You could tell it was going to be one of those days. Porks wasn’t crackling, and Prez was zuzzing instead of Prezing, so there was some last minute rearranging of the starting order. The group in front was running late, and took ten minutes to clear the firing line. As a result, the ladies were breathing down our necks, and there were still two groups to tee off. Out on the course, everything seems to have gone smoothly enough, and the pace of play didn’t seem too bad on a day that started out overcast and cool, but that cleared up and finished like Goldilocks, just right. There was a bit of run to be had on the drying ground, but the leaf blowers were noticeable by their absence. Our eventual fifteen members, and Charlie’s guest Dan, had no real excuse not to enjoy the day. And Dan has decided that he wants to join us, bringing along his GA handicap, so a big welcome to Dan who will be able to enter the comp on his next round.
In case you have been living under a rock, ChrisJ is pulling stumps and heading north to a beachside abode for his work in Sydney. He has promised to come back and haunt us when the opportunity presents itself. In the meantime, he has continued his campaign to raid as many points as possible before he goes. As today is his last day (he had to skip the Committee meeting to pack), he decided to make a fist of it and collect the most that he possibly could, coming home with +4 on the card, and a share of the first spot on the podium. Harry still has ambitions to better his age, and, if it wasn’t for a couple of relative tiddlers that were missed today, he might very well have done it. His score was helped by a very delicate chip in for par on the 13th from about a metre up the bank behind the green. He also presented with +4, and he is wincing a little from the lashing from the handicapper. For some reason, Bobbie headed straight down the face of the hill on the first, hanging onto his buggy which pulled him off balance, producing a fair sort of tumble. Unperturbed, he clambered to his feet and carried on. It took him a couple of holes to regain his composure, if not his dignity, before he stacked together five pluses in six holes to reach the turn with two on the credit side of the ledger. A pair of pars to start the back had the field shaking in their boots before a mini slump wiped that away. A strong finish on the final three holes meant that Bobbie, too, finished at +4. Josh didn’t have Dad to put the pressure on him today, and, so, he was able to play his natural game. The front nine, was what you might call average when he finished with a square on the card. The back nine was a different matter, with five pluses offset by a single minus to also finish on +4.
Has there ever been four winners before, you might ask. Of course there have. The record from the database suggest that once, there were six crowded onto the top podium step. However, that record does date back to when there were two grades in use. Eliminating that possibility, four winners is probably an equal record with the most recent occurrence in 2020.
In second place, we had Targe, who set a cracking pace on the front nine, and he turned three points to the good. A very square back nine was marred by a couple of losses, leaving him just a little short on +1 for the round. CJ, resplendent in his gaudy hibiscus shirt and shining scone, proved that there is a bit of life left as he pursues points in the Seniors after starting his campaign in earnest recently. So, it was a pair of seniors lining up to take the second points in both sides of the Championships. Charlie needs to give himself a good talking to and get the idea out of his head that he always duffs his tee shot on the first. Despite his ordinary start, and finishing the front two down, he finished positive on the back and only one down for the round. Michael produced the same scorelines, but, on his handicap, he had to equal par on the back nine to achieve the feat. For Adam, the wins proved a little hard to get, but he did garner enough of them to pretty much offset the losses, and he, too, finished on -1 to share the third spot.
Blighty scored himself a promotion today. His card showed -2 and square for the two nines, but the total registered -3. Perhaps it’s a good thing that he is not in charge of finances at Merri-bek Council. Raj refused to be drawn on his round today, and he might have been a bit disappointed with his front nine, but he did come out positive on the back on his way to his tally of -2. Brendon waited patiently for the green to clear on the 14th. He gave the ball a good welt, and it shaped into a draw, landed on the path, took a good bounce just clearing Adam’s head on the 15th tee, and lodged itself very nicely in a bush. That minus, and a few others on the back nine, took the shine off a promising start, and he had to settle for a piece of 4th place. As a result of Blighty’s promotion, SOS slotted himself into fifth place. But, does he want to accept a point for a minus 5?
The first BallPin was on the 4th, and there was only one person who could get their name on the card. And that person was the Farewell Kid, ChrisJ. On the 18th, Josh made a strong bid for the ball on offer, but he was beaten to the prize by Michael, who obviously measured his distance for the inside money at 2.21m. As for our ProPin, it was set for the 15th, and, once again, it proved too difficult to get close enough, meaning there will be a Jackpot pool on offer next week.
Brendon has a new fat grip on his putter, and some of his putts were a bit off spec. Maybe a period of adjustment is required. Blighty shanked his drive on the 17th out across the practice green. From there, he barrelled his six iron down onto the 18th tee. His trusty Vokey wedge lobbed the ball over the fence to less than half a metre from the hole, and a tap-in par was the result. All skill, he reckons! Brendon also had a par worth mentioning. Drive from the 16th finished in the penalty area. Drop taken back in line with the pin. Ball flies well left of the green and catches the big gum tree, which kindly dropped the ball onto the first cut. The new grip worked on this occasion and the ball dropped for an unlikely par. CJ had to dash off after the presentations as he had to get to an 84th birthday party. Not his own, he was at pains to point out when questioned.
The Committee met after the round, mainly to deal with administrative matters leading up to the AGM, which will be held after the round on 16th March. A number of incumbent Committee members have indicated that they are prepared to stand again. However, there are some positions that will need to be filled, and each and every Committee position is open for further nominations. So, if there is a role on the Committee that takes your fancy, don’t be backward in putting yourself forward by using the Nomination Form available for download from the website and forward it to Craig.
The draw for seedings for the Matchplay Championships was made from those that registered their interest in playing in this event. There will be a number of Byes in the first round, so those that meet in the second round because of having byes can schedule their matches straight away, if so desired. The table of matches will be published shortly.
Results for Saturday, 24 Feb 2024
1st Harry Boughen (+4) 1st Josh Hunt (+4) 1st Chris James (+4) 1st Bob McDonald (+4) 2nd Targe Mifsud (+1) 2nd Chris Priems (+1) 3rd Charles Gibbs (-1) 3rd Michael Gourlay (-1) 3rd Adam King (-1) 4th Andrew Blight (-2) 4th Rajesh Mahto (-2) 4th Brendon Mitchell (-2) 5th Stephen O’Sullivan (-5)
Seniors Results: 1st Bob McDonald (+4) 1st Harry Boughen (+4) 2nd Chris Priems (+1) 2nd Targe Mifsud (+1) 3rd Michael Gourlay (-1)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 15th Jackpot BallPin No 1 – 4th Chris James BallPin No 2 – 18th Michael Gourlay