There were drop-outs, there were shows and there were no-shows, there were rans and also-rans and in the end twenty members sweated it out on a pretty warm and muggy Saturday to find out who would take home Vin’s cup. There was also a modicum of interest in the outcome of the Stroke Play Championship so there was plenty to play for even if it was only self-satisfaction. Some trees around the course have taken a beating in the recent heat and northerly winds and the greens were a bit littered with leaves and gum-nuts that some found could have a very adverse effect on the run and direction of a putt.
Brendon was ‘working from home’ on Thursday but he was able to take a bit of time out to come to the Club-house for a meeting about the Jarrod Lyle Charity Day organisation. And, it just happened that he also brought along a selection of clubs, just in case he got a chance to get in a little practice. He obviously meant business (and not the working from home type of business) and the practice seems to have paid off as he was able to better his score from last week to come in a clear winner with a net score of 132. Nobody was happier about the result than the Beast who just happened to have bid up big for Shaky Isles in the Calcutta. The jockey was pretty happy too as he had taken up the half share option. Watch out at the Roo Bar next week!
It could easily have gone belly up on the first where Brendon was put off his shot and barely made it to the red markers after being interrupted by SOS returning from having his ball ‘stolen’ from the 10th fairway. Does anybody else get the feeling that SOS has his ball stolen more often than anybody else in the Club?
Ryan wasn’t quite able to match his first week score but he was steady enough to take out second place with his total of 137. Ryan is looking for a set of clubs for a friend to go to the driving range so maybe Ryan has also been sneaking in a bit of sly practice. On the driving range, that is!
How do you solve a problem like Noodles? to steal a line from Sound of Music. Walked in, tossed his card down and declared he had left five out there. If so, a net 60 would have gone close to winning the event which would have been a remarkable turn-around from his spot at 8th in the original field. Still and all, his 65 was more than enough to get him into third place.
Now, we all know that Trev doesn’t always enjoy the best of health and he had another visit to the doc this week. But, he just couldn’t stay away and he did suffer more than a little in the heat and humidity. He soldiered on and took more than a little support from his clubs and the flag-stick to bring in a total of 141 and the fourth spot in the main game. He also opened his account in the Seniors by topping the pops in that field. And, last in the point scoring fraternity was Brent who came home with a pair to make his total 142.
Another commendable round today was put together by Peter who netted 67 and justified the President’s view that he will not be long on his current handicap. And that score was made with a draughtie on the 15th when he chunked his drive big time. The chunk that he took out of the tee box was massive. But the really impressive (non)shot of the day was put together by Bob on the 12th where he executed a perfect groundie. The club hit the ground so far behind the ball that it bounced clear over the ball and the ball did not move. The divot he took, however, also cleared the ball and went close to reaching the red markers.
The first ProPin was on the 4th and, as so often seems to be the case on this hole, nobody made it close enough and so there will be a Jackpot to next week Christmas bonus perhaps. The BallPin was on the 15th and Michael put it so close that the ball was reported, by the group in front, to have rimmed the cup. Michael landed the birdie and contributed to the total of 15 that we scored for the day. The ProPin on the 18th was knocked down to Stef who didn’t see fit to measure the distance so we will have to take his word for the fact that it was within the required limit.
As well as Michael’s effort there were several other Eagle possibilities today. Stef drove the 9th and the 14th but did not make the necessary putt. SOS put his to 2m on the 17th but could only manage the birdie. Also on the 17th Harry pitched in, dead on line only to come up a couple of hundred millimetres short of the hole. And, while on the topic of Stef driving the 9th, Dennis was about to putt, knew Stef was on the tee, tensed when he heard the urgent ‘fore’ call and missed the putt. That’s his excuse anyway.
This round also saw the completion of the Strokeplay Championship for 2018. In the Gross Score Championship, the winner by quite a margin was Pepsi with a total of 225 strokes. The score could have been even better if he had not put his drive on the 1st into the water storage dam and if he hadn’t left so many putts hanging on the edge of the hole. A fair way (as distinct from a fairway) back was none other than Brendon with an aggregate of 237 strokes.
In the all important, Handicap Championship, it was hard to go past Mr Consistency over the three weeks and the gong goes to Brendon with a nett total of 204 and a three round average of 68. Can’t get much better than that for playing to your handicap though he will have to work a little harder to do that from now on. Runner-up in the event and only a couple of strokes behind was Porks with a nett score of 206.
Despite SOS’s problems with ball tampering and mistaken identity on the 1st, he was pretty happy that his round did not include any shanks. He was obviously in a chirpy mood when he tried to put Brendon off by trundling his remote controlled buggy past the group in front from some distance back. WTF! exclaimed Brendon. And while on the topic of buggies, Bob has been out and about scouring the Op Shops and markets and has acquired himself a bargain basement electric buggy. No remote though and time will tell whether it was money well spent.
Blighty was obviously keen to try for the money on the 4th and managed to put his drive out of bounds in the process. His second followed suit and he was forced to hit a third and narrowly avoided managing to rack up double figures on a par 3. The Beast also had a bit of strife on the 6th and just managed to avoid the dreaded double figures after he managed to hit the same tree three times and even losing ground on at least one occasion.
Next week is the Stuart Clarke Champion of Champions and the associated Chump of Chumps. The groups will be ‘seeded’ except where numbers dictate. The result of the Stuart Clarke will be determined by nett stroke scores. However, the Chump of Chumps and the daily Championship Points (and handicapping) will be determined by Stableford points. So, the CoC field will have to play their ball out and calculate their Stableford points. The rest can take it easy, score their Stableford points, and pick up if they have a mind to.
On another matter, everybody will be aware that Targe suffered a significant injury recently and the committee has decided, under the Club Rules relating to Re-handicapping of Existing Members, to adjust Targe’s handicap to be more in line with his form since returning. If the little fella puts in a blinder next week, there might very well be questions asked in the House.
And, don’t forget that, after the game next week, we have our breakup and presentations. We like to get a group photo for the web-page each year so if you can all wear your Club shirts (or something similar if you don’t have one), that would be good. Good food, a few drinks and good fellowship is pretty much guaranteed.
And, finally, although the calendar shows the two following Saturdays as Social, the rule is that if there are more than six players on the course then the event will attract points and handicapping. They are correctly shown as Club Events on next year’s calendar. Apologies for any confusion that might have been caused.
Results for Saturday, 08 December 2018
1st Brendon Mitchell(67, 65, 132) 2nd Ryan Porker(68, 69, 137) 3rd Stephen Butterfield(74, 65, 139) 4th Trevor Jackson(71, 70, 141) 5th Brent Rowley(71, 71, 142)
Seniors Results: 1st Trevor Jackson (71,70,141) 2nd Michael Gourlay (70,73,143) 3rd Bill Eastoe (74,71,145)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin No 1 4th Jackpot ProPin No 2 18th Stefan Belevski BallPin 15th Michael Gourlay