The feathers must have been attractive this morning. Rob’s excuse was that he ‘slept in’, but CJ reckons he was on a promise. You just can’t get good Presidents these days. Nalin didn’t offer any excuses for his late cancellation, but, two outs left us with some serious re-arrangement of the groups and just twelve members to vie for the David Ford Winter Cup. The field was, however, boosted by a guest and a new member, so a big how d’ye do to Whitey’s mate Darren and to Warren, who has thrown caution to the winds and signed up to join not knowing a soul. Darren put together a fairly respectable card and, hopefully, we will be seeing more of him in the near future. Warren will be back next week to help out with the barbecue, but he might have to curb his enthusiasm for hitting the ball a country mile in exchange for a little more control over the direction. Or maybe he was just taking CJ’s advice not to put in too good a card for handicapping purposes. The course continues to struggle for the want of a good soaking, and a badger’s bum looks downright inviting compared to some patches on the course.
CJ was looking for guesstimates on what the best score for the day would be, with the majority view being ‘not mine’. However, there was one brave soul who ventured plus 3 or 4, which proved to be remarkably prescient. Because Ryan came home with plus 3 by bolting home and completing the back nine right on par for his three above the line. It could easily have been plus 4 overall (or even better) if he hadn’t racked up a draughtie on the second tee by almost missing the ball and scuttling it into the water feature between the tee boxes. He wasn’t alone in that regard, as he was joined in ignominy by Brendon, SteveG, and Whitey. The tee placed well back on the bank did present a fairly formidable prospect. SteveG put up a big cheer at the 5th green, where his square marked the first non-negative result on his card. Things settled down a bit and by the turn he was only five holes behind. The back was a completely different story, and five plusses out of the last seven holes made for a second place on the leader board. Raj obviously went through a series of ups and downs as his scores fluctuated above and below the line, but, in the end, he, too, finished in second place.
Despite now having two lenses in his glasses, Harry continued to frustrate himself by running putts over the edge of the hole. He did manage to out-Priems a Priems on the 16th when his second, possibly on its way to tiger country, deflected off a branch and carried on to be well-placed just short of the green. AndrewV went close to filling his card with square results (12 to be exact), and was able to set himself to hope for some sort of a chance alongside Harry. Whitey was just back on deck after an injury, and showed that he hasn’t lost too much form with the lay-off. A bit of a bad run on the back just rained on his parade a little. Whitey won’t be playing next week, he has a pressing engagement with a corporate box at the ‘G next week. One of the perks of being a big-time horse owner, according to reports. CJ will be hoping for a couple of turn-arounds to give himself a chance at the big one next week.
The Double Jackpot for the ProPin on the 4th hole was definitely worth winning, but only one person was able to get their name on the card. Porks reckons the pile of shrapnel that he was handed will come in handy for comp fee paying over the next couple of months. A BallPin on the 12th went to Harry, who squeezed out AndrewV by a fair margin, while SteveG got his ball onto the top deck to knock out Raj by a country mile. He didn’t make the birdie, and, as a result, we only score three birdies and one eagle for the day.
CJ and Harry played their match today, and CJ burst out of the blocks to take the first hole. The second was a bit of a dog’s breakfast for both, but the first of H’s eight strokes gave him the hole to bring it back to square. The alternating strokes stood H in good stead, and his lead edged out to two holes. He maintained the advantage of being ahead until wins by CJ on the 13th and 14th brought the match back to square. It stayed that way until the 17th, and H was on the green for two, a metre or so from the hole. CJ pitched his ball from the Lord Mayor’s Office, and it ran across the green and finished firmly in the cup to clean out the Eagle’s Nest. H’s putt for birdie, which still wouldn’t have squared the hole, caught the edge of the cup and did a complete 180 to finish millimetres away. Dormie one! CJ’s (self-admitted) rash attempt fell agonisingly short of the green, and the chip left a longish down hill putt that took two to complete. Harry’s par brought the match back to square and a chip-off ensued. Ably curated by the Club Captain, the contest went to the fourth round, before Harry completed in two while CJ was still short. Despite all of the speculation, this is not the first time (just the second) that four rounds have been required to decide a result, at least since records have been recorded in the database.
The Birthday Birdie has nothing to report this week, but CJ was murmuring that he was sure that today was somebody’s birthday. No, not just anybody’s birthday, somebody important. He was hoping against hope that it wasn’t Carolyn’s. Stan was out today, sporting a brand-new set of clubs. He didn’t feel that he was making good contact, and couldn’t put his finger on why, until Porks pointed out that he hadn’t taken the protective plastic film off the face of the clubs. Brendon claims that the highlight of his round was making par on the 18th after scuffing the ball off the tee and making the approach to make the putt.
Results for Saturday, 10 May 2025
Leaderboard Round 1: 1st Ryan Porker (+3) 2nd Steven Gervasoni (-1) 2nd Rajesh Mahto (-1) 3rd Harry Boughen (-2) 3rd Andrew Vogan (-2) 4th Rodney White (-3) 5th Chris Priems (-4)
Seniors Leaderboard: 1st Steven Gervasoni (-1) 2nd Andrew Vogan (-2) 2nd Harry Boughen (-2) 3rd Rodney White (-3)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 4th Ryan Porker BallPin No 1 – 12th Harry Boughen BallPin No 2 – 18th Steven Gervasoni
Eagle’s Nest Results: Eagle – 17th Chris Priems