The sky was a bit gloomy first thing, and there was a certain amount of discussion about what constituted ‘first light’. A suggestion of something, fractionally more than a mist, had some reaching for their umbrella, producing hoots of derision from some of the hardier types among the 15 members who turned out for the first round of Stuart’s Memorial. Kody was here as well, back from his family visit in Sydney, to put in his second card on his way to acquiring a handicap. The greens were rated as slow, as it appeared that they had not been mowed for a couple of days, and there was a good amount of ‘dew’ on the grass, undoubtedly due to watering overnight. It took until half-way through the back before it could be said that the moisture had burnt off, and the sun made something of an appearance. Almost to a man the scoring was judged to be lower than what was possible, due to the number of putts that were left short of the mark.
CJ burst out of the blocks, and, by the end of the fifth he had twelve points on the board. There were thoughts that he might have done a big end, and was leaking oil badly over the next three holes. A handful of sawdust seems to have done the job, and there was nary a hint of smoke in the exhaust for the rest of the round. The smoke was coming off the course as he fairly burnt it up to add three more birdies to his one from the front, on his way to two under the card and 24 points for the last nine holes. And, he reckons he still left a few out there, and puts his change in fortune down to a change to an overlap grip. His four birdies helped us to a total of eleven for the day and seems to have inspired him to consider Chicken Zinger for Dinner. Harry was pretty pleased with his front nine which was spot on to his handicap at eighteen points thanks to the single par offsetting the double on the first. The back got away to a good start with pars on five of the first six holes, thanks, largely, to both chipping and putting finding their range. Having pipped CJ by one point on the front, he gave up one to him on the back, and they finished equal on the day at forty-one points. Game on!
Marc, on the other hand, absolutely blitzed the front nine, and turned with 24 points that included a ‘no-score’ on the second. No less than six three pointers and a four in that lot! The praise from his co-players at the turn seems to have gone to his head, and the back was not quite so heady, but thirty-eight is a good score, in anybody’s books. Pepsi seems to be still smarting from the effects of one of his rounds down at Moonah. However, he gave himself a good talking too, and slowed his (back?)swing right down. It seems to have paid off, as he was bragging that he was able to beat Porks off the stick, and he was very pleased with his tally of thirty-seven. Blighty was very non-committal about his handicap matching total with nothing much to report other than a rotten shot into the trees behind the penalty area that he cleared by going through some greenery to finish the hole with a par. Craig also matched his handicap, but had nothing to report other than a couple of birdies on the back nine.
Nalin rounded out the non-point getters for today, and, it is possible that his score was affected by the fact that he was heavily involved in his match against SOS. They have been itching to get the game done and dusted for the last few weeks. So keen that they even asked what the result might have been the last couple of times that they had been on the track together. The phantom matches actually sat at one apiece before the real result today. It actually turned out to be fairly gripping, according to reports, if a little scrappy at times. SOS got his nose in front early doors, but he soon conceded the score-line back to square, and it remained at only a slight advantage to Nalin until the 11th when SOS eventually conceded two down. But, it is not over until the fat lady sings, and the match drew square on the 17th, despite Nalin getting back out to two up. So, it was down to the last hole to decide the match. Would it be all square and a chip-off? No. Nalin sank a longish putt on the 18th for par, while the best SOS could was a bogie, handing the match to Nalin, 1 up.
The ProPin was on the 4th, and, despite a sore back that gave him trouble all round, SteveG was able to put his name on the card. Unfortunately, CJ (call the fire brigade) was able to slot one to 2.73m to collect the fifteen on offer that will help pay for the Zinger. A BallPin on the 12th also saw a bit of a contest, and SOS was more than happy to cross out Pepsi’s name to collect the ball. The pickings were slim for Porks today as CJ knocked him off for the BallPin on the 18th, and he took the money to help pay for that Zinger Dinner.
Porks fronted up with his new set of irons today. Only used for a few shots on the driving range according to reports. Apparently they are some new style of club with smaller, lighter heads and heavier steel shafts. Everyone was keen to hear how they went. The scores were not the best we have seen from the not quite permanent resident at the top of the Order of Merit, but, not necessarily an embarrassment either. He did own to pulling one OOB on the 8th as perhaps the real low-light of the day. JQ was being lauded last week for the precision of his putting as the self-proclaimed ‘best putter in the Club’. Not sure why, but today he was claiming that he putted like an ‘a**e’. Swings and roundabouts come to mind. Haven’t heard from Stan for a while, but some members were concerned when this little dodger appeared in their letter-box. We’re pretty sure that this is not our Stan the Man, but, in some ways, we wouldn’t put it past him!
It is a tradition in the Club that, on the final round of the Stuart Clarke Memorial, members wear a suitably loud Hawaiian shirt as a nod to the sartorial choice that Stuart was noted for. Savers et al in the Op Shop business are a potential source if you don’t happen to have one lurking in the back of the wardrobe. We normally have a Club barbecue on the day as well, however, this year, for a number of reasons, that has been postponed until 11th April, which also happens to be the Priems Cup round and the Club AGM. Regardless, please come along so that we can get a good roll-call of members for Stuart.
Results for Saturday, 21 Mar 2026
Leaderboard Round 1: 1st Harry Boughen (41) 1st Chris Priems (41) 2nd Marc Phillips (38) 3rd Andrew Petricola (37) 4th Andrew Blight (36) 4th Craig Cameron (36) 5th Nalin Samaranayake (34)
Seniors Leaderboard: 1st Harry Boughen (41) 1st Chris Priems (41) 2nd Andrew Blight (36) 2nd Craig Cameron (36) 3rd Steven Gervasoni (31)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 4th Chris Priems BallPin No 1 – 12th Stephen O’Sullivan BallPin No 2 – 18th Chris Priems