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It was a close run thing for the Medal on 05 October 2019
The calendar says we are into spring and there are signs that the grass is starting to grow and if the mowing isn’t kept up then the roughs will be just that – rough. The greens have been aerated and the most recent attack seems to have resulted in little more than some rubber burns. The earlier scars on the third are still obvious and can result in some bouncy putts. Other than that, the course is in fine condition and with the cool, calm conditions there was little excuse for not scoring well. So, what other excuses do the eighteen players have?
The be(a)st of the day was, in fact, none other than the Beast who persisted in driving pretty much down the centre of the fairway all day and so far that they were hard to keep sight of. If it hadn’t been for a couple of minor aberrations around and on the green the bottom line could have been rather less than the 66 that was carded. Bill was one of the few players that kept his jacket on for the whole round and that could explain why he was so ‘hot’.
Just a single stroke behind Bill was Dale who took a few holes to really get going. Dale’s card counted six sixes, five of which were in the first six holes. There was one five and no less than eleven fours. So, there were plenty of opportunities to have snatched the top spot. Targe, on the other hand put in a card with every number between three and eight. The three was a birdie on the 5th and it reportedly took a 10m putt to make that and, in so doing, contribute to the total of 9 birdies that we managed for the day.
There was a bit of a gap to third place where we found Ken with a net score of 70. It does seem that the number could have been quite a bit higher after Ken hit three balls from the tee on the 14th. Fortunately, for Ken, the first ball was found to be still in bounds but maybe all the effort on the tee had worn Ken out as he still managed to rack up seven strokes on the hole.
Fourth place was filled by Chrispy Pork which sounds like a crackling combination. Ryan seems content to keep gathering, at least some, points although Targe did sneak up a few on him today. Targe will miss out on scoring in the Fred Kitson so Ryan has a chance to get back his margin, and then some, if he can feature in this Major event. Chrispy’s ankle gave him a bit of angst in the later stages of the round and he thinks he might play better if he starts using a buggy (but not a cart – yet). Dave was promoted to 5th place due to an error in transcribing his net score from the bottom to the top of the card. Sorry about that Noods, Bob and Matt.
Enzo’s ears pricked up when he heard that the ProPin on the 15th had Jackpotted yet again. Rumour has it that he is going to be out all week practicing, just on that hole. The BallPin on the 4th managed to elude all comers and that, too, will Jackpot to next week. The 18th BallPin was located on the top deck and almost succeeded in eluding capture until Porks came along in the last group and took it out.
ChrisV was with us for the first time in a while but he was showing signs of being a bit under the weather (health-wise). After one bout of coughing and spluttering it was suggested that he should be at home in bed with a ‘hottie’ and maybe some honey would help. After Matt went from Mustard Jacket to Cock’s Plate a couple of weeks back, today, his companions reckoned that he was playing with a heat-seeking missile and that there was something hot in the cups. That is until the 13th where he managed to do quite the reverse and made a ‘snowman’. He wasn’t alone in that regard as there were quite a number scored on various holes among the group.
The pin position on the 14th was generally described as being ‘diabolical’. particularly by Rob who managed to travel back and forth no less than five times after Chris told him not to miss the first one. Rob blamed Chris for putting him off, to which Chris responded – you always blame the one you love. Harry can’t understand what all the fuss was about as he just read the slope and the pace from off the green and judged it perfectly to have the ball fall into the hole for his par. He almost had an even more spectacular result on the previous hole with a chip that neatly cannoned off Gordo’s ball to trickle just past the hole for the easiest of tap-ins. Lindrum could hardly have done better.
One of the real mysteries of the round was the source of a whole raw hens egg on the 11th fairway. There is a fair possibility that the raven that was pecking its way into it had carried it from somewhere. Perhaps some backyard poultry-man is going to miss out on breakfast tomorrow.
Our last Major for the year in the form of the Fred Kitson Spring Cup kicks off next week and a chance for a big move in the Championship Table, particularly with Targe out of contention and if Porks can be kept off the podium. It is everybody’s favourite competition, Par, and there will be our usual gourmet bar-be-que after the second round. Be there and be square – that might be enough to win!
