Yearly Archives: 2021

After lockdown and wet weather closed the course in recent weeks golfers were happy to be back on the course .    The course was in great condition considering the particularly wet winter we have had.  Stableford was the event of the day with a smaller than usual field braving the chilly wind.  Jenny Hartley handled the conditions best and took the honours.
Results
1st; Jenny Hartley (24) – 29 points
2nd; Steve Wilkins    (13) – 24 c/b
3rd; Darlene Baker   (20) – 24

The weather was better than first thought it would be however, with some fairways still quite wet the competition was played over a composite course of 10 holes.  While the chosen layout wasn’t as wet as earlier in the week all players struggled to get distance and some time was spent looking for balls in the longer grass. It was tough to return a good score and no-one was able to play close to their handicap.

Winner; Jenny Hartley (24) 13pts. from Kath Jekabsons

After three weeks without golf RGC members were keen to get “back on the park”, with heavy rain predicted late in the afternoon play began at 11.30.  Recent and ongoing rain meant that volunteers had only been able to cut the greens and five of the fairways.  There was surface water and long grass a plenty; generally no run and a plethora of plugged balls.  A slightly smaller than usual, but heavily motivated, group headed out with sun shining and a gusting SW wind.  It was a tough day and while many golfers played well here and there virtually no-one was able to string a run of good holes together.  On a sunny, yet soggy, afternoon the results were;

Winner; Mal Mottram (8) – 33 pts from Anthony Lakey (19)  29 pts

NTPs; 1st – Mal Mottram

After a week with some freezing conditions, two very heavy frosts but most importantly, no rain, the Park had begun to dry out.  The eastern end of the course remained the wettest and all payers had to watch every shot carefully when playing this holes.  John Freestone had done a wonderful job mowing all fairways bar the 6th which was too wet to get a machine on.  A good field teed off with the sun shining and only a gentle breeze from the SW.  The afternoon warmed up and jumpers came off at about the 3rd and stayed off until the final few holes.  Cold air and soft fairways made all 2nd shots far longer than usual and players had to be careful with club selection.  Conditions were such that no-one came close to their handicap.  On a cool, sunny afternoon the results were;

Men’s winner; Chris Burkett – 93/18/75 from Marc Merigan – 90/14/76.

Women’s winner; Jenny Hartley – 99/24/75

A small group of dedicated golfers braved the elements to play in the Par 3 competition in cold but sunny conditions. The adapted course, with tees moved forward to make every hole a par 3, was challenging and not as easy as predicted.
The greens were receptive to the ball lobbed in from a height but the unfamiliar lengths of each hole made club selection tricky.  Jenny Hartley adapted best to the conditions and was the winner on the day.
Results;
1st; Jenny Hartley – 62/18/44
2nd; Kath Jekabsons –  81/27.75/53.25
3rd; Rob Slade –  66/11.25/54.75

Nine Hole Comp;
1st; Jan Harver – 47 Strokes
2nd; Marilyn Mueller –  50

In recent weeks we have seen footage of people stripping off and charging into freezing rivers or lakes to celebrate the winter solstice, well at RGC we do something similar, play golf under freezing conditions on a very soggy course, sleet and snow were in the prediction; your decision as to who are the most sane!  Conditions were going to make it tough for anyone to post a good score.  The 4B Aggregate competition proved to be a game to two nines.  In the end there were only two teams in it, one with a very ordinary front nine and the other with an even more ordinary back nine.  A couple of excellent birdies made all the difference.  The MoM field was greatly reduced as so many monthly medals had not been played in 2020 and early 2021.  Some very steady golf under tough conditions and a lost ball here and an out of bounds there was all it took to let one of the clubs most experienced golfers take out the title.  On a freezing afternoon on a very wet course the results were;

4B Aggregate Stableford; Pat Chisholm (12)/Mick Nicholls Jnr (20) – 58 pts from Mal Mottram (7)/Anthony Lakey(19) – 54 pts

Medal of Medalists; Rob Rea – 93/19/74 from Scott Williams 98/14/84

NTPs; 16th – Scott Williams

RGC Captain, Mal Mottram with 2021 Medal of Medalists Rob Rea

The forecast was good, sun and wind to keep drying the course but as the field teed off the skies darkened and light rain fell.  The shower lasted for the first six holes then the sun came back out and things brightened up.   The course was heavy but most of the weekend’s casual water had drained away.  Players had to be careful of new works on the 6th fairway and around the 8th green. Despite the recent heavy rains and run of cold days the greens were very good.  On an up and down day the results were;
Daily comp.    1st: Pat Chisholm  – 87/12/75  2nd: Rob Slade 99/18/81

June  Medal; Jenny Hartley 108/24/84 from Beryl Cole

Least putts;  Rob Slade  30 c/b from Beryl Cole

Steady rain on most days of the week meant that only the surrounds and greens were mown.  The fairways had drained well but virtually nothing could cope with the 160mm+ the course had received over the past fortnight so there was casual water across much of the course meaning the June Medal was going to be a tough event!  The field teed off under cold, overcast conditions with a wind shifting between S and SW.  The soft fairways meant distance in the air was paramount; once a ball landed that was generally where it stayed.  A number of golfers had excellent front nines but being able to keep the round going was more than challenging.  On a chilly afternoon the results were;

Winner and June Medalist; Scott Williams – 85/15/70 from Anthony Lakey – 94/20/74 & Mick Nicholls – 94/20/74

NTPs; 1st – Mick Nicholls Jnr, 15th – Mick Nicholls Jnr  & 16th – Davie Kenney

Least Putts;  Scott Williams – 26

The morning’s weather was very cold (even Jenny H put on an extra jacket!) and with drifting, misty rain,   As the light rain was predicted to get heavier the competition was reduced to nine holes.  Despite the recent heavy rains there was very little casual water on the course.  Players had to negotiate intermittent gusting winds and new drainage works around the 8th green.  The  fairways and greens had not been able to be mown for over two weeks so all eyes were on landing balls and putting really needed courage or risk ending well short.  On a chilly, wet morning the results were;

Stableford: 1st – Sherif Abdel Sayed (25) 18 pts, 2nd – Rob Slade (15) 15 pts
Foursomes; 1st Jenny Hartley (24)/Kath Jekabsons (37) 17 pts, 2nd – Beryl Cole (30)/Lorraine Robb (43) 12 pts

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The RGC team assembled at 7.30am with a heavy frost on the ground and the temperature hovering around 0C.  The trip up the Hume saw the sun peek through and the temperature gradually rise.  By 10.30am the skies had cleared and there was beautiful winter sun caressing the course.   RGC took on Lancefield, the teams had met during the season with a 2.5 All Square result so it was expected the final would again be close.  The Euroa course was in top condition, (in the last 10 days they had received only ~30mm as compared to Romsey’s 130mm+) so some excellent golf was expected.    Both teams played well and the result, as is often the case, was much closer than the final score.  The team was well supported by RGC captain Lorraine Robb and Elaine Scanlon who took a little pressure off by driving the team.

DDGA 2021 Pennant finals’ results were;

Division 1; Seymour D Kilmore – 4/1

Division 2; Romsey D Lancefield – 3.5/1.5

Darlene Baker – W1up, Shirley Shelton – L3/2, Jenny Hartley – W1up, Wendy Gosden – W3/2, Beryl Cole AllSq (Beryl was heading down the 22nd hole when she was told we had the win)

RGC Wins, 3rd pennant in a row.

2021 Div 2 Champions; Elaine Scanlon, Wendy Gosden, Jenny Hartley Darlene Baker,

Shirley Shelton & Beryl Cole