I was first pasta post for the Vin O’Meara an 14 December 2019
It was another nice day for a walk in the park. The weather gods started off playing tricks by sending a bit of a drizzle from some rather grey looking clouds and the wind upped the chill factor a little. A few members wondered at the wisdom of not having worn something a little warmer but, in the end, you would have been hard pressed to blame the weather for any discomfort that the day might have occasioned. The one downside of the day was the fact that some low-life took it upon himself to execute doughnuts with his motorbike on the greens again. Fortunately, the damage was not deep but the burn marks will take a little time to repair and the sand that the staff have added helped to make the putting just a little less predictable. That did not stop the twenty five players racking up a total of 18 birdies for the day and there is getting to be a fair sprinkling of orange on the Eclectic report already. The eagle is starting to get a bit twitchy as the number of eggs in her nest is getting up there and, although there have been a fair number of Kookaburras around, none has been game to swoop in and make the raid.
The connections had chewed their nails off up to the elbows during the week, wondering how their colt would go and could he keep up the pace for the second half of the race. History would suggest that there have been a lot of stumbles over the years as the distance begins to tell. They needn’t have worried, although there was a slight fall off in the pace compared to the first half. And, most of that hesitation was in the first half of today’s campaign as Noodles gave the horse its head and fairly sprinted to the line down the straight to take out the Vin O’Meara Trophy for 2019. In the process, he also cleaned up big with the first pot from the Calcutta. He put his money where his mouth is and backed himself in the All-in so there will be no shortage of cash for the bookies tonight.
One of the big improvers in the field was another young colt and our reigning Club Champion, Porks. In the process of clawing his way into second place, he also joined the ranks of the Chasers with a very impressive net of 65, the best score of the day. But, we dare not mention what his net score for the inside competition was. Seventy four off the stick is a fine performance in anybody’s books.
Dale was probably a bit unfortunate to have scored the only reported draughtie for the day. His place of infamy was on the 3rd and, yes, there was a fair separation between the white markers and the reds. The only problem was that Dale’s ball did not reach the blues and you might say that the score on the hole blew out from there. But for that, and another aberration on the 15th, he could easily have challenged for second place if not the top spot.
The fourth step on the podium ended up being quite crowded after David’s score was adjusted for his correct handicap. He, therefore, joined Targe, Bob and Matt with a grand total of 140 for the event. As usual, Bob had a complaint about his putts reaching the edge of the hole and not falling in. Matt didn’t say much as he had to rush off to help keep law and order around the district while Targe just sat around smugly, having successfully protected his handicap once again. Bill will have to be satisfied with his points, despite his vociferous claims about being mislead as to which ball was actually his. He reckons Porks pointed him to the wrong ball, just to protect his position in the field.
The first BallPin was on the 12th and the ever reliable Jason was the one to collect the prize today. JQ popped a cracker on the 18th and left the ball not more than a metre from the hole to pretty much shut out the rest of the field as he was in the first group. As usual, the first group was responsible for putting out the markers. After discussing the benefits of sharing the spoils, Harry, Blighty and Enzo noticed that there was no marker out on the 15th. As Harry made a bee-line for the 16th tee, Ken very sheepishly appeared with the required piece of equipment. Michael was reluctant to be seen putting his name on the chit after last week’s debacle and his tee shot was somewhat left. However, it took the bounce off the hill and finished on the green looking ominously close. Much to Michael’s relief, the measurement came out at 5.2m and, although that was the closest shot for the day there was no cigar and there will be a double Jackpot to next week. Big bickies on offer now guys!
The tree gods were kind to a number of people today. Enzo, on the 8th, sprayed one out into the trees but a couple of propitious bounces deposited the ball back into play. SOS, blocked his drive behind a tree on the same hole. The only shot, a sideways chip onto the fairway. The long shot to the green went wide and over the fence to hit a tree and bounced back to finish on the green. Brendon’s tee shot from the 17th was deemed to be heading for Kew and it wasn’t the near one. Brendon was actually heading for his bag to re-load when there was a resounding crack and the ball suddenly landed back on the fairway. He then calmly chipped onto the green and sank the putt for a birdie.
