Would the course be wet, was the question on many lips after the bit of a downpour that we had during the week. The answer was, no, because the ground was so dry beforehand that any rainfall was soon absorbed, the clay expanded, and the cracks closed up. As a result, there was perhaps a little less run than in recent times, and the greens offered their fair share of challenges as they held onto their coating of dew until well into the morning. After almost causing a shiver, and actually causing some finger numbness, the temperature climbed enough to be rather pleasant by the time our twelve participants had completed their round and settled their scorecards. Pepsi even entertained the crowd with his impression of ‘the little steam engine that could’ as we waited for the final tallies to be submitted.
When the dust had settled, we ended up with a tie for first place. Old Reliable seems to be back in his ‘Old Reliable’ form, and is doing his darnedest to protect his handicap as much as possible by playing to 36 points on both of his last outings. A couple of weeks ago, that only netted him 4th place, rather than the top ranking today. Keith took on Trev in their first round match today. Trev was on the verge of conceding even before they left the Clubhouse, and talked about that option after one or two holes. Ruthless operator that he is, Keith gave no quarter, and polished Trev off at the 14th, 5 and 4. With that little demolition out of the way, Keith stormed home to put together 19 points on the back nine to join Craig on the top step of the podium.
Now, Geoff could very well have been singing the blues after his drive on the first did not even reach the ‘blues’. Saved from having an airie by the skinniest of one of his whiskers, Geoff pulled himself together and scored pretty well for the next eleven holes. The wheels then developed a bit of a squeak, but didn’t quite fall off, and he finished with 34 points at the end of the round. Pepsi had a few words to say to himself, particularly on the front nine, where trees created some problems for long shots and the putts just would not roll out or turn as expected. The warmer conditions on the back nine seemed to suit better, and a one over par for the nine turned the result around, and he also came into second place with Geoff.
Ryan also did not set the world on fire with his first tee shot, and the front nine generally was sort of average, especially on the 8th for some reason. He fared much better on the back and finished up in third place with his tally of 33 points. Harry is hoping that the after-effects of the Moderna vaccine explains his lack of stamina today. It didn’t affect his shot making overly, but the pars proved entirely elusive, and there were 15 two pointers on his card with his one stroke per hole handicap. As a result, the best he could manage was 31 points with a couple of ‘unfortunate’ misses. Bill, on the other hand, was wondering how his game could be so different from one week to the next. When he did make good contact, the ball definitely stayed contacted, but the putting was a bit of a let-down from time to time. On the third, though, he did not need to putt, as he chipped in for a birdie, and Harry called it from the moment the ball hit the green. As a result of the four points, he joined Harry to share 4th place.
Hear ye, hear ye! Prez has a new club! Craig had a chipping iron that was surplus to his requirements, and volunteered to let Rob ‘try and buy’. It took Rob nine holes to get the feel of the newfangled gadget, but it did seem to pay dividends on the back nine, where he stormed home with nineteen points. Now, the thing is, Craig also marked Rob’s card, and robbed him of a stroke on the 8th, where, Rob, on his highly inflated handicap gets two. As a result, Rob was elevated to a share of 4th rather than a share of 5th. That left Adam on his Pat Malone on thirty points and in fifth place. The interesting thing about Adam’s round is that, after two holes, he had one point. After nine holes, he had twenty-one points, thanks to a couple of birdies that grabbed him four points each. Those two birdies helped us to our rather skinny total of five for the day.
Porks would have to be the most knocked-off player today. On the first BallPin at the 4th, he was knocked off by Adam. On the second BallPin at the 18th he was knocked off by Pepsi. There was a Jackpot ProPin on the 12th today, and although some did get onto the green, none were within the 5m limit and there will be a double Jackpot there next week. SOS is hoping against hope that it does not go off again next week so that he can have a crack at it the week after. It seems he has been inspired to win more after finding out that he had only won 7 ProPins since January 2016. Check out the ProPin Pirates report to see where you stand. And, keep your eye out for the upcoming Ball Busters report for the BallPin results.
The Birthday Birdie will be busy again this week, as he has to get around to meet and greet with Porks and Whitey. If Whitey plays next week, you might try putting the hard word on him, particularly if his nag keeps winning.
Only two more Saturdays to get Round 1 matches out of the way. Yes, work and family can get in the way of things, but we would like to get a result one way or another in the three matches remaining. Round 2 matches can play anytime, but the turn up and play rule kicks in on 07 May. So, check out your opponent and talk to one another to settle on an agreeable time. Round 2 has until have until 18th June, but it won’t take long to come around.
Results for Saturday, 23 April 2022
1st Craig Cameron (36) 1st Keith Delzoppo (36) 2nd Geoff Lyall (34) 2nd Andrew Petricola (34) 3rd Ryan Porker (33) 4th Harry Boughen (31) 4th Bill Eastoe (31) 4th Robert Priems (31) 5th Adam King (30)
Seniors Results: 1st Craig Cameron (36) 1st Keith Delzoppo (36) 2nd Geoff Lyall (34) 3rd Bill Eastoe (31) 3rd Harry Boughen (31)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 12th Jackpot BallPin No 1 – 4th Adam King BallPin No 2 – 18th Andrew Petricola