The weatherman promised hot, and, when the northerly started to pick up, the temperature rose pretty smartly. Always a good time to keep yourself well hydrated, and to make as much shade as possible with a good hat and an umbrella. Plus, don’t forget the sunscreen. Fifteen members sweated it out (should have been sixteen, but somebody didn’t get out of bed, or something) and, despite plenty of run on the dryer back fairways, the scoring was not great in the long run, but we did manage to rack up ten birdies between us. Harry spent a bit of time playing in outback New South Wales, and the drying conditions are starting to remind him of the course at Bourke, where the cracks could be wide enough to swallow your ball. Fortunately, ours aren’t quite that wide – yet!
Perhaps it was the increasing temperature, but there were some pretty flash front nines that were not replicated on the back. Harry started off with a par on the first, and managed three more before reaching the turn two up. The oil leak, that started on the ninth, eventually took up on the 15th, and he finished with a burst, spoiled only by the par putt on the 18th ricocheting off the pin and spinning out of the hole. Still, a square card was enough to win the day.
Pepsi blamed Harry for leading him astray on the last with the comment that the pin was on the top deck when the NTP box was put out. However, it was now on the bottom deck, and the loss on the hole cost Pepsi a share of first place. I guess the ground staff can do what they like, provided that none of the field have gone through that part of the course yet. It does make it a bit tough for those that like to check some of the pin positions before the round.
Marc continued his love affair with the Ivanhoe trees today, and put in a very good showing for his first round of official competition. JQ had a bit of a discussion with Porks about his ‘longest drive ever’ on the 13th, and Ryan dutifully played the shorter ball. Except that his was actually the longer ball, and he had played JQ’s ball. JQ then played from the shorter spot to the edge of the green, and calmly rolled in the long shot putt for a birdie. This brought him home on -2 alongside Marc in second place. Then comes a cast of thousands in fourth place, which would surely have Michael asking if this was some sort of a record. No less than seven members crowded onto the podium, having carded minus four for their round. Raj had the best of the front nine with a plus three at the turn. He thought he had minus eight on the back, but a slight error in his handicap brought that back to minus seven, and he thus managed to squeeze into fifth beside Targe. The two members who missed out on points were not too far behind.
The Jackpot BallPin on the 7th was won by Gordo. Porks squeezed out Bob for the BallPin on the 18th, and ‘just’ beat Harry for the Inside ProPin by about 8m. The fourth hole beat us all again, and there will be a Double Jackpot on the little blighter next week. Should be getting to be almost worth winning, or even dividing, if push comes to shove.
A couple of events to note. Marc had a birthday last week, so the Birthday Birdie says – hope it was a good one. Pepsi played his 700th game with the club and went close to celebrating with a win. SOS went sniffing around the internet and scored himself a bargain for a new set of irons. Driver from the first went a bit right. New iron headed in the direction of the green. New wedge balanced delicately between the pin and the hole edge. Voice from behind – Anybody using a SOS ball? Oops, not a birdie after all. Bob is back on deck after an extended time off, and looking in fine fettle. He was so busy filling everybody in on his various ‘misfortunes’ that he forgot to strap down his bag, and it parted company from his buggy on its way down the hill at the first. The eagle had a couple of nervous moments today. Gordo left his second shot on the third about 75 mm left of the hole, and Porks rimmed the cup on the 8th with his second shot, with the ball finishing teetering on the edge of the hole.
The Committee met today to deal with a few matters in the lead up to the AGM. Because of some earlier rescheduling of the calendar, it was agreed to postpone the AGM from the usual spot associated with the Stuart Clarke Memorial to the date of the April Monthly Medal (05 April). It was also determined that there would be a barbecue lunch on that day as well. The draw was done for the Matchplay seeding and the new results table has been posted on the website under Competitions. Just remember, if you and your opponent play the same day, you play your match, but you do have an option not to, if it happens to be a Major or the Priems Cup.
Results for Saturday, 22 Feb 2025
1st Harry Boughen (□) 2nd Andrew Petricola (-1) 3rd Marc Phillips (-2) 3rd John Quinlan (-2) 4th Stan Blackshaw (-3) 4th Craig Cameron (-3) 4th Steven Gervasoni (-3) 4th Gordon Hill (-3) 4th Bob McDonald (-3) 4th Ryan Porker (-3) 4th Robert Priems (-3) 5th Rajesh Mahto (-4) 5th Targe Mifsud (-4)
Seniors Results: 1st Harry Boughen (□) 2nd Bob McDonald (-3) 2nd Craig Cameron (-3) 2nd Gordon Hill (-3) 2nd Robert Priems (-3) 2nd Stan Blackshaw (-3) 2nd Steven Gervasoni (-3) 3rd Targe Mifsud (-4)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 4th Jackpot BallPin No 1 – 7th Gordon Hill BallPin No 2 – 18th Ryan Porker