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How high (or low) can he go on 01 November 2025.
Who cares about horses sniffing jockey’s rear ends as they gallop around Flemington, or wherever? Certainly not the fifteen members who fronted up for the penultimate Monthly Medal for the year. It would have been sixteen, but Craig was ordered to stay in bed (presumably by a medico, and not his wife). So get well soon, old buddy, and grace the course with your smiling face and ridiculously straight drives. There were a couple of members, at least, who tried desperately not to let their punting investments (the term is used loosely) interfere with their game, but it did constitute a fair portion of their conversation, and attention to mobiles, for at least a few holes. The weather was very kind, and any need for extra layers evaporated soon enough, and by the end of the round, you could say that it was downright balmy. The ground staff seem to have taken off for the unofficial ‘long weekend’, and the greens were not cleared of litter, but otherwise there was little to complain about the course. Other than, perhaps, the missing chunks on the fairway, where some sort of scarification seems to have been attempted.
Porks was probably stung by Michael’s comments during the week about Nalin taking over the lead in the Vardon Trophy race. So he went out to show the crowd just who was ‘da boss’. Three bogies ‘spoiled’ the outward nine, and a couple more on the home run put the kibosh on a sub-par run home. So, he just had to settle for playing to his handicap, to take home the medal with minimum damage to his handicap. In the after game chat, there was talk of sub-par rounds and, even, course records, so he obviously reckons there is a bit more horsepower under the bonnet yet.
Brendon didn’t have a lot to say about his performance today, though he was probably a little less than happy about the sprinkling of doubles that marred his card. However, a tally of ten pars, including a run of four on the home straight, kept him well in the running to take out second place, beaten by a neck, to struggle to keep up the racing analogy. Denzil hasn’t been with us for too long, but, in line with other starters, it did not take him long to get his name on the points list. And, as somebody who has not had a great deal of experience with competition golf, he was keenly interested in the discussion of rules and rulings that went on after the game. But more on that later. AndrewV kept up his regular appearances on the podium, but the top spot has eluded him thus far. However, one of the secrets to making the rankings, is to play often and come second!
JQ was torn between completing the Matchplay (much delayed due to Harry’s gallivanting), and concentrating on winning himself a Medal. Try as he might, the ducks would not line up in the latter quest with some chunky chips, and wandering putts getting in the way of a better placing than fourth. He did have a fairly spectacular draughtie on the 9th when the shot went just about vertically, got caught up in the tree just off the path to the right, and dropped into the depression surrounding it, short, even, of the blue markers, let alone the red. Harry struggled on the front nine, with rather more triples to show for his efforts than he would like to own up to. His spirits perked up on the 10th, when a pitch shot from about 50m out bisected the pin all the way, checked and rolled in for a birdie. This helped us to tally five birdies for the day. JQ reckoned he called it from the moment the ball left the club. Anyway, the back nine ended up much more respectable than the front, and H collected the last point on offer. An unfortunate arithmetic error on Prez’s card meant that he did not actually get to share a point for fifth as well.
The ProPin today was on the 4th. The tee was set back about as far back on the tee box as possible, which made the hole even more tricky than usual, and there was all sorts of chat about whether it was possible to go over the trees or whether it was better to play for the low draw. Regardless of the strategy adopted, nobody was able to get close enough to the pin to make a claim, and there will be Jackpot for next week. Hopefully the course set up will be a little more favourable then. Raj got onto the 15th to claim the BallPin on offer there. Harry also got on, but only just on the cut surface, and he was a bare metre behind Raj, which might explain Raj’s mild surprise when his win was announced. On the 18th, Ryan was the only one to get on, and added to his winnings for the day.
Harry’s front nine was not a good way to start out in a matchplay competition. However, he was able to maintain a little respectability for about five holes, before the ‘cracks’ allowed the situation to deteriorate to the extent that, at the turn, JQ was four up, and a major defeat was in the offing for H. The birdie at the 10th was an easy win, but it also ‘wasted’ a stroke, and H considered requesting a ‘carry-over’ to the next hole, but thought better of the idea. The wins then pretty much alternated, until, at the 16th, and Harry’s last stroke, the hole squared, and the match went dormie two. A just missed putt for par on the 17th, meant that JQ took the match 3 and 1, rather than 2 and 1, if the putt had been sunk.
