Category Archives: Club News

There has been a hint in the forecasts that we could be in for a couple of days of summer and there were plenty of short sleeves out in support of that idea today. Things remained reasonably pleasant if you could stay in the deep shade but when needs must venture into the open sun, you could tell that the day was just a bit on the warm side. So, with light air and firm fairways, it was to be expected that there would be some good scoring to be had. We almost had only twenty players on the course after Michael’s Mum lead him astray last night but, after Blighty pulled the pin, Michael decided that he had better make the effort to make the numbers twenty one. And, then, there was Ben’s mate Atila. And no, he is not a Hun. But he is over from Adelaide which could make him sort of Hunnish.

On the basis of his round today, Jason has a new nickname – Handbrake Hopkins. He absolutely slaughtered the front nine, carding only 2 over the par, for a massive 24 points. He flirted briefly with repeating the performance on the back but then jammed on the handbrake to produce a relatively paltry sixteen points over the back nine to post the winning score for the day of forty points. “Dirty Harry” was heard to mutter “Make my day!”

“Old Reliable” continued with his (don’t say boring!) habit of whacking them down the centre of the fairway to be not far behind Jason in the scoring stakes on the front nine. Unfortunately, Craig was not able to take advantage on the back and also only managed to score sixteen points to finish still three points behind the leader at the end of the day.

Zimmer had to zimm off after the round so there was not much of a fix on his game generally but, with a fair scattering of three pointers, he was able to match his handicap on the day. Targe teed off with his pink ball today and managed to survive at least one and a half holes with it. He won’t have to worry about the suggestion that the pink ball will require playing in the first group in a pink tutu, at least for this week, with his third placing. Porks also had an ‘average’ round to join in on the third place points.

Brendon had his moments today, and you could have been forgiven for thinking that he was protecting his handicap with some of the uncharacteristic ‘chunky’ shots that he played at times. On the 14th, nobody could catch the flight of his tee-shot other than it went high and so a precautionary provisional was taken. As it turned out, the ball was found quite easily, about a metre from the penalty pond. The scoreline of 35 points was good enough to nab fourth place on his Pat Malone.

Michael came in slightly less hungover than he was at the start and opined that his score of 34 points would probably be good enough to snare a share of fifth place. And he was right. He ‘staggered’ to the podium alongside Gordon (heavily handicapped by a monstrous gold medal), Adam, Damo and Bob.

The first BallPin today was on the 7th hole and, luckily, the tees were placed not too far back giving more of a chance to all. Targe had ‘discarded’ the pink ball by this stage and he did not come up at all short to leave his tee shot inside a couple of metres and pin high. With an eminently gettable birdie putt for five points, the pressure was really on and, in the end, it was a four for only three points. The second BallPin was on the 18th, as usual, and there were any number of smiley faces on the chit. The one that counted, however, was that for Porks and for some reason he had a sad face. Maybe it was due to the fact that he didn’t make the birdie. The one name on the chit that did get the birdie was Ben, which bagged him four points (out of nine on the back) and a place along with nine others who also bagged birdies on the day.

Atila made a valiant effort to snare the Jackpot ProPin on the 15th but he didn’t account for Craig who, with the smell of money in his nostrils, smacked it to 1.6m to collect the big dollars. He made sure that he, too, was in the Birdie Brigade.

The trees came in for a fair amount of comment today. Ben’s group spent a fair amount of time searching for his ball after at least fourteen close encounters of the timber kind. Simon ‘promised’ to come in to fell the tree on the 4th after it ‘got in the way’ and spoiled his enjoyment of playing the hole for the last time. Harry absolutely ‘creamed’ his second shot on the first, only to have it dead-centre the only ball sized branch for miles that happened to be anywhere near the desired flight path.

