Yearly Archives: 2017

Footy season over?  Nice spring weather?  A Medal up for grabs?  Last minute dash for points?  Whatever the reason, we had what could be a record field for this October Monthly Medal.  There were twenty eight sent out from the first tee with a consist of 26 members and two guests.  One of the guests was Brendon’s Dad who is visiting from across the ditch for a couple of weeks.  The other was a friend of Joe. Brent by name.  Unfortunately Brent aggravated a wrist injury and retired hurt after nine holes but he assures us that he will be back to get his cards in and join the Club.  A big welcome to both.

The preferred lie sign was nowhere to be seen so it was back to ‘real’ golf.  MattN reckons that all amateur golf should be preferred lie given that the courses are generally not as well groomed as those used by the pros.  But, despite that slight lack of perceived advantage, there was quite a bit of run on the course and this led a few to sample the delights of the slightly ‘rougher’ rough.  The weather was a bit chilly to start and the dew hung around on the sheltered greens until well into the round.  The sweeping of the greens looks to have fallen by the wayside.  Perhaps we need Simon back to sweet-talk the ground staff.

The lack of preferred lie advantage and the dewy greens were no obstacle to our eventual winner who came home by the length of the straight.  Jason fairly played out of his skin to card an 80 off the stick for a nett score of 62.  The round was only marred by a triple bogie on the 8th.  Jason collected a swag of pars but he did not manage to card a birdie and so he did not contribute to the grand total of 12 for the field.

Brendon obviously benefited from coaching by his Dad as he was able to come into second place with a nett score of 67.  It wasn’t all smooth going between father and son as there was a need to get clarification of the rules relating to areas of relief from lateral water hazards at one stage of the round.  The query did not relate to Brendon’s ball and he was heard to say ‘I told you so’ or words to that effect.

Pepsi could probably be forgiven for starting off with a bit of a wobble following the recent passing of his father.  Black armbands were worn and President John expressed the Club’s condolences to Pepsi and his family..  However, like the true stager that he is, Pepsi got his game back on track and finished off the round with 72 by the beater for a handicap equalling 68 nett.  It’s hard to keep a good man down.

Brent was a single stroke behind in 4th place with 69 and the last spot on the podium was filled by MattN who came in with 70.  With only five points getters (doesn’t happen very often) and the large field there was some discussion as to whether the ball run could/should extend beyond the podium positions.  Notionally, there were seven balls for distribution but there were three players with the next best score of 71.  This would have exceeded the ball tally in any case but for the record, the ones who missed out were Ryan, Blighty and SOS.  SOS made the call, by the way.

The Ball Pin today was on the 7th and playing from the white markers it should have been a long shot.  Curiously, on a number of holes today the whites were in front of the blues and this may have been the case here as well.  In the event, the man who got his name on the ticket to collect a ball was none other than Chrispy.  JohnQ acted as tee marshall and made to call to put the event on the 7th, which he later regretted after he put his drive on the 4th to within ‘gimme’ distance of the hole and dead in line.  There is photographic evidence but it is not to hand but can be posted when it comes to hand.  The first ProPin was on the 15th and Joe hit one of his better tee shots for the day to get his name on the card.  Unfortunately, the Beast came along later and put one closer at 3.26m to take out the cash.  The second ProPin on the 18th went begging once again and the kitty now stands at $66.  So, depending on numbers next week, there could be anything up to $90 up for grabs.  A great incentive to turn up in anybody’s books.

Harry had decided that he needed to come second every week for the rest of the year while keeping Michael out of the points to catch him in the Championship with maybe a win in the December Monthly Medal to steal the big prize.  After draining a 6m putt for birdie on the first, things looked to be off to a good start.  Or was that a bad start?  Turned out it was pretty ordinary in the end.  On the other hand, the flat stick abandoned Targe today and despite putting for par on at least eight holes, he did not manage to score one until the 18th.  No wonder he is off the Kangaroo Island.  But that performance pales into insignificance when compared to certain members of the Priems family.  Jake took a total of five putts to get it in the hole on the 11th and Chrispy and others were fairly heaping it on him as a result.  On the very next hole, karma took her revenge and Chrispy managed to take six (putts, that is) for a total of 9 on the hole.

There was a curious tale of a draughtie today, the only one reported and paid.  Dale played his tee shot (notes say it was the second) and for some reason there was a thought that it might not be found so he played a provisional that hit a tree and bounced back almost to the point of departure and definitely behind the red markers.  A search located the first ball which was also behind the red markers and so it was deemed that it was only a singleton draughtie rather than a doubleton.  Another member to get off lightly was the Beast who hit one on the 3rd that was possibly out of bounds.  His provisional hit a tree out to the right so hard that it bounced back and finished across the 5th green.  Luckily for Bill, the first ball was found to be in bounds.  Blighty also flirted with not getting past the reds on a number of occasions but we all know how Andrew hates to part with his cash.

