2017 KGS

The Golf

The Format: Teams of four playing two-ball ambrose best-ball on Saturday and four-ball ambrose best-ball on Sunday.

The Rules: Since slow play is a potential problem for our gangs, these rules are designed to encourage play in the right spirit and at the right pace. Teams play their chosen best ball on each shot and may place their ball half a club length (about 50cms) from where the chosen ball lies, no nearer the hole. Balls must be placed in the same cut as the chosen ball. In the interests of fast play from tee to green, teams are NOT required to mark with a tee and precisely measure from the chosen ball as they play each shot. Team members can play in any order on a shot. Putting: Once on the green, Bushrangers should mark near the chosen best ball so each team member plays from near enough to the exact same position.

Handicapping: Each person will be assigned a handicap by the handicapper based on official handicaps and information supplied by the Bushrangers. The handicapper will be governed by a commitment to rewarding good play according to a player’s ability. Team handicaps for the ambrose groupings are calculated from the individual marks.

Playoffs: In the event of a tie, a sudden-death playoff will be conducted. Teams play together as a foursome (taking alternate strokes playing one ball). The order is continuous and carries over from one hole to the next until the playoff is decided.

Nearest-the-Pin & Longest Drive: Will be contested on both days and, in the interests of team gloating and solidarity, any player who wins a LD or NTP wins prizes and glory for his entire team.

The Rodeo Rule: This is minimum drives for each team member and will be enforced. Each team’s individual rodeo requirements will appear on their scorecard.

Additional Info

Rounds One & Two: 2-ball ambrose starting at 11:20am on Saturday. Competitors need to be at the course at least half an hour before hit off. All competitors have golf carts on both days.

Round Three: 4-ball ambrose from 9:00am on Sunday. Competitors need to be at the course by 8:00am.

The Presentation: After golf on Sunday, we will collate the scores and have the presentation as quickly as possible. The venue for the presentation will be back in the comfort of the motel.
 

The History of The Kelly Gang Shootout at Glenrowan

The Kelly Gang arrived in Glenrowan on 27 June 1880 and took about 70 hostages at the Glenrowan Inn. They planned to derail a train of police coming for them and while they waited for the train, they kept the hostages entertained by breaking out the turps and firing up a party that was a rollicking good time. The party lasted for two days. Meanwhile the police avoided the derailment and laid siege to the pub.

The gang members, Ned Kelly, Dan Kelly, Steve Hart and Joe Byrne, donned their now-famous helmets and armour (weighing about 44 kg), and fought a gun battle with the police. Before dawn on Monday June 28, Ned Kelly left the rear of the inn in his armour and circled behind the police. As the dawn broke, Ned cast an eerie figure marching out of the morning fog in his armour and overcoat, firing his revolvers. Police bullets bounced off his armour and it was not until the police shot at his legs that he slowed. He eventually collapsed and was captured beside a large fallen gum tree. He was near death and not expected to survive.

The rest of the gang died in the pub, probably from gun shot wounds, although the police bravely made sure by torching the building and burning Anne Jones’ pub to the ground. The police suffered only one minor injury: the senior officer, Superintendent Francis Hare, copped a scratch to his wrist, then fled the battle and was later suspended for his cowardice. Police bullets struck several of the hostages during the siege, at least two fatally. Ned lived and left on the train they tried to derail.
 

The Form Guide

The Glenrowan Hacks – Steve Hart, Joe Byrne and Dan Kelly all lost their lives at the siege in Glenrowan (June 26–28, 1880) that Ned had hoped would be the catalyst for a new republic. The myth of Ned grew as he somehow survived the ordeal having sustained enough gunshot wounds to bring down a horse. It was the first and last time they wore their iconic armour. In honour of this, the defending champions will play the KGS every year as The Glenrowan Hacks.

Nick Sutherland (Nicko)             Lee Dodge (Dodgy)
Kidman (Antonia)                  Adrian Smithwick (Yo)

Coming off a stellar win last year, this unruly mob will strut into town with an air of confidence not seen since the Kelly Gang themselves bowled into Glenrowan in 1880. Hard to see them far from the business end on Sunday arvo, but may find the going a bit tougher this year with a much higher-quality field to beat this time compared with the circus freaks they had to overcome in Rich River in 2016. The rest of the field went to water on Sunday and left this loose crew of golf nuts coasting over the line in one of the greatest Brabury’s since the 2002 Winter Olympics.

The Frosty Beveridges – Ned Kelly was born in Beveridge, at the foot of Fraser’s Hill, 40 kms north of Melbourne. It was his first home town and is well known for being at its best when the temperatures are a little on the chilly side.

