Sunday, March 22, 2026

Stableford on Old Course + AGM

A perfect late summer day greeted 22 players to the Old Course for a stableford competition.

Then, on to Perry Lakes for the SOS Annual General Meeting and competition results!

The forecast temperature did not eventuate and a cooling breeze resulted in a very pleasant experience under blue skies, particularly if you used a cart!






Always leave a 'tap-in' until you have a good stance!


Colin's ball went left off the 4th tee and dropped into the centre of a
 massive fallen branch reqiring both Peter and Colin to move the tree



Annual General Meeting

The SOS 2026 annual general meeting was chaired most adeptly by Derek Longhurst who kept the business moving along at a good pace whilst allowing members to debate the various motions before calling for a vote.

President, Gerry Tessier's report was well received, the focus being on membership, finances and the work of the committee.

Chairman Derek in action! 

All motions contained in the notice of meeting were carried, including motion 5 with a minor amendment. 

Discussion on the motions


Gerry puts the case for Shelley's Honour Status

New Honour Member
The President put a proposal to the meeting that Shelley Yeo be made an Honor Member of the SOS Golf Group.  Members present unanimousley approved the appointment acknowledging Shelley's long term membership and significant contributions to the administration of the club.



New Committee Appointed
The President advised the meeting that nominations for the 2026/2027 committee had been received for each committee position. The new committee for 2026/2027 comprises:

President                            Gerry Tessier
Captain                               Roland Petrie
Vice-Captain                       Paul Gardner
Treasurer                            Peter Baird
Booking Officer                  Shelley Yeo
Communications Officer    Derek Longhurst
Social Organiser                Frances Longhurst


Roland thanks Chair for appointment as Captain
while Shelley records the minutes of the meeting!

Competition Results

Newly apppointed Captain, Roland Petrie, advised that he had won the competition with a score of 40 points!  But only on a count-back from Dave Millar, also on 40 points.

Earle Scarff is to be congratulated for coming 3rd, only 1 point back on 39.

Then a bit of a gap to 35 points, then all the way down to 23.  Over half the players scored in the 20's with Gerry winning the bag of lollies !



The Podium

Earle 3rd with Roland 1st
Dave Millar absent

Eagles & Birdies

There were no Eagles and only two Birdies.
Congratulations to:

Derek - hole 6
Roland - hole 10

Definition of a Captain*
"The referee, therapist and part time
 comedian for 45 golfers with fragile handicaps".

Novelties

Hole 1    Mens longest drive -   Derek beaten by Boris
Hole 9    NTP in 2   -   Don bettered by Paul G
Hole 11  Womens longest drive  -  Lynley
Hole 14  Closest to bunker  -  Shelley, Lynne, Coops but Wayne B was closest
Hole 7    Closest to 150 marker - see picture of card below (was it Roland?)


Captain's Words of Wisdom*

"If you can't fix your slice, at least learn to enjoy the scenery on the next fairway".

"If your ball goes missing, don't panic. It's probably hiding from you!"


Next Week 

Opening Day -  Perry Lakes Cup

A stableford competition on the Tuart Course commencing at 9.00am.

There will be two Golden Holes in play - the #1 pot will be worth $150 (hole 3) and the #2 will be approximatelty $50 (hole 18).


*  courtesy of Roland

Saturday, March 14, 2026

Irish Stableford

 Irish Stableford.

A consequence of being (nearly) St Patrick’s Day.

Who is generally credited with driving the snakes out of Ireland.

Unlike many such legendary figures, it seems he did actually exist.

He wasn’t however, Irish.

Living in Roman Britain, he had been captured by pirates as a fourteen year-old, and taken to Ireland as a slave.

Here he somehow became the patron saint of drinking Guiness and other nonsense, traditionally celebrated on March 17th each year.

Not to be outdone, we celebrated by playing Irish Stableford, which is supposed to be played in groups of four.

Unable to establish such groupings, our SOS brains trust (Gerry, Shelley and Andrea) devised a complex algorithm that permitted groups of three to compete fairly with groups of four.

In best SOS tradition, each group devised a suitably silly name for themselves.

Thus Wayne, Keith and Dave Millar became the Shamrocks

Roland, Earle and Andrea the Tree Fellas

Lynne, Lynley and Frances the Molly Malones

Paul, Gerry, Greg and Colin the Green Machine, and

Steph, Derek, Shelley and Kerry the Shenanigans.


While it was a team event, individual Stableford scores were recorded.

However, no individual prizes, nor lollies for the 'unluckiest golfer'. 


And there were, of course, the usual novelties.

#3, the ladies’ longest drive was captured by Andrea.

#7, closest to the 100m had Dave on the card, but Roland got closer.

#9, nearest in 2, had Wayne and Keith competitive, but Dave did better.

#14, closest to the bunker, was picked up by Gerry, and

#17, the men’s longest drive, went to Earle.

Shelley completes the picture with socks featuring Irish Elk

BIrdies were thin on the ground

Andrea and Dave, both on #2.

Probably why coaching isn't permitted during the round

There was a special prize for the most Irish turnout, which was won by Lynne and Lynley.

With a ‘Highly Commended’ for Roland, who had even gone to the extent of having his underwear all in the green.

Roland proves his point

Keith kept pretty quiet about his birthday - belated Happy Birthday wishes for today, Keith.

