The PIS 06

..or Normie slips in another one or Normie slips back in ..or Normie pulls it on again ..or..Normie pulls it off again to put it on again ..or..

Victor Harbour, South Australia 4^th August 2006: It was early evening on Friday the 4^th when players started to congregate in the public bar of the Grosvenor Hotel in central Victor Harbour. This beautiful 100 year old venue was the accommodation, meals and entertainment hub for the Patricia Isabel Slape Memorial Golf Tournament 2006 and a good choice it was. Mind you not all players turned up on the Friday night. Jacko and Fruitcake didn’t appear and I’m not sure of their excuses while Brendan and Steve conjured up a pretty reasonable excuse. ‘Black hawk down, Black hawk down’ had been the message relayed across mobile phones earlier on as we received text messages telling us Brendan and Steve’s plane had been cancelled due to a lightening strike. They had been sent home from the airport in Melbourne and asked to return at 5.00am. They were now due to arrive in Adelaide at 8.30am on Saturday morning…..eeerrrrhhhh thought Ricko because that meant someone had to pick them up and guess who, he thought to himself as the rest of the player group had a very pleasant night in the Grosvenor front bar, eating, drinking, playing pool, watching the football and generally being merry until the wee hours…..

Saturday 5^th McCracken Country Club: So not everyone was bright eyed and bushy tailed as 14 players assembled at McCracken Country Club to contest the first day of PIS competition. Four groups of players were briefed by the Chief PIS Artist, Nick prior to tee off “One shot each before tee off, keep it high and keep it clean, break when told too. There is a fabulous prize for the team with the best average score for the round. Good luck” said Nick as he handed BOZ a shot (of the liquid kind). He then joined Steph, Jacko and Ricko to lead the field away, followed by Critey, Boog, Christo and Brendoon in Group 2, Boz, Normie and Steve in Group 3 and Harry, Fruity and JB in Group 4 (see group photos – day 1). Now for those that don’t know, McCracken Country Club is a 72 ACR course with a lot of bunkers and a lot of water. It is positioned high on a hill with views over Victor Harbour, Granite Island, the Bluff and Seal Rocks in the background. So what does all that mean you may well ask? – It means a lot of pain was had with beautiful views in the background.

Normie Dominates On Day 1: And so it was. Only one player had a net score (after handicap) anywhere near the par for the course and that was Normie with a net 70 (two under). Nick (net 77), Jacko (net 78) and Steph (net 79) were the only other players to get sub 80 for the day. “Yeah it was a bit like a cricket match” commented Christo later as a navigation beacon was lit up on the upstairs veranda of the Grosvenor hotel. “To make it worse BOZ, Normie and Steve won the team’s event for the group with the best average score on the day” moaned Boog who was only one of a number of players disappointed with their performances on day 1.

Modra- ation and a good ‘Saturday’ night was had by all: But it didn’t take long for most players to perk up with a pre- diner drink or ten (for medicinal purposes only) back in the pubic bar of the Grosvenor. Pub grub, Coopers and the odd spirit was the order of the day and that set the scene for a big big Saturday night. (Note: THIS MONTH COMPETITION – GUESS WHO DIDN’T GO TO BED AT ALL ON SATURDAY NIGHT? HINT – MORE THAN ONE PERSON). There was a strong football theme pervading the evening air intermingled with the pool table, rugby test on the TV and an AFL game on another TV. Eventually Tony made an appearance and the crowd went wild. (Note: Tony Modra plays for the local Victor Harbour AFL football team and is a local hero. He appeared in the bar late in the night and led a recognisance party down to the Crown Hotel, further down the street when the bar at the Grosvenor closed). See Nick for more details.

Big Breakfast sets up a Big 2^nd Day: Now one thing the Grosvenor Hotel did well was breakfast. Actually they only did one hot dish – bacon and eggs, which they served you whether you asked for it or not. Mind you I didn’t see anyone complaining as players tried to remember the events of the night before and contemplated the tough day ahead. Day two of the PIS was to be at the Victor Harbour Golf Club, an ACR 72 course set back in the central hills with glorious views over Encounter bay. Already there was obvious collateral damage with BOZ and Fruitcake failing to show (both with very good reasons but now not in the running). This left a very select group of 12 players to finally fight it out for the famous and revered Green Jacket.

