Wednesday Competition

26/11/14:  Stirling (Mt Lofty)

Another perfect day for golf (25 C and sunny) with eight starters taking advantage of the discount vouchers for Stirling GC.

Bronte informs me that the course, although relatively short (par 67), provided a true test of golfing technique that separated the real golfers from the pretenders.  He then mentioned his 43 points, with the next best (Kev C) on 31.   A shot-by-shot commentary is available via Bronte's mobile.

Front nine:     Bronte (21) from Don (17)
Back nine:     Bronte (22) from Kevin (20), Phil (19), Peter & Brian (18)
Overall:          Bronte (43) - that's a 79 off the stick, by my count (including one scrubbed hole)

BIrdies:       Bronte on the par 4 eleventh.

Next week:  North Adelaide (South) at 10.30 am

Wednesday Competition

19/11/14:  North Adelaide

Hot (33C) with a light cooling breeze at times.   Eight starters, with reasonable scores generally.  Pring dominated again with a very consistent performance.

Front nine:   Pring & Gordge (19), from Milde (18)
Back nine:   Crathern (18) from Pring (17), Whicker (16)
Overall:        Pring (36) from Gordge (33), Milde (32), Crathern & Whicker (31)

Highlights:

-     As expected, Milde/Gordge (both EET reigning champions) snuck in over Beggs/Crathern
-     As expected, Batty/Whicker trounced Pring/Boyle
-     Whicker - birdied par 5 second  

Ashbourne Results and Wednesday Competition

05/11/14:  North Adelaide

Seven starters on a very nice day for golf.   Pretty ordinary scores all around, with only 'Cyclops' Boyle reaching 30 points.

Front nine:   Don
Back nine:   Bronte and Don
Overall:        Don (30)

12/11/14:   North Adelaide

Hot !   Almost too hot.   35C, sunny and calm.    The front nines were all very respectable, but most of the seven starters struggled on the back nine.  Only the Meister, the RMC (reigning Mildura champion) and Kevvy beat 30 points.

Front nine:     Stephen G (20 points) from Peter P & Brian B (18)
Back nine:     Peter (17)
Overall:          Pring (35) from Gordge (32) and Crathern (31)

Highlights:
Bob Batty - 3 for 4 points on the long par 3 fifth.

09/11/14:   Ashbourne

Just the perfect weather for our picnic round at Ashbourne, and a good roll-up.   Well done to all involved in the day and to Noel for arranging many of the prizes.

Congratulations to:

First:          Paul Tatts group (net 51.5)
Second:    Dave Hammond group (53.25)
Third:         Rob Lubke group (54.125)
Fourth:       Dave Bartlett group (56.5)

Captain's Report and Letter of Thanks from Kevin C

2014 AGM - 01/11/14

The Secretary will formally document the AGM in due course - and good luck with that Bronte !

I have simply included Kevin's Letter of Thanks to club members following his handover of the Club Captain role to Peter Pring, along with his Captain's Report presented at the AGM.

Letter of Thanks - KC

I did not feel that the AGM last Saturday night was an appropriate time to make any observations on my term as Captain of EET or to acknowledge my friends who have been with me all of that time.  The nature of our meetings is not conducive to considered reflection nor would I have expected people to pay too much attention to my wafflings.  We’ve always been a respectful club with a good heart & soul but never been too formal.  Just how we like it!

Firstly let me say that I understand people have different views on our club, different reasons for their attachment & differing levels of commitment.   Nonetheless, I am writing this from my personal viewpoint & I will admit to having a deeper attachment than most.

As a foundation member I was there when we had some fairly influential golfing identities in charge of proceedings, the late Billy Sharpe perhaps the most well known to the SAGA hierarchy.  We started, therefore, with a bit of “street cred”.  Over the years we have maintained our reputation as a good, well run & knowledgeable Gr4 club & much of the credit for that goes to Bronte Milde & Ross Townsend, long term, & Greg Whicker more recently. 

My job was always more internal, hopefully maintaining a modicum of order on event days & perhaps saving my most sleepless night for the Saturday prior to Ashbourne.  I doubt that many of our guests notice the controlled chaos of that day &, if they don’t, then your committee has done its job.  I would mention here that we always have a procession of helpers with the BBQ & cleaning up so as a true club we have always worked well together.

I wasn’t contemplating a move out of the captaincy before last weekend but when Pete was nominated & agreed to stand I was comfortable with stepping down.  Pete has been VC for a few years now & has really been doing a lot of the things I used to do & probably doing it all a lot better.  Our club has never had a ballot & it’s not a thing I would have liked to see in such a convivial club as ours.  That is not to say that I am not sad at the prospect of letting go of “my club”.  I don’t mean that in any selfish way it’s just that, after being there at the start, watching it survive when we thought it may have withered by now & playing a part in keeping it together for so long, I now find myself a little lost in the background.  It will be hard not to grab the cards & read out the winners (with suitable praise or put downs) or shout down the boisterous on far too many occasions.  It is all part of the stuff I love about EET.

