ who put it about a metre from the hole to collect himself a ball for the Nearest the Pin.  The ProPin was somewhat more controversial as it had been announced to be on 15 and Bob tried his darndest to take it out by putting the ball within a couple of metres.  Alas, the front squad either forgot or decided to give themselves another chance and carried the marker on to the 18th where it languished on the side-lines and did not attract a single scratching on the card.  So, there will be big bucks up for grabs next week and Ed at least is very excited about the prospect.

The Beast was observed playing his second shot with a driver from the fairway on the 7th.  Not sure exactly what happened to the first but this one finished on the edge of the green and Bill finally birdied the 8th when he sank the putt.  He immediately whipped out his phone and texted Oliver the good news at overcoming his nemesis but unfortunately Oliver probably will never get the chance to get his on the 18th.

As usual, Rodger was along for Stuart’s Memorial and while he is a bit back in the field, it would not be an impossible task to collect the trophy.  And this was despite the fact that at the 13th Rodger declared that, if the flag was white, he would be waving it.

If you’ve heard the adage, rooster one week, feather duster the next, then Whitey would have just about epitomised that today.  Almost certainly not due to the cut in handicap that he took after last week’s effort.  Apparently one of his best tee shots for the day was made with his putter, but then again that is not that unheard of from events like the 3 Club Challenge.

Allan was out and about on his new toy, one of those ‘I’m going to be a scooter when I grow up’ personal golf carts.  If it was supposed to help his game, it doesn’t seem to have done a great job – or, then again, maybe it did!

Pepsi was asking all and sundry in the vicinity if anybody had picked up a ball near the 7th tee from his shot from the 8th.  Despite the dark looks and mutterings, the ball was eventually found exactly where it was supposed to be.  Another almost bad one on the 14th prompted a provisional blow from Pepsi but the first turned out to be quite safe and saved the day.

Dennis Ward came along again today and put in his second card so we can look forward to welcoming Dennis to the Competition field in a couple of weeks.

Don’t forget to wear a suitable loud Hawaiian beach shirt or failing that just about anything in bad taste would suffice.  Stuart was known for his taste in shirts and we like to tip our lid to his memory by emulating his style.

First Round Scores – 21 march 2015

1st Ed Kloprogge(39) 2nd Stephen Butterfield(38) 3rd John Quinlan(37) 3rd Paul Rowland(37) 3rd Chris Vinecombe(37) 4th Mehmet Akdag(35) 4th Bob McDonald(35) 5th Andrew Petricola(34) 5th Chris Priems(34)

There was a late burst of summery weather in the offing but the air was just a bit fresh at tee time and it took a few holes before the sun got up enough to start warming the bones and getting seriously in the eyes on the 4th.  The substance spread on the greens last week seems to have either dissolved or worked its way into the nap and the greens were free-running again if rather bumpy in places where the green pox has killed off the turf.  Still a lot of pitch marks not repaired but this is probably due to others as we will all have watched the video on Course Care from the link on our page and are now doing the right thing.

Whitey has been back for only a few weeks but he is obviously intent on proving that he can play more than a cover drive though it does seem that he leaves the cover on his driver.  Regardless of which clubs he uses, a tally of +5 par points is pretty darned respectable in anybody’s books.  But not the best lead-in to the Stuart Clarke with the attendant cut in the handicap.

Paul hasn’t been with us for a couple of weeks and claims that he has been on holiday in Honolulu or some other exotic place but there is a suspicion that he has been secretly practicing and if that is the case, it has paid off as he managed to put together a very nice +3 to add some more points to his growing collection in the Championship Table.

Gordon also had some time off (well last weekend anyway) and maybe it was relief that this was his last day as President, but he kept his head down and his excitement under control to card a +2.  Brendon played an almost identical round to share the third place honours.  Maybe it was his last day as Treasurer that did it for him.

Noodles, Zimmer and Stefan managed to square the card though it seems that Zimmer might have done considerably better if he hadn’t choked on the last hole in the Matchplay with a four (yes 4) putt green on the 18th to end the match against Blighty all square.  The chip off was a close run thing with the excited band of spectators on the edges of their seats (figuratively speaking) when Zimmer’s putt for the match, rimmed the hole and reluctantly fell in.

