Where we are!
It was the Country’s Day on Saturday 26th January 2019 – Stableford Competition
Australia day long weekend, sunshine, barely a breath of wind, no could ask for a better day on the golf course. There was also some high scoring and as it turns out, it was a battle of the Habibs with Benan and Stef handing in scintillating cards with 41 points each. Stef also managed to go around the course in PAR, scored a run of 4x 3’s from the 2nd to the 5th, blasted a 3 wood off the tee on the 11th to 4 foot to slot an eagle and basically took the course apart. Maybe he was trying to impress his mates who he was playing with, which included George and Kazim who have not been around for a while. Benny also had 5x 3 pointers and 2x 4 pointers and did all this by wearing an even tighter shirt than usual. Very impressive. He also topped his drive on the first which is a regular occurrence of late.
There were reports that Dale was going alright early on and he did in fact have a flyer with 23 points on the front 9. He battled hard to bring it home with 40 points at the end of the day and outright second place. Rob was seen sporting his new Collingwood themed golf bag and it didn’t do him any harm as he played some great golf all around for 38 points. He was also joined by none other than Keith who seems to enjoy the warmer course conditions.
Targe continued his good form and although he is coming off two wins in a row, it did look like it could be 3 from 3 at one stage. If it was another day it may have been the case, but the competitive field restricted him to 4th place and an equal share of the club championship lead. Not a bad effort Targy after your layoff last year, hopefully you can make use of your lower handicap from now on. He was also joined by Damo in 4th who has been looking for a horse to buy on behalf of the club, there goes the money for next year’s punters club trip. Speaking of horses, Noodles was having an up and down day but slotted his birdy putt from just off the 18th green for an even card and 36 points for 5th place. There were a heap of guys missing out on 35 points, unlucky.
There was a bit of confusion about the ball and pro pin holes again today. The 12th was relatively straight forward and Kazim hit a nice shot for a shiny ProV. The 15th was marked as pro-pin, but so was the 18th. Simon had the lead on the 15th with the ball marker a few metres from the hole, but no distance measurement were taken. Simon lucked out as Matt and Damian were close to beating him, but it was decided that the 15th would stand as the pro pin so he came away with the cash. He also slotted the birdie, of which there were quite a lot for the day (18 and 1x eagle). The 18th ended up being a jackpot for next week even though a few ended up on the green, it could not be determined who was closest. There were no reported drafty’s for the day, although the front tees seemed to be in play for most of the holes.
Ryan had a chance of an eagle putt on the 11th too, but ended up with a bogie! His group with Noodles, Targe and Steve ran into a hazard on the 13th green which was in the form of a swarm of bees. They were circulating for quite a while but it did not deter Targe as he swatted a few away as he was walking through to get to his ball. He was later heard complaining that he was stung, but he got a few of the buggers along the way (his words). Along with Stef’s eagle his group were playing for skins, and reports were that he took home over $100. Noodles split his pants and had to run off after the 9th to find a new pair. Somehow there were no tears in Benan’s clothes as he was spruiking “supplements” for the guns after the round.
Friendly reminder that the Jarrod Lyle Charity Challenge is only 2 weeks away, please get behind the event and register before hand for a great day to be had.
Results for Saturday, 26 January 2019
1st Ben Akdag(41) 1st Stefan Belevski(41) 2nd Dale Webb(40) 3rd Keith Delzoppo(38) 3rd Robert Priems(38) 4th Damien Lee(37) 4th Targe Mifsud(37) 5th Stephen Butterfield(36)
Seniors Results: 1st Keith Delzoppo (38) 2nd Targe Mifsud (37) 3rd Simon Powell (35)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin15th Simon Powell BallPin No 1 12th Kazim Akdag BallPin No 2 18th Jackpot
Eagle’s nest Results: Eagle 11th Stefan Belevski
Three minutes seemed forever playing Par on 19 January 2019
With a ProPin Jackpot on the 18th and a nice cool day in the forecast you would reckon you couldn’t go far wrong in tipping a really good turn up. Maybe everybody was saving themselves up for Rob’s birthday bash. Just because it was his birthday is no excuse for not showing. It didn’t worry SteveK who reckons he got some good coaching tips while he was away in Malaysia and planned to celebrate his special day by putting them into practice. Only problem is that he reckons he forgot one part of the three part technique until after the 16th hole. And it probably wouldn’t have worried Jason and Keith who will have to wait a little later in the week to celebrate their shared birthday. Maybe that should be birthdate as there is just a year or two difference in their ages.
Somebody commented on the first tee that Targe had really gotten onto that one. Perhaps this was a portent of things to come even though it did take a few holes for things to really get going and there were a few slashes (but not the splashy ones) along the way. There was a solid run of nine squares in a row and the round finished off with three wins to give the final tally of +2. Targe seemed more than happy that the handicapper was going to take back some of his largesse.