Simon was careful today to avoid getting into any bunkers as he wants to save that ‘pleasure’ for his new track on Bribie Island. Damo wasn’t quite so lucky and found the sand by the green on the 6th. Not being one to hold back, Damo gave it a fair bit. Gordon, standing across the green behind the pin was sprayed with sand but swears that the ball did not come out with the sand. Despite a thorough search the ball could not be found. Damo reckons the ball must have buried itself into the face of the bunker.

JQ had hopes for an Eagle on the 9th today after his ball ‘split the pin’ just a little too hard and ricocheted off at ninety degrees to leave him with a couple of putts for his par. Trev was the only one who owned up to a draughtie today but according to all reports it could almost qualify as a ‘trick shot’. Seems the ball went straight up and virtually landed back onto the tee peg.

It is the time of year that we have to start thinking about a couple of things. The Annual General Meeting of the Club is scheduled for 6th March and all positions on the Committee will be up for grabs. So, the incumbents should be thinking about succession planning if they plan not to continue in their current role. Club members should be lobbying for support if there is a role that they would like to take on. Doesn’t matter if it is already occupied, a bit of competition never goes astray.

March also marks the start of the Matchplay Championship. There is a Registration Form on the website under the Player Registration. Could everybody please use the form to indicate whether or not they wish to be included in the seeding for the event. If you have any doubts as to whether you can comply with the playing requirements due to work, travel etc etc, please register NO so that we can minimise the use of the ‘Walkover’ result. The draw for seedings (1 to 36 and 1 plays 36, etc – not for opponents) will be done after the round on 27th February.

Results for Saturday, 09 January 2021
1st Jason Hopkins(40) 2nd Craig Cameron(37) 3rd Kazim Akdag(36) 3rd Targe Mifsud(36) 3rd Ryan Porker(36) 4th Brendon Mitchell(35) 5th Michael Gourlay(34) 5th Gordon Hill(34) 5th Adam King(34) 5th Damien Lee(34) 5th Bob McDonald(34)

Seniors Results: 1st Craig Cameron (37) 2nd Targe Mifsud (36) 3rd Bob McDonald (34) 3rd Gordon Hill (34) 3rd Michael Gourlay (34)

Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin15th Craig Cameron BallPin No 1 7th Targe Mifsud BallPin No 2 18th Ryan Porker

There is an old saying – Make hay while the sun shines, make love while it rains. And the sun was shining today, so it was probably a good opportunity to make some hay because who knows what the next few weeks might bring. The pessimists view is that restrictions will be brought back into play and who knows how that might affect our ability to continue sledging one another mercilessly each and every Saturday. The BOM was forecasting some chance of rain so watch out girls in it does happen to materialise. Pepsi managed to get back into the state before the isolation requirements kicked in, and so he was able to play today. Noodles was suffering from a ‘tinder’ back (or so Brendon said) and he was a late scratching which meant that we ended up with a field of 16 for the first of the 2021 trophies, the January Monthly Medal.

Brendon was his usual methodical self today and barely put a foot wrong the whole round. There was a moment of the 9th when his second finished just off the path under the big elm by the 18th. An impeding stone was blamed for the pop shot into the garden bed. There was some frantic searching to find the ball in the clumpy grass and Craig saved the day by finding it and allowing the free drop. Still, a double bogie wasn’t too bad a result and the final result of a net 62 was more than enough to collect the top spot and the Medal.

Zimmer was asking before tee time why he wasn’t on double figures yet. The score card at the end of the round shows the reason why with no less than three birdies on the front nine. Jason was doing a pretty fine job of making a round of it, but he reckons he ‘hit the wall’ three holes from home and a double and a triple certainly did not help the cause. MattH played a fine hand on the front to plod just two over par and a slight relaxation on the back caused him to join Zimmer and Jason in second place with their score of 67.

Craig (aka “Old Reliable”) just kept smacking them straight up the middle and taking great delight in the amount of run that he was getting from the harder summer ground. He did have a modicum of luck on the 8th when he pulled off a ‘cannon off the bush’ to bring the ball closer in to the green. Porks was supposed to have had a case of the shanks today but that did not stop him from playing to his handicap and tying up with Craig in 3rd place.

