Pacific Game - 13 June 2010

Lord of the Pings

The Return of the King

The Dark Lord (George) is still atop his tower (the league table) coveting the crown he one day hopes will be his, however the return of last years champion Owen Wright (the King) and the ever reliable ever annoyingly good, Ian Smith, have cut into his lead.

It is now shaping up at this the halfway stage of the year as though we could be in a battle more ferocious than that at Helms Deep.

On a chill morning the Pacific course played as we expected it would (like crossing Mordor in the dark). It was very difficult and quite brutal (also dangerous for the poor group in front of us, sorry group 2 from group 3).

The cards indicated none of us had a really decent round, we will all have to re-group for Redcliffe to repair those dented prides.

The results were as follows:

NTP 13th – Rodney Topor

Mens long drive 18th – Rodney Topor (NB this may never happen again - ed)

Ladies long drive 18th – Karen Greedy

1st place on 31pts – Owen Wright

2nd place on 28pts – Ian Smith

3rd place on 26pts (on count back) – Paul Lockwood-Lee

Also on 26pts Mark Coster, who missed out on count back (strangely the count back was calculated by myself).

Many thanks to all who turned up to be thoroughly demoralised, hope to see you at Redcliffe on the 18th July.

Regards
Captain Paul.

Next game: 13 June at Pacific Golf Club

The next game for the year will be held on 13 June at Pacific Golf Club at 430 Pine Mountain Road, Carindale, off Creek Road.

Arrival time is 6:15am for tee-off at 6.30am. Sorry for the early start. The number of the Pro Shop at Pacific is 3343 9487.

Pacific is a long, hilly, and challenging course. Practice up. I hope Pacific members George and Owen will turn up to give us some local advice and show us the best way round.

Please let me know as soon as possible whether or not you will be playing at Pacific. If you say you are playing, and then discover you can't play, please let me or Paul know in advance.

I look forward to seeing you at Pacific and to a great day.

Rodney

McLeod Game - 9th May 2010

On Mothers day, we still managed 11 players, which kind of indicates we may love our golf a little more than we should. However we did get finished early so perhaps all the presents, flowers, etc were given out in the afternoon.

A lovely day weather wise with a bit of a chill first up but within a couple of holes everyone was warmed up by the morning sun ; temperatures in the mid 20’s ; beautiful blue skies, why would you want to be anywhere else.

On the course, it was, and this will come as no surprise, Ken who was losing his head both figuratively and literally, with the loss of his pitching wedge head (snapped a few inches up the shaft) into the trees between the 9th tee and 8th green, quite why he was approaching the 8th green via the 9th tee area I perhaps don’t have to explain to any of you who have played with Ken before. His tee shot on the 17th was worth the price of admission alone.

I cannot bag anyone too much this month as I had a pretty poor time of it myself, although judging by the spread of scores, which only had a difference between top and bottom of 13pts, we all had possibly a few shots we would not like to take home to mother.

Now the scores:

NTP 2nd hole – Owen Wright
NTP 6th hole – Ian Smith
Men’s L/D – Ken Greedy (nice one Ken)
Women’s L/D – alas no one. (Good thing as the LD marker is now permanently a part, somewhere, of the McLeod course)

And for the placing:

1st on 35pts (playing with only 5 clubs as a penance for missing Logan ) - Rodney Topor

2nd on 32pts - Mr Ian (the guru) Smith
3rd on count back on 30pts - Mr Dan (outrageous shorts) Williams
(Pipped for third on count back was Janine Walker, whom I’ve awarded a point on the table, as I’ve made a captains ruling for third place getters in this type of situation)

A big thanks to all who stayed back for the AGM afterwards, which at about 10mins long, needs to be pared back a bit next year, as most of us cannot concentrate long enough to take a putt without minds drifting to something else.

Thanks to McLeod for the course, even though they have some tricky par 3’s out there.

See you next time at Pacific on the13th June.

Your Captain Paul.

Next game: 9 May at Mcleod Country Golf Club

The next game for the year will be held on 9 May at Mcleod Country Golf Club, Gertrude Mcleod Crescent, Mt Ommaney. To get there, find your way to the Centenary Motorway, take the exit at Sumners Rd or Mt Onnaney Centre, and wend your way westward to the course.

Arrival time is 6:20am for tee-off at 6.35am. The number of the Pro Shop at Mcleod is 3376 3922.

Mcleod Country Golf Club is a ladies club, so it's appropriate that we're playing there on Mothers Day. However, the early start will leave you plenty of time to get home for lunch with your mother or children as appropriate, so using Mothers Day as an excuse not to play is not acceptable! So there!!

Oh, just remembered, there'll be a really, really short AGM immediately after the game, for which we hope all players will remain. The committee is looking for new members; please think about volunteering!

I want to offer my apologies for not playing in the 4-club competition at Logan earlier this month. As penance, I will play at Mcleod with just 5 clubs. The results at Logan suggest that the lack of clubs didn't affect the top players' scores anyway!

Please let me know as soon as possible whether or not you will be playing at Mcleod. If you say you are playing, and then discover you can't play, please let me or Paul know in advance.

I look forward to seeing you at Mcleod and to a great day.

Rodney

Logan City Golf Club Game – 11th April 2010

(Hole numbers 10 through 27 played)

12 players made it for the changed format game of 3 clubs and a putter. One of those not making the day was Rodney, whose idea it was to play this 4 club contest. Now normally you’d expect me to be unkind & ridicule Rodney for not being there, but as it turned out I think most people had a reasonable game.

