We didn’t quite manage to keep Matt out of the points, but a field of fifteen members and Marc’s mate Neil is as good a showing as we have had for a while. If Josh hadn’t pulled a ‘sickie’ it would have been even better, but Gav, who was a late nomination, fitted into his spot like a glove. With not a lot of rain last Saturday, and very little more during the week, the course has dried out quite a bit, and there was even a bit of run to be had where the ground felt quite firm under foot. Some areas are still quite soft and a few shots barely made it out of their pitch marks. The preferred lies were definitely worth having for the remaining sticky patches on the course. With clear skies and bright sunshine, the dew that had settled on the greens eventually disappeared, and the putting characteristics changed quite markedly, but whether that can be blamed for all of the putting woes that were reported is debateable.
Gavin has been threatening to turn up for a game for a while, but his boss keeps making him offers that he can’t refuse, to work on Saturdays. Dearly beloved has persuaded him to enter the Melbourne Marathon to keep her company in the Half, except that she missed out on the ballot. So training for that is also keeping him fit. Which might explain why he was able to come out today, not having held a club for months (self reported) to produce a winning score. It did take him a few holes to really get going, and, if it had not been for a gash and four singletons, who knows what the eventual total might have been. But, you all know what they say about your Aunty!
Initially there was only a two way tie for second, but SteveG, and his marker, seem to have suffered from the same brain-fade, and didn’t quite get the points calculation right. Come on guys, it ain’t rocket science! Net bogey is one point. But, three times? No such problems for Raj, who was very proud of having made exactly the same score (off the stick) as last week. Is he the new Mr Consistency? CJ was also pleased with his performance, including his birdie on the 4th, which was one of six that we produced for the day. But, it wasn’t because he won the Jackpot ProPin on offer on the hole. That honour went to Dan who made it to 2.1m from the hole, but who did not get a birdie (on that hole, at least). With ties being a bit of a feature of the lower placings, third was not to be outdone, and there was a three way here with Craig, Pepsi and Prez sharing the honours. Matt and Dan shared the podium for fourth, while AndrewV advanced into a point, thanks to Steve’s (and AV’s) mathematical skills.
With the ProPin taken by Dan, the competition for the BallPins was hot, with everybody trying to get a piece of the action. The first BallPin was on the 12th, and, after chasing down the group in front to get the marker that they had neglected to put out, JQ made an early claim. Raj made the next claim and had written his name on the chit and marked the ball position, only to be informed by Steve, that the ball in question was his second shot. Close, but no cigar. In the end, Marc sealed the deal and collected the ball on offer. There was a little bit of congestion at the front of the field over the last few holes, and JQ suggested that the two groups on the 18th should play out together. CJ said, why not. What does JQ do but crack it straight at the pin after struggling with his game for most of the round. He does love an audience. On the green, separated by millimetres are CJ’s and JQ’s tee shots. The tape gave the honour to JQ. But, they didn’t count on Pepsi, who snuck one closer to take the ball on offer.
The second semi-final of the Matchplay was played today when Matt and Marc were finally able to get to the course on the same day. Matt was just a little concerned about having to concede twenty two strokes, and he wondered whether his worst fears might be realised when he comprehensively lost the first hole scoring a bogie to Marc’s par. They mostly traded holes over the front nine, but a win on the 9th gave Matt a two hole advantage at the turn. Another win on the 10th started to fill him with confidence, and he was not too concerned to trade holes or to lose one over the next few. But, then, Marc found just a touch of form and won three on the trot to make the match dormie one in Marc’s favour after the 17th. Matt pulled out a par on the 18th, which Marc could not match, and the round ended with the match all square. Chip-off! With an excited crowd watching on, and other players very kindly interrupting their pre-game warm-up, the first chip off hole was squared. The second hole potentially had Matt under the pump again with a significantly longer distance to cover with the flat stick than Marc had. He finished it off in two leaving Marc an opportunity to finish it off with a single putt. Maybe it was nerves, but the miss put the pressure on to force another hole. And that pressure proved too great, handing the match to Matt, who now has to match up with Harry, while Marc will have to face up to Nalin for the minor placings.
Dan has been having a bit of a run of form in recent times, but the Handicapper was looking askance at the gashes on the last two holes after no less than five three pointers out of the previous seven. Ken was a bit up and down today, and made a few up and downs. Unfortunately, he also scored a draughtie on the 12th where his ball suffered an untimely end in the pond. JQ eventually let him off having to buy a round for putting off the green on the 16th. When Ken did get onto the ball, it seemed to have some sort of attraction to Craig, who had to take evasive action a couple of times. Pepsi reckons he could have taken on Gavin for top spot if it had not been for an attack of the yips on the back nine after turning with 20 points, the best front nine of the field. SteveG has bought himself a rangefinder online from Temu. He was a bit disappointed, as he was having trouble getting a reading. Then AndrewV pointed out that there was a focussing ring on the eyepiece. Apparently it made a huge difference when it was properly adjusted. The Birthday Birdie has one call to make this week as our Life Member Allan Davies ticks off another year on the calendar of life.
Results for Saturday, 12 Sep 2026
1st Gavin Quirk (37) 2nd Steven Gervasoni (36) 2nd Rajesh Mahto (36) 2nd Chris Priems (36) 3rd Craig Cameron (35) 3rd Andrew Petricola (35) 3rd Robert Priems (35) 4th Matt Hunt (34) 4th Dan Marie (34) 5th Andrew Vogan (31)
Seniors Results: 1st Steven Gervasoni (36) 1st Chris Priems (36) 2nd Craig Cameron (35) 2nd Robert Priems (35) 3rd Matt Hunt (34)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 4th Dan Marie BallPin No 1 – 12th Marc Phillips BallPin No 2 – 18th Andrew Petricola