Part way through the round Stan said he was going OK except for a couple of holes. The double figures on the 6th was probably one of those holes but, all in all, a result one outside your handicap is nothing to be ashamed of. Pepsi might well have been still suffering from his extended time behind the wheel, but he managed to join up with Stan in fourth place. Last in the field of point-getters with a net score of 70 was Michael who brought up the rear in more ways than one.

There was a ball up for grabs with the first BallPin on the 4th hole. The first group through succeeded in placing the marker on the green and the rest of the field could get no closer than MattH. The same pretty much applied for the BallPin on the 18th except that it was Damo who shut out the rest of the field. The ProPin was on the 15th and the pickings had been pretty slim until the fourth group when Jason managed to get it on. Unfortunately, the distance was 5.1m, so it was a case of close, but no cigar and there will be a Jackpot for next week. You could have been forgiven for thinking that the money was on the 12th after Brendon put his tee shot to a metre and a half. He rattled in the birdie with the greatest of ease and contributed to the total of 16 that we managed for the day.

There were a couple of highlights in Harry’s game today, like the chips in on the 8th and the 16th. Then again, there were some low-lights like a complete stymie at the base of a tree on the 11th and OOB by a centimetre on the 15th. Stef had received news that his bank account had been hacked, and he was on the phone to his bank manager. With the phone jammed between his shoulder and his ear, it was Stef’s turn to putt. Which he did, one handed, and sank the putt from three metres or more. Not once, but twice. On the other hand, he had missed a few from one metre using both hands earlier on. Damo was planning to play it safe on the 13th, after several recent dices with the penalty area on the left of the fairway, by using his 3-wood rather than his driver. Zimmer gave him a razzing for being a wuss and, rising to the bait, Damo pulled out his driver and promptly hit the hazard. He was quickly followed into the same trap by none other than Zimmer and his mate Stef. I think it is called karma.

There has been a good response to payment of subs, but there are still a few outstanding. We don’t mind if you want to put off paying for a bit, but we really would like to know what your intentions are. Just drop an email to Harry, Noodles and Gordon so that we can keep our records in order. Those members with GolfLink membership with us who did not advise before the deadline have had their membership deactivated.

Results for Saturday, 02 January 2021
1st Brendon Mitchell(62) 2nd Kazim Akdag(67) 2nd Jason Hopkins(67) 2nd Matt Hunt(67) 3rd Craig Cameron(68) 3rd Ryan Porker(68) 4th Stan Blackshaw(69) 4th Andrew Petricola(69) 5th Michael Gourlay(70)

Seniors Results: 1st Craig Cameron (68) 2nd Stan Blackshaw (69) 3rd Michael Gourlay (70)

Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin15th Jackpot BallPin No 1 4th Matt Hunt BallPin No 2 18th Damien Lee

Santa seems to have managed to negotiate the various rules and regulations in place to cross borders and to gain access to households to deliver gaudily wrapped items into stockings and under Christmas trees. Eight members were not satisfied with what Santa had left and came out to try for more goodies in the form of Championship points and with the secondary aim of limiting Noodles ability to score too many of those same points. The weather was certainly kind to them in their endeavour although it did warm up a bit as the day went on.

Simon must have been on Santa’s goodie-two-shoes list because, not only did he deliver on Christmas day, he delivered again today with a personal best 74 strokes off the stick and a very impressive total of six points (check your handicap, Si). If it hadn’t been for three gashes, boy oh boy, what a day it would have been. Now, Si reckons that he tends to play his best golf on Thursdays so Harry, Rod and Gordo are expecting to be gob-smacked this week.