SOS filled the last spot on the podium with just one less point on -1.  He too was involved in a matchplay match against CraigC and this one too, ended all square with another close run chip-off to decide the result.  In the end, nerves of steel paid off for Craig who put the pressure on by sinking his putt while SOS’s just slipped past to miss the cut.  Taner, who is new to the game, seems to have been misled by his marker as to how to score his card and as a result did not join the ranks of first time points scorers.  Still it was his birthday so, if nothing else, have a happy birthday Taner from the Birthday Birdie and all at the Club.

In other Matchplay matches, Whitey’s good form  allowed him to see off Ryan 4 & 3 and Brendon was able to dispose of Laurie with the same score-line, 4 & 3.  Initially, Trevor more than had the measure of Mehmet and strode to an impressive 4 up after 4 (and very close to 5 up after 5).  Mehmet made something of a come-back and the score was bouncing along with the honours evenly shared and Trevor still in front when his back injury struck him down on the 13th and he was forced to retire from the fray.  So the honours were evenly divided on the field but Mehm will proceed into the next round.

There were 17 birdies reported today and ChrisV went perilously close to an Eagle on the 6th when his chip hit the edge of the cup and finished just a couple of feet past.  As luck would have it, he didn’t get the birdie either and the Eagles nest egg is starting to mount up.  The Nearest the Pin for a ball on the 12th was able to add to Whitey’s growing collection and the cash pack for the ProPin on the 15th was quite fiercely contested but CraigC was the man to pocket the dosh with his ball just over 2m from the pin.

Chrispy’s bro, Robert put in his third card today and now has a handicap to play Chris in the Matchplay and we also welcome for the first time Dennis Ward who is making a comeback to the game after a long break.  A few bits of rust to chip off but there looks to be some potential there waiting for a chance to show itself.

Noodles reckoned he was going the beat Whitey today and by a large margin.  It would have had to be an exceptional round if he did and Whitey was prepared to call him out as a cheat if he did.  Mehmet must have taken a recent interest in the World Cup as the word Windies (or something similar) was heard to crop up in conversation, or maybe it was something else entirely.  There were also rumours about at least one person (and maybe more) having taken three chips to get onto the green from three metres out which goes close to surpassing the case of missing the ball entirely or four putting.  The Beast has asked that the Committee approach the course management with a view to getting the size of the holes increased.  Presumably, he means the diameter of the bit where the ball is supposed to finish and not the distance between tee and green.

After the game, the Annual General Meeting was held and all Committee positions were declared vacant.  There were two nominations for the position of President, Pepsi and Mehmet.  If there had been an election, the votes would have been 23 for Mehmet and 2 for Pepsi, but as Mehm withdrew his nomination in favour of nominating for the Vice-president role, there was no election required and Pepsi was actually elected unopposed.  And as for Mehm and his voting result – “Tell him he’s dreamin'”.

Committee positions filled were as follows

• President – Andrew Petricola
• Vice-president – Mehmet Akdag
• Secretary – Andrew Blight
• Treasurer – Stephen O’Sullivan
• Assistant Treasurer – Chris Priems
• Social Secretary – Gordon Hill
• Handicapper – Harry Boughen
• Assistant Handicapper – Ryan Porker
• Club Captain – Targe Mifsud
• Tee Marshalls – Eddie Kloprogge, Stephen Butterfield

Next week is the first week of the Stuart Clarke Memorial, one of the premier events that the club holds during the year.  For the newer members, both weeks are played off the same handicap and scores are aggregated to determine the winner of the event.  However, after the event, both week’s cards will be handicapped individually and double points (and winners penalty) will be applied.  Those playing only one round obviously cannot win the event but their cards will be eligible for handicapping purposes (both directions).

Results for Saturday, 14 March 2015
1st Rodney White(+5) 2nd Paul Rowland(+3) 3rd Gordon Hill(+2) 3rd Brendon Mitchell(+2) 4th Kazim Akdag(□) 4th Stefan Belevski(□) 4th Stephen Butterfield(□) 5th Stephen O’Sullivan(-1)

It seems that a big thank you is due to Oliver for so generously handing over his clubs.  Chrispy has given them a good going over and has really struck form thanks to his selection of fairway wood, rescues and last but not least his custom cut-down putter that reportedly cannot miss.  Then again, March has been a happy medal hunting ground for Chris as it was included in his swag of two from last year.  Will he be able to emulate the two in a row that he pulled off last year though.  We’ll have to wait till next month to find out.  A bit of axe wielding by the handicapper as the result of the 63 nett score means that he will have a couple of less strokes to play with next time though.

