2022 Thinkwater Timaru Winners

Congratulations 

Darrell Milne  and  Rose Alison

Report from Mens Final by Pete Theron

10 of our 11 finalists gathered outside the clubhouse for the group photograph & presentation of their certificates & gift from Karen Collier. The 11th finalist was strangely absent. His caddie, Kevin McElhinney, was there pacing nervously to & fro. Eventually Barry strode onto the practice green looking every inch like the cool gunslinger he was with his 31 handicap in his holster.

After the presentation by Karen the players made their way to the first tee. We couldn’t figure out why Ray Malcom was dragging his feet until we realised that he was on a deliberate go slow waiting for his caddie, Steve Pilcher to arrive.

Each player drew a number & teed off in order of the draw. Balls flew left, balls flew right & some even went up the middle. Tension was high until following Barry’s shot; Kevin grabbed his player’s club & made a big show of cleaning & shining it right in Steve’s face. We think it is the first time in recorded history that Barry’s clubs had ever been cleaned! Everyone had a great laugh & the battle of the caddies had also begun.

On approach to the green, Paul Roddick decided to visit the ladies match on the 2nd tee, with a slight shank. To be fair, he was fighting to stay upright with an unfortunate bout of illness that forced him off the course the previous day. The fact that he was even there was testament to how prestigious this event is for our club. Most approach shots took a bounce & ended up on the back of the green which indicated how hard the conditions were to be, with slick greens & plenty of run.

Bill Seyb chipped in for the first birdie of the match. The hole ended with a tie between 3 players for the first chip off between Darrell Milne, Ned Kelly and Peter Bennet. We had to drop 2 players off on the first hole as we started with 1 extra finalist due to a programming error. All three played great chips which required an official measure to determine that Darrell was though with Ned & Peter sharing the ignominy of being out on the 1st hole.

The tee off on the 2nd was carnage. A struggling Paul just made it past the ladies. David Henshaw decided to go gardening but was lucky enough to earn a free drop. Barry-I-have-2-shots-Angel calmly slotted a par net 1 to earn him a place on the next hole. It became a putt-off, but it was obvious that Paul was clearly struggling & he bowed out with a triple bogey.

On the 3rd, Bob Ogier paid a visit to the trees on the left-hand side. This was to prove his undoing at the green. Ray Malcom did the “please come back in bounds dance” as he sliced his tee shot right. He got the moves right & his ball bounced back in bounds. Barry didn’t make it past the ladies’ tee but hit a great recovery shot to the center of the fairway. At the green, we had our second play-off between Bob & David. In the putt off, David got through by 2-inches & it was goodbye to Bob.

On 4th, David had a great shot to hit the green. There is speculation that Ray’s caddie gave him the wrong club as he flew the green. However, enter Michael Ford who must have had too many Weetabix at breakfast as his 8-iron flew the green, pitched on the back down-slope & disappeared out of bounds. Ray’s caddie vacuumed the green to give his player a clean line to the hole, but Ray fluffed his chip & just made the green. Despite playing a great chip Michael could not recover & the hole was again decided with a triple bogey.

The big guns brought out their big drives on the 5th. Barry decided to visit the trees on the left. Both Ray & Craig Burnett played fantastic approach shots to the green. In the end, Barry despite his 2-shot advantage, ended up in a tie with Darrell. The 3rd play-off was a chip off. Darrell, in his second play-off of the day, played a great chip but it checked too much & ended up about 3-feet short of the hole. Barry, in his wisdom (we blame the caddie advice here), decided to putt, but his ball bounced into the air on the fringe which took all the speed out of it & it ended up short of Darrell’s ball. Exit stage left Barry!

To the 6th. Darrell & Bill took on the trees on the right-hand side. Ray hit a massive drive down the center of the fairway. Bill tried a risky recovery with a low sliced fairway wood but topped it. Darrell also mishit & advanced his ball only a short way, hitting another tree. Craig mishit his approach & landed well short. Bill hit a great third only to watch the ball bounce agonisingly short, roll on & then off again. Darrell’s approach hit the green & rolled past the hole onto the fringe behind. Following his great drive, Ray hit the front of the green with his second giving him another long putt. Bill had a chance to force a play-off only to see his putt slip past the hole giving him a bogey & he was out.

Then there were four. Despite repeating his “don’t-go-out-of-bounds” dance, Ray sliced one into deepest darkest Africa. Craig’s drive also looked close to the out of bounds. We located Craig’s ball in bounds. All 4 players were well positioned for their wedge approaches. David then had the dreaded shank & ended up short right. Ray attacked the pin, nearly binning his approach but it slipped past & off to the right-hand side. Darrell & Craig played their approaches & also ended up in a similar position to Rays’s. Darrell slotted his putt for a birdie. Both David & Ray ended with a double bogey & this required our 4th play-off. Ray hit a great chip to just a couple of feet below the pin. David’s chip did not check & rolled on past the pin ending his hopes of staying in the game.

