Category Archives: Club News

An improved turn out this week as a few familiar faces returned after a bit of a break. Scoring was good with some very competitive scores handed in, but as expected the new clubs have served Dennis W well who put in a consistent performance which resulted in first place overall on +4 points.

The three second placegetters coming in at +3 were Gordo, Michael and Dale, who played in the same group with Jason. It was actually Jason who turned heads and dropped jaws for most of the round with his tee to green game. Fresh off the back of some lessons from Ivanhoe club pro Chris, Jason was in brilliant form early in the round, hitting it miles off the tee and big high soaring iron shots going dead straight. He easily reaching the 6^th in two and followed it up with a beautiful strike onto the middle of the green on the 7^th. Unfortunately he three putted both greens and late in the round his chipping let him down, but watch out in future weeks because Jason looks a sure bet to kill his handicap of 21 very soon.

3rd place was shared by Stafan and JQ who, rumor has it, have a bit of a bromance going on. It could have something to do with the day’s biggest jaw dropping moment when Gordo, Michael, Jason and Dale were standing on the 10^th tee. The thump of a ball dropping from a great height was heard about 5 metres away and two blokes standing on the first tee turned around with amazed looks on their faces and muttering various, WTFs, did you see that? It was Stef’s tee shot from the 9^th, on the fly all the way to next to the 10^th tee. If he’d hit it straight it would have flown the green!

The Priems brothers tied in 4th place with an even card, Rob was going quite well early on with two birdies on the first 3 holes but faded late. Targe and Jason tied in 5th place with -1 on the cards. The propin was on the 4th today (I think) and it was won by none other than Brendon. The ball hole was on the 12th and again the last group cleaned up as Mehmet put one close enough. There were 15 birdies in total, Matt Hunt had his share and carded 4 for the round but it didn’t help too much with his overall scoring.

Dale relished the opportunity to be out on the course instead of at work pumping concrete and he played well all day apart from an unfortunate wipe on the 16^th that cost him the chance of what would have been a very well deserved first placing. His most spectacular half of the day came on the second where after some adventures down the 6th fairway off the tee and then a visit across the fairway towards the 11^th tee with his second, he had a wedge in hand and one shot left for the half. He hit it so hard and skinny Michael was fearing for the cricket players in the oval behind, but somehow it hit the pin and dropped in! Easy half!

Gordo spent the first six holes whinging about how bad his game has been of late. Something about swaying and a dodgy back foot. It was quietly suggested he made like to change tack, smell the roses, enjoy the nice weather, and try something to fix the problem rather than just keep whinging about it. After scrambling a lucky half at the sixth he then proceeded to plus the next four holes, then sank a monster downhill putt for birdie on the 12^th and looked every bit the winner. Unfortunately wipes at the 15^th and 18^th held him up from a better finish. Michael’s round was another grinding, dogged affair. Indeed the dogs got into the act at the half way mark where Michael spent some quality time chatting with three cute little dogs on the clubhouse steps. After a visit inside, Michael was less inclined to use the word cute to describe them. One of the three, a sausage dog, had managed to stick it’s head in Michael’s bag and steal his ham and salad roll. It was seen happily downing the ham and bread while the other two less enterprising dogs were sniffing and rejecting the salad leftovers. The owner was so embarrassed she bought Michael a new roll and chased him down the 10^th fairway to deliver it, with dog in tow looking very pleased with itself.

We had a new prospective member today as Christian joined the ranks and put in his first card. Things were not going so well for him as on the 11th hole his ball could not be found. After a some time unfortunately it was located, wedged between two pieces of wood. See photo for evidence, it appears that the obstructions were placed there on purpose! Hopefully it does not deter him from coming back next week.

Reminder to all that the matchplay tournament is approaching so please register on the website.  Also please refer to Gordons email about the trip away, which is scheduled for August 18th-20th at Shepparton golf club.

