Monthly Archives: May 2025

Thirteen is supposed to be an unlucky number. Today’s date is thirteen in reverse. We had thirteen members playing. So was this an augury? Or would we be saved by Raj’s mate Pravesh, who enjoyed his outing with us last time so much that he signed up again to have another “heapin’ helpin’ of our hospitality”. The BOM hinted at the possibility of a shower, but the low probability did prove accurate, and a fine round was enjoyed by all (weather-wise, that is). After the round there were a few eyes being cast at a threatening looking cloud out to the east, but, by that stage of the day, who was particularly worried. More likely, they were hopeful that the course might get a bit more of a desperately needed drink. Only a few more weeks of shortening days, and then a few more, until the first group aren’t faced with hitting off into the half dark.

Pepsi has a newish driver in his bag, and, based on its performance over the few rounds that it has seen so far, there is no chance that it was going to be retired any time soon. The drive for the first just reinforced that view. However, according to reports, it was not the performance of the driver that contributed most to his blistering round today. If it hadn’t been for a few, shall we say, hiccups, who knows what the final score might have been. Under par was a fair possibility, with four of our nine birdies coming off his card to finish with forty-one points, and just three strokes over the card.

Now, what can we say about Brendon? Perhaps we could say that he would feel hard done by for coming second with a point total of forty. Perhaps we could say that he would feel hard done by for having to split the Eagle’s Nest with Ryan, who just happened to drive the 14th to about 2m from the pin with a straight up-hill putt for his eagle, two. Perhaps we could say that he would feel hard done by for getting a hole-in-one on the 18th and not seeing it go into the hole. And, perhaps, we could say that he would feel hard done by for missing out on close to eight large for not putting in the $3 to enter the HIO Jackpot. But, most of all, he probably feels hard done by for having signed up for the (free) video, and it cut out before the ball went into the hole. However, the resulting four points did help the total on quite a bit, and the singleton meant that his back nine matched the card, and the round finished just four over.

Harry kept losing things today. No, not his cool! Counting the registration money, a dollar slipped out of his hand, and fell. A search of the cafe floor failed to show any sign and the question was asked could it have fallen into your shoe. As if! Walking to the third green, the young fellah noticed a discomfort in his shoe, and, lo and behold, there was the missing coin. Later, at the fifteenth tee, he couldn’t find his ball, despite checking all pockets multiple times, as well as the seat storage. In desperation, grabbed a new ball, went to tee up, and there was his ball quietly nestled in his left hand. Gordo put together quite a collection of pars today, and could have been forgiven for thinking that he deserved a better result than his thirty-six points. His share of third place, however, was a good enough result for him to score a ‘rocket’ in the Order of Merit. We haven’t seen Dan about for a while, but he’s now back knockin’ ’em out in Melbourne, so perhaps we will see him a little more often. His absence hasn’t affected his golf too much, and he also took a share of third place.

Raj produced a bit of a mixed bag today, ranging from birdies to fat ladies. His drive on the 10th found the trees, and was almost given up for lost when it was spotted near the penalty area on the 13th. He managed to thread it through the trees to finish well up the 10th fairway, followed by one of his high-flying pitches onto the green not all that far past the pin. The par putt just missed, prompting Stan to declare that he was going home if Raj had made the par after that start. Stan also had his fair share of ups and downs that belied the potential for a much better score. Rob started the day with a draw, which excited a fair bit of comment as being quite unusual for his style of play. However, it is not clear what sort of shape the shot that placed him inside a tree-guard on the 5th had, but, given the proximity to a much larger tree, he was probably grateful for the two club lengths allowed.

The ProPin was on the 4th today, and the only person able to get his name on the card was Pepsi at 3.36m. There was a thought that Pravesh was in with a chance as the line was spot on, but, unfortunately, the range was a little on the long side. The first BallPin was on the 12th, and Pepsi laid claim to that as well, but, in the end, it was Brendon, who managed to sneak just inside the distance. Trying for the triple chance, Pepsi also put his name on the card for the BallPin on the 18th, only to be foiled by Brendon again, who left no doubt about the result with his Hole-In-One.

Targe had a chance to go fox shooting today, but passed it up to come and play golf. On the 6th, Craig and Dan had teed off, and Targe teed his ball up and started lining himself up to play his shot. At this point, Craig and Dan thought it appropriate to remind him to take the cover off of his driver. At the 7th, the cover was definitely off the driver, but, somehow, Targe managed to despatch the ball to the left, almost perfectly at right angles to the intended direction of travel. The ball must have just about passed between his legs. At least the foxes got to live another day, unless, of course, they happened to be on the golf course. Another highlight, at least for the last group, who were waiting on the 15th tee and watching the following group of ladies play up to the 14th, when one of the ladies chipped in for her birdie. An appropriate cheer went up to mark the occasion. But none so cheerful as the round of drinks that the Club shouted to celebrate Brendon’s landmark.

