6-MAR-2016: Georges River GC – 2nd Round Club Championship – Stroke

They say punctuality is a virtue, and for once, Revesby excelled themselves when a large contingent of 31 players arrived on time at the RIGHT course 🙂

Unusual for Georges River, play started at 7:25am from the 10th hole (white tees) with preferred-on-fairways only being the order of the day. To ensure everyone finished in a timely manner, the last three groups (groups 7, 8 and 9) were re-directed to commence play from the 1st hole.

The weather was mild and comfortable as players hit off into the blinding rising sun on the 10th hole. The lucky three groups starting from the 1st hole had no problems with the sun in their eyes, rather, it was the blindingly slow social club in front of them 🙁

 

Course conditions had improved since the last visit a fortnight ago, with the rough a lot shorter and the greens, whilst still exhibiting problems with fungus disease and divot damage, a little bit quicker to putt on.

Mind you, the short Kikuyu rough can still be a problem, particularly when the ball sinks down below eye sight. Finding the ball and hitting out of it can be hit-and-miss, so don’t be surprised to hear players complaining 🙁

The design of Georges River has holes 10-18 situated on the perimeter of the course, with many out-of-bounds and water hazards to punish errant shots. On the other hand, holes 1-9 are situated in the middle of the course, with trees as the the main punishment tool.

Hmmm, with a north-easterly wind expected to kick in on the last nine holes, which groups had the advantage?

As play progressed, it wasn’t just heat under the collar that players were feeling. The unusually warm Autumn weather in Sydney was starting to make an impact on players. The heat and humidity kicked in, with many players seeking shade for respite. Waiting to hit on every shot in the hot Sun was very tiresome for some, with some groups taking over five hours to complete their round.

After the round, the players dragged themselves into the air-conditioned clubhouse for a well-earned cool drink 🙂

The score cards were quickly assessed by Revesby’s handicapper, Stef Suzor, who calculated CCR for the day as 68, which was two under par.

The outstanding individual performance on the day was Claude Poletti’s score of 65 nett (handicap 20). Claude has a hankering for this course, as he took out the 2BBB two weeks ago with Wayne Coleman. Mind you, his performance back then was abysmal, so he must have taken a few tips from Wayne to hit such a good score today. Or maybe his new swing coach is a physiotherapist, Doctor TooGood – a spine tingling result 🙂

 

 

Next best score was the B Grade winner, Rod Keen, with a fine 66 nett (handicap 18) on a count-back from Greg Jones. Rod has been vacationing from golf for a while, so has either temporarily lost his old swing habits or spent too much time in the golf simulator on a cruise ship. A great come-back result! Where has he been, this Rodney Keen, full of ship cuisine, now a mean fighting machine 🙂

 

 

On a similar fine score of 66 nett, John McDonald, I kid you not, was the C Grade winner (handicap 29). After his horrid round last week at Bankstown, John must have found greater fluidity with his pubs, err, sorry, I mean, clubs and siphoned out the kinks. When asked why he was hitting the ball so far, John stated he had more “lager” in his wrists. In addition, his improved distance control was put down to his new aid, a Tooheys-Made VB pub range-finder 🙂

 

 

 

The A Grade winner went to Phil White with a good score of 67 nett (handicap 12) on a count-back from Evan Gray. Phil’s experience and knowledge of the course (well, he is a member) stood him in good stead and whilst he had his share of problems on the course, he more than compensated with his outstanding eagle 3 on the par5 7th hole followed up by a birdie 2 on the 9th hole. A solid result for the near septuagenarian Snow White 🙂

The Guzzlers went to another player well versed with the course idiosyncrasies, namely, Greg Jones, with a fine score of 66 nett (handicap 18). A straight shooter from the titanium hip, Greg found the first nine holes much to his liking with a good three over par score. Like most of us, he succumbed to the heat and fatigue at the end, but still managed to close out the round with a winning Guzzlers score. Well done Greg, just watch out for that loose handle on the Cup, you may find John McDonald underneath 🙂

When I watch the Bradman winners today, I can’t help but be reminded of the movie “The Usual Suspects” 🙁

Highlights of the Day:

Already mentioned Phil White’s terrific eagle 3 on the par5 7th hole (Driver –> 7iron –> Putt). Hitting his drive with a slight draw to the left side of the fairway, Phil took advantage of the rock hard ground to maximise the length (bit of local knowledge here). He then hit his second shot 145 metres onto the green and sank the putt for an eagle 3 – not bad for an almost 70 year old 🙂

Another fantastic short game exhibition came from John Varrica when he holed out with three chip shots, to give him a total of four birdies for the day. Unfortunately for John, not only did he collect lots of birdies, he also bagged a few gallahs 🙂

Joy Mesuria can really pound the ball with his driver. On the par4 18th, Joy unleashed a mighty swing to smash the ball into a stiff nor-easterly breeze. When the club hit the ground, the vibrations could be felt by all on the tee (probably 7.8 on the Richter scale) and when the dust particles had cleared, there sat the ball on the plastic tee. That was the most powerful air-swing ever witnessed and future building foundations should be made from the same material that tee was made from 🙁
Individual results on the day:

Outright Winner: Claude Poletti [20] 65 nett

A Grade Winner: Phil white [12] 67 c/b
B Grade Winner: Rod Keen [18] 66 nett c/b
C Grade Winner: John McDonald [29] 66 nett

GUZZLER’s CUP: Greg Jones [18] 66 nett

Nearest To Pins: C.Poletti(3), S.Vaughn(5), G.Osterman(9), C.Bourquin(12), G.McMahon(14)

Drive & Pitch: B.Craven(15)

BRADMANS:
A Grade: George Lattouf [12] 78 nett
B Grade: Mark McDonald [20] 78 nett
C Grade: Rossco Hamer [24] 76 nett