Contenders were a bit short for the January Monthly Medal 05 Jan 2019.
Thankfully, the front arrived late yesterday and the temperature promised to be 20C cooler, and it was. A few spots of rain made it to the ground but a band with some reasonable showers held off until after the finish and SOS got only slightly damp as he finished off the bookwork after the presentations. He’d have finished much sooner if Brendon hadn’t been banging on about being owed two balls from the break-up day. If there are any witnesses who can remember the break-up and the after party and can corroborate one side of the story or the other could they contact the nearest Police Station and get the message to SOS.
Anyway, there were fifteen members present to set up a hearty cheer for the clear winner on the day, our esteemed Club Captain, Targe who finally cracked the ton (on the down side) for the first time since his return and came in with a 64 nett. Still a way to go to get back to his old handicap but a good start on getting it back down today.
And, would you get a look at who came in next, with a not-quite-handicap-matching score of 69, none other than Bob and his mate SOS. Bob seemed to like the idea of being able to putt with the pin in the hole while SOS was very happy to report that he didn’t have a single shank for the whole day. The shanks, it seems have migrated, and today they settled in with Brendon, Ben and Pepsi.
Ryan had no problems with the shanks and played a fairly steady round to come into third place on 70. Craig consistently bisected the fairway with his drives but a couple of times inappropriately growing trees created a need to take the safe extra shot. Harry struggled a bit on the front nine by not being able to follow up good work with the driver. However, something of a revival of form on the back brought him home alongside Craig with a card of 71.
Despite his usual claim of having played crap golf, Noodles squeezed into fifth place with his 72.
The BallPin was on the 15th, and, when somebody finally got onto the green it was hotly contested. In the end, the ball went to Mehm who went via the Cape and bounded it down the hill to finish inside Brendon who watched in disbelief from the 16th tee. The first ProPin on the 12th managed to elude being captured and so there will be a Jackpot to next week which sounds as if it might be enough to attract Pepsi back. The ProPin on the 18th was taken out by Porks. Unfortunately, the chit went missing and so we don’t have the distance to report. Also, unfortunately, Ryan didn’t make the putt and so he did not contribute to the rather measly total of 4 that we tallied for the day.
Peter was lining up the drinks today after managing a draughtie on the 14th. Everybody was quite concerned for Keith, with large flocks of ibis on the 6th and 8th fairways. The ones on the 8th obviously knew of his reputation as they took off en masse as he lined up to take his second shot with them between him and the green. Ben’s shot into the 13th took a bit of beating. It hit the bottom part of the path so hard that it bounced over the green, landed on the embankment at the back and ran back down across the green to finish at the bottom edge.
Ben also had a clean up in his garage during the week and decided to donate all of his un-used golf balls to the Club for use in the ball-runs. SOS was one of the recipients of a ball in the run and, when he pulled a ball from the sleeve, he noticed that it was embossed with the name of a Las Vegas Casino and a Million Dollar gaming chip. Turns out, it was a ball that Mehm had brought back from Vegas as a gift for Uncle Ben. Some hard bargaining was required to claim it back from SOS’s clutches.
Daniel had some problems today, particularly from the tee. On the second his tee shot took off vertically and landed in the garden bed, barely in front of the red markers, despite the red and the white being coincident. His nearest relief was out on the first which raised some eyebrows in the following groups. On the 13th, his drive made the most massive ‘lefties’ hook and whistled across the 10th green and missed SOS’s head by millimetres to finish well down the middle of the 10th fairway.
Trevor, started out with us this morning, but, during the front nine he was not feeling all that famous and so he had to withdraw after finishing the ninth. He was able to make his own way home so let’s hope that it isn’t anything serious and we look forward to seeing him back on the cart soon.
