After the weather of the last week, today’s offering could only be described as magnificent.  The course was free of casual water and, other than a couple of (long term) exceptions, the greens were in good nick.  There were a few complaints about the fact that the tees were too far forward (something to do with the inside Club Championship) and the rough was a bit that way in a few places and balls could be a bit hard to find.

All in all, there was no real excuse for not making a score and the person who managed to really make one was Mostyn who carded a +5 and who looks like starting to play to his potential – or has he just been waiting for the moment.  Regardless, he has been dealt with by the handicapper.

Pepsi managed to score himself a leave pass (or was that  – was able to tear himself away) from young Alexander Mario for long enough to show that his ball striking skills haven’t been affected by fatherhood to put together 69 off the stick for +4.  Pepsi was reported to be ‘shanking’ the ball on a number of occasions so there must have been some magnificent recovery shots played if that was the case.  He also had held out hopes that he might at last win an event this year but had to be satisfied as bridesmaid once again.

Then followed a trio on +3, Achilles, Chrispy and Mehm.  Chrispy has acquired a new putting grip and swears that it is impossible to miss.  He certainly put away some pretty impressive putts during the round.  So much so that he said he felt like Adam Scott even though he didn’t look like him.  Sharpie reckons he looked more like he had eaten him.

Tony and Mo filled the fourth spot on +2 and collected the first of the Seniors points for their effort.  Harry put together a good back nine after a fairly ordinary front to take fifth on +1.

The NTP for a ball was on the 7th and there were a couple of contenders but Craig was the one with his name left on the card at the end of the day.  The ProPin was on the 15th and, quite amazingly, nobody managed to get close enough to inscribe their John Henry on the card so there will be a double jackpot up for grabs next week.  That should bring some of the hungry ones out of the woodwork.  The lack of success in hitting the greens when it counted, didn’t much affect the flow of birdies with twelve being plodded, including three by Pepsi.

It was also a bit of a sad day today as we had to bid farewell to those two loveable yanks, Mo and Mike.  President Gordon made an appropriate valedictory speech and presented them with a small memento to remind them of their stay in Oz and of their Ozzie golfing mates.  Come back and visit sometime, guys.  And no, Chris, you can’t claim Mo’s Championship points!

Also a get well wish to Bob, who is up for some fairly serious surgery and won’t be joining us for a month or two.  Trevor has also been laid up with his back but managed to come along this morning to farewell Mo and Mike.  Hope it comes good soon, Trev.

Mirthful MalA was in form today cracking a few punnies after the game.  He might yet take up Brendon’s request for him to do stand-up for the break-up.  Eddie tried for the green on the 17th and everybody judged it a sure thing but in the end the ball was not to be found.  Just proves you shouldn’t count your pigeons before they’re hatched.

The end of the year is fast approaching and the committee has the break-up function organisation under way.  The perpetual trophies have to be updated, so if you have one in your possession, can you please get it back to Gordon or Ben by next Saturday at the latest.

It seems the most favoured shirt colour might be the blue though there was a late vote for a very fetching pink that Brendon was wearing.  Get your sizes in so the order can be placed.

Results for Saturday, 16 November 2013
1st Mostyn Gregg(+5) 2nd Andrew Petricola(+4) 3rd Brendon Mitchell(+3) 3rd Chris Priems(+3) 4th Mehmet Akdag(+2) 4th Tony Mifsud(+2) 4th Mo Sabih(+2) 5th Harry Boughen(+1)

This is a bit late but better late than never. There were some turn arounds (or should that be turns around?) after the first round but not necessarily in the right direction to take out the top trophy.  In the end it was consistency for Eddie who took the top spot with a couple of squares (not referring to conservative types in the Club) to square the card and top the podium.

Chrispy advanced himself by a fair margin, turning a -4 into a +1 for an overall -3 to take out second place.  However the prize for the turn around of the match went to Mo who leaped from a -7 to a +3 to wrangle a share of third with Bob (-3 and -1) and Oliver (square and -4).

Malteser Tony scared up a -6 and +1 while Jan managed a square and a -6 to take the last two podium positions.

No other details to hand so that’s your lot.

First, there is a need for a bit of news about the Annual Challenge Weekend.  By all accounts a good time was had by all.  As far as the golf went, the best time was had by David and Mo who both managed to gather 60 points for the two rounds.  David was the one to shoulder into the Taupe (?) Jacket after a countback.  It is rumoured that the hallowed cloth is getting a bit the worse for wear and a search is on for a suitable replacement though there are some concerns that a Hugo Boss of a similar standard might come in at a bit more than $10 these days.  Damo and Mehm shared the third placing with 58 points apiece.  Either the course was somewhat tougher than Ivanhoe or the liberal application of beverages took its toll.

Chrispy was so desperate to score a point that he stripped off (only the shoes and socks) and waded in to play the second ball that found the water on this hole and did manage to score a point in the end.  Well done the photographer for a fine action shot that captured Chrispy’s exemplary style as well as the flight of the ball.  It is also reported than Jan was a bit whiffy on Sunday though not from anything he ate or drank the night before – just kept missing the ball.

