4 BALL BETTER BALL

4BBB - a partner game where each player records their individual Stableford score, with the better of the two scores recorded as the team score for the hole.

Can be a bit of a trap, when you both get a good score on the same hole, and a poor score together on a later hole.

 To do well, you need to combine in such a way that at least one of the partners gets a good score on every hole.

Another absolutely beautiful day, with a gentle sea breeze coming in for the later holes. 

Such a perfect cloudless blue sky, Dulux now offers it as a colour in their paint range.

There had been a little chat about whether the novelties should be a little more, er....novel? We experimented with a couple of different ones today. What do people think?

The Golden Hole went off! Paul Boquest collected a sum of $* on the third hole.

(*actual figure withheld at request of Maureen’s husband)

Congratulations Paul! A great shot.

Nearest the bunker on #5 had no takers today.

Dave in a spot of bovver

The Longest Drive was on #8 for men and women, given that the girls had a 50m tee advantage. Birgit and Kerry put down the challenge. 

However Mark Wilson managed to sail past them both in spite of the advantage (and the green tees really were a long way back today).

The Longest Putt on the 10^th was competitive - Karl put down a marker, Gardy got closer, but Kerry sank a good fifteen-footer to collect the chocolates.

Watching Greg tee off on the 15th

Nearest in 2 on the 12^th had Coops on the card, followed by Peter, but Shelley managed to get just short of a birdie.

Gardy sets up for a bunker to bunker special

And the old favourite, NTP on the 18^th, had Coops again, Keith better, but Andrea inside that.  

There were birdies a-plenty this week,

Gardy on the 14^th,

Andrea on the 18^th

Paul B on the 2^nd and the 15^th

Wayne on the 18^th

and Keith on the 11^th (!) and 18^th.

Well done those ornithologists!

Gerry crunches one on the 15th

There were apparantly no anniversaires to celebrate this week.

Gardy tries to go one better

Bit of a story below - Gardy finds a ball so deep in the bush he can't imagine how anyone could ever have hit a ball there, so promptly pockets the ball. Meanwhile Barry is hunting for his ball in areas that, well, no reasonable golfer could ever expect to find themselves. Multiple apologies later, Paul gently replaces ball in original lie. 

We were manually entering our scores again this week - our thanks to Cameron in the pro-shop who willingly volunteered to do the job for all of those of us whingeing about it.  As a result of a couple of other interactions with the young lad, we’re giving him employee of the week - it’s refreshing to find someone with such a helpful attitude behind the desk.

Chipping out of the rubbish on the 14th. Surely this won't...?

Oh yes it will!

We welcomed Shelley back from her expedition to the northern hemisphere.

The winning lotto ticket this week went to Wayne - congratulations. The first prize has been $20 for the last two years, as a result of generous support from a sponsor. The first prize will now revert to the previous figure of $10.

Hmm. Second shot. And that looks suspiciously like the white tees still in front.

The 19th hole!

Today it was a team game, so no prizes to the individuals who did well, other than our congratulations. 

Well done, Wayne. 

No prize for coming first, but surely winning the raffle is some consolation?

Now, the team scores. A very tight cluster in the middle, but pretty clear at the front and back.

	TEAM		SCORE
	Gardy	Greg	36
	Keith	Dave	39
	Barry	Wayne	39
	Birgit	Gerry	40
	Karl	Coops	40
	Shelley	Kerry	40
	Paul B	Mark W	40
	Andrea	Peter	41
	Derek	Earle	43

We combined well

 

Memory Lane - How many of us remember this one from the sausage sizzle on Oct 22, 2011! On the left, Richard Yeo, after whom the fine "Doing a Yeo" was inaugurated. 

That handsome young bloke on the right, don't know who he is!

Next week, it’s Captain’s Choice! She’s bravely chosen Divorced Pairs - that’s where you multiply your Stableford score for each hole with your partner’s score. You’re not too popular if you score too many zeroes in the this game. It'll be on the Old Course - time to be advised.

 

Not my best round!

And remember. If you want to play in the Par 3 Competition on Jan 29th, let Derek know and send your $10 to the SOS Account. Still a couple of places left. 

NEW YEARS CUP

 

The New Years Cup.

Or should that be New Year’s Cup? It’s debateable.

It was, nonetheless, a beautiful day for golf.

Surprisingly warm early on, but fortunately didn’t get much warmer. The hottest part of the day was 10:30am, only a couple of degrees warmer than it had been at 7:00am, then the sea breeze came in and brought it back down to a very pleasant temperature. That’s the vagaries of this time of year, when the highest temp can be surprisingly early in the day.

But enough of meteorology.

The first game of the year - a one week stroke competition on the Tuart. We saw a few Christmas presents making their debut on the course, and Earle’s new putter getting its second outing.

Frances attempts to wrest the magic putter from Earle

No reports of brand new balls being lost off the first tee, although a couple of players did play yellow ones - no doubt to give themselves a choice of which ball to use for their second shot?

The guys were well back on the first, a couple of us struggling to even reach the white tees with what were rather lacklustre drives.