Keith was feeling pretty pleased with himself when he was not too far from the green on the 13th for two shots. He was not nearly so pleased when he walked off with a seven. Blighty was taking great care not to stand on the ‘line’ from a ball on the 18th green. The only problem was that the ‘ball’ was the NTP marker for JQ. Ken laid claim to having improved his Eclectic by seven strokes on one hole. Only problem is the system only ever allows nine strokes on a hole, so unless he had a two… Chrispy was looking for some sympathy today as he stripped off his shoes and socks to show off his ‘sore’ ankle. As for another handicap review – tell ‘im he’s dreamin’ – to coin a phrase.
The Birthday Birdie almost forgot to wish Stef “Happy Birthday” for the coming week.
Results for Saturday, 14 December 2019
1st Stephen Butterfield(65, 68, 133) 2nd Ryan Porker(70, 65, 135) 3rd Dale Webb(67, 71, 138) 4th David Mullenger(70, 70, 140) 4th Targe Mifsud(69, 71, 140) 4th Bob McDonald(68, 72, 140) 4th Matt Hunt(69, 71, 140) 5th Bill Eastoe(70, 71, 141)
Seniors Results: 1st Bob McDonald (68,72,140) 1st Targe Mifsud (71,69,140) 2nd Bill Eastoe (70,71,141) 3rd Gordon Hill (68,74,142)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin15th Jackpot BallPin No 1 12th Jason Hopkins BallPin No 2 18th John Quinlan
Cannie go long or willie go soft for the Vin O’Meara
There was movement at the station, for the word had passed around, that the colt had no regret and meant to play. And had joined the wild bush horses — he was worth a thousand pound, so all the cracks had gathered for the fray. Twenty seven of them, in fact, milled around the starting gate, pawing at the turf and champing at the bit in anticipation of the contest ahead. The jockeys were perched high in their saddles and looked resplendent in their silks and with their encouragers at the ready. Dare not call them spurs and whips. And, as the BOM had promised, it was another beautiful late spring day. Well, summer, if you work by the calendar month for the start of the seasons. But who’s counting? It was that Goldilocks sort of day, not too cold, not too hot, but juussst right. The course maintains its good condition and some of the fairway margins look as if they have been cut a bit shorter so there were very few excuses for not beating the pants off the course.
And, which colt had the fewest regrets at the end of the day. Why, it was none other than Noodles who had very few excuses to throw anything in the air except his hat when he was able to sign off on a gross score of 75 to leave himself with a net of 65 to come into the turn with his nose just in front of the rest of the field. The connections are quietly confident and the bookies are biting their nails as the crowd in the stands hold their breath to see whether he has the staying power to hold off the challenges that are sure to come.
Just a single stroke behind the leader is a bit of a dark horse although he has to do a bit of sweet neighing to the filly back at the home stable to get a leave pass to complete the race. But, if he can describe some of the brilliant shots that he made in today’s running, the required permissions are sure to be granted. A bit of a stray drive from the 8th tee finished not too far from the 6th green with no sight of the green and some very tall timber and penalty area on the direct line. An eight iron cleared all of the potential impediments and the ball landed on the green and finished only a few metres short of the pin. A similar stray drive from the 18th finished beyond the 9th green. The pitch shot landed softly, ran across the top deck and down the slope to finish about 100mm from the hole. Maaagnificent!
Dale has been a bit on the quiet side of late but he seems to have put the fear of God into his playing companions as nobody was prepared to spill any beans on him. Maybe he is just trying to hide his light under a bushel but he did manage to just crack his handicap today and he is still within striking distance for the run home. Gordon managed to waste a few today with a couple of well placed strikes on trees around the course. One on the 16th could easily have done him an injury if it had come straight back rather than slightly off line. Bob also managed to keep himself in contention with his handicap equalling round.
Stef managed to beat Noodles by a stroke off the stick but the handicap difference leaves just a little bit of work to make up the short-fall. Matt might have had a little less work to do to make up ground but for some stray shots on the 3rd. And Targe was just Targe. Just doing enough to protect his exorbitant handicap. He did start off pretty well, as did another old stager in Allan. As a result, Brendon and Noodles were doing their sums as the proud owners of the pair of steeds. All is not lost and Targe, at least, has the potential to line their pockets with gold yet. There were a swag of horses just out of the top five and while there is life there is hope. As they say, the opera is not over until the fat lady sings, so watch this space.
