The first game of 2018 was held at Kelab Rahman Putra, a very picturesque but challenging venue for some (including your Scribe !).
With a new record of 32 players expecting to tee-off on the Hills Course including Honorary Member Ian Craighead “Crackers”, guests Steve Eldridge and Niall Murray and some of our new members, the news was broken by El Pres that we had to play the Lakes course due to hollow tining on all the greens on the Hills. The Lakes course is particularly difficult for the shorter hitters as holes 1, 2, 16, 17 & 18 and a number of others all require long carries over water; there were a lot of lost balls and blobs on the round !
With Stan Constantinides playing off 28 handicap on his home course, he had to be a good bet for the win, though Robert Frager has been a model of consistency all year, averaging 38 points over the 7 games he has played, so could well challenge. But maybe there would be other contenders ? All will be revealed later …..
The course was in good shape and the weather was good for most of the round though dark clouds were gathering ominously later in the afternoon. Then, with the first flight including Stan actually on the 18th green about to putt out, the sirens sounded so we all had to abandon the round even though it was not raining at the time. At this point, many people had had enough so headed for the showers and/or the bar. However, after ~ 30 minutes, no rain having arrived, the sirens sounded again to allow play to continue so a number of players opted to go out to complete their rounds. Unfortunately for Stan “no mates”, he could not find anyone to witness his putting for a potential par on the 18th so carded a blob rather than potentially 3 or 4 points; this would prove significant later !
The majority of players then adjourned for a good three course dinner at the clubhouse accompanied by numerous jugs, plus some good wines provided by Richard Rodwell & Ricardo Castro (our sponsors for the wine prizes ). We were joined at dinner by John Arkinstall, Richard Moss, Barry Cousins & his friend, Dick Stauffer who didn’t play but helped consume the beverages, all to the accompaniment of the delayed lightning & thunder.
Results
Compilation of the results proved a significant task with numerous people not completing the full 18 holes, then not adding their scores up (thanks to Dan Brod for helping to sort out the scores). However since a number of people had eventually completed all 18 holes, the results were based on a full round, with blobs (0 points) and the equivalent strokes being assigned for uncompleted holes.
Given this, and the difficulty of the course, only two players bettered or equaled their handicaps, with 22 players recording less than 30 points. The January medal winner was Mr Consistency, Robert Frager, with an excellent score of 91 for 37 (cut 4). Second was Paul Geddes with 91 for 36 (cut 2) ahead of the afore-mentioned Stan C with 101 for 35 (cut 1).
Full results below :
The novelty winners were:
- NTP Hole #5 : Richard Rodwell (1m)
- NTP Hole #15 : Kaz Takita (1.9m)
- Longest Drive (#8) : Kaswira (~220m )
- Lowest Gross : Niall Murray & Geoff McLaws (80)
- Highest Gross : Jimmy Leggett (127) (prize of a Swiss Chalet voucher)
- Last birdie : Paul Collett
COTD
We had 3 nominations this month for COTD.
- Stan for not finishing hole #18, thereby missing out on a win
- Tom Holmes for not knowing where the 17th green was (he’s a member of the club!) and for being a golf course policeman ?
- Richard R for talking loudly during Berni’s backswing (Berni then put two balls in the water)
Tom was narrowly voted as COTD; with Stan managing to deflect attention from himself for the second month running
AGM
The AGM was also held after the game, introduced by El Pres, Iain Wise, who thanked Ricardo Castro (Moneybags) & Dave Evans (Scribe) for their support. All three committee members are continuing in their roles for 2018.
Finances
Iain/Ricardo presented the finances; there were no questions / comments
Annual Awards
The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the annual awards
A) Played 8 Games or More (Bottle Of Wine):
- Allan Wright; Edwin Ferner, Paul Geddes, Ricardo Castro, Stan C (8 games)
- Enzo F; Ron L (9 games)
- Iain W : 11 games
- Dave E : 12 games
B) Player Of The Year Trophy (Best 9 Game Stableford)
Ron Linden: Gross 294 : Average 33 Stableford Points
(Honorable mention : Robert Frager, gross 267, average 38 points from 7 games)
John Arkinstall won a sleeve for highest stableford of the year (47 points); Geoff Mc Laws won a Cabrera Bello ‘jacket ‘ for lowest gross (74).
C) Player in Most Need of Improvement (Worst 9 Game Stableford)
Dave Evans – a golf lesson at TPC
D) COTY Award (Trophy)
Iain Wise was voted COTY by a considerable margin, with Ricardo as runner-up; Ricardo presented the trophy
E) 2017 El Pres Award (Trophy)
Ian Wise was also presented with a tankard by Ian “Crackers” Craighead
F) Lucky Draw
Dan Brod won a voucher for Swiss Chalet, while Jarno K won an umbrella.
Constitution
A number of proposals for amendments to the constitution were proposed and voted upon, as noted below :
1) Last Birdie – to be based on card rather than order of holes played by an individual – CARRIED
2) Vice President position (as in the constitution and not utilised in 2016/7) should remain – CARRIED
3) A few textual changes to the constitution as proposed by John Arkinstall – CARRIED
May Away
May AWAY will be 15th-20th May, venue TBC but likely to be Vung Tau, Vietnam or Phuket, Thailand.
Next Game
This will be at Kota Permai on 21st February
Thanks
Tom Holmes & Stan C, as members of Rahman Putra for their assistance with the arrangements for the game & AGM.
Stuart Taylor for his tutoring & assistance with the blog over the last year.
Fines
Stephen E, Richard R, Andrew Robinson, Berni Schobert for ladies tee infringements, Ricardo for selling his own Away shirt & Franz Hierz for being late.
Sponsors
Our sponsors are a main reason that we can play at good golf courses and award members with trophies, attractive prizes as well as “KLOGS” signature golf balls. In order to show our appreciation we encourage members to support our sponsors.
Photos : courtesy of your Scribe, Victor, Stuart (Thanks)
