The weather bureau keeps forecasting rain but it hasn’t come to much for a long time though there appears to have been a very localised down-pour at the back of the second tee. Or maybe the level control on the dam pumps just failed and over-filled the pond. Whatever, it needed a bit of a detour unless you wanted to get your socks wet.
A fairly moderate turn-out of fifteen players on what was a good day weather-wise. Mostly over-cast but with little wind for most of the round and even then it could only be classified as a breeze when it did spring to life. The course was in good condition and got the thumbs up from Rodger who compared it more than favourably with his home turf at Yarrambat. Even the hard tees aren’t as hard and he didn’t have to use his screw-driver once. A strange thing to carry in your golf kit but apparently a necessity at home.
Whether it was Jupiter aligning with Mars or the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, something aligned for Harry today and he put together a pretty respectable round to gather 40 points and lead the field at the half way mark. And Rodger can vouch for the fact that he left a few out there with putts that just pulled up short or just slid by.
Only a shot behind and fire-hose at the ready is Gordon who absolutely destroyed the front nine to rack up 24 points. The rush of blood to his head must have unbalanced him when he added them up as he was pretty shaky for the next six holes before settling to come in with 39 of the best. Gordo managed to chip in twice during the round to upstage Harry who only managed it once but Rodger took the cake holing a monster putt from off the green to snaffle a birdie on the 15th.
Speaking of birdies, there were 13 carded today and one eagle by Mehmet on the 9th. Not sure whether there have been too many of those on that hole and he wouldn’t have even had the pleasure of seeing it go in. And all for only one ball. At least the big bird isn’t too upset given that the clutch wasn’t off the ground yet. Bill had a go for another on the 17th but didn’t quite manage it. Not at all sure how we would have divided the spoils if there had been a double though a quick referral to the Club Rules would have sorted it out.
Next cabs off the rank on the scoring front and by no means out of it are Oliver and Laurie with 37 points apiece. They should have the privilege of fighting it out with Harry and Gordo in the last group next week but Laurie will probably drop back to group second last to share transport with Rodger. Laurie played steadily with just a couple of wobbles mid-round that kept him from a higher placing but he really had his ginger up around the back nine. Oliver seems to have gone into the second-hand golf equipment business with money changing hands between him and SOS for a very fine looking driver. It seems also that SOS is only an inter-mediary and there was no indication of what his mark-up is going to be. Caveat emptor.
Mehmet and Bill came in next on 36 points and managed to rack up three 4 pointers between them. No harm in the medium term to their handicap and still within striking distance of the big trophy and without the pressure of being in the first group though we might have to toss up to see who gets promoted if Laurie drops back. Noodles and Rodger produced 34 points apiece to round out the Claytons Point-scorers for the week.
The third last group will comprise Craig, SOS, RodW, and RodG. And the lead out group and Chef’s hat brigade will include Brendon, MalF and Targe.
Obviously, any new-comers will fill this group and lead out before if extra groups are required.
If you didn’t play this week can you please go on line and indicate your intentions one way or another so that we can hope to get the catering right if nothing else.
The Nearest the Pin for a ball eventually went to Noodles after a certain amount of discussion as to whether anybody was present who had witnessed the event or whether the group had even been aware that the NTP was on the 4th. The ProPin on the 15th was taken home by none other than Mehmet who only just managed to sneak in under the 5m limit. Once again, there were calls for witnesses to the measurement.
Targe owned up the having had a windie on the 13th which probably didn’t cap off a fairly forgettable round for the little fellah. At least it wasn’t a draughtie.
Sharpie was somewhat distracted with the need to dash off at the earliest opportunity and was having no luck with the putter. So much so that he threatened to throw it in the river, if he had been close enough to the river to reach it. Another player who had moments with a club was Whitey who managed to break one on the 11th when it mysteriously came into contact with a tree. Remember Rod, they aren’t as robust as a cricket bat.
Placings after Saturday, 22 March 2014
1st Harry Boughen(40) 2nd Gordon Hill(39) 3rd Oliver Gross(37) 3rd Laurie Mannix(37) 4th Mehmet Akdag(36) 4th Bill Eastoe(36) 5th Stephen Butterfield(34) 5th Rodger Clarke(34)