The Birthday Birdie has been on holiday in Italy so if anybody has missed out on a birthday call in the meantime then please accept a late one now.  There is one to send out this week and that is to the big fella, Snags.  Have a good one, matey.

The first round of the Fred Kitson is on next Saturday and there will be the usual bar-b-que lunch after the second round the following week.  The Committee will also be meeting next week after the round and, if you have any items that you would like the Committee to consider, get in contact with your friendly committeeman and give him the details as soon as possible.  Note, this is not a general club meeting, only the committee.

Results for Saturday, 07 October 2017
1st Jason Hopkins(62) 2nd Brendon Mitchell(67) 3rd Andrew Petricola(68) 4th Brent Rowley(69) 5th Matt Nicholls(70)

Seniors Results: 1st Andrew Blight (71) 2nd Bill Eastoe (75) 2nd Harry Boughen (75) 2nd Targe Mifsud (75) 3rd Keith Delzoppo (79) 3rd Trevor Jackson (79)

Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin No 1 15th Bill Eastoe ProPin No 2 18th Jackpot BallPin 7th Chris Priems

Storm and pestilence met all the hardy players who turned up for a soggy round of golf. Many of the few who arrived to play were in fact ready to turn around and go home given the possible washout – however Noods for one was not going home given the Championship leader Michael G was there ready to go. Game on.

The 2 groups proceeded to have a rather pleasant day around the wet and muddy course. Gradually over the morning, the surface water retreated and conditions were not as bad as they first appeared. Michael Gourlay played a lovely game to finish with a +3 (69 off the stick) and won the day by what is likely a record margin of 6. Second place shared by Noodles and Brent Rowley (-3), third on -4 were Eddie K and Brendon Mitchell, fourth on -5 Gordo and Chrispy (his first Championship points since May) and Blighty came in fifth on -9.

Highlights:

* Greatest winning par margin of 6?

* Seniors championship points started allocation at -4

* Gordo succeeded in hitting his golf ball whilst making a practice swing! and played his tee shot on the 18th after the ball rolled off the tee onto the ground, putting it pin high and then proceeding to 3 -chip and wipe the hole.

* Blighty made 8 consecutive wipes on the back nine then parred the 18th – his demeanour through all this was stoic.

* Blighty was most pleased to receive championship and senior points for his -9

* Michael and Eddie have called a truce on their playing relationship.

* Harry and Porks both enjoying world travels so the report and handicaps and championship is limited.

Copyright – Gordon Hill Esq.

Results for Saturday, 16 September 2017
1st Michael Gourlay(+3) 2nd Stephen Butterfield(-3) 2nd Brent Rowley(-3) 3rd Ed Kloprogge(-4) 3rd Brendon Mitchell(-4) 4th Gordon Hill(-5) 4th Chris Priems(-5) 5th Andrew Blight(-10)

Seniors Results: 1st Ed Kloprogge (-4) 2nd Gordon Hill (-5) 3rd Andrew Blight (-10)

Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin No 1 12th Michael Gourlay ProPin No 2 18th Jackpot BallPin 4th Stephen Butterfield

The big day was finally here, and given the festivities that were scheduled for the afternoon numbers were  a little down on normal. Even though the Tigs won as underdogs in the footy, no such upset at the mighty Ivanhoe as Michael continued his blistering form to come out trumps.

Not only did he win with a very impressive score of +5 but he carded a very even score of 1 under both front and back nine par’s with a 66 off the stick! Enjoy playing off 1 next week Michael. He now has a commanding lead in the club championship with a lead of 36 points over noods and 6 wins for the year.

Another young bloke who is in good touch is Matt Nicholls who again put in a very solid round and ended up on +4 for the day. Another slashing to the handicap may halt his progress but on current form the sky is the limit. Not to be outdone was Dennis W who also tied for second place (no grand final heroics for the doggies this year bud).

Course conditions must have suited the old fossils in the group as Targe, Bill and Blighty rounded out the points positions after playing just over and under their respective handicaps.

The nearest the ball competition was on the 12th hole and Matt struck a lucky one to come home with the prize. There must have been something in the air around the 15th as the pro pin was up for grabs and the pressure was too much for some as 3 out of the 4 players in the last group (Dennis, Targe, Andrew and Ryan) put their balls out of bounds with their tee shot. The end result for the money was not surprising at all as Michael put one close to take home the cash. When was the last time he did not win one of the par 3 prizes some might ask?

The 18th was again a jackpot with a top tier and tricky pin position. With only 11 members played, we carded 13 birdies in total. 5 of them were from Michael however how obviously was hitting them close from everywhere.

Results for Saturday, 30 September 2017
1st Michael Gourlay(+5) 2nd Matt Nicholls(+4) 2nd Dennis Ward(+4) 3rd Targe Mifsud(+2) 4th Bill Eastoe(-1) 5th Andrew Blight(-2)

Seniors Results: 1st Dennis Ward (+4) 2nd Targe Mifsud (+2) 3rd Bill Eastoe (-1)

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