The question on everybody’s lips was – could the trio of oldies hogging the top of the leader board keep it up or could any of the young bucks come from behind to steal the prize. And there were twenty three sets of lips out on the course just twitching to find out what the result would be. Though it was a bit overcast and quite cool to start with, the weather gods were kind and the course was manicured within an inch of its life. The white markers were out (on the concrete blocks) and so there was little doubt about where to tee up your ball though some did raise their eye-brows at the blue markers that were behind the whites. At least one person started to tee up at one of the sets of back blue markers but his kind playing companions apprised him of the disadvantage of doing so. Not much was said about the blue markers that were well in front of the whites. In any case, there should be no cause for voiding of results this week though some would argue that there was really little need for it to have been done after last weeks little mix-up.
The answer to the burning question was a yes and a no. Yes, at least a couple of the leaders managed to keep it together sufficiently to maintain or improve their position and one of the young bucks was able to claw his way up the ladder and in the process displace one. The man who held onto his spot was CraigC (Bagpipe Chanter – purchased by Brendon) who seems to have adapted to his recent handicap adjustments and has been putting in some very consistent rounds. Today was a little off the pace and a little attack of the shorts and the hint of a yip or two on the greens was almost, but not quite, enough to let the trophy slip from his grasp. A grand total of 136 strokes for the two rounds was enough (just) to get his hands on the first Major trophy of the year, the Vin O’Meara Memorial aka the Christmas Cup.
The next horse to cross the line was Armpits (owned by the Beast and also known affectionately as Bobbie) and if you looked at his front nine you could be forgiven for imagining that he had faded from the race. However, he stormed home down the straight and, but for a couple of putts that didn’t run quite the way he expected, he could easily have been the one to cause the upset and snatch the prize. As it was, he lost by just a nose with a total of 137. And to think that his major concern from the first tee was to get past the red markers.
As the round progressed, rumours began to circulate around the course that the new horse on the block, Proper Car (purchased by Trev), ridden by the bearded yankee, Joe, was the one that was likely to make a challenge from the pack at the back. The connections tried to hose down the expectations with the news that a slight wheel wobble had set in at the 17th with an errant ball out of bounds but even with the double bogie, the nett score of 66 for the day and a total of 138 was enough to secure the third spot in the field. That was enough to tip out Strong Bough, ridden by Harry (the leading player in the Jockey pool) who had just enough rough spots after being hexed by having a par on the first to slip into 4th place with 139 for the event.
And so the first event of the year ended up with as few points getters as is possible with the final points spot being filled by Targe who really laid the whip into Rough Runner to score one of the best performances of the day with a nett 65 and a total of 140 for the event. So a very closely fought result it was for the premier event of the new competition year and everybody would have to be very happy with the double batch of points if not the new handicaps that some have acquired.
The other major event that was finalised today was the annual Stroke Play Championship. In the off-the-stick side of the table, the eventual winner was Michael who managed to equal the course par today with a very creditable two under on the back nine for a total of 219 for the three rounds. Pepsi had an uncharacteristic round today with no less that six fives in a row on the back nine and this was enough to drop him back into second place with 226. A couple of lengths further back in third came the Beast with a tally of 235 of the best. On the Nett Score side of the table, first spot went to Harry, who, although he slipped a bit today, didn’t slip quite as much as the likely contenders and he came in a comfortable winner with a nett total of 203 strokes. Second cab off the rank and shooting up the listings with his best equalling round today of 65 was our friend the Beast on 208 strokes. In equal third place on 209 were CraigC and Bob keeping up the standard with all positions being filled by Senior members. Come on Juniors, get your act together.
The BallPin today was on the 18th and that was won by the Beast who could very well be the only person to get on the green with a distance recorded as 4.96m. Presumably it was measured for the inside ProPin. Our ProPin was on the 15th and in the spirit of Christmas goodwill, nobody got on, or at least not close enough, so that there will be a Jackpot ProPin for the breakup day next week. All the more reason to come along for the Champion of Champions, the Chump of Chumps and the Christmas Lunch and Presentations. Bill didn’t get his birdie on the 18th but Michael did and thus he contributed to the 17 that we racked up for the day.
Now, according to the Birthday Birdie, Stefan’s birthday is almost a week away but it seems that Stefan was out celebrating the event last night until the wee small hours. There were estimates that his BAC was still 0.24 when he teed off and maybe that could go some way to explaining his placing well down the field. Zimmer wasn’t far behind so maybe he was out celebrating as well though somebody did have to drive the car to the course and they didn’t have Mehm to help out.
There was one reported draughtie today and that was from Ryan on the 8th after his ball hit a tree and ricocheted back behind the red markers which, it must be said were well forward. Ryan also had a chance to rob the Eagles Nest on the 17th but he ended up taking three putts to register his par. Chrispy was heard to go ‘duck’ hunting on the 12th after the ball refused to fall into the hole. Whether it was three putts or four is not known at this stage.
Next week is the Champion of Champions for those who have won Medals or Majors during the year and the Chump of Chumps for those who have remained off that exalted list. After the round is the Christmas lunch, that will include such luxuries as turkey, lamb , ham, veges and salads. There will also be a tab on the bar for drinks. After lunch will be the presentation of trophies for those who have excelled at the noble sport through the year. A group of members are planning to continue afterwards at the Ivanhoe Hotel in Upper Heidelberg Road and anybody else who wishes to join will be more than welcome. Rock on!
The following two Saturdays (Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve) will be available as social days but if you can indicate your intentions so that we can make a booking or not, that would be really appreciated by us and the Course Management.
In the meantime have a Happy and safe Christmas and New Year. Don’t party too hard and come back fit and refreshed for the new round of competition starting with the January Monthly Medal on 07 January 2017.
Results for Saturday, 10 December 2016
1st Craig Cameron(65, 71, 136) 2nd Bob McDonald(69, 68, 137) 3rd Joe Wagenecht(72, 66, 138) 4th Harry Boughen(67, 72, 139) 5th Targe Mifsud(75, 65, 140)
Seniors Results: 1st Craig Cameron (71,65,136) 2nd Bob McDonald (68,69,137) 3rd Harry Boughen (72,67,139)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin 15th Jackpot BallPin 18th Bill Eastoe