Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail shall keep the golfers from their appointed rounds. Ostensibly coined by Herodotus about 2500 years ago, it was never more true today. Ten plucky members set off with hope in their hearts, and a belief that there was a chance that the weather front would either miss, or, at least, pass not close enough to be a problem. Their hopes held good for a couple of holes, but, then, the rain arrived, accompanied by the occasional gust of wind. Fortunately, the snow, sleet, and hail did not eventuate. However, the wind proved to be sufficient to catch Brent’s umbrella and overturn his buggy. The umbrella ended rather the worse for wear, but Brent was heartened by the fact that it was only a $20 job. Dan’s buggy did not capsize, but his umbrella did a good impression of a fruit-bat when it turned inside-out and separated most of the struts from their hinges. There was a view expressed that it would not be a great day for scoring, and the casual water on the greens made for some interesting short game experiences.
Needless to say, there were a couple of members who had other ideas about the effect of the weather on the ability to make a score. The prime example of which was none other than CJ, who set about moving further into the future the day that he gives up the game. Despite his card sporting three singletons, he was able to counter that to some degree with a birdie on the 3rd which bought him a very nice four points. Another four holes that scored three, and the rest sporting 2 points, made for a total, at the end of the day, of 39 points. Yet another top spot in both the Club and the Seniors Championship. Michael’s marker complained about the lack of excitement as he had to record par after par on the card. He had to do this sixteen times before there occurred, what Michael styled, an ‘unfortunate’ bogey on the 17th. A par on the last meant that he was just one shy of playing the course in regulation in conditions that were somewhat less than ‘regulation’. Thirty-eight points was more than good enough to get second place, putting even more daylight between Michael and the rest of the field in both Championship tables. It also extends his reign at the top of the Order of Merit.
SOS seemed to have a bit of a thing about the second hole on each nine, as he managed to score a gash on both of them, which were just about the only blotches on his card. The miss on the 11th came about in a bit of an unusual way. His drive drifted left into the tree line, and was heard to make some sort of contact. The ball obviously came straight back and finished hard against the base of the pine tree between the roots on the green side. With no preferred lie, the ball was unplayable, and penalty relief was the only option. Despite the set-backs, and having to deal with getting relief from casual water on the greens, SOS still produced a very creditable 34 points to fill third place. Harry’s hands really gave him curry today, and SOS was a bit concerned about what was going on as he fumbled around in his trouser pocket for tees, ball markers, etc. The lack of a reliable grip did impact a few shots, but the main ‘problem’ was the number of putts that caught the edge of the hole, but didn’t drop. As a result, the final total was a mere 31 points, but that was enough for a spot in fourth place for the day. Old Reliable was not quite so reliable today, but reliable enough to make fifth place with his card of 28 points. He’ll take the point, regardless!
Michael does like to brag about what a good shot he is on the par threes. The ProPin was on the 4th, and, although he was just outside the limit, he just had to put his name and distance on the card. However, it was just one of those Danny days, and Dan easily took the money with his shot to 4.56m. Not to be outdone, Dan also got the closest on both of the BallPins on the 12th and the 18th. Wouldn’t you know it, he didn’t make the birdie on any of them, so young Dan did not contribute to the four that were scored for the day.
Gordo made his comeback today, and he owned up to having had a few putts, but this was his first swing of a longer club. He was necessarily a bit circumspect about the length of his swing, and, when all is said and done, the signs are looking promising as he only just missed out on scoring himself a point on the first outing. Craig’s group had pretty much called him a hole-in-one on the 15th. The only problem was that he had over-clubbed it a bit, and the ball hit the pin hard enough to bounce off far enough that Dan was able to get closer for the BallPin (apologies, Dan beat Craig on 18 for the BallPin). Bob had more battery problems today. Only, this time, it wasn’t his buggy that gave up the ghost, it was his hearing aid. CJ thought that he might have to play Dad today when little brother, Rob, lost it a couple of times. There might have even been one case of a UAP when a favourite implement headed for the trees. After a group hug on the 17th tee, they all headed down the steps to the buggies. Except Rob, who took the grassy route, and left an exquisite set of skid-marks down the slope, if not down his y-fronts. A salutary lesson for all, the steps are there for a reason – use them!
Results for Saturday, 14 Sep 2024
1st Chris Priems (39) 2nd Michael Gourlay (38) 3rd Stephen O’Sullivan (34) 4th Harry Boughen (31) 5th Craig Cameron (28)
Seniors Results: 1st Chris Priems (39) 2nd Michael Gourlay (38) 3rd Harry Boughen (31)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 4th Dan Marie BallPin No 1 – 12th Dan Marie BallPin No 2 – 18th Dan Marie