The A grade players may have been a bit rusty as only three players shot par or better. Richard Nixon took the winners honours, with a nett 68. His front- nine included only one five, and that on the second. He was a little amiss on the back-nine with four bogeys, but managed tidy 40. Runner-up was Barry Shine who battled arduous conditions to finish with a nett 70. 

The B grade had a similar story with six of the 26 players scoring par or better. Graham Newport must have felt relaxed all day as he barely had a blemish all day to record a nett 68. There were only four pars on his card, but importantly there were no shockers. Warwick Judge finished his round amid exclamations from his playing partners about his ability to bend and shape a two-iron around the trees. His nett 69 gave him runner-up, but he was disappointed with his errant shots on the second and seventh.

The C graders were all very competitive, with four players finishing on 73 nett. The count-back honours went to Bruce Chandler, ahead of Mark Watts. Bruce took some time to settle down on the front-nine but stormed home on the back-nine. Mark Watts was resplendent in his yellow paddle-pop shirt, which must have made him swing smoothly for his blemish free score.

The ball sweep went to 73 nett on count-back, going to: 68 – G Newport, R Nixon; 69 – W Judge; 70 – B Shine; 71 – P Maher, J Earl; 72 – D Bayley, T Griffiths; 73 – B Chandler, M Watts, B Carpenter, P Grayson, B Parker, F Hanns, D Rhodes, S Kirkman, T Edols.

The NTP’s went to: Ninth – R Webb; 18th – A Tucker. For both players it only needed a smidgen more to record a hole-in-one. Although Robs smidgeon was a bit longer, causing him to miss his two. Despite the puttable greens twos were pretty scarce with only four scored, and all of those on the 18th.

There was one visitor, although he really is a local. Lee Grierson is back for the university break. He is currently enjoying golf at Wollongong. Good to see his smiling face around the course.

The course played really well despite the recent wet conditions. A bit of water at the back of the third, and a wider than normal carry across the fourth were the only additional obstacles.

Some players had a novel approach to the fourth water hazard. Those that failed used the parachute approach. Those that succeeded used the ‘stone skip’ method, sometimes getting four or five skips before carrying onto the grass on the other side.

One successful golfer using this method was Mark Watts, with his ball running up the green to leave a one inch putt. And it was not only in the Medal comp. The Vets on Thursday saw Geoff Drane get five skips onto the green, and Mike Sutcliffe used four skips to get across the tenth.

Some players showed excellent skill in their shot making. Martin Woods was approaching the 14th. He advised Peter Cowhan that he would chip in so save par, and so he did. Peter Grayson had a similar experience on the same hole. His second shot finished in the bushes short and left of the green. He chipped out strongly with the ball rolling up the tier. His treacherous snaking, downhill putt never looked like missing to score a par.

Terry Griffiths also showed skill. His third shot on the 12th, from a difficult lie, bounced on the hill, then gently rolled down the contour and into the hole for a birdie. However, towards the end of his round he was barely visible, seen thrashing the grass on the practice fairway.

Craig Barrett’s highlight was his holed out ship for par on the 11th. It was his only par on the back-nine, and did help him to sneak under ‘the ton’, just! Ash Tucker’s skill may not be at golf. On the 17th tee he launched himself so hard at the ball that he overbalanced and pirouetted around in what was a classic ‘Shellalie Swing’ as seen on Riverdance.

With all the stories of good, there is a balance with some not so good. Andrew Dukes needed a calculator for his score, and he plays off single figures. His round came apart when he put three balls into the water on the 14th. 

And Pete Cowhan was doing okay until the 17th. He putted off the green three times on his way to an eight.

Sunday was the Stableford Medley, also contested in bright sunshine and with 17 players competing among the social players and the Sixes players.

Peter Barnes enjoyed the heat and scorched around to score 44 points. He was certainly ahead of Bob Borger on 41, who earned runner-up on count back from James Earl. But, it was hard for Pete to stay ahead of Bob all day, as they sat in the same cart.

The ball sweep went to 38, with James Earl (41) and Ash Tucker (38) getting balls. Ash almost made headlines with his NTP on the 9th. It was only six inches short of a hole in one. Dave Rhodes got the NTP on the 18th, but missed his two.

General Items

The Hamper Day held on December 14 was another successful event, leading us into the festive season. With good sponsorship from Bernardi’s, this will hopefully become a long running Annual event. The new programme for 2018-19 Mens, Ladies and Vets comps are being worked on, with the books being available in January 2018.

Crystal Ball Time:

December 16 is the 18-hole Stableford Ham Day, sponsored by Kenny’s Baa-Moo-Oink Butchery. Competition will be fierce as players attempt to add their bit to the Christmas Feast table. Sunday will be a Stableford Medley.

December 23 is an 18-Hole Stableford, sponsored by Shirley Redfern, a golfer as keen as anybody. December 24 is a Stableford Medley. Over the Xmas-New Year break we have, December 26 a Stableford Medley, December 30 a Canadian Foursomes sponsored by Post Office Hotel, and on December 31 a Stableford Medley.

-by Short Putt