Results for Saturday, 05 October 2019
1st Bill Eastoe(66) 2nd Targe Mifsud(67) 2nd Dale Webb(67) 3rd Ken Watson(70) 4th Ryan Porker(71) 4th Chris Priems(71) 5th David Mullenger(72)
Seniors Results: 1st Bill Eastoe (66) 2nd Targe Mifsud (67) 3rd Bob McDonald (73)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin15th Jackpot BallPin No 1 4th Jackpot BallPin No 2 18th Ryan Porker
Club Event – PAR 28th October 2019 (GF Day)
There must have been something on, a big national event perhaps? The carpark was almost empty but soon enough 13 members and a guest were quite excited for the big event (PAR, not the grand final).
Gareth who manages the course was keen for a game and joined the last group, but it was one of the earlier runners who made the most of the beautiful day and ended up with a score of +1 for the day. This was none other than Jason who was fairly consistent all day with 5 pluses and 4 minuses.
Peps was a bit late to arrive after waking up a bit worse for wear but warmed up to his game and put in an even performance with a square card and second place. This included a chip in for birdie on the 8th and backed it up again on the 9th.
A couple of bludgers were not too far back, Blighty and Noods with -1 shared 3rd place. A couple more shared 4th place, Simon and Brendon on -2. Simon was quite happy in the morning after a user error with the results for the week prior granted him 23 second placings in the seniors championship. This has now been rectified Targy so no reason to complain this week, you are still in the lead!
There was much anticipation with who would be good enough for 5th place, but Enzo took it on his lonesome with -3, much to the dismay of the players who were 1 further back. Gordon mentioned that Enzo was belting them down the middle off the tee all day and asking if anyone had taken photo of the exhibition. Well by the 16th Gordon rectified this, refer p
hoto for the textbook stylings.
Speaking of Gordon, there were rumours of his tee shot not making the ladies on the 3rd and he was not having the best of days if his scorecard was anything to go by. The group behind also heard him wack a flag after a missed putt. You know what they say Gordo, a week is a long time in f###…..golf.
Another week and another Jackpot for the pro pin on the 15th. The ball hole on the 12 was hotly contested and Brendon was closest. He also sank the birdie putt. The ball hole on the 18th was in a tough spot on the back tier and Porks won it without much contest.
Results for Saturday, 28 September 2019
1st Jason Hopkins(+1) 2nd Andrew Petricola(□) 3rd Andrew Blight(-1) 3rd Stephen Butterfield(-1) 4th Brendon Mitchell(-2) 4th Simon Powell(-2) 5th Enzo Cirone(-3)
Seniors Results: 1st Andrew Blight (-1) 2nd Simon Powell (-2) 3rd Enzo Cirone (-3)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin15th Jackpot BallPin No 1 12th Brendon Mitchell BallPin No 2 18th Ryan Porker
Club Event – Stableford Competition Saturday 21st September 2019
There was some not so great news that the course had yet again taken a blow with some more vandalism to the greens, this time almost half of them taking the treatment. SOS was not too impressed and decided to go home to sleep is anger off but was back at the end of play to undertake his tresury responsibilities. As it turns out, the greens were not too bad and definately playable, with only a few instances of balls that needed to be moved off the damaged circle marks.
This left only 11 members to play out the day and of those 11, there were joint winners with an even handicap score of 36 points. These two were Chrispy and Targe who have both had handicap adjustment of recent times, with them only to come crashing down with some determined play. Chrispy was trying to make up for last weeks fade away after all.
Next up was Bill, who marked Targes card, and also put in a respectable card with 35 points. It started to pelt down with rain on the 18th and Targe was making a meal of it and was going back and forth across the green. Bill and the otheres in his group decided that enough was enough and it was not worth getting drenched to watch Targe putt out!
The beast his his ball too well on the 17th and it rolled into the thick grass at the end of the fairway. Porks was down there first and found a shiny Bridgestone in the thick of it. He asked Bill if he was playing a Bridgestone and Bill replied back, sure. Porks was a bit bemused as Bill was played a srixon and titelist earlier in the day, but Targe vouched for the change in ball on the 17th.
