2018 BC

The Event

The Format: Teams of four playing single stroke Friday, two-ball ambrose strokeplay on Saturday and four-ball ambrose strokeplay 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 play preferred lies – you may place your 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 balls and precisely measure from the chosen ball as they play each shot. Pace of play is important so do not waste time unnecessarily. Team members can play in any order on a shot. Once on the putting green, Bushrangers should mark near the chosen best ball so each team member putts from near enough to the exact same position.

No Gimmes: Some nutter once gave someone a short putt in a Cup. This is not on under any circumstances. We are here for fun, but the golf is (slightly) serious. The Bushranger Cup is a strokeplay event (not match-play) and every ball must be holed out. You can concede putts in one-on-one matchplay, but strokeplay is the field vs the field so no gimmes.

Handicapping: Each person is assigned a handicap by the handicapper based on official handicaps and/or info 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 handicaps.

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). Once established on the first hole, 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 all 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.

A Brief History of The Bushranger Cup

The Bushranger Cup was founded in 2004 with intention of bringing a group of pals together for a weekend of golf and fun. Gents who had accumulated other commitments in their lives, were playing less golf and mates were not getting together so often. The intention of the Cup was to address this work/life/golf imbalance by establishing an event so chock full of fun and drama that it could fulfil a fellows golfing, emotional and spiritual needs for a full 12 months if necessary.

The four-man team format is intended to be a vehicle for mates to enjoy the camaraderie and fun of teaming together. Since most of the original participants did not have official handicaps, the perennial challenge of managing Bushrangers became the guiding principle for the development of the handicapping system and format of the event.

Although it has been the catalyst for the formation of Bushranger Golf and Social Golf Australia, the Bushranger Cup remains a private invitational event. The Cup has forged a reputation for remarkable moments, great drama and hilarious fun and is now, some people say, arguably the most sought after prize in the golfing universe.
 

Editor’s Note: Reader discretion is advised. These reviews are merciless.

The Kelly Gang - The last and most infamous of all the Bushrangers, Ned’s crusade to secede from the colony and start his own republic fell slightly short of the mark. An expert self-promoter, he always knew the importance of snappy dressing for a photo opportunity.

Matthew Pitt (Pw Jones)     Warwick Stonehouse (Boo)
Ivan Jones (Long Slash)    David Morris (Son of Fridge)

The defending champs are already looking pretty wobbly before a ball has been struck. They are a man down with 2-time champ Luggo out of the mix and Cup stalwart Boo stepping in to fill the void. On the plus side, they have all won this event and with 8 Cups between they average two Cup wins each. The negative side has a fair bit more to recommend it – a paucity of emotional gumption, a collective lack of intestinal fortitude and character, jetlag for Long Slash making (another) trans-continental journey, Boo is on a 14-year Cup no-win streak, Son of Fridge is coming in late and devoid of form & fitness and Dubs is lounging on the laurels of being a 5-time Cup winner & fearful of facing an angry mob on Sunday if he converts again for 6 from 15!

Form: Clearly a ceremonial entry. Will no doubt get off to a slow start on Friday and then go backwards from there. Just making up the numbers and won’t attract any attention from the more savvy punters.
 

The Harry Power Gang - Harry Power was the wily old lawbreaker who mentored the young Ned Kelly in the refined bush arts of horse stealing and bravely hiding from the law in the scrub.

Richard Mitchell (Saddam)        Nick Honey (Ho)
Richard Fellner (Quigley)    Mick Van Raay (Da King)

The only team here to back up with the same line-up as last year. They might think they know something we don’t as their 7th place finish in 2017 did not suggest they are a likely threat this year. Perhaps they want us to think they know something that we don’t or that they know that we know that they know something that we don’t know. Then again, maybe we know something that they don’t and they are hoping that what we know isn’t the same as what they don’t know we know. Who knows? They have all won here and they have 8 Cups in total and are certainly way overdue to be in contention. What they lack in skill and form they more than make up for in pedigree and character so may be a smokey if things fall their way.

Form: As old studs that have done it all, they are to be respected. No doubt they know how to have a good time, but that doesn’t mean they are worth backing. Will probably require a full Bradbury to contend.
 

The Stringybark Creek Freaks - At Stringybark Creek in the Wombat Ranges in October 1878, the brooding confrontation between the Kelly Gang and the police exploded into all-out war. Three police officers lost their lives and the Kelly outbreak had begun.

