Monthly Archives: May 2025

Today’s field was a bit like a honeymoon, there were a few ins and outs. But we still managed to get thirteen members to the blocks, together with three guests, making a fairly respectable field for the day. Warren and Diesel put in their second cards, and, if they can just eliminate a few of the ‘wild ones’, they both could soon be a force to be reckoned with. Raj also brought along a friend, Pravesh, who is out here from Bombay for a few weeks, and, who might even join us again before he heads back to India. If anybody is planning a trip to India, Pravesh said he would be more than happy to organise a round or two. He obviously likes his golf, as he was proudly sporting a cap and jacket emblazoned with The Old Course, St Andrew’s, acquired courtesy of visits to his daughter in England (with a side trip to Scotland). The radar watchers correctly predicted the short shower at seven, but completely missed the downpour that hit after about three holes. Water was running freely in places, and greens were casual water for a time. That was the worst of it, and the umbrellas were eventually furled, but it took until about halfway through the 16th for Harry’s hands to start working to a reasonable degree.

The round of the day went to Brendon, who finished a pretty respectable six over the card off the stick, and plus one, considering the conditions that prevailed at times. Gordo’s game was obviously much improved by the coaching from his caddy in Thailand, and he produced a minus one score line. Ryan took a couple more strokes than Brendon to complete his round, and the bottom line was minus two points. This was more than enough to maintain his first round lead in the event, and he was the proud recipient of the David Ford Autumn Cup. Or he would be, if we knew where the trophy is. The prime suspect is SOS, who was last year’s winner. The swag of points for the win has pushed Porks into the narrowest of leads in the Championship Table. Brendon’s topping round today allowed him to slip into second place for the event.

As one of those thought to be in with a chance at the beginning of the day, Raj could only manage a single plus on his card today. A very healthy tally of squared holes helped to produce a score good enough for third place. Harry’s total was helped no end by several long putts that found the hole, compensating, to some degree, for the shorter ones that missed. One, in particular, ran as true as you would like, stopped at the edge of the hole for a moment, that seemed like an age, before dropping in with a satisfying ‘plunk’. When the announcements were made, Craig and CJ both declared that they were too embarrassed to accept Championship points for their event totals of -11. As it turned out, they were saved from that embarrassment by a points calculation error on Andrew’s card, which relegated him to fifth place instead. Craig and Chris did get points in the Seniors though.

The ProPin was on the 15th, and Prez was a bit cheesed that his ball had rolled about 20mm too far to qualify for a spot on the card. He needn’t have worried, because AndrewV easily collected the shrapnel with a shot to 3.08m. However, Prez was tasked with setting the NTP holes to be contested, and he nominated the 7th as the first BallPin. Wouldn’t you know it, but he got onto the green and won the ball. The regular BallPin on the 18th didn’t attract too much competition, and it was left to Warren (Wazza) to get a ball onto the green and to put his name on the card. This marked the end of a bit of a finishing flurry, with par on the last two holes. However, the highlight of his round was a birdie scored on the 4th hole. Unfortunately, that does not add to the member’s tally for the day, and, so, we were restricted to a paltry three between us.

The Birthday Birdie has to do a flutter to Gordo’s place during the week, when he will leap another ten year hurdle. Today also marked the day that Gordo played his 900th game with the Club. With the amount of travelling that he has been doing in recent times (and presaged for the future), it could easily be a while before he reaches the next Club milestone. The 15th provided its share of interest today. Targe sprayed one into the trees, and was deemed gone for all money, only for the ball to appear ‘seconds’ later, landing in the middle of the fairway. Almost as if it had been picked up and thrown back in, except that there were only trees for miles. Chris chipped onto the green and left it fairly short. Craig followed from almost the same spot, and his ball came to rest touching Chris’s. Harry putted from just off the edge of the green, hoping to finish somewhere near the hole. His ball hit Craig’s which cannoned into CJ’s. What were the odds?

There was the usual second round barbecue after the event, and the fare on offer went down a treat. Particularly the caramelised onions, twice cooked with a dash of balsamic and virgin sugar. At least, that is what Chef O’Sullivan claimed. One might doubt the veracity of that claim after the barbecue almost failed to go ahead when Chef O’S couldn’t get the barbecue connected to the gas bottle. After several failed attempts, trying both right hand and left hand turnings, somebody pointed out that there was still a plastic plug in place inside the fitting.

