Saturday January 28th – January Medal, stroke & putts

After Friday’s predicted temperature of 29C ended up being over 32C the club decided that Saturday’s prediction of  33C could well turn into 37C so the RGC ” Heat Policy” was activated and players hit-off at 8.30am.  The recent heat had burned off most of the normal grasses and while there were a few bare spots  the couch was surviving quite well giving good coverage on most fairways.  The front nine was quite quick with almost all playing steady golf.  The back nine saw a gusting northerly wind  blow up making it difficult to hold balls on the fairway and  challenging to land shots on the greens. As is often the case at Romsey the final few holes told the story of the day. On a warm to hot and windy morning the results were;

1st; John Freestone – 95/25/70

2nd; Mal Mottram – 80/8/72

3rd; Rob Slade – 94/22/72

Least Putts; Mal Mottram – 24

NTPs – 1st – Toby Clement, 15th – John Freestone & 16th – Scott Williams

 

RGC Captain, Mal Mottram with January 2023 Medalist John Freestone

 

Thursday January 26th – Australia Day 4BBB – Seymour G. C.

The Dalhousie District 4BBB was held at Seymour to celebrate the 2022 “Players of the Year”, Lisa Caines and Graeme Hogg.  

A full field of 100 players enjoyed a nicely prepared course and warm weather.   Romsey was well  represented by Mitch Atlas/Steve Wilkins, John Freestone/Bob McLennan, Jenny Hartley/Darlene Baker along with Elaine Scanlon who partnered Dalhousie President Mary Campbell.   

While Steve Wilkins/Mitch Atlas returned a creditable 41pts, John Frestone/Bob McLennan recorded the best RGC score, 43 points, just 3 points behind the eventual winners

Wednesday January 25th – January Medal, stroke & putts

Another perfect summer day on a course in great condition.  A running comp for Women’s Monthly Medal was held with the second day available the following Saturday. Kath Jekabsons is currently leading that Stroke event with her lovely round of nett 71.
In the daily comp Sherif played a great round, returning a nett 66 after losing two balls AND hitting out of bounds during the round.  Results of Daily Comp
1st       Sherif Abdel Sayed       95/29/66
2nd      Kath Jekabsons            111/40/71 C/B
3rd       Rod Golding                  103/32/71

Least putts      Steven Wilkins  (15) 27 putts

NTPs 
1st and 16th      Luke Lyons
NTP ( second shot )
1st                     Jenny Hartley
3rd and 15th    Lis Manktelow
16th                  Wendy Gosden and    Sherif Abdel Sayed

Saturday January 21st – 4BBB Stableford

The good weather, clear skies and sunny conditions,  certainly brought out the golfers for the club’s 4BBB Stableford round.   The fairways were in great nick with only a few areas where the couch was still establishing itself.  The greens were a little slower than usual but still putted true.  Some challenging pin placements really tested all players.  Late in the round a wind blew up from the south making the internal OOB on the 18th a real danger.  On a warm, sunny afternoon the results were;

1st; Keith Hocking (31)/Mick Nicholls Snr (25) – 45 pts

2nd; Anthony Lakey(22)/Rob Rea (19) – 43 pts C/B

3rd; Mick Nicholls Jnr (14)/Mitch Atlas (9) – 43 pts C/B

Luke Lyons (14)/Michael McCarten (14) – 43 pts

NTPs; 1st – Scott Williams, 15th – Mick Nicholls Jnr, 16th – Mick Squire 

Wednesday January 18th – Stableford

The round of Stableford was played under challenging conditions with very heavy downpours of rain, at times blustery wind followed by calm stillness, followed by more rain.  The temperature hovered around 18° so it wasn’t totally unpleasant.
The greens were very receptive to a strong high ball and held well.  The fairways still provided quite a bit of run so steady golf was the name of the game with 36 points being a winning score on the day.

Results
1st          Steve Wilkins   (16)    36 points  C/B
2nd         Jenny Hartley  (23)   36 pts
3rd          Luke Lyons       (10)   35 pts

NTPs; 15th  + 16th  – Dave Kenney

Saturday January 14th – Stroke

With the temperature predicted to be well over 33C the club’s Extreme Weather Policy was activated and players assembled at 8.00am for an 8.30am hit-off.  The bowlers were also starting early, 10.30am so their afternoon tea would be from 12.00pm to 12.30pm, early returning golfers had work around this.   The greens were again in good nick holding approach shots and putting very true.  The “Motion Activated” sprinklers have limited serious Corella damage to small areas on some greens but  this is only achievable because greens’ keeper, Steve Wilkins, patrols regularly and repairs damage while it is small.   Initial conditions were generally good for golf but as the round progressed a very strong northerly wind blew up causing problems for both drives and high iron shots.  By the end of the round the temperature had reached 34C and everyone was more than happy to get back to the rooms.  On a hot, windy morning the results were;

1st; Dean Kohler; 90/19/71

2nd; Rob Rea – 92/20/72

3rd; Luke Lyons – 87/14/73 C/B Mick Nicholls Snr – 98/25/73

NTPs; 1st & 15th – Dean Kohler

Wednesday January 11th – Stroke

A scorching hot day on the golf course for the first Wednesday stroke round of the year. By the time everyone was in the clubhouse the temp had reached 32° with little to no wind for the entire round.   The course was in great condition with some challenging pin placements.   What little damage the corellas had done to the 15th green had been repaired overnight by the green keeper (Steve Wilkins) thanks to him and all the club’s volunteers for all the work they do to ensure the course is in its best possible condition.   Daily results;
1st; Chris Manktelow – 102/32/70
2nd; Sherif Abdel Sayed – 100/29/71
3rd; Darlene Baker – 92/20/72    (4 person count-back for 3rd )

Least Putts; Mitch Atlas.      29 putts

NTPs; 3rd – Darlene Baker &  15th – Steve Wilkins

Saturday January 7th – 4B Multiplier Stableford

Another warm, sunny day for the club’s 4B Multiplier Stableford round.  This was also the January Stableford round for the Bruce Robb Medal. The week had seen virtually the whole park mown so all the longish rough had gone. The Little Corellas continue to dig up the rough so lost balls in those areas was a distinct possibility.  However, the birds have generally only caused small damage on the greens; the “Motion Activated” sprinklers seem to be doing the job.  Conditions were good  well covered, firm fairways, surrounds in perfect nick and greens playing fast and true so top scoring was expected,.   A number of pairs returned excellent scores.  On a beautiful day to be out on the park the results were;

Winners; Mick Nicholls Jnr (14)/Travis Thorogood (34) – 89 pts

2nd;  Keith Hocking (31)/Mick Nicholls Snr (26) – 75 pts

3rd; Chris vanDerVliet (28)/Mitch Atlas (9) – 71 pts

NTPs; 1st – Mitch Atlas, 15th – Scott Williams & 16th – Rob Slde 

Wednesday January 4th – Ambrose

The course was in great condition for a round of Ambrose however the very strong Southerly wind played havoc.  Balls hit high across the wind were instantly whipped away and the seemingly perfect shots to the green were continually blown off to the side.  Those who adapted well and learned from their Ambrose partners faired best. The morning’s results were; 
1st.      Mitch Atlas/Steve Wilkins/Rob Slade – 64/6.5/57.5
2nd.     Michael McCarten, Luke Lyons, John Freestone, Sherif Abdel Sayed – 69/9/60
3rd.      Darlene Baker, Jenny Hartley and Wendy Gosden – 75/13.3/61.7

NTP;  15th – Michael McCarten