Everyone complains about Par – Par event – Saturday 10th February 2018
Results for Saturday, 10 February 2018
1st Bob McDonald(+4) 1st Brendon Mitchell(+4) 2nd Chris Priems(+2) 3rd Andrew Blight(+1) 3rd Ryan Porker(+1) 4th Allan Davies(□) 4th Dennis Ward(□) 5th Dale Webb(-1)
Seniors Results: 1st Bob McDonald (+4) 2nd Andrew Blight (+1) 3rd Allan Davies (□) 3rd Dennis Ward (□)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin No 1 12th Jackpot ProPin No 2 18th Stephen Butterfield BallPin 4th Matt Hunt
The gun-shop raided the crooks on 03 February 2018
This will have to go down as some sort of red-letter day. It was revealed that Chrispy would not be playing because he was doing something with Carolyn. Details were thin on the ground but rumours swirled around the Club as members speculated what sort of a promise he might have been on. As a result, he missed out on a beautiful day for golf with the sun not too sunny and the wind not too windy. A sort of a ‘goldilocks’ day when everything was just right. If Chris had made it there would have been the neat twenty members on deck as we welcomed back David Mullenger who has had other things on his mind for quite a little while but now he reckons he can see his way clear to attend on a more regular basis.
One thing Chris possibly wouldn’t have had, had he been present, was a chance of winning the trophy as Targe swept all before him to take out the medal pretty much uncontested. The front nine was not overly spectacular although it did include three pars. The back nine on the other hand tallied six pars and three bogies to bring up a total of 81 for the round and a nett score of 61. A member of the group following Targe’s group opined that he thought that things weren’t going too well for the little fellow, particularly when he appeared from out of the hazard on the 14th when the rest of the group were already on the green. Despite the penalty, he still managed the bogey.
Harry was only a stroke behind Targe off the stick and that was down to an extra stroke on the back nine. But, the difference was in the handicap difference that used to be there. As always, Harry reckons there is room for improvement with a few left out there. Simon reckons that if he had a dollar for every putt of Harry’s that ran over the edge of the cup, he would be a rich man. Though, Harry did drain one from 10m on the 12th for a birdie and, in so doing, contributed to the 13 that were carded for the day. Not to be out-done, Porks also scored a birdie on the same hole with a 25m putt that had to do a boomerang shot across the slope to find the hole.
Simon is thinking of investing in a GoPro so that he can get vision of some of his shots to show his coach. And, on the front nine, he did have something to brag about with 40 off the beater. He squibbed a bit on the back nine, taking 41, to finish right on his handicap with a nett 68. Whether this was down to the slap on the wrist that he got when he reached for a ‘dart’ on the 11th or the fact that he stuck with his inhaler instead remains to be determined.
Next came a veritable squadron of players with the (titter, titter) score of 69. First on the list was Noodles who apparently had his moments and on one occasion he went close to breaking ‘you-know-what’. He did manage to get onto the green on the 17th but both the eagle and the birdie eluded him. Matt and Pepsi both agreed that they left a lot out there and Matt did own up to a ‘double’ hit with the second being a much better shot than the first. David got off to a good start with his first round with us for a while so he could be one to watch in coming weeks.
Rob had a big smile on his dial when he walked up and announced that he had scored a 68 when he knew perfectly well that MattH had come in with a 69. He also had a fist full of stubbies courtesy of a tee shot on the 11th that ended up moving less than a metre from the tee and well short of the red markers. Rob was not alone in the draughtie department with Jake managing on on the 2nd and Trev getting one as well though his playing mates took pity on him and did not enforce the shout. Trev did struggle a bit with a sore foot and hopefully there will be some relief in store as we all know how Trev loves his golf. But, we should not forget, ChrisV also managed to get a 71 to share the podium with Rob.
The BallPin today was on the 15th and there was a bit of a contest to be had with no less than three names on the ticket. The one that mattered though belonged to Dave. The first ProPin was on the 12th and the pin position was on the reasonably tricky right hand corner of the green. This didn’t faze John though as he managed to get his to 3.27m to get the money but not the birdie. On the 18th, we had a double jackpot and, with the pin on the lower deck people liked their chances. They had little chance though after MattN put his to 2.4m from the first group and nobody else got inside that mark.
There were reports that MattN also had a five putt green today but the gory details did not forth-come. RodG managed to have two putts with one stroke after hesitating as he contacted the ball and then accelerating to make the second contact. It requires great co-ordination to manage that. Chrispy has, hopefully, solved his shanking problem but SOS had some similar problems today. He did claim a birdie today even though he had six on the hole. As he played a recovery shot from one of his shanks, the ball struck one of the feathered varieties but, as for last week, no wildlife was adversely affected by the events in question.
