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.
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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).
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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.
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| 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,
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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.
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There was the usual selection of unplayable lies, shots snookered alongside tree trunks and confusing abandoned balls.
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| Gerry's second tree shot of the day |
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| 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.
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| The Lumberjack at work on the 10th |
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| Wayne on the 8th - another tough spot |
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| He's in there somewhere - the 15th this time |
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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 16th 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.
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| 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?
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| Crikey, that's close. |
Nearest the pin on the 2nd, Stephanie outpointed by Maureen.
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| She's nipped me again. |
Nearest the Pin in three on the 14th, 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.
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The men’s longest drive was on the 17th today, that long par 5, and no-one was able to beat the monster drive by Paul Cooper.
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| Dave showing how it's done |
Nearest on two on the 10th saw Paul Boquest on the card again, this time unbeaten.
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| Yes!! |
And the ladies’ longest drive was on the 3rd. 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.
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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.
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| 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
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| The winning losers |
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| 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.
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THE OTHER REMINDER
The Annual Par 3 Competition takes place on Wednesday January 29th 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.
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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!
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