 

Results for Saturday, 11 February 2017
1st Dennis Ward(+4) 2nd Michael Gourlay(+3) 2nd Gordon Hill(+3) 2nd Dale Webb(+3) 3rd Stefan Belevski(+2) 3rd John Quinlan(+2) 4th Chris Priems(□) 4th Robert Priems(□) 5th Jason Hopkins(-1) 5th Targe Mifsud(-1)

Seniors Results: 1st Dennis Ward (+4) 2nd Gordon Hill (+3) 3rd Targe Mifsud (-1)

Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin 4th Brendon Mitchell BallPin 12th Mehmet Akdag

 

 

There were some very impressive score carded in this months medal, as Rob Priems outgunned the rest of the field to come out Trumps! Rob’s score of nett 63 was as a result of a consistent day’s play as conditions were slightly warmer than average and the course had considerable run on the fairways. Fair to say that the handicapper has had to make an adjustment, let’s see how he goes next week shall we?

Narrowly missing out and coming in second place was Michael G who put in another smashing round with a 1 under par round and nett result of 64.  Michael’s round only included 2 scores over par on any one hole, very impressive indeed.  The ever reliable Chrispy put in a solid performance to come in 3rd place with 66 and Dennis W in 4th with a nett 68.

Recent rumors were found to be true as Dennis was seen with a shiny set of new clubs. There were no nerves however as he smashed the new driver down the middle of the fairway on the first, it was reported that he was driving it 30m past Michael quite regularly. There was a tie for 5th place as Gordon and Bob shared a score of the ever popular 69!

The pro pin was hotly contested with a quadruple jackpot up for grabs. This week it was on the 12th hole, it was reported that in one of the groups 3 tee shots were quite close and the measuring tape needed to be used to determine who was closest. Apparently Simon had it at around 2.5m and was quite chuffed with his efforts, however in the last group Simon’s efforts were beaten by Scubba Steve who’s ball pitched within a foot of the pin and rolled past to end up exactly 100cm away. SOS was getting into Steve’s ear with some friendly discussions about missing the put, but Steve managed to sink the birdie.

Speaking of birdies, only 12 were scored all day out of a field of 17. There was ample opportunities on the 17th as the last 2 groups joined together to have a go for the green over the dam. There was some magnificent tee shots from the back tee, (other than noodles who claimed to be able to get there with a 6 iron, but feel just short by about 40m). 3 balls ended up on the green, so there was 3 solid chances of breaking into the eagles nest. It must have been the pressure, or the heat, but all 3 failed to even score a birdie.

Again on the 18th, the ball hole was hotly contested and again Simon thought he had it in the bag until the last group came along and SOS managed to take the prize. There are 3 guys celebrating birthdays next Saturday, so best wishes to Ken, Bob and Brent.

Reminder that Matchplay is fast approaching, so please make your intentions known by registering on the website.

Results for Saturday, 04 February 2017
1st Robert Priems(63) 2nd Michael Gourlay(64) 3rd Chris Priems(66) 4th Dennis Ward(68) 5th Gordon Hill(69) 5th Bob McDonald(69)

Seniors Results: 1st Dennis Ward (68) 2nd Bob McDonald (69) 2nd Gordon Hill (69) 3rd Craig Cameron (72) 3rd Trevor Jackson (72)

Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin 12th Stephen Kelly BallPin 18th Stephen O

 

A couple of old fossils showed up the younger brigade to reign supreme on a day where attendance was a little to be desired. Condition were almost perfect, the only exception being some lingering dew which slowed up the greens for most of the day. Humidity was up there as even the direct sun could not soak up the dew and comfort levels were not the greatest if readings from the scrotometer was anything to go by.

Only 14 members turned up, the Aussie Day almost long weekend most likely the reason however, a couple of old fossils in Harry and Rod turned up the heat and beat their handicap by 1 stroke, coming in with 37 points to share first place. Harry is off overseas for another archaeological dig so time will tell if his form remain intact when he returns.

There were quite a few miscalculations on the results cards so a few changes to the minor placings from those announced after the round… Dale has jumped the queue and found himself in second place with 36 points.  No less than 4 golfers then shared third, with Jason, Bob, Simon and Joe all sharing 3rd place with 35 points. SOS, who was battling sleep deprivation after working night shift battled all day (having to play with Noodles) but ended up with 34 points and 4th place, and finally Targe entered a card indicating a solid round and 33 points gave him 5th place.

