Category Archives: Club News

The weather looks as if it might be settling into a cycle with fine conditions on the weekends for a change though the few showers during the week did little more than dampen the enthusiasm of those playing on Thursday.  So the course is fairly dry, there is a bit of run and the greens were hard and fast.  Bob was obviously expecting it to be hot and sunny as he turned up channeling Johnny Depp playing Tonto in the Lone Ranger or maybe he was just trying to strike fear into the hearts of his opponents.

Bob ended doing no real harm to his reputation as a Par Competition player with a square round today but the big turnaround came in the person of SOS who absolutely blitzed the back nine (2 under par) to take the trophy from Bob’s grasp on a countback.  SOS was obviously playing a cagey game as Chrispy, who was playing with him, thought he was struggling a bit and when told on the 15th that SOS was +3,  Chrispy thought his leg was being pulled (again).

Gordon made a claim during the week that he was going to have a good round and win the event.  It was an OK round at square and that, with last week’s +1, was good enough to score him second spot on the podium.  His score might have been even better if it had not been for a draughtie on the 15th.  This caused Chrispy to break his resolution to have a dry week-end.  And Ed complicated the issue by buying a round for no particular reason.

ChrisV and Keith managed mirror image rounds to end up square over the two weeks and that was enough to slot them into third place.  Laurie was a little more consistent with his golf and finished with a very creditable -1 overall to gather fourth on his ownsome.

Last, but by no means least, on the podium was Chrispy who, despite the moaning and groaning, managed to get points despite having one of the toughest card marking tasks that he has had for a long time.  And he thought he had picked an easy one with only one card to mark but he forgot to allow for the fact that the card belonged to Ed.

As for the rest, Mehm just missed out on the points and the others don’t bear thinking about.

The Nearest the Pin for a ball was on the 4th and the lucky/skillful player to collect that was Oliver which probably brightened his day just a little.  The ProPin was on the 12th and Mehm added to his ever growing pile of cash by getting his name on the board for that.  He reckons that by the end of the year he will have collected enough from Noodles to be able to afford a new driver to go with his brand new set of irons.  Maybe he should have played with his old clubs instead.

The after round bar-be-que featured a selection of delicacies courtesy of Oliver who excelled himself in both the catering and the cooking of the fare (with help from SOS).  There certainly wasn’t a huge amount left on the hot-plate at the end but there was a rather large jar of pickled gherkins that Oliver forgot to put out.  They should keep till next time provided that Gordon doesn’t scoff them in the meantime.

There have been more movements on the Tables and there is quite a bit of interest in the remaining five competition weeks of the year.  There are about six within striking distance of the front runner so it could easily go down to the wire.  The Eclectic race has hotted up with some serious moves over the last couple of weeks and if the new birdies keep flowing any number of people could snatch victory at the last.

Mike Gourlay and Mark Berthelsen came along today and played their first official round.  Mike managed another steady +1 from a 70 off the stick and showed signs a couple of times that he wasn’t too happy with how he was playing.  Mark was struggling a bit early on but some coaching from Trev improved his game and his back nine was much more respectable.  It was decided not to apply the penalties for giving and taking advice.  Trevor also had his moments and in particular his chip in for a birdie on the 7th was something to behold.  Harry seems to be refreshed after his holiday producing some consistent hitting and his putter bagged about five singles in a row but a slight loss of consistency on the back resulted in an overall of +3 on the day.

The Birthday Birdie whispers that Dick and David have something to celebrate in the next few days.  Chrispy hits a major milestone next weekend but he won’t be joining us as he is off for a weekend jaunt in a gypsy caravan.  He muttered something about if the van is rockin’ don’t bother knockin’ – can’t imagine what that means.  Happy Birthdays Guys.

In other news, SOS is getting around on tenterhooks awaiting the arrival of a bundle of joy.  A bit over-due already and if nothing happens over the rest of the weekend there will be a definite arrival early in the week.  After today’s round there is some chance that the chosen names will include Fred or BackNine.  Sort of has a nice ring, BackNine O’Sullivan, don’t you think?

Another reminder that we are getting near to the end of the year and there are Nominations required for office bearers for the Club and the Committee really needs to get back all of the perpetual trophies so that they can be updated and available for presentation.  If you have one, please make arrangements to get it to Gordon in the first instance either during the week or bring it along on Saturday.