Just to re-iterate the answer to the question about the seeding of the Matchplay. The seeding will be based on the most recent three cards up to and including the last round in this month. All members will be seeded unless they have advised that they do not wish to be included in the competition. Preferably, this advice should be via the Matchplay Registration Form on the web-site although oral or e-mail advice will be accepted in extremis. Please be aware that, if you are seeded, you have an obligation to play your match if you and your opponent are present on the same day and that you must make every effort to play the match by the deadline. There will be no extensions. If you foresee difficulty in complying, please consider withdrawing your availability before the seeding deadline.
Results for Saturday, 03 February 2018
1st Targe Mifsud(61) 2nd Harry Boughen(65) 3rd Simon Powell(68) 4th Stephen Butterfield(69) 4th Matt Hunt(69) 4th David Mullenger(69) 4th Andrew Petricola(69) 5th Robert Priems(71) 5th Chris Vinecombe(71)
Seniors Results: 1st Targe Mifsud (61) 2nd Harry Boughen (65) 3rd Simon Powell (68)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin No 1 12th John Quinlan ProPin No 2 18th Matt Nicholls BallPin 15th David Mullenger
There were oodles for Noodles on 27 January 2018
The humidity was so high you could almost cut the air with a knife. And, as the fog and low cloud cleared away, the sun really began to bite and by the end of the round some players were struggling to make it up the last hill to the 18th green. Chrispy could probably blame the after effects of his Australia Day celebrations. Mal and Rod probably put it down to advancing age while Darklands Dennis was just relieved that the cricket and soccer are out of the way and the footy hasn’t started (yet) giving him a chance to get out for a game or two. As for the other thirteen members who braved the conditions, or didn’t go away for the long weekend, they just grinned and bore it in the hope of playing some reasonable golf.
And, obviously, there was no reason not to play good golf if the score-lines that came in are any guide. Noodles’ new year resolution still holds good although it seems that a series of three putt greens on the front nine required a bit of teeth clenching to maintain the focus on the job in hand. The grip seems to have relaxed on the back nine and the putts began to fall and the score began to mount as the result of a ten stroke differential between the two halves. In the end, a total of 42 points was enough to take the day though Noodles did express the view that 50 was a possibility if the flat stick had worked on the front.
On the other hand, John went gang-busters on the front nine and looked set to continue the blitz on the back but a bit of a wobble set in from the 14th to the 16th where three singletons took just a little of the shine off a bottom line of 41 points. John had been going point for point with Jason as they agonised over who could least afford to win and take the winner’s penalty. As it turned out the banter was all for naught and Noodles took the blow on their behalf. Darklands was also wishing for somebody to come in and take first place so that he would avoid the penalty. He got his wish but dropped more points because of his relegation to third place.
Jason has been working hard at his game with practice and games during the week and his dedication continues to pay off with another round that ended up delivering just a little less than it promised. Matt H played a very consistent hand with 19 points on each half and he too bemoaned a few chances left out there. Harry got three birdies today although only two of them would count to the Eclectic because one of them was of the actual feathered variety. No wildlife was actually injured though and the total count for the birdies that mattered was 14.
SOS, by his own admission, hasn’t really been in the race of recent times and so he was pretty pleased to both play to his handicap and to score his first point for this competition year. There were a few holes with room for improvement and so it might be that we see more of SOS on or about the podium in weeks to come. Just out of the main points, but sneaking in for another point in the Senior’s Championship, was Simon who seems pretty pleased with his front running at this stage of the year.
The BallPin today was on the 4th and once again, somebody in the first group put it close and shut the rest of the field out. The man of the moment to collect a ball was Mal who tried valiantly to follow a pretty speccy round on Thursday but he might just have wilted a little in the heat. The mobile ProPin was on the 12th and Chrispy was able to keep his head down enough to put his ball to 4.5m and collect the cash on offer. The ProPin on the 18th needed a shot to the top shelf and, as has been often the case, the target eluded the field and so there will be a Double Jackpot Pool up for grabs next week.
While on the subject of Chrispy, his backside has been a-peeling but it’s certainly not appealing. After a particularly unsatisfying second hole, he knocked his ball into the cup and couldn’t be bothered (or wasn’t able) to bend down to pick it out and so a rather bemused following group speculated, remarkably correctly as it turned out, as to what had happened. SteveK did try to claim that it was actually his ball that had gone into the hole without anyone noticing but that did not explain the ‘extra’ ball on the green that he was standing next to at the time.