Kim Jong-Ben was out and about today in a very bright orange muscle shirt and could be seen from all over the course. His style didn’t do him much good on the 3rd tee when he failed to reach the red markers and he was spotted happily buying the drinks for his mates. Matt has been on holidays and was a bit hard to recognise with several days of stubble but an impending return to work means that the clean-shaven look is about to return. Maybe he should see Ben’s North Korean barber. Enough about hair, they both got +1 and came in to second place.
Noodles also managed a draughtie on the 3rd after hitting the ball well and truly on the scone. The second wasn’t a lot better but then he scrambled and managed to get away with a bogey. Later in the round there was a small case of equipment abuse when he put his second into the pond on the 16th. His drive suffered a similar fate on the 17th, but despite all that he scored a square card and 3rd place.
Keith claimed a pretty boring round though there were obviously a few moments that allowed him to make a final score of -1. Bob and his marker obviously couldn’t work out (or couldn’t remember) that he got an extra stroke on the 18th and the extra point moved him up beside Keith. Last, but by no means least, Harry and, that son-of-a-gun, Bren rounded out the point scorers with their score-line of -2.
Today was the first day of the new Nearest-the-Pin regime – one ProPin and two BallPins. Gordon shanked one off the tee on the 12th to put his closer than Steve’s who had to have a pace-off with Ryan to get his name on the marker after easily beating Brent. Bob sent his off to the left from the 15th tee and cunningly used the bank to turn the ball back onto the green to finish about a metre from the hole and pin-high. The Jackpot ProPin on the 18th brought on some discussion about sharing but it was all for nought as Allan pretty well had it done and dusted by getting one to 2.6 metres.
It wasn’t all beer and skittles for Allan though. On one hole, he hit the deck so far behind the ball that he near as damn it missed it and it is a moot point whether it actually was the club that moved the ball about 50mm in front of the tee. On the 13th, he trundled back on Thunderbird about 100m to check whether a ball on the fairway was his. The groups behind were wondering whether it was from the shot before.
And while on the ‘not quite’ shots, Trevor managed an air-shot on the 7th. Peter’s drive on the 9th finished in the middle of the 8th fairway courtesy of a branch some 30 metres in front flinging the ball back to finish 30 metres behind. Must have been one of those rubber trees that Chrispy was on about last week. After much chiacking about sharing Jackpots and getting holes-in-one on the 18th and what odds they would give for the latter or even getting onto the green, Steve, Noodles and Porks hit their tee shots short of the green and progressively shorter distances from the tee.
Don’t forget that the new Rules of Golf are in force. It is compulsory to drop the ball from ‘standing’ knee height. If you do drop it from higher than that, you have to remake the drop from the correct height. Also, the search time for your ball is now three minutes only. Yes, some of the grass off the fairway is a bit long but a few of the searches today probably went over the allocated time. A new set of Local Rules (labelled Draft) have been posted on the Notice Board and these include a provision for relief from a lost or out of bounds ball with a two stroke penalty to save the need to return to the tee. This relief is not available for the first ball if a provisional ball has been played. Discussions are ongoing with the management in relation to some of the details of these Draft Local Rules.
Not long now to the Jarrod Lyle Charity Day on 9 February. Don’t forget that this is OUR initiative and it is a cause that deserves great support. There are already some great prizes on offer and negotiations with potential supporters are continuing so it could get even better. Because of members involvement on the day, it was decided that it would not be appropriate to play for Championship Points. Registration through the on-line system is essential and you just have to click on the link on the Next Week Details section of the Home Page or via the Facebook page. Anybody who doesn’t have a GolfLink handicap will be allocated a handicap on the day based on their performance using the Callaway handicapping system. This will be applied to Club and non-Club players alike. All others will play using their Official handicaps.
Results for Saturday, 19 January 2019
1st Targe Mifsud(+2) 2nd Ben Akdag(+1) 2nd Matt Hunt(+1) 3rd Stephen Butterfield(□) 4th Keith Delzoppo(-1) 4th Bob McDonald(-1) 5th Harry Boughen(-2) 5th Brendon Mitchell(-2)
Seniors Results: 1st Targe Mifsud (+2) 2nd Bob McDonald (-1) 2nd Keith Delzoppo (-1) 3rd Harry Boughen (-2)
Nearest the Pin Results: BallPin No 1: 12th Gordon Hill BallPin No 2: 15th Bob McDonald ProPin: 18th Allan Davies
There was Infamy on the course on 12 Jan 2019
A few members are obviously trying to shake off the lassitude brought on by a surfeit of Christmas and other cheer over the last month. As a result there were only sixteen souls fronting to take on our beauteous home turf that has obviously been getting a fair old watering in recent times if the length of grass in some of the off fairway areas is any guide. There was more than a little muttering and tromping around in ever decreasing circles as people tried to spend their three minutes to best advantage. The weather was kind enough to stay fine and in the mid twenties and maybe this went a little way to helping the tally of birdies for the day to reach twelve. Rumour has it that one of Simon’s was something to write about but as that rumour came from Simon perhaps it wasn’t worth writing about.