Stan took a couple of holes to get going and looked as if he was about to settle down and be right up there with Simon. A bit of a stutter just before the turn undid the good work, but he settled in his run and finished with a burst to cross the line with a plus two score-line. The field didn’t quite succeed in keeping Noodles right out of the points as his score of minus one was enough to snag him a share of third place. A flash of brilliance leading into and around the turn and a final lunge at the line really saved the day. Damo, on the other hand, set a good pace early on but could not find his stride on the way home and could only finish neck and neck with Noods.

Pepsi started a bit slowly and finished a bit slowly and never really did hit his stride throughout to finish a point further back for a share of 4th place. Keith, on the other hand, just plodded along slow and steady like the tortoise but, unlike the tortoise, he did not win the race and tied up with Pepsi in fourth.

Michael has decided that he is going to throw everything into his game this year to make up for lost opportunities in recent years. And that seems to include the kitchen sink that he brought along strapped to the roof of his car. He has even volunteered to try to fill the very large boots of the GOATee Marshal to give CJ a hand. He was only able to grab a single point today but, the secret is to keep attending and keep the points ticking over if you want to finish in or near the top spot.

Now, the sharp eyed among you will have noticed that there are seven players in the points today which, by a process of elimination means that there was only one person not included. Discretion prevents mention of names, but it is worth pointing out if he hadn’t taken about five holes to get going, there could have been a clean sweep with points all round.

The first BallPin was set out on the 4th and Stan showed his prowess again by getting his ball closest. It mustn’t have been quite close enough as he did not make the birdie. The ProPin was set on the 12th and Simon really made a day of it by sneaking his ball inside the 5m circle to 4.3m. He didn’t make the birdie there either. Noodles won the ball on the 18th, but was obviously not close enough to make the birdie. So, the upshot was, that the NTP winners did not contribute on their respective holes to the total of five that the field brought in today.

Next Saturday will be the first round for the new year and, hopefully everybody will be over their hangovers after the NYE celebrations. There is a Monthly Medal up for grabs so get your registrations in to ensure you have a spot on the tee. There are still a few people who have GolfLink memberships with us who have not indicated their intentions about continuing. So, if they do not advise in the next day or so, they will be de-registered.

Results for Saturday, 26 December 2020
1st Simon Powell(+6) 2nd Stan Blackshaw(+2) 3rd Stephen Butterfield(-1) 3rd Damien Lee(-1) 4th Keith Delzoppo(-2) 4th Andrew Petricola(-2) 5th Michael Gourlay(-3)

Seniors Results: 1st Simon Powell (+6) 2nd Stan Blackshaw (+2) 3rd Keith Delzoppo (-2)

Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin12th Simon Powell BallPin No 1 4th Stan Blackshaw BallPin No 2 18th Stephen Butterfield

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,…..and it was the age of pandemic. But time is running out for 2020, and with 2020 (rear) vision there is some chance that we will view the past year and the world in general in a completely different light. But, we have managed to scrape through it with our sanity pretty much intact and this was probably in no small part due to the fun and friendship that we all enjoyed through the year, interrupted as it was. The weather was pretty kind today although it did start off a little freshly and there was a desultory effort to dampen the ground, if not the spirits of the 21 members out on the course, before the sun came out and warmed things up enough to require removal of jerkins and jackets.

The main event of the day was the Stuart Clarke Champion of Champions and, although the field was somewhat reduced due to the reduced program and a couple of absences, there was quite a feeling in the field that it could be a close run thing with any one of the 10 starters likely to present to the judge. In the end, nine of the ten finished within five strokes but, at the end of the day, the honour went to Targe with a net score of 67. Targe just pipped MattH who had been Club-house leader all day with his net of 68.

The rest of the field battled it out for the Chump of Chumps and, just to prove that he is no chump, the best score in that field was presented by SOS. Now, SOS is fairly recently back from getting his hip fixed and reports that they also removed his ‘shanks’ seem to have been pretty well founded, with an exemplary back nine of 34 off the stick for 21 points and a total of 38 for the round.