Brendoon and Jacko had a go: So Brendan, Critey, Steph and Jacko led the field away, followed by Nick, Harry, Steve and Ricko in the second group and JB, Christo, Normie and Boog rounding out the field (see group photos – day 2). The pressure was on from the first shot of the day as Brendoon led away with a magnificent wood straight down the middle following up with his second shot onto the edge of the 1^st green. (See on-course photos). At the end of the round he was 86 off the stick and 73 after his handicap of 13 was deducted, putting him in equal first place on the second day. Not to be outdone, Jacko, also in that group, lifted to the challenge by getting 100 off the stick and net 73 after his handicap of 27 was deducted. This also gave him equal first place on the second day. “Yeah but what a gift of a handicap eh. 27 is a joke for Jacko, not to mention 38 for Normie and he plays twice a month!!” exclaimed Brendoon later at the presentations.

Mr Consistency – Normie Takes it Out: But the story of the weekend was Normie who with 111 off the stick and his handicap of 38 gained a net 73. This made him equal first on day two of competition (equal with Brendoon and Jacko).

But over the two days of competition that was enough to give Normie a net 143 strokes, a clear 8 strokes over the next competitor Jacko on net 151 strokes, and 13 strokes ahead Brendoon on a net 156 strokes. The rest of the field were net 160 strokes plus and well out of contention. It was a truly convincing performance.

If the Jacket Fits, Wear it: So it was an extremely happy Normie who stepped up to receive the Green Jack for 2006 from last year’s winner – Ricko. (Note: When Ricko was preparing the Jacket for this year he inadvertently added and crossed off 2006 and then added 2007. This confused Normie but no one else picked up on it.). “Why is 2006 crossed off? Is this the 2007 event? Is it 06-07 or something?” he asked while reading the pocket of the famous jacket. Chief PIS artist and event sponsor Nick, pointed out that Normie was the first person to ever win two PIS events (Normie being the winner of the 2004 PIS held at Port Fairy in Victoria). “If the jacket fits then wear it” smiled Normie wryly as he eased on the jacket, assisted by Ricko (see Normie presentation photos). “A deserving winner” retorted Nick as he continued with the minor presentations.

Everyone’s A Winner: Brendoon was best off the stick for the weekend and was awarded the new perpetual picture trophy donated by Jacko (see other presentation photos). Christo won the ‘Bob Hope Fellowship Award’ for an outstanding first up effort (Note: Somehow we lost Christo’s scores but it didn’t matter because he didn’t win). Ricko won ‘The Kong Award’ for a 275m off the deck longest 5-wood in the history of the universe and JB won the ‘Thanks-For-Not-Mentioning-Every-5-Minutes-That-You-Are-Going-Skiing-In-Argentina-Next-Week’ Award. Finally, group 1 (Brendoon, Steph, Jacko and Crtiey) had the best average team score and won the case of wine that was up for grabs. That was after Group 3, Normie, Steve and Boz, won a similar case of wine the previous day (average net score 78.7). (Note: I would mention a sponsor here if could remember who it was – really good wine though).

And so it was as the various competitors bid each other farewell for another year. The Victorians were delivered back to Adelaide airport (“Good riddance” mumbled Ricko and Critey under their breath) while the locals slowly made their way home. “The hospitality from these South Australians was just sensational” commented Steve the following week “Yeah they do it well apart from the handicaps” continued Brendan. “It is a must be at event” reinforced Steph. “But we missed out on the bloody jacket again” commiserated Harry. “So we better start angling for invitations to next year’s event” smiled Brendoon and they all strongly agreed. (Note: This is a hint to chief PIS artist Nick to invite a contingent of nnomds members to next year’s event). The nnomads club committee thanks the South Australians for looking after our team so well at this year’s event.

Results: The Patricia Isabel Slape
Memorial Golf Tournament 2006

Player	Day 1: McCracken			Day 2: Victor Harbour			Net
Player	Gross	HCP	Net	Gross	HCP	Net	Overall
Normie	108	38	70	111	38	73	143
Jacko	105	27	78	100	27	73	151
Brendan	96	13	83	86	13	73	156
Steph	100	21	79	102	21	81	160
Steve S	98	17	81	100	17	83	164
Christo	112	?	?	114	?	?	?
Nicko	101	24	77	112	24	88	165
Critey	123	43	80	131	43	88	168
Harry	109	28	81	120	28	92	173
Boog	103	22	81	118	22	96	177
Pittman	127	37	90	125	37	88	178
Riko	133	36	97	135	36	99	196
Boz	126	45	81
Fruitcake	118	34	84

Group Photos Day 1

Group Photos Day 2

On Course Photos

The Presentations - The Jacket