The first nine was played in fairly comfortable conditions with the sun staying hidden behind a gentle mist; I think I’m right in saying the better scoring was to be had in this first nine judging by the cards I saw at the end of the day.

Then the sun came out, the humidity went up & the games started to show the cracks. Even though we were only dragging around bags with 4 clubs, it was still very draining on our physical & mental resourses.

The results are as follows:

NTP 20th hole George Chapman

NTP 24th hole Owen Wright

LD (ladies) Janine Walker

LD (men's) Ian Smith

1st place on 45 points George Chapman

2nd place on 40 points Ashutosh Misra

3rd (on count back) 40 pts Paul Lockwood-Lee

Most other scores were up there as well, so the combination of the 4 club format twined with Logan’s set up made for a good day.

Many thanks to all those who turned up & we hope to see you at Mcleod on the 9th of May, where we will also hold the annual AGM (only takes about 10 mins). If anyone wishes to take up a position on the committee then by all means come along and throw your hat in the ring, we are always grateful for any volunteers.

Also thanks to Logan City Golf Club for the good social club package they offered.

See you soon,

Captain Paul.

Next game: 11 April at Logan City

The third game for the year will be held on 11 April at Logan City Golf Club, Golf Course Rd, Meadowbrook. I expect all of you know the course, but it's clearly signposted on Loganlea Rd, about half way between Pacific Mwy and Logan Mwy.

Arrival time is 6:15am for tee-off at 6.30am. The number of the Pro Shop at Logan is 3299 6518.

The course should be in good condition after all this rain (assuming it stops before then).

After the rather damp Redland Bay game, the committee members present decided that, for a change, this Logan game would be a 3 clubs plus putter competition (as previously foreshadowed). This means you have to think before the game which 3 clubs (in addition to your putter) you will use. (And no, you can't leave your putter at home and putt with your hybrid!) It might help to remember that there are no sand bunkers at Logan! Personally, I'm undecided whether to take driver/hybrid/9-iron, or driver/6-iron/wedge. Longer hitters will no doubt make other choices. It will be interesting to see what choices different players make.

If you wish to use your full set of clubs you are perfectly welcome to do so - we definitely don't want to discourage anyone from playing - but in that case you just won't be eligible to win any prizes.

My own experience using 2 clubs (hybrid/9-iron) plus putter in one round last year is that using the same clubs repeatedly during a round helps you get better at hitting them cleanly, which is the most important factor in scoring well, at least for us high handicappers.

And you have all Easter to practice with your chosen clubs!

So, please let me know as soon as possible whether or not you will be playing at Logan. If you say you are playing, and then discover you can't play, please, please let me or Paul know in advance.

I look forward to seeing you at Logan and to a fun competition.

Rodney

Results from Redland (Bay)

A wet, windy, sometimes sunny, sometimes humid but always soggy under foot day was had by all attendees of the Redland Bay game (14.03.2010).

Group One: The “Local hero” theme music was being played through the PA system as the tall slim elegant figure of our cycling superstar David Westover, approached the club house, unfortunately he had fallen by the wayside, to the club house bar, by the end of the first nine holes a crumpled and hollow figure bearing no resemblance to the gladiator of just two hours before, from there he could pose no further threat to those of us scrambling for those precious points in the race for the “Fed Up Cup”. [Very good! --Ed.]

That left just nine, of David’s original group there was now just the two players, Hilary and Howard. I knew Hilary would fail as she would be traipsing around the back nine all the time thinking why couldn’t it be herself who was cool & dry in the club house knocking back the gin & tonics.

Howard! Well he tried hard, but after capturing a nearest the pin prize on the tricky 16^th he thought his day was all over, dreaming about the magnificent golf ball prize he would be getting and fell to pieces.

Group Two: Judith, George, David & Mark. Well I don’t know what happened to Judith, when I see her play she’s always trying & gets around with a song and a dance in her step, but put her in the same group as Lord Vader & somehow she turns the air blue with cursing (this is normally Ken's job). Mark came along, but frankly in his effort in trying to impress his Dad (David) he must have lost the plot; his Dad put up a reasonable show, but we points grabbers didn’t have to worry, as we had carefully manipulated his starting handicap to keep him just out of sight.

Group Three: Ashutosh, Rodney & Myself.
Ash, had what you could call a shocker, one that he needs to put in the cupboard & forget about (the trouble is of course I’ll always be around to remind him of it, if it gives me some sort of an advantage). Rodney was doing ok for the front nine scoring 18 & after the turn thought he would spice things up by challenging Me to a little side game, well I’ve been caught by Rodney before like this, but not this time, we ground out a poor second nine each and in the end I left him a gibbering wreck of a man, who now has to clean my golf clubs for the next five years (or have I mis-heard the bet). [Yep, you did! -- Ed.]

So you’d think by now that I was victorious on the day and deservedly so, but sadly you would be wrong. For the Lord Vader (George Chapman) had used the Dark side of the force & with his overbearing presence bullied his group into not only seeing the longest drive and a nearest the pin, but also cowering like mice being set upon by a sleek black killing machine panther, they signed off on a 33 point winning total, one more than Me & two more than Howard. I say look out George “Vader” Chapman, for he who lives by the putter also dies by the putter or at least a very pointy stick.

Thanks for playing everyone, hope to see you at Logan.
Captain Paul.