Raffles Rag July 2019
Welcome all to the July Edition of your favourite organ.
This month sees some news about our Matchplay visit to beautiful Handara, coming up very soon, as well as what I think is some great news about our revamped Monthly Medal.
Navel Gazing
A few of us got to musing the other day at the 19th about our experiences with golf (as one does on such occasions), and why we love it so much – most of the time. The conversation revolved around what is, for me at least, one of Golf’s greatest inventions – its handicapping system.
Handicapping exists in many sports, but it is in golf that the concept works best, especially so when the handicapping system behind it is applied rigorously and fairly. It means that any two golfers of any ability, when both playing well, can enjoy a fiercely competitive match all day, very often 
with the result going down to the wire. I can think of no other sport where this is true. For me, it is the magic of it all. How many times do we play in a foursome, one cart against the other, and the result is decided on the last?
Does handicapping favour one Grade over another? It got me thinking, so the other day I looked at all the rounds Raffles has played at NKGC this year and from which Grade the winner came over the 71 rounds. What do you think were the results, Dear Reader? I asked a few members, and their guesstimates varied of course, but tended to the view that handicapping play under typically a Stableford format would favour long markers. This view came from the occasional very high score that usually only longer handicappers on a rare “day out” can record, sometimes well into the 40’s.
Well, the hard evidence shows a different story, and I think demonstrates the benefit to Club Golfers of the system. Over the 71 rounds, 30 were won by A Grade players, 29 by B Grade and 12 by C grade. I imagine consistency plays a major part in the relatively poorer showing of C Grade, which also accounts for most of the “big” scores on rarer occasions.
I looked also at the 12 latest Monthly medal winners (Best Nett), and those results were also surprisingly similar: A grade 3, B Grade 3, C Grade (men) 3 and Women 3.
It seems that, at Raffles Golf Club at least, Golf’s handicapping system goes a long way to achieving its aim – to create a golfing environment which favours no group, and gives all golfers the opportunity to be rewarded by playing their best, be it against their personal goals, or in competition with their fellow golfers.
There is hope for us all…
Handara Annual Matchplay weekend 13-14 July
This coming weekend sees the Annual Matchplay weekend versus the Handara Hillbillies, and it is shaping up to be a great weekend! The event will begin on Saturday with a tee-off time of 12:00. That will be followed by a BBQ around the fire pit in the evening hosted by Raffles.
Sunday morning will continue the competition against those dastardly Hillbillies at 8:30, followed by lunch in the clubhouse hosted by Handara, before a leisurely trip home.
Please register for this excellent event, and help Raffles bring home the spoils yet again. Don’t forget to book your accommodation (I can tell you the older chalets beside the 1st Tee are excellent value and very cozy for the Bedugul nights)
Feedback Time
I know, I know… I am repeating myself. Last month I asked participants at Golf Week to give us some feedback to assist our planning for 2020. So far, my email file on the subject is underflowing with one response. Either we were so good last time, you all deemed it unnecessary to mollycoddle us with your kindness, or sooooo many of you are potential members of the Procrastinators Club (of which I am a Life Member).
We are looking for a brief feedback from all participants in Golf Week. Every year, we look to improve on some things, introduce something new, and discard some things which did not meet expectations.
Please take the time to respond to just these four simple questions:
What do you think worked well this year, and Why?
What did not, and Why?
What would you like to see added?
What would you like to see removed, or changed.
That’s it. Please send your response to me at :
robgoodwin76@icloud.com.
One hint from those who know me. I have the attention span with emails of a Higgs Boson, which as you will no doubt be aware, is just
1.56 x 10-22 seconds. You may want to make your responses succinct…
I won’t respond to you individually, but we will consider all your input.
President’s Message
Dear Fellow Members,
This coming weekend we will be once again enjoying a weekend’s golf in the cool delightful precincts of Handara Golf Club up in the mountains at Bedugal. As most of you know we are now doing this every six months. So far we have managed to beat the Handara Hillbillies on every occasion. Hopefully this unbeaten run will continue. The format is as follows:- On the Saturday we will be doing a two man Ambrose and in the evening having what is now our traditional bonfire and barbecue evening. Great Stuff! On the Sunday it is Matchplay followed by a lunch sponsored by Handara Golf Club. Each time we have had this event it has been a wonderful social success. There are still places available so I would encourage those of you who are visiting Bali to not miss out on the opportunity to play this wonderful course which is fully contained inside an extinct (hopefully) volcano. You can of course register on line.
For the past year we have been holding a Member’s Trophy Day on a monthly basis. We seek Members who are happy to make a small trophy donation to the value of between 1.0 and 1.5M Rupiah (usually a bottle of booze) and to act as host for the day. The idea is that the hosting Member invites his mates and other members to come along and enjoy a game of golf in a format which he chooses. The event is always on a scheduled Raffles golf event day. The host gets to present his trophy to the winner and say a few (very few) words. It was the idea of our Raffles Rag Editor Rob Goodwin and it has been very successful. We are very keen to get as many Australian based players as possible to go on the roster to host this event. If you know you are coming to Bali in say 3 months time (or whenever) please put up your name to act as a host. We need lots of you to do so. You can then organise a party of your friends to come and play or just sit in the Raffles area with you at the Club and soak up the ambience (ambience is a French word which means “Bintang” – Ed.). For full details please contact Robbie (robgoodwin76@icloud.com)
This month it is my turn to host the Member’s Trophy Day and will be doing so on Friday the 17th of July. It will otherwise be our normal 8.00 am start and we will be playing off the blue tees with the format being a standard stableford game. I am donating two trophies this month. A bottle of Johnny Walker Black label and a bottle of Veuve Cliquot champagne. The winner gets to choose which bottle he or she wants and the other bottle will go to a lucky draw amongst the attendees. I would love it if as many of you as are able to come do so. There are also the normal cash prizes.
