Round 8
Sunday, 20th April, 2025
Beaconhills 4 ball ambrose @ 8.03am
Team 1; Stork 13, Scott 14, Billy Mac 46 -
Team 2; Girdy 7, Tich 17, Ryan 22, Clayton 42 - 11
Team 3; John 15, Barra 17, Baby Koala 19, Koala 27 - 9.75
Team 4; Paul 10, Jimmy 30, Mitch 22, Winker 31 - 11.625
Round 7: Andy Mac Memorial.
Sunday, 9th March, 2025.
Cape Schanck. Stableford singles. Tee-Off 8:00am
The club returned to the picturesque Cape Schanck for the 7th edition of the Andy Mac Memorial Day.
A full field of 24 with some past players welcomed back into the fold for the club’s biggest day of the season.
The weather was fine, although a bit windy. The course was still laid out from the Saturday club competition with the tees back and the flags tucked back in tricky placements.
A few words from Barra to go with the customary toast to Andy prior to tee-off set the day up nicely.
One of the past members Paul, was quick to remind everyone of his past flamboyance and status around the club, when he produced an outrageous personalised golf pack. Solid silver tees, pitch repairer and ball markers, it was clear Paul had come to play.
The scoring was tough and it took a while for some to get into their stride. None more so than Winker who after 8 holes was sitting on a pitiful 4 points. But the great man managed to dig deep doubling his tally on the 9th to 8 points and then continue to drag himself over the line to NAGA safety.
One member who couldn’t reach the high echelons of NAGA safety was the birthday boy Sutho. With 11 points after the first 5 holes he seemed to be in the groove, however he would fail to score for the rest of the front nine and the writing was on the wall. A final tally of 22 points was enough to be re-acquainted the Mr. Numpty
Sutho taking it well
One man who did get out the blocks quick was Baby Koala, turning on 21 with two outs, to bring it home with a further 19 with another out, to card an impressive 40 points for the day. Reports from his colleagues were a day of fine golf and managing to ride his luck at times, we all need that.
well done BK
The win would see a bounty of prizes to come BK’s way. A round for 4 at Rossdale inc carts, short game practice net (not needed), Cape Schanck shirt, 100yo Chivas Regal whisky, drink bottle, backpack, thongs (footwear not undies), golf balls and the Andy Mac keepsake trophy.
With inspiration sought from a self-inflicted new hairstyle the night before, coming second in the field was Girdy, our lowest handicapper (7) who shot 37 points. For his efforts he received a bottle of Makers Mark, $100 Drummond voucher and a box of balls, well done Girdy.
Third on the day was Joe, one of those players off to a slow start, 11 points after 8 holes, only to add a further 25 to finish with 36, also well done to Joe. Prizes for third spot were a Helly Hansen shirt and a $50 Drummond voucher.
Nearest the pins also carried some great rewards from the MGC coffers.
Tommy bottle of gin and sleeve prov1s
Baby Koala Travis Matthews shirt and sleeve prov1s
Paul Travis Matthews shirt and sleeve prov1s
Paul (Andy Mac hole) 1 litre grey goose sleeve prov1s and A. Mac ntp trophy
Joe 1 litre Smirnoff and sleeve prov1s
The prizes kept flowing for Paul collecting a Helly Hansen shirt and a Barra bottle opener for the secret six..
Handicap alterations saw Baby Koala cut from 21 to 19. Sutho go from 33 to 34, Biggsy 16 to 17, Deeks 19 to 20 and Winker30 to 31.
Thanks and appreciation to the event management team of Billy Armour and Billy Mac with the increased numbers, well done lads.
A huge thanks to all who donated to the prize pool, your generosity was overwhelming in helping the steering committee put together a successful day in honour of our dear friend Andy Mac.
More than anything, thanks to all that participated in the day, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. - Barra
Group 1: Baby Koala (21), Taffy (19), Tommy (28), Bob (16)
Group 2: Deeks (19), Joe (13), Barra (17), Stewy D (11)
Group 3: Red (15), Stork (13), Winker (30), Clayton (42)
Group 4: Biggsy (16), Sutho (33), Paul Mc (10), Koala (27)
Group 5: Girdy (7), Billy A (14), Ryan (22), Billy Mac (46)
Group 6: Titch (17), Hubba (23), Kev (12), Mitch (22)
Round 6: Flinders; 16th February 2025 – 7.24 tee-off: 4 Ball
As always, the return to Flinders can throw up any weather conditions. This round saw rain pre-round, coupled with and a cold wind, although once tee-off happened no rain was felt. The wind proved to be the great equaliser, no matter how good a start a group had, with handicaps playing a major role in the wash up.
