Monthly Archives: December 2023

The BOM was forecasting rain, but the radar looked pretty reasonable as nineteen members ventured out to tackle the first round of the VOM, and, for some, the second round of the Strokeplay Championship. There was a bit of a mizzle, that was just enough to dampen everything down and to make the greens just that little bit slower, which resulted in more than a few putts finishing short of the mark. There were a couple of ‘dry’ breaks, but, just as the first group was finishing on the 18th, they pulled out the plug in the hold below, and the ship was going down. Actually, the other way around. There were a few good impressions of drowned rats to be had as the later groups straggled in with their tales of using chippers and wedges on the greens in, sometimes, vain efforts to loft the ball over the water lying around. There was even a suggestion that Rob’s chipper shot on the 17th actually ‘floated’ as it stopped on the edge of the hole and didn’t fall in. Archimedes would probably have something to say about that!

This was like water off a duck’s back for Pepsi, who managed to sink some long putts despite the water-logged greens to card a one over back nine. And that included the after effects of a draughtie on the 17th tee that resulted in a bogie and beers for the boys. Matt, for one, was certainly relishing the freebie. After a four over on the front, he was able to present to the scrutineers with 73 off the stick and a net score of 67, leaving the rest of the field with a bit of catching up to do next week.

SOS was probably feeling that he was struggling a bit as he turned after nine holes. Only a single par on the 9th and a triple of doubles had used up a fair proportion of the handicap. That par marked a bit of a turning point in his fortunes, and the par tally reached five after the next five holes. It was at this stage that the rain would have set in, and the scoring proved to be slightly more difficult. In the end, he finished up with 85 off the stick and a net of 70 to score second place on the leaderboard. The big question is, can he crash-tackle Pepsi and get his name on this final major trophy for the year?

Harry and Michael were in the lead group, and probably had the pick of the weather conditions. They started out as clubhouse leaders, and held that heady position right until the last group handed in their cards. Harry might have been a bit on the rusty side after his break for a bit of international travel, although he did have a bit of a warm-up during the week of just nine holes. The real disappointments of the round related to some problems with trees on the second, for a quadruple, and the boundary fence on the 8th, for a triple. A very respectable 40 on the back nine restored some pride and resulted in a net of 71 to fit into 3rd place. Michael scored a bogie on the 3rd, and expressed the view that he had displayed all three of the deadly faults in his game in the process. He did manage to pick up four pars out of the next six holes, but he was less than pleased with his 40 off the stick for the nine. Pars on the next seven holes looked to be turning the round into something respectable and competitive, but some poor club choices (according to Michael) and poor putting left him with bogies on the last two to finish two over par on the nine, and tied up with Harry for 3rd place.

Stan is also just back from OS, although he did own up to having played a round (not around, at least that he is owning up to) in England. He rented clubs, and thinks it was probably the same left-handed set that he used some years ago at the same course. His score today was not helped by the shot that placed him in an unenviable, and unplayable, position at the base of a tree. Josh put in a very steady round, but reports suggest that if he can put in some work on his short game, he will be a force to be reckoned with. He was playing the 17th at the height of the downpour, and smashed a putt, only to see it heavily braked by the water to finish less than halfway to the hole. Heart-breaking stuff! ChrisJ creamed his drive from the 11th, only to see it trickle into the pond to the right of the green. As he took his drop, he had a bit of a laugh as Rob found the pond from the 12th tee. In what was probably karma, Chris promptly shanked his drive from the 12th into the pond as well. Brendon had nothing to report, and he probably considers his card to be less than average. Nothing really good, and nothing really bad, just not good enough. He ended up with a net score of 73, which was precisely the same as Stan, Josh and Chris, and they all shared the fourth podium spot for the day. Only one shot further back in fifth place on the leaderboard were a trio of hopefuls in Matt (they’ll let anyone into the Seniors, it seems!), Adam and Raj, with a net score of 74. Something must have distracted Raj in the walk from the 9th green to the 10th tee. When it was his turn to tee off, he thought he had misplaced his ball and walked back to his bag to get it. When he could not find it there, he looked in his hand, and there it had been all the time!

In the Nearest the Pin competitions, somebody chose to put the first BallPin on the 7th on a Black tee day. Undaunted, everybody tried hard, and several ‘almost’ made it. One person did make it, and that was Brendon, who collected another ball for his collection. The second BallPin was on the 18th, and Michael put a hopeful entry on the card, but he was easily knocked off by ‘Mango man’ Ken. Thanks Ken! There was a Jackpot ProPin on the 15th, and Michael made another hopeful entry on the card with his shot to 4.12m. In this case, that distance was enough and the dosh will be coming his way next week as he had to dash off to a five-year-old’s birthday party. He was really looking forward to all the activities at Bounce. The length of the putt was beyond him, and his card did not show any of the feathery blighters today, so the total of six for the team were down to others entirely.

Ken reckons that he couldn’t have bought a putt today, and Gordo claimed to be similarly afflicted. So much so that he was planning to come along with a supply of Weet-bix next week. The only saving grace for Gordo was a couple of pars on the last two holes. CJ bought himself a flash new wedge, and he was out to christen it today, although maybe he hadn’t planned on quite so much water on its head. First use on the second, and, wouldn’t you know it, he chipped it into the hole. The wedge probably wasn’t involved, but on the 15th, his first drive was likely OOB. The provisional definitely was. The second provisional was short of the green, lying five (potentially). The original ball was found in bounds, so the eventual 4 was a very welcome result. CJ also reckons his electric buggy is not well suited for the wet. Despite having ‘wet weather’ tyres, it struggled on the hills, and actually turned turkey a couple of times as he gunned it to keep it moving. Porks had a bit of a shocker on the 16th after he over-shot the green and lost his ball in the long stuff on the bank behind. Anything less than the quadruple would have had him on the podium, at least. Geoff had his ups and downs, but the low-light was probably the draughtie that he scored on the 5th tee.

The Birthday Birdie has been somewhat remiss while fluttering around overseas. Belated wishes therefore to BrentL, Sean and Rajesh over the last few weeks. If there are any others that have missed a mention, consider yourself wished as well.

Results for Saturday, 02 Dec 2023
Leaderboard Round 1: 1st Andrew Petricola (67) 2nd Stephen O’Sullivan (70) 3rd Harry Boughen (71) 3rd Michael Gourlay (71) 4th Stan Blackshaw (73) 4th Josh Hunt (73) 4th Chris James (73) 4th Brendon Mitchell (73) 5th Matt Hunt (74) 5th Adam King (74) 5th Rajesh Mahto (74)

Seniors Leaderboard: 1st Harry Boughen (71) 1st Michael Gourlay (71) 2nd Stan Blackshaw (73) 3rd Matt Hunt (74)

Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 15th Michael Gourlay BallPin No 1 – 7th Brendon Mitchell BallPin No 2 – 18th Ken Watson