SOS was so intent on playing his draw to the 4th green for the money, that he just about missed the ball entirely, and also had a draughtie, that barely reached the blue markers. Bob had a bit of a bad day, and not only with his golf. His buggy apparently suffered a number of mishaps, he misplaced his specs at one stage, and the buggy controller at another. Then his game went off (less said). SteveG did not get off to a good start, with a shot straight into Charlie’s Bush on the first tee. However, Steve is quite unfazed, and is looking forward to the 28th, for the December MM, as he hasn’t won a MM yet, and he desperately wants to. Dan spoke in confidence to Ryan this morning and revealed that he is in the market for a new set of clubs. He went along for a fitting with the Pro, and, between you, me and the gatepost, it seems that the fitting did not go quite to plan.
Prez hit his drive from the 5th onto the fairway, but, in the fullness of time, and, despite an extensive search, the ball could not be found, but there was some evidence that it could have been picked up (or played) by another player. Rob was a little unclear on how to proceed. Here is a ‘ruling’ from the Captain – Okay, let’s figure out what Rob should do in this unfortunate (but hopefully hypothetical!) situation at Ivanhoe Golf Course.
The Governing Principle: Outside Influence
As before, the core rule here is about outside influence (Rule 9.6). Someone deliberately picked up Rob’s ball and took off with it. This is not a case of accidental movement; it’s a clear outside influence.
The Steps for Rob:
- No Penalty: Rob gets no penalty for this bizarre event. The Rules of Golf are very clear that a player isn’t penalized when an outside influence causes their ball to move (or, in this case, disappear!).
- Estimate the Spot: Rob must estimate, to the best of his ability, where his ball was when the lady made off with it.
- Replace the Ball: Rob must replace a ball on the estimated spot.
Important Considerations:
- Honesty and Reasonableness: Since it’s an estimated spot, Rob needs to be as honest and reasonable as possible in determining where the ball was. If he was in the rough, he should replace the ball in the rough. If he was on the fairway, he gets to place the ball on the fairway.
- Witnesses: If there were other players or course officials nearby, their input might help Rob determine the spot more accurately.
- Proceed with Play: Once Rob has replaced the ball on the estimated spot, he continues play as normal.
In summary, Rob gets a bit of a bizarre golf story to tell, but he gets no penalty, just an obligation to estimate and replace the ball as best he can.
This and other rule discussions from today will be posted on el Capitano’s page (maybe not immediately).
In other news, Life Member Rodger is probably out celebrating big time today to celebrate another birthday. And, hopefully, Craig will be allowed out of bed in time to celebrate his later in the week. The Birthday Birdie (and everyone in the Club) says, have a good one, guys.
Results for Saturday, 01 Nov 2025
1st Ryan Porker (68) 2nd Brendon Mitchell (71) 3rd Denzil Flood (72) 3rd Andrew Vogan (72) 4th John Quinlan (73) 5th Harry Boughen (74)
Seniors Results: 1st Denzil Flood (72) 1st Andrew Vogan (72) 2nd Harry Boughen (74) 3rd Robert Priems (75)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 4th Jackpot BallPin No 1 – 15th Rajesh Mahto BallPin No 2 – 18th Ryan Porker
Daylight was a distant second on 25th October 2025.
What a day! The group sheet had more changes than a stripper at a nightclub. However, we ended up with our original field size of sixteen, but in only four groups after Harry just about chucked it in. Gordo and SOS gave instructions to the chefs on where to look for the supplies and the new Club gas cylinder, so everything was deemed to be in dinky-di order. The air was a bit chill, but the sun was shining, and a warming trend was in the offing. The forecasts hinted at rain later in the day, and this proved to be perfectly correct, though there were half a dozen drops as the post game barbecue wound up. The big question was, would anybody be able to catch Nalin, who started out with at least four points start on the rest of the field. Would there be a brilliant performance by somebody or would there be a tragic collapse, by the first round leader?
There was a brilliant performance. But, it wasn’t by one of the back runners. It was by none other than Nalin himself, who absolutely played out of his skin to make last week’s score look ordinary, and carded a PB eighty-one off the stick, for plus six to add to the first round plus three. And that included three ‘bad’ holes. The reports were that the short game was absolutely brilliant, with the approach shots finishing close. Or, if they didn’t, the putts rattled in from anywhere on the green. Targe had it in his mind that Nalin’s ‘arrow’ ball marker might have had something to do with his uncanny accuracy. Maybe not! Regardless, a total of plus nine for the two rounds left the rest of the field the length of the straight and a couple of home turns behind.
