Howling at the full moon was an option overnight, and, as we gathered to tee off once more, it turned a subtle golden red hue as it sank towards the horizon in the west. The sun should have been not far behind given the phase, but it seemed to take an interminable time to force itself above the eastern horizon (read clubhouse hill), and, when it did, a hazy cloud cover kept it to a wan silver disc without a hint of warmth to offer. And so it remained for most of the round, finally casting a shadow with about four holes to go. The weather was fine, the ground was soft, and the greens were still a bit sandy, and, so, seventeen members set out with hopes held high. Those that didn’t go so well looked to the course conditions to explain their hardships, but those that made a better fist of it proved that the course conditions were hardly to blame. Some people did a little better than expected, while some did a little worse than expected. Try to get those Stableford points right, and check the additions and scores on both cards before you hand them in. Signing for the wrong scores, in particular, could cost you dearly.
We have known from Day 1 that Wazza can really smack a ball when he gets onto it, and a bit of control would make a big difference to his scores. Well, it seems that he has been taking some sneaky time off to have lessons, and it looks very much like that investment has really paid off. Maybe some others in the Club should think about taking similar action. With the front nine out of the way, and twenty-three points on the card, there was a slight hint that the wheels might have been getting a bit wobbly, but, things settled down, and he eventually presented to the judges with forty-one on the card. It will be a while before he sees that handicap again! As it turns out, Marc has also been getting some lessons, and he has also been putting in some away games, and the benefits also showed up for him as well. Despite having three gashes on his card, he was able to turn in a score of thirty-nine points to collect the second placing for the day.
It is not clear what has bitten Gordo recently. A mere few weeks ago, he was almost on suicide watch as his game seemed to go from bad to worse. Then, all of a sudden, the game comes back, and he is a changed man. He probably thought he was in with a chance for the top spot with thirty-eight points, but he will just have to settle for third, with a handy first in the Seniors. Pepsi was right up there with Gordo, and he reckons that his game was flattered by his better than average putting. He played a cunning hand on the 17th, leaving his drive just down from the 18th green, a nice full shot over the pond to the green, followed by a couple of putts for his par. It’s not often that the fourth placed player has to break his handicap to get there, but that is what JQ had to do today to secure his spot. JQ did score a Rocket in the Order of Merit as he climbs up the table with more frequent attendance. Raj let the side down by going one over his handicap to secure the fifth spot.
Could JQ have scored better if he hadn’t been embroiled in his semi-final match with Marc, or did he play better because he was involved in a battle royal. There was a stroke to be conceded on every hole, and an extra one on three, which made for some interesting possibilities. Marc won the first hole, to take an early lead, and, by the 6th, that advantage had made it out to three holes. JQ picked up a couple before the turn, and the lead was just one hole as they headed onto the back. The position did not change over the next three holes, although JQ probably thought he had a chance for a win when he made a birdie on the 12th (one of our eight for the day). Marc made his four, and, with two strokes on offer, the hole was settled as another square. JQ won the 14th when Marc sprayed his drive right across the 16th, and took a couple to recover from the rough, to make the match very interesting as he took the lead for the first time. Marc matched JQ’s par on the 17th to bring the game back to square with one hole to go. Despite JQ winning the BallPin on the 18th, and making the par, Marc had to run his first putt up the hill to the top deck and sink a 2m putt to match the par to win the hole and the match one up.
The first BallPin was on the 12th, and Michael was desperate to win at least one of them, as he claims to be completely out of new balls. Unfortunately, his effort here was outdone by Brent, who wants the Treasurer to keep track of the money option to pay his next competition fee, whenever that is. The ProPin was on the 4th, and the result was slightly controversial as SteveG was in the first group, and put his ball to 2.84m. The controversy arose because a greenkeeper was observed shifting the tee markers further back between the first and second groups. However, as it was estimated that the extra length was less than 2m, Steve’s shot would still have been within the required limit, and the prize pool was paid (less Steve’s competition fee, as he left his money on the corner of the round table this morning).
The Birthday Birdie is going to be exhausted this week as he has to get around Ken, Brendon, ChrisV and JQ to wish them all a happy day as they mark another milestone of life.
One matter of Rules of Golf came up today, which needs to be clarified. A ball in flight hit another ball lying just short of the green, and knocked the stationary ball onto the green. It does not matter where the incident occurs, the rules require that the stationary ball has to be replaced at the known or best estimate of its original position whether in the General Area or on the green, while the ball in motion takes the rub of the green. Not replacing the stationary ball and playing from the new location incurs a general (two stroke) penalty (Rule 9.6).
Michael saw a ball enter a potentially difficult place to spot, so he left his favourite cleaning rag/handkerchief to mark the spot to do the right thing for the fellow Club member. However, it seems that the relevant ball was not that difficult to find, and the one that Michael had marked was not the one, and, to rub salt into the wound, his ‘marker’ was not noticed and remains where it lay. Harry left himself a short putt on the 18th, and he tapped it in. The ball disappeared into the hole, somehow contacted the pin, and spun out again, which says a fair bit about how his day went. Ken was much happier with his game this week, particularly the fact that he improved his score by ten strokes on just the one hole. However, he was spotted having to walk further from the hole to play his third on the 11th when his second found a tree, dead centre, and the ball finished behind him. For some reason, the question of age came up on occasions today, and Craig was a bit nonplussed when Targe said something that suggested that he might be younger than Craig.
Results for Saturday, 09 Aug 2025
1st Warren Capes (41) 2nd Marc Phillips (39) 3rd Gordon Hill (38) 3rd Andrew Petricola (38) 4th John Quinlan (37) 5th Rajesh Mahto (35)
Seniors Results: 1st Gordon Hill (38) 2nd Craig Cameron (33) 2nd Steven Gervasoni (33) 3rd Ken Watson (31)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 4th Steven Gervasoni BallPin No 1 – 12th Brent Rowley BallPin No 2 – 18th John Quinlan