After over 20mm of rain on Thursday night/Friday morning the course was again soft however, the greens remained in top condition.  The strong field contesting the July Medal also faced  a wind of 25 – 35Kph that moved between N and NW.  The sun shone through here and there but it was generally a cold afternoon.  Play around the greens was vital, a short chip or one that was too strong saw many golfers drop shots.  On a cold, breezy afternoon the results were;

1st & July Medalist; Pat Chisholm – 84/12/72

2nd; Luke Lyons – 84/10/74  C/B

3rd; Dean Kohler – 85/15/74

NTPs; 1st – Andrew Laing, 15th – Mal Mottram

Least Putts; Mitch Atlas – 27.  Longest drive, 4th – Dean Kohler

July ’23 Medalist, Pat Chisholm

A beautiful day for golf with sunny skies and no wind but good scoring was hard to come by with winter conditions underfoot .  The fairways were drier than previous weeks but still tricky.  The greens were faster than expected but ran true. The day’s results  were
1st.     Hugh Williams      100/19/81    C/B
2nd    Jenny Hartley        100/19/81
3rd     Rob Slade              100/15/85
Least Putts   Jenny Hartley – 26

A few sunny, windy days had dried the course so that machinery could cut the fairways and surrounds; “play it as it lies” was back in.  A  breeze, 20 – 25Kph, moving between NNE and NNW kept all players guessing but generally conditions were good.  The W. E. Tom shield, first played in 1965, is a 4BBB matchplay event.  The qualifying round is always strongly contested with many golfers on the course for the first time in winter however, only the top eight pairs go through to the quarter finals in two week’s time.  While the cold air and the soft fairways made for a challenging round two pairs played exceptional golf to card very good scores.  On a cool, breezy afternoon the results were;

1st; Dean Kohler (15)/Simon Donovan (101) – 44 pts

2nd; Toby Clement (14)/Andrew Clement (11) – 43 pts

3rd;  Malcolm Mottram (8)/Anthony Lakey (20) – 38 pts

NTPs 1st – Toby Clement, 15th – Davey Kenney

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

Dean Kohler (4)/Simon Donovan (0) Vs Pat Chisholm (1)/Mick Nicholls Snr (11)

Andrew Clement (0)/Toby Clement (3) Vs Scott Williams (6)/Chris vanDerVliet (21)

Malcolm Mottram (2)/Anthony Lakey (14) Vs  Dylan Harris (0)/Luke Lyons (4)

Match Atlas (0)/Davey Kenney (8) Vs Steve Wilkins (10)/Andrew Laing (14)

Quarter finals to be played Saturday August 5th.

On a gloriously sunny winter’s day the field took to the course for a 2 Person Ambrose Event.  Competition was fierce with the pairing of Elaine Scanlon and Darlene Baker starting brilliantly with tap in pars on the first three holes and parring three more along the way before falling away towards the end.  Wendy Gosden and Lorraine Robb were much more consistent throughout their round together playing to their handicap on most holes with only a couple of hiccups.  But the pair of the day was Hugh Williams and Chris Manktelow who recorded 89 off stick to come home winners in the daily comp.
Wendy Gosden’s first drive of the day was long and straight and crept up onto the green where it remained to be Nearest The Pin on the 1st hole. Darlene Baker hit a beautiful shot on the 15th hole to within a metre but unfortunately neither she nor her partner could hole the birdie putt.  On a wonderful day to be out on the course the results were;
1st; Hugh Williams/Chris Manktelow – 89/12.5/76.5
2nd; Wendy Gosden/Lorraine Robb – 97/19.5/77.5
3rd; Darlene Baker and Elaine Scanlon – 92/12.75/79.25
NTP; 1st – Wendy Gosden, 15th – Darlene Baker

Another very cold morning, with a very heavy dew.  The fairways had again been too wet to cut so players teed up to prevent more long lasting, damage to the course.  While the morning had been extremely cold the afternoon warmed considerably making it over 10C!  The big positive was the almost complete absence of the usual chilling winds.  The cold air and soft fairways saw all players lose distance off the tee and everyone had to watch carefully least a ball plug and be lost.  One highlight came on the 17th when Scott Williams’ drive ended with his ball stuck in the bark of a large pine tree.  On a still, “warmish” afternoon the results were;

1st; Luke Lyons (10) – 38 pts

2nd; Toby Clement (14) – 37 pts

3rd; Simon Donovan (12) – 34pts, C/B Andrew Clement (10) & Dylan Harris (6)

NTPs; 1st – Shaun Scales, 15th – Luke Lyons, 16th – Mick Squire

Best 2nd Shot on the 3rd – Shaun Scales

A more than challenging 2nd shot.

There was a strong field in the Stroke comp considering the amount of rain on the course of recent times.   The weather was winter perfect with beautiful sunshine but a cold wind which was extra chilly in the shade, jumpers stayed on for the duration of the round. Rob Slade had a great round.  Results  were;
1st.     Rob Slade.         86/15/71
2nd.   Steve Wilkins.    89/16/73 c/b
3rd.    Darlene Baker.   91/18/73

NTPs; 15th – Rob Slade

Following  weeks of steady rain and after walking the course, noting the large number of long divots on the fairways, it was decided to tee-up for the club’s Stroke round.  Light drizzle was falling and a gusting westerly wind blew up  as the groups headed to the tee.  So, with a soft course it was looking to be a tough round, virtually no run on the fairways and the wind either pushing shots far longer than usual or pulling them up well short.  Despite the recent rains the greens putted very true and all balls rolled out, a bit of a winner for the ongoing hard work of the club’s volunteers.  To top off a challenging afternoon,  heavy, very cold rain, fell over the final few holes making the rooms far more attractive than usual.  On a cold, wet afternoon the results were;

1st; Simon Donovan – 82/12/70

2nd; Anthony Lakey – 91/20/71

3rd; Steve Wilkins – 88/16/72

NTPs; 1st – Luke Lyons, 15th – Dean Kohler, Best 2nd Shot on the 3rd – Luke Lyons

Kath Jekabsons and Jenny Hartley spent some time to  design the Par 3 course then walked the course moving the red tee markers closer to the greens. It was another very cool morning but with little wind and no rain so really a pleasant winter’s day for playing golf. The daily handicaps were reduced by a quarter. The shortened length of the course suited Lorraine Robb’s style of golf, straight down the middle, occasional chip then that deadly putt. On a cool, sunny morning the Par 3 results were;
1st; Lorraine Robb – 75/35.25/39.75
2nd; Kath Jekabsons – 77/27.75/49.25
3rd; Sherif Abdel Sayed – 71/19.5/51.5.
Best gross score; Sherif Abdel-Sayed –  71

Another  very cold day with winds from the SW between 25 and 30Kph.  Some holes played far longer than usual and the wind had everyone a little nervous about the internal OOB on the 18th. The day’s 4B Aggregate Stableford competition was a keenly contested affair with players giving and receiving encouragement to and from their team member.  Despite the wind and the soft course there were some excellent scores posted.  On another cold, windy afternoon the results were;

The June Medal was contested on a damp and soft but beautifully prepared course. The weather was cold, creeping slowly up to 10C by noon but, luckily players were back in the clubhouse before the cold southerly wind and misty rain set in.  It was a real challenge to get the right speed on the damp greens so there were many three putts.  On a chilly morning the results were;
Daily comp winner; Rob Slade – 98/15/83
Women’s June Medal
1st; Lorraine Robb – 138/47/91 c/b
2nd; Kath Jekabsons – 128/37/91
Least putts; Rob Slade – 32