That score was more than enough for SOS to also take out the top spot for the handicap round and to keep up his world-beating points scoring of 8 per round for the year so far. Craig (that’s what fairways are for) was also let off too lightly by the handicapper as he was able to break his again to nab second spot just a single point behind SOS on 37 points. This also matched the total that Targe produced from his winning stroke score. MattH and Ken (battle of the Centurions and he wasn’t talking Roman army, but he did forget one of his double stroke holes) shared the third placing honours.

Porks and Brent started out confidently but their mojo seems to have deserted them a little after the first nine. Perhaps they started to think too much about lunch and refreshments afterwards. Simon, on the other hand, took plenty of opportunities to bewail the pair of sevens that he managed to accumulate. But he did manage to accumulate 35 points and join up with the other two in fourth place. In actual fact, seven seemed to be a fairly popular score as four of the five players sharing fifth place had one on their card. Pepsi was the spoil-sport and didn’t join Harry, Noodles, Gordon and Bob with that distinction. And we won’t mention that Harry also had a nine.

The first BallPin was set for the 7th and, although this hole has had its moments in recent times, it looked as if it was going to resist all attempts to get a ball on the dance-floor. That is until along came Stan who, for a moment caused some breath holding on the tee as his ball looked to finish perilously close. Stan went close again on the 12th and was only a metre or so from the hole. He sank the putt for the birdie and contributed to the total of 13 that we managed for the day. The second BallPin on the ‘almost beer time’ 18th went down to Noodles. The ProPin was on the 15th and MattH managed to get it within the distance limit. We don’t know by how much because Brendon took the box home. In actual fact, Gordo put a shot from the tee much closer to the pin than Matt’s, the only problem was that it was his third shot after the first went wide and out of bounds.

Rob seems to be in the grip of a bit of a slump in form and he decided that, after nine holes, he might as well get himself a refresher. The sad news was that the bar was not yet open in the Club-house. So, he had to wait until after the 13th and, what do you know, like spinach to Popeye, the beer revived him and he parred the last three holes. He did break a club during the round but it was purely accidental when his follow through followed through too far and got caught up in a tree.

Brendon was well down in the lists today and one contributing factor was an airie for his second shot on the 17th as he tried to lob one over the trees after a less than stellar tee shot. But, he did have some tree help after a stray shot on the third was brought back into play by a ricochet. It seems that Pepsi might have had similar help on the same hole. It was even suggested that on the 7th, SOS bounced his drive off a tree on the left onto one on the right and the ball finished in the middle of the fairway.

After the round most of the field and a few others repaired to JQ’s place for our break-up lunch and Trophy Presentations. A great venue with plenteous food and refreshment made sure that everybody was well satisfied by the end of the day. A big shout out to JQ, Andrea, Christie et al for making the venue available and managing the catering to perfection. The trophy presentation went off almost without a hitch with Rob squinting to read the names on the trophies and Gordo tossing them as carefully as he could down to the recipients below. There was only one near disaster when Porks fumbled his trophy like an Indian fielder at the Adelaide Oval.

Results for Saturday, 19 December 2020
1st Stephen O’Sullivan(38) 2nd Craig Cameron(37) 2nd Targe Mifsud(37) 3rd Matt Hunt(36) 3rd Ken Watson(36) 4th Ryan Porker(35) 4th Simon Powell(35) 4th Brent Rowley(35) 5th Harry Boughen(34) 5th Stephen Butterfield(34) 5th Gordon Hill(34) 5th Bob McDonald(34) 5th Andrew Petricola(34)

Seniors Results: 1st Craig Cameron (37) 1st Targe Mifsud (37) 2nd Ken Watson (36) 3rd Simon Powell (35)

Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin15th Matt Hunt BallPin No 1 7th Stan Blackshaw BallPin No 2 18th Stephen Butterfield