With rain, and possible hail, predicted early in the afternoon the clubs inclement weather protocol was activated and hit-off was at 9.00am.  While conditions were cool all was dry until about the 10th hole.  Steady drizzle turned into steady rain and the temperature drops quickly.  Cold air, wet grips, soft fairways and rain pooling on some greens proved to be more than challenging and most players found their score slipping during the back nine.  On a cold wet round the results were;

1st; James Simpson – 116/43/73 C/B

2nd; Ben Owen – 88/15/73

3rd; Steve Wilkins – 92/18/74 C/B Anthony Lakey

NTPs – 1st Steve Wilkins, 15th – Dean Kohler, Best 2nd shot 3rd – Mal Mottram

Longest Drive 4th – Shaun Scales, Least Putts – Mal Mottram – 27

July Medalist – James Simpson

Winds, pushing up to the mid-50sKph, were present for much of the Wednesday two-person Ambrose competition.  However. the wind dried the fairways and greens; later shots travelled further and putts rolled longer.  Never-the-less, it was a challenging round.  The morning’s results were;
1st – Luke Lyons (7)/Kath Jekabsons (34) – 77 /10.25/66.75

2nd – Rob McDonald (15)/Kevin Dunn (22) – 78/9.25/68.75

3rd – David Jones (19)/Anthony Lakey (20) with 81/9.75/71.25

After rain during the week and  more than 25mm of rain overnight an 8.30 inspection of the course was called for.  Some casual water on three greens and two fairways was revealed, RGC greens’ keeper, Sevi, was also out early pushing any and all water off the three greens.  The round was on.  Needless to say, it as  a hardy group of golfers who arrived to face the rolling drizzle and the cold of the afternoon.  Given the challenging conditions there were some excellent scores with an almost “Hole-in-one” and some chip-ins to help lift the points.  On a cold, damp afternoon the results were;

1st; Mal Mottram (7)/Dean Kohler (8) – 40 pts C/B

2nd; Dylan Harris (8)/Simon Donovan (1-) – 40 pts

3rd; Mitch Atlas (6)/Steve Wilkins (18) – 39 pts

NTPs; 1st & 15th – Mal Mottram, 16th – Mitch Atlas, Best 2nd Shot 3rd – Dylan Harris

Quarter Finals of the W. E. Tom Shield will be;

Mal Mottram/Dean Kohler – Walk-over

Michael Nicholls Jnr (0)/Anthony Lakey (12) Vs Shaun Scales (13)/Zac Scales (24)

Dylan Harris/Simon Donovan – Walk-over

Mitch Atlas (0)/Steve Wilkins (12) VsJohn Freestone (22)/Andrew Laing (13)

On a wintry day ten players took the course for a round of Stableford . The rain held off for most of the round apart from a brief downpour during the second 9. There was no wind to speak of which allowed for some good scoring opportunities.  In spite of the recent rain the course was in good condition with some softer patches but no casual water.    The green keeper had been busy recently changing  the hole placements which was appreciated. The morning’s results were;
1st.      Steve Wilkins (15) – 35 pts c/b
2nd.    Davis Jones  (20) – 35 pts
3rd.     Anthony Lakey (20) – 34
NTP; 15th     Michael Squire

After a week of intermittent rain and a few sunny, yet cold afternoons the whole course was damp and soft, “relief, to a handspan across the course” was given.  Despite the tough conditions the fairways, surrounds and greens had held up reasonably well.  The round began in still, sunny conditions with a temperature of ~8C and a flukey wind from the Sth.  All players found the conditions challenging, even the low markers had seriously bad holes, some hitting well but somehow losing that little white ball.  In the end it came down to the players who could best recover from a bad position and then get “up and down” better than or close to par.  On a sunny, cold day the results were;

1st; Dean Kohler – 81/9/72

2nd; Dylan Harris – 81/8/73

3rd; Jim Patton – 90/14/76

NTPs; 16th – Dylan Harris, Longest Drive 7th – Dylan Harris

The day was again very cold but after a few holes the sun came out and despite the damp course it was a very pleasant round.  The stableford competition was played on the new Yellow, Short Course and all in the field agreeing that it is a good alternative to the established Red and Blue courses and an asset to our club.  Obviously a much shorter course, which is reflected in a reduced handicap, it has its unique challenges and is a test of short game accuracy.
An enjoyable round was had by those who played and considering the recent rain the scoring was fairly good. Daily results  were;
1st; Kath Jekabsons (21) – 33 points
2nd; Steve Wilkins (6) – 32  pts
3rd; Jenny Hartley (12) – 31 pts

Our thanks to Trevor Turnham, John Freestone and Paul Green who are involved in making the Yellow Course tee markers.  Much appreciated gents.

Play began on another cold, largely overcast day.  While the course had held up very well to the ongoing cold, the numerous heavy dews and  frosts a few sections of fairway were very soft.  However, within the first few holes the sun came out, the wind stayed down and all of a sudden vests and jumpers were coming off.  While the temperature did not get above 8C it certainly felt warmer.  The 4B Aggregate Stableford format sees both player’s hole score added to provide a team score, individual  players also are handicapped on their own score.  The round saw most teams scoring well but one bad hole here and there was enough to pull their scores back.  It was great to welcome back Logan Colley for his second game at the club and his first card towards a handicap.  On a sunny, cold and still afternoon the results were;

1st; Anthony Lakey (24)/Logan Colley (54) – 80 pts

2nd; Dean Kohler (9)/Luke Lyons (9) – 70 pts

3rd; Simon Donovan (10)/Steve Wilkins (18) – 67 pts

NTPs; 15th – Dean Kohler, 16th – Luke Lyons, Best 2nd Shot 3rd – Anthony Lakey, Longest Drive 4th – Luke Lyons

Players arrived at the rooms with steady drizzle falling and the temperature at 8C; it was going to be a tough day.  The cold air, consistent rain and soft fairways made golf more than challenging and only a few players got close to their handicaps.  It was great to have a chat with past captain, Tony Freeman, who dropped in on his way to Melbourne.   On a tough day to be out on the course the results were;

1st & June Medalist;  Steve Wilkins – 92/18/74

2nd; Davey Kenney – 87/12/75 C/B

3rd; Shaun Scales – 100/25/75

NTPs; 1st – Davey Kenney, 15th – Steve Wilkins, Longest Drive 4th – Mal; MOttram

Least Putts; Mal Mottram – 30

RGC June Medalist Steve Wilkins

It was a mostly cloudy morning with constant gusts of cold wind.  The fairways were relatively dry but occasionally players needed to mark and pick up their ball and wipe off some mud.  The greens were fast and true.  Hugh Williams and Rob McDonald had the best rounds for the day.  he day’s results were:
1st; Hugh Williams – 92/21/71
2nd; Rob McDonald – 88/15/73
3rd; Lorraine Robb – 122/43/79
Least putts; Rob McDonald – 26.
The women’s Monthly Medal is a running competition so the winner won’t be known until after competition on Saturday.