Flamingos, Karma and The Curse

There’s a rumour SoS might read the blog this week even if he won’t admit it.

There’s even a rumour he read last week’s blog because this week he took my advice and played a nice little conservative non-hero namby pamby scungy drive off the 17^th tee, without going for the green as he usually does.

Result? He made a neat par 4 rather than last week’s double bogey.

Another nice nerveless par on the last and SoS signed for a Net 67 and a one stroke win in the February monthly medal.

Congratulations SoS!

I didn’t make it in time to get a fresh winner’s photo (and SoS who played in the first group and had to leave early obviously isn’t as cocky as Gordo, so I didn’t get a winner’s selfie from him either). So, apologies for having to re-use the old SoS Flamengo photo.

Two other blokes might have knocked SoS off if it wasn’t for the ifs, buts and maybes, some karma and CJ muttering The Curse.

Rob played well all day apart from a dodgy 7 on the 13^th. His par putt on the 18^th would have made his round a Net 66 but it slipped by and he was a bit careless with the one on the way back and signed for a 68.

He said at the time “that has just cost me the medal”. He was only half right. The par putt needed to go in. If he made the tiddler for bogey and matched SoS’s score, SoS would have won on countback.

Standing on the 16^th tee, everybody in his group knew that Craig was going very very well. But the generally agreed club etiquette is you can know it, you can think it, but if you’re playing in a group with somebody going well, you certainly never ever say it out loud.

Unless you are a club legend with rights to say whatever you want. “Geez Craig, you’re going well” says CJ to Craig on the 16^th tee after Craig had banked another solid par on the 15^th.

It’s not clear whether Craig was shaking his head on the tee after that statement, knowing he was doomed, but by the end of the 16^th when he struck some unlucky tree trouble and signed for an 8, he was not only shaking his head but shaking the proverbial finger (or was it a fist) at CJ.

CJ reckons there was a bit of triple karma involved as well as The Curse. On the 5^th, CJ’s ball finished in an unlucky, impossible position next to a tree and Peps was reported to be pissing himself laughing.

On the 6^th Peps then found himself in an unlucky impossible position next to a tree, and CJ pointed out the karma involved.

Craig was laughing there too at Peps and CJ warned “be careful Craig these things come in threes.”

So be it karma or The Curse, Craig had to settle for Net 70 and equal third, joined by Peps and Bobby.

The 3 Championship points for Peps snuck him to the lead for the Club Championship in what is a very tightly bunched field. Peps has also hit the lead in the Eclectic.

CJ who managed a tidy 5 on the 16^th (but an 8 of his own on the 8^th) picked up 4^th placed points with 72, followed by Steve and Brendon in joint fifth with 73. Brendon also won the NTP ball on the 12th.

Matty won the NTP ball on the 18th and was just out of the points on 74.

Others who win what my daughter calls the Everybody Wins a Prize (EWP) Participation Certificate were Raj, Mark and Nalin.

Only 12 players all up, down on last week’s 21. Birdies total 9, including Peps on the 3^rd (pin stayed in same place this week) Nalin on the 9^th and Matty on the 14^th and 17^th (Matty also had a pair of 7’s on the 5th and 11th – how did you manage that Matty?)

But the big bird that was nearly an eagle was Rob on the 10^th, a great drive and then 9 iron that so nearly went in. It is this week’s goal/mark of the week entry for the Most Remarkable Shot of the Year (MRSY) Trophy.

Honourable mentions to Matty and Marc who both had well struck shots flying beautifully until hitting trees and powering a long way backwards, in Matty’s case to behind where he started, in Marc’s case to just in front of the ladies tee on the 11^th.

Best Power Shank (BPS) of the week was a no contest. Take a bow Nalin, off the 15^th tee into the tennis club car park.

NEW COURSE RATINGS BLACK AND BLUE

Being a Monthly Medal the field played from the “Black (back) Tees” which are white of course.

Next week, and for most rounds other than Monthly Medals or the 3 week December Stroke-Play Championship, we will be playing off the Blue Tees.

CONCENTRATE NOW PLEASE FELLAS

And here you need to CONCENTRATE FELLAS because we have some BIG CHANGES with the “rating” of the course for which holes are hardest and easiest and therefore WHICH HOLES YOU WILL GET STROKES ON.

There now two different course cards, one for Black Tees and one for Blue Tees (there’s also another card for Red Tees but let’s not worry about that one).

The changes in hole ratings for the Black Tees are kind of irrelevant to us because we will always be playing stroke when using the Black Tees.

So, let’s focus on the new Blue Tee card, compared to the old card we are used to.

Hopefully you can see the side by side photo ok. If so, you should be able to see Old and New and clock the changes.

12 holes have a different “rating” than previously. 6 holes have stayed the same.

