Never before in the annals of golf at Ivanhoe did so much blood, sweat and tears go into deciding which clubs to put in the bag for the Three Club Challenge. Planning and running six-figure projects paled into insignificance compared to the decision between driver and three wood, six iron and wedge or rescue and putter. But fifteen souls finally bit the bullet, slipped their selection into the bag and came prepared to live with the consequences of their choices. And, despite the difficulties of chipping with a nine iron (who has a problem with that) or putting with a three wood (who’d even think of doing that) the prognostication from last week that it was possible to break your handicap without a bag full of iron-mongery was borne out by the result today. So much so, that a couple of people are seriously considering only taking three clubs up to Numurkah next week for the Annual Challenge.
One of those thinking of this option is none other than Rob who bounced back after handing over his Dad’s trophy to brother Chris a few weeks back and took the first spot easily by a five point margin with 37 of the best Stableford points you could imagine. And, it could have been better but it seems that something went astray at the 4th for a zero and there were a couple of singletons as well. He did crack a birdie to be part of the ten that were carded today and he improved his gross score on the Eclectic card but that was off-set to some degree by his handicap adjustment so he is still a stroke behind Brendon in that event.
Another man who is considering taking only three clubs to Numurkah is Mehmet who continues his run of non-winning by coming in second with 32 points. Whether this was due to him keeping his feet on the ground or that he wasn’t confused by all the numbers on the bottom of the clubs matters for little. If you want to find out how long it is since Mehm has had a first placing you can look it up in the records or you can just ask Mehm. He’s going to have to score quite a few seconds between now and the end of the year if he wants to challenge for the Championship. Right alongside Mehm was the Beast who just about broke Simon’s heart by coming in at the head of the Seniors (again) and in the process increasing his lead in that event. If it is any consolation to the rest of the Seniors, Bill will be away during September (and so will Harry) so there is a big chance to make a move and stake a claim to the top spot.
JohnQ did little but complain the whole way round about how much he hated this event and how he was going to take over the Presidency next year and get it dropped from the program. Just to keep him in his place, Chrispresident kept dropping bits and pieces of his gear (putter cover, glove, towel etc etc) and used him as his chief picker-upper. So driven to distraction was John that at one stage he only had one club left in his bag. He hadn’t broken them, they had just gone walk-about. Anyway, believe it or not, after all that, John scored 29 points and collected a third placing for them. Just goes to prove that you should never ever lose heart.
Michael was persuaded by Chrispy that he should try out the Volvik brand that has become a bit of a favourite with Chris because/despite it being one of the top balls on the Ladies Tour. Michael was also in possession of a new putter with a nice fat grip that was meant to turn his game around. The ball lasted two holes before it was retired and replaced by a Bridgestone but there was little option available to retire the putter. Still, it did have its moments and Michael managed to birdie the 11th which is one that he wanted for his Eclectic card. Twenty seven points was enough on the day to score a couple of Championship points with 4th place. Harry struggled a bit for distance with his club selection but he did manage a few chip/putt-ins to scrabble together 26 points and another 5th place to his tally.
What are we supposed to do? The first group included the Social Secretary and the Club Captain who were charged with putting out the Nearest the Pin paraphernalia. The BallPin was slated for the 4th but when the second group came through there was nothing to be seen. Eventually, the ball marker showed up on the 15th but there was no container with the name cards to be found. It seems that Gordon was so excited to put his name on the slip that he put the container back in his bag instead of by the green. Fortunately, somebody put it closer than he had and we weren’t left wondering who in the heck had made it to the green. The lucky camper was none other than our comp winner, Rob. The ProPin was on the 12th (where it was supposed to be). Simon got very excited and assured everybody the he had heard the ball hit the pin and it could easily have gone in. Not that it was Simon who had hit the ball. In the event, the ball finished 0.89m past the hole and the man that was able to have his name put onto the card was Michael who is now thinking of retiring and living on the proceeds after taking our Double Divvie and the inside ProPin last week. However, Michael did inaugurate a new twist to the ‘draughtie’ by shouting his playing companions after leaving his putt further from the hole than his ProPin marker (plus he missed the up-hill back).
While on the subject of draughties, one group reported that they could have had three in two holes from one player. No names, no pack-drill. Trevor opted to try to putt with his three wood and mostly it didn’t really come off. Trev reckons he had at least fifty putts in his round. Bob opted for his hybrid as a putter and for starters it gave him all sorts of trouble but then he seemed to develop a bit of a knack for it before he eventually got a bit knackered and lost it again.
Brendon was reported to have lost interest part way around and helped to keep his companions amused by doing Ray Warren impersonations while commentating on the progress of play. Chrispy was up to his usual tricks and using the trees to advantage to put his ball back into play. Somewhere on the 11th he managed to skull one and collect a tree pretty much dead centre but if the tree hadn’t been there he would have killed Rob for sure the ball was travelling so fast. Luckily Rob was behind the tree and not in front of it. While on the subject of killing things, there was a magpie on the ground in front of the 18th green and the Beast nominated that he was going to have a go at hitting it as it might be the one that has been stealing dim-sims etc from people’s mouths. He didn’t, but it was apparently a close run thing.
ChrisV wasn’t here today so no slaps on the back and shouts for him. However, the Birthday Birdie does have a bit to do this week with JohnQ and Zimmer in the frame for a bit of a celebration.
The Annual Challenge is on at Numurkah next week-end and we have sixteen or seventeen going up and the competition looks like being fierce. Chrispy swears he is going to behave himself and the garden beds are quite safe. The handicaps for the weekend will be posted on the website under the Competitions sub-menu. Players without a GA handicap will be given one based on their Ivanhoe cards, suitably adjusted for the slope difference between the two courses.
For those not going to Numurkah, there are some slots reserved at our usual time and you are more than welcome to play a social round. Please advise if you are going to play so that we can give the Course management an idea and also so that you can be credited with an attendance for a Social round.
Simon is looking for interest in extra shirts with a long-sleeve option and if he can get a few more orders for caps, that will help to keep the costs down. Reply to Simon’s e-mail to show your interest.
Results for Saturday, 13 August 2016
1st Robert Priems(37) 2nd Mehmet Akdag(32) 2nd Bill Eastoe(32) 3rd John Quinlan(30) 4th Michael Gourlay(27) 5th Harry Boughen(26)
Seniors Results: 1st Bill Eastoe (32) 2nd Harry Boughen (26) 3rd Bob McDonald (23) 3rd Gordon Hill (23) 3rd Simon Powell (23)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin 12th Michael Gourlay BallPin 15th Robert Priems