‘Seale
of Approval for
New Callaway King?’
4th November 2008: As we have come to expect,
Steph once again lifted the bar with his 6.15am Yarra Bend Car Park Coffee Club. Last year he introduced a gas stove and twin
percolators which was extremely popular with the tour party. This year he went
even further by providing freshly baked croissants to go with the freshly made
coffee and tea. Thus, as players arrived to contest the Melbourne Cup Cup for
2008, they were faced with even more alternatives than normal - tea or coffee,
with or without milk, with or without sugar, with or without croissants. “Questions, questions, questions. It’s
difficult to cope with so many options this early in the morning” claimed
Mark F who managed to exercise most choices including the croissants. “After all these years I’m amazed there is
still room for innovation. It’s another step forward for mankind”
pronounced Ashleigh who has never missed a Melbourne Cup Cup in its fifteen
year history. “And they have finally
spelled my name correctly” he added after reading the previous paragraph
(see photos of Steph’s Car Park Coffee Club).
Show of Strength by Callaway Specialists: Now as most readers appreciate, the Melbourne Cup Cup is a
Callaway event which attracted a number of Callaway specialists. Of particular note
were ‘The Brothers’ who have both won this event endlessly over the years,
Brendan who won the last two years and took out the TSCC in 2008 and … errh….and
….ummm… hmm. Actually, Steve, Pete and Brendan have won every Callaway event
for the last five years including every Melbourne Cup Cup and every Tulum Sands
Callaway Classic. “Yeah they just hand
the trophies to each other. It’s been going on for years” observed an
unsurprised Ashleigh. “Look you need to
know how to play these events. The strategy is different to the normal handicap
event” explained event co-sponsor Steve over a coffee and croissant. “And it gives we players on low handicaps a
real chance” added the other event co-sponsor Pete who had his handicap
slashed after winning this event in 1995 (where he got 80 off the stick). “Look some of us come believing we have a
good chance of winning that fabulous trophy” chimed in Emile. And he was
right because many of the competitors on the day were particularly keen to take
home the Melbourne Cup replica trophy on offer. “And unlike these perpetual trophies you get to keep it” added professional
bridesmaid Mark V who also fancied his chances.
Fierce Competition: So it was
early in the day when the media concluded it was going to be a fiercely
contested event. It was the quality of the competitors that suggested how tough
the competition was likely to be. For example, the first group off the tee
included fifteen year veteran Ashleigh, co-event sponsor and previous multiple
winner Pete S and on time for the last three events in a row Fritz. They were
followed by the second group with winner of the PIS 07 Harry, winner of the ADM
06 and past club champion Tom, and winner of the BIT 07 and current club
champion Emile. Closely behind them in the third group was winner of the BIT 06
Steph, professional bridesmaid Mark V and three times winner of the BIT Tim (2005,
2004, 2003). Bringing up the rear in the final group was winner of the ADM 08
Mark, co-event sponsor and previous multiple MCC winner Steve, endlessly
aspiring winner and staff nurse Min, and winner for the last two years Brendan.
Hence, there was huge interest from the gallery as the various player groups
stepped up to the tee (see player groups for 2008).
In Perfect
Conditions: The weather report had
predicted morning showers clearing in the afternoon. So with teeing off at
7.00am it was fair to say that most players expected somewhat wet conditions. “Well how wrong could they be? It was tee
shirt weather by mid morning” recalled staff nurse Min who was worried
about player UV exposure. And he was right because there wasn’t a drop of rain,
the clouds cleared into beautiful sunshine, the course was in great condition
and there were no hold ups. “They were
perfect conditions for a great event. You couldn’t help but enjoy yourself”
suggested Tim who had driven 2 hours to get to the 7.00am tee off (see photos
of on and off the course).
Predict the Unpredictable: And as
you can imagine the competitors rose to the challenge as some very good golf
was played. Some of those performances were predictable and some were not. For
example, when ‘Freddie Five Iron’
Fritz was teeing off on the 10th the head of his five iron broke
off, flying one hundred plus metres down the fairway. “A fair way down the fairway anyway” corrected Ashleigh who thought
the previous line was exaggeration. “Well that leaves me with a putter”
Fritz declared as he walked off the tee shaft in hand and wondering what to do.
