Hopefully, the weather patterns have changed for the better and the country is getting some much needed rain, particularly in those areas affected by drought and bushfires. While the course is still pretty hard under foot, the fairways are looking much greener for the couple of natural drinks that they have had over the last days and weeks. The day promised to be warm but, all in all, the morning was very pleasant and, with the greens in their good condition, there was an expectation that there would be some really good scores handed in. We only managed to attract eighteen players, which is down a bit on some recent outings and so the stats weren’t quite so favourable for somebody to really put in a blinder and street the field.
He didn’t quite street the field but, that little Peaky Blinder, Targe has done it again and come in at the head of the pack on the day. This just happens to position him at the head of the pack in both the Club Championship and the Seniors. One contributing factor was the unusual way that he played the 18th. The drive finished near to the 9th green. The pitch finished about half a metre from the hole. And the par was a mere formality. The suggestion to have a higher handicap cutting factor specially for Targe is looking more and more attractive. But, he did say he was aiming to get back to where he was before the fall and, slowly but surely, that target is coming into view. Just be patient, chaps!
Brendon was so intent on keeping his own scores that he ‘forgot’ to record the scores for the person he was marking for the last five holes of the round. Rather than focus, could it be incompetence? But, he did chip in for a birdie on the 15th and contributed in a small way to the rather paltry total of six that the whole group managed for the day. Chrispy didn’t start off too well. In case you don’t know it, he is the proud owner of a nice new golf bag and buggy. He decided to test it out by letting it free-wheel down the hill on the first. Guess what, it capsized and the nice new gear isn’t looking quite so new any more. Still, Chrispy did manage to score his very first Senior points today. Rounding out the second place getters today was SOS, who reckoned that playing with him was the highlight of his playing group’s day.
Noodles played in a pretty boring group (again) and he was so bored that he could only manage to beat his handicap by one point. Enzo, on the other hand was in the best form that we have seen for quite a while. He didn’t quite achieve the plus 9 that was talked about early in the round but a tie for third is still a pretty good result. Jason actually looked as if he was going to get +9 after the first nine turn at +4 but, for some reason, the oil started leaking badly and he had to settle for his share of third as well.
Michael was consoling himself with the fact that he was going home with more tees than he started with. But, the knee held up even if the putter would not swing straight. RodG teetered on the brink of having a good one except for choosing to have a bad result on just about every hole that carried two strokes. Bob started to feel a bit unwell on the 4th but, like the old stager that he is, he decided to press on regardless. The golf held up pretty well though and he pulled up to collect his share of the fourth place points. Let’s all hope that nothing serious develops and Bob is back with us in his inimitable style forthwith.
Michael keeps saying that Harry is a good putter out of luck though, today, he was having second thoughts as the ‘good’ putts missed added up. Gordon is so amazed by the swing of one of the pro golfers that he was giving a demonstration on the first tee. Apparently, it involves a massive over-swing and dropping of the club. As a result of Gordon’s demonstration, his ball actually went backwards. Ryan is working with a new swing and, apparently it went OK. The main problems seems to be that he is working with a new swing every week. Probably better than a new swing every shot!
Nearest the Pin for a ball started on the 12th and produced a bit of a contest with Noodles being the last person to put his name on the chit. The contest continued on the 18th and, for a while, it looked as if a distance of about 20 metres was going to take the event. And then along came SOS who managed to make it a more respectable 3 or 4 metres. On the other hand, the ProPin on the 15th went begging, although Enzo, for one, gave himself a bit of a chance but, unfortunately, no cigar. Despite the rumours to the contrary, the Jackpot will not be contested on the 4th hole next week.
Trevor’s ankle seems to be holding up OK and he is looking forward to playing more regularly from now on. You might notice from the Handicap Sheet that, due to the new Veterans category that the Committee approved recently, Trevor’s handicap has moved past 36.
The Birthday Birdie has a busy week this week. He has to get around to both Rob and SteveK to wish them all the best for the coming milestone. One step closer to joining Chrispy in the Seniors, hey Rob.
Results for Saturday, 18 January 2020
1st Targe Mifsud(+3) 2nd Brendon Mitchell(+2) 2nd Chris Priems(+2) 2nd Stephen O’Sullivan(+2) 3rd Stephen Butterfield(+1) 3rd Enzo Cirone(+1) 3rd Jason Hopkins(+1) 4th Michael Gourlay(-1) 4th Rod Grant(-1) 4th Bob McDonald(-1) 5th Harry Boughen(-2) 5th Gordon Hill(-2) 5th Ryan Porker(-2)
Seniors Results: 1st Targe Mifsud (+3) 2nd Chris Priems (+2) 3rd Enzo Cirone (+1)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin15th Jackpot BallPin No 1 12th Stephen Butterfield BallPin No 2 18th Stephen O’Sullivan