Was it or wasn’t it a Challenge?  Thanks Brendon.

Some would say yes and some would say no.  Would thirty points win or would people play better with limited artillery?  In the scheme of things, it seems there was probably a bit of both.

For the front runners, at least, the front nine was the easier to manage and our eventual winner PC SOS went around the turn with 22 points under his belt.  Did his confidence get the better of him or was the back really that much tougher? The final total of 36 points managed to pip RodW, who also had a pretty good front nine, at the post with 35 points.

SOS reckons leaving the driver at home kept him out of a lot of trouble.  He tried for the green on the 17th and was convinced he had found the hazard, then complained that he didn’t have a club to pitch to the green, put it inside a couple of metres and settled for a birdie.

Speaking of birdies, there were eight plodded today, probably all carded by those who chose to take a putter in their complement of clubs.  Not a huge number less than normal.  One person who did take one and made very good use of it was RodW who packed a vintage weapon that he probably used for 40 out of his 80 odd shots even to the extent of using it off the tee.  On the 6th, he managed a bogie and used the putter for five of the shots and that included a gettable putt for his par.

Mo and Craig came in next with complementary cards, 14 out/19 in vs 19 out/14 in.  Craig got a bit cranky with a lapse of form on the 11th and gave the ball a good solid whack with the putter when he ran out of points and was asked if he needed his six iron to get it back to the green – and you know how far Craig can hit a six iron.  Zimmer thought he had a share of third but couldn’t read his own writing and so was relegated to a share of 4th place with Eddie who seemed to run out of puff about three holes from home.  Pigeons would end up in the stew-pot if they did that!

Last on the podium, but not least, was Noodles who played what could be described as a balanced round.

There was movement on the Championship table and all point getters made ground on the leaders, probably because neither of the two front runners played today.  Senior points went to Mo, Eddie and Harry but that also made little impression on the leader.  The ProPin on the 18th was a contest between Chrispy and Zimmer with the young fella coming out victorious – and that was after Chris twice measured the distance to the wrong ball.  However Chris’s shot on the 4th was undefeated for him to collect a ball to add to the 57 that he carries around in his bag.

There was one player who really lost it today.  No, not his temper – the head off his club.  Playing out of some long grass on the 13th, Dick was quite pleased to see the ball heading in the direction of the green – not quite so pleased to see the head of his club doing likewise.  Still he managed to get a bogie on the hole and finished the round with only two clubs in his bag.  Not sure whether the rules would have allowed him to grab another from his car as he went past but he resolutely pressed on and faced a fairly tricky shot to the green on the 14th from the middle of the 16th fairway with only a 5 iron to work with.  He managed a bogie on that as well.

Chrispy opted to use his driver for putting and was fairly blitzing it early on including a monster on the 8th but the wheels fell off a bit from then on and he finished not quite so convinced that it had been a good idea not to bring a putter.

There was quite a bit of discussion about the Limited Club Challenge and how it might be played in future.  One topic was to either make a putter compulsory or to ban the putter to make a slightly more level playing field.  Another was to allow different handicap ranges to use different numbers of clubs.  All food for thought and something the Committee will have to consider when finalising the Program for next year.

A Rules Question

On a par four hole (say the 14th), player Pepsi has a short par putt and at the point where the back swing ends and the down swing starts the ball moved. Mentally Pepsi aborted his swing but was unable to stop the club head nudging the moving ball a couple of inches. He then played the ball as it lies and sank the putt. What is his score for the hole?
a)     Bogey 5
b)     Double bogey 6
c)     Disaster 7

If you would like to answer this question, e-mail Harry with your answer and the reason for thinking so – preferably without referring to your rule book.  No prizes but you might rate a mention.  The answer will be published next week.

Results for Saturday, 24 August 2013
1st Stephen O’Sullivan(36) 2nd Rodney White(35) 3rd Mo Sabih(33) 3rd Craig Sharp(33) 4th Kazim Akdag(32) 4th Ed Kloprogge(32) 5th Stephen Butterfield(31)

What was it that put everybody off?  The field was down, the carpark and fairways were empty, the roads were quiet.  Either it was the threat of more wind and rain or it was the Richmond/Carlton match at the G.  The windy weather has certainly taken its toll on some of the trees on the course, particularly down beside the 11th where a branch from one tree has effectively debranched another.  Needless to say, the roped off danger zone seemed to be rather attractive for golf balls.

Only eighteen members graced the fairways of ‘Royal’ Ivanhoe and the golf played seems to have ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous.  At the sublime end was Mr Reliable, Oliver, who is defying the handicapper and is starting to get out to a very comfortable margin the both Championship tables.  He’s either got to snap an Achilles or somebody has to do some serious winning if it isn’t going to be daylight second.

