Yearly Archives: 2019

The cold blast was well and truly sweeping through from the West. There was snow in Canberra at the AFL, Simon issued a dire warning to everyone the night before via email after he had heard a damming report on the news about the weather. Nonetheless the bravest, most dedicated and frankly, the ones who had nothing else better to do, turned up to face the elements.

8 members were there bright and early, and there was much debate as to whether the course was fit for play. The course was deemed to be well and truly soaked, with the 17th green surrounded by puddles. Course management did their bast to place the pins around the puddles and after much consideration it was decided that play would commence. With the exeption of JQ, who decided that it was not worth the potential soaking that would most definately occur.

As it turned out, it rained heavily for about 3 holes and they rest of the day was pretty good, albiet with a damp course. This did not hinder Dave and Dale who played consistent enough to hand in cards with -1 to tie in first place. Dave has had an extrordinary year, he is sitting a tight third in the championship tally and has only played 11 times for the year with an average of 5.73 points per week. Dale was reaping the rewards of a relatively quite week at work due to the weather which obvioiusly helped free up his swing.

Even though blighty was in the first group, he was still counting up his score and working out his playing card some time after when everyone was waiting for the announcments to take place. He also managed to turn Brendon’s card into a rabble that was water damaged and all torn up! All those calculations proved to be correct after all, and he ended up on -2 for the day for 2nd place overall. He was asked if he had any eagles for the day after last weeks efforts, he simply replied with, sadly no but I just had a 4 pointer! Pitty we were playing par.

The beast managed the only 2 birdies for the day, dropping a 10ft putt from off the green on the third and also making birdie on the 13th. He also won a ball on the 4th hole for the nearest the pin. Noodles was not keen to play at all, but after porks was the 6th person to agree to play in the morning to make it an official round, the potential for points was too hard to pass up. He was neck and neck with porks all day, and ened up just ahead on -3. Porks was not far behind on -4 to be in 5th place. He also won the pro pin on the 12th to put it to 4m but wasnt that impressed after winning only $7, Blightly also mentioned that one of the dollars was already his that he had put in, which made it so much better. For whatever reason, it was decided not to play the 2nd ball hole due to the low numbers. Porks was not impressed at all after hitting it close on the 18th!

Blighty hit the same tree branch twice on the 2nd hole in the exact same spot, and they both skewed off into the swamp. There were no reported draughties however there were some lost balls from tee shots after finding their way into the rough or trees.

With only 7 played members, there was much discussion as to whether anyone would miss out on points or not. Well Brendon was not even close and ended up on -10. Tough day at the office. The damaged greens were showing sign of repair with the exception of the 3rd which is looking worse after being down for months now.  Happy birthday to Brendon, Chris Vinecombe and JQ who all celebrate milestones this week.

Results for Saturday, 10 August 2019
1st David Mullenger(-1) 1st Dale Webb(-1) 2nd Andrew Blight(-2) 3rd Bill Eastoe(-3) 4th Stephen Butterfield(-4) 5th Ryan Porker(-5)

Seniors Results: 1st Andrew Blight (-2) 2nd Bill Eastoe (-3)

Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin12th Ryan Porker BallPin No 1 4th Bill Eastoe BallPin No 2 – No contest

It was a dark and gloomy morning for the July monthly medal and there was news that the course had taken a bit of a beating overnight. It was not from the weather but the infamoous local teens who had taken a liking to the greens and thought it would be best to leave there mark by doing some skids with they motorbikes. As a result, the 3rd, 9th, 11th and 18th greens had a local rule where two putts maximum would be taken if you ended up on the green.

What would this mean for scoring, if there was no chance of 3 or 4 putting? Well it didn’t help that much as the course was also fairly soggy from some rain, but it did not seem to hinder Dennis as he played consistently well to score nett 66 and take home the medal. His confidence was soaring as he was about to tee off on the 15th, as he announced to his group “how close should I put it”. Gordon responded with”how about a foot” and Dennis said no worries and hit a beautiful shot to put it to 55cm. It was more than close enough for the pro pin too!

