It was a perfect day for golf, bright sunshine and nary a breath of wind. The course looked a picture with golden daffodils everywhere, fairways a bright green and the greens really beginning to sparkle (possibly the dew had something to do with that). Rain earlier in the week had re-softened the fairways; all balls picked up mud and there was virtually no forward progress once a ball landed.  Good scoring was extremely difficult.  Our volunteers were again working hard trimming branches from a cherry picker the club had hired.  On a beautiful early spring morning the results were;

Winner; Jenny Hartley (21) – 27pts from Wendy Gosden (27) – 22pts.

On a lovely, sunny, spring day Lorraine Robb, Jenny Hartley and Wendy Gosden represented RGC at the Trentham Plate.  A field of 52 teed-up on a course that was in great condition although many found the greens very slick.

The Seymour GC team won the day with a score of 85 pts.

A few sunny and windy days at the end of the week had dried out the course a touch but more importantly promoted growth across the whole of Romsey Park.  Golfers were happy to walk to the tee  under clear skies with a temperature in the mid teens but a flukey wind from the N or NW made things difficult from the 1st hole.  Those who could hit long keeping the ball in the air often got good results but there was little to no distance once the ball landed.  The wind, which assisted on some holes, moved balls well off course on others and made the par 3s very challenging.   The wind punished all who were unable to play controlled golf, anything that had the slightest amount of side-spin often veered over the trees and on to the next fairway.  It really was a day for the more talented, low markers.  On a sunny, windy afternoon the results were;

Winner & August Medalist; Mick Squire – 77/5/72 from Mal Mottram – 86/10/76

NTPs; 15th – Mick Squire, 16th – Scott Williams

Least Putts; Mal Mottram – 27 C/B from Mick Squire

The Broadford Bowl was contested by 43 players who shared the course with a number of very relaxed kangaroos. The slick greens created problems for some and it took a few holes for most golfers to adjust.  Hot soup was served at the halfway mark and was very much appreciated on the chilly day as was the lunch served after the round. Darlene Baker, Jenny Hartley and Lorraine Robb represented Romsey Golf Club with Lorraine having the best score of our team.  Individual honours went to Mary Claassen (Broadford) with special mention to Lyn Carracher (Avenel) who birdied the 9th and eagled the 17th.
 Bowl Winners;  Kilmore – Bron Gunn/Cheryle Andersen/Jill Banon – 91 points from Lancefield – 90 pts.

The August Monthly Medal round commenced in still conditions but this quickly changed as blustery winds blew in from the west.  Heavy clouds could be seen gathering over Mt Macedon but fortunately all groups managed to complete their round before the heavens opened and the rain tumbled down. The going was tough with very little run on most fairways however, the greens were holding well and rewarded all brave, approach shots. The course is in great condition considering the time of year and certainly reflects the efforts of RGC’s many volunteers.  The morning’s results were;

Winner & August Medalist; Jenny Hartley – 100/21/79 C/B from Darlene Baker – 98/19/79 & Kath Jekabsons – 110/29/81

Another clear, late winter’s day.  Most of the surface water had dried and there was an excellent cover on almost every fairway.  The greens were again fast and true.  Play began with a gusting wind from the NW, this soon moved around to the NE before settling from the N.  As the round progressed the wind strengthened and many shots that got above the tree line were blown well off course.  The W. E. Tom 1/4 finals were quite varied with one team leading almost all day, another having a “walkover” and others fighting it out over ten to twelve holes before a run off good results put one team well in front.  The stroke field too found the conditions challenging and only one player was able to play close to his handicap.  On a windy, late winter’s day the results were;

Stroke winner; Mitch Atlas – 86/12/74 from Andrew Laing – 95/19/76

NTPs; 15th – Mick Nicholls Snr

W. E. Tom 1/4 Final Results

Daniel Wright (0)/Anthony Lakey (16) D Mal Mottram (7)/Steve Wilkins (13) – 5/4

John Laing (26)/Andrew Laing (17) D Chris Lingard (0)/Jim Patton (19) Walkover

Pat Chisholm (0)/Mick Nicholls Jnr (3) D Kev Dunn (14)/Hugh Drummond (8) – 5/3

Scott Williams (0)/Chris vanDerVliet (14) D Mick Nicholls Snr (7)/Keith Hocking (16) – 6/4

The W. E. Tom Semi-finals (Sept 7th)

Daniel Wright (0)/Anthony Lakey (16) Vs Andrew Laing (17)/John Laing (25)

Pat Chisholm (0)/Mick Nicholls Jnr (3) Vs  Scott Williams (2)/Chris vanDerVliet (14)

RGC was well represented Elaine Scanlon, Darlene Baker, Wendy Gosden and Jenny Hartley.  The course was in very good condition and players played the newly rated “short” course which is approximately 600m shorter than the regular Avenel course.  During winter this shorter course will be an added incentive as most holes are, of course, more reachable. This is a great innovation by the Avenel Golf Club and was an appreciated by the players.  Darlene and Jenny were lucky raffle winners on the day and Darlene won NTP on the 8th. Results were;

Open Winner; Ricky Rickman (14) – 86

A Grade Handicap, B Grade & C Grade stroke winners; Maudie Ingram, Di Byrne and Helen Findlay

B Grade Handicap; Jenni Vennell (L/field) – 97/24/73

C Grade Handicap; Elaine Scanlon 97/24/73

Proud winners at the 2019 Avenel Tournament

With rain predicted and drizzle falling the club decided to reduce the round to a nine-hole Stableford event.  The morning began under  early spring conditions, a steady SW breeze, a spot of light rain and mostly overcast skies.  The fairways were well grassed but generally quite soft.  Drives and approach shots had to be very accurate or golfers faced very difficult “up and downs” from tricky positions close to the green.  Many a player dropped shots trying to get on to the green; it was tough out there!  Once on the green players found them playing very true and at good speed. On a challenging morning the results were;

Winner;  Darlene Baker – 17pts from  Elaine Scanlon – 13 pts & Kath Jekabsons – 9 pts

Jenny Hartley and Wendy Gosden represented RGC at the 2019 Kyneton Par 3 competition.  The rain threatened but held off however,  a cool breeze persisted causing everyone to “rug up”.  A full field of 108 enjoyed the day; the course was in good condition considering the recent rain and ongoing heavy dews and the greens played true which lead to some good scores.

RGC results were; Wendy Gosden 75/20/55 & Jenny Hartley – 75/15/60.

You would have been forgiven if you thought spring had come early; it was a stunning, sunny winter ‘s day with virtually no breeze.  While the fairways were still a little soft it was nothing compared to the week before.  There were a deal of good natured prognostications in the rooms before the strong field battled it out to make the top eight in the W. E Tom Shield qualifying round. Many players had good holes, however it was the couple of bad holes here and there that made it hard to score consistently. With the new growth over the last couple of weeks we have patches of non bent grass on a few of the greens that will need a little TLC; they were diverting the occasional putt.  On a beautiful, late winter’s day the results were;