Summer continues to make a last-ditch stand to bring some warmer weather, although Autumn does tend to run his icy fingers through the morning air. A couple of the short sleeve brigade made comment on the fact before tee time, though the lighter clothing would have been welcome later in the day. The course is generally dry, and there was plenty of run to be had on most fairways. The greens had been well watered, and the dewy conditions persisted until well into the round. And, there was plenty of brushing needed on the leafier parts of the course. With a couple of ins and outs, we ended up with sixteen players, including Rodger for his annual pilgrimage to Ivanhoe to take part in Stuart’s rounds.
Harry started out with a par (in regulation) which can sometimes be a bad omen, and the second proved a bit of a struggle to score a point. Then it looked as if it might have been an omen for good when he reached the turn with 21 points on the card. The back nine was not quite so speccy, but there was a very respectable 38 points to present to the judges at the end of the round. Charlie took a couple of holes to collect his first par, but they continued to drop at a fairly respectable rate, and the points kept adding up. Twenty on the front was followed closely by eighteen on the back, and he too presented a card showing thirty-eight points. Raj started out steadily enough, and looked as if he was really going to hit the straps when he scored consecutive birdies on the 4th and 5th holes. A mini slump at the end of the nine had him make the turn with 19 points on the card. He scored another birdie on the 13th (no mean feat) by playing a blind shot over the hazard on the left to be suitably surprised to find it on the green. His three birdies helped us to a grand total of 11 for the day. Brendon didn’t quite bomb the distances that he did last week, but he did manage quite a few ‘stingers’ on his way to his total of 38 points as well. He did express the view that he would like to be able to hit that sort of shot on demand. His front nine produced 22 points from a one over score off the stick, but he joined Harry in a slight fade out on the back and only managed sixteen points to bring his total to thirty-eight as well.
Ryan played a very steady round, and if it hadn’t been for a couple of aberrations, he could easily have led the field. His drive on the 6th had a fair bend to the right, and despite a thorough search, it was deemed to have made it into the hazard, which made it just too difficult to score. On the 14th, he abandoned his set-up to take one of the snakes that were on offer, and then proceeded to whack it out of bounds. Harry vehemently denies that it was a ploy to upset his rhythm. Thirty-seven points is, however, an ideal spot to be able to strike from behind in next week’s round. Craig plugged along pretty steadily, but the card was punctuated by just a few too many singletons, and the three pointers were not all that prominent. A pair of seventeens was enough to slot into third place. Bobbie also produced a pair of seventeens to be right up there with Craig, and still be well-placed to take the trophy with just a little improvement next week.
Pepsi started off on the right foot with a birdie on the first, and he followed that up with another one on the 4th. However, the singletons (and one uncharacteristic gash) made all the difference, and, at the end of the day, Peps could only manage 33 points, which was enough to make fourth place in the field after Round 1. Dan continues to show signs of his potential as he gets used to the vagaries of the Ivanhoe course. Possibly, he is also benefiting from ‘second hand’ lessons from Charlie, who has obviously benefitted from a session (or two?) with ProShop Chris. SOS reckons that Prez should be paying him a retainer for finding his lost balls. For the second week in a row, SOS has found a ball with ‘PREZ’ plastered all over it. Whether this contributed to the fade-out on the back nine is not clear, but, during the round, Prez was heard to say that if he could keep it together he would be right up there. Unfortunately, the six point turn around between front and back, placed him at the back of the front-runners rather than the front of the front-runners. Still, just six points behind the pace is no reason to despair.
The ProPin was set for the 4th hole, and the tee was fairly well forward. Raj went out in the first group, and fretted all day that somebody would beat his shot to 1.84m. Brendon had called it for Harry after his low running shot was right ‘on the money’ (with a favourable bounce or two along the way), but the distance was just beyond the length required. Raj needn’t have worried. Nobody else worried his distance, and he collected the dosh on offer (eventually, after SOS awarded him a ball instead). The first BallPin was on the 15th, and StanB was the man to beat for this one. And, nobody could. The BallPin on the 18th almost went begging, but Brendon played the last shot of the day to get it onto the dance-floor for a chance at the ProShop ProPin as well. He was disappointed to miss the birdie by a bee’s.
SOS went for the green on the 17th, and actually made it onto the green, but with a longish putt for the eagle. The putt was true, but maybe a tad fast, as it hit the pin and stayed out. Easy birdie though. Rodger didn’t quite find his form today, but he did play a memorable shot from the 15th tee. The ball headed hard left, out of bounds for all money. The ball found some woodwork that it hit dead centre and launched itself high into the air and back over Rodger’s head to land on the slope of the tee mound and finish by the 14th green. Steve has had a little break from golf and made his come-back today. While he didn’t exactly set the world on fire, he did give the ball a good scare on the 8th tee where it is unclear whether the club actually touched the ball or whether it was the slip-stream that caused it to move a few millimetres to one side. Draughtie/Airie, his playing group didn’t mind which, as long as he paid up.
Don’t forget to register for next week. All welcome for a game, a barbecue (we need numbers for catering) and the AGM. Not too late to submit a late nomination for a Committee position if there is a role that you fancy turning your hand to.
Results for Saturday, 16 Mar 2024
Leaderboard Round 1: 1st Harry Boughen (38) 1st Charles Gibbs (38) 1st Rajesh Mahto (38) 1st Brendon Mitchell (38) 2nd Ryan Porker (37) 3rd Craig Cameron (34) 3rd Bob McDonald (34) 4th Andrew Petricola (33) 5th Dan Marie (32) 5th Robert Priems (32)
Seniors Leaderboard: 1st Harry Boughen (38) 2nd Bob McDonald (34) 2nd Craig Cameron (34) 3rd Ken Watson (29)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 4th Rajesh Mahto BallPin No 1 – 15th Stan Blackshaw BallPin No 2 – 18th Brendon Mitchell