You have to look on the Brightside! Yes, it seems that Mr Brightside is making a come-back after a spell, so there was a fair bit of chatter about racing and betting with a sprinkling of ‘if onlys’ after the Magpies’ come-back in the match last night. The number fronting to the tee also made a bit of a come-back with ten lining up to take their chances with the vagaries of the game. The firmness of the ground continues to improve, and it is only the bit in front of the 10th and the middle section of the 14th that are still a bit squishy. There were a few drops of moisture that formed large enough to reach the ground, but only one or two umbrellas were brought out of their holders by those taking a more pessimistic view of the prospects. All in all, it was a very nice day for golf and the preferred lie was barely necessary, unless, of course, you needed to try to clear a tree, or something.
The come-back trail did continue, though. James has been missing in action for a few weeks as a result of jet-setting to foreign climes as part of his career pursuit. It does seem that there will be a certain degree of permanence in foreign climes shortly when he relocates to KL for a stint. He has promised not to forget us, and will play when he is back in Oz. Ryan also has not made it to the ‘Hoe for a while, what with the dreaded ‘C’ and other viral infections mixed in with some holidays as well. The break doesn’t seem to have impacted the form of either too much. Ryan raided the Eagle’s Nest (such as it was) yet again, when he pitched in from over 50m out on the 3rd. Unfortunately, no extra points for that effort, and only one ball in the nest. On the 4th, lining up the new boundary markers placed his ball OOB, despite it being in an area that has been subject to mowing. There was much less doubt about James’ venture outside the course boundaries when he tried a ‘hungry’ shot across the corner of the billabong on the 8th. So, what might have been for both of our young heroes?
SOS started out the day by volunteering, as tee time approached, to move forward a group if somebody didn’t show. Somebody did show, though Targe could have been easily overlooked, and the third group looked like being a four as planned. Numerous bemused looks were apparent when SOS lined up and teed off in the second group. Rather than disappoint his new-found playing companions, he decided to press on. Talk about a brain fade! At least it wasn’t a brain shank! Anyway, SOS was the clubhouse leader for a while, though he hadn’t quite marked it into his book just yet, until his +1 score was surpassed by the dynamic duo with their +2.
Whitey started out in fine style with a chip in for a birdie on the first. The second didn’t appear to be going quite so well when he got onto the green in three, but with a 10m putt facing him. So, what does he do, but sink the putt for the par, something that he hasn’t achieved on the hole for quite some time. He scored himself another birdie on the 6th. The second shot finished about 100m from the green, so, as you do, Whitey took out his putter and calmly whacked the ball to about 1m from the pin, and an easy tap-in for the bird. Overall, the square card was enough to take out third place for the day.
Harry was pretty impressed with his warm-up on the practice green before tee time and had high hopes that it would continue. It did, sort of, but produced a series of squares over the first three holes. He also fell foul of the new markers on the 4th, but recovered the situation with a couple of pars. The middle of the round was not great, so H was hoping for a triple of pars on the last three holes to add some respectability. He did manage one of the three, but a chip in for birdie on the 18th was one for the eclectic, one of eight that we managed for the day, and finished the card just the one point outside handicap for 4th place. Raj was going gang-busters for the first six holes thanks to putting like a champion. Unfortunately, the putting radar developed something of a glitch and the minus signs started adding up (even though that makes no mathematical sense). Despite getting his name on the card for the BallPin on the 18th, it took him another four strokes to complete the round.
The first BallPin was the Jackpot 4th, and it looked like going begging again after Porks and Harry ventured too far right of the green. So, it was left to James to un-Jackpot it with the last shot of the field. On the 18th, Raj was a bit unlucky to miss out on the ball, as the tape measure had to come out to separate his marker from James’ ball, and the story was that there were only a few centimetres in it. It was a different story on the 12th for the ProPin, it being pretty much a no contest, with Raj putting his shot to 2.52m to collect ten big ones.
Steve was wishing that he had bigger hands. And not because of something that is supposed to be related to your hand size, though he did mutter something about getting married as he tried to find out the exact dates of the Annual Challenge after the round. Surely he can’t be thinking of not defending the Mustard Jacket? Ryan probably thought the rust was beginning to show when he topped one off the 10th tee and finished barely past the bottom of the hill. Things looked even rustier on the 13th where the ball had to struggle to even get past the red markers. It finished not quite as close to the base of a tree as Steve’s did, but Ryan also had the advantage of being a leftie, and was able to manufacture a reasonable shot down the fairway. James was complaining about a decided lack of sleep last night. It seems that they were ‘baby-sitting’ a friend’s dog, and severely interrupted sleep was the general outcome. Looks like dogs, definitely, and maybe even babies are off the agenda, at least for a while. Brendon was being very circumspect about his birthday today, and despite much wheedling from SOS, none of the much folded folding stuff was liberated from the close confinement of the ‘wallet’ to buy a mate a beer. Somebody wanted to know whether he was the same age in New Zealand years!
And, while on the topic of birthdays, there is a veritable plethora coming up in the rest of the week. We have ChrisV, JQ, Zimmer and John. The Birthday Birdie hopes you all have a great day when it comes around, and maybe the golf gods will smile upon you when next we see you at the ‘Hoe.
Results for Saturday, 12 Aug 2023
1st James Hale (+2) 1st Ryan Porker (+2) 2nd Stephen O’Sullivan (+1) 3rd Rodney White (□) 4th Harry Boughen (-1) 5th Rajesh Mahto (-2)
Seniors Results: 1st Rodney White (□) 2nd Harry Boughen (-1) 3rd Gordon Hill (-3)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 12th Rajesh Mahto BallPin No 1 – 4th James Hale BallPin No 2 – 18th James Hale
Eagle’s Nest – 3rd Ryan Porker