On the 8th, Craig hit a great shot which hit the green & rolled off onto the fringe on the left-hand side. Ray pulled his shot leaving him pin high but left. Darrell’s shot ended up short right. From there he played a great chip to leave a two-foot putt for par. Ray played a great recovery to put his ball about 6 feet above the hole. Craig hit a great approach putt, giving him a simple tap in par. Ray went first, missed, bogey. All the on-lookers thought it was over for him, but Darrell’s putt slipped under the hole giving him his 3rd play-off of the day. In the resulting putt off, Ray was eliminated putting Darrell into the final hole with Craig.

On the 9th, Craig’s drive was straight down the centre leaving him an approach from the fairway adjacent to the mound on the left-hand side. Darrell played a hook which hit the big tree on the left-hand side near the 8th-tee. He then played the shot of the day, leaving his ball on the fringe below the green. Craig’s second was slightly mishit & landed short but bounced just on to the green. Darrell, obviously play-off hardened & with his 10th fag hanging from his lips chipped to about 4 feet below the hole. Craig charged his putt, giving him a return putt from above the hole. He missed the return & ended up with the dreaded 3-putt bogey. Darrell’s putt hit the hole & spun out left, giving him a bogey but a nett 4 & more importantly the win!

Congratulations to Darrell & all the players.

A huge thank you to Grant & Karen Collier & Thinkwater Timaru for their continued support & sponsorship of this fantastic flagship competition.

The course was again immaculate which sums up how good Damien & his team are at presenting our members with the best course in the region.

Report from Trish Crump on Womens Final 

In ideal conditions on Sunday 16^th October, the 10 women finalists in the 2022 Thinkwater Shootout gathered at No 1 Tee. The atmosphere was one of nervousness and concentration with a touch of light-hearted chatter.

Ali Barrett, Angela Curry, Marg O’Neill, Helen Taylor, Joan Greer, Cath Boothroyd, Rose Allison, Mary McIlraith, Rosa Westgarth and Noeline Scully were the lucky monthly finalists from throughout the year.

Ali Barrett missed the fairway and with her second shot over the back of the green managed a 5 and was lucky to avoid the downhill Putt Off between Cath, Noeline and Mary. Noeline’s putt fell further from the pin and she was the first eliminated.

Mary McIlraith made some unfortunate errors on the 2^nd hole and was the next to fall out of contention.

With nerves settling down, the remaining 8 ladies moved onto the 3^rd hole. Some brilliant drives by Cath, Rose and Ali, followed by steady 2^nd and 3^rd shots saw them up near the green. Angela Curry struggles along the left hand side of the fairway, and even with her 2 shots on the hole, could not avoid a net 6 and left the group.

Marg O’Neil had the best drive on No 4, reaching the green and looking good for making a 2 on the hole. This was not to be – par was made. With the other 6 ladies all getting a shot on the hole, Ali Barrett had to pull out all reserves to be in contention – her putt for a 3 stopping just short of the hole. Her 4, nett 4 could not beat the nett 2’s and 3’s and so Ali stepped aside.

The Par 4 5^th hole gave 4 out of the 6 ladies a 2 shot advantage. There was some excellent scoring on this hole from all participants and it came as no surprise there would be no clear winner on the hole . A Chip off was required between Marg, Rose and Rosa who all had nett 4’s. Alas, Marg’s ball landed furthest from the pin and Marg wished the remaining 5 ladies well.

And then there were 5. Cath played No 6 exceptionally well and was on the green for 3 – remembering this is a Par 5 for the ladies. Cath, Joan and Rose all walked away with a par however Rosa had struggled a little getting up to the green and posted a 6 (nett 5) and was cut from the field.

The 7^th hole wasn’t giving up too much for the remaining 4 ladies – Helen, Joan and Cath recorded nett 5’s and another chip off was required. This time from the right rough. Unfortunately, Joan, who had played steady for the 7 holes, 3 putted on the 7^th hole to force a 3 way chip off. She mistimed her shot and the ball landed too far away from the target. Joan’s turn to leave the field.

Helen, Rose and Cath all recorded 4’s on the Par 3 8^th but Helen’s 2 shot advantage gave her the edge with a nett 2. Another putt off required from Cath and Rose. This time from the right back of the green, over the ridge to the flag on the left hand side. Both read the green well but Rose prevailed with the closer of the 2.

Going into the 9^th, Helen had a 1 shot advantage over Rose. Rose drove her ball to the middle of the fairway but dragged her second shot left and third shot stayed left of the green too. With both players on the green for 4, the spectators knew it was going to be a close finish. Helen 2 putted to finish with a 6. Rose stepped up to her ball and slotted the putt for a 5. With both having nett 4’s another chip off was required. This time from the top of the green in the rough, for a downhill chip. Helen chipped first with her ball landing on the green and rolling too far left of the pin. Rose’s chip had the more favourable bounce on the green and rolled 5 feet left of the pin giving her the win. Well done & congratulations Rose.

And what awesome golf played by all ladies – you should be proud of yourselves!!