Blighty had an up and down day, with his ball not making the ladies on the 3rd. He seemed to take a liking to putting off the green and was sinking putts left right and centre from the rough on about 6 holes. Although after coming off a 4 putt and 8 on the 16th, he hit a nice drive on the 17th to be about 30m from the green. In keeping up with his lack of use of the green for most of the day, he hit a nice little sand wedge which ran out and dropping in for an Eagle! 12 balls from the eagles nest later, he scored well enough for second place after a miscalculation on his handicap. It could have been better on the 18th as his tee shot was just off the green, all he needed to do was hit it on the green for a guaranteed bogie, but he proceeded to hit it through the other side and ended off the green. In typical Andrew form he hit his 3rd well past the hole, and then sunk the easiest of 15 footers for bogie after all.

Second place was also shared by Noodles and Dave with a 69 nett. Targe was complaining that his handicap keeps on creepinng out but he keeps on scoring points, and he played well enough on the day to come in 3rd place. Adam, Brendon and SOS all slotted into 4th with nett 71 and finally a couple of lefties in Ryan and Brent rounded out the placings with 72.

After blighty had sunk his eagle approach shot, there was a bit of celebrating and commotion, and with Blighty talking in SOS’s swing, he proceeded to shank it from the 18th tee. There were rumours that Dale had been consistently shanking them all day too.  There were 7 birdies carded from 21 players, which included Brent who won the ball on the 12th. The final ball was won by Beast who hit a nice shot on the 18th.

There was a bit on controversy on the local rule on the 9th, Ryan was going for a birdie on the damaged green, but hit it past the hole and it rolled down the hill and off the green. He argued with noodles for the rest of the day about the rule, stating that he should recieve 4 for the hole even though his second putt would have been from off the green. It was verified with the club pro that this is the correct rule, much to Noodles dismay.

There were some rumours circulating that Dennis had been doing some welding work around Harry’s place and had been given some juicy handicapping benfits as a result. As H is away on a golfing expedition, the assistant handicapper is having none of this and has taken the liberty of adjusting Dennis by a couple after his win! Simon has taken a liking to gardening recently and is also considering helping out Harry too!!

 

Results for Saturday, 03 August 2019
1st Dennis Ward(66) (c/b t9) 2nd Andrew Blight(69) 2nd Stephen Butterfield(69) 2nd David Mullenger(69) 3rd Targe Mifsud(70) 4th Adam King(71) 4th Brendon Mitchell(71) 4th Stephen O’Sullivan(71) 5th Ryan Porker(72) 5th Brent Rowley(72)

Seniors Results: 1st Dennis Ward (66) 2nd Andrew Blight (69) 3rd Targe Mifsud (70)

Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin15th Dennis Ward BallPin No 1 12th Brent Rowley BallPin No 2 18th Bill Eastoe

Eagle’s nest Results: Eagle 17th Andrew Blight

The whole club was on tenterhooks. Would JQ make it from the airport on time? Would Porks be sober after the staff party? Could Whitey put together another good round? Would any more first rounders drop out? Would any more casuals turn up? So many questions, so few answers. In the end, JQ did make it in plenty, Porks was sober and we had a field of 23 players which meant that over a third of the field was there for the love of the game. Mehmet even said that he only came because he wanted to play golf, it was just a bit of a pity that he didn’t really (play golf, that is). The course was pretty soggy in places and the preferred lies were welcome as the ball seemed to pick up mud without even moving. There were even a couple of cases where the ball went deeper underground than along the ground. Chrispy reckoned he had a new club in his bag, called a shovel. Maybe he should be looking for a job on the City Loop as well.

So, how did things pan out on the day then. Well, the round of the day went to Matt. Fairly obviously, the surgical intervention took an extra week to kick in and Matt fairly kicked arse today to complete the back nine in 2 under the par for 23 points and a round total of 40. When put together with his field tailing round last week, this gave him a chance of scoring a point at least for his troubles and the cut to his handicap. But more of that later.