As the early cards started to roll in and members looked askance when told they were leading the field the question being asked went ‘Was it really that difficult out there?’ Then, in walked Dennis and calmly plonked his card down on the table as if to say, Cop that! And cop that they did with the big four nothing emblazoned in the top right hand corner. And that included a couple of scratches and a couple of singletons. Just imagine what it could have been.
Ryan also scored one gash and three singletons so he could been right up there with Dennis but unfortunately the ‘if onlys’ don’t score you any extra points and so he had to be second with a very creditable second place. He wasn’t there on his patma as he was joined by a shankless SOS who also outdid him with a gash and four singletons. If Only!
Stef was playing with a mate and a mate of a mate and it seems he had a modicum of competition in the long driving department with his mate, Adam, who plays off plus 3 taking a driver and a wedge to the second (the tee was way back) and driving the green on the 11th with a 3 iron. There were also reports of clubs being mis-handled, but Stef still managed to make it to 33 points for the day. Targe was unfazed by the cut to his handicap last week and came in under the ton again to join up with Stef in third place. The bell at the 17th was rung before Targe had cleared the back of the green making him a possible Target but all he really needs is another tee.
Noodles seemed a bit happier with his game today. At least he didn’t complain about how many he left out there. Perhaps his mood was mellowed by the fact that his tee shot on the 12th finished 2.85m from the pin to take out the Jackpot ProPin. When asked if he was going to share, he reluctantly agreed but not if anybody else in the group got closer. JQ is back from his peregrinations and he showed that he hasn’t entirely lost his touch from last year by lining up beside Noodles. He also had a swag of trophies to collect after missing the break-up in December. Damo still couldn’t believe that he was in the points, even if only just, with his total of 30 points that wasn’t helped by balls lost in the long.
The ProPin on the 18th went begging and so there will be a Jackpot carried over to next week. The BallPin was on the 7th and, although Allan tried hard he was beaten out by Stef. At the Committee Meeting, on the basis that the surplus funds that were allocated to the extra ProPin have now run down, the system will be changed so that there will now be just one ProPin that will change location from week to week unless there is a Jackpot and there will be two BallPins, one of which will reside on the 18th while the other will move around. The accumulation in the Eagle’s Nest will revert to the old standard of half a ball per week.
Members seem to be adapting to the new Rules of Golf and our new Rules Official, Damo, will be directing an on-going education campaign as well as being available for determinations and research on questions of rules that arise from time to time. Leaving the pin in for putting seems to have found favour giving rise to the oft heard refrain around the greens, ‘infamy’.
It was very generally agreed that the 12th was a real stinker today and it wasn’t that any of our members had been eating really bad curry or cabbage.
Allan decided to try his fairway wood on the 17th tee and he also decided that he should tee the ball up. Despite a problem with the tee breaking, he still managed to go right under the ball and it headed skyward and landed about a metre in front of the red markers. A close call. Chrispy wasn’t so lucky. He teed off from the 11th and his ball ended pin high on the 1st. It hit a tree so hard that it nearly took out his mates standing behind him on the tee. Chrispy reckoned that it had to have been a rubber tree, the ball came so far back. The crew were trying to claim double, or even triple, draughties as a result on the basis of the number of tee markers traversed.
On the 6th, Simon put one into the trees and, according to reports, it hit at least three before popping back out onto the fairway. Gordo reckons that caused him to four putt the green because he was still shaking his head in disbelief. Dennis sprayed his drive from the 18th a bit and finished nearly on the 9th green. As if to prove that the rest of his round was not a fluke, he chipped onto the 18th and sank the putt for par.
Now, don’t forget that we are hosting the Jarrod Lyle Charity Day at the course on 9th April. Brendon and Simon are doing a great job organising sponsors and there will be lots of fun and prizes to be had. But, you do need to register and pay the registration fee ($55) to secure your place. Just go the the next week details at the top of the web-page and click on the link and you can register and pay in one feel swoop. A great cause and you can help to make it the success that it deserves to be. Sure, you won’t get any Championship Points but, then again, nobody will. If you don’t want to take part but are happy to help out on the day, just contact Brendon or Simon. Many hands make light work, as the electrician said.
