RGC men’s captain, Scott Williams, cancelled the round at 9.00am on Saturday morning

Another brilliant but chilly morning greeted the hardy group of golfers who took to the course. Tees were brought forward to create a par 3 course which was a challenging and enjoyable change.  Conditions were very heavy underfoot but playing the par 3 s reduced the length required off the tee and scores reflected this.  Results were;
1st; Lorraine Robb – Nett 55     C/B
2nd; Jenny Hartley – Nett 55
3rd; Darlene Baker – Nett 60

Rain on Friday had made the greens too slippery to cut so long, wet fairways and furry greens, just what the doctor ordered for a pleasant round of golf. Despite the conditions the afternoon was sunny with only occasional bursts of wind form the NW.  Again, there was no run and groups had to watch carefully or risk spending a deal of time looking for plugged balls.  The soft fairways sucked the life out the legs of all players and, at the end of the day, everyone was relieved to be heading up the 18th.  On a cool, sunny afternoon the results were;

Winner; Ryan Davies (24) – 37pts from Mitchell Clement (10) – 36pts, Davie Kenney (22) – 34pts  & Mal Mottram (8) – 33pts

John Laing Shield Results

1/4 Final – Rob Rea (17) D Daniel Wright (0) – Walkover

1st Semi-final – Rob Rea (0) D Anthony Lakey (1) – 5/4

John Laing Shield Final

Rob Rae to play winner of Andrew Laing (0) Vs Ryan Davies (8)

Raffle Results;

1st – $40 Butcher’s Voucher – Matt Hoyt,

2nd – $20 Drummonds Voucher – Mal Mottram

3rd –  Sleeve of balls – Rob Rea

Special thanks to;

Bruce Robb – cut a deal of rough on Thursday afternoon

Bob McLennan & John Freestone – machinery maintenance on Friday

Clive Mensforth – did a great job lining the green shed on Friday

Elaine Scanlon & Kev Dunn – explaining “Book A Tee” to all players and running the day, even a few refreshments on the 10th

Although still wet the course had noticeably less casual water compared to previous weeks. This made for more pleasant conditions on a beautiful, sunny, winter’s day. It was still heavy under foot with little to no run once the ball hit the fairways and consequently scoring well was difficult.
Results
1st       Darlene Baker    (21)    30 points
2nd     Jenny Hartley     (23)   29
3rd      Beryl Cole           (27)    22    c/b
Elaine Scanlon    (32)   22

9 Hole Comp
1st      Hugh Williams      10 points
2nd     Wendy Gosden    8

More rain during the week had made it impossible to cut anything bar the greens,  some of the wetter sections of the fairways had not been cut for three weeks.  Lost balls, plugged or amongst the long grass on the fairways, became a strong possibility.  The wet and spongy surfaces meant both push buggies and motorised carts had to be careful.  So, even though there was just a gentle breeze from the S/SW and the sun shone through, it was really another “tough day at the office”.  Despite the squelchy conditions the June Medal drew a strong field.  It was a day for steady , conservative golf, shots were not travelling as far in the air and nowhere once they landed, a few groups spent quite a while searching for balls that had landed and plugged deeply in the middle of the fairway.  Correct club selection was vital, usually one more than on a more normal day.  On a still, sunny day on a very wet course the results were;

Winner and June Medallist;  Ryan Davies – 99/26/73 from Simon Donovan- 88/13/75, Anthony Lakey – 95/20/75 Les Gaunt – 83/7/76 & Rob Rea – 95/19/76

Lesast Putts; Mick Squire – 28

After walking the course on Tuesday to assess the amount of water on the course the Captain decided to cancel Wednesday’s Monthly Medal. Many fairways are inundated with water and some were close to being unplayable.
As an option a composite of the four holes least effected by the recent rain was organised and played twice with golfers finishing on the old 10th to make nine holes.
Five golfers took advantage of the challenge and enjoyed calm winter weather. Five of the nine holes were par 3s, some handy scores were recorded with only one stroke separating the top three golfers.
Results
1st;Elaine Scanlon – 44/16/28    c/b
2nd; Beryl Cole – 42/14/28
3rd; Lorraine Robb – 50/21/29

