After doing a demolition of a servo, that would have gladdened the heart of Whelan, over in the west, there was a worry that Ilsa would spill what remained of her guts on or about the vicinity of the ‘Hoe. There were a few anxious eyes cast at the skies when the wind picked up, heralding the arrival of the weather front, and there were even a few drops of water from the heavens – it couldn’t actually be called rain. However, nothing eventuated and the eighteen members and one guest who ventured out enjoyed what really was a nice day for a game, even if the ‘game’ did not quite meet the same classification, at least for some. Connor McIntosh was the guest, who came along as the guest of James, who would have to count as one of our newest members. That might go some way to explaining why they were asked to ‘Please explain’ their presence in the midst of a competition, when Steve wasn’t obviously with them at the time. Fortunately, neither took offence, and Connor has handed in his first card on his way to becoming a member. So, a big ‘proper’ welcome to Connor.
Sean has only been with us for a short while as well, so he hasn’t appeared on the radar too much yet. However, today, he showed up as a very large blip, something akin to one of the thunderstorms that the Bureau talked about as a possibility later today. A couple of one pointers to start the round might have fazed some players. However, the head was obviously kept down, and six of the next seven holes went down to par. The pace did not falter much on the back nine, and another 20 points there produced a handicap smashing tally of 41 for the day. And, just a little reminder for everybody that it pays to check your handicap on the sheet each week as, believe it or not, it does actually change from time to time.
Geoff started the round by chipping in for a birdie, and four points, on the first. This is often seen to be a bad omen. The PBSU followed with an eight on the second. Another birdie, and four points, on the 4th brought the game back into line, and helped us on the way to our tally of ten birdies for the day. Despite a couple of doubles, Geoff made the turn at nineteen points. Another four-pointer on the way home helped the back nine total to twenty, and second place on the podium for 39 points. With the field a little bit compacted today, Stef and his crew did a fair bit of waiting, on fairways and tees, for the green to clear. The waits didn’t seem to affect his game too much as he was able to put together a total of thirty-eight points, and settle himself comfortably onto the third podium level. A double bogie on the 16th probably prevented him from scoring par, or even better, on the back nine.
James played a very balanced round with 18 points on each half. A slight wobble at the start of the back nine might have cost him a higher placing. Porks produced the same score line with a pair of eighteens as well. So, the pair of pairs did their handicap no harm, and added a couple of points to their total for the fourth place of the day. Harry could only manage a pair of seventeens, but his total was enough to get him another fifth spot, and another point to add to his total.
There was a Jackpot ProPin on the 4th, and the green seemed to resist most attempts to get a ball onto it. There were a few nearly-almosts, but Geoff did manage to get one on to 2.39m which was enough to fill his sky-rocket with the cash. The first BallPin was on the 12th, and it was fairly fiercely contested. In the end, it was Peter who ended up closest to collect the ball on offer. Not to be outdone, Peter had another go on the 18th with a shot on the back of the green with the pin well to the front. His optimism proved fruitless, as somebody styling themselves Peter Porker barely made it to the front of the green, and caused great confusion when it came to presenting the ball after the round.
The matchplay Championship is going gang-busters at the moment, with three matches played today. There was the match between Porks and Mehm. On paper, there was not a lot between them, a mere four strokes to be precise. Despite Mehm’s best efforts, the score-line was pretty much a one way street with the match falling to Porks at the 13th, 6 and 5. Next we had Stef up against Adam. Or should that have been Adam up against Stef? Once again, the match looked to be pretty much a one-way street, and at the 11th, it was dormie 7, a pretty tough call on anybody’s terms. A square on the 12th gave the match to Stef, 7 and 6. Then we had Steve and James. It would have to be said that Steve did not get away to a particularly good start. He produced a rather unusual ‘draughtie’ on the first tee. It wasn’t that he didn’t make it to the red markers on the first tee, he didn’t even make it to the blue markers on the 10th tee. The physics of the shot has baffled some of the best golf minds around. Anyway, in the heat of the moment, it seems that the tallying of scores went a little haywire, and so, the match did not quite finish when they thought it did. It is unlikely that this would have changed the match result, but it did change the final score. The match was actually dormie 5 at the 13th, moved to dormie 4 at the 14th, and finally finished 4 and 3 to James at the 15th.
Pepsi was a bit on ‘edge’ today as he lost count of the number of putts that just managed to run past a mere millimetre or so from the hole. He was so desperate that he was asking Gordo for a putting lesson after Gordo managed to rattle in a long one for a birdie on the 11th. Zimmer seemed to be particularly unimpressed with his performance today, and the only reportable bit was that it ‘was a waste of five hours’. Bob reckons that he has finally sorted his battery problems after taking it back to the shop for the 20th time to be advised that he had been supplied with the wrong charger/fitting for the unit. There was some concern that he might break down instead after his knee started making funny noises after an incident on the 14th tee. Look after yourself, Bobby, you’ve got to make the best of that buggy!
The Birthday Birdie was a little late checking his list, and so missed out on the chance to wish SOS a big one for today. If somebody had known, there might have even been an ale on offer. Later in the week, Joe will be pulling out the stops (or the tops) to celebrate as well.
Results for Saturday, 15 Apr 2023
1st Sean Farrell (41) 2nd Geoff Lyall (39) 3rd Stefan Belevski (38) 4th James Hale (36) 4th Ryan Porker (36) 5th Harry Boughen (34)
Seniors Results: 1st Sean Farrell (41) 2nd Geoff Lyall (39) 3rd Harry Boughen (34)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 4th Geoff Lyall BallPin No 1 – 12th Peter Sein BallPin No 2 – 18th Ryan Porker