Michael David (Mikey D)        Martin Bayliss (Buzz)
Tim Holroyd (Hatman)     Brett Simpson (Simmo)

Unfazed by a minor mechanical failure leading into the Cup with the loss of The Geesh in the build up for this event. One soldier out & one in with Buzz stepping into the breach. No doubt Buzz is a team-player and, given the quality of the company he keeps, will make a solid contribution to the jocularity of the weekend. His team-mates will be hoping that he does not take his nickname from the Buzz Aldrin – the poster-boy of the 20th century when it comes to finishing an arduous journey in 2nd place. Buzz has big shoes to fill here and if he does inspire his mates to a glorious runners-up finish, they can all take heart that it will be a bit better than they have achieved for a few years here.

Form: Will they deliver? Unlikely. Entertain? Odds-on favourites.
 

The Ben Hall Gang - Originally the Frank Gardiner Gang, it became the Gilbert Gang when Gardiner was captured in Queensland in 1861. Then it morphed into the Gilbert & Hall Gang and later, the Ben Hall Gang. Their revolving-door policy remains strong to this day.

Dave Warwick (Deisal)    Phil Peacock (Dust)
Joel Matthews (Shatter)    Dave Pollock (Toto)

This mob of Tards have a touch of the wobbles coming in here. Tech-Tard succumbed to a ‘Danny DeVito’ (a nasty little five-footer) a few weeks ago when he took a five-foot fall off a ladder, snapped a few ribs and found himself in a hospital bed next to a fellow who had lost both the buzzer to call the nurse and control of his bowel movements. This rather unpleasant circumstance did nothing to hasten the recovery of our fellow and he has been scratched. Alas, the ready replacement, Dr. F-Tard, was not locked into a contract and exercised his right to free-agency. He accepted a juicy offer from the Melvilles that the team of Tard negotiators were unable to match. The Shatter was drafted in, but he has his work cut out covering the lip & skill of our injured hero.

Form: With the Diesal wildcard in the deck, can never be discounted.
 

The Captain Melvilles - Captain Melville was a shabby small-time thief who was apprehended by police on Christmas Eve 1852 when, in a drunken stupor, he fell off his horse outside a Geelong brothel. He had aroused suspicion (and little else) among the local sex-workers by boasting to them about his illegal exploits. A real class act.

Ian Crotty (Crock Diddy)    Fraser Gough (Dr F-Tard)
Sebastian Shand (Bastros)    Mark Henderson (Hendo)

Three past champs and a champion in waiting here, this mob look like the real deal. Notwithstanding his traitorous desertion from the mob of Tards, Dr. F-Tard is far and away the holder of the ‘Best player to not have won a Cup’ mantle. The other three have all saluted here in the past although only one is bringing any form into this event. Hendo looks the goods again with some great recent showings, but the same cannot be said for Crcoken-Bass who both look massively underdone. Crock has all but retired from serious competition since moving up the country and Bass has taken his infrequent flirtation with golf to another level of infrequency. And flirtatiousness. They will need a lot to go right.

Form: Dusting cobwebs off the clubs is always a bad sign. Unlikely.
 

The Aaron Sherritt Gang - Aaron Sherritt was Joe Byrne’s great mate and a trusted lieutenant to the Kelly Gang. Folklore has marked him as a traitor, but he played a delicate game of espionage pretending to be a police informant. He came undone when the cops got wise and spread rumours he had betrayed the gang. In the end, he was murdered by Joe Byrne for his apparent, but unproven, treachery.

Gavan Doran (The Rose)    Corey Kelly (Big Cheese)
Ian Steer (The Punter)    Peter Calverley (Cuddles)

So often in life and in business, the approach of ensuring to under-promise and over-deliver is a recipe for success. This makes it easier to exceed the expectations of others and can take the pressure of those among us who don’t handle the blowtorch of white-hot pressure-package challenges that the Bushranger Cup throws up each year. With their warped logic and suspects intellects, this semi-articulate mob of devious reprobates may attempt to flip that philosophy around and work it to their advantage. Alas, the don’t appear to have the armoury to attempt to over-promise and over-deliver, which leaves them two unenviable options: to over-promise and under-deliver or to under-promise and under-deliver. The latter looks the most likely.

Form: They believe they can which counts for something. Alas, self-delusion ain’t self-belief. Don’t rule out subterranean-under-delivery.
 

The Captain Moonlite Gang - The devious Andrew George Scott, a man with three first names, became the infamous Captain Moonlite when he began robbing banks in the 1870s after throwing in a promising career as a preacher.

Darren Nelson (Dazza)    Kirk Hayward (Joe)
Brian Davis (The Postman)       Pete Solomou (Solo)

The marvellous mob of scurrilous highwaymen come in here as one of the most disparate assortment of disorganised rabble ever assembled at a Bushranger Cup. One is making his debut and the rest have not so much as hinted at contention in their previous attempts. What they lack in breeding, form, skill, character, temperament, ticker, wisdom, experience and ambition, they slightly make up for in character and couture. They are top blokes and snappy dressers so they will impress.

Form: Will look magnificent in the mounting yard and that’s about it.