Category Archives: Club News

The rain, hail, snow and sleet of yesterday might have caused havoc on the roads and it looked as if it had created havoc with the attendance at Royal Ivanhoe today.  With only five starters on the blocks it was looking as if you would have to have a pretty bad day not to score points.  A late rush of blood (young and not so young) brought the numbers up enough to make a comp of it and despite the best efforts to maximise the number of ties, there were still a few people who missed out on the podium.

One person who made sure he didn’t miss out on the points (and a second medal for the year to boot) was the smiling assassin, Mehmet.  Mehm was going so well on the front nine that he could afford to take and eight (yes eight) on the eighth which apparently included a couple of out of bounds.  Just imagine what his new handicap would have been except for that little aberration (or did he plan it?).

Ryan was keeping up with Mehm over the course of the front nine but he let his guard down on a couple of holes on the back and finished the round just a stroke behind the mark.  Ever reliable Oliver came in next after a round that was punctuated by quite a collection of ten second waits as his ball teetered on the brink but never did quite fall into the hole for him.  Some putts are diamonds – some putts are….!

A fair cluster of players fronted for the fourth place points headed by Bill who is claiming some sort of a record by having a total of five shots for a birdie on the 17th.  In case you are wondering, this included two provisionals when the fate of the first two were unclear.  Craig had some fun and games in the bus in yesterday’s wild weather with a bit of slipping and sliding going on but no slipping and sliding today as he too joined the fourth place getters.  Last, but by no means least in this little group was Targe who could easily have done better.  His drive hit the ground behind the ladies tee on the third which is no mean feat given that the blues and the reds were about 100mm apart.  Fortunately (or unfortunately as the case might be) the ball didn’t plug.

Chrispy was not at all confident that he would score any points when he handed his card in but as luck would have it he managed to hold on to pick up the singleton.

So, there has been some movement at and about the top of the tables and there is now a bit of congestion that means that there could be an interesting run up to the end of the year.  There was also some movement in the Eclectic with a few improvements but none enough to worry Bill at the head of that table.  Only four birdies for the day so fairly thin on the ground even with the small numbers.  Our new qualifying member CraigC picked up the ball on the 18th for the nearest the pin while the ProPin on the 12th went to Ryan who finished a mere 60cm from the hole.  And that after Snags had finished ‘here’.

Bill went close to emulating Keith on the 16th only this time it was a crane, not an ibis, but the bird was nimble enough to skip out of the way.  Bill also had a few problems with the scorecard and was upset when Harry didn’t have a 6 on the hole because he had already written it in.  Usually people get behind on the scoring, not ahead.  While Noodles kept it up last week, this week he seemed to have gone all limp and soggy and didn’t make much of a fist of his new handicap.  CraigC put in his second card which wasn’t quite as impressive of that of last week so his form next week will be of great interest to the handicapper.

The Birthday Birdie has been a bit slack in recent times and he seems to think that Pepsi and Ken might have had one in the recent past.  In the coming week, rumour has it that Ben and Harry will have something to celebrate.

The simulator session raffle is still running so there is still a chance to get tickets over the next couple of weeks.

Those going to Murray Downs for the Annual Challenge should get your deposits to Gordon on or before next Saturday.  As the full payment is due soon after, the Club is going to settle and will be relying on everybody who registers to replenish the coffers.

Results for Saturday, 02 August 2014
1st Mehmet Akdag(65) 2nd Ryan Porker(67) 3rd Oliver Gross(68) 4th Bill Eastoe(70) 4th Targe Mifsud(70) 4th Craig Sharp(70) 5th Chris Priems(73)

---

By all accounts and from the scores there was a fair bit of excitement out on the course for the second round of the Fred Howe despite the smallish field.  The weather was a bit on the iffy side but Noodles managed to keep it up (doesn’t he always) and brought home the bacon and collected his biggest for the year (trophy, that is).

Not too far behind, by a ‘short’ head was the sharpest shooter in the club (gun) Targe who, if it wasn’t for a couple of wobbles along the way, could easily have stepped up to a higher plane.  Ever consistent Oliver was not quite so consistent this time but still put in a creditable performance to get the points for third place.

Bean-counter Brendon could easily have been suffering from post-hole-in-one-stress-syndrome but despite that he improved on the previous week’s effort and presented to the judges in fourth place.  Mehmet was the big mover on the day with a six point improvement to leap up the ladder into 5th place.

And, as for the rest – less said.

The little birdie had no info on the nearest the pin competitions but we did manage seven birdies.  The Eagles nest has shrunk back to a paltry single ball so undoubtedly there was little incentive to even try.

