A very strong field took to the course for a round of Par, the first Wednesday event of the 2019 Flatstick Roofing Summer Cup. Competition was close in the women’s draw with the top three players barely separated.  Results for the day;
Women’s Winner; Darlene Baker (18) -1 C/B  from  Jan Harver (45) -1 & Wendy Gosden (31) -2
9 Hole Competition; Pam Drummond (31) Nett 36
Men’s Winner; Hugh Williams (23)  Square

After another very hot week the ~10mm of rain late on Wednesday merely replaced a little of the moisture that the sun and wind had sucked out.  There were some spots of “Brown Patch” on a few greens but otherwise they remained in excellent condition.  The additional in ground piping (Ta Rob Mitchell) and the 2nd pump (Ta Bendigo Bank) had made it possible to deliver more water to the whole course but in Jan/Feb all you can really hope to do is “hold the line”.  Play began in hot and windy conditions with winds of 25 – 30Kph gusting in from the NNE making the 6th & 13th holes play considerably shorter and seeing many shots being pushed well wide of the fairways.  Towards the end of the round the wind swung around to the NW making the 15th and 16th par 3s very challenging.  Many players went +, -, +, – and thought they were in for a reasonable day but poor driving and some inconsistent bounce on the fairways saw many seemingly good shots end up in very challenging  locations.  On a day when consistency was paramount only two players were able to play better than their handicaps.  On a hot and windy afternoon there results were;

Winner; Anthony Lakey (23) +3 from Mick Nicholls Jnr (17) +1 & Shannon Wright (11) – Square

Women’s Winner; Liz Manktelow (21) -6

Hot, very hot, and humid conditions greeted those playing the January Monthly Medal. The option to tee off at 7.30am was sensibly taken up by some in the field and they played in the best of the conditions.  The rest however battled the 33+ temperatures.  For this time of the summer the course is particularly good although drying out a little on some fairways. The greens are exceptionally good, practically perfect, except for the small amount of bird damage. The course is a credit to those members who spend so much time preparing and maintaining it, they certainly deserve our gratitude. The results for the day;

January Monthly Medal Winner; Jenny Hartley – 95/23/72 from Elaine Scanlon – 106/30/76 & Darlene Baker – 95/18/77

A surprisingly large field took to the course for the club’s Australia Day holiday Stableford. Play began early to beat the coming heat and to allow members to attend other functions in the afternoon.  A gentle breeze blew in  from the south, cooling the morning  but not effecting the golf.  Again, hard, dry fairways saw many long hitters put the driver away on some holes while a few cagey golfers used the conditions extremely well pushing their usual straight 150m – 160m drives out passed 200m.  However, despite the excellent efforts from many one player really shone out.  Club captain Scott Williams, continuing his good form from Saturday’s Medal round, played an “absolute blinder” to record a score that was unbeatable.  On a cool, still morning the results were;

Winner; Scott Williams (18)  – 47 pts from Mick Nicholls Snr (23) – 40 pts

66 players from 11 clubs in the Dalhousie District participated in the annual 4BBB Stableford competition, in hot, still weather at Seymour Golf Course. Congratulations to Seymour G. C. club on a well presented course.  Results showed there was a strong local advantage.  Romsey was represented by Elaine Scanlon who combined well with Mary Campbell (Broadford) to be runners up in the Women’s event with 42 stableford points.  The day’s results were;

Women’s Winners; Paula Britton/Di Stammers (Seymour) – 45 pts from Elaine Scanlon (Romsey)/Mary Campbell (Broadford) – 42 pts
Men’s Winners; Phil Jarvis/Dave Hamilton (Seymour) – 47 pts C/B from Dale Mountjoy (Seymour)/Jeff Ranger (Broadford).

