Yearly Archives: 2019

It was as dark as a dog’s guts this morning when our GOAT Marshall arrived at the Club House and it remained pretty dim until after the nominated first tee time had come and gone. Yes, the sun does not come up yet at that time of the morning but there were also some rather threatening looking clouds hanging around. And, sure enough, just as the first group was about to tee off, the heavens opened and there was much scuttling to get under shelter and to unfurl umbrellas and wet weather gear. Fortunately, it didn’t last all that long and very soon the resplendent display of hawaiian shirts (at least on those who wore them) was on show once more. That wasn’t the end of it though and, as the last of the rain-proof trousers were eventually removed, with uncanny timing, the rain started again. The second tranche of rain was less intense and maybe lasted a bit longer but when it cleared it was not long before the sun came out and the 26 members and one guest who made it to the course were in danger of getting sunburned for their trouble. A big welcome to Enzo who is planning to join us.

There was plenty to play for, for some in the main event, and four pairs made the most of the day by playing their first round matches in the Matchplay Championship. Matt took on Blighty and really struggled to get his nose in front but then he didn’t really need to. Blighty was three up with five to play and then managed to lose three of those five to finish square and Matt finished him off in the first round of the chip-off. Whitey managed to hold Dave in check for a while but then faltered just a bit in the middle of the back to go down 3 and 2. Jason was a bit daunted by having to concede 20 strokes to Ken and so he was pretty happy to win the first four holes on the trot. However, Ken managed to peg him back to square at the 14th after which Jason regained his composure to take the match 2 and 1. Mehmet emerged from his lair to take on the Beast (or maybe the Beast enticed him into his) and was never headed from the get-go and took out the match 3 and 2. During the week, Michael conceded to JQ and DennisT conceded to Bob so there is only one result left to be decided in Round 1 between Stef and Steve. Only two more chances lads! Round 2 can be played any time as long as both agree but on and after April Monthly Medal the present/play rule applies.

There were two questions that everybody wanted an answer to – would Ben get around without having to shout and would Ben be able to maintain his lead in the event. The answer to the first was – Yes. The answer to the second was – No. The man who did step up to the plate and put together two pretty good rounds was Simon who was able to recover enough strength to make it to this weeks coaching session and also managed to recover pretty well after a shot from the 4th tee that he was obviously not too happy with. A few little hiccups on the back nine also prevented a much more comprehensive march to the winning post. On receiving the trophy Simon comment on how pleased he was to win this as his first Major. Rodger commented that it was coming up to the tenth anniversary next week and how much he enjoyed coming back to play and seeing the the Club was going so well and that it was still a proper social Golf Club.

Craig played alongside Simon and fairly put the frighteners on by rattling off pars on the first six holes. Double bogies on the 9th and 18th probably took away his chance of putting it right up to Simon. Brendon wasn’t too happy with his front nine although he did go close to scoring an Ibis on the 8th. There were thoughts of borrowing Chrispy’s crutch when the bird limped away but after a few moments it seemed to recover its composure and went about the business of being an ibis. A blistering back nine saved the day and propelled Brendon into 3rd place and a goodly dose of the points. His 37 points was the best score on the day and, on that heady total, he was joined by Allan and Targe.

That score from Allan gave him a big push up the leader board into 4th place. and last, but by no means least, Ben managed to stay in the points by scrabbling together 68 points for the event.

On the daily score card there was a list almost too long to publish with 35 points but beside the two leaders there were David, Noodles, Jake, Rodger and Whitey.

The first BallPin was on the 12th and Gordon managed to steal it away from Blighty and Allan with a shot that finished only a metre or so past the hole. Not close enough for him to get the birdie so that did not contribute to the total of 13 for the day. Peter missed an eagle putt by millimetres on the 14th so his birdie did count. The eagle would certainly have cemented his position at the top of the Eclectic Table. The second BallPin was on the 18th and, with the pin on the bottom shelf it is a bit surprising that the closest approach was estimated at nearly 7 metres by Jason. The ProPin was on the 15th and Jake looked to have it sewn up with his ball at 1.37m. But then along came Uncle Rob, who went to 1.30m to snatch the cash from the young fellow’s hand.