Results for Saturday, 05 January 2019
1st Targe Mifsud(64) 2nd Bob McDonald(69) 2nd Stephen O’Sullivan(69) 3rd Ryan Porker(70) 4th Harry Boughen(71) 4th Craig Cameron(71) 5th Stephen Butterfield(72)
Seniors Results: 1st Targe Mifsud (64) 2nd Bob McDonald (69) 3rd Craig Cameron (71) 3rd Harry Boughen (71)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin No 1 12th Jackpot ProPin No 2 18th Ryan Porker BallPin 15th Mehmet Akdag
Raindrops keep falling on my head on 29 December 2018
Just in time, the high moved on and allowed a front to move across and drop the temperature down to a reasonable level from the scorching heights of the last couple of days. There was a little rain associated with the front and that prompted the unfurling of umbrellas and unrolling of rain jackets. But, they soon became an impediment and they were relegated to storage, at least until the next little shower came through. All up, eleven and a half members turned up to try their hand at gathering some cheap points in the last of the ‘holiday’ rounds. The half wasn’t a reference to Targe, it was a reference to SOS who ‘slept in’ and only made it to join in at the 10th. Fortunately, there was a three that was willing to accommodate him.
Jason claimed to have played in a ‘boring’ group with nothing newsworthy to report. However there was something newsworthy from the group in that he was able to score plus three on the back nine to come home and lead the field with a total of plus three. Daniel, on the other hand, did even better on the back with a plus five, to also finish tied for first on plus three. He was obviously playing some explosive golf as the wedge that he left behind by the green on the 10th was labelled TNT. No wonder he was so keen to get it back as he played up the 12th and the group behind, who had picked it up, approached the 11th green.
Keith was another of the un-newsworthy ones who just happened to break his handicap by the one stroke with his card of plus one. Peter, on the other hand, played a round of contrasting halves. His minus five on the front did not augur at all well for a podium finish and included a fresh air swing as well. But, undaunted, Peter put his head down and fairly blitzed the back nine, turning in another plus five tally to finish the day all square and third place.
Targe is still in recovery mode and is starting to get used to his new handicap. He even suggested that he was starting to enjoy having all the extra strokes. But, he is equally determined to break it in the not too distant future. He wasn’t too far off today with his minus one score line and a few aberrations in the short game department made all the difference. Harry’s driver abandoned him for a while today and resulted in a pair of draughties on the 2nd and 3rd. Despite this and a swag of ‘just missed’ putts, a bottom line of minus 2 was enough to grab the last point for fifth place.
The BallPin was on the 4th and nobody was able to stay on the green to collect a pill. ChrisV went close when he finished about 300mm off the green. Chris looked like needing every ball he could get after a series of errant draw shots cost him big-time with lost balls and OOB (at least four). When he put his shot on the 18th to 3.29m to take out the second ProPin, his main concern was whether it would be enough to buy new balls. He had hopes of making the birdie for the eclectic but, in the end, it was one that did not add to the total of 5 for the day. The first ProPin was a Jackpot on the 12th and Dale was able to take that one with a shot to 4.156m. The group agreed a three way split of the dividend leaving out SOS the free-loader.
While on the subject of SOS, he was playing at a disadvantage today as he had no putter. It seems he left his golf gear in an insecure location after a late night and ‘somebody’ must have stolen his putter. Better get the coppers onto the job, SOS.
Noodles seemed to be almost proud of the fact that he had missed a putt from about 1cm but when you consider the rest of his card….. Dennis might have to consider putting a distinctive mark on his ball after he hit the wrong ball on the 14th. Pretty inconsiderate of somebody else to use the same brand and number as he did though. This wasn’t reported as a draughtie but it seems that Dale teed off on the 2nd, hit a tree and finished close to being on the 6th green.
The new calendar year kicks off next week with the January Monthly Medal. Could be a better than average chance if members are still away or getting over New Year. Joe might be getting over a birthday bash as he has one coming up in the next week.
The Annual General Meeting is coming up in March. All positions will be spilled, so, here is your chance to put your hand up for the role of your choice and you can have a go at running the Club better than the current lot are doing.
