When is a social golf club not a social golf club? When only one person turns up for a social game on a, admittedly, shortened Ivanhoe course. In actual fact, the parts of the course that were open for play were in fine nick, and the ground was remarkably firm, except where it was sodden. The newly developed pond adjacent to the second green is really only a problem if your approach shot goes astray, and we all know that rarely happens (not), There was the option to play nine, thirteen or eighteen holes, and the early starters did not seem to be taking up the thirteen hole option. Maybe, they thought that it would be unlucky to play that number of holes. It wasn’t clear how the eighteen hole option was going to pan out. Maybe, you just had to elbow your way onto the first tee and may the biggest bluff win!
The day was really ideal for golf with a certain amount of sunshine, and the temperature was downright balmy. Despite this, Harry opted to play just the nine holes, and, it must be said, he was pretty pleased with the back five taking just 19 strokes. He was giving himself a hard time when he pretty much duffed his birdie putt on the 17th. However, the ball kept trickling and trickling, and, eventually, it gave up and fell into the hole. So, for just about the first time ever, we managed a birdie strike rate of 100%.
Just because parts of the course have been closed, it doesn’t mean that the ground-staff have been idle. As well as cleaning up the mess left by the flood and mowing the rapidly growing grass (where they can get to it), they have been busy giving a few ‘haircuts’ around the course. The pine tree to the right of the second front tee has had a bit of a trim, but it will still be a problem if you stray off the back tee into the thick of it. The big news, though, relates to the 8th, where the ever encroaching wattles on the fence side have been given a short back and sides. The prospect as you approach your second shot (when the fairway reopens) has changed more than somewhat, and reaching the green in regulation should be possible from more of the fairway than it was in the past.
Although this is only a temporary measure, the scoring on the 13th hole would have been much easier today, and the number one index would have been a bit of a joke. The white post shows the position of the tee markers. All of the darker green grassed area, including the penalty area, has been declared GUR for a free drop back on the fairway. Don’t count on it lasting until next week, though.
The Birthday Birdie is a bit concerned that he might get lumbered with the moniker – Less Reliable. The reason being that, last week, he quite forgot to dish out some wish. Topping the list of those missing in action was Old Reliable himself. Happy birthday for a few days back Craig. Next on the list is our oldest member, Mal, who we haven’t seen for quite some time because of him having to deal with some medical issues. Mal is still his bright and cheerful self, but he is not quite up to making it back to the course, other than for a coffee during the week from time to time. Last cab off the rank is Brent, who will undoubtedly be looking forward to defending his Matchplay title when he shows Michael how it is done.
And, while on the topic of Michael, he is planning to skive off from counting votes for the Greens, Saturday week, just so that he can get his fifteen games up for the year to qualify for the Vardon Trophy and knock off Brendon, who, even if he won both Medals and Michael only gets minimum matchplay points, would still be pipped at the post. Anybody do contract knee jobs or know Samantha and/or Lidia to dob him in?
Results for Saturday, 12 Nov 2022
No competition due to partial course closure