We toasted Andrea, on her last day as SOS Captain. She’s done a great job for several years, and is now planning, in future, to just enjoy her golf. We look forward to playing alongside her for many years to come.

Andrea on the way to a wipe on the 5th

And Peter spent the day at the hospital having his other eye fixed, which means that in future he’ll be a very popular golf partner, as you’ll never have to worry about seeing where your ball went. His new nickname is now ‘The Eagle’!



So, who won?

Both with a 73, certainly not the Shenanigans nor the Shamrocks

One better, with a 74, the Tree Fellas failed to make the podium.

A 77 wasn't enough for the Green Machine, so, with a magnificent 81, 

A triumph for the Molly Malones, Lynne, Lynley and Frances


Next week, it’s Stableford, followed by the AGM at Perry Lakes. Go straight there after the game, where there’ll be food and drinks.

Entertainment will be provided by Gerry (President’s Report) and Peter (Treasurer’s Report), with compere duties by Derek, and stand-up contributions from members. As usual, the kookaburras will be providing audience feedback.

Don’t miss it.











Saturday, March 7, 2026

WHITE LINE FEVER

 

White Line Fever.

Stableford, but played off the white tees.

Well, we can’t say we weren’t warned.

The forecast had suggested it was going to be a trifle warm.

The new SOS Summer uniform

Yesterday, the temperature reached 40.1°C - although the BOM indicated rather reassuringly that this only felt like 38.1°C, so that’s a relief.

Only ten members braved the heat, and of those, all but two were carting.

The intrepid walkers? Andrea and Roland.

Andrea celebrated her birthday. Congratulations, Captain.



The white tees helped get a bit closer for those birdies:

Popey on the 18th

Dave on the 6th

Roland on the 6th and 18th

Keith on the 17th

Brett on the 15th, 16th and 18th, and

Shelley on the 12th.

That's as close as you can get to a hole in one!
We share your pain.


So, the results:

Well done, Popey and Dave. A reasonable spread, and the heat doesn’t seem to have affected the scores too much - probably a very good day to choose the white tees.

Oh, he wasn't that bad!


Andrea outdrives Popey on the first.

Next week, it’s Irish Stableford on the Old Course. There’s been a bit of a tradition at SOS of making this a rather special day.

 


Only 14 years ago? Feels like yesterday!

See you there.









































Monday, March 2, 2026

Stableford on Tuart

Another perfect day for a round of golf made more pleasant by an 8.44am start time. The extra hour in bed was very welcome!

The competition was stableford on the Tuart Course with the Golden Hole on hole 3 topped out at $150 and the 2nd Golden Hole on the 18th worth $21.

Interestingly, the $150 prize had not been claimed since 11 October 2025 despite 12 rounds having been played on the Tuart Course!  Over the same period the Tuart Golden hole #2 has been won 5 times.

Lots of blue sky with a few clouds. Although the wind did pick up around midday making tee shots from the 18th tee quite hazardous!

Barry Treak and Keith Barrow looking confident at the start.




This photo was supplied by Roland Petrie which
 I assume shows his ball in a spot of bother

In fact, many others experienced a similar predicament with penalty strokes often resulting in a 'wipe'!


Peter got close to the Golden Hole on the 3rd hole.

While Klaus actually got to within the distance only
 to find the $150 prize was not open to guest players!

Klaus and Verena Borrmann participated as guests
 of Maureen and Paul - seen here on the 13th tee.

Should the rake be placed inside the bunker, or outside??

Faye's excellent 2nd shot on the 5th hole hit the rake, which
 was sitting on the fairway, and bounced into the bunker!


Keith Barrow seen here on the 18th green
getting advice from his feathered caddy.


Post Game Meeting

President, Gerry Tessier, opened the meeting and welcomed guests Klaus and Verena as well as Denise.

Gerry reminded all members that the SOS Annual General meeting is being held on 21 March and that nominations for committee members is still open.

Next weeks game will be a 'white tee stableford' and played on the Tuart Course

Results

SOS Captain, Andrea, read out the results noting only one point separated the top 4 places!

Andrea congratulated competition winner James Axson who scored 37 points, beating Barry Treak, also on 37 points, on a countback for 2nd place.

Kerry Edwards took out 3rd place with 36 points having bettered Keith Barrow on a countback.





PODIUM
Barry Treak (2nd) and James Axson (1st) 




Golden Holes

Both the $150 hole 3 and $20 hole 18 Golden Holes went unclaimed by members.
Klaus made his tee shot pull up within the length of the flagstick but, as a guest, was unable to claim the prize.




Eagles & Birdies

No Eagles and only 4 birdies:

   -  Klaus  2 & 3
   -  Gary  11 & 16  (Birdie on #11 wins Gary a $10 gift card)

Not again !@#$%^*

Novelties

Ladies longest drive on hole 4 - Lynley beaten by Shelley
Longest putt on hole 8  -  Klaus
Nearest in 3 on hole 10  -  Kerry beaten by Gary
Mens longest drive on hole 1  -  Gary




Raffle

The raffle was well supported raising $61.00.  The winner received a $10 Wembley Gift Card.


Ash Tray Collection

Paul B was awarded the bag of lollies and did an excellent job of getting members to donate to the worthy cause of the Ash Tray Fund. A total of $32.30 was raised to enable SOS to donate funds to worthy causes.


💨