Blighty’s prognostication was just a little off the mark. Although there was a bit of a downpour in the lead up to tee time, the fourteen members and one guest were able to set out sans wet weather gear (of any sort). There was a bit of residual water around on the first couple of holes, but it was mainly the temperature and humidity, combined with some ‘hairy’ rough (in some cases not so rough) that was a cause for concern. JQ reckons that he near to lost a ball just a metre off the 11th green. Other than that, the course was deemed to be in good condition, and it proved to be conducive to some fine golf being played. There also seemed to be some not so fine golf that one or two members would prefer to forget. Two rounds of the Strokeplay Championship are now under the belts, and the handicap crown is shaping up to be a close run thing, which makes for some exciting times next week. The scratch championship is not quite done and dusted, but some of the contenders will have to hope for a serious ‘moving’ day.
The talk around the table after the round was very much about Bobbie coming in with a net 64, and having an eight and a nine on his card. What might have been, hey! Unfortunately, it seems that his eight might have been mistaken for a five when the summation was made, and so, Bob was relegated to a, still very respectable, net 67. The other rumour that was circulating, as we waited patiently for the last group to report in, was that CJ had reached the turn just two strokes over the card. By the end of the round, he had gone a mere three more over the card, to finish with 73 strokes off the beater for an actual net 64. And, as is usually the case, there were a couple of ‘if onlies’ in the mix as well.
Whitey was spotted buying some beers after the round, which was taken as a sure sign that he had a draughtie somewhere. This was confirmed to be the case, but there is little evidence for the event on his card, with his worst being a double on the sixth, resulting in a total off the stick of 82 for his net score of 65, that slotted him nicely into second place, and ideally placed to ‘king hit’ CJ and to add some silverware to the pool room. There is no record of him using his putter from the fairway, or from the tee, for that matter! Steve was frustrated by the fact that, on at least two occasions, he sank putts from metres away from the hole. But, on at least six other occasions, he took three putts to accomplish the same or lesser tasks. Despite the list of if onlies, he was still able to arrive at the 19th with a net score of 65, to join Whitey with the hope to knee-cap CJ, and, maybe, even Whitey as well.
What more can be said about Bob. He did play well, and only mucked up a couple of holes. But, if he can keep up the standard and avoid the multies, then he is not so far off the pace that he could be counted out as a contender. Now, it is hard to get good help these days, and you would think that a Project Manager like Pepsi, would know that more than anybody. But, he was obviously very focussed on his game today, because he ‘forgot’ to put the ProPin box out on the 4th, before unceremoniously ‘dumping’ it at the 7th. Not happy with that little achievement, he completely forgot the BallPin at the 15th, and, with no more par threes in the offing, it was carried all the way back to the Clubhouse. Anyhow, the concentration on the game paid off, and he played right to his handicap. This leaves him with an excellent chance of overtaking the leaders as well. This just leaves Brendon in the top five, with a slimmer chance of topping the field, needing to leapfrog four others and needing a six stroke turnaround over CJ. Still, stranger things have happened. It’s probably in the stats somewhere!
Now, where to start on the Nearest the Pin competition! It has been decided to let the ‘placement’ of the ProPin on the 7th stand, and it will Jackpot to next week. Think of it as a potential gift for Christmas. This is despite Brendon complaining bitterly about the fact that he was within the required distance on the 4th, and had photographic evidence to prove it. On viewing it, Gordon reckoned he was closer. With his fourth shot! The non-placement of the first BallPin on the 15th will also stand, and it, too, will Jackpot to next week. The ProPin on the 18th did, at least, provide some excitement in the event. Raj had plonked his drive up onto the bottom deck, probably about 8m from the hole. JQ hit a cracker, and it swooped in from the side onto the top deck to finish about 4m away and well inside Raj’s distance. Moments later, Jake, playing as our guest, followed a similar path and his ball rolled to a stop, maybe 300mm closed to the hole. And that was it. JQ did not get his name on the card, and Jake collected the ball.
While on the subject of the 18th, Craig managed to get just onto the lower deck of the green. To himself, whatever you do, just be sure to get it onto the top deck. Not to be. Gritted teeth. Just get the top deck. Not to be! Eventually made it, well past the hole, and finished with a five putter. Oops! Prez didn’t have the greatest of front nines, but he made a ten stroke improvement on the back. His ‘highlights’ were hitting the same tree with consecutive shots, and going close to taking a draughtie on the 18th when there were six people on the tee. Fortunately, the ball was found, only just in front of the red markers. Blighty did have a draughtie on the 3rd, which might have been a bit stiff, because the ball had gone well past before it hit a tree and came straight back. Gordo also had his moments today. His highlight was a chip in for birdie on the 8th, which helped the team to a total of nine for the day. His drive on the 14th was deemed to be in ‘trouble’ and a provisional followed a similar track in the vicinity of the penalty area on the right. After a search, and neither found, it was deemed that both were probably in the penalty area. Later, playing up the 16th, both balls were found. Which does raise the question of the presumption that the balls were in the penalty area. Strictly, you have to be 95% sure that is where the ball(s) have finished. Searching outside the penalty area, could easily be construed as not being able to meet the 95% requirement, and, possibly, the lost ball penalty should have been applied. Just something to keep in mind! Brendon just might have acquired a new nickname today. From now on, he might answer to the name Banana Bread.
Please register if you plan to come to the Break-up on the 21st. We need the numbers before the 14th so that we can advise the caterer, and we would hate to under-cater. You don’t have to play on the day, this comes out of your Club sub, so you have actually paid for it. If you don’t register, you could still come, but the food might be in short supply as a result, and you hate to do that to your mates. On the menus at the top of the page, there is one called Registration. Click on that and then select Breakup Registration and Bob will be your mother’s brother. Then it is just the same as registering for Saturday competition.
Results for Saturday, 07 Dec 2024
Leaderboard Round 1: 1st Chris Priems (64) 2nd Steven Gervasoni (65) 2nd Rodney White (65) 3rd Bob McDonald (67) 4th Andrew Petricola (68) 5th Brendon Mitchell (70)
Seniors Leaderboard: 1st Chris Priems (64) 2nd Rodney White (65) 2nd Steven Gervasoni (65) 3rd Bob McDonald (67)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 7th Jackpot BallPin No 1 – 15th Jackpot BallPin No 2 – 18th Jake Priems