Bob was struggling to keep up with the cracking pace set by the first group in the field (after the second hole that is) but it must have focussed his mind to post a very creditable score.  Priemsy was hitting some very Chrispe shots into the green to give himself birdie chances though a lot of them did manage to flutter away.

Stefan came in next to post a +2 that was helped no end by an Eagle on the 17th.  That’s two in a row so the Big Bird is absolutely devastated and could only very reluctantly give away a single egg.  Zimmer and Tony rounded out the point getters for this week so not a huge number of points given away.

The Nearest the Pin on the 12th was gathered by Mo while Snags collected the ProPin on the 15th with a result that wasn’t all that close to the hole but within the  5m limit.  The inaccurate shooting also kept the number of birdies down to 9.

It wasn’t Damo’s day today.  Not only did he reckon his golf was crap, he got back to his car and found that it was crap(ped on) as well.  Not sure whether he glared any bird down out of the trees but he was obviously in a hurry to get home to get the missus to wash the car if the departure from the carpark was any guide.

Another one who figured he must have walked on a Chinaman’s grave was Harry, who managed to pull off a windy on the 9th.  At least it was on the fairway and it wasn’t a draughtie as well.  Chrispy was a bit concerned on the draughtie front when his drive on the second found the trees and headed back in the direction of the ladies markers. Fortunately (or not depending on your point of view) it stopped short of the danger zone.

The Club Meeting after the round was well attended and resulted in some extensive discussion particularly in relation to the proposed changes to the handicapping system.  The consensus was to take some more time to consider options before ratifying a decision one way or the other.

Other items of immediate interest were motions to run a trial of drive length/accuracy on the 8th.  Some of the fine detail still needs to be worked out.  It was also decided to reintroduce the Eclectic Competition from the start of next year.  There will also be a Club Handicap Championship event run over the three stroke rounds concurrent with the December Monthly Medal and the Vin O’Meara.  It was also agreed that we should trial an Orange Ball Event as a way of introducing some more social activities/ novelty events.  A move to give a ball each week as an Encouragement Award was narrowly defeated.

It was also decided that, with immediate effect the Competition Fee will increase to $5.  This is the first increase for some years and recognises the fact that the cost and number of the balls distributed each week has increased.

Before the new Program for 2014 is set, the running of the Matchplay will be reviewed and streamlined to shorten the time that it takes and consideration will be given to a second Matchplay Event in the schedule.

Results for Saturday, 17 August 2013
1st Oliver Gross(+5) 2nd Bob McDonald(+3) 2nd Chris Priems(+3) 3rd Stefan Belevski(+2) 4th Kazim Akdag(□) 5th Tony Mifsud(-1)

What a super day it was – weatherwise any way.  The aftermath of the recent wet was evident in the soggy ground underfoot and in a couple of places, balls were seen to land but were not found.  The preferred lie rule was in place again and relief from casual water was a regular necessity..  Still, hardy lot that we are, we managed to paddle our way around the course with varying degrees of success.

Far and away the most successful was none other than Ben who seems to have been channeling Arnie in more ways than one, declaring at the presentations “Ahmm Baack”.  He also denied that he had been anywhere Windy Hill in recent times and the bottle containing blue liquid on the table in front of him was not his ASADA sample though many think that they should be notified.  Plus, there was a mis-calculation on his card to give him 45 rather than the 44 that his marker recorded.

Noodles probably thought he had a good chance of collecting the major points with his very respectable total of 41 that included a gash on the 17th – perhaps he was reliving last week’s effort.  His tally included three four pointers that included one for an Eagle on the 14th.  His drive finished about 2.5m from the pin and he made the putt.

Ben wasn’t the only one with a blue on his card.  Pepsi neglected to check his handicap and his card was calculated based on last week’s which gathered him an extra point to fill third place on his own after daylight between him and Noodles.  Eddie and Targe then filled fourth place with more or less complementary rounds – Eddie blitzed the front while Targe pulled up his socks on the back.

Zimmer and Craig gathered the last of the points and Chrispy is not looking forward to work next week with Craig having come in in front.

Ben and Noodles moved themselves up the Championship Ladder a few rungs but Oliver still has a very handy lead.  Targe picked up the points in the Seniors and edged a little closer to the top as a result.  The ball for the nearest the Pin on the 7th was won by Eddie who finished only a metre or two from the hole.  The resulting birdie gave him a four pointer.  There were nine other birdies reported for the day, perhaps a little down for the size of the field.  The ProPin on the 15th went to Harry at 141cm but in line with recent experience with the flat blade he didn’t make the birdie.

Joe Demir was with us again on his comeback trail and submitted his third card and so has a brand new handicap.  Interestingly, it is not all that far from where his old one was.  Willy Ghidetti joined us as well and we look forward to welcoming him as a full time member.

