2022 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.

Tim Holroyd (Hatman)                  Brett Simpson (Simmo)
Greg Cousins (The Geesh)            Stephen Foxwell (Foxy)

Coming off a stellar win last year, this unruly mob will surely 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 the defending champs are already looking pretty wobbly before a ball has been struck. Unlike the last fistful of years, Simmo does not have a basketball Grand Final whacked in the middle of the Cup. Having won two of the last four with basketball grannies to navigate, they won’t know themselves this year with no early tee times, grumpy team mates, freeway logistics and screaming basketball parents. This mob are as random as any here, with some massive hitting power, the liver capacity of a pod of Blue Whales and the type of dry wit that befits a champion Bushranger Cup team. Alas, what they deliver in self-belief, they make up for in how unmoored from reality they are. Expect them to come crashing back to earth and to have a whole lot of fun while they are doing it.
 

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.

Matthew Pitt (Dubs)                 Michael David (Mikey D)
Nick Honey (Ho)                        Roger Brown (Arbeige)

These freaks of nature know how to have a good time and will always take everybody along for the ride. They have a lot going for them including having the Greatest Ambrose Golfer in the World among them. Although this title is humbly self-proclaimed, few people would disagree. They have more Bushie Cup wins between them than any other mob and, after a slight stumble last year where a tilt at a three-peat resulted in an 8th place finish, they come back here as confident as ever. In fact, Arbeige is so confident that he is popping out on Saturday night in a remarkable act of altruism to visit the Dingley Retirement Village to host a 70th birthday party. Sheer arrogance. 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 Bushranger Cup. Again.
 

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)            Mick Van Raay (Da King)

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 wit, wisdom, experience, guile, emotional intelligence, humility and intellectual gravitas, these gents may be the most articulate, cunning, perspicacious and erudite mob ever to play in The Bushranger Cup. However, what they make up for in character, they certainly lack in golfing prowess. Three of them only play golf once a year and have not touched a club since the last Cup. And the other one is an emotional and psychological basket case who can look a million bucks striping it off the tee, but then is reduced to a penniless hobo once he finds himself in a bunker or on a putting green. They will likely burst out of the blocks on Friday and then steadily degrade as the weekend piles up. Will probably struggle to contend by the time they reach the back nine on Sunday, but could be the classiest also-rans in the history of sports.
 

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.

Dave Warwick (Deisal)                   Phil Peacock (Dust)
Dave Pollock (Toto)                      Tom Tomlin (Tommy)

Impossible to draw a line through the form of this rag-tag gang of golfing megastars. They could just as easily rip this field apart or disappear into oblivion. If you see one of them skinning up a Camberwell Carrot late on Friday evening and another one alone in the carpark DJing Toto’s greatest hits, then perhaps leave them out of your box trifectas. Although this mob are not the sharpest tools in the shed, the BR Cup is a big shed with plenty of tools. Diesal has been on fire lately after an intensive 9 months of game rebuilding – most likely a reaction to the caning he got last year after blowing it for his team. They clearly have the kahunas, bravado, golfing insanity and liver power, so must be considered a genuine chance. If they have not imploded again on Saturday, then expect a barnstorming finish from these perennial contenders to challenge hard on Sunday.
 

The Canvas Town Mob - A rare city-based mob of Bushrangers who operated in South Melbourne in the 1850s. They would knock off ships at port and then frivolously drink and gamble away their booty.

Gavan Doran (The Rose)                Ian Steer (Steery)
Peter Calverley (Cuddles)           Pete Russell (Rusty)

This semi-articulate mob of transients and drifters have very little to recommend their chances and come in here as one of the most disparate assortments of flotsam ever assembled at a Bushie Cup. On the surface they appear to be four super-freaks intent on a brilliant time once again with the bloodlines, form and experience befitting of legends of Bushranger Golf. They appear to be they type of devious reprobates who are born to flourish and bloom in this environment where only the most remarkable of characters rise to the occasion. But scratch the surface and the cracks begin to 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 likely just making up the numbers. If The Rose starts rifling tee shots, Rusty smashes his irons, Steery does anything at all and Cuddles holes at least one putt, they might have half a chance. Maybe.
 

