In perfect weather and course conditions a strong field took to the fairways for a round of Stroke.  Steve Wilkins had the round of the day with a great 65 Nett with Lis Manktelow the best of the women and in contention for Silver Spoon (round3) with Nett 72. Results were; 
Comp 1
1st.     Lis Manktelow.        102/30/72
2nd.   Beryl Cole.               105/32/73
3rd.    Chris Manktelow.    105/31/74
Comp 2
1st.    Steve Wilkins.          80/15/65
2nd.   Luke Lyons.             81/9/72
3rd.    Anthony Lakey.             90/17/73

What a perfect day for golf; clear, sunny skies, and nary a breath of wind.  

The Div 3 Handicap team hosted at home, Scott, Lorraine, Kev and Elaine did a top job sending out the field and with the food and drinks.  A  fire to get rid of a European Wasp’s nest right on the 5th tee slowed proceedings down a little.  The nest has since been hit twice  with “Ant & Wasp Powder.”

The Scratch team travelled to Broadford tyo play Whittlesea.  An improved result but not quite good enough to bring home a win.  results were;

Daniel Wright – L, Mick Squire – W, Dylan Harris – W, Mal Mottram – L & Mitch Atlas – L.  Trentham D Romsey 3/2

Players arrived at the room with overcast skies, a slight drizzle and a very cold wind; conditions looked to be way more than challenging.  As the field headed to the tees light rain fell but this soon cleared and some sun shone through.  During the round the wind moved between the SW and NW making club selection difficult and causing all players to think carefully about just where to aim a shot.  The greens have recovered well from the recent coming and all players found them to be of consistent speed and in great nick.  However, it was tough for most players to play to their handicap.  On a cold, windy afternoon noon the results were;

1st; Bob McLennan (14) – 39 pts

2nd; Davey Kenney (14) – 37 pts

3rd; Luke Lyons (12) – 35 pts 

The 2023 Algie Mitchell Quarter Finals will be;

1. Davey Kenney Vs 8. Andrew Laing

3. Daniel Wright Vs 6. Mick Nicholls Jnr

2. Luke Lyons Vs 7. Mitch Atlas

4. Steve Wilkins Vs 5. Mal Mottram

The 2023 DDGA Jean Walder Bowl was held at Seymour Golf Club.  Conditions were good with lovely green fairways that were quite damp in places due to recent heavy rain. Recent scarifying of the greens made for some tricky putting. After a  chilly start it developed in to a pleasant mid autumn day.
Competition was extremely close with three teams on the same score at the end of the day (241 nett). Trentham prevailed in the countback to win the Bowl.
The Romsey contingent of Jenny Hartley, Wendy Gosden and Darlene Baker were one stroke behind those three teams on 242 nett. Well done to Wendy who had a great score of 105/29/76 to win the C Grade division.

The Wednesday section of the women’s running competition for the March Monthly Medal was concluded with a smaller than usual field braving the wet and windy conditions to play their stroke round.  On a challenging morning the results were;
1st;  Darlene Baker – 89/18/71
2nd; Kath Jekabsons – 11/39/72
3rd;  Jenny Hartley – 94/21/73
Least Putts; Jenny Hartley – 30

Round one of the 2023 Pennant season saw Romsey’s Scratch Team take on Mt Macedon at Strathbogie and the Handicap Team take on Woodend at Broadford.  It was a cool morning but temperatures slowly rose to around 20C by mid afternoon.  Strathbogie , without irrigation, was hard and dry, Broadford was in good condition.  Not a good day for the boys.  The results were;

Scratch;Mick Squire W, Mitch Atlas L, Mal Mottram L, Pat Chisholm L , Mick Nicholls Jnr L.  Mt Macedon D Romsey 4/1

Handicap; Scott Williams L-2Dn, DaveyKenney L-1Dn, Dean KohlerL2Dn, Chris vanDerVliet L-4/3, John Freestone L-2Dn .  Woodend D Romsey 5/0

Despite rains late in the week and the steady drizzle on Friday the greens, surrounds and fairways were all able to be mown. as a result there were heavy clippings on some areas of a few fairways so a hand span relief, fairway played, as given.  A gusting SW wind blew for most of the afternoon and when looking across two greens it often seemed that the flags were blowing in different directions.  So, whether driving or approaching a green, players had to think carefully about where they aimed or risk their ball moving well into the rough.  While the fairways had softened a little players still got good value for well struck shots.  On a sunny, windy afternoon the results were; 

March Medalist; Luke Lyons – 82/12/70 

2nd; Mick Squire – 76/5/71

3rd; Bob McLennan – 87/14/73

NTPs;  15th – Bob McLennan, 16th – Rob Slade

Least putts; Steve Wilkins – 27

Women’s Winner; Darlene Baker – 89/18/71

2023 Pennant Golf – The afternoon also saw the presentation of the RGC 2023 Pennant Shirts.  Many thanks to Justine O’Loughlin and Shanon Wright who did so much to get these shirts organised and in the rooms for the presentation.

RGC Captain Mal Mottram with March Medalist Luke Lyons

The round began in chilly conditions but soon the fog lifted and the sun broke through to create quite a humid day for the Stableford event at Romsey. With the coring of the greens at Kilmore Golf Club this week a strong contingent of players joined in at Romsey for a great day of golf.  The greens continue to recover well from the recent coring and for those who found the fairway off the tee there was good cover of grass to hit from.    Scoring reflected the great on-course conditions with Tracy Hedditch a visitor from Kilmore (playing his first ever round at Romsey) having the best score of the day. The Romsey women were concurrently playing the 2nd Round of Silver Spoon which was won by Jenny Hartley with 37 points. Daily Results were; 
1st; Tracy Hedditch (19) – 42 points
2nd; Cyril Anderson (22) – 39 pts
3rd;  Jenny Hartley (21) – 37 pts  c/b Darlene Baker (18) – 37 pts
NTPs; 1st & 16th; Wicky McDowall

The Dalhousie country teams 4 Person Ambrose fundraiser event was held at Euroa Golf Club. The course was in great condition and the forecast hot weather luckily did not eventuate. It was a very enjoyable day and a great day to support the DDGA men ‘s and women’s Country Teams.   RGC results were;

RGC men’s team; Scott Williams/Bob McLennan/John Freestone/Craig Sandy – 68/9.128/58.872.

RGC women’s team; Beryl Cole/Shirley Shelton/Jenny Hartley/Darlene Baker – 78/11.175/66.825.

NB; Elaine did a great job on the BBQ. 

At Hidden Valley it was a challenging day for golf with gale force winds that were so strong it often effected putting and played havoc with the high ball. The course was in near perfect condition with a lovely cover of grass across the course and fast greens.
It was a great day out for two of the RGC members who played on the day.

Darlene Baker  played consistent golf under trying conditions and was the 2023 Hidden Valley Open Tournament Women’s Scratch winner.  

Jenny Hartley also had success as the runner up in the Women’s Handicap Division..