| |
| Pennant |
|
| 2011 Pennant - Sunday 8th May |
|
A GRADE - SEMI FINAL
The team packed up the winter woolies and made the long long journey down to Portsea for the semi final against Devilbend. Not even a 12 noon hit off could save us from the arctic conditions on the 1st tee, as is the norm at Portsea when it’s not summer. With a handicap range of +3 to 3 Devilbend were always going to be a very hard team to beat but the boys were confident and determined to do well. Unfortunately Devilbend’s experience and class shone through on the day and we went down 6-1. Ed ‘the man’ Nicolette led us off for the day and promptly hit his tee shot up a 1000 foot high tree, not a good look to see him trudging back up the fairway to hit another ball. Ed did recover however only to get beaten down 19 , his first loss of the season. Stewart Allen battled away all day before succumbing on 17 and Michael Reid went one hole better getting done on 18. Some very close results but we hadn’t found a winner yet, enter Rob ‘silverfern’ Young. Rob played, and I quote, some absolutely brilliant golf to record a most famous victory and seeing Rob was our only success story for the day we won’t let the truth get in the way of a good story. Craig Pockett ran into a red hot opponent and short of snapping the guys putter in half couldn’t do too much about the result, even holing a wedge on the 2nd from 90 metres out had little effect. Ben Doggett again played well without much luck. Ben has a habit of thinking he’s winning but then discovers that he isn’t winning and then wonders why he didn’t. It sounds strange I know but I’m sure it makes sense to Ben .... I think. Mark Clydesdale had the task of taking on a guy who plays off +3 and decided the best way to go about it was to hit it up the same 1000 foot high tree on the 1st that Ed did, not a good start. It didn’t take long for Mark to figure out why this guy played off +3, the constant birdie barrage gave it away a bit, but he kept battling away and managed to stretch it out until the 16th where another lip out eventually signalled the end of the day and our season.
A disappointing result on the day but the boys can hold their heads up for what was a very successful season in making the finals. Devilbend are an extremely good side and I’m sure they will go on to win the flag next week against Rosebud who knocked off our neighbours Beaconhills 6-1 in the other semi.
Special thanks go to our team advisor Lindsay English for his support and input every week and to Ed Nicolette snr and President Dave for giving up their Sundays to help out. Thanks also to Captain Col and the board for their ongoing support of pennant and to the caddies for the final, Drew Clapton, Gary Lawson, Andrew Fox and Brad Stephenson. Also thank you to Garrick Aird and Maureen Dean for all their admin help and to all the players thank you for all your time and effort for what was a most enjoyable year.
And last but certainly not least, a massive thank you to Rob Savage. Rob was our major sponsor again this season and without his constant support and generosity the team just wouldn’t quite be the same.
So that’s it for another year, until next season ..... good golfing.
|
| |
| 2011 Pennant - Sunday 1st May |
|
A GRADE
The team headed off to Carrington Park for a do or die final round against a resurgent Warburton team. The equation was simple, win and we are in the finals, lose and it’s season over. With that in mind the boys were never going to drop this one, eventually prevailing with a solid 5-2 victory.
The hard part about playing Warburton is trying to figure out what they might do with their line up, it’s enough to do your head in but we made our best educated guesses and went with it. Ed ‘the man’ Nicolette led us out and kept his winning season intact with another good win. Not bad for a bloke who didn’t think he was good enough to play A grade, this is where I add the ‘I told you so’. After the number 7’s were away the rest of us had to play in fours, a bit unusual for pennant but being a public course it sort of makes sense. Craig Pockett and Rob ‘silverfern’ Young worked beautifully together, Craig hit it great and Rob hit it all over the place but both had very solid wins. Stewart Allen and Ben Doggett didn’t fare so well together, both going down with Stew suffering his first loss of the season. So it was left to the big guns to finish it off. Mark Clydesdale fresh off his 65 the day before had no trouble disposing of his opponent, so impressive was the win that Mark decided to shake hands one hole early. A slight case of premature celebration but it was good for a laugh and he finished off the match with a birdie on the next. Michael Reid provided the best entertainment of the day coming back from certain death to steal a win on the 19th. Reidy’s opponent played flawless golf early on and quickly had him 4 down but Reidy kept chipping away and eventually ground his way to a most impressive win.