Results for Fred Kitson Spring Cup
1st Bob McDonald(+4) 1st Stephen O’Sullivan(+4 – trophy c/b) 2nd Gordon Hill(+1) 3rd Keith Delzoppo(□) 3rd Chris Vinecombe(□) 4th Laurie Mannix(-1) 5th Chris Priems(-2)

While the cat’s away the mice will play.

Lots of things have happened over the last month but information is a bit thin on the ground.

What is obvious is that the thought that the handicapper had at last caught up with Ed was obviously premature, with Ed picking up two gongs including the October Monthly Medal.  How low can this man go?

Another person who can obviously go low is Michael Gourlay who has now qualified with his three cards, the last of which was a 70 off the stick with no less than four bogies on the back nine.  Was he playing for handicap or not?

Mark Berthelsen also qualified with his third card and promptly finished in the points table in his first competition.  Welcome to the Club guys.

The player stats page has been updated (usually done after the medal round) so if you want to see how you (or your mates) are going get in and have a look.  If you are not there, it is probably because you don’t have enough rounds in competition yet but if that is not the case, let the handicapper know.

The Eagles Nest was building up nicely and the big bird was pretty pleased with his clutch when along came Constable SOS to slam home an eagle on the 6th to clear out the nest and, no, he didn’t use his truncheon as a putter.  Very next week, Oliver, back from his travels, repeated the performance on the same hole and had to settle for a solitary egg.  Not the best timing Ollie.

There has been a bit of movement on the various tables with Ed back at the top of the Championship and nipping at the heels of Bill in the Seniors.  The Eclectic is also getting a bit more interesting as Bill’s holiday has given a couple of people a chance to close the gap and there is now a tie with Gordo with a couple of others within a stroke so some more birdies could really set the cat amongst the pigeons.

Sixteen players fronted for the first round of the Fred Kitson Spring Cup, one was qualifying and one withdrew leaving 14 players in contention.  The weather was beautiful and the competition fierce so there was no reason not to have been there (injury, illness, work, overseas travel etc excluded).  Maybe it was because it is a Par Event (thanks Fred!) but then again some people seem to like Par events.  The conditions and the event certainly seem to have suited out Round 1 leader, Bob and if memory serves he has done well at this form of competition in the past so he could easily be the man to catch.

However, there is quite a crowd within easy striking distance and Par is the event that can give you a quick turn-around.  To channel Anthony Green,  this falls in the ‘too close to call’ category.  It might even be Chrispy who has been whingeing about the fact that it is Par and how badly he is playing, but hey, he still managed to square the card and might yet get back in front of Ed.

As usual there will be a Club Bar-b-que after the final round so there is no reason not to turn up even if you didn’t play the first week.  Oliver is organising the catering and, if his previous efforts are any guide, it would be worth the outing just for that.  The first group will be doing the cooking so if it is not up to scratch you can blame them.

It is getting towards the end of the year so the committee will be looking for perpetual trophies to be brought in so that engraving can be arranged.  We know you love having them on the mantel-piece but unfortunately they do have to be returned.  There will also be a need for nominations for Committee and all positions will be open for nomination/contest.  It is known that Brendon will not be nominating as Treasurer for one.  Give it some thought and start lobbying your mates (if you have any :)).

FRED KITSON SPRING CUP – LEADER BOARD ROUND 1

1st Bob McDonald(+4) 2nd Keith Delzoppo(+2) 2nd Chris Vinecombe(+2) 3rd Gordon Hill(+1) 3rd Dennis Tiernan(+1) 4th Laurie Mannix(□) 4th Chris Priems(□) 4th Stephen O’Sullivan(□) 5th Mehmet Akdag(-2) 5th Oliver Gross(-2)

 

 

Maaaagniiificent!  And that is talking about the weather and the beautiful conditions out on the course.  Anybody who didn’t get themselves out of bed today, no matter how hard-done-by they feel, and present for the tee off needs to give themselves a good talking to.  The ground staff were out and about early taws sweeping the dew off the greens.  The couple of showers early in the week did nothing but make the turf even greener and some people even had difficulty adjusting their game for the fact that there was run and bounce to be had.  Yes, the tee boxes are a little brown to look at but in some parts of the country the whole course is like that, or worse.  The conditions were very obviously good and that was reflected in some of the scores that were returned.

Bill has obviously been infected by the blood of a geometer or a surveyor or something as he was absolutely bisecting the fairways with the straightest drives that were flying the proverbial ‘country mile’.  Even when he did stray a little, more often than not, the recovery shots put him within gimme distance of the hole.  A centimetre was all that separated Bill from having a par round when the birdie putt on the 18th teetered on the brink of falling into the hole.  Chrispy too enjoyed the conditions and looked set to set a personal best score until he realised that it was a possibility and he promptly dropped a couple of strokes.  Interestingly he did this without using his now famous ricochet shots though it seems that playing partners Trevor and Keith made use of some in his stead.