Our new member Johnny Angel hasn’t wasted any time in making his presence felt on the podium and was equal club-house leader for quite a while with Noodles.  If the 65 nett had been sufficient then the countback for the Medal would have gone to Noodles by the narrowest of margins.  Though Noods did leave a few out there with a couple of double bogies on the back nine so, equalling par on the back half was not an impossible dream though at one stage he did get distracted by something that he referred to as a ‘YS’.

Just to prove that age is no impediment, third spot was shared by a couple of our youngest members, Zimmer and Stef, with our oldest member Mal who gathered the top points in the Seniors Championship.  Stef, continues his consistent run of form with 69 off the stick so it would seem that there is room for the handicap to come down even further in the future.

The kids cricket season has finished and Damo’s coaching duties are done for the time being.  He must have done a reasonable job (or the kids have heaps of natural talent) as the score line at the end of the season was something like 18 wins and 2 losses.  Apparently the littlies got a right bawling out for the lapses.  Damo was joined on 67 by Eddie and Brendon.  Brendon played in a group of three and apparently all three lost a ball at some stage and had to walk back to the tee to reload.  That was part of the excuse for being a hole and a half behind after two holes.

Last in the points today and very cunningly playing right to their handicap were those two old salts Harry and the Beast.  Harry thrilled the crowds today with a chip in for a birdie on the 6th and a long curling putt from the back edge of the green on the 14th for his second birdie of the day.  They must have been fairly easy to come by today as there was a total of 25 plodded which as about as large a number as has been seen.  Stefan racked up a few and has now put his nose in front in the Eclectic though it is still early days.

The Nearest the Pin for a ball was on the 12th and new kid on the block, Taner, opened his account with the club by putting in his third card to collect his nice new handicap as well as collecting the ball that was on offer.  The ProPin was on the 14th and for a while there the card remained unmarked but then along came Eddie who managed to put it inside a couple of metres to collect the divvie at the end of the day.

David didn’t have much of a day today as he was notice buying drinks on account of a draughtie and it might have been a trick of the breeze but there was a suggestion that the word ‘windies’ might have been mentioned.  Then again, maybe they were talking about the cricket.

Mehm went out with a new piece of artillery in his bag today and he was heard to be muttering something about ‘Scotty’ letting him down.  It may have had something to do with StarTrek or maybe it was just the nut on the end of the shaft that was the problem.  The little seed pods that were littering the greens in places were also driving him nuts – gum nuts that is.

Whitey also had a bit of a mixed day.  Took a call from his mechanic who had finished servicing his car and left it parked outside with the keys locked inside – the only set in town – go figure.  And maybe he should articulate a little more clearly because at one stage he was thought to have said that his wood cover smelled of ‘incest’ and at another time that he was going to have a ‘baby’.  Or maybe it was that tricky breeze.

The Matchplay draw was finalised today with the seeding based on the gross scores returned in today’s round with the other registered players placed in random order after the seeds.  A total of 30 players qualified or registered so there are only two byes in the first round for Snags (defending champion) and Stefan (best gross).  The draw is on the web-site and the go is that the person on the top of each pairing is responsible for arranging the match and reporting the result.  No report by the deadline and the match goes to the person on the bottom of the pairing.  Matchplay scoring sheets will be available with the standard Matchplay Indexes.  No extensions of time but in the first two rounds you can play your match on non-club days at Ivanhoe Public provided that both players are in agreement.  Also Matchplay can be played during any Club event regardless of the event or the scoring method – not strictly Kosher, but necessary to facilitate the running of the Competition.

Annual General Meeting next week after the round.  Nominations for Committee required and should be made using the official nomination form.  Check the Rules of Association for positions to be filled.  If you don’t like the way the Club is being run, here is your chance to do something about it.  Chrispy has indicated that he will be taking a break from the tee-marshall job so, if you are keen, there is a role to be filled that is not (necessarily) a Committee position.  If there are no volunteers, then a rostering system will be introduced.

Stuart Clarke Memorial is coming up after that.  A two week event and lots of points up for grabs as well as a very prestigious trophy.  Wouldn’t it be nice to get your name engraved on a perpetual?

Results for Saturday, 07 March 2015
1st Chris Priems(63) 2nd John Angelopoulos(65) 2nd Stephen Butterfield(65) 3rd Kazim Akdag(66) 3rd Stefan Belevski(66) 3rd Malcolm Fleming(66) 4th Ed Kloprogge(67) 4th Damien Lee(67) 4th Brendon Mitchell(67) 5th Harry Boughen(68) 5th Bill Eastoe(68)