With 2 teams finished below par it was clear the winner would come from either Team 1 captained by Billy A or Team 3 captained by Joe. Feedback during the round would suggest that Team 1s captain was struggling to perform and it was up to vice-captain Barra to try and steer the team home, but it was to no avail as Team 3 took home the win with a nett 54.25 and Team 1 finishing with 56.125. It must be noted that Team 3 was up an about after 7 holes with an early spruke they were 6 under, only to bogie the 8th and come home over par. After presentations the team were happy to take home a Coors hat, Middys hoodie, coffee and a sleeve of Pro V1s.
The race for NAGA unfortunately hinged on a 1 meter put on the 18th. With 3 teams already in the clubhouse it was Team 2, missing all 4 putts from a meter to card a 60, holding the NAGA position with only Team 4 to come. With little feedback it wasn’t known what the outcome would be. As it turned out Team 4 did enough to finish just above eventual NAGAs Team 2 finishing with 59.25, avoiding NAGA. It has been mentioned in the past tactics before the Andy Mac might’ve come into play but given the preparation half of the losing team had this couldn’t be further from the truth. NAGA well and truly deserved. For their troubles Red has the pleasure of The Dog for the next couple of weeks.
NTP:
3rd: NIL (hard hole to hit), 9th: Girdy, 12th: Tommy, 14th: Billy A, 17th: Hubba.
Cuts:
Joe: 14 → 13, Baby Koala 22→21, Ryan 23→22, Clayton 43→42
Slides:
Red: 15→16, Taffy: 18→19, Tommy: 27→28, Billy Mac 45→46
Event Management for the day was taken care of by Clayton and Hubba, with chicken curry, chips, rice and pappadums supplied by Clayton and Hubba bringing it home with brownies, ice cream, cream and crunchy, along with a bit of healthy fruit.
Team 1: Billy A. 14, Barra 17, Hubba 23, Sutho 33 – 10.875
Team 2: Red 14, Taffy 18, Tommy 27, Billy Mac 45 – 13
Team 3: Joe 14, Baby Koala 22, Ryan 23, Clayton 43 – 12.75
Team 4: Girdy 7, Mitch 22, Koala 27, Winker 30 – 10.75
Safety Beach – 26th January, 2025
A welcome return visit to Safety Beach, more than 14 years since our first and only time there. The course got an unfair rap the last time due to the terrible Melbourne weather which had left the course nothing more than a bog, virtually unplayable.
This time, was much different with the members singing its praises. Although short, it was in good condition with a tight layout, making for a range of scores from 37 down to 26.
The course had 7 par 3s to contend with and the prizes went as follows;
4th – Stork. 6th – Hubba, 9th – Hubba, 12th – Taffy, 13th – Girdy, 16th – Stork.
The previously mentioned tight layout proved to be a tad too tight for one member; Ryan who fired a ball straight onto a house roof with such a bang had the owner flying out of his bed in his pyjamas to confront the culprit who he awoke from his Sunday morning slumber.
As the day unfolded, it was clear where the prizes were heading, the final group had big Stork arrive in the clubhouse, firing all sorts of complaints and accusations at all and sundry, with the sole intention of trying to justify his pitiful 26 points for his days shift. Playing off a very generous handicap, some 5 shots over his official GA handicap, and picking up two nearest the pins couldn’t save the big man from taking out NAGA for the day and see the unicorn adorn his head once again.
But the day belonged to one man, the Macster. Recently under fire and under severe pressure of expulsion from the club should he hit the 50 handicap. Macster knuckled down and turned things around recording a three peat, with three wins in a row, 4-ball, 2-ball and now a singles event, sensational stuff.
Macster wiped the floor with the field a carded a score of 39 points, two shots clear to don the tweed with ease.
As the Macster got up to accept his bounty of prizes, he was clearly not happy with the club’s residential photographer and handed his own phone to his partner “take my photo Ryan,” just ensure the moment was caught.
To all who took part in this historic day, will be able to tell the kids and grandkids “I was there, when the Macster donned the tweed in a singles event”.
The secret six was tied between 4 players, the in-house bookie declared this a non-event.
Handicaps were adjusted with Macster going from 47 down to 45, Joe easing out from 13 to 14, Paul from 9 to 10 and Stork from 13 to 14.
