The sun had an ominous red tinge about it as it rose above the horizon and struggled to make its presence felt through the smoke haze that had settled over Melbourne during the rather balmy night. The remains of the northerly air stream pushed the temperature up a bit but it didn’t really have a great deal of conviction about it. Nineteen of Ivanhoe’s finest made it to the tee on time and battled their way into the haze hoping against hope that the promised change would arrive earlier than predicted. The dryness of the course and the air promised plenty of carry and plenty of run but first you have to hit the ball with the face of the club. Ken’s ball was reaching for the Panadol, it had been hit on the head so many times. But, it is surprising how far a ball with plenty of top-spin will run in these conditions.
The Rules Committee is still trying to decide whether our winner had assistance during the round. Whether he wore his glove out or just forgot it, Targe did a deal with SOS to exchange a new glove for a drink after the game. Whether it was the new glove or the high standard of his short game, Targe rocked in with a 93 off the stick for a net score of 67 to add to his growing collection of medals and points in both Championship events. And he got just a little bit further on his resolution to restore his pre-accident handicap with the only handicap cut of the day. Not fast enough, I hear some people say.
Jason sprinted around the course with the first group and created a little angst when it was thought that the cards from the group had not been left for perusal. As it turned out, they crossed over with the last group outside the clubhouse and left the cards in the tender care of Enzo. The rapid pace did not do the scoring any harm and a handy 68 was the result. Not to be out-done and, to keep his points collection going without harming his handicap, Porks acquired the same net result for second place.
Matt was another of the sprinters and he was probably leading the pack in his urge to get back on the job (at work, that is). His 69 was matched by Bob who decided to play with a green ball that was found on the 10th. Despite several attempts to lose it, it just didn’t want to be lost again and it didn’t do Bob’s scoring any harm. For a while, Dennis was Club-house leader and he was probably bemoaning a number of double bogies that didn’t help his front nine score. The rumour that he took advantage of his marker’s blurred vision is thought to be untrue.
Keith started off by sinking a pretty lengthy putt on the first to snag himself a par. After that, Keith decided that he needed some short putting practice and left himself with any number of 50mm putts, mostly from just past the hole. Who knows what the 70 could have turned into otherwise. Noodles claimed to have missed a lot of putts (again) but with only three double bogies in the round maybe it was the pars and birdies that he was missing. Despite carding four triple bogies, Daniel still managed to slot himself into fifth place alongside Noodles to round out the podium ranks for the day.
The first BallPin was on the 12th and Adam drifted one in with a bit of left to right to finish pretty handily placed. Although the marker pin did look closer, it was still worth a check but, unfortunately he was unable to tip out Brent who was a mere putter length from the hole. He made the birdie, which was one of eleven for the day. The second BallPin was on the 18th and again Adam put his ball onto the green. Unfortunately, he didn’t think to mark it and it was left to Noodles to collect the ball for a shot that was reported to be barely on the green. The ProPin was set on the 4th and Gordon was disappointed to find that his ball finished 5.02m from the hole and so the pool will Jackpot to next week.
Trevor was back with us today after a bit of a break as a result of his accident in London. In order to be sure that he was ready to play, he took a session with the Pro during the seek to get some tips on protecting his ankle. It must have done some good as he scored the longest drive in his group on the 6th. Which probably reduced the ‘pain’ of the two draughties that he scored elsewhere. He wasn’t alone on the draughtie parade, as Keith also managed one as well.
Gordon had a bit of a trip to get back from Tathra over the last couple of days but he did manage to turn up today. He did, however, express a view that bowls was looking pretty good as an alternative to golf. In particular, being 20cm off the green for two and finishing with a six did not go down too well. Noodles has been called a ‘choker’ from time to time but today he really did choke – on a fly. SOS seems to have inside information on what else Noodles has had down his throat when he expressed surprise that he would choke on something so small.
The Birthday Birdie has just one call to make this week and that will be to pass on wishes to Dennis in a few days time.
Results for Saturday, 04 January 2020
1st Targe Mifsud(67) 2nd Jason Hopkins(68) 2nd Ryan Porker(68) 3rd Matt Hunt(69) 3rd Bob McDonald(69) 3rd Dennis Ward(69) 4th Keith Delzoppo(70) 5th Stephen Butterfield(71) 5th Daniel O’Rourke(71)
Seniors Results: 1st Targe Mifsud (67) 2nd Bob McDonald (69) 2nd Dennis Ward (69) 3rd Keith Delzoppo (70)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin4th Jackpot BallPin No 1 12th Brent Rowley BallPin No 2 18th Stephen Butterfield