Don is awarded the trophy for his ace

Still a lot of loose dead leaves on the fairways, brought down by the heat, making it often quite hard to spot the balls when looking towards the sun.

And the frustration of the card reader being unavailable at the end meant that all those scores had to be manually entered into the computer, which can be a little tedious.

Birthdays were announced for Mark Smith and Gordon this week. Neither were present, but appreciated nonetheless.

Wayne Bradford has been accepted as a member. Do introduce yourself to him if you haven’t already done so.

Wayne joins the group

There are just a couple of membership vacancies now. Priority will be given in the first instance to anyone recommended by a current member, so if you know someone who you think would be a good addition to the club, do bring them along as a guest. In this way, they can see if it’s the sort of club they would enjoy.

The annual membership is only $165. This compares very favourably with, for instance, a club like Stirling, where the membership is $240, and this doesn’t include the annual dinner, unlike SOS.

Ready for a great game

We heard that Brett is still likely to be away from golf for a further nine months, and is currently awaiting surgery for that dodgy shoulder. We wish him, and the other members who are dealing with health challenges at the moment, all the best. Our thoughts are with you.

A paucity of birdies - Gardy on the 6^th, and Andrea on the 15^th. That’s it.

Today, the golden hole remained unclaimed.

The ladies longest drive on the 2^nd had Carol on the card, before she was beaten by Frances.

Nearest in two on the 7^th had Earle and Kerry down before Karl got closer still.

Nearest in three on the 11^th, always a tricky one, had Mark Wilson and Gerry before Boris crept inside.

And the ultimate, the NTP on the 18^th, had Earle but Carol got within a couple of feet of the hole, and commented that for her, it was indeed a “dream come true”!

The marker for the men’s longest drive remained in the bag.  

The most competitive part of the contest was undoubtedly for the lollies, with Andrea commenting “Thank God for Wayne”. At the other end of the board, we congratulated Gerry on what is, surprisingly, his first ever trophy for SOS!  

Congratulations

All the tickets were sold for the raffle, which meant a very spirited end to the day.

Mark prepares to show us his three coaster trick

Next week, probably two ball better ball on the Tuart course. A partnered competition where you record your own personal Stableford score, but also record the better score of the two partners. Thus, if you get two points on the hole and your partner gets three, you record three points for the team.  If you both get a two, then the team score is two.

Carol, Andrea and Kerry all make the bunker on the 9th. 

The Par 3 competition will take part on Wednesday January 29^th at Lake Claremont from 5:30pm. The green fee will be $10, which has been subsidised by SOS, followed by dinner on the verandah at the Tee Box cafe. Take time to have a look at the menu here.

https://www.lakeclaremontgolf.com/la-cafe

Pay your $10 to the SOS Bookings Account, the same one you use each week to play for your game, and let Derek know that you’ll be coming.

There’ll be trophies, prizes, and nearest the pin on every hole. Always a lovely way to finish the day.

 

 

 

 

BLIND STABLEFORD PAIRS

 

THE GAME

Blind Stableford pairs. That’s where you go round the course with your eyes closed, right? Not this time - your Stableford score is randomly added to that of another player, after the game has been completed. The highest scoring pair wins!

THE WEATHER

Blissfully benign. Perfect blue skies with the temperature in the upper twenties, and the merest zephyr of a breeze at some of the more elevated parts of the course. Shouldn’t be any excuses for poor performances today - we’d be anticipating some pretty good scores. Correctly? Wait and see.

THE PLAYERS

With the world firmly in that period of the year we call “The Lull”, we didn’t expect a large turnout. Many regulars had decamped to cooler climates, firmly ensconced in their spare houses, or still at home playing with the Christmas Lego. For one or two others, the tee off time was intimidatingly early.  We did, however, welcome Maureen back, and met Kerry’s sister Wendy, of whom Kerry complains she plays off a higher handicap yet usually manages to beat her. Also today as a guest was Wayne Bradford, giving us a total of what looked like sixteen on the day, after a bit of arm-twisting from the stand-in Booking Officer (aka Gerry).

IN THE CAR PARK

Plenty of spaces this morning. With Perth decamped to Margaret River, there was accommodation all round. Earle Scarff was proudly exhibiting his prize Christmas present to all present - a new putter! It did indeed look very smart in its cover, but would it supercharge his score, as apparently the marketing materials claimed that it would? We’ll see.

A truly cautionary tale!

 

THE FIRST TEE

An early start, on the Old Course again. 7:00 am this time. Remarkable only in the fact that Stephanie actually arrived before a few other players. There was a later suggestion in the fines that a penalty should be levied against all those who arrived after her. Seemed a little churlish. But nonetheless we got away promptly,

ON THE COURSE

We moved promptly - indeed it was hard to keep up at times. There was very little waiting between holes, and barely time to grab snacks and drinks on the tee. The traditional wait before the sixth hole, where we usually see the bananas and biscuits come out, didn’t eventuate today.

There was the usual selection of unplayable lies, shots snookered alongside tree trunks and confusing abandoned balls.