Brendon played with Chrispy and Noods and the flew through the round to finish over an hr in front of the last (and tird) group. Brendon tied with Simon on 33 point which was more than adequate for 3rd place. On his lonesome was porks who slotted into 4th and Noods the final placing with 29 points. Noods had told the last group as they were passing the clubhouse on way to the 14th that he had finished with 39 points, so this may have kept them in focus right to the end!
The pro pin was on the 15th and yet again it was a Jackpot as no one was even close to the 5m mark. The first ball hole was on the 12th and Priemsy was closest. Blighty managed the changing weather conditions to win the ball on the 18th but thuis was not good enough for a points finish.
Grand final day next week and a normal club event is on so please get there if you can. Hopefully the greens have recovered a but as the rest of the course is starting to improve from the Wintery conditions of late.
Results for Saturday, 21 September 2019
1st Targe Mifsud(36) 1st Chris Priems(36) 2nd Bill Eastoe(35) 3rd Brendon Mitchell(33) 3rd Simon Powell(33) 4th Ryan Porker(31) 5th Stephen Butterfield(29)
Seniors Results: 1st Targe Mifsud (36) 2nd Bill Eastoe (35) 3rd Simon Powell (33)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin15th Jackpot BallPin No 1 12th Chris Priems BallPin No 2 18th Andrew Blight
Annual Challenge and Club Event – September 14/15 2019
The annual trip was to Rich River in sunny Moama again this year and there was much anticipation as to who would be taking home the fashionable Mustard Jacket! Priemsy was talking a lot of shop in the weeks prior and one could have thought that he had already won it! A practice round was not on the cards for him as the Priems clan embarked on a paddle steamer adventure on the Murray with the extended family on the Friday, with Brent, Jason and Dale all bringing wives and young kids along for the weekends activities.
The course had undergone some recent coring to the greens and the East course greens were particularly slow. The East course was the venue for the Saturday round and scoring was pretty hot early on. After all of the talk, Chrispy backed it up to set the pace early on with the assistance of a 21 HC, scorched the field with 42 stableford points. Hot on his heels was Dave who scored 40 points and only 2 over par, the early morning putting and driving range practice must have helped! Mehm and porks were not far behind on 39, who fell into the final placings for the final group for Sunday.
The Mustard requires two days of solid golf however, so those still with a chance included SOS on 37, The B’s Bob Brent and Benny on 36 and Noods on 35. Rob was a bit further back on 31 points but had to leave for a drive up to the gold coast for work. The greens work not working as fell for some as they were for others. Porks had multiple birdie putts but did not make any, noods resorted to a claw grip from close range and didn’t miss a putt and for the majority of players the adjustment to the speed was difficult to grasp.
The defending champion had a stinker of a day and unfortunately for porks who had Matty in the Calcutta, Matty only scored 27 points. This included an incident of a club that was thrown, stuck up a tree, and a further two clubs that were stuck trying to retrieve the first!
The main questions for the night were, who would join Mehm and SOS in the pokies for the weekend, as Stef had to pull out due to a friends Wedding, how would Chris deal with a hangover the next day and how early would Dave get to bed?
The afternoon and nights activities included the usual betting on the horses, pokies for SOS and Mehm and a few drinks. Priemsy was enjoying himself and towards the end of the night, Brendon, who had porks in the calcutta, had decided to try to compromise the other leaders by taking them out for a night on the town. Dave kept it low key and declined but Priemsy was in full flight and with Brendon and Benny were out to the wee hours of the night. Brendon also enticed Peps to an Espresso Martini which he quite enjoyed and was saying that it is a very manly drink indeed!
The next morning Priemsy was right as rain however and had a very decent start for the final day of play. The rain started and stopped and Priemsy was joined by Dave who extended their early lead, who was hitting bombs in the middle of the fairway and sinking putts from everywhere.
