Saturday February 11th – Stroke

Flatstick Roofing Summer Cup, Part 2 of Round 2
It was another very hot afternoon as the players took to the course and, after three days of intense heat, the fairways had hardened considerably.  Part 2 of the 2nd round of the Summer Cup had drawn an excellent, mixed, field and everyone was looking to build on their efforts from last week.  The wind began from the south but by the latter part of the day it had swung around to the SW making the final few holes a little trickier than usual.   The digging and chewing of the Little Corellas made achieving even a bogey on the 15th and 16th a very good score.  During the day a number of players put themselves into a good position but only thee men and two women were able to continue on and card a good score.   On a hot, dry day the results were;
Men’s Winner; Mick Nicholls Snr – 91/23/68 from Dave Richardson – 93/22/71 & John Laing – 102/30/72
Women’s Winner; Darlene baker – 94/26/68 from Kath Jekabsons – 98/28/70
NTPs; 1st Mick Nicholls Snr, 15th – Ron Rea & 16th – Mick Nicholls Snr

Wednesday February 8th – Stroke

Flatstick Roofing Summer Cup, Part 1 of Round 2

The field teed off on a very warm morning.  The 25mm of rain on Sunday night seemed a distant memory and the green of the fairways was rapidly withdrawing to the lower areas around the sprinklers. The 30 Kph wind from the NE brought a little relief from the heat but it also sucked additional moisture out of the course.  Going was a little tougher than last week, especially it seemed, for the men but the women carded some good scores.  On a hot, blustery day the results were;

Women’s winner; Darlene Baker – 100/26/74 C/B from Kath Jekabsons – 102/28/74
Men’s winner; Len Carless 109/24/85
9 hole Winner; Jenny Hartley; 52/20/32

Saturday February 4th – Par

Flatstick Roofing Summer Cup, Part 2 of Round 1
After a hot, dry January and almost constant attention from the Little Corellas the course was beginning to show signs of strain; three greens in particular had been very seriously attacked. Nevertheless the field took to the course determined to make a good start in the 2017 Flatstick Roofing Summer Cup.  This four round/eight event competition (so two goes at each round) allows players to play in all events but only their best three round scores are counted.  The day’s temperature 34C made sure that every buggy seat was filled and as the afternoon progressed more than a few players headed back to the rooms to stock up on a drink or two.  Despite the conditions a number of golfers headed up the 18th with a good score on their card.  On a hot, dry day the results were;
Winner; Mick Nicholls Snr (24) – +3, from Dave Richardson (22) +2, John Laing (30) +1, Anthony Freeman (21) +1 & Chris vanDerVliet (25) +1
NTPs; 15th – Mick Nicholls Snr & 16th – Shannon Wright

Wednesday February 1st – Par

Flatstick Roofing Summer Cup, Part 1 of Round 1
It was a perfect morning for golf, temperature just right for a relaxed stroll through the park and just the gentlest of zephyrs from the south/south west.  Being the 1st half of Round One of the RGC/Flatstick Roofing Summer Cup there was a strong, mixed field.  The recent heat had continued to dry the course so many players found their drives much closer to the green allowing for far shorter approach shots.  News of the event had spread far and wide and a number of additional golfers had decided to take on the course, and did it with class.  On a great day to be out in the open air the results were;
Women’s Winner; Kath Jekabsons (29) +5 from Darlene Baker (27)  +1 and Jenny Hartley (41) +1
Men’s Winner; Les Carless (25) +6 (visitor from Wales) from John Laing (31) +3

Saturday January 28th – Monthly Medal – Stroke & Putts

Despite the temperature reaching into the 30s it was an excellent day for the January Monthly Medal.  The wind, firstly from the NW before swinging around to the SW was a fairly steady 15 – 20 Kph; it did not really affect balls in the air but did help to cool the players.  The last few days of higher temperatures had dried the rough and some sections of the fairways giving players excellent value for well struck drives.  The greens, those not dined up by our Little Corellas, continue to putt very true an their condition is a credit to the hard work of Les Gaunt and other members.  The round saw the return of past club champion Darren Freestone.  He obviously liked the place!  On a hot, dry day the results were;

