St Leonards Golf
For this game we had to mosey-on down to Massey Park.
We had twelve starters. A couple of players struggled to make the
requested arrival time of 8am. The pro asked us to hit off at 8.15.
After swapping the first and last groups, all went smoothly. As with the
last time at Massey Park, we commenced at the 10th hole, once again, to
allow the women’s pennants competition to get away on time.
The weather was overcast but a very pleasant temperature, the rain
fortunately holding off for our round. The course was in pretty good
condition. The greens were a bit slow but challenging. In my group,
quite a few putts slid past the lip of the cup.
Because of the pennants comp the tees were set at their longest and pins
were in difficult positions.
The course must have been playing a bit tough, since only three players
did better than their handicap.
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The individual result was won by Rey Salvador on 39 points, followed by Steve Greene (38) and Mathew Hanscombe (37).
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The doubles was won by Rey and Les Pitman (47 points). Second were Mathew and Steve (44).
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Steve snagged a creditable four birdies
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Winning the Bradman was Wil Lazar with net 28 points.
Play moved along reasonably well with only a couple of hold ups. I think
the game was enjoyed by all.
As requested by Mr Handicapper, we did the
matchplay draw. The initial games are now displayed on the matchplay
table on the Standings page.
Something bizarre happened on the third – the nearest-in-2 hole! David
"Plowsie" Plowes hit his usual iron off the tee. Unfortunately, the ball
sailed out-of-bounds towards the second tee. Fearing the worst, Plowsie
teed up a provisional but, sadly, only repeated his earlier shot.
The foursome started a search for the errant tee shots, only to be
heckled by our third group, waiting to tee off on the par 3 second.
As luck would have it, Plowsie's first ball was found, having been saved
by the netting that is in place to protect houses from wayward shots.
Plowsie then faced an almost impossible shot from thick rough, with
several trees and bunkers standing
between him and the green, 100m
distant. He decided to go for the "miracle" shot. The ball landed on the
green, just 4 metres from the hole! Good enough at that stage for
Plowsie to put his name on the NTP marker. And the hecklers were
silenced!
I mentioned that we had to shift the game previously set for 2 October
to 9 October. This means we have no golf scheduled between 18 September
and 9 October. I have asked Robbo and Bubba to explore the possibility
of a trip away during this gap. More to be revealed next game.
I wonder if we should have a swear jar round? Could be a way to pay for
our year-end prizes!
Innocently surfing the ’net, recently, I came across a golfing term
that, although I had never heard used, I’m sure could have had
application on many occasions, even perhaps, among our St Leonards
players. It’s used to describe those occasions where a player manages to
par a hole, but only after an apparently errant shot is redirected back
onto the fairway by a friendly tree! If this has ever happened to you,
you’ve had a barkie!
Our next game is at North Turramurra GC on 27 February at 9.00am. Please
arrive by 8.30am. See you there.
Hit ’em straight!
Handicaps
