Where was everybody? The sun was shining, the birds were singing and all was well with the world. But, a mere fifteen of our members managed to make it to the course to sample the delights of a well manicured Ivanhoe that responded well to the efforts of those that made the effort. The field was actually sixteen as ChrisV brought along his mate Stephen Kelly who is in the process of moving back to Melbourne from the bush and he seems to have been sufficiently impressed to have signed up to join our merry band. So, a big welcome to Stephen and we look forward to seeing you on the tee again soon.
After the shock of seeing the C grade winner in the inside comp last week coming in with no less than 56 stableford points who’d have thought that one of our own put in a good effort at matching that result today. Well, not quite, but Blighty kept the field in suspenders until he came in with the last group (well behind the penultimate group it might be noted) and casually asked what the best score was before going ‘snap’ and slapping down a card bearing the digits four and three and in that order as well. A seven stroke break and the winners penalty have done wonders for his handicap.
The subject of Andrew’s ‘snap’ call was Harry, who possibly might have had a claim to be in some sort of form after five days of golf down the Mornington Peninsula though the courses down there do offer a rather different set of challenges from those at Ivanhoe. For the longer handicappers, the scoring of a par on the first is seen to not augur well for the rest of the round. To score a birdie must surely foretell absolute disaster. But, despite the ill omen of snaring a birdie on the 1st, a very satisfying total of 39 points was the outcome at the end of the round. The birdie count for the field was 11 all up which is not too bad for the smaller field and there were a few improvements to eclectic tallies. There are a couple of members that are within a birdie or two distance of the leader but time is running short as the end of the year looms.
Bill did issue a warning when he returned from injury that he was feeling good and meant business. After the front nine, that seemed to be almost beyond doubt but it was noticed that there were signs of leakage of Valvoline and a smoky exhaust on the back nine, or, as some unkindly put it, he pulled on the handbrake. Whatever the reason, his 22 points on the front veritably slumped to a 15 on the back to take third spot with 37 overall.
Keeping up the theme of Seniors dominating the podium, Gordon came in with 36 to protect his handicap but to miss out on valuable Seniors points which is what needs to happen for him to be rolled in this event. Then, eventually, one of the youngsters got a look in and Noodles captured the last point with his 34. It has been quite a while since the podium has been occupied by only five players.
Despite the number of birdies reported, the accuracy off the tee was not that great when it counted and neither the Nearest the Pin for a ball or the ProPin got to be graced by a name. Rumour has it that ChrisV was actually on the 18th green but didn’t realise that it was the NTP and failed to claim the goody on offer. So the ProPin will be a Jackpot to next week. That should liven up a bit of interest before the November Monthly Medal the week after next.
Simon collected his new artillery from the ProShop this morning and proceeded to the first tee, post haste, to try the driver out. A very fine job it did and continued to do so for most of the round. Any aberrations could only be put down to the nut on the end of the shaft. When Chrispy handed in his card he was asked how it went to which he replied that at least he had enjoyed the company. The Beast claimed that his lesser performance on the back nine was down to the group in front stepping all over his line and causing his putts to miss going into the hole. However, that didn’t seem to be affecting Chrispy who claimed to have sunk the greatest putt of his life on the 14th, a long curling one for his birdie. Given where the hole was placed, anything less than a three putt was pretty good, so a singleton was something special.
Bob played well from tee to green but couldn’t buy a putt for love nor money. Maybe it was down to nerves at the prospect of incoming missiles courtesy of Stefan who managed to run one between Chrispy’s legs from about 300m out. Mehmet used the excuse that he was carrying an injury with his right knee supported by an elastic bandage. He reckons he has done a deal for two titanium knees and another body part (that can’t be specified here) in the same material as a job lot.
Gordon’s good form over the last few weeks has continued and he is torn as to whether to put it down the the benefits of the gouty foot or to the fact that Lisa is away and he is batching. He also espouses the health benefits of liquorice but Stephen was apparently going really well until Gordo handed out the medicinal herbs so he is less convinced of the claimed healthful effects.
The Birthday Birdie notes that Chrispy has a celebration coming up, tomorrow, no less, and Carolyn is taking him somewhere for a ‘special’ occasion. Enjoy your day, Chris.
Only another month of competition for this Club year with the last points for the December Monthly Medal on 28th November. This will also feature the Calcutta auction for the Vin O’Meara. Then straight into the Vin O’Meara with a clean slate in all competitions in the lead up the the Champion of Champions and the break-up on 19 December. Make sure to mark them all on your calendar so not to miss out on the fun and games.
Results for Saturday, 24 October 2015
1st Andrew Blight(43) 2nd Harry Boughen(39) 3rd Bill Eastoe(37) 4th Gordon Hill(36) 5th Stephen Butterfield(34)
Seniors Results: 1st Andrew Blight (43) 2nd Harry Boughen (39) 3rd Bill Eastoe (37)