In summary:

• 1. First was rated 10, now 10 (no change)
• 2. Second was rated 2, now 1 (swapped with the 13^th which was 1 now 2)
• 3. Third was rated 8, now 4 (agreed, it’s harder than an 8 rating for sure, although I reckon it should be 5 not 4, the 8^th is harder than the 3^rd from the blues I reckon)
• 4. Fourth was rated 7, now 17 (no joke, you read that right, was 7 now 17, the 4^th is now the second easiest hole on the course from the blue tees apparently, which shows how good we are because we have now gone 5 weeks without anybody winning the NTP Pro-pin there – next week 5 weeks of money on offer on the second easiest hole on the course!)
• 5. Fifth was rated 15, now 11 (it’s got a bit harder for everybody except Porks and SoS who birdied it this week)
• 6. Sixth was rated 11, now 7 (it’s got harder too apparently)
• 7. Seventh was rated 4, now 12 (yep, another no joke, was 4 now 12, I suppose lots of blokes who used to get two shots there don’t really need the 2 shots, so maybe they’re right)
• 8. Eighth was rated 6 now 6 (no change, personally I find the 8^th harder the 3^rd but what would I know. Note the 8^th is rated 3 on the Black Tees card, so maybe I ain’t a total golf dunce)
• 9.Ninth was rated 12, now 8 (it’s got harder, I agree, tricky shot into the green up the hill and you can get some tricky putts there too)
• 10. Tenth was rated 5, now 5 (no change, although a very easy hole for Prez Priems today)
• 11. Eleventh was rated 13, now 15 (agree, it’s too easy for blokes off 13 to get a shot there)
• 12. Twelfth was rated 18 now 18 (no change)
• 13. Thirteenth was rated 1, now 2 (agree, when the old back tee was there on the 13^th – on the hill behind the 12^th green – it was definitely the hardest hole, but with new forward tee, it’s no longer tougher than the 2^nd)
• 14. Fourteenth was rated 17, now 14 (given the number of times Harry hits it in the hazard there off the tee, not to mention the difficult green for putting, I agree the 14^th is a bit harder than it looks)
• 15. Fifteenth was rated 16, now 13 (agreed I reckon like the 14^th it’s harder than it looks, especially when you shank it from the tee)
• 16. Sixteenth was rated 3, now 3 (no change)
• 17. Seventeenth was rated 14 now 16 (agreed, blokes off 14 getting a stroke there used to irritate me)
• 18. Eighteenth was rated 9, now 9 (no change)
• 19. Nineteenth, according to the Consumer Beer Index (CBI) when the club started in 1986 it was approximately $2 for a can/stubby of beer – I made that up, it’s just a guess – with maybe 5 choices. Now the club is charging us $8.50-$9.50 a can/stubby and I counted about 25 choices in the fridge today before I gave up from choice stress and had a wine instead.

Ok now for this week’s lecture and your homework for next week.

Know your exact handicap before you tee off.

Make sure you grab the Blue Tees card from the clubhouse not the Black Tees Card (the holes ratings are different, for example the 4^th is rated 14 on the Black Tees card and 17 on the Blue Tees card; the 8^th is rated 3 on the Black Tees card and 6 on the Blue Tees card etc. etc.) so to say again, make sure you use the Blue Tees Card. If you mark your card with a Black Tees Card on a Blue Tees day, I will murder you.

Score your stableford points carefully and correctly according to the new ratings.

PS. Harry are you having apoplexy? I assume the new ratings means we will have to change some of the computer code in your fancy handicapping “sandpit”? If this can’t be done before the round next week, no stress, we will work it out somehow, even if next week’s results need to wait a week for you to get home and get over your jet lag.

By the by, any members out there who are ok on ‘under the hood’ computer coding? If so, let me and Harry know. We might have a rewarding volunteer job opportunity for you.

PPS. Impressed with the scorecards this week. Only one error. A bloke who had wrong handicap on his card. He was 9 not 8 so under Harry’s rules, rather than me disqualifying him, he was elevated from out of the points to fifth. I won’t name and shame him because of his high office and my sensitive approach to trans-Tasman relationships.

Cheers, Michael G

Results for Saturday, 07 Feb 2026
1st Stephen O’Sullivan (67) 2nd Robert Priems (68) 3rd Craig Cameron (70) 3rd Bob McDonald (70) 3rd Andrew Petricola (70) 4th Chris Priems (72) 5th Steven Gervasoni (73) 5th Brendon Mitchell (73)

Seniors Results: 1st Robert Priems (68) 2nd Craig Cameron (70) 2nd Bob McDonald (70) 3rd Chris Priems (72)

Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 4th Jackpot BallPin No 1 – 12th Brendon Mitchell BallPin No 2 – 18th Matt Hunt