It wasn’t lost on the stand-in reporter Barra, that certain individuals seem to be managing their handicaps, not for the first time, on the eve of a marquee event.
As the afternoon settled, the Macster got on a roll and through down a challenge to Clayton that he could take him in a shootout on the last game of the season at Devilbend, the stake $20. Challenge accepted by Clayton.
Thanks to the event management team of the day Taffy and Mitch, with delivering the much anticipated lamb shanks and Mitch dishing up a couple of cheesecakes and ice-cream, superb.
Round 5: Safety Beach: January 26th: Singles: 8.00am tee-off
Group 1: Taffy (18), Girdy (7), Mitch (22), Hubba (23)
Group 2: Joe (13), Baby Koala (22), Clayton (43), Paul (9)
Group 3: Billy Mc (47), Barra (17), Billy A (14), Ryan (23)
Group 4: Scott (14), Stork (13), Sutho (33), Tommy (27)
Round 4: Brighton: December 1st: Pairs: 8:00am
Round 4 saw a return to Brighton, one of shortest the easier courses on the tour, for a pre-Christmas hit out in a pairs using a 4-ball best ball format, meaning the best score from the pair was recorded. The level of difficulty of the course can be best described by last year’s results, Billy Mac finishing in second place with a score of 42.
Before we get into the results of the day the Christmas festivities were somewhat overshadowed by a couple of milestone birthdays in the club. Committee member and stand in President Hubba celebrating his 40th, and club stalwart Billy Mac celebrating his 70th. With gifts from the members given and received, in true MGC fashion happy birthday was sung loud and proud for both but given Billy’s lack of hearing signs were produced so he could grasp what was going on. As luck would have it, Barra standing in for Koala on catering, produced a joint cake for both with special pictures with both wearing the turkey hats. Surprisingly it was a little harder to find for one than the other. Special thanks to Barra also for organising cards for both with photos that have been collected over the years.
Now for the results of the day with both birthday boys featuring prominently. Firstly, NAGA was a somewhat one-sided affair, with eventual winners Taffy and Hubba carding a final score of 38, 4 points to Ryan and Winker carding 42 in second last, and a whopping 11 points adrift of the winners. This may have been due somewhat to the tightness of Hubba’s tight Christmas shirt. Hitting off in the first group there would have been some nerves, although more so for Taffy and Hubba. For their struggles they have the pleasure of the unicorns, for the traditionally hot Australia Day round and the pleasure Mr. Numpty’s company for a couple of months.
The long wait was finally over when the last group came in, and as it turned out the team of Scott and Billy Mac were duking it out hole for hole with Red and Tommy. With both teams carding 49, a countback was again needed to decide the winner. With a whopping 27 points on the back 9 it was the team of Scott and Billy Mac taking out the day and going some way to avenge Billy for the year before. It must be noted at this stage that with the win Billy got a cut to 47, moving him away from the dreaded handicap of 50 and possible forced retirement. Perhaps Billy can use his new 2025 diary, donated by major sponsor Mitre 10, to record his shots for the next year.
In the many years the MGC has been going we have never had an eagle. That has now changed with Barra carding a 3 on the par 5 9th. Hopefully this will open the flood gates and eagles start flying in. Congratulations Barra. For his trouble he picked up jar of Cadbury’s chocolate peanuts.
NTP: Given the pre-Christmas round each player received a genuine ProV1, novelty Christmas fair and jar of Cadbury’s chocolate peanuts.
3rd: Joe, 6th: Red, 8th: Tommy, 11th: NIL, 13th: Winker, 17th: Tommy.
Cuts:
Scott: 15 → 14, Billy Mac 48 → 47
Slides:
Hubba: 22→23, Taffy: 17→18, Ryan: 22→23, Winker 29 → 30
Event Management for the day was a family affair with Tommy supplying mains and Barra bringing it home with dessert. Mains of roast beef, Yorkshire puddings, chips, veg, cauliflower cheese and gravy were gleefully consumed and the before mentioned birthday cake for dessert was devoured. Well done to both for the day.