SOS had a lesson during the week, and the coach ‘changed everything’. There was one instance of a reversion to form on the third, when a power shank from the tee could have taken a passer’s head off if it had made it through the bush. There were just enough missed putts etc for SOS to opine that the score didn’t really reflect how he played. Still, his minus one for the day was well up in the ball run listings, and the overall of minus three was adequate to score him second place for the event. Something that he entirely did not expect.
Gordo was heard doing a fair impression of a randy elephant seal, as he expressed his frustration with the ‘luck’ of the game. However, he came home with a wet sail by making birdie, par, par on the last three holes to finish the day just minus two to finish just behind SOS for the event on minus four. He wasn’t alone on that podium step. Bob shrugged off the effects of an air swing on the 6th, and the usual putts that were in the hole except for the last minute turn, to match Gordon on both daily scores. Targe took a slightly different path to his minus four, but he also needed a bit of a wet sail, as it took pluses on the last two holes to get him there. Brendon produced the second best score of the day with his square card, and also finished plus four overall.
Harry misjudged the effect of the dew on the speed of the greens early on, but made some very nice ones later in the round. One that should have been in hung on the lip of the cup, but the ten seconds elapsed, for no result. Reports suggest that Craig suffered a similar fate on one hole. Harry’s driver abandoned him on the last two holes, buying all sorts of trouble, and he could only manage minus two for the day. This let him hold his fourth place in the main field. Stan produced a very even distribution of all markings on the card, and, if it had not been for a ‘bald’ patch in the middle of the back nine, the result could have been somewhat different. So he had to settle for the last point on offer for the event. He was joined by AndrewV, who didn’t do quite as badly as he thought due to a point allocation error on his card.
As a second consolation prize for Andrew, he managed to knock off JQ for the BallPin on the 12th hole. The Kiwi (who else?) took out the Jackpot ProPin on the 15th with a shot to 3.49m, although a few estimated that it was longer than that. And, it was just not JQ’s day, because his claim to the BallPin on the 18th was overturned by Nalin.
We managed to score six birdies today, perhaps a bit on the light side considering the field and the conditions. Gordo did a bit of muttering about the fact that his second on the 16th finished to the left of the green and just off. Unperturbed, he just chipped it in. He went close to another on the 12th when the ball just about slam-dunked, almost disappearing from sight before jumping back out. JQ put in a reasonable round, even though he did own up to a draughtie on the 15th tee. Whitey, on the other hand, did not make much of a fist of the game on the day. At one stage, he lost four balls over the course of three holes. Matt also did a certain amount of huffing and puffing as the round progressed, and apparently pulled a real tantrum on the 8th tee, about the quality of his drive. He then proceeded to par the hole. Go figure!
So, having received adequate instruction from Gordo and SOS about the barbecue supplies, Matt fronted up to the cafe, looking for the meat and trimmings. Of course, they knew nothing about it, and offered to sell him some of theirs. Luckily, he didn’t take the offer and decided to phone a friend. The instructions were patiently repeated over the phone, and the barbecue could get under way. Except, that they reckon the brand-new gas bottle would not give out with any gas. They found another one lurking which, apparently, would give out some gas, and a very fine feed of burgers and snags (some <hot>) with frazzled onions, coleslaw and a range of sauces and breads was ready to be consumed by the ravenous hordes. To prove a point, SOS, afterwards, connected up the Club gas bottle, and it gave out gas no trouble at all. Matt and JQ claimed that they must have ‘loosened it up’. Regardless, a good time was had by all.
Results for Saturday, 25 Oct 2025
1st Nalin Samaranayake (+3, + 6, + 9) 2nd Stephen O’Sullivan (-2, -1, -3) 3rd Gordon Hill (-2, -2, -4) 3rd Bob McDonald (-2, -2, -4) 3rd Targe Mifsud (-1, -3, -4) 3rd Brendon Mitchell (-4, â–¡, -4) 4th Harry Boughen (-3, -2, -5) 5th Stan Blackshaw (-5, -1, -6) 5th Andrew Vogan (-5, -1, -6)
Seniors Results: 1st Gordon Hill (-2, -2, -4) 1st Bob McDonald (-2, -2, -4) 1st Targe Mifsud (-1, -3, -4) 2nd Harry Boughen (-3, -2, -5) 3rd Stan Blackshaw (-5, -1, -6) 3rd Andrew Vogan (-5, -1, -6)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 15th Brendon Mitchell BallPin No 1 – 12th Andrew Vogan BallPin No 2 – 18th Nalin Samaranayake
Bruised cups and endangered trees on 18th October 2025.
