How many were not going to show up? That was the question! Yes, the BOM had forecast rain, but when it was ‘bucketing’ down, there was a thought about, that the feathers might prove just a little too attractive. Either that, or what else was under the feathers. But, hardy types that we are, absolutely everybody that was registered turned up, and we had a full complement of thirteen members, and Connor, who submitted his third card elevating him to the exalted status of fully-fledged. He can now drop the pretence, and start to play to his potential, though it must be said that he did manage a draughtie on the 17th, and he did attempt to submit a better card by underestimating the number of strokes taken on a couple of occasions. Can happen from time to time, but seems to get more frequent as the years go by.
Some years ago, Michael was dealing with Joe Wagenecht to sell some of his old clubs, which Joe did in his usual style. But, he couldn’t stand to see Michael playing with his prehistoric driver, so he paid Michael in kind with a brand-new driver. Which Michael has been using, but with decreasing satisfaction in recent times. So, today, he brought out from retirement his old TaylorMade R510 driver, and the rest, they say, is history. Michael is rightly in love with the old girl (take that whichever way you like). His game today was exemplary, with drives down the centre and pitches hitting the green with accuracy. So much so that he scored three of the seven birdies that the whole field managed for the day, and completed the round just one stroke over par to come home with a net score of 64 to take out the June Monthly Medal by a handsome margin.
James set out as if to show that his form of the last few weeks was no flash in the pan. His front nine was just two over the card, which tends to cast serious doubt on the handicap that he holds. This was helped, in no small measure, by the shot of the day on the 6th. The drive was good, but the second strayed a bit and finished on the 7th tee. Faced with some intervening trees, and a ‘helpful’ audience, James played his shot which carried to the green, bounced a couple of times and rolled into the hole. A great cheer erupted from the peanut gallery. So, for the third time in as many weeks, the poor old Eagle has had her nest raided, and James was able to claim a single ball for his trouble. The back nine seems to have posed more of a problem, however, and he was only able to lay claim to a net 69. Adam also looked as if he was going to do some serious handicap busting until he sank a long curling putt on the 13th to save himself from carding a double figure score for the hole. Brendon, on the other hand, didn’t do anything particularly wrong, nor did he do anything particularly right as he made his way to his tally of 69 strokes net as well. Sixty-nine proved to be a popular result today, as Rob was also able to report that result for his share of second place. He was heard bewailing the effects of a couple of bad holes in the closing stages of the front nine as he trudged his way up the tenth fairway.
Geoff was pretty happy with his net of 70, particularly after a lost ball from the 1st tee resulted in a fat lady for the hole. That is, until Michael came in with a stroke score less than his net. Still, a spot in third place is not to be sneezed at. Raj did pretty well on thirteen of the holes by not scoring less than two stableford points equivalent. He had one four-pointer, and probably should have had two after he hit his approach shot on the 11th to about 300mm for two. He ambled up to tap it in, and missed, so a simple par was all he could claim. His 73 net scored him fourth place. Blighty rounded out the point-getters today by achieving something that he reckons he hasn’t done for a while, and that was to finish a round with the same (new) ball that he started with. There was some suggestion that it was probably one of the ones that he won by cleaning out the Eagle’s Nest many moons ago.
The ProPin today was set on the 4th, which sounded like a challenge with the wet conditions and the tees likely to be well back. No problem for Geoff, in the first group, who put his drive to 4.55m to shut the rest of the field out of the event. The first BallPin was on the 15th, and Hopeful Hazza put his shot to pin high, but a fair way from the pin. The very next group saw Goulash steal it away with a shot that was obviously much closer in. The 18th went close to eluding the grasp of the entire field, but Rob, in the last group, saved the day by getting one on and putting his name on the card.
Porks had an expensive round today. He was taking a practice swing with his driver while waiting his turn on the tee. Unfortunately, he was just a bit close to SOS who was also in the midst of the same exercise, and they crossed swords, so to speak. Ryan’s driver came off second best and developed a crack in the head, which will undoubtedly involve some considerable expense one way or another. Michael might be able to help him out with a ‘cheap’ reject. It seems that taking practice swings can be hazardous. James took one for his approach to the 18th green, and, in the process, made contact with the ball, sending it off at a 45 degree angle. Accident, or design? Harry pitched into the 8th green, executing what he described as the ‘perfect’ golf shot, the ball being bisected by the pin for its entire trajectory, taking a bounce and finishing just past the hole. It wasn’t considered a ‘tap-in’ but he ‘did a Raj’ and missed it just the same.
Results for Saturday, 03 Jun 2023
1st Michael Gourlay (64) 2nd James Hale (69) 2nd Adam King (69) 2nd Brendon Mitchell (69) 2nd Robert Priems (69) 3rd Geoff Lyall (70) 4th Rajesh Mahto (73) 5th Andrew Blight (74)
Seniors Results: 1st Michael Gourlay (64) 2nd Geoff Lyall (70) 3rd Andrew Blight (74)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 4th Geoff Lyall BallPin No 1 – 15th Michael Gourlay BallPin No 2 – 18th Robert Priems
Eagle’s Nest Results: Eagle – 6th James Hale