Where we are!
Is ‘Don! Is good! on 25th May, 2024
Since the forecast clear skies overnight did not eventuate, the air temperature was not particularly low as seventeen hardy souls gathered to do battle once more at Ivanhoe, if not at Agincourt. Some other (fool)hardy souls were noted lining up on the first with a torch to illuminate the tee area and their mobile lights trying to follow the ball flight out into the darkness. Fortunately, we were able to wait a bit longer, and needed no artificial aids to start the round. There were some who thought that there should have been preferred lies, and the occasional ball did carry a spot of mud, but generally the course was firm underfoot, although the air was considered by some to be so ‘heavy’ that you had to take an extra club. One player reported a slightly plugged ball, and there was a fairly general feeling that the scoring potential could only be classified as ‘average’.
Just goes to show how wrong you can be! After laying waste to the course last week in a mad dash to try to take the David Ford trophy last week, Brendon made the handicappers job an easy one by scoring four on ten consecutive holes to take the turn with twenty-two points on the card from just one stroke over the card. The back nine looked to continue in the same swash-buckling style until a couple of bogies knocked a bit of the pace off. Despite this very minor aberration, he added another nineteen points on the back to break his (adjusted) handicap by five strokes again. To mangle the old adage, ‘no gain, no pain’, and he will have to try just a little harder next week to try to reproduce that margin. If he had saved one of those bogies, he would have produced an equal PB (70).
Now, when you go out in one of the front groups, you complete the front nine just two strokes over par, then you follow that up by matching par on the back nine to produce a card with forty points as the total, you could be forgiven for thinking that you had the day pretty well sewn up. As the rest of the field trickled in, there seemed to be little afoot to disabuse him of that thought. But, unfortunately, it was not to be and Porks was left wondering and ruing that bogie on the last to tie for top, or even that double on the 9th, that could have won him the day. Or maybe, it was that he got so conservative on the run home that he used an iron from the tee on the 17th. One fewer strokes would have been an equal PB (69) as well.
Raj was quite content sitting as Clubhouse second, as he knew he would be exempt from any winner’s penalty, but he would have liked to get the extra points in his pursuit of Michael up the Championship Leaderboard. What he did do today, though, was to absolutely decimate his personal best round with the Club, dropping it by three strokes from 80 to 77 on his way to a very handy thirty-nine points and third place on the podium. One feature of his round was sinking about an 8m putt on the first to score a birdie, and he then went on to make a mockery of the suggestion that birdie on the first was a bad omen.
Whitey’s horse seems to have a propensity to ‘choke’, but the same can’t be said for Rod. There’s no need for tongue-ties when you can put together a pair of 18 pointers to gather thirty-six for the round to get fourth place, and leave your new handicap untouched. And, he only used his ‘driving’ putter once to get from behind a tree on the 5th. CJ, the best putter in the Club, wasn’t too happy about his performance with the flat stick early in the round, although he was also a bit mystified as to how straight he was hitting his driver off the tee. He made the turn at sixteen, and made a fist of getting pars on holes that gave him a stroke on the back. A couple of bogies on holes not giving him strokes caused some mutterings, but a creditable nineteen points on the back made thirty-five for fifth place.
We had a flurry of matches played today. JQ took on Brent with four strokes to play with. Brent took the first hole, and they traded holes, more or less turn about over the course of the front nine, and started the back with Brent still being one hole to the good. A win for JQ on the 10th squared things up, and he took the lead ever so briefly on the 12th. Neither could get the jump until the 16th when JQ’s nerve seemed to fail him and Brent finished the match on the next hole 2 and 1. Matt took on Gordo while having to give away five of the best. Gordon didn’t need any to take the early lead, but he was unable to build on it, and Matt was winning the head-to-head holes. The match went dormie 3 at the 15th, so Gordon was faced with the prospect of having to win his way home to have a chance. Seeming to be up to the task, he chipped in for birdie on the 16th, which brought the match back to dormie 2. The 17th was just a bridge too far, and a square handed the match to Matt 2 and 1.
