The season is in wind down mode. This year’s golf season, that is. You could be forgiven for imagining that the weather is also in wind down mode if not wind back. After a couple of beautiful days during the week it was out with the winter gloves again today and the couple of glimpses of the sun did little to lift the temperature or the spirits. Twenty players set out to try their hand a collecting the next to last trophy up for grabs in individual competition for this year. For better or for worse, nineteen players finished on the 18th. One player handed in his chips on the 17th after his ball could not be found and he couldn’t be bothered walking back to the tee. That’s the trouble with being honest. Most people would have declared that it was most likely in the hazard and taken the penalty with the hope of an up and down from the far side of the pond. As it turned out, the group in front had heard the ball enter the water and so Brendon could have finished the round quite legally by taking the penalty.
But the Birthday Birdie obviously arrived early for Craig and presented him with a gift, albeit a couple of days early. Craig kept his head down and his eye on the ball and the putts kept falling in. As the saying goes, you drive for show but you putt for dough and very often that is the main difference between an average round and a good one – the putts keep dropping. Well done Craig, a bit late to challenge for the Championship but you are now a very worthy contender for the Champion of Champions event. A couple of birdies along the way helped a bit with the Eclectic though the handicap change cut a bit of the gloss from that. Brendon still has the lead in this event and with only three rounds to go, he might be a bit hard to bring down but it is not impossible. And, while thinking of birdies, there were a total of 17 altogether today, which is not a bad number considering the windy conditions and the diabolical placement of some of the pins.
It seems that Ed has given up work and is embarking a new career as a golfer if the fact that he is taking lessons and is playing up to five times a week is any guide. Also, he says as much himself. So, it is not surprising that Ed played exactly to his handicap today and he had to take a four putt on the 18th to do it. Maybe it was the wind, but a quick survey after the game showed that at least four other people managed to achieve that not particularly bragg-worthy land-mark. Ed looked as if he was going to tear the course apart after starting with 3 birdies in the first four holes even though he did have to sink a 20m putt to get one of them. Ed also managed to collect the ProPin on the 12th today with a shot that put him 4.35m from the hole. Not a bad dividend given that it was a jackpot from last week and it was Double Dollars for today.
Simon is also putting in some hard yards to improve his game. He now has a membership card for IPGC and is skiving off from work a couple of times during the week to fit in the nine holes or so before his mid-morning meetings. The effort seems to be paying off with him striking the ball well and consistently, except maybe for the 16th where a poor drive and a run in with the water hazard from the second shot made all the difference in the final result.
Joe has been checking and double-checking that he has qualified for the Monthly Medal and so it was expected that he would be out there putting in his best shot to take the top spot. Unfortunately, Joe will have to wait a little longer after the putter let him down on a couple of occasions. So it was only 4th place today alongside Stefan who didn’t drive any greens today but he did go close to sinking an approach shot on the 4th by means of a ricochet Not sure what the obstacle was but this was after Jason had chipped in and Gordon’s ball went past the hole and then rolled back and fell in. It definitely was not back-spin. Estimates of the time taken for the ball to fall vary widely but Gordon is quite confident that the time frame was within the Rules of Golf.
Now comes the man that a few were hoping would stay away on his holiday a bit longer and that he would cease and desist from playing golf while upon said holiday. That, of course, is none other than the Beast who managed to snag himself another point today to make it just that little bit harder for anyone to overtake him in the next three weeks. It is possible, of course, and threats of knee-cappings might just have to be taken seriously. Nothing like a good slug-fest to see out the final rounds of the year. Bill was joined in 5th spot by Jason who is thinking of getting his name tattooed on his forehead to reduce the number of times that he is mistaken for somebody else.
Actually, getting back to Bill, he creamed his second shot (after having creamed his first) on the 6th and the ball rolled quite comfortably to the centre of the green just in a nice spot to interfere with the line of one of the players still occupying the green. So, the ball had to be marked, and what a ball it was. A grubbier, more worn ball has rarely graced the manicured fairways and greens of Ivanhoe. Conservative estimates put the age at at least ten rounds and still no KO. Bill will undoubtedly be pleased to have made it closest on the BallPin 12th hole so that he will be able to pension off ‘old reliable’ for a nice shiny new one sometime soon.
DennisW might have been a bit unlucky to be out of the points today but he does reckon he was lucky to have made past the red markers on one hole. There was no evidence of there having been any actual draughties today so the bar staff had a pretty easy day. Simon had just completed his tee shot on the 8th when there was an odd sort of a sound and his driver clattered to the ground. It wasn’t that he was disgusted with his shot, it was that he had been hit on the knee by a ball from the 5th tee. Not one of ours this time and they claimed to have given warning. Maybe the wind carried the call away.
Mehm continues on his winless ways and he was really hoping not to make it to his two year anniversary. There was almost a consolation prize today though when it put the ball onto the 17th green with an eminently gettable putt for the Eagle and the handful of eggs in the nest since the last time it was raided. The ball slipped by the hole by the narrowest of margins and Mehm had to settle for the birdie. Ryan was a bit crooked on the placement of the pins today, particularly the one on the 12th for the ProPin. Ryans ball was closer to the pin that Ed’s but it was off the green by only a few millimetres.
The round wasn’t all that far off the pace today but there was a bit of a gap opened up between one of the middle groups and the front runners. And there were groups of three bringing up the rear. So an enterprising type suggested that two of the groups should join up to reduce the pain of waiting. And, it looks as if they had a mighty fine time of it if the happy snap is anything to go by. There is no truth to the rumour that Ryan is auditioning for the next KISS revival tour.
The Birthday Birdie has another call to make this week and that is to our oldest member, young Mal, who racks up another milestone in a couple of days and makes it just that little bit easier to achieve his goal of playing a round (as distinct from playing around) under his age. The latter past-time can best be left to Noodles.
Don’t forget that you can pay your subs for next year any time soon. The Club is up for the GolfLink subs immediately in the New Year and we would like to get them in before the Christmas Party (if not sooner). Anybody who plans to change their GolfLink status (home/non-home, opt in/opt out) could they please advise as soon as possible.
Preparation of the Form Guide for the Vin O’Meara Stakes is about to get under way and we are also looking for advice on which members will be not playing in the whole event (either none or only one day) and which members do not wish to be included in the Calcutta Auction. If you are unfamiliar with the Calcutta concept have a read of the Rules and/or ask one of the longer term members.
Results for Saturday, 05 November 2016
1st Craig Cameron(64) 2nd Ed Kloprogge(68) 3rd Simon Powell(69) 4th Stefan Belevski(70) 4th Joe Wagenecht(70) 5th Bill Eastoe(71) 5th Jason Hopkins(71)
Seniors Results: 1st Craig Cameron (64) 2nd Ed Kloprogge (68) 3rd Simon Powell (69)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin 12th Ed Kloprogge BallPin 15th Bill Eastoe