Team 1: Ryan (22), Winker (29)
Team 2: Taffy (17), Hubba (22)
Team 3: Barra (17), Clayton (43)
Team 4: Joe (13), Koala (27)
Team 5: Baby Koala (22), Mitch (22)
Team 6: Girdy (7), Sutho (33)
Team 7: Red (15), Tommy (27)
Team 8: Scott (15), Billy Mac (48)
Round 3: Lang Lang: November 3rd: 4-Ball: 8.ooam
Round 3 saw a return to Lang Lang and the long drive was well worth it. The course was in great nick with the tight tree lined course always providing a challenge, but in what has become a trend at this course the weather played a small part in the day’s proceedings.
Before tee-off there were clear favourites for winner and NAGA with both teams featuring, all be it in different positions. With Team 2 of Girdy, Scott, Tommy and Clayton playing with a favourable handicap installed as early favourites to take out the jackets it was a disappointed captain that had to accept NAGA for the day and have the privilege of Mr Numpty’s presence for the next month. As the only team to finish over the card with 72 and nett 61 there was daylight between second last Team 4 of Red, Ryan, Winker and Titch with 59.25. When asked for comment captain Girdy said things just didn’t go their way on the day and were deserved winners.
Winners of the day Team 1 featuring Billy A, Taffy, Baby Koala and Billy Mac were the bookies favourite, although at the other end of the tally, which just goes to show that on occasion the bookies can get it wrong. Carding the second lowest score of the day with 68 off the stick and a generous handicap thanks to Billy Mac, finished with 54.875 and taking out the jackets by a healthy 1.25 shots from second placed Team 3 of Stork, Barra, Mitch and Koala finishing with 56.125. As Billy Mac was the only player available to collect the winnings, he took home a can of Nescafe 43 and a sleave of genuine McClelland ProV1s. When asked for comment a very complementary description of how he carried the team was expressed.
Given lunch was provided at Lang Lang a small but dedicated group lobbed back at the ranch and on this day the bar tab was finished. Special thanks go out to past club President Barra who stepped up to the plate to not only take over running of the day but also delivering a presentation for the ages in the absence of Hubba and Joe.
It was also nice to see past President Bob lob up for a couple of drinks. What wasn’t so nice was the club being broken into and robbed later in the night. Coincidence?
Also, it must be noted we need to make sure we look after our fellow members. It was mentioned that a ball on the 17th was heard rattling around a tree and seemingly falling harmlessly away from the group in front, although with Koala being hit on the shoulder a call of FORE would’ve been appreciated. Stay safe out there and look after each other.
NTP: Each player present collected 2 genuine McClelland ProV1’s
5th: Titch, 9th: Red, 12th: Mitch, 15th: Stork
Cuts:
Billy A 15→14: Taffy: 18 → 17, Baby Koala 23→22, Billy Mac 49→48
Slides:
Girdy 6→7, Scott 14→15, Tommy 26→27, Clayton: 42→43
Event Management for the day was a joint effort as lunch was provided at Lang Lang. Thanks to all that stepped up and helped.
Team1: Billy A (15), Taffy (18), Baby Koala (23), Billy Mac (49) Handicap 13.125
Team2: Girdy (6), Scott (14), Tommy (26), Clayton (42) Handicap 11
Team 3: Stork (13), Barra (17), Mitch (22), Koala (27) Handicap 9.875
Team 4: Red (15), Ryan (22), Winker (29), Titch (20) Handicap 10.75
Round 2: Berwick Montuna: September 29th: Singles: 7.34am.
Round 2 saw a return to Berwick Montuna for the first time in 10 years for what was planned as the first team event of the year. Unfortunately, a late pull out and no time to find a replacement a singles format was hastily prepared. For more than a couple of players this was not well received after excessive Grand Final Day celebrations. Even more unsettling was tee time being brought from the traditional 8.00am to 7.34am following an unfortunate administration issue. Luckily this was discovered before the troops arrived at the course.
Before a ball was struck following a big Grand Final Day Hubba got an unexpected surprise when setting his gear up that seemed to follow him around the course. Having learnt from previous years of collecting Hubba after GF Day Barra collected his clubs the day earlier and given time to think filled up every nook and cranny of his gear with tea bags, much to the amusement of those watching it unfold. This was a gift that kept giving throughout the day and lifted the gloom of the day every time a tea bag was spotted on the course. Stellar shithousery Barra and hopefully it is the gift that keeps giving throughout the year.
With cold and wet conditions, a quick round was hoped for and for most groups this was had, although with the last group taking around 5.5 hours to complete their round and no club rooms open it was a long, wet wait for the other groups to see who would take out winner and NAGA for the day. The wait proved too much for the eventual NAGA winner, and with a disappointing 15 points and expecting not to be beaten, Stork took his unicorn hat and went home before the last group finished their round. This proved a good choice with second last Sutho carding 19 followed by Taffy with 22.