Whitey was taking on Raj in another five stroke match, with Whitey being the recipient. What Rod hadn’t counted on was coming up against somebody on a mission to play their PB round. Fortunately, Rod’s game was not too far off song, and he managed to keep Raj under control, and pulled the match back to square at the 11th. After the 12th, Raj pulled away again, and at the 16th the match was dormie 2. Rod won the 17th, and they went to the 18th just one hole in it and there was every prospect of a chip-off being required. Unfortunately, Rod could only square the hole, and the match went to Raj, one up. The final ‘match’ was between the ‘Don and Goulash. Michael trudged in, claiming to have played his worst round ever, while, as we know, Brendon had gone close to playing his best round ever. The result was, shall we say, carnage, and Michael was only able to win one hole and square a few, to finish the match seven down and six holes to play.
The ProPin today was a Jackpot on the 4th, and it looked as if it might hold out to go Double next week. But, JQ was able to get one on the green, and within the required distance at 3.48m to get a handy little pay-out, even if not quite enough for a slab as CJ so succinctly put it. The BallPin on the 12th was hotly contested, with a range of ‘icons’ adorning the card alongside names of contenders. In the end, it was Brendon’s smiley face that won the ball. Brendon was feeling pretty pleased that he had put one to 2.55m on the 18th to be in contention for the ball and the inside ProPin, so he was rather disappointed to be told that he had been knocked off for both by Craig, who did not reveal his measurement, although there is a fair chance that it could appear on the ProShop results sheet.
Targe managed to stay out of ‘tail-end-charlie’ spot today, although not by much. He also suffered the ignominy of having an ‘air swing’ with his putter after it hit the ground behind the ball, and, as a result, passed clean over the top of the ball on the 14th. As compensation, here is a big birthday wish for today from the Birthday Birdie and all the Club. Stan will have to wait a couple of days before he, too, gets a chance to blow out the ever-increasing number of candles. Happy Birthday, matey!
For somebody who was, until recently, Club Captain and Chair of the Rules Committee, Matt was reported to have taken significant liberties with the interpretation of OOB on the basis of lack of stakes to define the area. Whether this ‘liberty’ affected the result of the match he was involved in is thus open to question and could result in litigation later in the tournament. Just as CJ was mystified by the straight drives he produced today, Harry was similarly confounded by a number of shots with a draw bias. However, more of a problem was the number of shortish putts that missed by a whisker, although he did manage to avoid putting altogether on the 6th by producing a chip that ‘never looked like missing’ according to CJ. That was just one of the ten birdies that the assembled members could produce for the day. Craig also reported problems with getting putts to sink, which can be difficult when you leave them short of the hole. Brent deemed himself lucky that he was left-handed as he played a ball balanced precariously on the very lip of the bunker on the 6th.
Results for Saturday, 25 May 2024
1st Brendon Mitchell (41) 2nd Ryan Porker (40) 3rd Rajesh Mahto (39) 4th Rodney White (36) 5th Chris Priems (35)
Seniors Results: 1st Rodney White (36) 2nd Chris Priems (35) 3rd Matt Hunt (33)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 4th John Quinlan BallPin No 1 – 12th Brendon Mitchell BallPin No 2 – 18th Craig Cameron
The Don and SoS on fire!
The ghost of a 29 year year old Mehmet was with us as we teed off today. Harry the magican statistician had confirmed earlier in the week that Mehmet’s second round 42 points in the 2012 Stuart Clarke (the equivalent of 6 up in a Par comp) was probably the the best ever come from behind win in an Ivanhoe major (subject to Allan Davies checking a few pre-Harry records).
Who might “do a Mehmet” in the 2024 David Ford, maybe Gordo from -2 (4 strokes back) or Raj from 5 strokes back or maybe Adam from 6 behind. Or would one of the front runners double up with another good round and blow the field away, maybe Chrispy, Prez Priems or Charles?
As it happens, “the Don” Brendon turned up with a determined look in his eye. While David Ford was famous for playing with clubs that were “as old as Bradmans” Brendan had the new 2024 Taylor Made Qi10 driver in his bag and was frightening his playing partners with how far he was hitting it.
As the round progressed Brendon looked most likely of the come from behind contenders. 4 up after 9 (1 over off the stick) and brimming with confidence, Brendan stepped up on the 10th tee and cracked his drive onto the green, only problem being it was the first green.