Shane Morris (Mr. Sharn)      Johnnie Morris (Buddha)
Sexton (Capt. Risky)                     Lindsay Pyke (Pykey)

These four reclusive wallflowers come fresh off a successful crusade at The SGA International in Thailand this March where they set the world on fire with some stellar performances that made them some of the most popular men on tour. Not that they troubled the scorers nor the engravers – their golf was mostly deplorable, but their efforts between rounds was absolutely world-class. We don’t much fancy their chances of taking home any silverware here but a lot of fun is guaranteed for all although having a good time for a long time has proven to be a recipe for success in the past at the KGS so they are not without a chance.
 

The Beechworth Boys – Ned was gaoled as a teenager for receiving a stolen horse. In January 1873, he was transferred from Pentridge to Beechworth Prison where he spent the next year of his youth learning from hardened criminals how he might become an upstanding member of the community.

Matthew Pitt (Pw Jones)                Ian Steer (Steery
Darren Nelson (Dazzler)              James Bourke (JB)

It goes without saying that this is, without any shadow of a doubt, the most debonair, sophisticated, swash-buckling, worldly and humble team. Ever. It would not be stretching the truth to add that, as a team full of wisdom, experience, guile, wit, emotional intelligence, humility and intellectual gravitas, these gents may be the most articulate, cunning, perspicacious and erudite mob ever to play in the KGS. However, what they make up for in character, they certainly lack in golfing prowess. Three of them are KGS novices and the other has played this event more than any other and never come close. Will probably struggle to contend but could be the classiest also-ran in the history of sports.
 

The Benalla Burglars – As the major town closest to Ned Kelly’s home, Benalla was the epicentre of Kelly’s bushranging days and was the police headquarters for the Kelly manhunt. As a lad, Ned famously gave three troopers a hiding one day in the main street.

Mark Henderson (Hendo)           Wayne Ball (Ballo)
Nichols (Bretto)                        Simon Lovett (Simo)

This mob of sharp-witted, big-hitting, trash-talking, fun-loving, knee-slapping, rib-tickling bushrangers are very capable of taking this event by the scruff of the neck and prancing off with the Glenrowan Perpetual Trophy. Hendo has won it in 2014 and he comes in here with form having taken home (and eaten) the chocolates from King Island at the CCC in May. A few questions do linger about their collective physical and emotional capacity to stay the distance here, but their mental strength and sheer ball-striking power coupled with clinical reliability of Ballo makes this mob one of the favourites here this week. Are certainly here for the fun and a good times but don’t be at all surprised if we see them elbowing their way through to the podium on Sunday arvo.

The Mansfield Wombats – It was the shooting of three Mansfield policemen at Stringybark Creek that lit the fuse for The Kelly Outbreak and put a huge price on the heads of the gang members. After this, the Kelly’s used the nearby Wombat Ranges as a hideout and a base for launching raids. It is well known that a wombat eats, roots and leaves.

Robbie O’Donnell (Anchor)            John Waltis (J-Dub)
Glen McGowan (Mick)                  Nathan Smith (Smitty)

Without a single BRG title between them (and the event not being match play), this mob of transients and drifters have very little to recommend their chances. On the surface they are four pals from Sydney, but scratch the surface and the cracks appear – they are from all over the place and they ARE all over the place. They certainly can golf their collective balls and could threaten in the right conditions, but their lack of identity and cultural confusion make it clear that these hobos are just making up the numbers.
 

The Corowa Borrowers – Corowa was used by the Kellys to 'trade' horses and cattle they had ‘acquired’. In early 1879 the gang was seen back in the region when they crossed the Murray to escape the Victorian Police. Ned knew the river crossings as he had worked at Fairfield Vineyard, danced at Forty’s Pub in Wahgunyah and drank in Corowa.

John Moore (JM)                     Leanne Nolte (Ellen)
Jensen (PJ)                               Wayne Dyson (Dyso)

Not a lot of BRG Major tournament experience amongst this motley crew of golfing misfits, but they do have a lot of miles on the SGA Tour and other SGA events under their belts. In some respects, their lack of prior form in BRG events can work in their favour. Much like when an amateur makes their pro debut, the fearlessness that comes with having no emotional scars from previous events can be a great advantage. Except that BRG events are far more arduous and demanding than a normal golf event they will have ever played. With the après golf activities normally more stressful on the body and mind than the golf itself, these novices may be found wanting by the end of the weekend.
 

The Jerilderie Gents – The Kelly Gang popped by Jerilderie in 1879, held up the local bank, jagged a few pounds, penned a feisty letter and wandered over to the Telegraph Office to chop down a few poles.

Nick Randone (Rambo)                  Tim Likos (Liko)
Davis (Brendo)                        Ashley Davis (Davo)

Another bunch of Bushranger novices here, we hope for their sake that the quest for golfing glory will be secondary to seeking out the fun, frivolity and good times on offer here. Given the dubious company they are known to keep, they appear to have the right breeding and bloodlines to put in a good first-up performance, but given the previous inglorious history of maiden starters in this event, this is not the mob to bet the farm on. Rumoured to be handy on the lip and capable of holding up their end of the bar between rounds but their problems start when they get to the first tee. Consider boxing into your trifectas to add a bit of value.