Captain Lorraine Robb was out on the course very early before the round to shift the tee markers on The Old Course to create a very interesting Par 3 course.   Players found club choice a bit tricky with the unfamiliar lengths from each tee but really enjoyed the challenge on the day.  Denise O’Meara drove well and produced some very good putting to post a great score to take out the day’s event.
On a warmish, stylish morning he results were;

Winner; Denise O’Meara – 56/30/26 from Lorraine Robb – 52/24/28    C/B &  Wendy Gosden – 45/17/28

Play began on a beautiful, mild, early summer’s day however, occasional strong wind from the south and south-west caused a few problems here and there. The recent dry weather saw all players gain good value for well struck drives and approach shots and the greens continued to putt very true.   The 4BBB Stroke event saw teams working well together to record excellent scores.  Despite the odd lost ball each team seemed to be able to get to the green and cup in regulation or better.  On a number of holes players were putting for a nett score of two or three. The two semi-finals of the John Laing Shield were close run with both being decided on the 18th.  On a beautiful summers’s day the results were;

Winners; Mick Nicholls Snr/Keith Hocking – 61 from Scott Williams/Hugh Drummond – 63, John Laing/Jim Patton – 64 & Mal Mottram/Rob Rea – 64

NTPs; 1st – Mal Mottram, 15th – Pat Chisholm & 16th – Keith Hocking

John Laing Shield Semi-finals

Les Gaunt (2) D Mick Squire (0) – 2up

Pat Chisholm (3) D Andrew Clement (0) 1up

John Laing Final

Les Gaunt (0) Vs Pat Chisholm (6)

Despite a goodly contingent of RGC golfers heading over to Woodend for their annual Par 3 competition a strong field teed up for the November Medal.  The round began in cool, overcast conditions but the clouds soon lifted and the sun came out.  The course was in great nick with good cover on most of the fairways, the surrounds in excellent condition and the greens putting fast and true.  The ~20mm of rain over night had taken the sting out of the fairways and a southerly wind blew up during the middle of the round causing some distress for golfers who found their shots drifting well off course.  The conditions were almost perfect for the lower markers and a few took advantage to record very good scores.  On a sunny, slightly windy afternoon the results were;

Winner & November Medalist; Mick Squire – 71/5/66 from Mal Mottram – 80/10/70 & Par Chisholm – 84/13/71

NTPs; 1st & 16th – Les Gaunt, 15th – John Laing

Least Putts; Mal Mottram – 23

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Mild conditions prevailed for the club’s  Stableford Round.  A westerly wind did get troublesome towards the end but otherwise it was a good day for golf.  The 16 mm over Tuesday softened the fairways and slightly reduced the overall run. The greens were slower than in previous weeks with bold putting needed to get up to and in the hole. Scoring was close with only four points separating the top four cards.
Winner; Darlene Baker  (20) – 32 pts from Jenny Hartley (22) – 30 pts & Elaine Scanlon  (28) – 29 pts

Everyone began arriving at about 8.45am and enjoyed an egg and bacon roll as they caught up with players from other clubs. At 9.30 the field was out on the course testing themselves against Romsey’s narrower fairways and smaller greens.  It was a beautiful, late spring morning with conditions again excellent for golf. By lunch the field had begun to sort itself out.  Top scratch scores were from Chris Lingard  – 46 and Michael Squire -47, top handicap scores were from Andrew Clement (6 2/3) 45 1/3 and Steve Wilkins (11 1/3) – 45 2/3.

The day warmed up after lunch and suddenly every shot seemed to count more.  All of a sudden a missed drive or a fluffed chip carried more weight.  Those who could concentrate and play steady golf were always going to rise to the top.  The weekend’s events were made possible through the support of local businesses “The Romsey Collision Centre” and “The Romsey Bottle-O”. 

