Despite the obvious attractions of Democracy Sausages, we were able to field sixteen members today. The thermometers were showing about five degrees at tee time, and there were a few getting around like half-open pocket-knives. There were some who cracked it hardy in shorts, but Stan was one who forsook his favourite Savers shorts. The temperature did rise eventually, and feeling returned to the fingers, although the effects had been somewhat ameliorated by the judicious application of hand warmers. The sky was effectively cloudless, and the air was generally calm, although a bit of a breeze did spring up later in the round. Nothing problematical though. The greens were in good condition, although there were numerous reports of problems with putting, ranging from fast greens to ball repellant holes. Perhaps this explains the fact that we only managed five birdies for the day. Ken didn’t score any of them, but he did improve his Eclectic enough to leap into a share of first place on the table.
At registration, Nalin made some sort of a comment that suggested he could be a little under the weather. Seems he does manage a sports bar that, coincidentally, CJ was frequenting last weekend to watch the footy. If he was dipping into the profits, it doesn’t seem to have affected his game, and he collected the Medal that was on offer. The result might have been different if he had played what he thought was his ball. He admonished Steve for lining up to hit his ball, only to have Steve point to another of the same colour in the grass nearby. Luckily, there was no real dispute as they were different brands. He was also lucky to survive Bob’s club ‘disposal’ on the second tee. Come on, guys, we know golf is frustrating, but golf clubs can do some serious damage if they get out of hand.
Craig’s second place today certainly didn’t do his standing any harm at all. He moved into third place in the Championship, jumped up to a three-way tie for first in the Seniors, and displaced Steve from the top of the Order of Merit. As an aside, there is also a three-way tie for second place in the Seniors at the moment. Ryan’s third place also moved him up in the Championship to fourth place. SOS wasn’t too much distracted by his head-to-head with Brent in the Matchplay, and picked up fourth place. He registered for the video on the 18th, and proceeded to shank the ball over into the middle of the 17th. He still managed a four for the hole and squeezed out Stan into fifth place.
The 4th, with the tees set well back, proved to be a tough nut to crack, with only one ‘nearly almost’ that was just too far out to be able to stretch the tape. Double Jackpot next week will be getting right up there in the dosh stakes, particularly with a good turn-out for the David Ford. The BallPin on the 15th was a hard-fought affair with ‘kissing cousins’ Brent and CJ elbowed out by Nalin. The 18th saw the pin on the top deck, and the back tees proved a road too far, so there will be a Jackpot BallPin on offer there next week.
The match between SOS and Brent could easily have been a real cliff-hanger. SOS took the early lead, and the pair exchanged holes on a fairly regular basis, and after the 10th, the match was square with Brent looking dangerous. SOS turned on his lights and sirens, and made a passing move to win three on the trot. Somebody rolled out the tyre spikes too early, and the burst faltered in a serious way, and the lead was just one hole with two to play. The birdie on the 17th was more than enough to drive the stake into Brent’s heart, and the match went to SOS, 2 and 1.
The Birthday Birdie has to flutter around to AndrewV’s place during the week to wish him well for his little celebration. Harry had hoped for a good showing for his 600th game with the Club, but it was not to be. Raj played three balls from the 17th tee, and all three ended in the same general area in the rough stuff along the fence line. Only the third was found, and that was unplayable. A lot to be said for the local rule for lost/OOB for a two stroke penalty. Raj would have been two balls and at least three strokes better off! Playing up to the 5th green, a group was a bit nonplussed to see a couple of members of the group in front ‘still on the green’. Turns out Ken’s drive from the 6th ricocheted off a tree and finished on the green, and Stan bounced off the exact same tree to finish just a little way off the green. Blighty was spotted in the ProShop after the round, eyeing off the range of drivers on offer. This might, or might not, have been motivated by his Airie on the 8th. SteveG put his drive on the 17th out onto the path along the river just as a walker was passing by. He was seen to pick the ball up, and it was fully expected that he would return it to ‘play’. No such luck. And Steve neglected to ask him for it!!
Results for Saturday, 03 May 2025
1st Nalin Samaranayake (67) 2nd Craig Cameron (69) 3rd Ryan Porker (71) 4th Stephen O’Sullivan (72) 5th Stan Blackshaw (73)
Seniors Results: 1st Craig Cameron (69) 2nd Stan Blackshaw (73) 3rd Andrew Blight (75)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 4th Jackpot BallPin No 1 – 15th Nalin Samaranayake BallPin No 2 – 18th Jackpot