Rob was one who was looking forward to collecting a shout from Ben. Until the 8th, that is, when Rob’s hybrid (he is a big hitter) made the ball travel about a metre and put the boot firmly on the other foot. At least his ball did move. Brendon put his drive from the 6th to the back of the 7th green. A bit of an uphill lie wouldn’t normally be seen to pose a problem but on this occasion the ball did not move. Or did it. There was some thought that the slip-stream might have had an effect but the club itself certainly didn’t. Pepsi was feeling pretty thirsty and on about four occasions he thought that his thirst was about to be quenched. But, you could say that the golf gods smiled on Harry and each time the ball managed to make it past the red markers.

Blighty might easily have set a new record by managing to hit three consecutive shots out of bounds from the tee on the 14th. This could be seen to be the start of the rot in his fortunes in the matchplay. In the course of the on again, off again wet weather gear, Bill deposited his pants (wet weather, just to be clear) in Rodgers cart. Despite having been offered the chance to re-apply them several times, Bill became quite panic stricken when he eventually decided to do so and couldn’t find them.

After his relegation to 5th place today, Ben reckons he now knows how Collingwood feel. Brendon was detailed with some child-minding duties after the round and had to deal with a number of ‘what’s this Daddy’s and the application of the ten (or should that be five) second rule when Bubb-a-lo Bill was dropped. SOS’s offer to lick it clean did not really help the situation. When it was all over Brendon opined that it was a bit like herding sheep (and that from a Kiwi) or should it have been ibis?

Results for Saturday, 23 March 2019
1st Simon Powell(40, 35, 75) 2nd Craig Cameron(37, 35, 72) 3rd Brendon Mitchell(33, 37, 70) 4th Allan Davies(32, 37, 69) 5th Ben Akdag(44, 24, 68)

Seniors Results: 1st Simon Powell (35,40,75) 2nd Craig Cameron (35,37,72) 3rd Allan Davies (37,32,69)

Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin15th Robert Priems BallPin No 1 12th Gordon Hill BallPin No 2 18th Jason Hopkins

The high pressure cells are keeping the rain away and some parts of the course are, rightly, getting as bare as a badger’s bum, but the ground staff are finding some water somewhere for the bits that really matter. Some of the greens have acquired a bit of sand (or is that fertilizer) which made the response to the flat blade a bit on the variable side between holes. In line with the importance of the competition to the history of the Club, there were 22 starters for the first round of Stuart’s Memorial Event.

All of this was nothing for Ben, who was the subject of a fair bit of speculation during the week. His reputation for buying drinks from the first tee had them fighting in the aisles to be in the first group with him and, at one stage, Dennis was despairing as to how he could manage to satisfy all requests. As it turned out, Ben wasn’t short of something to drink (but more of that later) and he put together as spanking round of 79 off the stick for a massive 44 points. No wonder he could manage a smile. The big question is, can he stand the pressure?

The number one pressuriser would have to be Simon who is next in line on the Leaderboard with his score of 40 points giving him a good chance if Ben falters at all. And this result from a man who, a week ago, was despairing and lined up a session with the coach only to cancel out at the last minute because he was ‘too tired’. The question is, could he have been in the lead if he had taken the coaching? And another thing, he scored 40 points and he wasn’t even smokin’. That’s right, not a single coffin nail the whole round although the puffer did get a bit of a work out.

In a tougher school, Rob would have had to accept his score made with a lower handicap on his card but, being a kind hearted social golf club we forgive him his sins (your handicap can change from week to week Rob) and give him the extra point to bring him into a tie for third place with Craig. Rob scored himself a birdie on the 14th after driving onto the green while Craig was in a group of three who all birdied the 17th. The longest putt was Craig at about 1 metre after he lipped out for the Eagle while Porks had the shortest at 50mm having almost made the Eagle as well. Those four birdies contributed in no small way to the total of 13 that were carded for the day. And the Eagle can settle down for another week knowing that her nest is safe.

Harry did make it to his coaching session and the ball striking was generally better although a couple of sconed tee shots did get Gordon excited and licking his lips in anticipation. The golf gods smiled, Gordon went thirsty and Harry played to his handicap for 36 points. JQ rounded out the provisional points table with his 34 points. His potential partner in crime, Pepsi, tried to claim a stroke on the 18th and was relegated from the leaderboard listing as a result.