The first BallPin today was located on the 12th and, wouldn’t you know it, Michael was in the first group and left his marker just a metre or so from the hole, effectively shutting out the rest of the field. The second BallPin was on the 18th and. although a number of people actually got onto the green, it was a two way contest that was won by Rob, by a pretty narrow margin apparently, from Brent. Now the ProPin was scheduled to be put out on the 15th but Michael got so flustered (or forgetful) that the marker did not get left out. As a result it was decided that the ProPin would Jackpot to next week. This despite the fact that Gordon managed to finish barely a metre from the hole, pin high. Gordon reckons he can repeat the shot next week. Stay tuned.
On the 4th, ChrisV asked Gordon to move his ball marker. When asked if the move was enough Chris opined that if he hit the marker he would miss. He actually hit the marker and the ball went in, probably from the small deflection that resulted. On the 7th, he rapped a ‘putt’ from off the green and shouted at it ‘Go in’ which it promptly did saving it from finishing, possibly, off the green and scoring a birdie that was one of a tally of 15 from the field.
Porks was asked how many Weetbix he had for breakfast after his drive on the 14th finished in the middle of the 16th fairway not too far short of the tee box and probably thirty or forty metres beyond the green. SOS had something of an adventure on the 11th. He managed to hit Brent’s ball by mistake and went forward to retrieve it. Then, when he got back, he was unable to find his own ball and so had to trudge all the way back to the tee and back again, effectively covering the length of the fairway three times. Politeness prevents mentioning the score but it you want to know have a look on the Eclectic table.
Dennis, it is sad to report, did not play in accordance with the dream that he reported a day or so ago. Chrispy has apparently started using a mini-golf putter that he stole from somewhere some years ago. Brendon was so focussed on the shot that he was going to make from the 14th tee that he didn’t notice which panel he was walking through and tripped over the chain between the posts. He was further distracted on the 16th when, just as he was about to start his downswing, a large kangaroo burst from the bushes, hotly pursued by a german shepherd. Harry reckons his game is in such a slump that his knuckles are dragging on the ground.
Results for Saturday, 07 December 2019
Leaderboard Round 1: 1st Stephen Butterfield(65) 2nd Chris Vinecombe(66) 3rd Dale Webb(67) 4th Gordon Hill(68) 4th Bob McDonald(68) 5th Stefan Belevski(69) 5th Matt Hunt(69) 5th Targe Mifsud(69)
Seniors Leaderboard: 1st Bob McDonald (68) 1st Gordon Hill (68) 2nd Targe Mifsud (69) 3rd Allan Davies (70) 3rd Bill Eastoe (70) 3rd Rod Grant (70)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin15th Jackpot BallPin No 1 12th Michael Gourlay BallPin No 2 18th Robert Priems
The list of contenders was short for the December Monthly Medal on 30 November 2019.
No matter which way you dice it, the weather gods have been kind in recent times. A goodly bunch of showers passed over during the night and deposited a bit of moisture around and about to keep the course in its fine condition. Sort of like Goldilocks, not too wet and not too dry but juuusstt right. A few of the clouds tried their best to look threatening and Blighty got a bit jumpy when a couple of drops appeared from somewhere, if not the sky. All in all, it was little wonder that 21 members turned out to fight it out for the last medal on offer for the year and, for a few of them, to fight it out for the prize horses on offer in the Calcutta Auction after the round.
As well as the medal, there were a few other things going on today. There were some places to be decided in the Club Championship and in the Senior Championship and the competition for second and third places in each was expected to be fierce. As it turned out, Targe made it easily into second place by taking out the day by a good margin with his nett score of 67. Technically, he won it on a countback from Dave but, unfortunately, Dave did not qualify for the medal and he had to settle for a few more points and an even bigger tally on his Vardon Trophy win. The result might, or might not been different if Targe hadn’t had a draughtie on the third and if Dave hadn’t been three putting on a regular basis
Jason saved his handicap nicely for the Vin O’Meara by coming in second with a handicap equaling nett of 68. This score was helped along by a couple of birdies on a day that delivered an impressive tally, for recent times, of 17. Craig and Bob shared the honours for third place with their cards of 69 and Craig would probably like to claim that he intended to hit a branch to slow and deflect his ball for a chip-in on the 3rd.
Brendon managed to squeeze himself into third place in the Championship by gathering the two points for fourth place on the day. And that was despite consigning two balls into the penalty area on the 17th. Matt rounded out the very last point for the season with his nett of 71.
