There were no complaints about the weather for the January 2024 monthly medal, perhaps it was a touch hot, but all the talk was the crazy pins, pretty much all of them front left and very close to the edge of the green. The one on the 12th was borderline unplayable.
All 13 players agreed post-round that the front pins made chipping and approach shots very difficult and overall the course much harder than usual. At least that was the best excuse we could come up with for some ordinary scoring.
The clubhouse leader Raj was looking good for quite a while with a net 72, before Gordo wandered in from the last group with a net 71 to take the medal and book himself into the 2024 Champion of Champions field.
Gordo was also awarded best shirt of the day.
Raj’s 72 was good enough for solo second, with Peter and Michael sharing third place a shot further back on 73 and Adam and Brendan sharing fourth with 74. Harry then snuck himself a cheeky championship point with 75 for solo fifth.
Gordon’s round included an 8 on the 2nd and a 7 on the 13th but he steadied in the run home, including a great bounce-back birdie on the 14th.
Raj started his day with a great shot into the 1st to set up a birdie, an even better pitch and putt for par on the 2nd and on the 3rd his long range birdie putt was all but in the hole before missing by a millimetre. Alas he struck the dreaded 4th hole tree curse left off the tee and made 6 there and the hot start turned into a bit of a struggle. Raj added two more birdies on the back 9 and was the big mover in the Eclectic, jumping 10 places from 13th to 3rd.
Peter was pleased that his round gave him some points for both the main Club Championship and the Seniors. Apart from matching Gordo with an 8 on the 2nd, Peter’s card was very consistent and suggests once he gets the hang of the quirky Ivanhoe layout he might be seen more often in the points in future.
One of the many measures of the quality of play on the day was the number of birdies (4) was matched by the number of shouts called for after tee shots from Ken (1st) SoS (8th) Steve (11th) and Stan (15th). Three of those, SoS, Steve and Stan were in the same group with Adam. A deal was done (not sure if this is within club rules?) where the three offenders didn’t buy drinks for each other, the argument being that each cancelled the other out. Then there was concern that Adam might need a taxi home as the drinks were all headed his way.
When asked for his highlights, Chris J said he made a 12 on the second. This blog isn’t long enough to explain how he managed that. Targe volunteered that he made 9 on the 14th after hitting his first out of bounds to the left and then his next into the pond on the right. Brendan volunteered that he 4-putted the 14th. Harry then reminded everybody that the blog was designed to highlight good golf stories, so the question was asked. Silence. End of stories. End of blog! Shortest ever!
A forgotten story on the day was the handy work of a Jack Russell on the 3rd green. After surveying his putt, Michael placed his ball and in swooped Jack Russell and without breaking stride picked the ball up did a u-turn and delivered it to a very apologetic owner walking the path. After Raj braved spider webs to retrieve the ball for Michael, a close inspection suggested no bite marks and the ball lasted the rest of the round despite a visit to the pond off the tee on the 5th.
There was a beach golf report from a “Skins” game in Golden Beach down Sale way on the 90 Mile Beach. Four club members were involved and Prez Priems cleaned up with 7 skins, Geoff and Josh one skin each and Captain Matty the big doughnut. In future weeks, the blog will be happy to carry more holiday golf reports from those on a break from the pressure cooker of the hot competition at Royal Ivanhoe.
For those who can make it next week, there will be a jackpot ProPin on the 15th, despite Gordo wanting to claim the money for being within 5 metres but off the green. Michael bunted one down the 4th with his Jack Russell ball to take new the ball on offer there and Gordo snuck just inside Michael to win the ball on the 18th.
Results for Saturday, 06 Jan 2024
1st Gordon Hill (71) 2nd Rajesh Mahto (72) 3rd Michael Gourlay (73) 3rd Peter Sein (73) 4th Adam King (74) 4th Brendon Mitchell (74) 5th Harry Boughen (75)
Seniors Results: 1st Gordon Hill (71) 2nd Michael Gourlay (73) 2nd Peter Sein (73) 3rd Harry Boughen (75)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 15th Jackpot BallPin No 1 – 4th Michael Gourlay BallPin No 2 – 18th Gordon Hill