After the inclemency of last Saturday, the forecast for today looked much more promising even though it started out a bit on the fresh side. There were reports of 0C in some of the low-lying areas nearby and 2.5C in the car-park. There was certainly frost down on the flat that showed up on the shoes and club-face and made one wonder whether to stuff the hand-warmers into the shoes instead. The numb fingers made it hard to find small items in your pockets, but the promise of a warming trend kept the hopes and spirits alive. Even if the standard of golf didn’t. By about the fifth hole the feeling started to come back into the fingers and toes and the nineteen members and one guest (Whitey’s mate Warren Richards) lifted their spirits and their game (some more than others) to produce some respectable scores at the end of the day.
The most respectable of the lot were a pair of plus fours. No, I am not talking about funny looking trousers. Stef and Ryan tied it up in first place with a score-line of +4. Now, Ryan could possibly feel a bit peeved at not having won outright because Stef scored a bonus plus with his eagle on the 14th. A drive onto the green and a 6m putt was all it took to raid the Eagle’s Nest yet again. There are mutterings that Stef should have to score an albatross to gain access to the Nest. Despite all this, the two under for the back nine is good going in anybody’s books. Porks just kept racking up the singletons and, despite putting his second shot into the rotunda in somebody’s back-yard on the 13th, finished both nines in positive territory. He did say that it was from a difficult lie on the sloping edge of the road and barely in bounds anyway. With today’s eight points, he is now within snapping distance of the heels of Old Reliable in the Championship Table.
Jim reckons that he would have won today if he had been taking the game seriously. He still claims that he wasn’t properly handicapped from the start so, hopefully, he will be happy with the little reduction that he scored today. His two stroke allowance on the 16th meant that his par scored him a double plus, and that contributed in a small way to the total of 12 that were tallied for the day. Gordon was one that was very happy with the improved weather conditions today. He managed a ten point turn-around from last week to come in with a +1 thanks to another of the two pointers that he managed to score on the 4th hole from another 6m putt. That little effort also won him the first BallPin for the day. Targe was also credited with a monster putt at one stage. However, the stories of putts missed from 1m or less were legion with the greens being deceptively fast despite the frost, the moisture, and the sand.
Michael was rather disappointed about a couple of things. First, he was disappointed about being knocked off in the first BallPin (first by Whitey and then by Gordo). Second, he was disappointed about being knocked off in the ProPin on the 12th (by Gordo, no less). Third, he was disappointed about being relegated from third place to fourth (by Gordo no less). However, he was somewhat happy about the fact that Old Reliable was relegated out of the points (by Gordo, no less). Adam also managed to square his card to finish alongside Michael, and this despite smashing his drive on the 13th, the ball travelling about 100m before hitting a tree and bouncing back to finish about 50m from the tee.
There were a swag of people finished in fifth place with a score of -1. Trev didn’t rate a mention after the game because of an oversight on a couple of his three stroke holes which scored him double rather than the single that was reported. Pepsi and Ken tried to fill their cards with square scores but didn’t quite succeed, and Ken was helped just a little by his two-pointer on the 7th. Brent had rather more negatives on his card but his pair of doubles helped to drag him out of the depths. These were both birdies and this helped us to a fairly average total of ten for the day. The one on the 18th was virtually a ‘gimme’ from about 100mm past the hole. A shot from the tee that must have missed the HIO by the proverbial Michael hair, but which was well and truly good enough to win the second BallPin.
Brent’s other birdie was on the 10th, and in the group of players, all three were putting for double pointers. Unfortunately, Michael and Stef were unable to match Brent’s prowess with the flat stick. Whitey did not realise that there was the option for preferred lies today, and what with his numerous run-ins with the local greenery, he might have appreciated the occasional hand span of relief. Noodles reckoned that one of his putts today turned 100mm while travelling about the same distance. If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes he would have accused somebody of interfering with it. Your mild-mannered reporter’s ears pricked up when Pepsi was talking about fifty stories. Turns out, it is some building that is to be built in Box Hill.
The Birthday Birdie has a bit of work to do this week to deliver a load of best wishes to Stan and Targe. Have a good one guys and may you live long enough to play to your age (off the stick, that is).
Results for Saturday, 22 May 2021
1st Stefan Belevski (+4) 1st Ryan Porker (+4) 2nd Jim Belevski (+2) 3rd Gordon Hill (+1) 4th Michael Gourlay (□) 4th Adam King (□) 5th Trevor Jackson (-1) 5th Andrew Petricola (-1) 5th Brent Rowley (-1) 5th Ken Watson (-1)
Seniors Results: 1st Jim Belevski (+2) 2nd Gordon Hill (+1) 3rd Michael Gourlay (□)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 12th Gordon Hill BallPin No 1 – 4th Gordon Hill BallPin No 2 – 18th Brent Rowley
Eagle’s Nest Results: Eagle – 14th Stefan Belevski