The event that did almost over-shadow the major though was the first place round of the Matchplay.  This was contested between Snags and Blighty and they both obviously meant business.  Craig has obviously been saving himself for this and put together the best round of the day (and for quite a while for him) with a total of 41 points.  Blighty was not far behind on the points total and as a result they finished the 18th all square.  So, according to the rules, they will have to slug it all out again to try to break the dead-lock.  So still a bit of excitement left with Targe and Damo to also fight it out for third place.

Also a big welcome to another Craig (Cameron) who came along and put in his first card with us.  Craig is a Cats supporter but we can’t hold that against him.  With a pretty impressive 75 off the stick, the handicapper has his pencil out and looking to be writing out a fairly small number after the three rounds.  Well done Craig and hope you have a great time with Ivanhoe Social.

The iffy weather resulted in a decision to have a pizza feast instead of a bar-b-q and it seems that Oliver excelled himself on this score as well and the tucker was enjoyed by all in the comfort of the Clubhouse.

Arrangements for the Annual Challenge trip are under way and deposits are required to Gordo by 9th August ($100).  The cost is estimated to be $260 per player and $410 per couple (1 player).  You can join Murray Downs on line and qualify for a 10% discount on everything at the Club (except scores)

Results for Saturday, 26 July 2014
1st Stephen Butterfield(38, 39, 77) 2nd Targe Mifsud(37, 38, 75) 3rd Oliver Gross(37,35, 72) 4th Brendon Mitchell(34, 36, 70) 5th Mehmet Akdag(31, 37, 68)

LEADERBOARD FOR Fred Howe Cup Round 1 – 19/07/2014
Player Name	Current Place	Week 1 Score	Week 2 Score	Total Score	Final Place
Stephen Butterfield	1	38
Oliver Gross	2	37
Targe Mifsud	2	37
Chris Vinecombe	3	35
Brendon Mitchell	4	34
Bill Eastoe	5	33
Gordon Hill		32
Mehmet Akdag		31
Rodney White		30
Stephen O’Sullivan		29
Ryan Porker		28
Chris Priems		24

Well, there you go.  It was a small field but there was lots of excitement.

First off, Noodles seems to have pulled himself (together – not the other) and put together a respectable round to lead the comp into the second round by the narrowest of margins from Oliver and Targe.  It looks as if the last group to tee off will be the one to watch with a fierce contest guaranteed.

However, there is plenty of scope for those lower down the leaderboard to make a move and snatch the much prized trophy from the leaders.  Chrispy might struggle a bit to make up the lee-way but at least he won’t have to cook the bar-b-que as it seems that the threat of inclement weather has changed the lunch options to pizza.  Maybe he will have to get on his bike and collect them.

The other exciting news from the round was the spectacular effort by Brendon on the 15th when he lobbed it into the hole from the tee to collect a hole-in-one and the Eagles Nest to boot.  Well done Brendon.

As of last Thursday, the wayward eight iron was still delicately nestled in the branches of the gum tree beside the 18th tee though it did appear that there was not a lot other than the laws of physics keeping it there.  But it seems that on Saturday it came tumbling down, not quite into the arms of its erstwhile owner SOS but pretty near to some other members of the field.  Hope SOS hadn’t gone out and bought a replacement.

 

There was rain over-night, there was rain this morning, there was rain and hail forecast for later in the day.  But did that stop the valiant knights of Ivanhoe from venturing out and chancing their arm in a joust with the greensward of the Yarra Flats.  Not on your Nellie.  Well, at least some of them ventured out and by and large the sun shone on their parade.  The Search and Rescue helicopter was called out to search for the last group after reports that Targe had stepped in a puddle and couldn’t be found.  But mostly it wasn’t such a Beast of a day though a mini-gale did blow straight up the 17th but was followed by a contrasting dead calm on the 18th.

The wet course meant that there was a strong possibility of losing a ball on the fairway due to plugging and the yellow balls were jealously guarded to make sure that the round was completed with the ball intact.  Two teams managed to achieve that target, one was lost and the other team ‘forgot’ to play theirs.  Forget their ‘Eds if they weren’t screwed on!  Anyway, the winning team was Noodles, Chrispy, ChrisV and Mehmet.  And for the record it was -4 that won the day.