Harry was bent down teeing his ball on the 15th when a call of ‘Fore’ came from the 14th. Rather than move and make a larger target, Harry stayed put and the ball landed a metre or so away and bounced harmlessly over head and ran down the hill and settled in a puddle on the path. Rob arrived, full of apologies and was searching for his ball on the tee box but had to have it pointed out that he had parked his buggy almost on top of the ball and that he must have just about stepped on it in the process. Maybe something was distracting Rob because he scored the wrong person on the card for about five holes. Fortunately, the error was discovered in time, and he had been using a pencil, so an eraser was all that was needed. Pepsi wasn’t quite so lucky in avoiding a errant ball and took a rap on the ankle at the practice green after Steve ‘shanked’ a chip. Shankfully, Chrispy was virtually shank free although he did own to a couple and Rod reckons he caught the disease from Chris.
Dale had a round of ups and downs but not necessarily the usual golfing variety. One of the ‘downs’ was on the 15th when he sprayed his drive into the shrubbery and it bounced off a tree out into knee-deep kikuyu. He left his bag after a brief search and went back to the tee to re-load. A low vicious slice was saved from a similar fate in the long grass by hitting his bag dead centre. That put paid to any scoring hope on that hole. However, one of his ‘ups’ came shortly after on the 17th when his attempt to drive to the green strayed across onto the 18th. He then lobbed it up over the trees and the chain-wire fence to a metre and a half from the hole and sank the putt for what turned out to be a pretty simple birdie and probably the ‘up and down’ of the round.
There are still one or two people who have not paid their subscription for this year so, if it has slipped your mind, it would be nice to get it fixed up as soon as possible. Just a quick bank transfer into the Club account is all that is required. And, just in case you don’t know, the Club sub is $30 and, if you have GolfLink with us, the total is $120.
The Matchplay Registration Form is open so if you do not want to be seeded for this event can you please indicate your intention by using the form. Remember, if you are seeded, you have an obligation to play in the event and to abide by the rules that are posted under the Club Rules menu item.
Results for Saturday, 27 January 2018
1st Stephen Butterfield(42) 2nd John Quinlan(41) 3rd Dennis Tiernan(39) 4th Harry Boughen(38) 4th Jason Hopkins(38) 4th Matt Hunt(38) 5th Stephen O’Sullivan(36)
Seniors Results: 1st Dennis Tiernan (39) 2nd Harry Boughen (38) 3rd Simon Powell (34)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin No 1 12th Chris Priems ProPin No 2 18th Jackpot BallPin 4th Malcolm Fleming
How do we sleep while our bums are burning on 20 January 2017
Firstly a small apology to Rob, Jim and Peter for bastardising their memorable song line but I am sure they would forgive me if they too had been subject to Chrispy flashing his butt like an alpha baboon on the African savannah. How many of the nineteen other members present were treated to the show is uncertain but, hopefully, there will be no long term psychological damage for those that were. Fortunately, the heatwave conditions of the last couple of days had receded or passed on to other areas and conditions were just about ideal for some good golf to be played.
And there, absolutely, was some good golf to be played. The man who made the best of it was none other than Stefan who managed to par the course on his way to taking out the day with plus six score-line. The bottom line could have been even better with a couple of minuses on the card but a total of 5 birdies was the icing on the cake and contributed to the total of fifteen the the whole crew managed. Simon was getting a bit of a complex as Stef drove green after green such as the 9th and the 11th and usually while Simon was in mid-stroke. One plan is to shorten Stef’s clubs to try to bring him back to the length of the course.
On the first tee, Allan was heard to complain about the fact that he had been cut by four strokes as a result of his win last week. The handicapper felt only the slightest pangs of remorse and the lack of sympathy proved to be well founded because Blitzkreig Davies put his head down and got his wedge working to chip in on two of the par threes for birdie on the way to finishing only a point behind Stef with +5 points. The exhilaration must have gone to his head as he managed to drive off after the game without his manbag that contained his multitude of specs and credit cards. Fortunately, it didn’t contain his phone and he took a call before he got too far down the road to come back to the course and pick it up.
Rod has been doing it a bit tough in recent times but he has been persuaded to trade his old driver for something just a little more up-to-date. After a bit of a false start with the first recommendation, he tried and liked an alternate brand. It looks to have worked some sort of magic as he presented with a very respectable plus three. Although the driver might have helped, apparently it was his chipping and putting that made the really big difference. Just adds to the justification for the statement that you drive for show but you chip and putt for dough (or at least points).