Gerry's second tree shot of the day

It's in there somewhere

 It doesn’t pay to follow a group that is so advantaged the players can’t be bothered to look for their balls.

The course was looking a little uncared for, with fallen leaves marring not only the greens but also the fairways, making ball spotting rather more difficult than usual. Wayne apparently picked up the nickname of “The Lumberjack”, spending much of the day amongst the trees.

The Lumberjack at work on the 10th

Wayne on the 8th - another tough spot

He's in there somewhere - the 15th this time

A few birdies - ones that were noted included Peter on the 16th, Paul B on the 6th and Coops on the 10th.    

THE NOVELTIES

The Golden Hole was on the 16^th today, and went off like a firework when Peter Baird duffed a mishit to within a metre of the flag, and proudly collected $75 for the privilege. 

Yup, that's a winner.

Perhaps we should all be practising those mishits a bit more enthuiastically - how often does a hole in one result from just such a shot?

Crikey, that's close.

Nearest the pin on the 2^nd, Stephanie outpointed by Maureen.

She's nipped me again.

Nearest the Pin in three on the 14^th, that’s the one with the nasty green that goes from left to right, Paul Boquest, beaten by Earle and topped by Mark Wilson. Boris had the perfect opportunity to get inside that, but his third putt slipped by the hole and went for a ride downhill.

The men’s longest drive was on the 17^th today, that long par 5, and no-one was able to beat the monster drive by Paul Cooper.

Dave showing how it's done

Nearest on two on the 10^th saw Paul Boquest on the card again, this time unbeaten.

Yes!!

And the ladies’ longest drive was on the 3^rd. Keeping it in the family, Maureen was the only name on the card.

THE COMMITTEE

Gerry stood in today for the President, the Captain, the Vice-Captain and the Booking Officer, before delegating some of the more onerous tasks to Stephanie and Mark. Fortunately for all of us, Peter was present to fulfil the functions of Treasurer, which he performed to his usual exemplary standard.

THE RAFFLE

Sadly, there wasn’t one today. We know that for many members, it is the raffle that is the highlight of the day. Never mind, the Lotto has jackpotted to several million, try that instead.

THE FINES

No water on the Old Course, no wildlife encountered, very few lost balls and no-one keen to fine anyone else. A meagre return this week.

THE SCORES

Individual Stableford scores of no interest to the prize committee - prizes only for the pairs whose aggregate scores were the highest. However, here’s how each of the single players ended up.

Remarkably high scores all round - must have been the high calorie count over Christmas. Earle’s putter clearly making a big difference - he’ll be auctioning it off to the highest bidder next week - expect bids well into four figures if it can do that for anyone.

An unusual day when a player with 39 points can’t even make it into the top three - plenty of trophies have been won with 39. And at the other end of the scale, Birgit disappointed to pick up the lollies with 27, usually a score that is pretty safe, albeit not great.

THE CHIPS

Unable to provide a report on the chips - by the time the fourth group got in there were none left! (Yes, that's an official grizzle)

 THE PAIRS

The “blind” pairs were selected by drawing the score cards at random, creating the following eight pairs:

Gerry    Wendy

Karl        Wayne

Steph    Kerry

Peter     Earle

Paul B      Paul C

Birgit      Dave

Derek    Mark W

Barry     Maureen

 

THE WINNERS

With the first and second Stableford scorers picked as a pair, the outcome was something of a foregone conclusion. An unbeatable score meaning that Earle (he of the new putter) and Peter took out the honours.

I'll spend it for him if necessary.

Here’s how the other pairs fared:

Gerry    Wendy 60

Karl        Wayne  61

Steph    Kerry     59

Peter     Earle      83

Paul       Paul       75

Birgit      Dave      61

Derek    Mark     71

Barry     Maureen 69

The winning losers

 Not much doubt about the winning pair, with Paul and Paul in second place, Derek and Mark in third.

Winners all!

THE REMINDER

We’re reminded to let Peter or Gerry know of our intention to renew our membership for 2025 if we haven’t already done so. Gerry indicates that there will be a cap to our membership numbers - with six groups of golfers the day is reasonably comfortable; with any more the waiting time before teeing off and afterwards becomes excessive.

If it is your intention not to renew, would you also let Gerry know - it simplifies the whole process.

THE OTHER REMINDER

The Annual Par 3 Competition takes place on Wednesday January 29^th at the Lake Claremont course. Details will follow.

THE PHOTOGRAPHERS

Credits this week to Birgit (an exceptional collection of pix), Karl (great stuff), Gerry (there when it mattered).

THOUGHTS

Some of our members are dealing with difficult times at the moments. Our thoughts are with them, and wishing them better times ahead. Looking forward to having you back with us again.

MEMORY LANE

An occasional feature where we relive our golfing past, and those we golfed with.

NEXT WEEK

It’s the New Years Cup, a stroke competition back on the Tuart. Be wary of using a brand new ball off that first tee, there’s plenty of balls lost there, and be aware that your yellow ball won’t be the only one on the fairway!