As a non-worker, my circle of friends & activities has diminished & friends of the kind I have made through EET become more important.  To that end I would like to say to all of you it has been a privilege to be your Captain & an incredibly rewarding time. 

It is also here that I would like to especially thank Bonzo & Ross, in particular.  Bonzo & I have been at the centre of many weird & wacky events, both through work & play, all aimed at making life a little more fun for our friends & workmates.  EET has been our longest running effort.  Most certainly he has been the more sensible & structured of the 2 of us in this endeavour & I thank him sincerely for his friendship & guidance (even “the stare”).  Ross joined Bonzo & I on our first overseas golf trip in 1993 without really knowing either of us from a bar of soap.  He was instantly a best friend & again, has done a great job in keeping EET financially responsible & a good little club in the eyes of our members &, importantly, the SAGA.   

That’s it.  All done.  All off my chest.   Cheers.         KC

Club Captain's Report:  2013/2014

This past season saw a number of new members start & a few others increase their attendance either on Sundays or at our retirees Wednesday games.  George Cleland, Stephen Gordge , Brian Beggs, Ross Higgins, Steve White, Bob Batty & the awkwardly tall Crathern come to mind.

Bronte Milde is in the process of surrendering his perpetual Singles crown.  Something about trees & Dunsinane Castle I think he said. The draw is well advanced & should have a new champ by February, I suspect.

Our trip to the South East was a success & we probably found the course at Kingston to be a much better layout than anticipated.  Need to thank the Forgans for organizing some of the accommodation & entertainment.  It also marked the first time I’ve lost my pants to a young male in a carpark (or anywhere else for that matter).  Both Fr. Fleming & Malcolm Fraser have sent their congratulations.

Ashbourne was another successful day & this year looks similarly well blessed with numbers. It gets a bit harder each year given that our fee for the day has gone up only slightly whilst costs are always on the up. Still, 60 players is about our break even point & we get there most years.

Dave Bartlett’s club T-shirts have proven popular although we’ve now run out of Mediums & Large.  Probably a reflection on the wise health choices & general conditioning of the club, as a whole.  Bronte is hoping they shrink in the wash but I haven’t evidenced that as yet.

Points for consideration this next year. 

• Given that we have more retired or semi retired individuals do we look at going to any of the country events we’ve been invited to in the past or have attended in years gone by eg Loxton Gr 4 ?
• Is there a club interest in doing Tassie as our golf trip?
• Do our members want us to look even further afield eg Vietnam. ?

Mildura Results

The 2014 Mildura Long weekend drew 14 starters, comprising the cream of the EET.   Many thanks to Bronte et al for arranging the accommodation (Coomealla), courses and Saturday night BBQ.

Friday 31/10/14:  Coomealla.
A tough course off the blue tees in the very warm conditions (about 35C), and the scores reflected the degree of difficulty (after a 5 hour drive).

Well done to:
Bronte M and   Peter P  (31 pts)
George C                        (30)

Long Drive:  Stephen G
NTP:             George C
Birdies:   Bronte M on par 4 fifteenth; David O  on par 4 sixth; Greg W on the par 3 eighteenth

Saturday 01/11/14:   Riverside
A slightly easier rated course, but a two club breeze increased the difficulty (plus a light sprinkle of rain on the first hole).  Turned into a very nice, but breezy morning.

Well done to:
Stephen G                      (35 pts)
Damien M & David O    (34)
Greg W                            (33)

EET SIngles Comp:   Noel Wellman snuck in over Tatts in the third round.   
Please God, don't let him win the bloody thing !!!   

Long drive:   George C
NTP:             Don't think anyone hit the green.    Nearest the tee - Greg W. 
Birdies:        Greg W on the par 4  thirteenth;   Ross T on the par 3 seventh

Sunday 02/11/14:  Mildura
The course had undergone significant re-modelling and upgrade since our previous visit.   Turned into a pretty reasonable morning, mostly sunny with a moderate breeze.

Well done to:
Ross T                        (38 pts) - unbelievable after his previous two rounds !!!
George C                   (32)
Greg W                       (31)

Long drive:      George C
NTP:                 George C
Birdies:             Kevin C on par 4 tenth.    

Major Awards:
Vin Memorial Trophy:  based on overall scores
Stephen Gordge.    It's always heartwarming when the newest member wins the main prize. 
Oreo and Whicker were the equal 'first losers'.

Wellman Trophy:  based largely on attire 
Kevin Crathern (by a country mile)