The back 9 was not quite so hot as the front and after a missing his par on the 18th (for which he had a stoke this week but won’t next week) Brendan signed for +5 on the day (and one shy of Mehmet’s 2012 + 6) and a +2 total for the two rounds. Would it be enough?
If you saw Chrispy play the first 3 holes you would have said no way. 2 up after 3 to add to his +1 opening round and Chrispy was flying. Charles had started poorly. SoS carded three wipes in a row on holes 2, 3 and 4. Prez Priems was hanging in there early and it looked like it might be game on for a fight between the brothers.
Meanwhile in the group ahead Craig was back to his Old Reliable ways. After a square round last week he hit the turn this week at +2 and looked a contender.
But beware the SoS! Perhaps fired up by Scottie Scheffler taking on a traffic cop and coming off second best, SoS rebounded with plusses on the 8th and 9th and then added two further plusses at 10 and 11 (the 11th was a birdie, one of 11 across the field today).
Add a near hole in one at 15 and a miraculous par at 17 after his first was found in the pond (no problems, just chip it backwards out of the pond, pitch it over the pond from a downhill lie onto the green and roll in the putt). SoS’s back 9 of 36 off the stick saw him sign for +3 this week and +5 overall, a comfortable 3 stroke winner.
Something of a David Ford specialist, this is the third time SoS has his name engraved on the trophy after wins in 2011 and 2018. He joins Peps as a three time winner. For those interested in checking out past winners of our majors, head to the Honour Board section of the website.
Brendon’s +2 overall earned him second place points followed by Prez Priems and Michael on -1 sharing third place, Craig in fourth on -2 and a gaggle of 5 players sneaking in fifth place points on -4, Harry, Adam, Chrispy, Charles and Raj.
Chrispy and Charles suggested that the pace of play of their group was super quick (and putting pressure on the old timers in the group ahead) because they were so often “picking up.”
Chrispy managed 4 losses in a row from holes 4 to 7 and another three on the trot on holes 10 to 12. Often this involved some arguments with trees. There is reported to be a tree on the 16th that is only just still standing after Charles hit it three times in a row.
Raj’s was a commendable performance after sleeping in and nearly missing his tee time. Harry recovered well from a buggy accident soon after hitting off on the first tee, when the buggy and St. Kilda bag hit the deck and proceeded to do whirly gigs like a stricken helicopter, writhing around in circles on the ground before order was restored.
Harry made a brilliant up and down par on the first, and an even better one on the 7th from out on the 6th fairway. If not for SoS on the 17th that would have been par of the day.
Adam’s square card today suggests his form is on the way back. In between wipes on holes 1 and 2 and 16 and 17, he played holes 3 through 15 in 4 up. Watch out for Adam in coming weeks.
Bobby’s highlight of the day was on the 7th when his tee shot with a driver found the green within about 10 feet. He missed the birdie but was a clear winner of the ball on offer there. On the 18th, Bobby nearly won a second ball, but SoS knocked him off by the proverbial bee’s dick. The money hole on the 4th was a no contest. Jack Pot by a mile. With the tee well back on the 4th and that tree still not yet poisoned, Jack Pot was always a likely outcome.
Of the other players today, Steve worked his way into form with a +3 back nine after going -6 on the front. Porks managed a +1 back 9 (par off the stick) including 2 “wasted” strokes birdying holes he had a stroke on (10th and 16th).
Gordo’s golf game was perhaps suffering from Treasurer’s curse (SoS reckons being freed up from Treasury responsibilities has helped his game).
However Gordo deserved plenty of credit for the quality of snags and burgers on the BBQ (top buying effort Gordo) but his score was 14 worse than Mehmet’s in 2012.
Ken had another golfing day he’d rather forget but his effort as chief BBQ cook was most appreciated by all.
Porks also chipped in on the BBQ. Big thanks to Gordo, Ken and Porks for the feed!
Our next major is the Fred Howe Winter Cup in July, where Brendon will be defending champion. In the meantime there are eight weekly events, including two monthly medals.