Results for Saturday, 17 May 2025
1st Ryan Porker (+3, -2, + 1) 2nd Brendon Mitchell (-6, + 1, -5) 3rd Rajesh Mahto (-1, -5, -6) 4th Harry Boughen (-2, -5, -7) 5th Andrew Vogan (-2, -6, -8)

Seniors Results: 1st Harry Boughen (-2, -5, -7) 2nd Andrew Vogan (-2, -6, -8) 3rd Chris Priems (-4, -7, -11) 3rd Craig Cameron (-8, -3, -11)

Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 15th Andrew Vogan BallPin No 1 – 7th Robert Priems BallPin No 2 – 18th Warren Capes

The feathers must have been attractive this morning. Rob’s excuse was that he ‘slept in’, but CJ reckons he was on a promise. You just can’t get good Presidents these days. Nalin didn’t offer any excuses for his late cancellation, but, two outs left us with some serious re-arrangement of the groups and just twelve members to vie for the David Ford Winter Cup. The field was, however, boosted by a guest and a new member, so a big how d’ye do to Whitey’s mate Darren and to Warren, who has thrown caution to the winds and signed up to join not knowing a soul. Darren put together a fairly respectable card and, hopefully, we will be seeing more of him in the near future. Warren will be back next week to help out with the barbecue, but he might have to curb his enthusiasm for hitting the ball a country mile in exchange for a little more control over the direction. Or maybe he was just taking CJ’s advice not to put in too good a card for handicapping purposes. The course continues to struggle for the want of a good soaking, and a badger’s bum looks downright inviting compared to some patches on the course.

CJ was looking for guesstimates on what the best score for the day would be, with the majority view being ‘not mine’. However, there was one brave soul who ventured plus 3 or 4, which proved to be remarkably prescient. Because Ryan came home with plus 3 by bolting home and completing the back nine right on par for his three above the line. It could easily have been plus 4 overall (or even better) if he hadn’t racked up a draughtie on the second tee by almost missing the ball and scuttling it into the water feature between the tee boxes. He wasn’t alone in that regard, as he was joined in ignominy by Brendon, SteveG, and Whitey. The tee placed well back on the bank did present a fairly formidable prospect. SteveG put up a big cheer at the 5th green, where his square marked the first non-negative result on his card. Things settled down a bit and by the turn he was only five holes behind. The back was a completely different story, and five plusses out of the last seven holes made for a second place on the leader board. Raj obviously went through a series of ups and downs as his scores fluctuated above and below the line, but, in the end, he, too, finished in second place.

Despite now having two lenses in his glasses, Harry continued to frustrate himself by running putts over the edge of the hole. He did manage to out-Priems a Priems on the 16th when his second, possibly on its way to tiger country, deflected off a branch and carried on to be well-placed just short of the green. AndrewV went close to filling his card with square results (12 to be exact), and was able to set himself to hope for some sort of a chance alongside Harry. Whitey was just back on deck after an injury, and showed that he hasn’t lost too much form with the lay-off. A bit of a bad run on the back just rained on his parade a little. Whitey won’t be playing next week, he has a pressing engagement with a corporate box at the ‘G next week. One of the perks of being a big-time horse owner, according to reports. CJ will be hoping for a couple of turn-arounds to give himself a chance at the big one next week.

The Double Jackpot for the ProPin on the 4th hole was definitely worth winning, but only one person was able to get their name on the card. Porks reckons the pile of shrapnel that he was handed will come in handy for comp fee paying over the next couple of months. A BallPin on the 12th went to Harry, who squeezed out AndrewV by a fair margin, while SteveG got his ball onto the top deck to knock out Raj by a country mile. He didn’t make the birdie, and, as a result, we only score three birdies and one eagle for the day.

CJ and Harry played their match today, and CJ burst out of the blocks to take the first hole. The second was a bit of a dog’s breakfast for both, but the first of H’s eight strokes gave him the hole to bring it back to square. The alternating strokes stood H in good stead, and his lead edged out to two holes. He maintained the advantage of being ahead until wins by CJ on the 13th and 14th brought the match back to square. It stayed that way until the 17th, and H was on the green for two, a metre or so from the hole. CJ pitched his ball from the Lord Mayor’s Office, and it ran across the green and finished firmly in the cup to clean out the Eagle’s Nest. H’s putt for birdie, which still wouldn’t have squared the hole, caught the edge of the cup and did a complete 180 to finish millimetres away. Dormie one! CJ’s (self-admitted) rash attempt fell agonisingly short of the green, and the chip left a longish down hill putt that took two to complete. Harry’s par brought the match back to square and a chip-off ensued. Ably curated by the Club Captain, the contest went to the fourth round, before Harry completed in two while CJ was still short. Despite all of the speculation, this is not the first time (just the second) that four rounds have been required to decide a result, at least since records have been recorded in the database.

The Birthday Birdie has nothing to report this week, but CJ was murmuring that he was sure that today was somebody’s birthday. No, not just anybody’s birthday, somebody important. He was hoping against hope that it wasn’t Carolyn’s. Stan was out today, sporting a brand-new set of clubs. He didn’t feel that he was making good contact, and couldn’t put his finger on why, until Porks pointed out that he hadn’t taken the protective plastic film off the face of the clubs. Brendon claims that the highlight of his round was making par on the 18th after scuffing the ball off the tee and making the approach to make the putt.