The ball hole was won by Peps who put it quite close on the 12th, and the pro pin went to jackpot as no one got near 5m on the 18th, although some were close. Thats a double jackpot for next weeks monthly medal, which means it will be 4x the normal winnings, good enough reason to turn up for starters.

Rod now leads the championship with 3 wins out of 4 played so hopefully the handicapper’s penalty will bring him back to the field. Rod was playing with Harry and DennisW and it was observed that walking down from the 17th tee, a young family passed who were being lead by a dog. It was reported that Rod shouted out “Hello beautiful” as they passed by, he was adamant that he was referring to the family’s pet however Harry wasn’t so sure.

It was observed that Dennis W is playing with ‘Cougar’s as they give you a good run for the money, apparently it is a brand of ball………. there are also rumors that a full set of new clubs are on their way so look out!

There was one report from the draughty police, Jason managed to hit a tree flush which resulted in the ball rebounded 30m back past the ladies tees on the 2nd. With the back tee the 2nd is a formidable beast to say the least.

There was a confirmed sighting of the birdie curse also, as Ryan started off well with a birdie on the 1st, then disaster struck as the curse forced him to wipe the next 4 holes. He had to pick up before getting onto the green each time so had claimed that only 1 putt was required on the first 5 holes.  He managed to shake it off the second time though on the 10th after hitting one close by hitting over the 1st green, through two sets of trees and over a mound of rough. Speaking of birdies, 12 were carded today and as a result there were a few movers in the eclectic, although still early days.

Rod managed to hole out on the 12th for a birdie, however he was so far down the hill that he didn’t see it go in. Lets not discuss the first shot then shall we. Harry also was mm away from scoring an eagle on the 17 but it didn’t drop. The nest is up to 9 balls so well worth pursuing in the coming weeks.

Reminder to register for the match play tournament on the website, it is only weeks away.

 

Results for Saturday, 28 January 2017
1st Harry Boughen(37) 1st Rod Grant(37) 2nd Dale Webb(36) 3rd Jason Hopkins(35) 3rd Bob McDonald(35) 3rd Simon Powell(35) 3rd Joe Wagenecht(35) 4th Stephen O’Sullivan(34) 5th Targe Mifsud(33)

Seniors Results: 1st Harry Boughen (37) 1st Rod Grant (37) 2nd Bob McDonald (35) 2nd Simon Powell (35) 3rd Targe Mifsud (33)

Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin 18th Jackpot BallPin 12th Andrew Petricola

Where would we be without Melbourne weather?  A nice drop of rain yesterday to freshen things up but not enough to take the run out of the course.  But enough to make the greens completely different to last week.  Much slower according to Targe who, by his own admission, took over half the round to adjust his putting for the changed conditions.  Still, the clouds cover looked a bit threatening for a while and there were even a couple of drops of moisture that materialised.  Then the sun broke through and you couldn’t have wanted for a better day for playing golf.  Which sort of begs the question as to why the scoring wasn’t super spectacular and we only managed to put together 7 birdies between the eighteen of us who made it to the course.

Four players did manage to beat their handicap and take out the top points for the day with a score of +1.  Rod seems to have struck a bit of a purple patch and has moved up to be joint leader on the Championship Table.  Eddie is back with a vengeance and after the first nine he looked to be running away with it with five pluses and only one minus.  Maybe the thought of handicap pain got to him and the back nine was rather more ordinary.  JohnQ also went pretty well on the front nine suggesting that his newly wedded state hasn’t affected his game but he did leak a bit of oil on the first few holes of the home nine.  The three day week seems to be agreeing with Targe and he put together a couple of very steady nines to join the number one podium spot.

Now if it hadn’t been for the six three putt greens, Trevor might have run away with the day but as it was he had to settle for second place with his square card.  A good swag of points and no harm to the handicap.  That’s the way to do it.