However the really important result was for the main Championship individual event and that was knocked down to none other than (you guessed it) Bill the Beast who, despite the somewhat tricky conditions under-foot and some pretty ordinary pin placements (what about the 9th?), succeeded in squaring the card to take the top points and in the process draw level for the lead in the Club Championship and to gather a bit of a break in the Seniors.  That, with his seemingly unassailable lead in the Eclectic, means that his trophy cabinet could be absolutely groaning come the end of the year.  The Tete de la course is starting to bunch up a bit setting up for a sprint to the finish but the peloton is a bit strung out and will have to work hard if they want to mount a serious challenge at the Finish on the Champs elysee.

A couple of players had their chances today and if a couple of shots had ended a bit differently there could have been an entirely different outcome.  Whitey suffered a bit from some erratic driving.  ChrisV suffered a bit from having to play with Noodles who is a bit cheesed off and doesn’t want to play with Chris anymore because Chris can hit the ball further than him.  Still a good result and a bit more of a move up the table for both of them.

Chrispy was a bit upset when the next two cards came in because they robbed him of third place and the precious points that he so craves in his bid to get to the top.  The two reprobates that toppled him from the place were Blighty and Gordo.  Blighty also played his matchplay against Targe and despite there being five points difference in their take-home score the result of the match was a win to Blighty one up.  The other placegetters displaced alongside Chrispy were Harry and SOS with -3 but according to all reports, it could have been better.

SOS was certainly hoping for better thing on the 18th when he severely shanked his drive, almost putting it in the pond.  He vented his frustration by swinging the club around his head when it ‘slipped’ out of his hands and went sailing into the air and into the waiting arms of the big gum tree on the left – and there it stayed.  SOS was fairly philosophical about it as, after all, it was only an eight iron.

Mehmet and Noodles rounded out the podium for this week which left a bare half dozen members not collecting a point this time around.

Not a huge tally of birdies this week with six being plodded and the Eagles nest is building up nicely.  There was a double jackpot for the ProPin today and it was contested on the 12th.  It seems that there was no one to claim it until the last player in the last group when someone snuck it inside the 5m limit.  That someone was none other than Blighty and he was noticed smiling broadly and spending his ill-gotten gains at the Tuck-shop afterwards.  The Nearest the Pin for a ball was on the 4th and that was collected by Mr Ed (again – and no, not the horse, though you could sometimes be forgiven).

The Matchplay competition has now made it to the stage where the finals can be played.  Blighty and Craig have to play off for the Championship and Targe and Damo have to play off for third place.  It would be nice to see this completed on the one day so if those four can liaise and sort something out.  Unfortunately we do have the Fred Howe Winter Cup coming up over the next two weeks and that will be followed by a Monthly Medal unless it can be agreed by all to play at some stage during these events.  Don’t forget, Fred Howe gathers double points for the winner so there is a good chance for those in the peloton to break out and join the lead group or for the leaders to sprint away and consolidate their spot.  Also don’t forget there will be a barbq lunch after the second round that will be catered by Oliver’s Inestimable Bangers and Burgers.

The majority of players stayed on for the meeting and there were three major items of business.  The first was to appoint a new Secretary and that post was filled by Oliver who took on the job in the understanding that the duties fit around his work and travel commitments.  The second was to fill the position of Social Secretary and it was confirmed that Mostyn was prepared to do the job and he was duly appointed.  Following on from that was the matter of the Annual Challenge trip to Murray Downs and it is imperative that organisation proceed post haste.  To that end members definitely (or almost definitely) going should advise Gordon by email as soon as possible.  It is highly likely that deposits will be required promptly after that and it is essential that this be dealt with without delay so that we do not lose face with the business at the other end.

One other matter that was discussed included the possibility of allocating Championship points (2 per head) to the members of the winning team in the Yellow Ball Teams Event with the thought that this might engender more enthusiasm than the prospect of winning a ball.  It was also asked whether there was a possibility of running an Ambrose event and whether such an event could also be played for Championship Points.  A Reunion Round, to which lapsed members would be invited with a view to rekindling their interest was another suggestion from the floor.  Any thoughts or discussions on these topics will be welcomed by the Committee.

One other item that was flagged was the running of the Matchplay and the rules and the application of them are being reconsidered.  It was flagged that there might be a supplementary Matchplay round over the next few months to test out some concepts.  Details will be advised shortly but further input is welcome.

Results for Saturday, 12 July 2014
1st Bill Eastoe(□) 2nd Chris Vinecombe(-1) 2nd Rodney White(-1) 3rd Andrew Blight(-2) 3rd Gordon Hill(-2) 4th Harry Boughen(-3) 4th Chris Priems(-3) 4th Stephen O’Sullivan(-3) 5th Mehmet Akdag(-4) 5th Stephen Butterfield(-4)