Well, somebody thought that this event was a Challenge. For some maybe. But on a beautiful balmy, sunshiny Ivanhoe day a couple of our members went out to prove that you don’t need a bag full of clubs to play good golf. The course has dried out quite a bit since last week with nothing in the way of wetness under foot and just a few boggy patches on a couple of fairways. The greens are in good nick except for the pitch marks that thoughtless types don’t repair and they were remarkably fast particularly after the dew had evaporated.
All of this meant little to our joint winners for the day in the persons of Oliver and Ryan. Unfortunately, no pic of Ryan just yet and it was considered a bit cruel to post a pic based on his surname. Oliver ventured out without a putter in his bag but by the end of the round he was questioning whether he should use one ever again having done perfectly wellwith a five iron and racking up two birdies in the process. Ryan put in two very even halves for his 37 points and fronted the judges for his second win since joining the membership ranks. He too is wondering about whether to load himself down with all that extra baggage of a full set of clubs.
Gordon came along with a guest today in the form of his brother, John, and there was a certain amount of discussion as to which had got the looks and which the brains. The consensus seemed to be that it was a draw on both counts. Seriously though, good to meet you John and feel free to tag along anytime and no, you don’t have to play with Gordon every time. Perhaps it was the settling influence of big brother watching but Gordon managed to keep his head down enough to bring home 35 points and he was joined in second place by Mehm who seemed very pleased to be second to get good points but no loss of handicap. This is keeping him in touch with the pack leaders in the Championship Table but he was hoping to get more of a jump on Chrispy who came in one place behind.
There were two in third place on 33 points with Noodles being the other contender. Noodles had his ups and downs out on the course today and perhaps he has been having them somewhere else as well as he was involved in a discussion of the new laws relating to the forwarding of explicit photography. SOS was in on the conversation and quoted something about the 7/11 rule – and it has nothing to do with servo opening hours.
Harry put his years of experience using the Texas wedge on the back-blocks of NSW to good purpose on at least a few occasions to amass 31 of the best and he was joined by the greatest iron player in the known universe (or at least in his own mind, which ever is the smaller) in the person of Busman Craig. SOS on the other hand was not too embarrassed to accept a point for his 29.
The ProPin, which was on a Jackpot from last week was contested on the 4th and Mehm will be able to feed the kid again this week as he was to one to put it beyond a doubt with the ball about 1.6m from the hole. The nearest the Pin for a Ball was supposed to be on the 15th but, no names, no packdrill, Gordon forgot to put it out. The front group thought to try their luck on the 18th but even that eluded them and everybody else. However, given that everybody had been expecting it to be on the 15th and ChrisV certifiably put his drive no more than half a metre beyond the hole on the 15th it was decided that he should be awarded said ball.
Whitey managed to remember that the S(t)imulator draw was to be finalised this week and he called upon our joint winner Ryan to draw the lucky ticket. Wouldn’t you just know it but it was one of Whitey’s that came out of the bucket. A quick check did demonstrate there were at least some other names on the tickets. While on the subject of Whitey, he apparently took six shots with his putter on the 6th. Three to get on the green and three to get it in the hole. Still not bad for the longest hole on the course even if the tee is a bit forward at the moment.
ChrisV also managed to score two birdies so between him and Oliver they racked up four of the ten that were carded today. Gordo’s Bro John put his drive onto the 17th green but it seems that he couldn’t manage the eagle or the birdie putt. maybe he was putting with his driver. Laurie is making his comeback to us now that he reckons the worst of winter is over. He had some ups and downs but the pick of his round was his par on the 13th. His chip from off the green was travelling so fast that it was in danger of finishing halfway up the bank behind but it hit the pin dead centre, just about knocked it out of the hole and the ball dropped in. It’s not how, it’s just how many!
In other news, El Presidente is about to head off on his around the world jaunt and there are rumours that he might even get to play on some hallowed turf at Muirfield while he is away. No birthdays coming up in the next week but it seems that the Birthday Birdie missed the fact that Zimmer got to be another year older last week. Happy Belated Birthday, Zim.
Rules Clarification: As a result of an event on the course today there was some discussion about the rules relating to a ball being moved by an outside agency. The situation was that the ball had been marked, picked up and cleaned and replaced when it rolled from its position off the green and onto the green closer to the hole. The question was, should be ball be played from its new position or should it be replaced.
The relevant rule is Rule 18.1: If a ball at rest is moved by an outside agency, there is no penalty and the ball must be replaced.
Note: It is a question of fact whether a ball has been moved by an outside agency. In order to apply this Rule, it must be known or virtually certain that an outside agency has moved the ball. In the absence of such knowledge or certainty, the player must play the ball as it lies or, if the ball is not found, proceed under Rule 27-1.
A new Exception is added that exonerates the player from penalty if his ball moves after it has been addressed when it is known or virtually certain that he did not cause the ball to move. For example, if it is a gust of wind that moves the ball after it has been addressed, there is no penalty and the ball is played from its new position.
What is clear is the fact that the ball had not been addressed so the new Exception does not apply. What needs to be determined is what qualifies as an outside agency. The R&A specify that in stroke play (as distinct from Matchplay) neither wind nor water are an external agency but says that it is anything other than the competitor, his side’s caddies, balls or equipment. Thus, as there was no suggestion that it was caused to move by the player or other of the excluded causes, gravity, wilting blades of grass and so forth would appear to be outside agencies and so the correct procedure is to replace the ball in its original location.
Had the player addressed the ball however it seems that he would have been entitled to play the ball from its new position without penalty despite the fact that it was closer to the hole. In this situation, if the ball had gained sufficient momentum to reach the hole and fall in, then that would have been miraculous good luck for the player.
Further advice will be sought.
Results for Saturday, 23 August 2014
1st Oliver Gross(37) 1st Ryan Porker(37) 2nd Mehmet Akdag(35) 2nd Gordon Hill(35) 3rd Stephen Butterfield(33) 3rd Chris Priems(33) 4th Harry Boughen(31) 4th Craig Sharp(31) 5th Stephen O’Sullivan(29)