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.

Paul White (Whitey)               Dennis Williams (Dizzy)
Craig Jukes (Jukesy)               Darren Nelson (Dazza)

This mixed bag of golfing skill and nutcases may not attract too much interest with the bookies, but don’t be surprised if they repeat The Kelly’s surprise raid on Jerilderie and steal the title from some of the more fancied teams. Given the quality of the company this mob is known to keep (i.e. each other), they must be considered a genuine threat in this field. Their main strategy is simply hoping that the sum of their parts is greater than their individual components. A virile, potent and masculine outfit that has the bloodlines, form, training, worldliness, experience, competitive drive and pharmaceutical access to take this event by the horns and give it a massive shake. One to watch as they are very capable of shooting seriously low numbers if they find their range. A huge chance to cause an upset.
 

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.

Mark Henderson (Hendo)               Wayne Ball (Ballo)
Aaron Henderson (A-a-Ron)         Rob Lugton (Luggo)

Given their total disregard for the history, core values, traditions and conventions of the BR Cup, there is very little to recommend the chances of this motley crew of golfing misfits. There is a lot of BRG Major tournament experience in this mob, but they are an untried combo at this level. Hendo & Ballo won it in 2015 and Luggo has a couple of Cups, but a few serious questions do linger about their collective physical and emotional capacity to stay the distance here. Their mental strength and sheer ball-striking power coupled with clinical reliability of Ballo does make this mob one of the chances to cause an upset here this week. They are certainly here for the fun and good times but don’t be at all surprised if we see them elbowing their way through to the podium on Sunday arvo. As unlikely as it seems, this bunch of rag-tag individuals who appear to have so little to recommend their collective characters, may just have the right mix of golfing, drinking, punting and trash-talking skill to pull off a miracle this weekend. Worth a flutter if you are looking for some value.
 

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.

Richard Fellner (Quigley)            Atholl Johnstone (Bikini)
Duncan Lendrum (Donuts)              Cameron Dunn (Oveur)

This bizarre mob burst onto the Bushranger Cup landscape in 2019 and immediately made virtually no impression whatsoever. When BRC stalwart Quigley assembled a trio of rookie ringers, he thought they were set to break every record in BRG history. He genuinely believed they could be the “A-Team” of Bushranger Golf who could become a history-redefining mob of Bushranger megastars. Ha ha ha ha. Hilarious. Alas, the only ringing from this “Nay-Team” was a death knell of failure; finishing dead last by a country mile – a whopping 13 shots out of contention. The only record they came close to breaking was for the WORST team total in Cup history. Sadly, they even failed to break THAT record; their total score of 298 was the second-highest in Bushranger Cup history (falling agonisingly short of 301, set way back in 2005, by a different, but eerily-similar, Ben Hall Gang). This year, this “None-Hit Wonder” band is back; set to take the stage in a “Partridge-Family-Style-Play-Just-One-Song-To-C’mon-Get-Happy” show where they aim to finish what they failed to even start in the first place.
 

The Wild Colonial Boys - Emerging in the turbulent 1850s, these were a new breed of Bushrangers. They were not escaped convicts but the sons of immigrants or colonial born youths with contempt for authority and a desire for quick riches and adventure.

Tony Williamson (Tone)                       Mike Lee (Spike)
Paul Clifford (Biffo Cliffo)                 Brent Crooks (BC)

A 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. There are some serious questions around whether they have the ticker required to carry all before them at this level. They may fly home in the 4-Ball on Sunday, but they may have already imploded on Saturday. Or Friday. Or both. Perhaps consider boxing into your trifectas to add a bit of value, but if there is any mob here that is a risk of self-harm, it is this lot. Avoid.