Dennis and Harry were slugging it out for the minor placings in the Senior Championship and, although the golf wasn’t great, there looked like being some sort of a contest until a quintuple at the 13th was enough for Harry to realise that nothing short of a miracle could change the placings and he would have to settle for second runner-up.
Gordon was probably wishing the the Nearest the Pin competitions had been set on the 4th and the 7th. His tee shot on the 4th finished centimetres from the hole and there was an unverified claim that he went close to hole in one on the 7th. The fact that his card showed a four for that hole suggests that if it did go close it was travelling too fast to fall or that the flat stick failed miserably. As it was, there was a BallPin on the 12th that was fiercely contested but eventually went to Porks in the last group. The second BallPin on the 18th went to a shot by Dave that barely made it onto the green. The ProPin was on the 15th (again) and Harry was able to make good use of the contours to finish 3.845m from the hole.
Peter produced a mixed bag today with some shots departing almost at right angles to the intended direction and going close to taking out Bob and Allan in the process. On the other hand, he went close to driving the green on the 11th and went within millimetres of putting his second in for an eagle. He cracked two birdies for the day, but he already had them for the Eclectic. Blighty, on the other hand, managed to get a par on the 6th to improve his and missed out by a whisker on catching up with Peter who took out the Eclectic for the year.
In other news, Blighty managed to have a ‘ground’ shot on the 11th. And when he shaped up for the next shot, he appeared to go close to repeating the trick. JQ pulled some spectacular ‘rescue’ shots out of the bag but still managed to finish a little way down the order. SOS was feeling a little the worse for wear after the previous night’s activities.
The Calcutta Auction was ably conducted by that well known auctioneer, Gordon, although he did drop his knob a number of times and actually missed the table once when a very late bid came in. This almost resulted in a protest but the matter was settled amicably. The purchasers will be in contact with the jockeys in relation to settling any sharing arrangements. Any auctioned jockey who changes their intention to race should advise their purchaser at the earliest opportunity. Settlement must be in cash to the purchaser and from him to Gordon before the start of play next week. The $25 ‘buy yourself’ option must also be settled with Gordon before start of play.
Results for Saturday, 30 November 2019
1st Targe Mifsud(67) (c/b t9) 1st David Mullenger(67) 2nd Jason Hopkins(68) 3rd Craig Cameron(69) 3rd Bob McDonald(69) 4th Brendon Mitchell(70) 5th Matt Hunt(71)
Seniors Results: 1st Targe Mifsud (67) 2nd Bob McDonald (69) 2nd Craig Cameron (69) 3rd Dennis Ward (72)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin15th Harry Boughen BallPin No 1 12th Ryan Porker BallPin No 2 18th David Mullenger
Man can this mango on 23 November 2019
Another glorious spring day in Melbourne. The day started off just about cool enough to need an extra layer and promised to warm up just enough to be pleasant. And, it delivered. So, with the course in very good condition, there was no cause to excuse poor golf. As a result there are a few of the 21 members who will have to scratch around to explain the scores that they were able to turn in. They could use the excuse of being put off by the lady in the yellow jump suit who seemed more intent on filming the birdlife around the course than on her own personal safety. As somebody said, ‘seen one duck, seen them all’, so spending most of the morning in their pursuit did seem a little extreme. Shades of the Pokemon Go craze with people wandering around the course with their eyes on their phones!
For those wondering about last week’s photo, yes, it was not our Ken. But, it was a Watson. Or at least an actor who has played Watson. Who was the side-kick of Sherlock. The situation has been rectified this week because, to prove that last week was not a fluke and to get his actual picture in the blog, Ken went out and took the course apart to return a very impressive +8 points. He was helped along more than a little by three double pointers and, according to reports, a couple of them went very close to being triple pointers. The one on the 16th actually rimmed the hole, ran around the edge and finished a matter of millimetres away. The damage to the handicap was just a little bit more severe this week.
Noodles was hitting them long and soft this week and the relaxed approach paid off and he could have forgiven for thinking that he had a chance of taking out the top spot and closing the gap on Porks just enough to have a chance of catching the new Club Champion on the last round of the season. Unfortunately, it was not to be, as the two pointers proved to be elusive and only one fell into his net. He did manage a tally of three birdies which represented a quarter of the little feathery blighters that were caught today. Pepsi gathered another quarter which sort of puts the lie to the report that his putting was off today.