So, two magnificent rounds for a nett score of 62.  And, being the Monthly Medal, that required a count-back and by a mere half stroke on the back nine (29.5 to 30), Bill walked away with the silver-ware. Pity about those couple of bogies, Chris.

Chrispy was still pretty pleased as it kept him in touch with Bill on the Championship Table and with Bill off to foreign climes for several weeks, Chris is licking his chops at the chance to gather a few more points though the new handicap will make it just a little more difficult.  Bill’s new handicap has also had an effect on the Eclectic and the top of the table there is a little more crowded than it has been for a while.  Oliver has moved up with a keeper or two today.  The birdies actually came pretty thick and fast with a total of 18 between the lot of us, which has to be a good indication of how good the course and conditions were today.

CraigC must have thought he was in with a chance for his maiden Monthly Medal when he totted up a nett 63 but it was not to be.  Still, a very good effort and a nice little boost in the points to get a taste for what the future might bring.  Then came a bit of a gap in the field to Eddie with nett 66 and as usual Ed had his ups and downs and hole scores that do not always exactly align with his obvious talents.  Oliver was playing almost stroke for stroke with Bill on the front nine when an old war (read football) injury started to bother him and this perhaps interfered with his concentration just a little.  Despite this, a very respectable nett 67 was the result.  This score was shared by SOS who was happy enough to get some points but who had also held out hopes that there might not have been so many better scores.  Ryan rounded out the podium today by playing exactly to his handicap.

SOS brought along his mate Glen Crockett (another plod and no relation to Davy) today.  So welcome to Glen and we look forward to more of your company over the coming weeks.  We might even let you play with someone other than SOS on occasion.  Mark Berthelsen also came along and submitted his second card.  Bill’s mate Wayne Pollock was also in the area today but wanted an early start so didn’t play with our group.  Wayne is travelling with Bill and we have been warned to look out for the Ivanhoe shirt trailling Rory in the Ryder Cup gallery.  Seems that Bill is planning to coach Rory with his new found run of form.

The Nearest the Pin for a ball today was on the 12th and the ball went to CraigC who was about a metre and a half beyond the hole.  Harry tried desperately to come in closer but the ball didn’t hit the pin squarely enough to drop in for the HIO and finished about a half metre further out.  The ProPin was on the 18th and the form man, Bill the Beast, was the only one to worry the tape measure.  The ball was close to the brow of the slope between levels and a couple of centimetres shorter would have produced a vastly different result.  If only the putt had carried that extra centimetre.

While on the subject of putting, Mehm managed to pull off what might be just about a first by double hitting a putt.  Not sure how he managed it, but it is apparently gospel truth.  Keith was putting for a birdie and left the ball a tantalising 75mm short of the hole.  Being the careful golfer that he is, Keith lined it up and set the ball rolling to have it hang on the edge of the cup before dropping in for the par.  Close run thing though.

The Birthday Birdie has been twittering that Blighty and Eddie have something to celebrate in the way of anniversaries in the coming week.  Since the Birdie is flying off to warmer climes, he also wants to mention Allan, Bill and Trevor who light up the candles over the coming month.

It was noticed that the lady who sat at the table adjacent to our group during the presentations and the associated chiacking was prompted to relocate after Ed started lifting his shirt (again).  Hope that b….y rash goes away soon!

As a final note, Harry will be away for a month and Chrispy will be filling in on the handicaps, doing them by hand.  Fear not, he has done it before but don’t be surprised if you see some big moves in his (just joking).  Chris will have your Club handicaps each week but you will have to check your own GA handicap and either use the on-line calculator or look up the charts at the desk to get your Daily Handicap for the course.  The Club will not be accepting any GA cards while Harry is away – the first week of the Fred Kitson will be OK.  The database and tables will be brought up to date shortly after Harry’s return and you will be notified.

It will pay to check on the first tee time as well as it does change with the seasons and will likely move again when Daylight saving comes in.  Chris (or a suitable delegate) will announce the next week event and tee time at the presentation or you can check the calendar on the web-site for the event.

