Monthly Archives: January 2026

First round of 2026. For most of the dozen members who turned out today. Whitey owned up to having a sneaky one (round of golf, that is) yesterday, but the rest of the field set out to break their New Year Resolutions, one way or another. SteveG is doing his Dry July in January, but had to resist the temptation posed by having to buy beers for his efforts on the second. The ground staff were a bit late getting out with the blowers, so there was a fair bit of litter on some of the greens, with a bit of dew from the watering early on before the morning warmed up. The greening of the course continues, but they do spray herbicide as well, so those that put their fags down on the tee, might do well to rethink the practice. The effects of the recent rains have subsided and, with the right trajectory, a fair bit of run is available. Pepsi made good use of run on the fifth as his drive ran past Harry at pace to come to a stop about 30m short of the green.

This put him in a good position to chip onto the green, close enough to the pin to sink it easily for a birdie. This was one of four that he made for the day on his way to matching the card on the front and to cheesing himself off with a five over on the back. Still, seventy-three off the beater, and a net 65, is pretty good going, and it was a good enough score for a comfortable win of the January Monthly Medal. Although there were some missed putts, Pepsi also had his fair share of sinkings from off the green. He wasn’t alone in that regard. Matt claimed that he missed the birdie putt on the first because he doesn’t like getting birdie on the first, unless it is for the Eclectic. So, he had to wait until the 8th before he chipped/putted one in from just off the back of the green. He pretty much repeated the performance on the 17th to help us to nine birdies for the day, and to help himself to second place with his net score of sixty-seven. He also missed some putts by a hair’s breadth and ‘should have done better’.

Harry was reasonably happy with how things were going for the first four holes. A triple on the 5th wasn’t the happiest result, but the ‘front nine jinx’ bit hard on the 6th. A nice looking approach shot found the lip of the bunker. The first stayed in. The second finished in the long, just short of the penalty area. Two shots to get on the green, and a couple of putts brought a result into double figures. All hope seemed gone. However, a near PB (38) on the back nine restored some respectability, and he was very pleased to line up for third place. CJ is carefully planning his campaign for the year, and has settled on the clubs that he is going to carry for the rest of the season. Minnie Driver is in (the club, not the actress). Driver is out. And five wood is in. To a suggestion for a seven wood – Meehhh! Anyhow, CJ welcomed the fourth placing. SteveG and Gordo took a bit of chiacking about getting a point for net 73, although Gordo did comment a couple of times during the round that a particular hole had cost him the Medal. Like the 11th, where it took him five shots and four trees to get onto the green.

The first BallPin was set on the 4th, and the back tee setting made it an interesting hole for the event. Not trouble for Gordo, though he didn’t hold out great hopes for it to last. However, his pessimism was unwarranted, and he collected the prize on offer. The BallPin on the 18th shouldn’t have been beyond range, so maybe it was accuracy that was wanting today. There were claims of being ‘just off’, but near enough is not good enough, so there will be a jackpot on offer next week. The ProPin on the 15th also did not attract any bidders, and Jack will hold the pot until next week.

Harry’s tee shot on the 3rd was gauged as marginal as far as out of bounds went, and his provisional was clearly OK. The first was good, but the second left the corner tree to be contended with. An attempt at a low ‘pitch’ and run went rather higher than plan, and into the tree where it deflected from a handy branch, and finished on the edge of the green. The putt barely missed what would have been a totally unexpected par. SOS was hunting around for his ball when he spied a nice, new-looking, ProV1. Faster than a speeding bullet, he picked it up only to notice that it was labelled ‘Wazza’, a ball that had been abandoned a couple of holes back. In all honesty, he had to return it to its former owner. Raj was pretty happy with how he was travelling, at least until the 17th. His first tee shot went bye-byes into the river, and the second went close to repeating the performance, but finished in the rough along the fence. A couple to get out, a couple to get on, and a couple to get in knocked a fair hole in his ambitions.

The size of Kenny’s mangoes came for a fair amount of discussion, with all sorts of inappropriate comparisons being made and demonstrated. CJ reckoned he couldn’t take too many, as he is heading off to Adelaide on the train tomorrow, though he does have to practice his mea culpas to get back in the good books. For a while there, it looked as if Ken was going to have to relinquish his role as Mango Man, but, thanks to the good offices of the grower, his role will continue, and the whole field was able to stagger off loaded to the gunwales with fine looking fruit. There were so many on offer that Ken had to requisition help to carry them from his vehicle.

Results for Saturday, 03 Jan 2026
1st Andrew Petricola (65) 2nd Matt Hunt (67) 3rd Harry Boughen (70) 4th Chris Priems (71) 5th Steven Gervasoni (73) 5th Gordon Hill (73)

Seniors Results: 1st Matt Hunt (67) 2nd Harry Boughen (70) 3rd Chris Priems (71)

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