There was mass confusion on the back 9 however as the course management had rearranged the hole numbering on the back 9 due to maintenance, but failed to inform the Ivanhoe group or provide the updated cards. The club pro drove around the tried to explain things to keep everything flowing from the 11th hole.
B
y this stage, Priemsy was starting to tire and soon the wheels fell off. Porks was doing the opposite and birdied the 10th, 11th and 13th to fall only one behind Dave for the lead. It was neck and neck for the last few holes and porks extended to a two shot lead and held off the last 3 holes for the win, with an even par back 9 off the stick! Dave held on for second place, and Bob came from a few back for 3rd place with a very respectable 39 points.
Chrispy and Noods tied for 4th after noods shot equal best score for the day, and SOS scrapped in for 5th place. The Cock’s plate was awarded to Matty who combined with his efforts with his club’s on Saturday, he also managed to break one of hit iron shafts on the Sunday. There were numerous nearest the pins for both days and too many to name them all here. Overall it was a successful weekend and good times had by all.
Results for Annual Challenge 14 and 15 September 2019
1st Ryan Porker 78 (39+39) 2nd David Mullenger 76 (40+36) 3rd Bob McDonald 75 (36+39) 4th Chris Priems 74 (42+32) 4th Stephen Butterfield 74 (35+39) 5th Stephen O’Sullivan 71 (37+34) Seniors Results: 1st Bob McDonald 2nd Gordon Hill 3rd Allan Davies
Ivanhoe Results (Courtesy of GOATM)
The mandatory 6 players for competition was exceeded by one and 7 members turned out on a bright sunny spring morning at Royal and Ancient Ivanhoe. Peter played the 13th three times, first from the 1st tee, the second time from the 10th tee and we thought when he finally got to the 13th tee we would see him realize his desire to hit the fairway three time in a row, only to see him trudge off to the 10th fairway!
Despite this, Peter posted a solid 36 points for the morning to take out his first win for some time, so well done Peter. A big welcome back to Saturday play to Rod Grant, and he was right back into the fray taking second place on his own with 32 points. There were whispers that Rod was on song with his driver and placing immense distance pressure on Simon off the tee.
The pressure of being outdriven by Rod may have been why Simon put his shot into that tiny little bunker on the 13th, only then to hit it out of the bunker into the hazard, take a drop and promptly hit it back into the hazard again ! But, with 31 points Simon did manage to come in third in a three way tie along with Whitey and Craig.
Craig’s golf was a bit interrupted by spending quality time helping Peter and Dennis locate wayward balls, but it was a lovely morning for a bit of extra nature study. Whitey took a couple of holes to get going, but fired up on the 4th with a nice chip in for a big fat bird and a fine 4 points to add to the tally.
Peter hit the green on the 12th and took his putt from that far out we had enough time to have a cup of tea whilst waiting for the ball to travel across the green and drop in for a very fine bird, to bring the mornings tally of birds to two. Joe and Dennis bought up the rear of the field to take fourth place points with 27 points which was made up by a smattering of gashes, ones, two’s and three pointers to grab 27points, although probably more gashes and one’s in there than anything, but, did we mention what a wonderful spring morning it was ?
Ball hole NTP’s were Peter on the 12th, which he then one putted from what seemed like 100metres away for birdie, and Simon on the 18th which he then 3 putted from what I hear was not that far away for a bogey ! Rod’s return to Saturday golf saw him take out the seniors with 32 points, ahead of Simon and Craig on 31 points and Dennis in third on 27points. As usual, the mornings golf ended in brilliant sunshine with good banter and merriment . . . how good is golf !
Results for Saturday, 14 September 2019
1st Peter Damou (37) 2nd Rod Grant (32) 3rd Simon Powell (31) 3rd Craig Cameron (31) 3rd Rod White (31) 4th Dennis Ward(27) 4th Joe W 5th No one else!
Seniors Results: 1st Rod Grant (32) 2nd Simon Powell (31) Craig Cameron (31)3rd Dennis Ward(27)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin15th Jackpot BallPin No 1 12th Peter Damou BallPin No 2 18th Simon Powell