Winner and January Medalist; Darren Freestone – 81/12/69 from Kevin Dunn – 94/24/70, Mick Nicholls (Snr) – 95/24/71, John Laing –  102/31/71, John Freestone – 94/23/71, Anthony Freeman – 94/22/72, Mick Nicholls (Jnr) – 94/22/72 & Chris vanDerVliet – 97/25/72
NTPs; 1st – John Laing & 15th – Mick Nicholls (Jnr)
Least Putts; Kevin Dunn – 25

Wednesday January 25th – Monthly Medal – Stroke & Putts

It was a perfect morning for golf, just over 20C and a steady southerly breeze of about 25Kph.  The course was again in great nick but the annual Little Corella vandals had again been at work.  This time three greens had received their attention. Usually they spend their days digging up and eating the onion grass bulbs, the greens are just for their relaxation after a hard day in the rough!  As the field went around a number of Green Fees golfers also took the opportunity for a hit.  On a beautiful morning the results were;
Winner and January Medalist; Jenny Hartley – 114/41/73 from Leila Beasley – 114/37/77
Least Putts; Leila Beasley – 27 C/B from Kath Jekabsons.

Saturday January 21st – Stableford

Another amazing week, 36C on Tuesday, cool, overcast weather for the following two days then almost 20mm of steady rain on Friday.  The course was again in good condition and the wily old heads prepared to take full advantage. There was a 25 – 30 Kph wind from the SSW which later swung around to the S, this played havoc with the final few oles where the OOB on the 18th cost a number of players shots.  The course had soaked up the rain very well but there were a few wet patches here and there where balls plugged or picked up mud, no relief was given except fo plugged balls.  The round finished with two of the club’s veterans fighting it out over the final few holes, even then it was almost too close to split them.  On another almost spring day the results were;

Winner; Les Gaunt (4) – 35 pts C/B from John Freestone (23)
NTPs; 15th – Les Gaunt &  16th – Bob Dwyer

Saturday January 14th – Ambrose – Guest Day

After around 5 mm of rain late on Friday the course was again in top nick.  Fairways just hard enough to give good value for well struck drives and the greens very receptive to wedge and high iron approach shots.  The greens again putted very true, unless you were above the hole on the 5th or the 7th, so players who aimed at the hole were well rewarded.  The “Golf for a Cause” (Double comp fee with 1/2 going to cancer research) drew an excellent field however, the Ambrose format was perfect for the larger numbers.  A couple of teams had “skiting rights” but, as usual, actions spoke louder than words.  The day was one of great hilarity with teams cheering each other on or attempting to “get inside each others’ heads” to gain any advantage.  The stakes, a glass and a few balls were certainly high enough!  The mild afternoon saw some excellent golf, on a beautiful, almost spring day, the results were;

Winners; Rob Rea/Andrew Clement/Jim Patton – 67/8.2/58.8 from Sherif Abdel-Sayed/Ron Walker/John Freestone – 73/11.3/61.7
NTPs; 1st – John Freestone, 15th – John Freestone & 16th – Rob Rea.

Wednesday January 11th – 12 Hole Ambrose

The 2017 Wednesday syllabus got off to an excellent start.  The weather was very pleasant, rarely getting above the mid 20’s and the course was in top nick.  Teams of two or three took to the field and enjoyed their round over “The Old Course”.  At par 45 this is a very tricky layout with many players coming unstuck at our “Amen Corner”, three successive par 3’s.  On a very relaxed morning the results were;

Winners: Darlene Baker /Wendy Gosden/Jenny Hartley – 52/11.8/40.2 from Sherif Abdel-Sayed/Elaine Scanlon – 50/9.7/40.3
NTP; 8th – Darlene Baker.

Saturday January 7th – 4 Ball Aggregate Stableford

With the day’s temperature predicted to be 34C the club’s heat safety policy did not need to be activated. Conditions meant that those in carts were hoping for a more relaxed afternoon but as the round wore on some found there was little truth in that. The field teed off with a steady NE breeze to cool things down a little and to add just a bit of spice when shots got above the tree line. The warm, dry air saw balls travel surprising distances providing some players with quite short approach shots. However, in the end the hot, dry conditions took their toll on many golfers out and it was a battle between two of the cart pairs to win the day. The day’s results were;

Winning pair – Jim Patton (21)/Mick Nicholls Sr who celebrated his 80th birthday at the beginning of Jan, (24) – 71 points from Andrew Laing (19)/John Laing (30) – 67 points
NTPs; 1st – Jim Patton, 15th – Daniel Wright (very close to jackpot) & 16th – Andrew Laing