Results for Saturday, 31 May 2025
1st Andrew Petricola (41) 2nd Brendon Mitchell (40) 3rd Harry Boughen (36) 3rd Gordon Hill (36) 3rd Dan Marie (36) 4th Rajesh Mahto (33) 5th Stan Blackshaw (32) 5th Robert Priems (32)

Seniors Results: 1st Gordon Hill (36) 1st Harry Boughen (36) 2nd Robert Priems (32) 2nd Stan Blackshaw (32) 3rd Craig Cameron (31) 3rd Matt Hunt (31)

Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 4th Andrew Petricola BallPin No 1 – 12th Brendon Mitchell BallPin No 2 – 18th Brendon Mitchell

Hole in One Results: Hole in One – 18th *** Brendon Mitchell ***

Eagle’s Nest Results: 14th Ryan Porker 18th Brendon Mitchell

There’s been some rain, and the course has been thankful for a little drink, but there is a long way to go to get some soil moisture going, and to repair those bald patches that abound. The overnight cloud cover acted as a doona, and the temperature was downright mild, putting the lie to those who had rugged up in anticipation. The only wind was that leaving the sails of CJ, who started the day bragging about how he had turned the corner after his outing at the Frog yesterday. The phrase ‘Tail-end Charlie’ comes to mind. One other member suffering from remorse was SOS. He dutifully registered for the HIO Jackpot on the 18th, and proceed to crack a beauty straight at the hole, nestled on the top deck of the green. Just at that point, he remembered that he hadn’t hit the Play button, and he hoped against hope that it didn’t go in. He was safe in that regard, as the ball finished 2.65m from the hole, which was plenty to win himself a ball for the BallPin on the 18th. We had fifteen members put in a showing, and Warren rounded out the field to submit his third card. Watch out now that he has burgled himself a high enough handicap and can take part in competition from now on.

SOS slotted the putt on the 18th, which sealed the deal for the day, with the four points bringing his total for the round to 39. This performance was due, in part, to a lesson that he had during the week, which seems to have improved his drive no end. Another contributing factor might have been that he was also embroiled in a fight to the death with SteveG, as they went head-to-head in their second round Match. With a round like that, you could be forgiven for thinking that he had it pretty easy, but, in fact, Steve was pretty much on song today as well, and the Match oscillated about the mean for most of the round, and after the 14th, things were still all square. SOS got his nose in front at the next, and, when Steve had a bit of a run-in with the pond on the 17th, the Match finally fell to SOS, 2 and 1. Steve did express the view that he might have had a bit of a ‘lie-down’, as he didn’t want to get involved in a chip-off for a couple of reasons. First, his chipping is not one of his strong points (although it did work better today), and, second, everybody else in the group had to rush off to kids/grandkids sporting events. Despite the tongue-in-cheek remark, Steve wasn’t too far behind and scored himself a spot in third place.

Blighty was expressing some frustration when he finally made it to the scoring tent, which might explain why he put his ProShop card in to us and vice versa. As a result, he was elevated to the heady heights of second place alongside Harry. Harry was heard to comment that it took him until the 17th to score a par, after several ‘near-misses’. The fact that he already had two of our four birdies for the day had little to do with it. The ‘highlight’ of Porks’ round was his 290m drive on the 6th hole. The ‘lowlight’ was the seven that it took him for the entire hole. What do they say about ‘drive for show, putt for dough’? And he didn’t even putt! Still, he managed to fit into third spot despite this little setback. You could have been forgiven for thinking that Gordo was channelling Bobbie when his buggy capsized several times during the round, including on the 17th. Perhaps it was the high speed, as the front group of four completed the round in just on four hours, which just goes to show what is possible when you put your mind to it. And, the following group of three was not unduly delayed at any stage. Stan rounded out the point-getters after staging something of a comeback after a not so brilliant front nine.

The first BallPin was on the 15th, and more in hope than anticipation, Harry put his name on the chit. Needless to say, Porks easily made it closer and snatched the ball away. All was not lost, as Harry’s shot to 1.600m on the ProPin 12th was the only contender for the money. His 12.08m effort for the ProShop prize on the 18th was less fortunate however, and Porks, at least, was able to better that, but not SOS’s effort.

The Birthday Birdie will be calling in on Targe and Stan during the week. Prez was not able to make to golf today. There was a little matter of a weekend away with dearly beloved to celebrate a wedding anniversary. Hope it is a good one, old matey! Nalin pretty much blistered the front nine, and, on that form, should have been right up there with SOS at the front of the pack. Between the ninth and the tenth, he obviously threw a con-rod, blew a gasket, and the hand-brake seized so that he was not able to finish in the points. It seems that he took to following CJ too closely. One aspect of CJ’s woes was the ‘disappearance’ of his ball on the 18th. It was seen to finish to the left of the green, where the grass is just a bit on the fuzzy side of neat. But, despite a thorough search, (within the time limits, of course), the ball could not be found.

Results for Saturday, 24 May 2025
1st Stephen O’Sullivan (39) 2nd Andrew Blight (35) 2nd Harry Boughen (35) 3rd Steven Gervasoni (34) 3rd Ryan Porker (34) 4th Gordon Hill (33) 5th Stan Blackshaw (31)

Seniors Results: 1st Andrew Blight (35) 1st Harry Boughen (35) 2nd Steven Gervasoni (34) 3rd Gordon Hill (33)

Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 12th Harry Boughen BallPin No 1 – 15th Ryan Porker BallPin No 2 – 18th Stephen O’Sullivan

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