Despite some concerns that the pressure of leadership might weigh heavily on his shoulders, Whitey managed to keep his eye on the ball, his bat on the crease and his pads in front of the wicket to block his way to a pretty respectable 36 points for a grand total of 75 for the event to take the Fred Howe Trophy for 2019. Not a bad win for his first Major. Early in the round there was a hint that the wheels could fall off with a gash on the 2nd and a drive OOB on the 4th. The chip in from about 20m out saved the hole.

The card sported quite a few singles but a massive four on the last ball of the day really put the sealer on the result. The birdie that gave him that result was one of eleven for the day and it also scored him the double BallPin on the 18th. This was after some unreliable types forgot to put the marker out on the 15th where it was supposed to be. If you can’t trust the Club executive who can you trust? Then again, SOS was probably distracted by all of the chatter about BitCoin, BrainCoin and so on and so forth with Mehm and Stef. Or, maybe, they just didn’t have time, as they managed to finish at least two holes in front of the next group despite being held up by a group of interlopers after the 13th. They did have to get the bar-be-gue going to make sure that the hordes did not have to wait around for their tucker.

Brendon managed to improve his overall ranking by putting together the second best card for the day and he did express the view that he had let himself down a bit on the back nine. JQ did not appear to have been affected by jet-lag and played right to his handicap to stay level with Brendon and share second place. The flat blade was working well and it was estimated that John had sunk putts totalling 150m in the round which, if anywhere near the truth, was a remarkable result.

Peter was stamping around impatiently on the 17th tee waiting for the bell to be rung (which it wasn’t, much to his chagrin). Not sure if he made the green or not but he did manage to par the hole, which brought his score up to 34 for the day and his event total of 67 placed him third overall. Allan tried to sneak in an extra point on the 16th and he had to be relegated to fourth place as a result. This proved to be a bit of a disappointment for Matt as it meant that Dennis, Rob and Targe dropped back into 5th place to take the last points on offer.

There was a double Jackpot on offer for the ProPin today and it was placed back in its rightful place on the 12th hole, Porks, Harry and Ken agreed to share. Ryan was on line but got it fat and finished short. Harry’s length was good but way right while Ken finished too far to the left. So, it was left to Rob to put his name on the card at 4.3m and Rob didn’t agree to share with anyone.

Now, it seems that Targe had a bit of a dose of the shanks today and each time that he shanked one, the ball headed in the direction of Allan. In the end, Targe wanted Allan to stand near the pin on the basis that that was where the ball would finish. One member did comment that Allan and Thunderbird reminded him a bit of Stephen Hawking. And reports have it that Thunderbird did struggle a bit on some of the wet steeper slopes.

Ryan had a lesson during the week and the swing analysis showed that he had some nasty ‘outside-in’. The fix at the lesson was some alignment sticks. The fix today seemed to be to drop-kick the ball to keep it straight and send it a mile. It didn’t quite work on the 4th with the first OOB on the right and the provisional lost way to the left. Simon (aka Thor) was saved by his recent efforts around the course. His drive on the 12th was in the drink for sure until the ball hit one of his nicely painted red stakes that saved it from the water if not the penalty area. And, Simon didn’t take a lesson from last week and mis-scored on the 18th (again!).

The bar-be-que after was expertly catered by Brendon (or Mrs Brendon maybe) and expertly cooked by Matt and SOS although the onions were a bit beyond it by the time the last group came in. Stef and Mehm watched on while Mehm filled out his footy tips by backing the opposite of what Noodles predicted. Si reckoned it was nice to be fed by two coppers and not be in jail. The voice of experience?

Results for Saturday, 27 July 2019
1st Rodney White(39, 36, 75) 2nd John Quinlan(35, 36, 71) 2nd Brendon Mitchell(33, 38, 71) 3rd Peter Damou(33, 34, 67) 4th Allan Davies(31, 35, 66) 5th Dennis Ward(33, 32, 65) 5th Robert Priems(31, 34, 65) 5th Targe Mifsud(30, 35, 65)

Seniors Results: 1st Allan Davies (31,35,66) 2nd Dennis Ward (32,33,65) 2nd Targe Mifsud (35,30,65) 3rd Bill Eastoe (33,31,64)

Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin12th Robert Priems BallPin No 1 18th Rodney White BallPin No 2 18th Rodney White

As you might expect for the first day of the Fred Howe Winter Cup, the weather was cold. There was a little wind but nothing to freeze your whatsies off. And it was a lovely fine sunny day. With a big trophy and lots of points on offer it is not surprising that 21 members turned up with their hopes high and hoping to keep their strokes low. Trev tried his hand again but, unfortunately, had to call it quits after nine. Let’s hope that whatever it is that is causing the problem settles down soon and Trev can get back to enjoying the game that he obviously loves. So, what of the twenty remaining contenders for the honour and glory. There were lunatics and ballerinas. There were diggers and dealers. And, there were woulders and coulders.

When the umpires took off the bails at the end of day one, Whitey was still at the crease with 81 runs on the board and 39 points to his name to post a handy lead for the opposition to chase. There were a few chances with nicks through the slips cordon but the ever nimble Rod was able to steal a single and keep the scoreboard ticking over. Definitely the one to catch next week.

JQ is flying back in from where ever he has flown out to and so he might have to deal with some jet-lag if he is going to make up the four points that separates him from the lead. The margin might have been smaller had the little fella not taken quite so many singles although he did compensate by snagging a couple of birdies to improve his eclectic and helped us to get to the grand total of six for the day. One of the other birdies for the day was down to Peter and it was an eclectic counter as well and so his lead in the event is even more comfortable than before.

There must be something about the 18th that Simon doesn’t think he deserves a stroke on it as, once again, he (and his marker) sold himself short in the points tally. As a result, Si is now filling third place on the leaderboard on his own. He obviously has hopes of catching the leader as he was spotted heading out for even more practice at the course during the week.

Peter, Damo, Brendon and Dennis have got a bit of work to do but, if they can fill in the gaps that they left in their cards in this innings they could be in there with a chance. Blighty, who just happened to be Simon’s marker, also had a blooper on his card and that separated him from a veritable pack of players one point further back on 31 points. He will probably have to dance to a different tune next week though.

If you can’t trust a senior Committee member, who can you trust. The ProPin was a Jackpot on the 12th and an unnamed Vice-President was detailed to put the markers out. Guess what, he forgot! So, the marker went out on the 18th. Along comes an unnamed President and puts his name on the chit with a distance of 6.45m. Errrmmmm, isn’t there a limit of 5m? Good news everybody, it’s a double Jackpot next week (probably on the 12th, but who knows!). The first BallPin was on the 15th and that went to (who else) Brendon while JQ will just have to be content with the BallPin from the 18th.

Ryan is doing his best to keep the golf ball manufacturing industry alive and the stray count probably goes some way to explain his position on the Leaderboard. The list of MIA includes drive on first, approach on 6th, drive on 14th (*3) OOB. What you would call, not a good result. Noodles reckons that he woulder done a lot better if only he coulder sunk a putt. It’s understandable that he could miss them right and left but how you can miss them centre takes some explaining. Maybe Bob can after one of his reportedly hit dead centre, disappeared from sight only to reappear and finish about 300mm from the hole. Probably hit the bottom of the cup too hard and bounced out. What Bob had to say is probably unprintable.

Rob is thinking of applying for a job on the Underground loop project after taking an absolutely huge divot on the 18th tee that sprayed the whole group with dirt and mud. Matt, who is back for the first time after his knee job was not impressed. It also seems that the surgeon forgot to include the golf swing improvements that Matt asked for. Rob is giving no quarter in his match off with Matt and claimed his win today.

Results for Saturday, 20 July 2019
Leaderboard Round 1: 1st Rodney White(39) 2nd John Quinlan(35) 3rd Simon Powell(34) 4th Peter Damou(33) 4th Damien Lee(33) 4th Brendon Mitchell(33) 4th Dennis Ward(33) 5th Andrew Blight(32)

Seniors Leaderboard: 1st Simon Powell (34) 2nd Dennis Ward (33) 3rd Andrew Blight (32)

Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin18th Jackpot BallPin No 1 15th Brendon Mitchell BallPin No 2 18th John Quinlan