Results for Saturday, 18 May 2024
1st Stephen O’Sullivan (+2, + 3, + 5) 2nd Brendon Mitchell (-3, + 5, + 2) 3rd Michael Gourlay (-1, □, -1) 3rd Robert Priems (+2, -3, -1) 4th Craig Cameron (□, -2, -2) 5th Harry Boughen (-2, -2, -4) 5th Charles Gibbs (+1, -5, -4) 5th Adam King (-4, □, -4) 5th Rajesh Mahto (-3, -1, -4) 5th Chris Priems (+1, -5, -4)
Seniors Results: 1st Michael Gourlay (-1, □, -1) 2nd Craig Cameron (□, -2, -2) 3rd Chris Priems (+1, -5, -4) 3rd Harry Boughen (-2, -2, -4)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 4th Jackpot BallPin No 1 – 7th Bob McDonald BallPin No 2 – 18th Stephen O’Sullivan
Artistic Genius
Whitey has always been known to look on the Brightside of life (especially so these past few years) and lately he has been adding a bit of Artistic Genius to his game.
His miracle par on the 16th, playing a perfect third from under the big tree on the right and then rolling in the putt with his trusty new putter was, a bit like Rory at the Wells Fargo this week, pure genius.
Despite missing opportunities to plus the final two holes, Whitey’s +5 was good enough to street the filed by 3 strokes or in racing parlance, by 3 lengths easing up on the line. It could have been Cranbourne under lights on a Friday night.
Speaking of which, Whitey’s Artistic Genius will take him to Flemington next Saturday, so his stellar round won’t be a factor as the rest of the field lines up for Week 2 of the David Ford Autumn Cup. As it happens, he was ineligible for the major trophy anyway, having not played with us during the previous month.
Next time Whitey plays with us and not his other mates at Heidelberg, your assistant apprentice handicapper (who marked his card and nearly choked on his Weeties when he saw Whitey off 19) is pleased to say his Ivanhoe handicap will be a bit closer to his GA handicap of 16 and more in keeping with his golfing talents.
The leading contenders heading into Round 2 of this year’s second major (third if you count the 2023 Vin O’Meara as part of this season) are Prez Priems and SoS on +2. Charles and Chrispy on +1 are close on their heels, along with Craig (square) and Michael and Dan on -1.
It’s a bunched field and you wouldn’t rule out Harry and Gordo (who won best cap/hat of the week) on -2 or Raj, Targe or the “the Don” Brendon on -3. Indeed Adam on -4 and Ken on -5 might even be a chance from only 7 shots behind, although you would probably rule out this week’s NAGAs – and next week’s BBQ cookers – Porks and Bobby on -7. Harry what is the biggest ever come from behind victory in a major?
Dan’s friend Nicholas joined us as a guest and while he was reluctant to show his card for the blog, claiming he had just had one of his worst rounds ever, his GA handicap of 23 suggests he will have better days at Royal Ivanhoe in future.
Unfortunately we will be missing Dan soon for six months as he is heading off to Shepparton for work. In late July, Charles too will be heading off, in his case for a stint in London.
Meanwhile they both nearly celebrated holes in one this week. Charles shot to the Propin money hole on the 12th finished 26cm from the pin and so nearly went in. Dan’s to the top tier pin on the 18th finished 34cm away.
Ken was a bit stiff to get done for the ball on the 18th having also hit a great shot to the top tier. Earlier Harry and Craig had their name on the sticky note, albeit on the bottom tier.
On the 15th, not for the first time, Gordo was claiming being robbed for a shot much closer the hole than the ball winner, but an inch off the green. Porks was an inch on the green right at the front. With the pin at the back, Pork’s ball win there might break records for the longest ever. There is no truth in the rumour he was considering donating his ball to Gordo as a gesture of goodwill.
Harry sunk the putt of the day from the front of the 7th. With the pin at the far back left and on a downhill slope it was said Harry’s putt never looked like missing and dropped neatly into the hole. Harry talks in metres but I think of putts in feet and if we are talking yards, it was definitely longer than a cricket pitch, so let’s say 70 feet.
