In the lead-up to the weekend of golf, the sad news came through that long-time member Keith Delzoppo had died. Tributes flowed on the club’s email network.
It was Brendan who did a bit of googling and found this photo of Keith from April 2022. On that day Keith not only knocked off Trevor in a match play round but joined Craig Cameron on the podium for first place.
Keith played some good golf in his time with us, but he will be most remembered for what good company he was. None of us ever grumbled when the tee marshall put Keith in our group.
Harry and others from the club have been in contact with Keith’s family and passed on our best wishes. More than a few members will be in attendance at Keith’s funeral. Rest in peace Keith.
After the conclusion of the Fred Howe Winter Cup last week, the first three placegetters in that event, Brendan, Prez Priems and Raj, fronted up and headed off in the first group. They are indeed the current form horses of the competition. A few hours later all three were marking cards of 37 stableford points and a triple dead heat for first place.
Apparently, apart from a spectacular effort from Rob on the 12th (see more below) it was a very uneventful round for all. When asked to name some highlights for the blog, Raj said he had nothing to say. End of story!
The highlight of the second group out on the course was the return of the Beast after ten weeks away helping a lady friend in Wales with her landscaping business. Beast has been known to enjoy his golf when away in the UK and his playing partners Michael and Chris J had a few raised eyebrows when Beast said he was too busy to fit in any golf over there this time. Let’s just say what goes on in Wales stays in Wales and those of you who didn’t turn up missed some very good gossip with some history going back to Beast’s younger days in his twenties.
He can still play too, with 19 points on the front 9, sinking putts from everywhere, including a monster on the 9th. Bill was going so well Michael couldn’t resist the old curse of telling Bill how well he was playing. Bill duly started the back 9 poorly and could only manage 12 points for 31 overall and third place. Michael himself finished 2 shots better with 34 points, enough for second place points. Chris J brought up the rear of the field, and fourth place, with 24 points including 5 three pointers matched by 5 gashes.
And that was it for groups this week. Two groups, six players, everybody with points and the fifth placed point went begging, as did the third placed point in the Seniors.
Speaking of senior’s moments, the first group were obviously so focused on their tussle for first place that they forgot to put the nearest the pin out on the designated 7th, despite Raj hitting one quite close to the hole. Beast also hit a good shot there and it would have been a close run thing between the two of them for the ball.
The first ball pin became the 12th which, with an unusual front right pin position, yielded the only two birdies of the day. It was the scene of the day’s biggest golfing highlight.
Rob nearly slam dunked his tee shot for a hole in one, the pitch mark an inch away. So well struck was the shot it spun back to just off the edge of the green and out of nearest the pin contention. However, after taking the photos and ruing the hole in one that wasn’t, Rob sank the putt for his birdie and 4 stableford points.
Michael followed up with a nice shot to a couple of metres to take the ball. He too made the birdie putt.
The huge sum of $6 jackpots for the ProPin on the 15th. Again, the first group didn’t bother putting out the marker but this time it didn’t matter, nobody got close to the 5 metre mark.
Beast then knocked off Brendan for the ball on the 18th. One of the quickest presentation ceremonies ever was had and it was barely past morning tea time when we headed home.
PS. Apart from the car park works, the other big infrastructure development of note comes courtesy of the big James/Brent matchplay out of bounds issue on the 13th.
There are now new OOB markers in place which should help avoid any confusion if anybody heads out there in the future.
The coming week sees the August monthly medal up for grabs with a spot to be gained in the end year Champion of Champions event for those not already qualified.
Meanwhile, the Championship race is hotting up. Raj is now the front runner, with Geoff, James, Brendan, Harry and Rob in pursuit. There’s also some sneaky money for Captain Matt making a run. If he can get past Porks and then Brent and win the 16 points on offer for the Match Play, he too will be in championship calculations.
Results for Saturday, 29 Jul 2023
1st Rajesh Mahto (37) 1st Brendon Mitchell (37) 1st Robert Priems (37) 2nd Michael Gourlay (34) 3rd Bill Eastoe (31) 4th Chris James (24)
Seniors Results: 1st Michael Gourlay (34) 2nd Bill Eastoe (31)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 15th Jackpot BallPin No 1 – 12th Michael Gourlay BallPin No 2 – 18th Bill Eastoe