The last two matches of the third round of the Matchplay were decided today.  Stefan was well in front at the 13th when he was overcome by some sort of stomach upset and had to withdraw but not before gentleman David had conceded the match.  In the other match, Targe was victorious over Jan 4 and 3 which is much closer than their respective stableford scores would have suggested.  It seems Jan ran out of steam just as Targe was coming good.

Mostyn ran foul of the tree on the corner of the 17th with his second, which put his ball into the hazard with the ball coming to rest past the edge of the water but resting on a bed of decayed reeds.  He insisted that he could play the ball and proceeded to put the ball on the green and running on a direct line to the hole.  It did stop short but a great shot nonetheless.

Don’t forget, there will be a Club Meeting after the round next week.

Results for Saturday, 10 August 2013
1st Ben Akdag(45) 2nd Stephen Butterfield(41) 3rd Andrew Petricola(35) 4th Ed Kloprogge(34) 4th Targe Mifsud(34) 5th Kazim Akdag(33) 5th Craig Sharp(33)

The ducks were quacking all over the course today and the thought was that it was because of the recent rain and the fact that the breeding season will soon be upon us.  If the behaviour of a couple of them in the pond by the 4th is any indication, it already is upon us.  The fact that there had been rain forecast and a few spots late in the round caused a few worries for some but the real bucketting didn’t arrive until much later and the continued application of preferred lies pleased quite a number of the contenders.

Whether it was the preferred lies or a favourable alignment of the stars, David managed to put a comfortable margin between himself and most other contenders with a nett 65.  Fast Eddie was the only one who came close but having played Matchplay rules he was not eligible to contend.

AndrewB and Bobbie very cunningly played exactly to their handicap to fill second place as well as collect the top points for the Seniors.  Andrew could have been right up there except for a couple of lapses in the home stretch.  Zimmer, Snags and Tony were only a stroke behind with the odd double bogie costing them points if not thousands in prizemoney.

Mehmet, Oliver and Pepsi came in a stroke further back while SOS copped the last of the Championship points.

The Nearest the Pin for a ball on the 12th was not bettered after the first group went through, leaving it to Gordon to collect the little white pill.  Snags left his mark on the ProPin by using a permanent marker but a close contest between Zimmer and another in his group squeezed the big fella out and Zimmer collected the funds.  Targe also collected the loot from last week and reckons it will come in handy to pay his comp fees.  Things must be slow in the shop.  Another good swag of birdies (and no they weren’t ducks) with 15 in the bag.

Eddie and Oliver slugged it out in the matchplay with Eddie clinching it on the 15th, 4 and 3.  Eddie, according to him, messed up his second shot on the 5th and sailed it over the intervening trees to have it finish pin high.  He then sank the putt for the birdie and the hole and almost broke Oliver’s heart in the process.

Snags was feeling a bit out of it with everybody else in his group having posted birdies until the 17th when he finally snagged one.  The joy was tempered somewhat by the fact that pretty much everyone else in the group got one as well.  Also on the 17th, Noodles was on for two and had an eminently gettable putt for the birdie but didn’t quite make it and left himself a still pretty easy par.  However, not sure whether he was in any way distracted by his tweet-heart, but he forgot that it was a stroke event, chased the ball around the hole and ended up carding an eight.

Stefan was heard to be complaining about not liking short chips to the green after leaving himself just short from the tee on the 10th and 13th.  Not sure whether Chrispy’s losing his hair but he certainly had his head well wrapped up in a woolen concoction that had him looking like something between a bear hunter and a rapper

The third round matchplay should have finished this week.  Still two matches to be played.  A week’s grace has been given so get organised for this week.  If the matches aren’t played, the person who turns up wins by a forfeit.  If you don’t know who you are, check the results page.

There will be a Club Meeting on 17th August to ratify the decisions taken by the Committee.  Minutes of the Committee Meeting will be posted on the web site shortly.  Most of the Club Rules have been updated and the current Local Rules are also on the website.  The report on the Handicapping system and the changes to be introduced are there for the reading and if you have any questions or comments, please make them beforehand.

One other suggestion that was not formally discussed by the Committee was the question of whether the Club should also have a Playing Championship to be run over three rounds of Stroke Play in conjunction with the December Monthly Medal and the two rounds of the Vin O’Meara.  Please give some thought to what you think of this.

Results for Saturday, 03 August 2013
1st David Howard(65) 2nd Andrew Blight(68) 2nd Bob McDonald(68) 3rd Kazim Akdag(69) 3rd Tony Mifsud(69) 3rd Craig Sharp(69) 4th Mehmet Akdag(70) 4th Oliver Gross(70) 4th Andrew Petricola(70) 5th Stephen O’Sullivan(71)