Results for Saturday, 29 December 2018
1st Jason Hopkins(+3) 1st Daniel O’Rourke(+3) 2nd Keith Delzoppo(+1) 3rd Peter Damou(□) 4th Targe Mifsud(-1) 5th Harry Boughen(-2)
Seniors Results: 1st Keith Delzoppo (+1) 2nd Targe Mifsud (-1) 3rd Harry Boughen (-2)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin No 1 12th Dale Webb ProPin No 2 18th Chris Vinecombe BallPin 4th Jackpot
22nd December 2018 – Stableford Competition
Would there be 6 players in attendance so that the day’s play qualified for an official round? Questions were asked pre round, although there ended up being 4 groups and 13 players in total to play in some beautiful conditions as the course was freshly cut and looking magnificent.
Craig was relishing in the conditions and was putting together a scintillating round, which could have been a lot better if he had dialed in the range on his putter. He left quite a few short and a few others long, but steadied home to end up on 39 points for 1st place.
Ryan was hot on Craig heals, and had the slightly better start, but faded on the back 9 to put in a solid round and end up in 2nd place on 38 points. Both Craig and Ryan played some beautiful shots on the 19th with the hole on the back tier, with Craig getting close enough for the pro pin @ 3.74m away. Ryan sunk the birdie put, although Craig’s attempt hit Targe’s marker on the way to the hole and jumped enough to leave it short. Craig did end up with 3 birdies for the day out of a total of 7 for the club so he can’t complain too much!
Peter and Daniel have been in the points pretty consistently of late, and today was no exception, with Daniel playing to his handicap for 3rd place and Peter to be one point behind in 4th place. Daniel also managed to strike a nice shot on the 15th to earn himself a shiny new Callaway for his efforts.
Only 5 players were in the points in the end, Noodles scraped home in 5th on 34 points. Pretty decent odds to get a point with a smaller number of players, however it goes to show that you still need to play around your handicap to score points when the course is in good condition.
There were 5 players who scored points in the seniors, Craig 1st, Dennis and Keth tied for second, and Rod and Targe tied for 3rd. Well done guys.
The second pro-pin was on the 12th and with the pin at the front, no one was within the required 5m to claim the prize, so another jackpot for next week.
There were rumors that a few (3) guys had cracked the ton today. Not going to name names, but none other than Harry had to leave early for a Christmas party. Or was it another reason perhaps, he may have been seen throwing multiple clubs in frustration throughout the round. One such occasion was on the 12th where his tee shot shanked off into the water. Not to be outdone, Matt soon followed with the same effect, same result on the same hole.
Targe had an up and down day, but whilst looking for his ball on the 3rd in the OOB area, he came across a ball with the writing “Richmond AFL Premiers 2015”! Unless this was from some alternate reality, someone must have been preempting last years efforts, JQ perhaps?
There will be an event next week so come down if you are around. Hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable festive season. P.S, only one more week until the new rules of golf take effect so brush up on the new regs!
Results for Saturday, 22 December 2018
1st Craig Cameron(39) 2nd Ryan Porker(38) 3rd Daniel O’Rourke(36) 4th Peter Damou(35) 5th Stephen Butterfield(34)
Seniors Results: 1st Craig Cameron (39) 2nd Dennis Ward (32) 2nd Keith Delzoppo (32) 3rd Rod Grant (27) 3rd Targe Mifsud (27)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin No 1 12th Jackpot ProPin No 2 18th Craig Cameron BallPin 15th Daniel O
Champs and Chumps come out to play on 15 December 2018
It’s amazing what the prospect of a good feed and a few drinks will do. The weather had been dumping on us for the past few days but the forecast was reasonably benign and, other than a few puddles on some of the fairways and a couple of the greens early on, the course was in great condition. As a result, we had 28 players line up and, what is more, we had the first group out early as requested to fit our record number of groups into the course schedule. And there were a couple of members called in ‘sick’ or who had home emergencies that did not make it.
The multiple events being contested caused more than a little confusion when it came to determining the placings but we got there in the end. The main game was, of course, the Champion of Champions and most of that field had to ‘champ at the bit’ as the rest of the mob led the field out onto the course. Peter put the time to good use and spent some time practicing at the chipping and the putting green and that time paid off big time as he romped it home to take out the trophy with a nett score of 63. Goodbye cushy handicap! Well done Peter. For what it is worth, and for the record, it was eventually determined that the runner-up in this part of the field was Stef.
