Monday, December 9th
Plutaluang N & W
1st Steve Downes (7) 39 points
2nd Rob Folland (15) 34 points
3rd Mike Milland (18) 34 points
4th Jimmy Carr (21) 32 points
Near pins Rob Folland, Steve Downes, Hubert Stiefenhofer, & Les Cobban
Following the excitement of last week’s club championship and the celebration of Jimmy Carr’s win it was black to normal today with our first game of the week at Plutaluang North and West. Despite the car parks being full we were able to tee off on time and finish without any delays.
Some months ago, a new member joined the Bunker Boys with a handicap of one. After a few games many people said this guy is not a one handicap golfer, however in the following months he has gradually recaptured the form that made him a one handicap. Now playing off a seven and being in the frame every time he plays, he looks much more like a one handicapper as he did again today when he blitzed the field with thirty-nine points. Steve Downes is the one to watch for golfer of the month this month having missed out last month. Another enjoying good form is Rob Folland who took second place with thirty-four points beating Mike Milland on countback. Newly crowned club champion Jimmy Carr rounded out the scoring with thirty-two points. Near pins were as listed.
A change of venue for next Friday’s game with the newly opened Hermes Golf Club replacing Pleasant Valley which has been moved to the following Monday.
Late last week we discovered that our former club captain Niall Glover had been hospitalised for a medical condition, we are now led to believe that the condition is not as serious as first thought. All at the Bunker Boys wish Niall a speedy recovery to full health.
Wednesday December 11th
Crystal Bay
1st Jimmy Carr (21) 39 points
2nd Steve Downes (6) 38 points
3rd Brendan Harnett (18) 36 points
4th Michael Brett (15) 35 points
Near pins Hubert Stiefenhofer, Jimmy Carr, & Brendan Harnett X 2.
A very windy day at Crystal Bay for our mid-week game when we had a field of nineteen. The course was pretty much as expected, perhaps a little browner than our previous visit with lots of run on the fairways. Despite the course being quiet we had what some considered a slow round; some believe four hours is good despite nobody being out in front of us.
Continuing on his recent run of very good form Jimmy Carr was once again the man to beat taking first place with thirty-nine points, one ahead of Steve Downes, another in red hot form at present. Both should expect a handicap cut before our next game. Brendan Harnett is also in fine fettle taking third, one ahead of Michael Brett who has been dormant in the last two weeks. It feels like you can keep the same names, just shuffle them around to find the winners list lately. Hubert Stiefenhofer and Jimmy Carr took a near pin each with Brendan Harnett taking two.
It’s not uncommon to have a discussion about the rules of golf back at the bar, fortunately our resident rules guru Neil Jones is always on hand to adjudicate on such matters, it’s curious to uncover some of the quirks of the rules in these sessions. One with time on their hands to read the rules book would be amazed at the number interesting if not bewildering rules and exceptions to rules there are in such a small book
Friday, December 13th
Hermes Golf Club
1st Hubert Stiefenhofer (17) 45 points
2nd Les Cobban (10) 43 points
3rd Craig Dows (11) 41 points
4th Bil Richardson (21) 41 points
5th Alan Sullivan (15) 40 points
Near pins Robby Watts, Jay Babin, Alan Sullivan, & Michael Brett
Anybody of a superstitious disposition would approach today’s game with a bit of trepidation, Friday 13th happens at least once every year and can happen up to three in a year, quite why it is considered unlucky remains steeped in folklore. It could be an omen that some people would consign a number of golf balls to a watery grave as happens regularly at this course.
Open only three days the course was in superb condition. The first three holes have been taken out of play and three new holes added, it is questionable if this has made any improvement to the course, one hole in particular is quite weird in a V-shape, the caddies were totally confused and considered the ground within the v out of bounds, quite how you can be out of bounds in the air remains a mystery. Even more water than before has been added and one water hazard in particular was troublesome. The clubhouse has been completely renovated and is now very smart. At check-in we immediately struck an obstacle as the course has gone totally cashless and couldn’t handle twenty-four golfers wanting to pay cash, eventually a solution was found although after golf in the restaurant the problem arose again. Some items in the restaurant are pricey and with added VAT and service fee can be a shock to some.
Scoring was excellent today, none better than Hubert Stiefenhofer with an eagle five pointer on the last returned a magnificent forty-five points. No doubt Les Cobban would have expected to win with forty-three points, alas it was only good enough for second place. Having been disillusioned with golf for some time Craig Dows made a return to form with forty-one points edging out Bil Richardson on countback with a superior last six holes. Alan Sullivan rounded out the winners list with forty points. Near pins as listed.
A change of venue next Monday with Pleasant Valley replacing Treasure Hill which has three holes out of play.
Winner at Crystal Bay Jimmy Carr.
Hubert Stiefenhofer, winner at Hermes.