Yearly Archives: 2020

With a predicted temperature above the club’s extreme heat level and a  90% chance of 20-40mm of rain an early start was called.  Players teed off at 8.30am with a gusting wind from the N/NW.  As the round progressed many a wary eye was cast to the west looking for the dark clouds that would herald the downpour, umbrellas were at the ready.  Despite the dire predictions the round was played in reasonably good conditions.  The greens and surrounds  continue to be in top condition and the fairways had weathered two days of extreme heat quite well.  It was a day for the long hitters but accuracy around the greens was vital.  On a windy, surprisingly dry morning, the results were;

Winner; Mitch Atlas – 78/11/66 from Andrew Evans – 80/12/68, Dean vanDenHeuval – 81/13/68 & Chris Lingard – 73/1/72.

Women’s Winner; Darlene Baker – 95/22/73

NTPs; 15th – John Freestone, 16th – Mitch Atlas

RGC Play-9 Winners; Mitch Atlas – 37/5.5/31.5 & Dean vanDenHeuval – 41/6.5/34.5. The RGC Play-9 winners will now represent us at Yea in the DDGA final later in the year.

The January Medal competition saw perfect conditions for golf early on  although the temperature increased as the round progressed. The course was in amazingly good condition with a good grass cover across most of the fairways.   A small amount of damage had been inflicted by corellas on a few of the  greens but this is minimal compared to recent years and hopefully close to the last of it.  The Monthly Medal Running Competition results :
JanuaryMedalist;  Jenny Hartley – 94/22/72 from Darlene Baker – 94/20/74,  C/B Pam Drummond – 106/32/74
Daily comp;  Chris Manktelow – 104/35/69 from Lis Manktelow – 95/24/71
Least putts Darlene Baker – 29 C/B from Lis Manktelow.
Nine Hole winner; Jan Harver with Colleen Duller a close second.

It was a cheerful, almost boisterous, crew who teed up for the club’s Australia Day Stableford event. There was plenty of excellent golf but few players were able to string more than a few good holes together.  The inconsistency of the golf became a point of great hilarity in some groups while  others felt the full weight of the disappointment that came with a miss directed drive or a fluffed chip however, one player was able to rise above the pack and card an excellent score.  The conditions were excellent and the course remains in top condition given the times of the year. On a beautiful, summer’s afternoon, the results were;

Winner; Mick Squire (4) 42 pts (70 0ff the stick) from Jim Patton (18) -36 pts and Mal Mottram (9) – 36 pts

NTPs; 15th – Mal Mottram &16th – Andrew Clement

The recent rains and milder weather saw pleasing growth across all of Romsey Park and most golfers took advantage of the good conditions.  The greens, apart from those attacked by the corellas, were again in top nick and the surrounds continue to the best they have been in many years.  A number of players took advantage of the morning tee-off times to get out on the park early and enjoy the beautiful summer’s morning before heading to Hanging Rock for the Elton John Concert.  The large field who teed up for the the January medal enjoyed the  conditions with some players really giving their handicaps a work-over.  Few played better than evergreen veteran Les Gaunt (6) who, after a few ordinary holes to begin with, pared or birdied the final 11 holes.  An early score of nett 68 looked to be pretty good but as the groups came in it became apparent that 68 was not safe.  On a beautiful, still afternoon the results were;

Winner & January Medalist; Ron Walker – 92/26/66 from Chris Manktelow – 104/36/68, Andrew Clement – 78/10/68, Bob Dwyer – 108/36/72 & Les Gaunt – 78/6/72

Women’s Winner; Lis Manktelow – 100/24/72 from Pam Drummond- 114/32/82

NTPs; 15th – Les Gaunt, 16th – Jim Patton

Least Putts; Andrew Clement – 26

Texas Ambrose was the day’s competition, there was a stiff northerly wind combined with quite humid conditions so a nine hole comp was welcomed by those in the field.   Summer run was in evidence with long straight drives rewarded with a few extra metres. The greens were very consistent and strong, bold putts were the order of the day.
Results
1st;     Wendy Gosden/Hugh Williams/Bruce Robb – 45 pts
2nd.;   Lorraine Robb/Elaine Scanlon/Darlene Baker – 44pts
3rd;     Jenny Hartley/Beryl Cole/Pam Drummond – 29 pts

Another strong field teed up on a still, warm afternoon for the club’s Guest Day round of Texas Ambrose.  There was generally good coverage on most of the fairways and the greens and surrounds continue to be in top condition.  The recent rain had softened the fairways and the vast majority of balls bounced true, very few good shots bouncing at 90 degrees off the fairway into the rough.   Texas Ambrose, also known as Gentsomes, allows teams to take the best drive then each player plays their ball into the cup and the team takes the best two stableford scores.  It was a day for birdies and eagles (A Clement 14th) and many teams carded excellent scores.  The day’s results were;

Winners; Pat Chisholm (12)/Mick Nicholls Jnr (15)/Dave Kenney (30) – 99 pts from Dean vanDenHeuval (13)/Steve Wilkins (17)/Mitch Atlas (12) – 98 pts & Andrew Clement (10)/Les Gaunt (6)/John Laing (28) – 93 pts

NTPs; 15th Dean vanDenHeuval, 16th – Pat Chisholm

On Wednesday 15th January a (possibly) unprecedented decision was made by some members to stay in the clubhouse because of the adverse weather created by the smokey conditions.  Those who stayed in the clubhouse enjoyed a chat and cuppa.

A few hardy golfers did hit the course to play 6 holes of social golf.  One pair even managed to complete 18 holes of Stableford in the conditions.

A strong wind is needed to move the smoke hanging over our town.

Another strong field teed off in the club’s stroke competition.  After just under 20mm of rain overnight the course was a deal softer and it was expected that  balls would pick up mud so “mark, lift, clean, replace” was brought into play.  The wind was again quite unusual; starting in the south then moving to the east and oscillating between the two for the remainder of the round.  The irrigation had worked hard over the recent hot weeks and there was good coverage on most fairways, the greens and surrounds  remained in excellent condition.  In the end it was a tight affair with a count back over the back six holes required to decide the winner.  On a windy afternoon the results were;

Men’s Winner; Keith Hocking – 98/27/71 C/B John Freestone – 92/21/71, Michael Reid – 98/26/72 & John Laing – 101/29/72

Women’s Winner; Lis Manktelow – 98/24/74

NTPs; 15th – Anthony Lakey, 16th – Clive Mensforth

A round of Ambrose was the order of the day to start the 2020 season for Wednesday golfers.  The weather was mild and windy but the smokey conditions caused by the current bush fires in the east of the state were another thing to consider. The strong winds helped to alleviate the smoke somewhat but the gloominess over Mt Macedon was a constant reminder of the vastness of the fires.  Pars were the order of the day as all groups appreciated the Ambrose format and with a strong field the results were;
Winners; Jenny Hartley/Jan Harver/Colleen Duller  – 53/12.44/40.56 from Darlene Baker/Denise O’Meara/Connie Cecys – 55/12.22/42.78 & Lorraine Robb/Wendy Gosden/Pam Drummond – 58/10.55/47.45