Talk about doom and gloom! The whisper around the course was that C# Minor had done a fetlock and that Shakey Isles was looking pretty shaky. This news soon lead to speculation that just about anybody could have a Licence to Kill by the end of the day. So twenty seven hearts picked up a little with the prospect that with a bit of luck there might be a chance to snatch an unlikely victory if only everything would go just the right way. Unfortunately, it was not to be, as the rumours of doom and disaster turned out to be slightly exaggerated and, though the front nines were not what you would call spectacular, they were good enough. Or perhaps it was that the rest of the field weren’t good enough.
Needless to say, Snags did not eat Brendon as he threatened to do last week and Brendon came good on the back nine to take out the event by a margin of 3 strokes but it could have been a lot more if he had not taken 4 of the best on the 16th green. The investors in Shakey Isles will be well pleased with their investment.
One part of the speculation about a bolter taking it out almost did come true for Mal who showed some form that he has been hiding under a bushel in recent times. Mal was rather bemused by the fact that he was declared Clubhouse leader while the last groups were coming in and more so when he was not dislodged by more sets of cards. In the end he did take out-right second place by dint of having only recorded his handicap as 23 when it should have been 24. Fortunately, this had no effect on the Calcutta outcome as Licence to Kill was not on the market and so the second placed Calcutta horse was the old reliable C# Major. Snags will just have to wait for another chance to feast on roasted Kiwi.
Mehmet and Steve had decided that they didn’t have much of a chance after their front nine performance and took a more relaxed attitude to their game. It seems to have paid off in improved scoring, so much so that they managed to squeeze into 4th place a mere four strokes behind the winner. They were joined by the Beast who had been in with a chance for the top spot after making up some ground on the front nine but a letting down of the guard on the back meant that the old one-two knock-out punch could not be delivered. Or maybe Snags just talked him out of it.
Trevor also improved his hand this round and maybe it was the use of the cart that kept him firing right until the end. As usual, there were tales of woe to be told but in the end it is the score-line that counts. Michael joined Trevor on the fifth rank with a couple of very respectable rounds that suggest that the shoulder problems will soon be a distant memory and he will be back to his best form before long.
The other event that was finalised today was the Club Stroke Play Championships. As reported last week, Noodles had a fair grasp on the Nett score event and in the event that was more than enough to hang on to win with 201 nett after the three rounds. Runner-up with 209 was another Kiwi that Australia has claimed as our own, in Brendon who managed to just about maintain the margin from last week. In the off-the-stick side of the event, Pepsi (224) managed not to make too many poor shot-making decisions today to keep his lead in the event to finish a good four strokes in front of Michael (228). The full table is published under the Competition menu items.
SOS and Rob had their hopes of seeing their first hole-in-one from the 5th tee when Harry’s shot on the 4th rolled past the hole less than a centimetre off line to finish about 70cm away. The birdie was comfortably easy which must have been the case all over the course today as we managed to tally up 24 of them between us. Unfortunately the 4th was not one of our competition holes but Stefan did manage to get himself a ball on the 12th. The ink was hardly dry from Bob putting his name on the card when Stef’s rifled in to take it away. Ah well, that’s what they say about 15 seconds of fame! The ProPin on the other hand was rather more controversial. One ball was measured before it was realised it wasn’t ours and that it actually belonged to somebody who was playing up the 9th. Another was measured but not recorded because there was already a name on the ‘ticket’ in the box. Turns out it was last week’s ticket but in the end the ProPin was awarded to SteveK for something that finished about a metre from the hole.
Stefan was hitting them long again today. On the 6th, he neatly divided the group walking to the 7th tee with a ball that struck the garbage bin and which was, in all probability, saved from ending in the pond further back. On the 14th, he did it again as they prepared to head to the 15th tee. No malice, just youthful exuberance. But he won’t be youthful for much longer if the birthdays keep rolling around as the Birthday Birdie reports that he has one coming up in the next week. The Beast also took on the group in front but Ed was on the ball and called for his partners to watch out. He kept walking though and the ball hit him on the ankle. Didn’t deflect onto the green as Bill had hoped it would though.
After the game, Pepsi was noticed sporting some very colourful runners. Seems he might have got them through a mate for the right price. Trevor liked the look of Chrispy’s beer so he headed off and bought himself one to celebrate his result. What he didn’t realise is how much the Club charges for a Millers Chill and did he carry on a treat. Even Chrispy had a bit of a whinge.
Next week is the Champion of Champions Trophy event and all winners from this list qualify to play. More than one qualification counts as one. Check the Hall of Fame if you can’t remember what you won during the year but note that the HoF is for calendar year while the event is for the playing year, so it is the VOM from last December that counts.
- Any Monthly medal
- Fred Howe Cup
- Stuart Clarke Memorial
- David Ford Cup
- Vin O’Meara Memorial Trophy
- Fred Kitson Cup
- Annual Challenge
- Matchplay championship
- Club champion
- Senior Club Champion
- Club Stroke Play Championship
Those who did not make this list will play for the Chump of Chumps which, in the scheme of things, isn’t much.
After the event, there will be the Presentation of Trophies and the Christmas Lunch that usually includes a few free drinks on the Club. Try to remember to wear your Club shirt as we would like to get a new group photo as well.
Results for Saturday, 12 December 2015
1st Brendon Mitchell(67, 69, 136) 2nd Malcolm Fleming(73, 65, 138) 3rd Craig Sharp(67, 72, 139) 4th Stephen Kelly(70, 70, 140) 4th Bill Eastoe(69, 71, 140) 4th Mehmet Akdag(71, 69, 140) 5th Trevor Jackson(74, 69, 143) 5th Michael Gourlay(71, 72, 143)
Seniors Results: 1st Malcolm Fleming (73) 1st Malcolm Fleming (65) 2nd Bill Eastoe (69) 2nd Bill Eastoe (71) 3rd Trevor Jackson (74) 3rd Trevor Jackson (69)
ProPin 18th: Stephen Kelly. NTP 12th: Stefan belevski