It showed all the signs of being Ben’s day today as he had his name all over the nearest the Pin markers. Well the BallPin markers, anyway. He managed to keep his ball in front on the 15th but Brendon managed to rain on his parade on the 18th. Brendon also rained on Simon’s parade for the ProPin on the 12th by getting well inside the distance to 1.36m.

Rodger joined us today, as he always does, and showed that he hasn’t learned too many bad habits up at Yarrambat. The putter did have him a bit frustrated today and at one stage he was heard telling how he’d never been a club thrower. Not sure whether he was tempted today or not. Ken also tore himself away from Rosanna to join us today but he did find the undergrowth on more than one or two occasions. Good to see you guys and you know you are welcome at any time. Another occasional visitor was the Beast who is back from his golfing holiday in China and is all excited about ‘panda’ bunkers and explosive powered drivers.

After the round, Pepsi was all tarted up to go to the races but not before he downed several of the drinks that he had been anticipating most of the week. Thing was, he didn’t get them from Ben and they weren’t all ‘free’. On the 15th, Pepsi’s drive smashed so hard into the bushes on the left that it came right back and finished behind the red markers. The other culprit in the group as SOS who took on a tree on the 7th and on the 9th he managed (somehow) to put one into the pond on the left. Needless to say, Pepsi might have missed the first race.

Allan discovered another drawback of riding around on Thunderbird today. he was trying to drink his mug of tea and managed to spill it all over himself. That’s why it is illegal in motor vehicles. Simon went close to a birdie on the 8th today when his third shot hit the pin (quite fast) just above ground level and stopped just past the hole. In a similar vein, Noodles went into the pond on the 17th, skinnied his shot across the penalty area and, if not for hitting the pin dead centre, would have been well and truly through the fence. Then, he calmly sank the putt for par. The other stuff will beat class any day.

Final round of the Stuart Clarke next week and we like to wear our hawaiian shirts to remember Stuart. Come along even if you didn’t play today, just let us know so that he have enough snags for the barbeque afterwards. Groups will be made in reverse order from the Leaderboard with any extras slotted in to the early groups.

Don’t forget that the first round of Matchplay still has to be completed by end of play on 06 April. Second round can be played anytime between now and May Monthly Medal.

Results for Saturday, 16 March 2019
Leaderboard Round 1: 1st Ben Akdag(44) 2nd Simon Powell(40) 3rd Craig Cameron(37) 3rd Robert Priems(37) 4th Harry Boughen(36) 5th John Quinlan(34)

Seniors Leaderboard: 1st Simon Powell (40) 2nd Craig Cameron (37) 3rd Harry Boughen (36)

Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin12th Brendon Mitchell BallPin No 1 15th Ben Akdag BallPin No 2 18th Brendon Mitchell

It was a day made in heaven. The sky was blue, the wind was calm, the course was well watered (almost too much so in a couple of places), the temperature was balmy and the golfers were not too barmy. We thought we had 18 players but one either didn’t show or was only thought to be coming and so there were only 17 contenders out there including Ken who fronted up for his first round of competition after getting in his three qualifying cards. If history is any guide, we can expect to see Ken on the podium in short order. Not today though.

For the second week in a row, the hunt was on and, despite the slashing that he took from the handicapper’s sword last week and, like the indomitable Black Knight, Matt kept on fighting and managed to complete the course just two over par off the stick and, in the process, he amassed a massive 43 Stableford points. That was enough to take the top points for the day but only just enough.

Just one point behind and putting in a personal best card was Peter who pulled off a couple of amazing recovery shots after putting his drive into awkward locations. The big blot on the copy-book was on the second for a no score and a missed, simple putt on the 16th that would have bought a share of the top spot.

There was a bit of daylight to a fair cluster who scored 39 points to take out third placing. Harry started slowly and was not all that happy about his front nine before shifting into top gear and racking up 24 points on the back. Damo had just a few too many singletons but other than that he managed to par most of the holes on which he got strokes. SOS started out well but, as the day progressed and it closer to time to go to work, his game slipped in the middle of the back nine. Dennis also went well on the back and included a birdie on the 14th to contribute to the fine total of 18 that the team put together today.

