Kwinana - Stableford
“Play off the blue tees,” they said. “It’ll sort out the men from the boys,” they said. So when the dust settled after a challenging morning there were indeed just two men left standing, the rest falling victim to Kwinana’s length, overhanging trees, and perhaps the effects of the night before.
Now normally when one submits a stableford score in the mid to low-20’s it’s almost a given that NAGA status will be conferred upon them. Imagine the relief of most of the playing group when they discovered that some fascinating NAGA duels were being fought out during the day, with Tony Calder eventually emerging triumphant with 17 points. Pete Tallon and Norm fought out an 18 hole NAGA epic with Pete wiping the last to come in with 18 points.
Speaking of Norm, he must have been channeling an absent Craig in picking up a couple of the novelties. Given that he came in with 20 points it does leave one wondering what the hell happened during the rest of the round.
The scribe’s group arrived on Hole No.2 to discover that it was sponsored by Total Tools. (MP: drone shot?)
Having started on the 10th and given the group scores to this point were 13, 10 & 8 it was agreed that yes, we did feel like a bunch of Total Tools. I’d already missed two putts from inside a metre, with one of them a screwed-up tap in from 8 inches (yes, you read that right). I would go on to miss another one metre putt later in the round before somehow scraping up 24 points for the day.
It was good to see Jack Wagner tearing up a golf course again, especially one as challenging as Kwinana. Jack decided to add to the challenge by putting a shot into the clubhouse hedges which along with an 8 on the 15th sank what was otherwise a brilliant round. Trust me Jack, Kwinana is hard enough without sabotaging your own round! Oh, also can someone please show Marc Ellis the front and the back of a range finding device. Poor lad got a bit confused on Sunday…
Once the carnage was over two men alone could claim to have almost tamed the course. Lawrie was solid throughout his round not wiping a hole and coming in with a worthy 34 points. Given what had preceded him he may have been mentally drafting a victory speech – until Heiney ambled in and pipped him by a point. Birdies on the 12th and 15th proved vital in Heiney backing up from his win of the week before. 35 points around Kwinana is a mighty fine effort off the blue tees, and Lawrie’s 34 points is also worthy of praise. Jamie Fitzpatrick was the best of the rest, 28 points securing third spot on the podium on a day most would have preferred to forget.
Ryan Nottle submitted his third card and was confirmed as the newest member of the club. Welcome onboard Ryan and we look forward to seeing many more rounds from you in the future. The new club shirts are here so please get in touch with the usual suspects if you haven’t got yours yet. Be warned though they aren’t tree-proof as President Dave found out on Sunday.
Back to Collier this week for the March Monthly Medal (moved due to the rescheduled SW Open). Please also get your Teamer responses in early so we can get as many people on the course as possible. Heiney will be aiming for a hat-trick of wins – will anyone be able to spoil the party?
Extra observations from Basil Musca
Paul Heine revisited the Bombers of the 80s and went back to back. 2 chips in off the green and longest drive B grade were some of his achievements.
Lawrie Gibson whose game is always cherry ripe for Sunday. Too many 3 putts cost him a victory today.
9 players were on 23 points which seemed to be the popular number, with many lotto combinations.
(MP: No one under 90 and over half the field over 100. Thankfully, we always play this course early in the season when I'm still on golf leave.)
Winners
1st: Paul Heine (35)
2nd: Lawrie Gibson (34)
3rd: Jamie Fitzpatrick (28)
NAGA: Tony Calder (17)
Nearest to Pins:
3rd: Steve Hooper
6th: Dave Ovel
14th: No takers
16th: Norm Mews
Nearest in 2: Mike Newman
Nearest in 3: Norm Mews
Longest Drives:
A Grade: No takers
B Grade: Paul Heine