Next it was the turn to decide the leading contender in the rest of the field, known affectionately as the Chump of Chumps. Proving that the was definitely no chump but needing to win on a countback with a blistering 24 points on the back nine was Peter’s partner in crime Daniel. And there was no shame for the beaten pair of reprobates with Brent and Noodles going away and hoping to win again another day.
Needless to say, that little lot also filled the first three placings in the Club Event for the day and so it would really be superfluous to mention them all again. And, besides, there were so many who came in with 36 points that the blog would get far too long. Jason, Matt, Bob, Dave and Pepsi all gathered a couple of points and did their handicap no harm in the process. Harry managed something of a turn-around on the back nine to pick up the last point on offer.
The ProPin that was a Jackpot on the 4th from last week almost managed to resist giving itself away until the very last group when Pepsi managed to get his to 3.9m. Michael indicated that he missed out on being in range by 10cm and hopefully he took into account the 10cm missing from the start of the tape. Didn’t really matter though as Pepsi had his measure easily. The BallPin was on the 12th. The Beast went close to acing it again when the ball just missed the flag to land half a metre past and then spun back just missing on the return trip. He popped in the birdie and made at least one of the 22 birdies reported today. However, despite all that the ball went to ChrisV who also tallied in the birdie count. It was the 18th turn to Jackpot today although the Beast did go close but no cigar.
As well as a near record tally of birdies, there was also an Eagle and the nest was cleared once again by Noodles on the 17th. The versions vary but some said it was a classy shot while others said it was the other thing that rhymes. Anyway, he chipped in from some way out and, reportedly, if the ball hadn’t hit the pin dead centre and dropped dead, it could have been a far higher score on the hole. Matt, on the other hand, put his ball onto the green, not quite in ‘gimme’ distance and then left his ball hanging half over the edge of the hole and it didn’t drop. Chrispy reckons he should be credited with a Hole in One although the story as noted does seem to have a hole or two in it. It was on one of the par 3’s and Chrispy put his close. Gordon’s shot then hit his ball and knocked it into the hole. Sorry Chris, rub of the green for Gordon, ball back out of the hole for you.
RodG has just come back from his eye surgery and although there are a few rusty spots he managed a nice chip and a putt to par the 15th and then chipped in for his par on the 16th from some distance out. Watch out when he can play without the black sunglasses.
After the round, we repaired to the function room and viewed a presentation prepared by One Golf (ex Golf Australia) relating to the new rules coming in in January. Here is a link to the presentation that you can view on-line in your own time. Click here
One of the original ‘Chip and Run’ members, Neil Argall, was present and gave a brief history of the Club’s formation and development before doing the honours and presenting the trophies to the many winners through the year. If you really want to see the complete list, you can go to the Statistics menu and select Hall of Fame and then 2018 (or any year for that matter). After the presentations, the vultures circled and made very short work of the very fine lunch that the girls in the kitchen had so lovingly prepared. All washed down with copious quantities of Peroni and other beverages of that ilk. As to what transpires at the Roo Bar, what happens at the Roo Bar stays at the Roo Bar.
Have a very merry Christmas everybody.
There will be comps if more than six turn up over the next two weeks and
then it is back to serious business for the January Monthly Medal on
the 5th, by which time everybody should be recovered from the excesses
of Christmas and New Year
Results for Saturday, 15 December 2018
1st Peter Damou(42) 2nd Stefan Belevski(39) 3rd Stephen Butterfield(38) 3rd Daniel O’Rourke(38) 3rd Brent Rowley(38) 4th Jason Hopkins(36) 4th Matt Hunt(36) 4th Bob McDonald(36) 4th David Mullenger(36) 4th Andrew Petricola(36) 4th Chris Priems(36) 5th Harry Boughen(35)
Seniors Results: 1st Bob McDonald (36) 2nd Harry Boughen (35) 3rd Dennis Ward (34) 3rd Gordon Hill (34) 3rd Trevor Jackson (34)
Nearest the Pin Results: ProPin No 1 4th Andrew Petricola ProPin No 2 18th Jackpot BallPin 12th Chris Vinecombe
Eagle’s nest Results: Eagle 17th Stephen Butterfield