RGC Members Lorraine Robb, Beryl Cole and Darlene Baker made the two hour trek across to Marysville to play in this annual event. The weather was crisp in the morning and warmed up nicely in the afternoon, warm enough in fact for a snake to make its way across the 17th fairway, much to the surprise of unsuspecting golfers. The course was in very good condition however  the green keeper had advised that after no rain for 44 days preferred lies were granted across the course. Most players agreed that this was very generous.   The greens ran true and were reasonably fast.

The bowl winners were Mansfield 2 with a total of 107 points.

The 18-hole field headed out for a second round of match-play with three hotly contested matches being played.  The recent works to the greens made putting more than challenging and all balls had to be struck firmly to have any chance of making it to the cup.  All greens, however, were quite soft, if sandy, so all approach shots that landed on a green soon pulled up.  Match-play is an interesting format and the practice should prepare players well for the 2018  Pennant Competition which starts next month.  On a warm, sunny morning the match-play results were;

Beryl Cole (24) All Square Jenny Hartley (26).

Lorraine Robb (34) D Darlene Baker (17) – 2 up.

Pam Drummond (33) D Wendy Gosden (32) – 2/1.

Nine-hole Competition winner; Kath Jekabsons (28) – 15 Pts from Jan Harver (45)  – 11 Pts.

Men’s Stableford Winner; Hugh Williams (23) –  43 Stableford points (a great effort with the greens in their current uncut and sandy condition.)

With the women’s pennant golf season rapidly approaching the golfers played a round of handicap match play.   The matches were played under still, clear skies, virtually perfect weather conditions.  The hard fairways again saw everyone get excellent value from their drives but approach shots had to be accurate as the green surrounds quickly pulled up any shots not on target.

Always competitive, Leila Beasley won her nine hole match against Jan Harver.

Pam Drummond played very well to defeat club captain Lorraine Robb.

Having to give nine strokes to Jenny Hartley, Darlene Baker played valiantly only for Jenny to play superb golf, parring six holes on her way to a three hole victory.

The men played Stableford over 18 holes with Bruce Robb the winner with 36 Stableford points closely followed by Hugh Williams 32 points.

There was a steady westerly wind blowing as players headed to the tee for the 48 Algie Mitchell Shield.  The dry fairways saw everyone get excellent value for well struck drives however the odd crack saw a few balls bounce in very unpredictable directions.  Some repairs and rolling saw the greens quite fast and very true and at long last it seems as if the Corellas might be thinking of moving on.  Towards the end of the round the wind moved around to the south bringing the internal “Out Of Bounds”  on the 18th into play giving some players more than a little cause for concern as they finished off their round.  Despite the odd bad bounce and the effect of the wind a number of players handed in excellent cards.  On a hot, windy day the results were;

Winner; Jim Patton (22) – 43 pts from Mick Squires (9) – 38 pts and Mick Nicholls Jnr (16) – 36 pts

Womens Winner; Pam Drummond (34) – 41 pts

NTPs; 16th – Scott Williams.

The Quarter Finals of the Algie Mitchell Shield will be;

Jim Patton (12) Vs Shannon Wright (0)

Mick Squires (0) Vs Mick Nicholls Snr (13)

Mick Nicholls Jnr (2) Vs John Moody (0)

Rob Rea (6) Vs Bob McLennan (0)

The first day of March brought with it strong winds and bothersome rain as players assembled at the Lancefield Golf Club for the Lancefield Women’s Open Tournament.  Thankfully the rain abated but the gusty winds persisted for the duration of the 18 holes making club selection a little tricky even on the shorter par three holes.  Grass cover on the fairways was good with relief allowed from the occasional bare patch. The greens were very good or rather tricky depending on who you spoke to.

Cheryl Anderson (Kilmore G. C.) was the tournament winner with a wonderful score of 80 gross, an excellent day’s golf.

Beryl Cole, was runner up in B Grade.

Wendy Gosden was the C Grade winner; 100/32/68.  Wendy also won the day’s veteran’s event and was nearest the pin on the 16th, not a bad day’s work.

The day’s extremely windy conditions made scoring a challenge. Players who were able to keep their ball on the fairway found a lot of summer run, in the rough however the ball pulled up very quickly. The parts of the greens that are undamaged were in excellent condition.  Congratulations to Jenny Hartley winner of this month’s Monthly Medal scoring a very good 70 net.
Winner and February Medalist; Jenny Hartley – 97/27/70 from Wendy Gosden – 108/33/75, Beryl Cole – 103/25/78, Darlene Baker – 96/17/79 CB from Pam Drummond – 113/34/79
Nine-Hole Winner; Leila Beasley
Least Putts; Beryl Cole – 28 putts

The February Medal field teed off under cloudy skies with a steady north-westerly wind.  The early holes saw a number of golfers playing very erratic golf but everyone soon settled down and took advantage of the tail wind on some holes and the extra run on the hard fairways.  During the round the wind moved to the west and then the south-west meaning approach shots often blew up and landed well short of their intended target.  The lush surrounds around the green made for excellent chip shots assisting numerous players to save par on many holes.  As the holes began to run out three players looked to have a chance for the February Medal, however, the day belonged to only one.  He played wonderfully consistently golf carding the best round of his golfing life to easily “walk away with the chocolates”.  On a windy, sultry day the results were;

Winner & February Medalist; Mick Nicholls Jnr – 77/17/60 from Hugh Drummond – 93/22/71 & John Freestone – 93/22/71

NTPs; 1st – John Freestone, 15th & 16th – Mick Nicholls Jnr

Least Putts; Jim Patton – 28

The official 2017/18 Twilight Golf program has now finished.

The final round saw Shannon Wright again play some tremendous golf to come home with 20 points from Jenny Hartley on a C/B from Toby Clements – 18pts.  John Freestone picked up the only NTP – 8th.

The 2017/18 “Titan of Twilight” is John Freestone with 18 Titan Pts from Bruce Robb – 14 Titan pts and Mick Nicholls Jnr on a C/B from Scott Williams – 12 Titan pts.

Congratulations on a great effort from organiser, club secretary Elaine Scanlon, all those who assisted behind the table, on the bar or in the kitchen and all the golfers who took part in the competition.

Due to public demand the competition twilight golf will continue for the next two Fridays; March 2nd and 9th.