Did the outing to Rich River last week have any beneficial effect? Or otherwise? The weather from there certainly migrated down this way although those Steves without any form of layering did exhort the sun to get itself above the tree-line over the first few holes. When it did, any need for layering quickly disappeared, and Nalin was spotted flashing some bare skin as he made it all the way down to one (layer, that is). The preferred lie sandwich board was firmly locked away, and the fairways were remarkably firm and giving plenty of run. The greens are in good nick, and would stay that way if everybody took the time to repair a pitch mark (or two). Part of the tee on the 4th has been re-turfed, but it could have been given a bit more time to settle in as it was quickly looking the worse for wear from being used recently. Conditions were so good, that people were fairly knocking down the doors to get a spot, and we ended up with sixteen hopefuls trying to get in on some of the last big point scoring for this competition year.
Pepsi finished around the middle of the field last week, and he wasn’t too pleased with the way he had played. Today was another matter entirely. He played the course like a concert piano. 3, 4, 5, 3, 4, 5, 3, 5, 4 set the tune for the front nine to make the turn one over the card and four points to the good. 4, 4, 3, 4, 4, 3, 5, 4, 2 changed the beat for the back to match the card for another three points and a grand total strokes of 69 (titter, titter). Definitely the man to catch next week. If anybody has a chance to do it, it would have to be CJ. But, there is a big but! It seems that there is a very important basketball match next Saturday morning that requires his undivided attention. So, unless he can do some very sweet talking, it might be daylight between Pepsi and the rest of the field. CJ actually hit all the right notes on the back to card a perfect 4, 4, 3, 4, 4, 3, 4, 4, 3 suggesting that his handicap could also do with a trim. Roll out the barber’s chair! Pepsi has now elbowed his way into the silver medal position on the OOM, while CJ also got a fair boost and scored this week’s Rocket.
Still, we never should write off the dark horses in the field. A broken fetlock, a battery under the saddle or the judicious application of the whip can often make the difference when it come to the home straight. JQ was having a bit of a brag about his chip-in for a birdie on the 7th, on his way to his final tally of plus two. But the happy snap, is not his. Nor is it a hole-in-one. But more on that later. Young Ken looks like turning into that Hongkong horse that everybody seems to be talking about as his game goes from strength to strength. With a very steady performance up the river last week to finish well up in the field, he followed up today to make the turn three holes to the good. He was noted having a minor shankeration on the 15th, and ended up one down on the back to finish right alongside JQ. On our way to eleven birdies for the day, the shot of the day would have to go to Prez who found himself on the hill at the back left of the 12th green. Not to worry, he says, I’ll just chip it in. Which he did! This started a remarkable run where he reeled off four wins in a row to help him finish the round in positive territory. AndrewV produced the same tallies for each nine, and the round, but he did not require the big run of wins to do so. Matt seemed pretty happy to have turned in a square card after his handicap took a bit of a cut after last week.
The first BallPin was on the 4th, and SteveG, in the first group put in a claim that lay a fair distance from the hole. Nobody else was able to get any closer, though Pepsi did report being just 300mm further away. On the 18th, the pin was on the top deck, and Gavin was the only one to get their name on the card. The ProPin was set on the 12th, and Raj managed to get within the 5m circle, although not by much. On the other hand, CJ managed to get within the 2m circle (by an even smaller margin – it would be difficult for it to be any smaller) to collect the cash on offer.
CJ had a bit of the Priems luck in his round today. On the 13th his approach to the green was well left, went close to taking out a walker on the path before taking a bounce and finishing on the green from where he managed a par. He followed up on the 14th with a drive heading for the OOB when it just happened to hit the edge of the duckboards and finish back in the middle of the fairway, and another par was the result. SOS usually sneaks into the coaching room to get in a few practice swings before he heads to the tee. Nothing unusual about that, you might think. Except that he found himself practicing with somebody else’s clubs that he had taken from a bag parked outside. Nalin was not confident that he would find his first drive from the 17th, so he opted to play a provisional with the aim of taking on the shot to the green. It was judged to be either too far right or in the penalty area. The original ball was found and played, but the provisional was nowhere to be seen and was deemed lost. Except that SOS, in the following group, found it, plugged, just shy of the green.
There were a group of three magpies making themselves at home on the 16th green. They were so intent on hunting in a circle about a metre around the pin, that Harry had to hunt them away so that he could take his putt without getting a ‘birdie’. When CJ arrived on the green, one of the birds decided that his ball might be fair game and made a good job of moving his ball further from the hole. Fortunately, that does count as outside influence. Gordo was looking very resplendent today in one of his South American souvenir shirts, probably celebrating Dia de los Muertos (or something similar). Speaking of shirts, SteveG tossed his Challenge NARGA tee-shirt into the wash, and he now has a fine collection of baby-cack yellow work shirts.
Next week is the final round of the Fred Kitson. Last year’s winner, please note, bring the Trophy. There will be the usual well catered barbecue after the round, and all are welcome to come along, whether you played this week or not. Come along and see what/who folds or unfolds. The Barbecue Brigade (depending on registrations etc) will likely include Raji Shankar, Hip-hop Hill, Raygun Nailgun or others depending on the whims of the Tee Marshal. Speaking of the Tee Marshal, he did a great job of clearing the crowd from the registration table as tee time approached. Though is is a bit unclear as the why there was so much waving of scorecards, pulling of pointing fingers and calling on shades of last weekend associated with the exodus from the cafe area.
Results for Saturday, 17 Oct 2026
Leaderboard Round 1: 1st Andrew Petricola (+7) 2nd Chris Priems (+5) 3rd John Quinlan (+2) 3rd Ken Watson (+2) 4th Robert Priems (+1) 4th Andrew Vogan (+1) 5th Matt Hunt (□)
Seniors Leaderboard: 1st Chris Priems (+5) 2nd Ken Watson (+2) 3rd Robert Priems (+1) 3rd Andrew Vogan (+1)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin – 12th Chris Priems BallPin No 1 – 4th Steven Gervasoni BallPin No 2 – 18th Gavin Quirk