The confidence was flowing so thickly around the first tee as twenty members and one guest (Nalin’s mate, Colin) prepared to tee off to decide the winner of this year’s Winter Cup that wellington boots were needed. Fred’s lad, CJ, promised the greatest comeback since Lazarus as he slammed one away, and strode off down the hill. At the end of the day, it seems that Lazarus was not inclined to rise from his deathbed on command, as hoped. When Gordo was asked to ensure that there was a photo of the winner for the blog, he reckoned that he would have to send a selfie. JQ had a feeling in his water that he was able to bridge the gap, and quite a few others harboured quiet hopes for a good result, however unexpected. There had been some rain, and more was predicted, and a few eyes were cast fearfully at the threatening cloud cover, but the CBD dome was very effective, and the wet-weather gear remained firmly folded in their pockets. The course was damp, but still firm, and the greens were ‘slow’. At least compared to Heidelberg, according to Whitey, who suffered from a serious case of the ‘shorts’, and, even more frustratingly, only ‘centimetre shorts’, today.
The shout out for the round of the day has to go to Dan, who was a late entrant to the field after Marc had to opt out. Unfortunately, Dan had not played in round one, so his 39 points were to no avail as far as winning the trophy went. That privilege went to Gordo, who played another very steady round on his way to thirty-eight points on the day, and seventy-four overall. His card did include three singletons, but he just about compensated with a four pointer for a birdie on the 8th. His drive required him to take out his one iron to shape a shot around the bend to maybe 5m from the pin to be followed by a very satisfying putt to seal the deal. As the professionals say, only Gordo can hit a one iron!
Raj had his chances, despite taking the whole of the front nine to get warmed up. He started the back nine on a charge, and looked for all money to be well on track to catch, if not to overtake Gordon. Singletons on the last two holes robbed him of the chance to, at least, need a countback, and he had to settle for second place and to cry into his beer and wonder what might have been. JQ started out well enough, but he was not 100% happy with some aspects of his game, at least until the 6th. There, he whacked his third to about 5cm from the hole, missing the eagle by a hair’s breadth, and gratefully accepting the four points for the birdie, just one of our six for the day. Having made the green from the tee on the 7th, he rattled the putt in for another birdie and another four points. His vision of catching the leaders was reinvigorated. The back nine was less kind, and the scattering of singletons on the card makes one wonder what might have been.
The conditions did not seem to suit Ryan and Pres today, as they both faded from their previous week’s form, and had to settle for third place, but still not to be sneezed at from a points point of view. Whitey, on the other hand, turned in an identical score, but he reckons it should have been much better if not for the ‘slow’ greens. Harry improved by a bit, and Steve by quite a bit, to climb into the placings in fourth, while Brendon’s better round got him the last pair of points for the event. Brendon’s iron play from the tee today let him down on several occasions. Particularly on the 18th, where he had signed up for video coverage. His second shot made it to the bottom deck of the green, and his ‘power’ putt up the hill crashed into the pin and dropped into the hole for par. Recovery from adversity was certainly a feature of his play today.
The first BallPin was on the 12th, and Harry was the only one to get his name on the chit. Matt put his name down for the BallPin on the 18th early on, and, although he wasn’t all that close, his was the only name on the chit at the end of the day. The ProPin was set for the 15th, and nobody was able to get within the required 5m of the pin, so there will be a very handsome Jackpot on offer next week, particularly if we can get a similar registration to today.
The barbecue was catered very satisfactorily by SOS, and there were no reports of shortages, despite some expressed concerns about numbers beforehand. It is not clear whether Colin will be joining us on a regular basis, but let’s hope that he will not be put off by being roped into cheffing as a member of the first group off the tee. The tantalising smells of the snags and burgers was certainly inviting as the later groups played out the 18th, and Harry was almost tempted to forego the family lunch that he had in the offing.
Next week, Wazza will be a year older, so the Birthday Birdie says, have a good one mate! Not sure whether Targe had hopes of sticking it to Raj in the fight for the Trophy. But, his cause was not helped as he played the 14th. His tee shot finished on the 16th, and he headed for, and hit, JQ’s ball. Unfortunately, he was beyond hailing range to be saved from the error. A salutary lesson for all. Put a distinctive marking on your ball, and, check before you hit, particularly on a fairway that is not your own. Josh had a bit of a near-miss today when a fore-called stray shot whizzed past his ear. Matt and Wazza ducked on the call, but Josh stood his ground, but, who knows, does ducking help?
Results for Saturday, 26 Jul 2025
1st Gordon Hill (36, 38, 74) 2nd Rajesh Mahto (38, 34, 72) 2nd John Quinlan (34, 38, 72) 3rd Ryan Porker (35, 31, 66) 3rd Robert Priems (34, 32, 66) 3rd Rodney White (33, 33, 66) 4th Harry Boughen (31, 34, 65) 4th Steven Gervasoni (27, 38, 65) 5th Brendon Mitchell (30, 34, 64)
Seniors Results: 1st Gordon Hill (36,38,74) 2nd Robert Priems (34,32,66) 2nd Rodney White (33,33,66) 3rd Harry Boughen (31,34,65) 3rd Steven Gervasoni (27,38,65)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 15th Jackpot BallPin No 1 – 12th Harry Boughen BallPin No 2 – 18th Matt Hunt