At one stage Craig was having a little snooze and some of his so-called friends decided to adorn his visage with a little ‘art-work’.  Even though it was done with a permanent marker, the said adornment disappeared without a trace.  Perhaps there was alcohol exuding from his pores and dissolved it right away.

Now down to the nitty gritty of today’s event.  The weather was not too promising with forecasts of showers and wind and to some degree both eventuated but not enough to dampen the enthusiasm of the twenty or so who braved the early morning cold to vie for the next to last (penultimate for those who like bigger words) Monthly Medal for the year.  There were a few who fancied their chances but none so optimistic as Gordon who calculates that he has a chance of catching Oliver in the Championship Table.  One down, four more to go.  Only trouble is there are only three live rounds left.  Oh well, Gordon’s nett 64 was just enough to disappoint Tony and Mehm who would have had to fight it out in a countback from their second place sharing 65 nett.

Brendon is back and his restructured Achilles seems to be standing him in good stead particularly at one stage of the round where he completed six holes averaging over three points per hole.  Apparently, most of the three birdies that he scored owed more to the other thing rather than class, like skinnied shots hitting the pin and dropping inches from the hole and so forth.  Still three out of the eight birdies scored for the day isn’t to be sneezed at by anyone, no matter how jealous your playing partners are.  Chris managed to keep his feet dry today and teamed up with Mike to fill the next spot with 68 while Harry and Bill rounded out the podium positions with 69.

The Nearest the Pin on the 4th for a ball was washed out by the rain – well the writing on the board was at least – but apparently Gordon was the one who had been there and was awarded a ball as a result.  The ProPin on the 18th was not contended by anyone though some, with a decent kick (bounce), could have had a chance.

There were a couple of visitors in the field today.  Bob Nichols joined us as his regular group were not playing and he might consider joining with us in due course.  Mark Gouldsman also played and shows quite a bit of talent, though he did have a few problems with some of the rough.  Unfortunately, Mark did not join us after the round but he did express an interest in joining us on a regular basis.

Eddies cart managed to finish the round this week although it was blowing a bit of smoke and back-firing from time to time.  Might have to report it to the EPA if it keeps that up – particularly the latter when people are trying to concentrate.  One of Targe’s putts was deemed to be so long that the hole was below the horizon – for him at least.  After the round there appeared to be a card (or two) missing according to the count on Chrispy’s tee sheet until a check showed that, indeed, AndrewB’s was missing, but also that AndrewB was on the tee sheet twice.  No wonder the money didn’t balance.

Brendon put on display, the potential Club shirt colours – green, blue and violet.  The committee would like feed-back on the preferred colour by next week and peoples shirt size by the week after so that an order can be placed to get them before the break-up on 21 December.  Speaking of which, organisation is under way for a slap up Christmas Lunch after the round.  There will also be the AGM and Trophy presentations.

Also, don’t forget that the December Monthly Medal and the two rounds of the Vin O’Meara have been designated as the new Club Stroke Play Championship.  This will be the 2013 Event and will not attract Championship points other than those for the underlying Calendar Events.

Results for Saturday, 09 November 2013
1st Gordon Hill(64) 2nd Mehmet Akdag(65) 2nd Tony Mifsud(65) 3rd Brendon Mitchell(66) 4th Mike Mann(68) 4th Chris Priems(68) 5th Harry Boughen(69) 5th Bill Eastoe(69)

There were only a select few who made it to the green fields of Ivanhoe this week-end, mainly because the majority were off tearing up the course up by the Murray.  Wonder how that went?  No doubt we will hear in due course.

Play was to the GA handicap and of the five contenders, Mostyn made the best of it and only just missed out on picking up the inside Monthly Medal with a nett 61. Eddie was trying to beat up for points to be allocated even though there were none on offer and there wasn’t a quorum anyway.  Said Ed couldn’t find his ball on the 17th, even though its landing point was surely known.  After a trudge back to the tee, he proceeded to put it over the green.  Mostyn had put his on, but left the eagle putt a bit short – probably a good thing given that it was only a social event.

RodG scored a birdie on the 12th after carelessly leaving his tee shot about a metre short dead in line with the hole.  MalF also cracked a birdie on the 14th (no mean feat at the best of times) but then had a monumental PBFU on the 15th with two OOB to end with an 8.  If that had been a more respectable 4 his nett would have been a very respectable 68.  He actually went close to a double birdie on the 9th after scaring the crap out of a magpie (no  – not a Collingwood supporter) with his tee shot, playing a recovery to the base of the hill and then putting it within what should have been gimme distance of the hole with his third.

Back to the serious business again next week.  There are six slots set aside for us and it will be our Monthly Medal so a good roll up would be in order.  Some serious winning will be required if anybody is going to catch Oliver at the head of both Championship Tables but there are some other trophies still up for grabs.