Mark Leaves the Bridesmaid
to the Groom!

10^th April 2009: It was Good Friday morning when slowly but surely the competitors began to arrive at Devilbend Golf Club, the appointed venue for the inaugural ‘Blessed are the Big Nose’ Cup. “I’ve come here to win” stated a very confident Mark Vas as he got out of his car. “I’m just making up the numbers today” replied a humble Emile, who quietly fancied his chances in the second nnomads Golf Club sanctioned event for 2009. “Where are the golf carts?” asked a confused Tom who didn’t realise the carts had been cancelled by popular vote at the last committee meeting. Note: Tom was in a particularly innovative mood after ‘the night before’ when he famously entertained Min’s neighbours on both sides of the fence into the small hours of the morning. After such a rugged night, Tom decided he needed a seat on his buggy during the tournament, and when finding he couldn’t have a golf cart, he came up with a cunning way of adding a seat to a pull buggy he hired from the pro-shop. “Apart from fact that everything fell out every time I opened the top, and that it sank into the ground when I sat on it heavily, I thought it worked out very well” reported Tom during the game (see Toms innovative buggy seat), but that is another story.

Elite nnomads veterans on a Tough Course: So back on theme, we were discussing Devilbend which is an ACR 70 (when you play off the yellow tees), 5,998 metre, medium length club course set in beautiful remnant bushland, on the Mornington Peninsular in Victoria. It was in fantastic condition on the day, with softish fairways and well cut greens that got faster and faster as the day went on. It proved to be the perfect venue for the first stableford golf competition ever run by the nnomads Golf Club.

And to compliment this tough, arguably sand belt course was a sensational list of élite nnomads Golf Club veterans, who were there to contest the event. First onto the tee was event sponsor and competition coordinator - Min (accredited nurse in her time off), famously sub 80 strokes at Yarra Bend during the MCC - Pete, past and inaugural nnomads Golf Club champion 2003 - Cardinal Fang, and winner of the ‘PIS Green Jacket’ 2007 - Harry (the only out of state player to ever achieve this). They were followed in the second group by past club champion 2006 - Tom (alias Thombie the Mist), professional bridesmaid Mark Vas (2^nd at umpteen recent nnomads Golf Club events but no banana), Freddie five iron - Fritz (who has perfected bunker shots using a five iron), and the champions’ background of choice - Mark F (who last year slashed his handicap more than anyone ever has in a twelve month period and is current holder of the Anzac Day Medal). At the back of the field in the final group was past nnomads Golf Club champion 2007 - Emile, winner of the BIT 2006 and one of the biggest hitters in the club - Steph, winner of umpteen Melb Cup Cup trophies over the years and current holder of the SHIT - Steve, and almost Callaway King and winner of the inaugural AMOK 2009 - Brendan. With such a list of seasoned competitors, it was clear there was going to be some fierce competition before a winner was announced that day (see player groups 2009 and on course activity).

Fierce Competition: And that is exactly what happened. It was a fierce competition with some brilliant golf on display. For example, Mark F was in the competition until the last few holes eventually ending up on 30 stableford points, giving him outright third place. Another example was Emile who played consistently throughout the game eventually earning a superb 34 points and outright second place overall. Then there was Steve’s NTP on the 3^rd, Tom’s NTP on the 8^th and Min’s NTP on the 11^th, all truly eloquent shots. And that is not to mention Steph’s longest drive on the 10^th, which was just a sensational drive.

Loss of a Bridesmaid: But the story of the day was Mark Vas, who had a long term reputation for coming second in nnomad Golf Club championship events and was thus nicknamed ‘the bridesmaid’. Well not today! Mark shook off the ‘bridesmaid’ mantle with a sensational 37 Stableford points. This was one stroke under the card and a very convincing four strokes in front of Emile. It was no wonder he gained a standing ovation from all of the players when he was called on to make a speech at the presentations back at Min’s later in the day. “Just remember boys, just slow it down. Just slow it down” suggested Mark as he accepted the applause handed out by the crowd (see interview with Mark Vas and the 2009 BBNC presentations).

