Gordon confidently filled his umbrella holder with pencils, cigar tubes and other assorted paraphernalia with the quiet confidence of somebody who knew it wasn’t going to rain, despite the rather heavy looking clouds that were hanging around. As it turned out, his confidence was well founded as the cloud eventually moved on and out came the sun to warm the cockles of your heart. After the round Pepsi was lolling back in his chair soaking it all up and declaring “How good is this?” So good that twenty one players (including one guest) did their best to tame the wildness that is Ivanhoe Public Golf Course. Some were more successful than others on the course taming front leaving some with the prospect of showing their prowess at the bar-be-que table or needing to post a phenomenal turn-around to have a chance for a podium position. In golf, as in life, anything is possible, however unlikely.
There was one man who reveled in the conditions that were presented today and so, you might well ask, why is there a picture with two smiling faces in the post. Well, first, DennisW has to head off to the US of A to meet a family that will soon be linked to his through a nuptial event and he won’t be available to play next week. So, despite the possibility that +5 could be sufficient to win the event at the end of the day, Dennis will just have to grin and bear it and take a cut to his handicap as well. It’s tough but those are the rules. And second, Dennis had nicked off before a picture could be taken. Yes, there are pics in the archive but it was too good an opportunity to pass up.
So, as a result of all that, the competition leaders for next week will be Harry and CraigC who played together but did not mark each other’s card so there was no chance of collusion. Harry was so enthusiastic that he stepped up onto the 3rd tee confident that the group in front was out of his range. As his ball headed down the right side of the fairway, who should step out of the bushes? None other than Ed, who made it known that he was not happy. Craig just plugged away quietly and went close to being the man of the moment for his group. With a big Jackpot riding on the 18th, the group agreed that the proceeds would be split in the event of a win. Craig responded by putting his on the green. Despite measuring from the hole to the ball and the ball to the hole, the measurement came up the same, 5.05m. Damn! So, a super-duper Jackpot next week on the 18th that some people reckon they would rather win than the trophy and the points. Sorry Fred, if you are watching.
MattN seems to be getting his game settled down after a bit of a rough start after joining us and he has been featuring in the finish on a regular basis of late. His +2 will see him well placed to make a lunge and capture a fine piece for the fire-place (on the mantel, that is). And only needing a little more of a lunge on +1 we have another Matt of the H variety and Big Man Ed who once again made his presence heard around the course (not including abusing Harry).
Those in fifth place have just a little bit more work to do with their cards of -1 but, in Par, a four point turn around is not impossible and so they cannot be counted out of the calculations. This group includes Trevor, Bob, Ryan and Chrispy. Now, it seems that Chrispy’s effort was one of dogged determination as the putts refused to fall for him and while Chris is known for being able to give a bit of lip, having the ball lip the cup again and again started to get to him. When the group got to the 18th tee, Chris had more birdies on his card that he had pars. He evened up the tally with a par on the 18th. But, in his way, Chris did contribute to the total of 14 birdies that we managed to gather together. Possibly a bit on the light side given the good conditions. And, a few people need to get a few more strategic ones in if they want to dislodge Blighty from the top of the Eclectic table.
The Nearest the Pin competition is getting very interesting. The BallPin was on the 4th and there is a pernicious rumour about that this is Harry’s favourite. That is not strictly true but he was able to put his ball to pin high and a couple of metres away to take out the ball. What would have been the favourite hole today was the 12th, which was the location for the mobile ProPin, but unfortunately his shot was 5.5m away. But, nobody else was able to worry it and so there will be a Jackpot to next week. The first sighting of the pin placement on the 18th, on the top deck close to the change in level elicited the comment that it would be tough again today. Even though the pin was re-positioned onto the lower deck (note MIchael) the result was as reported earlier.
Bob is a hard man to please and a number of times during the round he was upset when the ball didn’t finish where he wanted it to. Does it ever? Trevor was heard to ask, “Why do I keep doing that?” The simple answer, Trev, is just stop doing whatever you are doing. Brendon’s Dad was here again and played a score exactly the same as he did last week so he is nothing, if not consistent. He is heading back across the Ditch with a driver that used to belong to Brendon. He hit it so well today that Brendon is thinking of charging him for it. Always in for a quid is Brendon.
Gordon had a hard time of it today as his short game in particular abandoned him. At one stage he was considering reverting to his Jack Newton persona and playing one handed. At one stage he could have been accused of making a club perform aerial gymnastics, though, to be fair, he was returning it to the vicinity of his bag and buggy. It is not clear in which direction Noodles chose to launch one of his clubs. Now, we know that some members are a little more vertically challenged than others. So, was it or was it not surprising for Ed to ask whether Targe had turned up late when he spotted SOS from a distance on the course. And, getting back to Gordon, he was fishing through the pockets of his Club vest when he pulled out a handful of money. It seems it was the Club funds from a couple of weeks back that he thought he had lost somewhere and had to make up out of his own kick. Always pays to check every possibility.
There was a Committee meeting today. A few points of interest as it relates to the Calendar for next year. The Annual Challenge will be at Rich River on the first weekend in October. This will push the Monthly Medal and Fred Kitson back by a week. In each month in which there are two Par Club Events, the second will be a GrandPar Competition in which you can score multiple positive scores. For example, if you birdie a hole with a stroke, you score two points etc. Not much different to normal Par, but people will feel better about it. The downside is that the bonus points will count towards handicapping.
It was also decided that the Club Membership fee would be increased to $30 per year. The Committee realises that this is a substantial jump but it is many years since the last increase. The fee for GolfLink membership will remain the same at $90. The Committee also asks that members pay their subscription at their earliest opportunity by making a bank transfer to the Club Account attaching your name to the transaction. If any current member reading this is planning to discontinue their membership/GL membership, can they please advise, preferably in writing (email) so that we can get our registers in order before the deadline to avoid un-recoverable charges.
Results for Saturday, 14 October 2017
Leaderboard Round 1 1st Dennis Ward(+5) 2nd Harry Boughen(+3) 2nd Craig Cameron(+3) 3rd Matt Nicholls(+2) 4th Matt Hunt(+1) 4th Ed Kloprogge(+1) 5th Trevor Jackson(-1) 5th Bob McDonald(-1) 5th Ryan Porker(-1) 5th Chris Priems(-1)
Seniors Leaderboard: 1st Dennis Ward (+5) 2nd Craig Cameron (+3) 2nd Harry Boughen (+3) 3rd Ed Kloprogge (+1)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin No 1 12th Jackpot ProPin No 2 18th Jackpot BallPin 4th Harry Boughen