The boys thought we’d done enough to keep top spot on the ladder but Beaconhills had other ideas and after smacking Flinders 7 zip, stole top spot off us by just 2 individual matches. So second place it had to be and that leaves us the unenviable task of taking on Devilbend in the semi final, a task all the boys are looking forward to. We have the weekend off for Mothers Day and then it’s down to Portsea for a 12 noon hit off Sunday May 15th. If any members could find the time to come down and support the boys, it would be greatly appreciated.
B GRADE
B grade had the bye to finish the season and were hoping for results to go their way so they could make the final. Unfortunately that didn’t happen with Beaconhills securing top spot with a win over Warburton. The boys only defeat for the season was a very narrow one to Beaconhills in the first game of the year and that proved to be the difference in the end. The team while being disappointed on missing out should still be very proud of their season. Superbly led by Drew Clapton again this year we discovered some new players and with a years experience now under their belt they will be better for the run come next season..... well done guys !!
|
| |
| 2011 Pennant - Sunday 17th April |
|
ROUND 4
A GRADE
The team headed off down the highway to the glorious Dunes course to take on a talented Dunes outfit. With PDGA country week team captain Gary Puddick leading the way the home ground advantage proved decisive as we were handed our first loss of the season.
In perfect weather the boys were up against it from the start with all the Dunes players jumping out of the blocks , it’s not easy playing catch up all day in someone else’s backyard but the boys dug deep to come away with a respectable 3-4 loss. Ed ‘the man’ Nicolette came through again with a hard fought victory on 18 and steady Stewart Allen still remains undefeated after going the distance and sealing another win with birdie on the 19th. Ben ‘humongous’ Doggett (he thinks he hit the biggest drive ever seen down 18) also had to go an extra hole in his match but made sure it wasn’t going any further after hitting it to a foot from 190m out. A truly magnificent shot by Benny but he was still more impressed by his massive drive down 18 , well done muscles.
We now have a week off for Easter to regroup before taking on Warburton in a must win if we are to play finals.
B GRADE
The boys headed up the road to Beaconhills to take on Carrington Park and did what they had to do and came away with a 4-3 win. They were made to fight hard for the win with the newly shaved shiny head Les Reedman going down 19 to secure the result. Liam Crawford is taking a liking to this senior pennant stuff with his second win in a row and Andrew Fox and Gary Lawson came through again in tight matches to both have wins. The disappointing result came from Tim ‘where’s the stairs’ Clapton , who after spruiking to anyone listening how good a pennant player he was , proceeded to have his butt kicked all over the Beaconhills layout in a whitewash he’ll remember for quite some time. Now that’s karma for ya Timmy.
After the Easter break the boys have the bye so they’ve done all they can. Now they must sit and wait for results to go their way , it’ll take a miracle but while there’s life there’s hope ...... so here’s hoping !!
Until after the Easter break, good golfing.
|
| |
| 2011 Pennant - Sunday 10th April |
|
ROUND 3
A GRADE
The team packed the snow chains and a picnic lunch and headed for the hills for the 3rd Round of Pennant at Mount Warburton. Looking for a good win to consolidate top spot on the ladder the boys headed for the summit. With the weather rolling in, it didn’t look like being a very good day but with our able Sherpas guiding the way we managed to have a very solid 5-2 win.
Stewart Allen again set the ball rolling with another impressive win and Ed ‘the man’ Nicolette also kept his undefeated streak going with another good win. Rob Young hit just about every tree on the course but still came through comfortably and Michael Reid didn’t waste any time in his match giving his opponent a good old fashioned smacking.
Mark Clydesdale took his time finishing off the PDGA President to complete the win and then decided it would be a good opportunity to voice his displeasure about how the pennant was being run, we’ll no doubt find out in a few weeks time if those discussions had any effect. We’ve learnt by now not to hold our breath.
Next week we take on The Dunes at their home track in what will be a very difficult task indeed.