Controversy over Naming Rights: Just as an aside, some weeks ago Shanksy gained control of the event naming subcommittee and successfully lobbied for the adoption of the event name - ‘Blessed are the Big Nose’ Cup. As one of his tactics during negotiations he promised to be in attendance for the event, which was very effective at the time because everyone became distracted and took their eye off the ball. By the time Shanksy explained he wasn’t actually going to be there on the day due to some business commitments in California, it was too late. The name had been adopted and the invitations had been sent out. “Well I thought it meant there would be a Shanksy Invitational Tournament in the making” confessed a circumspect Min as he realised he had been duped by Shanksy again. “Well it’s a serious offence to tease nnomads Golf Club members. I think he should be sanctioned!” suggested an equally confused Brendan during a committee meeting held after the game. “So who thinks Shanksy should be sanctioned?” asked Harry as the motion went to the vote. And from what I gather, Shanksy was sanctioned, or is going to be when he next appears, although it was not clear how he was to be sanctioned because I couldn’t hear over the hails of laughter. (See quorum of members voting on the Shanksy sanctions).

The Championship Hots Up: And so the second nnomads Gold Club championship event for 2009 has been successfully completed. For those that were not aware, all players in this competition were required to putt out, even though it was a stableford event. This allowed the stroke scores for all players to be eligible for the 2009 Club Championship. Now to be eligible to win the club championship all competitors must submit three cards from nnomads Golf Club sanctioned championship events. So far in 2009 there have only been two sanctioned events so no one qualifies yet. However, as the 2^nd table below illustrates Mark Vas is perfectly placed after one event with an average net score of 69 strokes. Equally well placed is Brendan who after two sanctioned games has an average net score of 74.5 strokes, a smidgen in front of Harry with an average net score of 76.4 strokes. “It is very early days to be talking about the championship. Just wait for the Anzac Day Medal” interrupted the ‘Hanging Judge’ - Jack by text from the Melbourne law courts. “And I’ll be having at least one SHiT in 2009” emailed Shanksy from a safe offshore location.

Lest We Forget: So there you have it. The next opportunity for members to compete for nnomads Gold Club championship will be at the Growling Frog on Anzac day where the Anzac Day Medal will be contested for 2009. Already the competitor list looks impressive including all past ADM champions (Jack, Tom and Mark F) and a stream of seasoned campaigners. In addition Steve has very generously waived his appearance fee. Clearly, this will be an event not to miss so see you there.

Results: ‘Blessed are the Big Nose’ Cup 2009

Course	Player	HCP	Stableford Score	Prizes
Devilbend GC	Mark Vas	27	37	1^st Prize (6 balls)
Devilbend GC	Emile	32	34	2^nd Prize (2 balls)
Devilbend GC	Mark F	30	30
Devilbend GC	Steve	19	29	NTP (2 balls)
Devilbend GC	Harry	21	28
Devilbend GC	Min	33	28	NTP (2 balls)
Devilbend GC	Fritz	29	27
Devilbend GC	Steph	18	27	LD (2 balls)
Devilbend GC	Brendan	12	26
Devilbend GC	Tom	18	23	NTP (2 balls)
Devilbend GC	Fang	22	22
Devilbend GC	Pete S	21	19

nnomads Golf Club Championship Progress
As at 10^th April 2009

Player	Totals Gross Score	Total Handicap	Total Net Score	Number of cards submitted	Average Net Score
Brendan	183	34	149	2	74.5
Harry	198	45	153	2	76.5
Min	224	66	158	2	79.0
Pete S	201	42	159	2	79.5
Steve	198	38	160	2	80.0
Fritz	228	58	170	2	85.0
Mark F	232	60	172	2	86.0
Mark Vas	96	27	69	1	69.0
Steph	95	18	77	1	77.0
Emile	113	32	81	1	81.0
Tom	104	18	86	1	86.0
Fang	116	22	94	1	94.0

Player Groups

On Course

Presentations

Winner’s Speech

The Sanctions Decision

This month’s competition: What were Mark F and Pete S talking about?
Hint: It occurred during a spate of democracy!