There are weather forecasts and there is reality. And, just sometimes, the two coincide. Fortunately, the predicted 10mm of rain came and went well before tee time but the evidence was very clear on the course. The ground staff had very carefully placed the pin on the first in the most water-logged part of the green. With the hole full to the brim with water, at least you had a nice clean ball to play with from the second tee. The rain has obviously done wonders for the vigour of the plantings around the course as Bob was amazed at how the shrubbery just ‘popped’ up in front of him on the second tee. Or maybe he just didn’t get much elevation on his tee shot. No suggestion that it was a draughtie though so it can’t have been too bad.
Attendance today was a bit of a mixed bag. There were more ins and outs than wedding tackle on a honeymoon. In the end, we managed to get twenty-three members out into the swamp-lands but only twenty-two managed to finish. Nobody drowned. It was just that Enzo took a bit of a slip on the hill down from the 10th and wrenched his knee and elected to call it a day. Better not be too serious as everybody is looking forward to taste testing the salami. Seriously though, get better old matey and we’ll see you back soon.
So what if the course is a bit boggy and you rack up an eight on the second hole. Splash on regardless and line up those putts and, as they say in the classics, the scores will come. Now, it must be said, that, in the process of making that double par, Peter was making good use of the 6th fairway and one shot was made so close to a tree that he managed to take the head off his favourite fairway wood. So, the fact that he was a bit behind the ‘eight’ ball and one club down makes it all the more remarkable that he was able to come home with a total of 85 for a net result of 67. Maybe the new putter really did work wonders.
Noodles left a putt agonisingly short of the hole on the 18th green and he reckoned that that could have cost him the Medal. Unfortunately, he would have needed more than that as Pete would have matched him off the stick and beaten him easily in a countback. He’d have needed a one putt green rather than a three. Daniel was also a bit hard done by on the 18th when several ‘fluffed’ shots brought him back to the pace and a share of second only. Dennis didn’t have an ‘if only’ moment, just a series of ‘not quite’ pars.
Adam left his double par until later in the round on the 13th. A more respectable result there and he could easily have challenged for the top spot. Pepsi reckoned he couldn’t buy a putt today so maybe the Birthday Birdie can cheer him up with a best wishes for tomorrow. There were a fair swag of members gathered together for the fourth place just one stroke behind. Craig struggled a bit with the second, as did a lot of others. Gordo was considerably lighter on his feet today after submitting his curling (and greying) locks to the attentions a barber. Damo was spotted taking professional advice in the carpark before tee time. It is not clear whether the advice helped either the score or the pain in his knee.
Last points for the day went to another gaggle of players. Porks managed to hit a shot into a tree on the 10th and, apparently, it didn’t come down and cost him some strokes. JQ kept very schtum about his game and the card does not have too many tales to tell either. Brent was all fired up to be beaten easily in his match against the Beast. But, as it turned out, he played well enough to feature in the final group. As for the match, after eighteen holes it was all square. And so the protagonists repaired to the practice green for the chip-off to determine the winner. Reports have it that both players seemed determined to put the ball nowhere near the hole and in the end it took four rounds of fierce competition to determine that Bill was the victor.
The first BallPin was on the 12th today and there was a fairly fierce competition. However the shot of the day went to Daniel who finished only a few centimetres past the hole. He rattled the putt in for his birdie and added to the tally of ten that were carded for the day. This is more than can be said for one group who all scored pars on the 11th and then all three-putted for bogies on the 12th. The second BallPin was on the 18th. Only one person got their name on the sheet after the Beast, in the first group, put it to a metre or so on the top tier. Bill also took the ball on the 18th last week and this week was even closer to the hole. If he keeps improving at this rate, we can look forward to a hole-in-one some time soon. The ProPin on the 15th went begging again and will be a double jackpot next week. Peter was hopeful but the consensus estimate was that it was at least 5.2m. There was no official report on the actual distance.
Chrispy didn’t have much of a day and this was typified by him hitting a ball from the 15th tee that would have counted for seven. Damo was really looking forward to Chris putting for a snowman but Chris did find his second ball and managed to get down for a seven. Porks and Damo were at it on match terms on the back nine again. Not sure how it ended overall but on the 13th, Ryan nearly went OOB, shanked it down the track and then chipped it in for birdie. Not at all fazed, Damo putted it from off the green and matched the birdie result to halve the hole. And, speaking about the real matchplay, Bill’s hopes were up on the 14th when Brent’s drive headed for the carpark. Imagine his dismay when Brent matched his five to square the hole. Daniel managed a shin shot on the 8th tee. As he walked onto the tee he idly swung his club around, somehow fumbled it and gave himself a good whack on the shins. And, boy, did it hurt!
Results for Saturday, 04 July 2020
1st Peter Damou(67) 2nd Stephen Butterfield(68) 2nd Daniel O’Rourke(68) 2nd Dennis Ward(68) 3rd Adam King(70) 3rd Andrew Petricola(70) 4th Craig Cameron(71) 4th Gordon Hill(71) 4th Damien Lee(71) 5th Ryan Porker(72) 5th John Quinlan(72) 5th Brent Rowley(72)
Seniors Results: 1st Dennis Ward (68) 2nd Craig Cameron (71) 2nd Gordon Hill (71) 3rd Bill Eastoe (74) 3rd Bob McDonald (74)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin15th Jackpot BallPin No 1 12th Daniel O’Rourke BallPin No 2 18th Bill Eastoe