Wouldn’t you just know it. For weeks, we struggle to get numbers and the day that the management put a clamp on to manage the split round eighteen bookings, we fill the roster with sixteen players, and have to knock valued members back. I guess that could be an incentive to book early (but not often). Things could still be a bit iffy for the whole course to be operational next week, but we will try our best to get a booking to accommodate more members. Obviously, if a cull is required, there will have to be a preference for those already in the Stroke Championship, and those that qualify for the Vin O’Meara. Anyway, the weather was lovely, although it did warm up a bit, which is a change from recent times. The condition of the holes in play was generally good, although there are some nasty patches that are wet and unmown to trap the ball that falls short or goes astray. Whether this should count as a ‘loss’, penalty area or GUR is a moot point which could have altered a few scores on the day.
The big news of the day though was the blossoming of the love affair between CJ and the split course layout. After a bit of a whimper before tee time about the cut to his handicap last week, he proceeded on his merry way to rack up 11 pars and a birdie to take out the top spot once again with a net score of 68. Despite protecting his handicap by playing right to it, the winner’s penalty means that he will have something to complain about next week when he plays off 8. In a virtual alignment of the stars, second place was filled by another CJ, except that this was ChrisJ, who presented to the judges with a card of 71 net. He certainly started the round in fine style with a booming drive that threatened to reach the green on the first, and he had no trouble in making the par.
If it hadn’t been for the second hole, Geoff could have toppled CJ from his smirky perch very easily, particularly when the rest of his round is taken into account. The handicapper is wondering whether to institute ‘handicapping on suspicion’. Actually, the second was really tough, with the tee set almost as far back as it could go. Matt also had a pretty good round except for a couple of triples that took the shine off it a bit, and left him to collect fourth place with his score of 73. Rajesh also produced his fair share of triples on his way to a score of 74 and a share of 5th place on his first venture into competition. There were enough pars and a birdie lurking in there to suggest that we have not seen the last of our newest member on the podium. Porks probably should have made himself more than the single point that he got from sharing fifth place. His drive on the second second was uncharacteristically poor, finishing in places unknown and shy of the red markers. The rest of the hole was not that great either.
However, Porks did go close to producing what would surely have been a first for any club, let alone ours. On the first 14th, his drive finished pin high on the green, and he rattled in the putt for an eagle. In the process, he cleaned out the Eagle’s Nest, which was absolutely brimming with one ball. On the second 14th, his drive was similarly pin high, but a bit off the green. The chip in was heading true, but stopped agonisingly short of the ‘double eagle’. The birdie was a lay down misere. The 14th was a bit of a happy hunting ground for one other member as well. Blighty managed to birdie the hole on both visits, which is quite a feat it must be said, and probably an appropriate way to celebrate his 500th game with the Club. We won’t mention some of his other feats that weren’t quite so glorious, and apparently involved potential multiple shouts from the same tee. He did however help us to score 12 birdies for the day, so, well done, Blighty.
There were double dips for the nearest the pins again today. The ProPin on the 15th held out until the very last shot on the hole when Porks managed to lob his ball to 3.28m to collect the cash. The BallPin on the 18th also put up a bit of a fight with only one name on the card, and that was Steve. Maybe that will compensate him a little for his absolute shocker score on his second time on the 9th. His thought that it might be a Club record number for a hole was well short of the mark, and very much in the shadow of an Akdag 22 on the 17th. And, while on the topic of Club records, there is no way to check this other than by hearsay, but one group managed a total of 13 putts on the one hole, the 15th to be precise.
Michael was keen to rush off after the round to get back to strong-arming voters to put the Greens as their number one pick. He might not be so popular with Samantha if word gets back to headquarters that he was spotted slogging balls in the general direction of the river from over by the practice green before tee time. Craig managed, once again, to finish outside the points, due in large part to a bad case of the ‘shorts’. Not the body covering kind, the chipping and putting kind. Bob was back with us after a bit of a break, but it doesn’t seem to have done his buggy any good, as it gave up the ghost again today.
Results for Saturday, 26 Nov 2022
1st Chris Priems (68) 2nd Chris James (71) 3rd Geoff Lyall (72) 4th Matt Hunt (73) 5th Rajesh Mahto (74) 5th Ryan Porker (74)
Seniors Results: 1st Chris Priems (68) 2nd Geoff Lyall (72) 3rd Michael Gourlay (75)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 15th Ryan Porker BallPin No 1 – – – BallPin No 2 – 18th Steven Gervasoni
Eagle’s Nest Results: Eagle – 14th Ryan Porker