B GRADE
The boys set their GPS units to Carrington Park , a course they haven’t played in quite some time, to take on a young hungry Dunes outfit. The Dunes were no match for our older wiser heads and the experience of many pennant matches over the years was the difference as our boys came through with an easy 5-2 win. Liam Crawford started the carnage with his first win as a Senior Pennant player with an easy win and it didn’t get any better for the Dunes with Nathan Price taking next to no time to dispose of his opponent, Nath only needed 12 holes. Les Reedman bounced back with another good win and Drew Clapton put in a true Captains effort to win with only one good shoulder. Andrew Fox playing at number 1 finished the day off with another solid win and had it not been for 2 narrow loses, the day would’ve been a total cakewalk.
Next week the boys have the nice short trip up the road to Beaconhills where they take on Carrington Park and will be looking to take their good form up there.
Until next week, good golfing.
|
| |
| 2011 Pennant - Sunday 3rd April |
|
ROUND 2
A GRADE
Round 2 of Pennant saw us hosting the divisional favourites Beaconhills. With a team that boasted the reigning District Champion and a couple of Country Week and Vic Country State reps it was always going to be a tough ask. In the end, the home ground advantage was the difference with the boys notching a fantastic 5 & 2 win.
Division 1 debutant Stewart Allen set the tone for the day with an all the way win and with the every reliable Grant Roberts and Ed ‘the man’ Nicolette again having good wins we were well on the way.
Ol’ silver fern Rob Young had a very solid win and the triumph was complete when Ben Doggett stitched up his opponent on 17.
It was disappointing however to see the lack of members there to support or show some interest in how the team went. Beaconhills had plenty of onlookers on hand so a bit of support for the home team would’ve been nice. Special thanks to Lindsay English, Dave Newsom and Ed Nicolette snr for carrying the flag for the club. Thanks also go to our starter Glenn Beckett and the kitchen and bar staff for their excellent service for the day.
Next week, we take to the mountains of Warburton and aim to consolidate top spot on the ladder against Flinders.
B GRADE
B Grade made the long journey down to The Dunes for the twilight match against a reinvigorated Warburton. With miners lights at the ready, the boys took to the typically wind swept course with gusto eager to post their first win for the season. The result was an impressive 5 & 2 win with some good golf played by the boys. Tim Clapton was welcomed back to the side after his altercation with a flight of stairs and kept his perfect pennant record intact with another win.
Great to see Drew Clapton back in the winners circle after his shocker last week and Andrew Fox and Gary Lawson got revenge for their narrow loses last week with both having good wins. Nathan Price rounded out the winners with some nice golf to notch up his first pennant win for the club, well done Nath.
Next week the boys take on a young Dunes outfit at Carrington Park and need to keep the wins coming if they want to stay in finals contention.
Until next week, good golfing.
|
| |
| 2011 Pennant - Sunday 27th March |
|
ROUND 1
A GRADE
The first round of Pennant for 2011 saw the 'A' Grade team journey up the road to Beaconhills to take on a much improved Carrington Park. The team had high hopes of starting the year with a good win and while the result was very tight, we managed to just scrape through with a 4 & 3 victory. It wasn't looking great at one stage with both teams having 3 wins each and the deciding match in Carrington Parks favour.
Ed Nicolette Jnr, playing in his first Division 1 Pennant match, who was 2 down with 2 holes to play, managed to find his best form of the day to win the last 2 holes and then ice the win down the 19th.
Ed is now known as ........... 'The Man'.
Other good wins went to Mark Clydesdale, Michael Reid and Grant Roberts.
Next week, the team is playing at home and hosting the very powerful Beaconhills side, so we will need all the support we can get. If any members want to come along and support the boys, you would be most welcome ! ! We tee off at 8.15am.
B GRADE
B Grade's first game was always going to be their toughest as they travelled to Flinders to take on Beaconhills, sneak a win first up and the team would be almost guaranteed a spot in the final.
Unfortunately, the boys came up just short, going down 3 games to 4. In very close games, Gary Lawson and Andrew Fox both just got pipped on the last with Gaz being particularly unlucky so the result could have gone either way. Good wins came from Matthew Squires who played exceptional golf and the two new pennant boys - Les Reedman and Stewart Allen.
Next week sees the team taking on Warburton down at the sensational Dunes course so we'll be looking for a big win to make up some ground.
Until next week, good golfing.
>
< |
| |
|
|
|