After another hot, dry week with two days of low 40C all but the greens and surrounds had dried out considerably.  The intense heat and gusting winds also saw one of the Park’s oldest trees drop an enormous branch on to the 2nd fairway, this branch had caught many a seemingly good drive so some golfers were not too upset about its demise.  The Monthly Medal field teed off  facing a steady wind from the SW however the wind moved between the south and the west for most of the afternoon.  Many players found it difficult to judge just how far their shots would run and often found themselves in the trees facing a very challenging approach shot, others who had played the course in the very recent past were able to choose more appropriate clubs.  The day, which warmed up considerable, proved to be one of contrasting nines, any player who was consistent across the 18 holes was in with a good chance.  Others, who  had very ordinary front nines or just one or two bad holes, found themselves out of contention.  On a very hot afternoon the results were;

Winner and January Medalist; Scott Williams – 87/18/69 from Mick Nicholls Jnr – 91/17/74, Shannon Wright – 87/12/75, Hugh Drummond – 91/21/75 & Bob Dwyer – 112/36/76.

NTPs; 1st – Bob McLennan, 3rd – Liz Manktelow, 15th – Les Gaunt

Least Putts; Scott Williams – 26 C/B from Shannon Wright & John Freestone

The morning was cool with a southerly breeze,  which seemed inconceivable considering the forecast of 37C+ for the following day.  Nevertheless the field, including one visitor from New Zealand, headed to the course for the RGC qualifying round of the DDGA Play-9 competition.  All players teed off from the first for the Stableford round.  There was plenty of run on the course especially for the low flat drives off the tee so straight hits were travelling well down the fairways.  The greens are still in great condition apart from a little bit of damage from the corellas.  Bold, confident putts ran fast and true all day.
Scoring was consistently good and the results for the day were
 Winner; Jenny Hartley – 21 pts  from  Wendy Gosden – 19 pts   C/B & Pam Drummond – 19 pts
Congratulations to Jenny and Wendy who will now represent Romsey Golf Club in the Dalhousie District finals of Play-9 later in the year.

Despite the intermittent rain on Friday that  gave some slight relief from the baking heat of Monday to Thursday Romsey Park had continued to dry out giving extra run across the whole course.  Texas Ambrose allows teams to take the best drive (each player must take a number of drives), team members then play out their own ball with the best two scores per hole being counted.  The round began with a steady southerly breeze, this moved about during the afternoon before settling down from the south-west.  Teams planned to average four points per hole feeling they would be in with a good chance, however, little did they know.  The hard fairways saw most players driving well passed expected distances setting up many birdie opportunities.  The greens were in top nick and players who putted directly at the cup were often rewarded, others, who felt there was more movement usually saw their putts slide well passed.  On a warm and windy afternoon the results were;

Winners; Ron Walker (24)/John Freestone (21)/Mick Nicholls Snr (22) – 100 pts from Pat Chisholm (12)/Jim Patton (19)/Mick Squire (7)/Chris Lingard(3) – 95 pts & Rob Rea (17)/Ron Hobbs (21)/Bob Dwyer (36) – 92 pts

NTPs; 15th John Freestone (got the $100 jackpot!) & Wendy Gosden

Due to the excessive heat predicted for later in the day it was decided to reduce the Canadian competition to 9 holes. The winners on the day were Jenny Hartley and Elaine Scanlon 47/13.25/33.75 from Hugh Williams and Bruce Robb.

Another hot, still summer’s day.  Plenty of run on the fairways and the greens and surrounds in top nick.  A strong field hit-off and found conditions changing as a steady southerly breeze blew up.  While the breeze cooled the afternoon it brought it own problems and it was especially dangerous once a ball got above the treeline and many players found themselves in the trees trying to chip back to the fairway.  The front nine saw numerous players shooting at or below their handicaps so excellent scoring was expected.  However, the back nine saw the wind strengthen causing problems off the tee on some holes and making the OOB on the 18th a real concern for anyone who had the slightest of slices.  On a windy afternoon the results were;

Winner; Chris vanDervliet – 95/25/70 C/B from Les Gaunt – 78/8/70, Mick Nicholls Snr – 95/23/72 & Hugh Drummond – 93/21/72

NTPs; 1st Les Gaunt, 15th – Les Gaunt & Elizabeth Manktelow & 16th – Chris Manktelow