What was it about the back nine today? You can’t really blame the weather. If anything, the back enjoyed the best of it, as the cold, and even a mist of rain, gave way to sunshine. Although the course looks green, the grass hasn’t really got a grow on, and there was plenty of run to be had, with the downside of the occasional bare lie to play from. As it was, fifteen members set out to battle it out in the first round of the Fred Kitson, and they managed to knock out five birdies in the process. If last night’s SnapChat/WhatsApp was to be believed, there would have been more, but maybe it was the sherbet talking.
When asked how he went, Nalin’s response was that he had hit seven trees from the first seven tees. Then, he handed his card in. According to reports, there was a suspicion that he had stolen Bobbie’s putter, as he replicated Bob’s last week’s performance by sinking just about everything from just about everywhere. Some were travelling so fast that they were in danger of leaving the green, if they had not hit the pin dead centre, which prevented the possibility of damage to the back of the cup. Not to be outdone, Harry’s putt on the first was saved from a similar potential fate by catching the pin dead centre at high speed from about five or six metres, to stop dead and drop into the hole for an unlikely par. Nalin finished the front three up, but ‘faded’ slightly on the back to square the nine, to lead the field comfortably on plus three.
Craig played his usual steady game on the front, and should have finished better than plus one for the nine, if some of his putts had been slightly better directed. The near misses with the flat stick continued on the back, and the final tally was minus one to slot into second place on the Leaderboard. Targe turned up looking as if he had just come from, or was about to head off to a disco, if his pants were any guide. At least he wasn’t wearing high-heeled sneakers. His golf was largely unaffected, however, and he was able to match Craig to share second place. Gordon finished just a single point further back from a round that seemed to lack any highlights, other than that his super-powerful second shot on the third brought down a ‘major’ branch from the tree that got in the way. SOS joined him as one of the few who recorded a better score on the back nine than they did on the front. SOS did claim that he managed to hit thirteen trees in the process, but it is not clear whether this was an unlucky number or not. He did remember to hit <record> for his shot on the 18th today, and, although he did not get the HIO, he did get a shot of his BallPin winning shot. There was some consideration of declaring the claim over Brendon (who was barely on the green) because of the ‘obscene’ gesture inscribed on the chit. Bob also shared a piece of third place, with his main complaint being that he had picked up twice when he still had strokes left. This usually happens when people go out rather than having taken a big cut last week.
Harry was pretty happy at the turn, and, on the 10th tee, promised better things. Things did look better for a few holes, but four gashes in the last six holes tore the guts out of the score. Dan should have been right up there with Nalin, after finishing the front level-pegging on plus three. The rot set in when he marked and picked up his ball off the green on the 10th. Six of the next eight were losses. Porks joined the merry band on minus three, as another who scored ‘better’ on the back. Brendon would probably prefer to forget his back nine on his way to minus four for the day and the last spot on the Leaderboard placings. A lost ball on the 13th fairway, did not contribute much to his level of happiness.
There was a BallPin on the 4th, and the prize was hotly contested, with Dan and Stan putting their hands up. Unfortunately, Matty’s usual course was being ‘cored’, and he came to Ivanhoe to ‘take home the chocolates’. Barbecue tools and a ball from the 4th will be the only ‘chocolates’ that he will get. The ProPin was on the 15th, and, despite the tee being well back, and the pin as well, the five-metre circle proved elusive, and there will be a Jackpot on offer for next week. Despite Matt’s rather poor showing in the scoring arena, he absolutely shone compared to Raj, who is apparently front-runner in the Shank-king Stakes after today’s effort. One shot, at least, was not a shank, because the ball was missed completely. Just don’t write him off just yet, though. CJ had a couple of home chores to attend to this afternoon after the round, and he was undecided which one terrified him the most. One was doing the vacuuming, the other was meeting up with the Ice-man who rear-ended Carolyn’s car.
Results for Saturday, 18 Oct 2025
Leaderboard Round 1: 1st Nalin Samaranayake (+3) 2nd Craig Cameron (-1) 2nd Targe Mifsud (-1) 3rd Gordon Hill (-2) 3rd Bob McDonald (-2) 3rd Stephen O’Sullivan (-2) 4th Harry Boughen (-3) 4th Dan Marie (-3) 4th Ryan Porker (-3) 5th Brendon Mitchell (-4)
Seniors Leaderboard: 1st Craig Cameron (-1) 1st Targe Mifsud (-1) 2nd Gordon Hill (-2) 2nd Bob McDonald (-2) 3rd Harry Boughen (-3)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 15th Jackpot BallPin No 1 – 4th Matt Hunt BallPin No 2 – 18th Stephen O’Sullivan
Patty/Wazza/Bobby Trifecta
Two venues this week.
