When Gordon was planning the catering for the bar-be-que for today he decided that twenty or twenty two would be the number to cater for and of course he didn’t want the dog getting too fat on left-overs. As a result, he was a bit nervous when the first reports had 28 members on the registration list. As it turned out, only twenty seven turned up, Trevor had to retire hurt after nine holes (after disobeying doctor’s orders, but he loves his golf) and a few people had to dash off and didn’t stay to sample Gordo’s bangers and burgers. The dog will eat again tonight – at least that is what Gordo says.
The conditions were fairly benign with little wind although the humidity was fairly high so it got a bit sticky out there and MattN had a good excuse for coming up short due entirely to the ‘heavy’ air. And the air must have been ‘heavy’ because Keith managed an ‘airy’ with a chip on the 6th and Dennis Darklands managed two in a row trying to extricate himself from a tight spot in the trees on the 11th. There was a lot of discussion as to whether this constituted an equivalent offence to not getting past the red markers but even the latter is not written down anywhere. Trevor did own up to a draughtie, but owing to the problems that he was having with his hip, I think we can forgive him that one.
Now, in the Championship Points competition, there was still a chance that Noodles could beat Harry for second place and the tee-marshall had originally slotted them into the same group for a head-to-head battle. Whether Noodles chickened out or it was just a matter of balancing the groups, the match up did not take place and the two battled it out in their heads if not on the course. But, although the score-line ended up being a close run thing, Harry won the day with his net 64 and, in the process, collected his first ever Monthly Medal and secured second place in the Championship Points, still a fair margin behind the unassailable Michael.
Matt played an exemplary round, striking his drives with great confidence for the whole round. He did benefit from a couple of favourable bounces and deflections from trees but by and large it was good play that brought him into second place just a stroke behind Harry. Maybe it was the conditions reminding him of Weipa that brought out the best in him though he did admit that he doesn’t have a ‘bauxite; club when he plays down here. Ryan was a bit disappointed that a couple of missed putts prevented him from snatching the trophy from Harry. Then again, Harry was a bit disappointed that a couple of missed putts didn’t give him a bigger winning margin. It’s a game of ifs, buts and maybes after all.
Noodles came in third with a nett 66 and he obviously tried pretty hard to make a competition of it. If he can keep up the pace, his price in the Calcutta Auction could prove to be the buy of the day. Hopefully, he won’t have to face too many bouncers at the cricket this afternoon. Jason had to dash off, probably to get home and try to get some sleep but, at least the buggy repairs held together and his game did as well so that he was able to collect 4th place with a card of 69. Pepsi came in with the same score and there is some chance that it might have been better except for some unspecified mishap at the 9th that caused him to be heard on other parts of the course. He managed a couple of birdies and contributed in a small way to the total of 13 from the whole crew. Dale also featured in the birdie count and joined in on the fourth place podium level.
And, quietly puttering around on his little scooter, Allan picked up the fifth spot with a nett 70. Allan did get accused of not collecting the NTP marker from the 4th green and he expressed surprise that he was supposed to pick it up. When nobody owned up to having it, Simon was despatched to get a cart to go and retrieve it. He returned with up-turned palms. Where was the effing thing? Oh, hang on, I’ve got it says Targe. Grrrr! Anyway, the double Jackpots obviously inspired everybody – sort of! Darklands Dennis put his tee shot on the 4th to 4.93m, just inside the legal limit and held out all other comers to collect the dough. Maybe he could have afforded a shout for the airies. On the 18th, Brendon hit what was described as the worst looking shot of the day but it did manage to get onto the green and stopped at 1.1m from the hole which just goes to show, it is not how but where. Undoubtedly, the dividend was not a shared one. The BallPin was on the 15th and the Michael Gourlay Benefit Competition once again went to Michael.
The Club Stroke Play Championship is under way and the leader board is available from the Competition menu. The leaders in the nett side of the table follow the placing list. In the off-the-stick side Michael, Pepsi and Noodles are the early front runners.
SOS sprayed his drive from the first into the trees on the left and there was some uncertainty where to search for it. It was eventually found by Trevor in the grass at the base of the hill up to the 9th green. SOS was right when he reckoned he heard it hit a tree. Jason made a big walk back to the tee on the second, then found his original ball in the middle of the fairway. Strictly, the first ball had been ‘lost’ when he returned to the tee and the second ball was the ball in play. You can only play a provisional before you leave the location of the original shot.
Bob was noticed trying to keep cool by putting his shots into water hazards although it probably wouldn’t really work as most of them are actually still dry. Not sure how long Simon has been playing golf or what sort of company he has been keeping when doing so but he had to have explained to him what the NARGA was. Chrispy didn’t wear his gaudy pants today (not important enough occasion) and so his form was down on his expectations. Reports have it that at one stage he threw his club down and had a good cry. It must have done some good as he was pretty chirpy after the game. The Beast hung around until nearly the last group to see whether he could be teamed up with Blighty to rub salt into the wounds as he took away the Eclectic trophy. Alas, it was not to be, Blighty didn’t show and the birdies on the par threes went begging for Bill again. Better luck next year, Bill. Snags, also graced us with his presence today after a long stint on the buses. He puts his generous girth down to something called ‘fizz-bombs’ but he can probably still lay claim to the title of the best iron player in the club.
Well, another competition year has come and gone and there will be a clean slate for everything next week. The Calcutta Auction was very successful particularly when two people were bidding against one another on behalf of the same person. JohnQ was so happy with one result that he declared that it was ‘better than BitCoin’ and that was without even having to buy the winner. If anybody did not scratch themselves and have been auctioned but become aware that they will not be playing the second week of the event before next Saturday can they please let Harry or Gordon know so that the Calcutta Pool can be adjusted and member’s money is not unnecessarily wasted. Anybody sold that does not play the first week will be refunded. Please, do it for your golfing mates.
Results for Saturday, 25 November 2017
1st Harry Boughen (MM)(64) 2nd Matt Nicholls(65) 2nd Ryan Porker(65) 3rd Stephen Butterfield(66) 4th Jason Hopkins(69) 4th Andrew Petricola(69) 4th Dale Webb(69) 5th Allan Davies(70)
Seniors Results: 1st Harry Boughen (64) 2nd Allan Davies (70) 3rd Craig Cameron (71)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin No 1 4th Dennis Tiernan ProPin No 2 18th Brendon Mitchell BallPin 15th Michael Gourlay