Golf from The Billabong Bar
Monday, Jan. 23, Phoenix Gold – Stableford
Phoenix Gold, our normal venue for Monday, was in great condition with the greens as good as it’s possible to find them. The scoring was not the best however, as out of 6 groups playing there were only 9 golfers who bettered 30 points.
We played the Ocean and Mountain loops and apart from the rough being very hard to find your ball in (the ball seems to settle down and is very difficult to see) it was a pleasure to play.
There was a count back on 33 points for third place between Ivor Smith and his namesake Ramsay Smith, with Ramsay getting the nod for the bronze. Second place went to Capt. Bob with 37 points, even after 4-putting the last hole, but top spot was reserved for Thiery Petrement with a fine 39 points.
There were two 2s, coming from Rick Culley and Bob Philp.
Wednesday, Jan. 25, Green Valley – Monthly Medal
It is always a good turnout for the Haven Consultants Monthly Medal sponsored by Brian Chapman, but making your way to Green Valley from Mapbrachan is not simple. Route 36 is a mess and the back route is no better, with the building taking place to accommodate the various motorways and flyovers.
We must commend the management here at Green Valley, for the course has improved over the last month and, if you can ignore the various areas that are suffering from broken sprinkler heads, the rest of the layout is in good condition.
The persistent wind today had an obvious effect on the overall scores for they were not very good, with just a few exceptions. Many golfers were seen with shoulders hunched and their heads down in areas of the course that had, previously, remained unexplored. An 11 on the first hole did nothing to inspire confidence for the rest of the day nor did a 12 and a few 9s, one of which came from Tom Parker but he recovered well to finish third with a net 75 having lost out to Bob Finley on the same score. Keith Allen had 2 treble bogies in his round but this did not prevent him having a net 70 to win the trophy.
The men were not alone experiencing some difficulty with the wind but three ladies were streets ahead of the field, with Miss Nu making a welcome return to form with a net 66 to collect the trophy from Brian. Just 1 shot in arrears was Miss Tan in second and Miss Poopay took third.
Only one 2 was recorded today, going to Miss Da.
Friday, Jan. 27, Plutaluang – 4P-Scramble
Plutaluang today for our monthly scramble and with 15 teams playing it was a bit hectic to start with but with a little patience we all got away. It was a perfect day for golf with just a little breeze blowing, although it swirled form time to time making some shots a little tricky.
The scoring was pretty good with most of the scores in the 61 and 62s. Taking third place was the team of Arch Armstrong, Derek Mower, Alistair Aitken and Willie Mercer with a net score of 61.1. In second spot with a net 60.2 was the team of Brian Maddox, Jim Payne, Don Walding and Keith Allen as the anchor man. First place went to the Billabong team consisting of Paul Greenaway, Greg Ritchie, Lloyd Shuttleworth and Bob Philp with a net score of 57.9, helped along the way by a Paul Greenaway eagle on West 2. It was then back to the bar for a bell ring from the winners.
Our next monthly scramble is on February 24.
