There’s been some rain, and the course has been thankful for a little drink, but there is a long way to go to get some soil moisture going, and to repair those bald patches that abound. The overnight cloud cover acted as a doona, and the temperature was downright mild, putting the lie to those who had rugged up in anticipation. The only wind was that leaving the sails of CJ, who started the day bragging about how he had turned the corner after his outing at the Frog yesterday. The phrase ‘Tail-end Charlie’ comes to mind. One other member suffering from remorse was SOS. He dutifully registered for the HIO Jackpot on the 18th, and proceed to crack a beauty straight at the hole, nestled on the top deck of the green. Just at that point, he remembered that he hadn’t hit the Play button, and he hoped against hope that it didn’t go in. He was safe in that regard, as the ball finished 2.65m from the hole, which was plenty to win himself a ball for the BallPin on the 18th. We had fifteen members put in a showing, and Warren rounded out the field to submit his third card. Watch out now that he has burgled himself a high enough handicap and can take part in competition from now on.
SOS slotted the putt on the 18th, which sealed the deal for the day, with the four points bringing his total for the round to 39. This performance was due, in part, to a lesson that he had during the week, which seems to have improved his drive no end. Another contributing factor might have been that he was also embroiled in a fight to the death with SteveG, as they went head-to-head in their second round Match. With a round like that, you could be forgiven for thinking that he had it pretty easy, but, in fact, Steve was pretty much on song today as well, and the Match oscillated about the mean for most of the round, and after the 14th, things were still all square. SOS got his nose in front at the next, and, when Steve had a bit of a run-in with the pond on the 17th, the Match finally fell to SOS, 2 and 1. Steve did express the view that he might have had a bit of a ‘lie-down’, as he didn’t want to get involved in a chip-off for a couple of reasons. First, his chipping is not one of his strong points (although it did work better today), and, second, everybody else in the group had to rush off to kids/grandkids sporting events. Despite the tongue-in-cheek remark, Steve wasn’t too far behind and scored himself a spot in third place.
Blighty was expressing some frustration when he finally made it to the scoring tent, which might explain why he put his ProShop card in to us and vice versa. As a result, he was elevated to the heady heights of second place alongside Harry. Harry was heard to comment that it took him until the 17th to score a par, after several ‘near-misses’. The fact that he already had two of our four birdies for the day had little to do with it. The ‘highlight’ of Porks’ round was his 290m drive on the 6th hole. The ‘lowlight’ was the seven that it took him for the entire hole. What do they say about ‘drive for show, putt for dough’? And he didn’t even putt! Still, he managed to fit into third spot despite this little setback. You could have been forgiven for thinking that Gordo was channelling Bobbie when his buggy capsized several times during the round, including on the 17th. Perhaps it was the high speed, as the front group of four completed the round in just on four hours, which just goes to show what is possible when you put your mind to it. And, the following group of three was not unduly delayed at any stage. Stan rounded out the point-getters after staging something of a comeback after a not so brilliant front nine.
The first BallPin was on the 15th, and more in hope than anticipation, Harry put his name on the chit. Needless to say, Porks easily made it closer and snatched the ball away. All was not lost, as Harry’s shot to 1.600m on the ProPin 12th was the only contender for the money. His 12.08m effort for the ProShop prize on the 18th was less fortunate however, and Porks, at least, was able to better that, but not SOS’s effort.
The Birthday Birdie will be calling in on Targe and Stan during the week. Prez was not able to make to golf today. There was a little matter of a weekend away with dearly beloved to celebrate a wedding anniversary. Hope it is a good one, old matey! Nalin pretty much blistered the front nine, and, on that form, should have been right up there with SOS at the front of the pack. Between the ninth and the tenth, he obviously threw a con-rod, blew a gasket, and the hand-brake seized so that he was not able to finish in the points. It seems that he took to following CJ too closely. One aspect of CJ’s woes was the ‘disappearance’ of his ball on the 18th. It was seen to finish to the left of the green, where the grass is just a bit on the fuzzy side of neat. But, despite a thorough search, (within the time limits, of course), the ball could not be found.
Results for Saturday, 24 May 2025
1st Stephen O’Sullivan (39) 2nd Andrew Blight (35) 2nd Harry Boughen (35) 3rd Steven Gervasoni (34) 3rd Ryan Porker (34) 4th Gordon Hill (33) 5th Stan Blackshaw (31)
Seniors Results: 1st Andrew Blight (35) 1st Harry Boughen (35) 2nd Steven Gervasoni (34) 3rd Gordon Hill (33)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 12th Harry Boughen BallPin No 1 – 15th Ryan Porker BallPin No 2 – 18th Stephen O’Sullivan