“Hit the pro shop Fritz” suggested
Emile, and that’s exactly what he did purchasing a $10.00 five iron in about
two and half minutes. Then back to the 10th tee and away he went. “It’s lighter than I’m used to but it was
great out of the bunkers” replied Fritz later when asked about his new club
(see photo of Freddie and new five iron in previous photos on and off the
course).
Brendan Vies For the
Crown: But the somewhat predictable part was
Brendan’s performance, who finished up 89 off the stick, six shots in front of
anyone else. With his Callaway handicap of 19 strokes, this gave him a net
score of 70 strokes, eight strokes in front of the professional bridesmaid Mark
V (107, 29, 78) and nine strokes in front of the ‘Callaway King’ Steve (99, 20,
79) and staff nurse Min (114, 35, 79). The only other standout performances on
the day were Emile’s sensational NTP on the 13th and Steph’s
magnificent longest drive on the 15th. “Well I’ve got to say Brendan is coming on very well. I’ve taught him
all he knows about playing Callaway. My training has really paid off in 2008”
beamed a proud Steve as he realised that Brendan had achieved a clean sweep of
the nnomads Golf Club Callaway events in 2008 (Melbourne Cup Cup and Tulum
Sands Callaway Classic).
Pleasant
Presentations and Conversations: Now ‘The Brothers’
do it well when they organise an event. So there were great nibbles and cold
refreshments on hand as players walked off the course. “And left over croissants” reminded Steph who may as well have not
said anything because they were gone in an instant. Pete then conducted the presentations
as Brendan was presented with the Melbourne Cup Cup trophy, Emile was presented
with a Melbourne Cup pin for NTP, and Steph wasn’t presented with anything for
his longest drive (see photos of 2008
presentations). “Brisbane Lions,
thank you very much” smiled Brendan to the media as they jostled for a
comment from the 2008 MCC champion (see interview
with Brendan - warning 5.9mb). But his comments were almost lost in the
crowed as players agreed golf was an important and valuable pastime. “And it’s important to give those loved ones
some space at home isn’t it” added Harry trying to justify why he plays so
much golf.
So Now Who Holds The Title of ‘Callaway King’?: There were a few murmurs in the crowd as someone suggested
Brendan may be challenging for the Callaway King’s crown. After all Brendan has
won the Melbourne Cup Cup three years in a row and the Tulum Sands Callaway
Classic in two of those three years, including 2008. “I acknowledge my training has brought him near the top, but there is
fifteen years of history to beat before there is any crowning glory”
suggested co-event sponsor and existing ‘Callaway King’ Steve trying to bring
some stability to the situation. “He
certainly has some potential and time will tell” conceded co-event sponsor
Pete trying to push out the timelines by a few years.
“Now that was a nifty way
to avoid the issue” observed Tom who hadn’t been
quoted in the article to date. “I think
‘The Brothers’ are getting used to idea that someone other than them can win” added
Mark F at the last committee meeting. And it was at that last meeting that the
Club Committee sent a formal communiqué to Brendan congratulating him on his
brilliant win in 2008 and to ‘The Brothers’ for organising another truly
sensational event. “And there is still
time to get to the races afterwards” suggested likely 2008 nnomads Golf
Club champion Ricko by video link up, but that’s another story.
Results: The Melbourne Cup Cup, 2008
|
Player |
Gross |
Callaway Handicap |
Net Score |
Prizes |
|
|
89 |
19 |
70 |
Winner |
|
Mark V |
107 |
29 |
78 |
Runner up |
|
Steve |
99 |
20 |
79 |
|
|
Min |
114 |
35 |
79 |
|
|
Pete S |
95 |
15 |
80 |
|
|
Emile |
112 |
32 |
80 |
Nearest the Pin |
|
Fritz |
102 |
22 |
80 |
|
|
Mark F |
109 |
28 |
81 |
|
|
Steph |
98 |
17 |
81 |
Longest Drive |
|
Tim |
110 |
29 |
81 |
|
|
Harry |
98 |
16 |
82 |
|
|
Tom |
104 |
21 |
83 |
|
|
Ashleigh |
121 |
38 |
83 |
This month’s competition: What
mistake was Fritz involved in during the MCC?