Results for Saturday, 10 May 2025
Leaderboard Round 1: 1st Ryan Porker (+3) 2nd Steven Gervasoni (-1) 2nd Rajesh Mahto (-1) 3rd Harry Boughen (-2) 3rd Andrew Vogan (-2) 4th Rodney White (-3) 5th Chris Priems (-4)

Seniors Leaderboard: 1st Steven Gervasoni (-1) 2nd Andrew Vogan (-2) 2nd Harry Boughen (-2) 3rd Rodney White (-3)

Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 4th Ryan Porker BallPin No 1 – 12th Harry Boughen BallPin No 2 – 18th Steven Gervasoni

Eagle’s Nest Results: Eagle – 17th Chris Priems

Despite the obvious attractions of Democracy Sausages, we were able to field sixteen members today. The thermometers were showing about five degrees at tee time, and there were a few getting around like half-open pocket-knives. There were some who cracked it hardy in shorts, but Stan was one who forsook his favourite Savers shorts. The temperature did rise eventually, and feeling returned to the fingers, although the effects had been somewhat ameliorated by the judicious application of hand warmers. The sky was effectively cloudless, and the air was generally calm, although a bit of a breeze did spring up later in the round. Nothing problematical though. The greens were in good condition, although there were numerous reports of problems with putting, ranging from fast greens to ball repellant holes. Perhaps this explains the fact that we only managed five birdies for the day. Ken didn’t score any of them, but he did improve his Eclectic enough to leap into a share of first place on the table.

At registration, Nalin made some sort of a comment that suggested he could be a little under the weather. Seems he does manage a sports bar that, coincidentally, CJ was frequenting last weekend to watch the footy. If he was dipping into the profits, it doesn’t seem to have affected his game, and he collected the Medal that was on offer. The result might have been different if he had played what he thought was his ball. He admonished Steve for lining up to hit his ball, only to have Steve point to another of the same colour in the grass nearby. Luckily, there was no real dispute as they were different brands. He was also lucky to survive Bob’s club ‘disposal’ on the second tee. Come on, guys, we know golf is frustrating, but golf clubs can do some serious damage if they get out of hand.

Craig’s second place today certainly didn’t do his standing any harm at all. He moved into third place in the Championship, jumped up to a three-way tie for first in the Seniors, and displaced Steve from the top of the Order of Merit. As an aside, there is also a three-way tie for second place in the Seniors at the moment. Ryan’s third place also moved him up in the Championship to fourth place. SOS wasn’t too much distracted by his head-to-head with Brent in the Matchplay, and picked up fourth place. He registered for the video on the 18th, and proceeded to shank the ball over into the middle of the 17th. He still managed a four for the hole and squeezed out Stan into fifth place.

The 4th, with the tees set well back, proved to be a tough nut to crack, with only one ‘nearly almost’ that was just too far out to be able to stretch the tape. Double Jackpot next week will be getting right up there in the dosh stakes, particularly with a good turn-out for the David Ford. The BallPin on the 15th was a hard-fought affair with ‘kissing cousins’ Brent and CJ elbowed out by Nalin. The 18th saw the pin on the top deck, and the back tees proved a road too far, so there will be a Jackpot BallPin on offer there next week.

The match between SOS and Brent could easily have been a real cliff-hanger. SOS took the early lead, and the pair exchanged holes on a fairly regular basis, and after the 10th, the match was square with Brent looking dangerous. SOS turned on his lights and sirens, and made a passing move to win three on the trot. Somebody rolled out the tyre spikes too early, and the burst faltered in a serious way, and the lead was just one hole with two to play. The birdie on the 17th was more than enough to drive the stake into Brent’s heart, and the match went to SOS, 2 and 1.

The Birthday Birdie has to flutter around to AndrewV’s place during the week to wish him well for his little celebration. Harry had hoped for a good showing for his 600th game with the Club, but it was not to be. Raj played three balls from the 17th tee, and all three ended in the same general area in the rough stuff along the fence line. Only the third was found, and that was unplayable. A lot to be said for the local rule for lost/OOB for a two stroke penalty. Raj would have been two balls and at least three strokes better off! Playing up to the 5th green, a group was a bit nonplussed to see a couple of members of the group in front ‘still on the green’. Turns out Ken’s drive from the 6th ricocheted off a tree and finished on the green, and Stan bounced off the exact same tree to finish just a little way off the green. Blighty was spotted in the ProShop after the round, eyeing off the range of drivers on offer. This might, or might not, have been motivated by his Airie on the 8th. SteveG put his drive on the 17th out onto the path along the river just as a walker was passing by. He was seen to pick the ball up, and it was fully expected that he would return it to ‘play’. No such luck. And Steve neglected to ask him for it!!

Results for Saturday, 03 May 2025
1st Nalin Samaranayake (67) 2nd Craig Cameron (69) 3rd Ryan Porker (71) 4th Stephen O’Sullivan (72) 5th Stan Blackshaw (73)

Seniors Results: 1st Craig Cameron (69) 2nd Stan Blackshaw (73) 3rd Andrew Blight (75)

Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 4th Jackpot BallPin No 1 – 15th Nalin Samaranayake BallPin No 2 – 18th Jackpot