Ben and Gordo shared the honours for 4th place and Craig almost got over-looked for 5th place. ‘Somebody’ put Pepsi’s inside card into the Club heap. And Pepsi was rather cheesed to have played to his handicap and not get a point.

There were two Matches played today. Pepsi and Craig did battle and quite a battle it was. Pepsi did have the upper hand for most of the round but every time he made it to two up, Craig would peg him back. When Craig won the 15th and 16th the Match became all square and shared honours on the last two sent the Match to a chip-off. Neither chip was particularly close to the hole and Pepsi had to take the first putt. The ball rolled true and fell into the hole really putting the pressure onto Craig. The putt slipped past and the match went to Pepsi. Harry and Gordo also slugged it out in a very similar pattern of play. Every time Gordon got to 2 up, Harry would reel him in with a win. A birdie for Harry on the 17th brought the Match to square and the result came down to a putting competition on the 18th. Equal scores and a stroke to Harry gave him the Match 1 up.

The Nearest the Pin competition today was pretty much a two horse race. The Black Knight put his shot on the 12th to 0.97m to take out the ProPin, But, the interesting thing is that Matt was not at all happy with the way he hit the ball and whinged something fierce about thinning it. Some reckon that attitude should void the claim for the prize! After all, you don’t have to post pictures on Instagram. And, there was only one name on the two BallPins on the 15th and 18th and that was Damo. With one a Jackpot from last week, that was a nice little earner.

RodG also added to the tally of birdies today with a chip in from about 40m out in the 11th. Craig rattled in a 10m putt to win the hole on the 16th but that effort was dwarfed by a reported 20m putt by Ryan. Simon didn’t get nearly so hot and bothered today and he stayed back for the presentations. JQ was buying a round in recompense for not having reached the red markers on the 15th. Admittedly the blue markers were well back and the reds were quite a way forward but still….

Bob had some mechanical problems with his op-shop electric buggy and had to push the contraption for at least part of the round. To add insult to injury, at one stage he also managed to take a massive divot about half a metre behind the ball and the ball did not move. Gordon was heard to say that he was bending his knee these days. Not because he was praying that Harry would miss his putt but because it helped him get his hips out of the way or something.

Next week is the first round of the Stuart Clarke Memorial. It would be good to see a big roll up of members wearing their Club shirts and/or other Club paraphernalia. On the second week, we endeavour to wear some sort of Hawaiian beach shirt as a mark of respect to Stuart’s penchant for such items of clothing. If you don’t have one in your wardrobe, go check out the local Savers or Op-shop. There will be a bar-be-que after Round 2.

Results for Saturday, 09 March 2019
1st Matt Hunt(43) 2nd Peter Damou(42) 3rd Harry Boughen(39) 3rd Damien Lee(39) 3rd Stephen O’Sullivan(39) 3rd Dennis Ward(39) 4th Ben Akdag(38) 4th Gordon Hill(38) 5th Craig Cameron(37)

Seniors Results: 1st Dennis Ward (39) 1st Harry Boughen (39) 2nd Gordon Hill (38) 3rd Craig Cameron (37)

Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin12th Matt Hunt BallPin No 1 15th Damien Lee BallPin No 2 18th Damien Lee

There were some concerns that this could be a stroke round – heat stroke that is – as the day promised to be rather hot with a northerly dragging the heat in from up north. Actually, the day started out pleasantly enough with the temperature mild and the air dead calm. The course management seem to be spiriting water out of nowhere as the course continues to be a picture despite the lack of rain in recent times. But the benign conditions did not last and the northerly doctor sprang up and the mercury climbed and climbed. Would the conditions favour good scoring or would the field flag as the day warmed up.

It gave every appearance of nobody being the the hunt as Matt slotted par after par such that his marker tired of writing down fours and three points as he headed to the turn just one over the card and a very impressive 25 points on the front nine. The back nine did not flow quite so smoothly but a 76 off the stick for a net 65 was still more than enough to take the medal and a first for Matt to boot.

Why the mention of points you ask? Well, as I have been banging on now for two or more years, in stroke events, for a card to be submitted for your official (GA/GL) handicap, the score needs to be entered with a stableford score for handicapping purposes. The stroke score (net) determines the competition result. In the past, the course management (and I) have been soft on players not doing it. But, the new manager of the course is not going to be so lenient and so, in future, please calculate your Stableford points for Stroke Competitions. I will appreciate it as well.