SoS hit his drive on the 13th onto the 10th fairway. After surveying a few options for his second, he took on the hero shot to thread the needle through the trees with some left to right needed to get near the green. When he hit it he wasn’t sure exactly where it went and yelled “fore” and his playing partners all ducked and nobody was quite sure where it went. SoS thought it was going to be short right of the green but after lots of searching no ball was the found there. Nobody had thought to check the green, but a quick ball count revealed that’s where SoS’s ball was and two shots later it went in the books as a very handy four a plus.
No sign of Jack Pot this week but Jack Russell was busy on the third enthusiastically running to Chrispy’s drive, picking it up neatly off the deck and without breaking stride heading off proudly towards the green and its owner. The embarrassed owner explained the situation to the group ahead on the green and big brother Priems stepped in to get the situation sorted. The ball was deposited back down the fairway (some say in a slightly better position than where it originally was) and Chrispy had no trouble from there making his four a plus.
Whether it was under rule 9.6 (which applies if the ball had come to rest when the dog picked it up) or 11.1b (if the ball was still moving when the dog picked it up) the procedure is similar, basically put it back as close as you can to where it was when the dog grabbed it (under 11.b you can take a club length as well if you want) and if you’re not sure of the exact spot, an estimate is fine.
Next week’s Round Two should be huge and with a bit of luck, we will see some more Artistic Genius on the course, on the BBQ afterwards, and at Flemington.
Results for Saturday, 11 May 2024
Leaderboard Round 1: 1st Rodney White (+5) 2nd Robert Priems (+2) 2nd Stephen O’Sullivan (+2) 3rd Charles Gibbs (+1) 3rd Chris Priems (+1) 4th Craig Cameron (□) 5th Michael Gourlay (-1) 5th Dan Marie (-1)
Seniors Leaderboard: 1st Rodney White (+5) 2nd Chris Priems (+1) 3rd Craig Cameron (□)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 12th Charles Gibbs BallPin No 1 – 15th Ryan Porker BallPin No 2 – 18th Dan Marie
Did lightning strike twice on 04 May 2024.
We went close to having a misty start this morning. The cloud appeared to hover just above the tree-tops, and, although the jackets and neck-warmers were out, there were hopes that the sun would eventually break through. It didn’t, and the jackets and neck-warmers were still in evidence at the end of the round. There were fourteen members present, and Charlie (who was accused of not having any friends) brought along his Dad, Steve, and Raj brought his good buddy, Richard, as guests. The ground staff had been busy during the week and had sanded the greens with a particularly sticky batch of sand, that, with a bit of moisture, stuck like you know what to a blanket. Which might go a little way to explaining why we could only rattle in 3 birdies for the day.
After last week’s effort of taking out both the outside and inside comps, Raj had a bit to say about the fact that he had lost a stroke for inside as well as for outside. Perhaps he was inspired to show off in front of Richard, but he did manage three double bogies in the course of the front nine. He then put his head down and bolted for home, recording par on seven of the remaining nine holes. A minor explosion on the 13th for a triple meant that he finished the half, four over the card, to produce a final tally of 67 net. This was enough to break the heart of Prez, who had been clubhouse leader for some time, and Raj was the clear winner of the May Monthly Medal. And he will be able to have something to say again next week about losing a stroke (with us, at least) off his handicap.
Now, Rob was all keen to get a win up his sleeve, only to be foiled at the last minute. Not only because he was beaten by Raj, but also because he was tied by JQ. Their scores of 69 would have necessitated a countback to determine the winner of the Medal. It didn’t come to that, but, between you, me and the gatepost, Rob would have prevailed. They both had birdies to their name, so it was mostly a little blow up by JQ on the 13th that made the difference. Bob started his round with a par on the 1st, and immediately declared it a bad omen. The next couple of holes turned out OK, and then he lined up on the 4th, muttering that this hole always brought him undone. The tee shot finished on the down slope at the front of the tee box, inducing more muttering about the injustice of it all. Despite this, he kept producing his fair share of bogies and doubles, and capped it off with a couple of pars in the home stretch. His final score of net 70 brought him home in third place, and top spot in the Seniors. SOS managed to put together a pretty fair front nine, that was helped to some degree by a chip-in for par on the 2nd, which is no mean feat, although the whites were not back on the bank. The back nine was not quite so spectacular, but he also finished net 70, to tie for third with Bob.