See you on the course,
Regards to all,
Robert Nelson
President.
Captain’s Corner
Happy Birthday to us !
Hi Raffles members
The next few months feature lots of special golf events in Bali.
First up is the Raffles v’s Hillbillies on 13-14th July – see our previous email for details, and a description from the Chairman’s Report.
Fliers for The Nations Cup – 10th August at Bali National and the Super 6’s 8th – 14th September, also at Bali National, appear elsewhere in this month’s Rag. Contact us for more details if you are interested.
But 2019 is also Raffles 10th Anniversary , and to celebrate we’re planning a 2 day event.
Day 1 – Thursday 5th September – Bukit Pandawa – PM tee-off , followed by a dinner celebration after the golf at the upstairs restaurant.
Day 2 – Friday 6th September – NKG – AM tee-off , followed by a lunch in the cafe.
More details will follow shortly , but numbers will be limited.
Those thinking of making a trip to Bali around that time may consider joining the Super 6’s tournament onto the end of our 10th year Anniversary 2 day event for a serious golf trip !
Finally, the forward planners among us will be happy to know we’ve just locked in dates for Golf Week 2020.
We expect the format to be unchanged from this year’s event and will begin Friday 8th May through Sunday 17th May. Whilst the rates for the golf are still some way off being confirmed , this early advice should make flights and hotel booking cheaper to book.
Good golfing
Mike Barber – Captain
Monthly Medal
Our Monthly Medal winners for June held off a strong field of 40 participants in fairly breezy conditions to take the prizes. Our Best Nett player came from B Grade in the form of the redoubtable Mike Fitzpatrick, carding an excellent nett 69. A Grader and Mr In Form Tony Brandenburg snaffled the Best Gross with a very tasty 77.
Our A Grade winner was Howard Otten (74), B Grade John Yerkovich (72), and C Grade brought the glamour with Ira Septiantara (70)taking the prize.
John, Mike, Ira, Howard and Tony in a group gloat.
As advised last month, we have been hard at work revamping the Monthly Medal contest to make it more competitive, and to increase its importance in Raffles calendar.
From July, there will now be just one Monthly Medal awarded each month – to the Best Nett score on the day (instead of the 5 previously awarded – Best Nett, Best Gross, Best A,B and C Grades).
The winner will receive the Trophy, 12 points towards Player of the Month, top prizemoney and entry into the Medallist of the Year competition held during Golf Week. Second to Fifth will receive the usual 4,3,2 or 1 points.To recognise our best golfers in Raffles, the Best Gross will also receive 3 points, in addition to any other points earned according to their place in the handicap field.
And now…. For the big news. Jenggala is a renowned ceramic art designer and producer in Bali, and has graciously committed to sponsoring Raffles by providing each of the Monthly Medals, plus an even grander Medalist of the Year Award. So welcome to the Jenggala Monthly Medal competition. Our Nett winner from June and July will each receive the Jenggala Monthly Medal once production commences.
Here are mock-ups of our new Jenggala Monthly Medal and Medalist of the Year Awards. I know you will agree they are a step up from the beer mugs!!
Member’s Trophy Day, June
June was the month for Robbie Goodwin’s Trophy Day, and the field set out in harsh conditions of 27C and a cooling breeze to compete for the trophy of six bottles of Australian Wine with a Par competition off the Blue Tees.
The scoring was very competitive, with some fine scores in the stronger breezes encountered later. Hands down winner with an excellent score of 7 up was Aaron Willis (hcp 18), who took home the first prizemoney award but… was OB for the presentation so the trophy automatically moved to second place but… Donor Robbie also played well (caddies were hoarse after so many “Good Shot Robbies”) at +6 (hcp14) and ineligible to win his own.
At last, a worthy and eligible winner was Alain Bronner, with a fine +3 off a handicap of 8. Well done Alain!!
Alain receives his wine from Robbie, despite the distraction of a tiny man in a red cap crawling up his back
Golfer of the Month
Our best golfer for June was a runaway victor, brought about by another fine and consistent display – Tony Brandenburg. Second last month, Tony maintained his form and outstripped the competition by 10 points, accruing 31 points from just 8 starts. Great golf, Tony!!
Second place went to Trevor Kuzio on 21 points (as you would have already deduced, Dear Reader, had you been paying attention). Trevor may well have scored more, except for repeatedly incurring his self-proclaimed penalty of having a shot of firewater after each birdie, coupled with his penchant for playing with people who are capable of scoring enough of them.
The other podium winners were Mike Fitzpatrick (3rd) 19 points, and a tie for fourth on 16 points by John Yerkovich and David Kirkwood.
Special mention should be made of 6th place, for no apparent reason. This was a tie on 13 points for Robbie Goodwin and Wayne Vizgoft.
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