Given the conditions and a tricky course layout high scoring wasn’t expected, with only 2 players carding better than handicap, and only 6 players carding above 30 pwa. In what is becoming a bit of an early trend this season the winner was decided by countback, with Clayton edging out Mitch, both with 37 points and Winker coming in 3rd with 35. Solid effort from Clayton given the conditions, who for his troubles took home a golf shirt, pack of tea bags and tin of Nescafe 43.
NTP:
4th: Tommy, 9th: Taffy, 11th: Taffy, 13th: Barra, 18th: Mitch.
Cuts:
Clayton: 44 → 42
Slides:
Stork: 12→13, Sutho: 32→33, Taffy: 17→18
Event Management for the day was handled by Ryan and Baby Koala, with Ryan dishing up roast chicken, potato bake, and coleslaw followed by dessert of chocolate and caramel cake, ice cream, cream and custard by Baby Koala. Well done boys with lunch and handling the late format change.
For the second round in a row the bar tab was again not finished up. Partly due to some regular faces not being present for various reasons, but largely due to a poor turn out of members. please remember those on Event Management plan for 16 players to come back to the club and cater accordingly. It can be seen as very disrespectful to those on management duties and also a waste of food and money. Please make the effort to come back to the club for lunch and presentations for the rest of the season.
Team 1: Girdy (6), Taffy (17), Baby koala (23), Clayton (44) Handicap 11.25
Team 2: Stork (12), Ryan (22), Tommy (26), Billy Mac (49) Handicap 13.625
team 3: Red (15), Barra (17), Koala (27), Sutho (32) Handicap 11.375
Team 4: Joe (13), Mitch (22), Hubba (22), Winker (29) Handicap 10.75
Round 1: September 8th: Bayviews: Singles: 7.30am.
Round 1 of Season 2024-25 saw a return to the traditional opening round course, Bayviews Golf Course. With a cool morning, coupled with windy conditions scoring was going to be tough, although recently cored greens that were in need of a mow would make putting a little easier for most of the field.
Scoring for winner of the day was tight with a 3-way countback needed to decide the eventual winner. With Taffy, Scott and Red carding 39 points, eventual winner Taffy won the day with 20pwa on the back 9, with Scott coming in 2nd via countback from Red 3rd after both finishing with 19 on the back 9. An impressive feat by Taffy given he suffered a 6-shot cut from his handicap from last season. For his efforts he took home a golf shirt supplied by sponsors Zinfra.
The battle for NAGA was also a close affair, with a countback needed to separate Clayton and Barra with both carding 26 points and Tommy in 3rd last with a score of 27. With Clayton having a worse back 9 and carding 12 points to Barra’s 14 he was crowned winner and has the pleasure of Mr Numpty’s company for the next month. Barra may consider himself lucky to get away with missing out on NAGA and should probably be thanking Billy Mac who sensing his issues offered some coaching tips to help him through. On a serious note, both players played under duress and finishing with 26 points was a stellar effort by both players and would see them mid field most other years.
NTP: Winner present collected genuine ProV1s.
3rd: NIL, 6th: Taffy, 11th: Taffy, 15th: Red, 17th: Stork.
Cuts:
Taffy: 19 → 17
Slides:
Clayton: 43→44, Barra: 16→17, Tommy: 25→26
Secret 6:
Joint winners Scott and Baby Koala finished with 18 points, but with neither player present the money was forfeited to Mens Health.
Event Management for the day was taken up by Joe and Girdy. Mains of chicken curry, chips and rice was supplied by Joe with dessert of apple and rhubard crumble, cooked my Madeline, ice cream and custard supplied by Girdy, another impressive effort considering Girdy is currently on the injured list. Well done boys.
It must be noted that for the first time in MGC history there was money left on the bar when Clayton closed up early. This was due to s few factors, namely a couple of club stalwarts out injured or away, but surely there were a couple of layers that could’ve stepped up to the plate to cover them.
Group 1: Clayton (43), Girdy (6), Ryan (22), Taffy (19)
Group 2: Winker (29), Tommy H (25), Koala (27), Billy A (15)
Group 3: Joe (13), Stork (12), Scott (14), Baby Koala (23)
Group 4: Mitch (22), Barra (16), Red (15), Billy Mac (49)