For once, Ben got away to a good start and actually got a par on the first. There are some in the Club who see that as an evil portent, exceeded only by getting a birdie on the first. The evil didn’t really show up until half way through the back nine and, if it hadn’t been for a couple of ‘fat ladies’, Ben could easily have been in the hunt. One of those fat ladies made Ben walk all the way back from near the green to the tee on the 14th. He really appreciated getting a lift back in the other direction, even if he did have to put his life into the hands of Chrispy who was driving the cart.

Speaking of Chrispy, he is nicely fitted out with moon boot and crutches but he is unlikely to be playing again before the middle of the year. His rather seriously broken ankle was down to ‘jumping the fence’ but he was leaping to somebody’s de-fence and not the other sort of fence jumping. In the meantime, he hopes to be here to tee-marshal, and drive/caddy for mates like SOS as he did today.

Noodles played nice steady golf today which is apparently a bit of a contrast to how he played on King Island. But, as they seem to say, what plays on King Island stays on King Island though there was also a rumour that there was not a lot of tinder on the island. But then who wants to be lighting fires in this weather? JQ also put in a nice steady round to finish level with Noods on 69.

Dale started off with Trevor marking his card but, after nine holes, Trev had to retire when the combination of the heat and his recurring back problem required him to retire. The change in card marker did not affect Dale’s ability to score and a pair of 43s gave him a net 70 and 4th place. Brent, Dennis and Porks rounded out the point takers with their common result of 71 on the bottom line.

The Matchplay kicked off today and there were a number of results to report. Brendon and Porks promised to be a slug-fest with only 3 strokes the difference. Brendon got away to a good start and was soon a couple of holes to the good. Then Porks found his mojo and very quickly swung the balance the other way. Any return to form by Brendon refused to stick and Porks edged ahead to take the match easily at 5 and 4. Noodles and Damo had a slightly larger gap to work with and things were all square at the turn when Noods got his nose in front and was not to be denied with a win at the 16th, 3 and 2. Damo reckons he was surprised at how close it actually was considering how crap he played.

With only one stroke between them, SOS and Rob appeared to be nicely matched on paper. And so it proved as each took turns to win a hole and blow a hole and the result all square at the 12th. A venture out of bounds by SOS on the 14th gave Rob a sniff. On the 15th, SOS drove to 1.9m, below the hole to take out the ProPin while Rob was not quite OOB on the 16th tee. Rob jollied it in to be a couple of metres past the hole almost catching the hole on the way past. SOS needed two putts to finish while Rob needed only one to square the hole. A win for Rob on the 16th gave him the match 3 and 2.

Targe and Brent also slugged it out and finished square on the 18th and proceeded immediately to a chip-off. This caused some consternation in the rest of the field as chips-off normally involve full club participation to provide the requisite amount of heckling. Despite that, it was reported that the winner was Targe in the first round. Under the rules of the competition, as Trevor and Ben were present today and Trevor chose not to play the match, Ben was awarded a walkover win under the ‘present/play’ rule.

The first BallPin was on the 4th and Noodles was the only one to make a mark on the card and so he collected a nice new ball. As noted the ProPin on the 15th went to SOS while the second BallPin on the 18th went begging and will Jackpot to next week.

After the round, the AGM was held. The Committee is virtually unchanged from last year so everybody must be happy with the way the Club is being run. A big welcome back to Chrispy as Tee Marshal and a howdyedo to his assistant Dennis. Damo has been added to the list as our Rules Official (see the web-site under Contacts/Club Committee). Minutes of the meeting will be circulated in due course.

Results for Saturday, 02 March 2019
1st Matt Hunt(65) 2nd Ben Akdag(68) 3rd Stephen Butterfield(69) 3rd John Quinlan(69) 4th Dale Webb(70) 5th Ryan Porker(71) 5th Brent Rowley(71) 5th Dennis Ward(71)

Seniors Results: 1st Dennis Ward (71) 2nd Harry Boughen (75) 2nd Targe Mifsud (75) 3rd Simon Powell (78)

Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin15th Stephen O’Sullivan BallPin No 1 4th Stephen Butterfield BallPin No 2 18th Jackpot