SOS Golf: ANNIVERSARY CUP

The Anniversary Cup

Joined by old friend Tony Lee

A stroke competition on the Old Course

Gary's shiny new clubs

Teeing off at the 'get a good parking spot' time of 7:24 am.

The forecast was for 34°, borderline nice day for golf. The breeze, when it came, was somewhat desultory, meaning that it got hotter than that at times.

Not the largest of fields, but in spite of smaller numbers, the gaps between groups grew larger as the day went on, with the first, second and third foursomes well stretched out over the final few holes.

Peter Baird introduced his new putter, which he had discovered in a friend’s shed where it had served as scaffolding for a number of wasps’ nests, resulting in the grip being somewhat deteriorated but the body of the club intact. Branded a “Magic Putter”, would it have any effect on his game? Read on.

The Magic Putter

Brett was accused of hitting up on not just the twelfth, but also the sixteenth and eighteenth holes, having narrowly missed Lynne on two occasions. Costing him $5 in fines, he commented that he was still ahead as apparently his playing partners had bet him $10 that he couldn’t reach her.

Paul Gardner also in the frame for hitting up, having terrorised the group standing on the 12^th tee from his over-optimistic approach on the 11^th.

Wow! Two hundred metres with my putter!

There was a remarkable shot by Paul Boquest who, having avoided his own fairway on the 5^th and ended up back on the 4^th, unleashed a magnificent flight back over the trees to land on the 5^th green. Good on you, sir.

We note that the fine for “Doing a Yeo” has been rechristened as “Doing a Cooper”, as the original nominee of the award, Richard Yeo, whilst a renowned club flinger in his own right, has not played with SOS for a number of years. (Not to mention the potential confusion with our own Shelley, who could never be accused of being a club abuser.)

Karl's unplayable from last week

Paul Cooper accepted the honour with dignity and aplomb.

I'll show you aplomb!

Save the date: The Annual SOS Par 3 Competition will be played at Lake Claremont on January 31^st. It’s a Wednesday, tee-off from around 5pm, with a simple meal afterwards on the verandah. Details to follow.

The novelties were hotly contested, as always.

Men’s longest drives on the 4^th : Boris, outpointed by James, but monstered by Gary.

This award was not without controversy, as Boris was accused of having put his name on the wrong side of the card, causing immense confusion to subsequent contenders. Note to members: it’s hard to stay on the right side of the law at SOS.

You do your best..

The ladies’ longest drive on the 5^th had Andrea in contention (as always), but this week beaten by Lynne.

Nearest the pin on the 2^nd had Mark Wilson looking good until Paul G got inside.

Nearest the bunker on the 14^th also had Mark Wilson on the card, until Paul C got even closer.

And the old favourite, nearest in 2 on the 10^th, had Shelley beaten by James. The Golden Hole remains unclaimed.

There were birdies. Don and Brett on the 14th. Earle on the 15th. Mark W on the 17th, Paul B on the 4th, 8th and 11th, and Gary on the 4th.

Greg distributed the season’s results for 2023. Here you can review just how well, or how badly, you have performed over the year. If you would like a digital copy, Gerry can provide you with one.

Goochy is in Canada

Earle, Boris and Keith had played a round at Joondalup earlier in the week. Spotting a female amongst the four ball playing in front, one (we won’t mention who), commented that the blokes appeared to have brought a female caddy with them. When the young lady put the ball to within a metre of the flag from the tee on the par 3, it became apparent that the ‘caddy’ was in fact European Tour player Kirsten Rudgeley, playing off a handicap of +6!

The results for the day: As you can, Peter’s ‘Magic Putter’ did indeed live up to its name, sinking putts from every corner of the green. Next time you play with Peter, if he has the ‘magic one’ in hand you can confidently give him a ‘gimme’ from pretty much anywhere on the short grass.

As Carol’s birthday had been mentioned last week, we endeavoured not to mention it again this week. (However, in electing not to mention it, it was in fact mentioned.)

The raffle was won by Gerry with number 46. Last week it was won with number 44. Number 48 will command a premium next week.

Gary presented with Consistency and Handicap Champion awards

If you haven’t already done so, would you mention to Peter whether you intend to remain a member for next year, and also pay your membership fee of $150 to the SOS account, not the bookings account.