With another 10mm of rain overnight, a wet course was markedly wetter.  Both dams were full to overflowing and there was casual water on almost every fairway.  The long hitters had a considerable advantage  as almost every shot landed and stopped within a metre, good distance in the air was vital.  Despite the challenging course conditions the weather was far more benign.  The sky was generally clear, the sun shone through and the northerly wind rarely effected shots.  The John Laing Shield Quarter Finals were generally tight affairs, especially over the front nine,  one match came down to the final hole.  The 4BBB Par competition was also close with many players having to chip close or sink lengthy putts to square a hole.  On a cool, sunny day the results were;

4BBB Par; Matt Hoyt (25)/Chris Burkett (25) – +3 from Andrew Clement (9)/Mitch Atlas (9) – Sq

Quarter Finals of the John Laing Shield;

1. Andrew Laing (0)  D  8. Chris vanDerVliet (7) – 4/3

3  Ryan Davies (18)  D 6. Mal Mottram (0) – 1up

2. Anthony Lakey (1)  D  7. Steve Wilkins (0) – 3/1

4. Rob Rea (17)  Vs 5. Daniel Wright (0) – To Be Played

The Semi-finals of the John Laing Shield will be;

Andrew Laing (0) Vs Ryan Davies (7)

Anthony Lakey (?) Vs

With further rain effecting the course conditions were very heavy for those playing in the Royal Women’s Hospital Four Ball.  Casual water was a problem across many fairways but the greens were in tip top condition. The heavy conditions made scoring difficult.
Results
RWH 4BBB
1st; Beryl Cole (27) Darlene Baker (21)    35 pts
2nd; Jenny Hartley (23) Elaine Scanlon(32) 30pts
3rd;  Lorraine Robb (42) Wendy Gosden(28) 29 pts

Stableford Results
1st; Dean Jones (4)    37 pts
2nd; John Freestone (21) 25 pts

Another excellent field teed up in the qualifying round of the John Laing Shield.  With no rain for almost a fortnight the casual water had virtually disappeared but the fairways were still soft, again no run once a ball landed. While parts of the course were warmish and well protected the cold, flukey, gusting wind, which moved between the NE, N and NW, added more difficulty and made for a very challenging round; it was difficult to play to handicap.  In the end it was a day for conservative golf, lay up and pitch or chip it close to the pin for a simple par or bogey.  Those who, somewhat courageously, took on the conditions rarely came out in front. On a cold, windy afternoon the results were;

Winner; Andrew Laing (19) – 38 pts from Ryan Davies (25) – 35pts, Anthony Lakey (20) – 35 pts, Chris Burkett (25) – 35 pts & Rob Rea (19) – 33 pts

The quarter Finals of the John Laing Shield will be;

1. Andrew Laing (0)  Vs  8. Chris vanDerVliet (7)

3  Ryan Davies (18)  Vs  6. Mal Mottram (0)

2. Anthony Lakey (1)  Vs  7. Steve Wilkins (0)

4. Rob Rea (17)  Vs 5. Daniel Wright (0)

Winter golf is always a challenge but a sunny, windless day makes it much more pleasant. Ten players took advantage of the better conditions and, although there were pockets of casual water and heavy conditions across the course, all players enjoyed the chance to play on our very well prepared golf course.

Daily comp results

Stroke Event
1st.        Jenny Hartley          102/23/79
2nd.       Darlene Baker         102/21/81
3rd.        Wendy Gosden       114/28/86

Stableford Event
1st.         Dean Jones              (4)     30 points
2nd.       John Freestone        (19)   25      c/b
3rd.        Hugh Williams          (20)   25

Least Putts
Jenny Hartley