Thirteen is supposed to be an unlucky number. Today’s date is thirteen in reverse. We had thirteen members playing. So was this an augury? Or would we be saved by Raj’s mate Pravesh, who enjoyed his outing with us last time so much that he signed up again to have another “heapin’ helpin’ of our hospitality”. The BOM hinted at the possibility of a shower, but the low probability did prove accurate, and a fine round was enjoyed by all (weather-wise, that is). After the round there were a few eyes being cast at a threatening looking cloud out to the east, but, by that stage of the day, who was particularly worried. More likely, they were hopeful that the course might get a bit more of a desperately needed drink. Only a few more weeks of shortening days, and then a few more, until the first group aren’t faced with hitting off into the half dark.
Pepsi has a newish driver in his bag, and, based on its performance over the few rounds that it has seen so far, there is no chance that it was going to be retired any time soon. The drive for the first just reinforced that view. However, according to reports, it was not the performance of the driver that contributed most to his blistering round today. If it hadn’t been for a few, shall we say, hiccups, who knows what the final score might have been. Under par was a fair possibility, with four of our nine birdies coming off his card to finish with forty-one points, and just three strokes over the card.
Now, what can we say about Brendon? Perhaps we could say that he would feel hard done by for coming second with a point total of forty. Perhaps we could say that he would feel hard done by for having to split the Eagle’s Nest with Ryan, who just happened to drive the 14th to about 2m from the pin with a straight up-hill putt for his eagle, two. Perhaps we could say that he would feel hard done by for getting a hole-in-one on the 18th and not seeing it go into the hole. And, perhaps, we could say that he would feel hard done by for missing out on close to eight large for not putting in the $3 to enter the HIO Jackpot. But, most of all, he probably feels hard done by for having signed up for the (free) video, and it cut out before the ball went into the hole. However, the resulting four points did help the total on quite a bit, and the singleton meant that his back nine matched the card, and the round finished just four over.
Harry kept losing things today. No, not his cool! Counting the registration money, a dollar slipped out of his hand, and fell. A search of the cafe floor failed to show any sign and the question was asked could it have fallen into your shoe. As if! Walking to the third green, the young fellah noticed a discomfort in his shoe, and, lo and behold, there was the missing coin. Later, at the fifteenth tee, he couldn’t find his ball, despite checking all pockets multiple times, as well as the seat storage. In desperation, grabbed a new ball, went to tee up, and there was his ball quietly nestled in his left hand. Gordo put together quite a collection of pars today, and could have been forgiven for thinking that he deserved a better result than his thirty-six points. His share of third place, however, was a good enough result for him to score a ‘rocket’ in the Order of Merit. We haven’t seen Dan about for a while, but he’s now back knockin’ ’em out in Melbourne, so perhaps we will see him a little more often. His absence hasn’t affected his golf too much, and he also took a share of third place.
Raj produced a bit of a mixed bag today, ranging from birdies to fat ladies. His drive on the 10th found the trees, and was almost given up for lost when it was spotted near the penalty area on the 13th. He managed to thread it through the trees to finish well up the 10th fairway, followed by one of his high-flying pitches onto the green not all that far past the pin. The par putt just missed, prompting Stan to declare that he was going home if Raj had made the par after that start. Stan also had his fair share of ups and downs that belied the potential for a much better score. Rob started the day with a draw, which excited a fair bit of comment as being quite unusual for his style of play. However, it is not clear what sort of shape the shot that placed him inside a tree-guard on the 5th had, but, given the proximity to a much larger tree, he was probably grateful for the two club lengths allowed.
The ProPin was on the 4th today, and the only person able to get his name on the card was Pepsi at 3.36m. There was a thought that Pravesh was in with a chance as the line was spot on, but, unfortunately, the range was a little on the long side. The first BallPin was on the 12th, and Pepsi laid claim to that as well, but, in the end, it was Brendon, who managed to sneak just inside the distance. Trying for the triple chance, Pepsi also put his name on the card for the BallPin on the 18th, only to be foiled by Brendon again, who left no doubt about the result with his Hole-In-One.
Targe had a chance to go fox shooting today, but passed it up to come and play golf. On the 6th, Craig and Dan had teed off, and Targe teed his ball up and started lining himself up to play his shot. At this point, Craig and Dan thought it appropriate to remind him to take the cover off of his driver. At the 7th, the cover was definitely off the driver, but, somehow, Targe managed to despatch the ball to the left, almost perfectly at right angles to the intended direction of travel. The ball must have just about passed between his legs. At least the foxes got to live another day, unless, of course, they happened to be on the golf course. Another highlight, at least for the last group, who were waiting on the 15th tee and watching the following group of ladies play up to the 14th, when one of the ladies chipped in for her birdie. An appropriate cheer went up to mark the occasion. But none so cheerful as the round of drinks that the Club shouted to celebrate Brendon’s landmark.
Results for Saturday, 31 May 2025
1st Andrew Petricola (41) 2nd Brendon Mitchell (40) 3rd Harry Boughen (36) 3rd Gordon Hill (36) 3rd Dan Marie (36) 4th Rajesh Mahto (33) 5th Stan Blackshaw (32) 5th Robert Priems (32)
Seniors Results: 1st Gordon Hill (36) 1st Harry Boughen (36) 2nd Robert Priems (32) 2nd Stan Blackshaw (32) 3rd Craig Cameron (31) 3rd Matt Hunt (31)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 4th Andrew Petricola BallPin No 1 – 12th Brendon Mitchell BallPin No 2 – 18th Brendon Mitchell
Hole in One Results: Hole in One – 18th *** Brendon Mitchell ***
Eagle’s Nest Results: 14th Ryan Porker 18th Brendon Mitchell