Results for Saturday, 12 January 2019
1st Dennis Ward(40) 2nd Ryan Porker(37) 2nd Stephen O’Sullivan(37) 3rd Stefan Belevski(33) 3rd Targe Mifsud(33) 4th Stephen Butterfield(32) 4th John Quinlan(32) 5th Damien Lee(30)
Seniors Results: 1st Dennis Ward (40) 2nd Targe Mifsud (33) 3rd Allan Davies (29) 3rd Gordon Hill (29)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin No 1 12th Stephen Butterfield ProPin No 2 18th Jackpot BallPin 7th Stefan Belevski
Contenders were a bit short for the January Monthly Medal 05 Jan 2019.
Thankfully, the front arrived late yesterday and the temperature promised to be 20C cooler, and it was. A few spots of rain made it to the ground but a band with some reasonable showers held off until after the finish and SOS got only slightly damp as he finished off the bookwork after the presentations. He’d have finished much sooner if Brendon hadn’t been banging on about being owed two balls from the break-up day. If there are any witnesses who can remember the break-up and the after party and can corroborate one side of the story or the other could they contact the nearest Police Station and get the message to SOS.
Anyway, there were fifteen members present to set up a hearty cheer for the clear winner on the day, our esteemed Club Captain, Targe who finally cracked the ton (on the down side) for the first time since his return and came in with a 64 nett. Still a way to go to get back to his old handicap but a good start on getting it back down today.
And, would you get a look at who came in next, with a not-quite-handicap-matching score of 69, none other than Bob and his mate SOS. Bob seemed to like the idea of being able to putt with the pin in the hole while SOS was very happy to report that he didn’t have a single shank for the whole day. The shanks, it seems have migrated, and today they settled in with Brendon, Ben and Pepsi.
Ryan had no problems with the shanks and played a fairly steady round to come into third place on 70. Craig consistently bisected the fairway with his drives but a couple of times inappropriately growing trees created a need to take the safe extra shot. Harry struggled a bit on the front nine by not being able to follow up good work with the driver. However, something of a revival of form on the back brought him home alongside Craig with a card of 71.
Despite his usual claim of having played crap golf, Noodles squeezed into fifth place with his 72.
The BallPin was on the 15th, and, when somebody finally got onto the green it was hotly contested. In the end, the ball went to Mehm who went via the Cape and bounded it down the hill to finish inside Brendon who watched in disbelief from the 16th tee. The first ProPin on the 12th managed to elude being captured and so there will be a Jackpot to next week which sounds as if it might be enough to attract Pepsi back. The ProPin on the 18th was taken out by Porks. Unfortunately, the chit went missing and so we don’t have the distance to report. Also, unfortunately, Ryan didn’t make the putt and so he did not contribute to the rather measly total of 4 that we tallied for the day.
Peter was lining up the drinks today after managing a draughtie on the 14th. Everybody was quite concerned for Keith, with large flocks of ibis on the 6th and 8th fairways. The ones on the 8th obviously knew of his reputation as they took off en masse as he lined up to take his second shot with them between him and the green. Ben’s shot into the 13th took a bit of beating. It hit the bottom part of the path so hard that it bounced over the green, landed on the embankment at the back and ran back down across the green to finish at the bottom edge.
Ben also had a clean up in his garage during the week and decided to donate all of his un-used golf balls to the Club for use in the ball-runs. SOS was one of the recipients of a ball in the run and, when he pulled a ball from the sleeve, he noticed that it was embossed with the name of a Las Vegas Casino and a Million Dollar gaming chip. Turns out, it was a ball that Mehm had brought back from Vegas as a gift for Uncle Ben. Some hard bargaining was required to claim it back from SOS’s clutches.
Daniel had some problems today, particularly from the tee. On the second his tee shot took off vertically and landed in the garden bed, barely in front of the red markers, despite the red and the white being coincident. His nearest relief was out on the first which raised some eyebrows in the following groups. On the 13th, his drive made the most massive ‘lefties’ hook and whistled across the 10th green and missed SOS’s head by millimetres to finish well down the middle of the 10th fairway.
Trevor, started out with us this morning, but, during the front nine he was not feeling all that famous and so he had to withdraw after finishing the ninth. He was able to make his own way home so let’s hope that it isn’t anything serious and we look forward to seeing him back on the cart soon.
Results for Saturday, 05 January 2019
1st Targe Mifsud(64) 2nd Bob McDonald(69) 2nd Stephen O’Sullivan(69) 3rd Ryan Porker(70) 4th Harry Boughen(71) 4th Craig Cameron(71) 5th Stephen Butterfield(72)
Seniors Results: 1st Targe Mifsud (64) 2nd Bob McDonald (69) 3rd Craig Cameron (71) 3rd Harry Boughen (71)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin No 1 12th Jackpot ProPin No 2 18th Ryan Porker BallPin 15th Mehmet Akdag