Results for Saturday, 06 September 2014
1st Bill Eastoe(62 Medal cb) 1st Chris Priems(62) 2nd Craig Cameron(63) 3rd Ed Kloprogge(66) 4th Oliver Gross(67) 4th Stephen O’Sullivan(67) 5th Ryan Porker(68)

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What is the point of sending out e-mails and putting posts on the web if nobody reads (or takes notice of) them.  It was shaping up to be a lovely day out there, the preferred lie rule had been lifted and at the nominated last registration time   there was hardly anybody on the books.  Please guys, do check the tee times as they do change with the seasons and it just makes it hard for the tee marshalls trying to collect money and get groups to the tee in a mad rush.  And another thing, please check your handicaps, they also change from time to time.  We will fix your mistakes for you, but some of the course management team take a less liberal view for the inside comp.

There was movement at the station, For the word had got about,  That the Beast and Ollie G had got away….

But, with the news of Bill’s impending departure for three weeks and Oliver’s announcement that he too will be absent for a time during September, the ears in the pack pricked up and then laid back for an all out assault on that elusive Championship Table Leaderboard.  None more pricked up and laid back today than Chrispy and Mehm who shared the honours with a very nice +2 apiece.  Despite the picture, Chris managed to stay clear of the trees today and it was all down to skill and ability and not to the usual ‘lucky’ bounce off the timber.

At first it looked as if we had a four way tie but Mal’s inside card went into the pile by mistake and Ed realised that he had put the wrong handicap on his card (again!) and so when that was sorted out, Mal and Ed ended up sharing the second place honours with Noodles with square cards all round (if that doesn’t sound too ‘Irish’).

As a result of all this, the top of the table is as crowded as it has been for many a year and, with the absence of the two leaders for a time, there is plenty of chance for the situation to change dramatically over the next few weeks.  Unfortunately, the Fred Kitson does not fall into the time frame so there are only single-headers up for grabs.

Ryan is continuing his little run of some form and gathered the third placing points with -1.  Oliver struggled with the decision making today with his full bag of clubs and, a couple of times, he might have been tempted to reach for his five iron rather than his putter.  He went very close to raiding the Eagles nest on the 17th by putting it on the green from the tee and putting the putt only a couple of centimetres outside the hole for the easiest of birdies.  There were only six of our little feathered friends captured today and there were very few moves on the Eclectic front as well.

Not sure what sort of problems Blighty had on the 13th but he was observed playing a shot from by the hazard on the right while well behind the rest of his group. He reported a minus for his trouble but he still managed to collect a point with his -3 tally.

Our numbers today were bolstered by a number of new faces.  Wayne Pollack was back to suss us out again and it was other committments that took him away after 9 holes and not the fact that he was playing with Ed.  Joel Butterworth, Mark Berthelsen and Michael Gourlay were the others to join the round and we certainly hope that you enjoyed it and we look forward to seeing you again soon.  Michael certainly laid his cards on the table with 72 off the stick and he picked up the ProPin as well with the ball a mere 30cm from the hole on the 15th.  The Nearest the Pin for a ball on the 4th was well contested again and Whitey was the man to collect.

The condition of the tee on the 4th obviously didn’t affect Whitey’s shot too much but he did have a few words to say about some of the others which are about as bare as a badger’s at the moment and Whitey doesn’t carry a tee so he was none too happy.  Apparently it has something to do with course maintenance.  The temporary tee on the 6th was just the opposite and more like rough than otherwise.  Noodles had to deal with the effects of a deposit made by somebody’s dog on the 4th green  after his ball ran through it and left it in his track on the way back to the hole.  He wasn’t too impressed to say the least.

The Birthday Birdie reports that Dennis will be blowing out some candles this week and with the footy season coming to an end, there are hopes that we might see him on the tees in the next little while.

In other member news, Gordo was sweating it out in the summer heat of Santa Monica at last report.  Mostyn has apparently not been too good and has been in hospital for some surgery and won’t be back on course for a little while.  All the best for a speedy recovery Mozzie.  RodG is still nursing his golfer’s elbow and is not sure how long it will be before he can make a comeback.  Ed is still ‘contagious’ but seems to be treating himself with some sort of magic bullet.  Targe’s offsider is recovering well but it will still be a few weeks before she can get back into the shop and he will be able to join us once again.  Reports that Damo is a contestant on The Block are unfounded – he is just selling his house.

Results for Saturday, 30 August 2014
1st Mehmet Akdag(+2) 1st Chris Priems(+2) 2nd Stephen Butterfield(□) 2nd Malcolm Fleming(□) 2nd Ed Kloprogge(□) 3rd Ryan Porker(-1) 4th Oliver Gross(-2) 5th Andrew Blight(-3)