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There was no fooling about for the April Monthly Medal on 07 April 2018.

Damo wins again
This is getting to be a habit!

With a Monthly Medal up for grabs and a beautiful autumn day in the offing, you could have been forgiven for expecting a record roll up.  It wasn’t quite that but nineteen members did make it and those of you who didn’t missed out on almost ideal conditions.  The greens had been trimmed to within an inch of their lives and, as a result, there was a strong opinion about that they were running very fast.  There wasn’t a Stimpmeter available to check but maybe that speed could go some way to explaining the lack of really good scores that might have been expected given the conditions.

So, at the end of the day, there was only one person to break their handicap and that was by a single stroke when Damo handed in a card with a nett 67 as the score-line.  To do that, Damien had to par the back nine and, in the process, put the lie to DennisT’s comment after a double bogie on the first to the effect of ‘there goes your medal’.  Three birdies along the way helped to redress the balance and accounted for almost half of the grand total of 7 birdies for the day.  One of Damo’s birdies was on the 17th after he put his drive to about a metre and a half from the pin and probably within reach of an Eagle and the (relatively small at this stage) Eagle’s Nest.  SOS pitched onto the green from some distance out and his ball collided with Damo’s.  The big question is, did his ball get put back into the correct spot?  And if it wasn’t, would he have made the putt if it had been?

Nearly almost!
How close can you go?

Pepsi has been known to let off some steam when a shot is not quite to his liking.  He let off more than a little steam today when his shot from the 18th tee went close to slam-dunking the hole, hit the pin and skittered back across the green and off down the slope at the front.  Unlike the infamous green at Augusta, there was no water waiting.  When the chip did not make it up to the top level and rolled back down towards the edge of the green, the steam (among other things) was really flying. The resulting bogie gave Andrew a 68 and he sat alongside Gordo on the podium is second place.

Ryan is very cunningly playing to, or round about his handicap and racking up points to keep his lead in the Championship Table without hurting his handicap too much.  A card without worse than a bogie is definitely well worth having.  Simon was also pretty pleased with himself as he went very close to playing to his recently acquired lower handicap.  And he reckons he wants to get it lower.  That’s the spirit we like to see.

Chrispy reckoned that he was playing very consistently, taking par and bogie alternately and that it was an improvement on recent form where he alternated par and double bogie.  The claim doesn’t quite hold up after a check of the card and the effect of his lack of form on his handicap seems to have caught him unawares and he obviously didn’t check the handicap sheet.  So, being as kindhearted as we are, the handicap malfunction was corrected and he moved up a spot in the ratings with a nett 72.  That put him alongside Harry and Darklands Dennis who both left a few out there.  Last to step up to the podium was none other than Mal who continues to put in some steady performances.

The BallPin today was on the 4th and Noodles was the only one to get his name on the card.  He was very keen to get his hands on the ball as he needed a replacement for losses today.  His losses were nothing on those suffered by others.  DennisW did several into the tank on the 17th on his way to a 10 for the hole.  But even he was eclipsed by Blighty who had to borrow a ball to finish the round after running out of his stock on the way to a 12 on the same, 17th, hole.  The two ProPins were on the 12th and 18th and nobody got to put their name on the card at either location so there will be Jackpots on both holes next week.

There were some matches played today and it was all a bit complicated.  After a series of withdrawals and replacements by reserves (it’s too complicated to explain in more detail), the two Rods (G and W) fought it out to a close run match which RodG looked to have a hold of at one stage when he was four up.  However, Whitey got his act together and clawed his way back to within 2 holes.  A run of losses on the last three holes saw Rod’s lead slip away and Whitey took the match 1 up.

Gordon took on Trevor and was never headed.  A run of three wins on the trot towards the end of the front nine pretty much sealed the match and although Trev managed to hold the fort he wasn’t able to break out and rush the trenches and the match went to Gordon 4 and 3.

Brendon fronted with his excuses all lined up.  He hadn’t played for a month.  He was sporting a new set of irons that he hadn’t played a round with.  And there were probably others.  But, he won the first hole and so maybe things weren’t going to be so bad after all.  Then, on the second, the new irons showed a remarkable tendency to draw the ball and at the end of the hole the match fell back to square.  Bren found it hard to lay off to allow for the draw and, if he did, the ball invariable flew straight and true and into trouble.  And so the deficit slowly ticked up and, despite a couple of lapses from Harry, the match finally went to Harry at 4 and 3.

Simon’s buggy needs to be sent to the Vet to be neutered as it was again trying to have its way with other member’s buggies today.  If Simon can’t keep it under control, the management will have to confiscate his remote.  Either that or he will have to attach the buggy to his belt with a bungy cord or an occy strap.  Allan is keen to set up a putting school to teach the art of putting with a wedge or a six iron or a rescue or a driver.  The reason is that those were the clubs that he was variously using today after he leaned nonchalantly on his putter while waiting to putt and the head parted company with the shaft.  The number of putts that he reported having after the break-down doesn’t inspire confidence in the success of his business.

Several people had problems with trees today.  If the tree on the 4th turns up its toes and dies then there is a fair chance you need look no further than Chrispy as he was threatening to poison it after a run-in with it today.  Trev had to negotiate through some trees on the 2nd with one only several metres in front.  He made very good contact with the ball which then made very good contact with the tree and it flew back over his head to finish about 50m behind where he started.  That probably accounted for at least one of the ‘go homes’.  SOS might have been ‘saved’ by the trees after he sliced his drive from the 9th so much that he shouted ‘fore’ to warn the walkers and riders on the path outside the course.  SOS didn’t quite believe it when Damo spotted his ball over by the 18th tee.

Mehm was one who opted out of the matchplay today.  It might have had something to do with his impending fatherhood or it might have had something to do with a birthday celebration.  The Birthday Birdie says have a happy one young fellah.  RodG also has a birthday celebration coming up.  He’s not quite such a young fellah but he did celebrate (or not) today by playing his age.  No, he’s not a centenarian, it was his nett score.  Happy Birthday anyway, Rod.

Results for Saturday, 07 April 2018
1st Damien Lee(67) 2nd Gordon Hill(68) 2nd Andrew Petricola(68) 3rd Ryan Porker(69) 3rd Simon Powell(69) 4th Harry Boughen(72) 4th Chris Priems(72) 4th Dennis Tiernan(72) 5th Malcolm Fleming(73)

Seniors Results: 1st Gordon Hill (68) 2nd Simon Powell (69) 3rd Dennis Tiernan (72) 3rd Harry Boughen (72)

Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin No 1 12th Jackpot ProPin No 2 18th Jackpot BallPin 4th Stephen Butterfield