The Beast was putting together his usual very steady round and he probably fancied his chances of finishing near to the front of the field. So, a nicely struck seven iron from the 17th tee gave a reasonable look at the green but it was followed by the most horrible shank imaginable. The next shot across the penalty area disappeared into the long stuff along the fence, never to be seen again. Rod managed a Kanobi on the 14th from a shot taken from the 16th but he was pretty pleased with his double pointer on the 8th after a duffed chip was followed up with a chip in for the par. Brendon almost, but not quite, managed to bogie every hole that he didn’t get a stroke on. As a result they all came in with +2 and a share of third place.
Daniel played off twenty three, which just happens to be the same handicap as his good mate Peter. And, guess what, they both took an extra stroke on the 8th (rating 6). Wonder which of the two can’t subtract! Craig started out pretty steadily with a solid run of plus and square. The back nine did not treat him so well although it did include one double. SOS was rather up and down and could well have done with some up and downs. These happy chappies shared the honours for fourth place.
Harry was feeling a bit disconsolate after three minus scores in the first six holes but three consecutive pars to finish out the nine perked him up no end. Jason probably perked up a bit after he put it close enough on the 18th to take out the BallPin there and then sank the putt for the birdie and a double pointer. Of course, he also took out the BallPin on the 4th much to the dismay of Harry and Matt. Chrispy was on a hard lie at the back of the 12th and there was some discussion about the possibility of relief but that was ultimately decided against. The ‘duffed’ chip finished short of the green but the trusty Brosnan putter did the trick and the par was sealed. The ‘Magpie’ putter might be in for relegation if this keeps up. Whitey also managed a double pointer on the 18th to join in for the last point in fifth place.
On the 13th, Rod managed to put his drive just into the right side penalty area. Bill was helpfully wondering whether the plant that the ball came to rest amidst was some sort of endangered species that needed protection. Bill didn’t really have to wonder about his tee shot on the 15th, however, as it finished pin high and 3.065m from the hole to take out the ProPin uncontested.
Targe apparently covered a fair bit of territory on his round today. He was noticed buying some drinks courtesy of a draughtie on the 6th where the ball finished in the penalty area beside the tee box and well short of the red markers. Chrispy also scored a Kanobi on the 14th when the allowance for the power fade brought the ball into contact with an overhanging tree branch and sent it in the general direction of the car-park. Chris reckons he is going to come in during the week and remove the offending branch. Matt managed to get a two pointer today with a chip-in on the 4th after leaving his tee shot well short. On the 16th, he had to pursue his ball well down the practice fairway, not because he had hit it there, but because it had been picked up by one of the juniors in a class with the Pro.
During the gab-fest after the round, Chrispy did a lay-back stretch in his chair that caused his shirt to ride up and reveal the he was wearing his Saturday undies. Apparently, he has a set of one for every day of the week although there is no guarantee that he will be wearing the Tuesday undies on Tuesday. It was unkindly suggested that they could easily read ‘yadrutaS’.
The next four weeks have a lot going on. Next week is the December Monthly Medal, the last points scoring round for this season. A lot of interest in the battle for second and third place so the sparks could fly in the last group. This round is also the first round of three for the Club Strokeplay Championship. The Calcutta Auction for the Vin O’Meara will be conducted after the round. Plenty of talent to be snapped up and there could be some bargains to be had.
The following two weeks will see the contest of the Vin O’Meara to start off the new competition year and to round out the Strokeplay Championship. And then, the week after sees the contest for the Champion of Champions and the Chump of Chumps which will be followed by the Presentations and Christmas Feast to be held this year at President John’s residence. If you haven’t marked your calendar, just do it!
Results for Saturday, 23 November 2019
1st Ken Watson(+8) 2nd Stephen Butterfield(+6) 3rd Bill Eastoe(+2) 3rd Rod Grant(+2) 3rd Brendon Mitchell(+2) 4th Craig Cameron(+1) 4th Daniel O’Rourke(+1) 4th Stephen O’Sullivan(+1) 5th Harry Boughen(□) 5th Jason Hopkins(□) 5th Chris Priems(□) 5th Rodney White(□)
Seniors Results: 1st Bill Eastoe (+2) 1st Rod Grant (+2) 2nd Craig Cameron (+1) 3rd Harry Boughen (□)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin15th Bill Eastoe BallPin No 1 7th Jason Hopkins BallPin No 2 18th Jason Hopkins