If it was good enough for four to crowd onto the podium in first spot it was good enough for four to crowd on for third.  SteveK put in his first round for the year and didn’t muck about getting points on the table.  The card showed plenty of potential to have been a lot better so he could be the man to watch as the year progresses.  Jason doesn’t know his own strength and drove the green on the 14th, much to the surprise of the group in front who took much delight in blaming Stefan for the infraction.  Jason spent the rest of the round and the gathering after apologising profusely.  Ryan started off a bit ragged but could never quite get a run of scores together and limped in with just the one point down.  And last in the second set of four was Stefan who doesn’t seem to have monstered anybody today though he did go close to driving the 8th and reportedly went close to holing on the 12th.  That would have collected him the Eagles Nest which is starting to build up a bit.  But, the Committee did decide that the Eagle would not lay more than a dozen eggs from now on so there are still a few more weeks before (temporary) menopause sets in.

Fourth place was ably filled by Dale with a card of -2 and lastly but not leastly, the final spot went to Noodles and Rob with -3.  Just as a matter of interest, Dale has quietly slipped into the lead in the Eclectic though it is still early days and there were quite a few significant moves on the cards today.  Now it seems that Rob suffered a technical draughtie on one hole when he put his drive into the bushes but past the red tee markers but to take his relief he had to drop his ball behind the red markers.  Pretty tough group you were playing with there Rob.

One draughtie that there was no doubt about was down to Simon on the 15th who duffed it severely and the ball finished almost under the rubbish bin at the bottom of the path down from the upper level.  The presence of the path/steps allowed him some relief but the overall result for the hole was still not pretty.  Today, the course management did a re-run of the December Monthly Medal after the original event was cancelled due to confusion about which tee markers were being used.  The word today was that we were playing from the white markers (black course) and there was almost confusion again when the back tee on the 2nd was open and carried the blue markers but the whites were on the front tee box.  It was also interesting that some of the white markers were saucers.  Hopefully the kitchen will wash them thoroughly before they re-use them.  To say the least, CraigC wasn’t one hundred percent happy after his round he put in for the original run of the event though he did get the voucher if not the Medal.  He continues to come up short on the putts but he did finish up just outside the main points and picked up one in the Seniors.

Trev was helping to search for a ball on the 17th and tripped over something and went close to falling into the water as a result.  He and Targe were spotted holding hands after the round and thoughts of a bromance sprang to mind but it seems that Trev was suffering from cramps in the hand and Targe was giving him a special Maltese massage.  That’s their story, anyway.

Somewhere out on the course there was a blue-tongue lizard and according to Targe it tried to bite him.  The real story is that Targe tried to ‘pat’ it.  Could you blame the poor animal?  Gordon was resplendent in bright blue shorts today which he claims he wore to match his fetching blue socks.  Whatever the fashion statement, Gordon didn’t want to talk about his game.  Obviously, he wasn’t using his one iron.

The Club has paid the deposit to Shepparton for the Annual Challenge Weekend in August.  We will be looking to firm up on numbers in the near future and anybody who wants to commit can pay a deposit of $50 per person into the Club Account (put yourname/shep in the to account detail).  Gordon will circulate full details shortly but the all up charge will be of the order of $240 for golfers and $190 for non-golfers which includes dinner Saturday and lunch Sunday.  Shepparton does have a lot for the ladies and quite a few are keen to come along.  Apparently, there is a range of accommodation options available ranging from single rooms to four to a cabin but if you want a room to yourself you might be best to get in early to dibs it.

Results for Saturday, 21 January 2017
1st Rod Grant(+1) 1st Ed Kloprogge(+1) 1st Targe Mifsud(+1) 1st John Quinlan(+1) 2nd Trevor Jackson(□) 3rd Stefan Belevski(-1) 3rd Jason Hopkins(-1) 3rd Stephen Kelly(-1) 3rd Ryan Porker(-1) 4th Dale Webb(-2) 5th Stephen Butterfield(-3) 5th Robert Priems(-3)

Seniors Results: 1st Ed Kloprogge (+1) 1st Rod Grant (+1) 1st Targe Mifsud (+1) 2nd Trevor Jackson (□) 3rd Craig Cameron (-4) 3rd Simon Powell (-4)

Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin 18th Jackpot BallPin 12th Stephen Kelly