Craig has been using a cart as he recovers from his recent indisposition, and, today, he was sharing with Targe. At the end of the round, they were still speaking and there were no (visible) scars, so all seems to have gone well, although the did complain about being cold and wishing the sun had come out. Probably, the lack of exercise. Craig managed to come home with a net score of 72 to grab a couple of points for 4th place. He did admit to having a bit of assistance on the 18th, when his drive finished on the top deck to the hole on the bottom deck. Very conveniently, an earlier player had putted from the same spot and the track down the slope was still visible. Using this as a guide, Craig’s ball rolled straight towards the hole, but stopped, an agonising 50mm short. Craig wasn’t sure whether to bless or curse the sand build up, for if it hadn’t happened, the ball could easily have finished off the green. Adam has been AWOL for a few weeks, and he was claiming a bit of rust as he lined up on the first. It must be said that the first shot of the day did not inspire confidence. However, he did manage to scramble for a bogey, and put together a bit of a mixed bag for the rest of the round, and he also finished with 72 for a couple of points as well.
Blighty put in a bid to become an honorary Priems after making use of trees to keep his ball in play on at least four occasions. Whether this happened on the couple of holes where he had quads was not revealed, but, despite this, he still managed to bring home a net score of 73 to slot into 5th place. He did have at least one worthwhile shot on the 4th, where he put it on the green close enough to win the Jackpot BallPin. Brendon left himself some long putts today, often the result of less than well executed chips. It was speculated that he was doing it on purpose after he had rattled in several long’uns early in the round. He was particularly pleased with his putt to get birdie on the 5th. Eclectic, says Brendon. And it does bring him within easy striking distance of the lead. There was a Double Jackpot ProPin on the 15th, which went close to becoming a Triple, if it hadn’t been for Raj in the last group, who snuck one in to 4.0m to collect the pool on offer. On the 18th, the only contender for the BallPin was Adam.
There was a result in the Matchplay determined today, although it could hardly be called a match. Harry had to take on Bob, with thirteen shots to be handed to Bob. As it turned out, Bob only needed ten of them. Bob got an early start with his par on the 1st, and Harry managed to hold on to some hope by squeaking in squares on the next five holes. Equal scores on the 7th gave Bob two holes and an OOB for Harry on the 8th kiboshed his chances there, and they reached the turn with Bob three holes to the good. A double run in with the penalty area on the 13th and a double figure score for the hole made the match dormie 5. Faced with pushing you know what uphill, Harry was not able to win even the 14th, and the match went to Bob, 6 and 4.
CJ reckons he was playing under duress today with a condition that he doesn’t want publicised. However, it did not stop him cutting some disco moves on the 15th green as he tried to exert some ‘body English’ on the results of his putt. The boogie bug seems to have been contagious, as brother, Prez, was also moved to try the technique. People were keeping a wary eye on Harry today as he turned out with a brand new WMD (weapon of mass destruction) in the form of a motorised buggy. Despite a couple of hairy moments, there was no damage or injuries inflicted on man nor beast. He was a little disappointed, though, after a number of people had commented during the week about how much using one had helped their game. The Birthday Birdie has a little flutter today to wish a happy one to Geoff.
Second Major of the year coming up next week – David Ford Autumn Cup. It is a Par competition, but don’t let that put you off. It isn’t any more difficult than any other format. Another good reason to take part is that there will be a Club barbecue for lunch after the second round on the 18th. And remember, if you aren’t in it, you can’t win it!
Results for Saturday, 04 May 2024
1st Rajesh Mahto (67) 2nd Robert Priems (69) 2nd John Quinlan (69) 3rd Bob McDonald (70) 3rd Stephen O’Sullivan (70) 4th Craig Cameron (72) 4th Adam King (72) 5th Andrew Blight (73) 5th Brendon Mitchell (73)
Seniors Results: 1st Bob McDonald (70) 2nd Craig Cameron (72) 3rd Andrew Blight (73)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 15th Rajesh Mahto BallPin No 1 – 4th Andrew Blight BallPin No 2 – 18th Adam King