The big 2 round Annual “Mustard Jacket” Challenge at Rich River Golf Club in Moama, with 24 players (18 club members and 6 special “ring-in” mates/friends/relatives/ex-members) playing the West Course on Saturday and the East on Sunday.
A field of the bare minimum 6 at Ivanhoe.
What goes on off-course
As they say in the classics, what goes on off-course at the Annual Challenge at Rich River stays in Rich River.
And this is true of 2025. Your blog writer (who wasn’t there) asked various participants for off-course stories for the blog, including from those who rocked up early and played on Friday, but got nout.
On-course Rich River highlights
No golf highlights or stories to report either, only detail coming through the wires was the scores, the top 5 for which you can see below, Patty, from Wazza, Matty, JQ and Andrew V.
To that you can add Peps picking up the NAGA (I won’t embarrass him with his actual scores, reported to have been 23 and 15 = 38 but that must have been a typo surely?). If he was a horse …..
And Wazza, who obviously was dead stiff to get beaten for the Mustard Jacket in a countback, won something called the Cock’s Plate for an effort on a Par 3 that involved a shot bouncing off a house.
Bobby Dazzler at Ivanhoe
Meanwhile Bobby blitzed the small field at Ivanhoe with a stellar round of 41 points, including a strong finish with 3-pointers on the last four holes. On the 16th he was robbed of a 4-pointer when a dead centre putt hit the pin and jumped out.
He drove the ball beautifully all day and apart from a brain fade 3 putt from 4 feet on the first hole (his second missed putt there was the shortest putt I have ever seen missed) he regrouped with the putter and slotted absolutely everything from that awkward range of 5-10 feet. In they went every time!
Bob’s highlights included two of the best up and downs you’ll ever see from behind the 8th and 9th greens. Both well behind the green and with pins back, short-sided for the chip. No problems, both chips to about 5 feet and the putts dropped dead centre.
On the 13th he hit another perfect drive and then clobbered his second past the pin to the back of the green. He nearly nailed the birdie putt (which would have been 3 for 5) and settled for a regulation par 4 for 4.
Top effort Bobby. Absolutely brilliant round of golf.
Nalin played well for his 37 points, his 5 for 1 on the last a disappointing way to finish.
Stan played much better than his 34 points suggests, but he probably was handicapped from a headache after shaking his head so much every time Bobby made another putt.
Blighty was back for a game after an extended period out due to ill health. Good to see you back Blighty. You looked your usual fit self. Apparently doctors orders are that Blighty should play every week and we hope you can manage that Blighty.
Michael and Denzil brought up the rear of the field. Michael relegated to 5th from the previously announced equal 4th after a score correction.
The Fred Kitson Spring Cup
The season’s last major awaits, the 2-round Fred Kitson Spring Cup, everybody’s favourite par comp. The story goes that when Fred was honoured with a Major Trophy in his name and was asked what scoring system he’d prefer for the trophy he said “&*%! em, they can play par”.
Results for Saturday, 11 Oct 2025
Annual Challenge: 1st Patty Don’tknowsurname – a non-member mate of Peps (37, 41, 78) won on countback 2nd Warren “Wazza” Capes (40, 38, 78) 3rd Matt Hunt (29, 38, 67) 4th John Quinlan (35, 31, 66) 5th Andrew Vogan (32, 32, 64)
Ivanhoe: 1st Bob McDonald (41) 2nd Nalin Samaranayake (37) 3rd Stan Blackshaw (34) 4th Andrew Blight (31) 5th Michael Gourlay (29)
Seniors Results:
Annual Challenge: 1st Matt Hunt (29, 38, 67) 2nd Andrew Vogan (32, 32, 64) 3rd Ken Watson (31, 29, 60) Gordon Hill (25, 31, 56)
Ivanhoe : 1st Bob McDonald (41) 2nd Stan Blackshaw (34) 3rd Andrew Blight (31)
Nearest the Pin Results at Rich River Annual Challenge: Results not known to blog writer. Was played on holes – West Course Saturday 4th, 8th, 16th and NTP with second shot 15th – East Course Sunday 3rd, 8th, 13th, 16th
Nearest the Pin Results at Ivanhoe: ProPin – 12th Michael Gourlay BallPin No 1 – 15th Michael Gourlay BallPin No 2 – 18th Michael Gourlay