On a beautiful spring day the results were;

2019 Graeme Clement Open Champion; Chris Lingard – 93

B Grade Scratch; Andrew Clement – 102

C Grade Scratch; Steve Wilkins – 114

A Grade Handicap; Kevin Whyley – 92

B Grade Handicap; Mitch Clement -92 2/3

C Grade Handicap; Jim Patton – 89 2/3

AM Handicap; Michael Squire – 43 2/3

PM Handicap; Cameron Newnham – 45 1/3

2019 Graeme Clement Open Champion Chris Lingard with Andrew Clement

Scratch Winners Steve Wilkins  (C Grade) with DDGA Captain Chris Hanson

& Andrew Clement (B Grade)

H/cap winners Mitch Clement (B Grade), Kevin Whyley (A Grade)

with DDGA Legend Lance Carracher & Jim Patton (C Grade)

RGC Captain Scott Williams with Senior’s Scratch Winner Lance Carracher

NTPs Matt Smith (10th), Gary Watts (8th), RGC Capt Scott Williams,

Chris Lingard (2nd Shot 3rd) & Jim Hynes (1st & 9th)

After the heat and searing winds of Thursday the course had begun to dry out; more run on the fairways meaning players had to choose clubs carefully or find themselves well through the corner facing a difficult approach shot over or through the trees.  The greens seemed a little slower than in past weeks and more than a few golfers found their ball stoping just short of the cup.  Over all it was a great day for golf and the large field enjoyed themselves.  Our thanks to the Romsey Cricket Club for the use of their rooms for the afternoon noon tea and presentations.

Winners; Anthony Freeman (Rich River)/Steve Wilkins (RGC) – 44 pts from Darlene & Roger Baker (RGC)42 pts and John Freestone (RGC)/ Bob McLennan (RGC) – 41 pts C/B from Mick Nicholls Snr (RGC)/Keith Hocking (RGC)

NTPs; 1st – Keith Hocking, 3rd – Jenny Hartley, 15th – Roger Baker, Kath Jekabsons  & 16th – Mal Mottram.

2019 4BBB Winners Anthony Freeman, RGC Capt Scott Williams & Steve Wilkins

2019 4BBB Runners-up Darlene Baker & Roger Baker

2019 4BBB 3rd Place Getters John Freestone & Bob McLennan

On a perfect day for golf Lorraine Robb represented RGC in the 2019 Jo Nesbitt Memorial Trophy at Goonawarra Golf Club. The course was in great condition and the greens were fast but true.  Putting on such large greens, often with many challenging levels and surrounded by deep bunkers was a real challenge for the RGC contingent.  It was all too easy for a reasonable approach shot to morph into a three or four putt.

Winner; Kathie Rindfleish (Goonawarra) – 82/12/70  C/B from Gudrun Wilkinson (Gisborne) – 101/31/70 and Denise Doolan (Woodend) – 86/16/70.

Best gross score; Cathy Heald (Goonawarra) – 81/7/74.

Darlene Baker, Jenny Hartley, Wendy Gosden represented RGC at the last tournament in Dalhousie for the year.  The weather condition were very windy and warm but the course was in great condition. Darlene finished with 11/21/90 Jenny with 109/24/85  and Wendy 115/30/86
 Winner; Dale Stuart (Seymour) – 90/12/78

A Grade; Sue McCall (Seymour) – 105/22/83 and

B Grade; Jenni Vennel (Lancefield) – 103/23/80

On Flag Day Elaine Scanlon carried the flag to the corner of the 18th fairway only to have it picked up by Darlene Baker who took it further along to the green side of the 18th hole before she ran out of stokes. That was where the flag stayed until the rest of the field finished, so a win on the day to Darlene.
Winner; Darlene Baker – 97/20/77  from Elaine Scanlon – 106/28/78 & Kath Jekabsons – 110/30/80 on a 3way count back from Wendy Gosden and Beryl Cole

The 2019 Golf Australia Vic State Final of the Women’s Silver Spoon was held at Keysborough Golf Course, 88 players from throughout Victoria hit off in perfect weather for golf.  The Silver Spoon was first played in 1921 and is held in two stages. The first stage is at club level where a player is required to win one of the four designated rounds on the club’s syllabus, followed by a play off between all four winners. The winner of the play off then represents the club in the State final.

Romsey was represented by Jenny Hartley who acquitted herself well. It was not easy to negotiate the well bunkered greens, adjust to their very quick pace and accommodate the run on the fairways.  Jenny scored 31 stableford points and was placed 17^th in the competition. To be in the top 20 in the a state competition is a great achievement.

2019 Silver Spoon Winner; Maree Fitzgerald (Coleraine G. C.) – 42 points