Si was probably a bit off balance due to his self-repaired denture which had a rather disconcerting habit of getting out of sync with his jaw. A properly constructed replacement obviously settled him down (either that or the e-cig did) and he gathered a placing with his card of plus two. He certainly seemed happier in himself than he did last Thursday. After shocking half of the club before tee time Chrispy was relieved to find that his carry bag didn’t impinge on the delicate part of his anatomy. He had spent several hours down in the park working on a solution to the ‘shanks’ which he reported had been successful. And so it was that he was able to present with a square card at the end of the day with not a shank in sight other than those below his rather fetching shorts. Chris was joined on the podium by John, Dale and the ‘arithmetic kid’ MattH (or maybe Rob was the culprit).
Ryan’s score today is probably better not mentioned. But he did manage a couple of reasonable shots After one such, which gave him the chance of an eagle, he promised his playing companions a share of the booty if he managed to sink the putt. He didn’t manage it, but, when there were three on the 17th green from the tee, the promise was re-activated and, wouldn’t you know it, this time the putt rolled in and the Eagle’s Nest was laid bare in one fell swoop. And so, a rather bemused, SOS was handing out balls to multiple ‘winners’. He was also handing out largesse to multiple winners for the Double jackpot on the 15th hole ProPin after Stef (who else) put his ball to 1.24m after agreeing to a team split. The BallPin was on the 4th and Joe was the one who shut out a couple of others to take the prize. The 18th pin was on the top deck which seems to make the task just that little bit more difficult and so there will be a Jackpot on that hole for next week. Nothing like some extra money to keep you interested.
The Birthday Birdie dozed off last week and forgot to send wishes to Rob and SteveK. Hope it was a good one chaps. This week the party boys are Keith and Jason. Just keep thinking of it as one step closer to playing your age and keep on swinging (your clubs of course).
Things got a bit draughtie out on the course today even though there was little in the way of wind (we won’t mention John on the 1st). Targe tried to dispute his as he reckoned that the ball was well past the red markers before it hit a tree and came back into the swamp in front of the second tee. On the very same hole, MattN attacked the swamp from the tee side and came out of the battle the worse of it. Rob, on the other hand, waited until the third hole before contributing to his playing groups drinking problem by not making it to the reds.
SOS was a bit worried that he might have to flash his ‘Freddie’ after a fairly warm exchange between players from adjacent fairways and the 10th tee group as to who had the right of way. Chrispy, for one, was volunteering to exchange sexual favours over the matter. Noodles spent a reasonable amount of time on the practice putting green before the tee time but perhaps that time would have been better spent on the driving range if the accuracy of some of his drives was any guide. He was noticed gripping his club pretty tightly on a couple of occasions and as a result the resolution is still holding.
Joe sprayed his drive from the 5th more than somewhat and finished behind the pond by the 8th tee where he was left with little option but to chip it back into the open and further from the green. He then proceeded to pitch it onto the green and into the hole for a birdie. That would just about have to beat spectacular drives any day and at least the head stayed on the club.
Simon misplaced his expensive sunnies last week but, not to worry, Gordo found them, picked them up and messaged Si that he had them. So, Si was a bit perplexed when he got a call saying that they had been found (undamaged) on the road in the entrance to the car park. It seems Gordo put them on the roof of his trusty vehicle and promptly forget about them and they were deposited where they were re-found as he headed out of the car park. Simon couldn’t wait to front Gordon and ask where his sunglasses were.
The AGM is coming up in March and, as is normal, all Committee positions are up for contest. If you have a yen to contribute more to the Club, then find yourself a sponsor and a seconder and get your nomination in. The Forms are available on the website. In actual fact, there is lots of interesting stuff on the website if you only take the chance to explore the menus and have a read. Not mentioning any names but a newspaper editor would be a bit upset if nobody read his little rag.
The Matchplay Championship is coming up again and the cut-off for seeding will be the 24th February with the first round starting the next week. The Matchplay Registration Form is open and it would be appreciated that, if you do not want to be included in the draw, you indicate that wish by using the form. Otherwise all active and eligible members will be seeded based on their scores for their three most recent rounds played in competition. The detailed rules are on the website but, in essence, if you and your opponent are present on any day within the period of the round, you must play. Also, if no result is reported by the end of the last day of the round, both parties are eliminated.
Results for Saturday, 20 January 2018
1st Stefan Belevski(+6) 2nd Allan Davies(+5) 3rd Rod Grant(+3) 4th Simon Powell(+2) 5th Matt Hunt(□) 5th Chris Priems(□) 5th John Quinlan(□) 5th Dale Webb(□)
Seniors Results: 1st Allan Davies (+5) 2nd Rod Grant (+3) 3rd Simon Powell (+2)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin No 1 15th Stefan Belevski ProPin No 2 18th Jackpot BallPin 4th Joe Wagenecht
Eagle’s nest Results: Eagle 17th Ryan Porker