Near perfect day out

It was only near perfect, and not perfect, as there was a stiff breeze through much of Saturday, which eased somewhat on Sunday. Even so, there were more than enough excuses for hooked balls and missed putts.

The Men's comp on Sat 16 Jan, sponsored by Cahill's Footwear, was a joint running of a 4BBB alongside an Individual event.

This made it imperative for the players to concentrate on entering the correct score onto the correct card. This proved too difficult for some who simply reverted to entering the stableford score. Luckily Head Pro Adam was able to sort things out.

The result in the 4BBB Par event was very close indeed, but ultimately it was the handicap which helped. Jeff Moon and Trevor Toole combined well to finish 9-up. They scored only three 'losses' all day, and shared the load evenly between them.

Runners-up were determined by count back. Both pairings of Todd and Harry Callaghan and Tony Wallace with Randal Grayson finished on 8-up.

Todd and Harry got the nod by virtue of a storming finish by Harry to carry his dad over the back-9.

In the Individual Par event, the 67 players enjoyed themselves, with most returning average scores. This emphasised the good combination shown by the winning teams in the 4-ball.

The Division 1 winner was Harrison Callaghan, with 2-up. He played especially well on the back-9, having a purple patch of four holes from the 13th.

Runner-up was Peter Cowhan with a tidy 1-up. He also had a better back-9 than front-9, but must lament his missed opportunities on the 4th, 7th and 17th holes where he had overly large scores.

In Division 2, Trevor Toole was the outstanding player. His 5-up was heads and shoulders above all others. And even then he had some crash scores on four holes. His better half was the front-9, which helped him to a very creditable 96 scratch score off his 30 handicap.

Runner-up was Randall Grayson with 1-up. He was consistent throughout, except for the 7th hole where he managed double figures. But in this format it did not hurt his score too much.

The ball sweep went to 4-down on count back, going to: Square - A Wallace, M Collits; 1-dn - B Carpenter, T Griffiths, N Ryan, T Pilon; 2-dn - R Taylor, P Kay; 3-dn - P Grayson, J Zannes, G Newport, P Tisdell, P Barnes, N McMillan, B Robinson, F Donohoe; 4-dn - M Woods, B Parker.

The NTP's went to: 9th - N Duncan; 18th - A Grierson. The 3rd Hole Pro Shop Super Pin went to Peter Barnes, whose knowledge of the metric measuring system leaves much to be desired, as apparently his shot finished 11 millimetres from the hole which then required two putts to hole out. He surely meant 1.1 metres!

Overall, the 2's were scarce with Andrew Grierson converting his good shot, along with only two other sharpshooters.

A number of visitors enjoyed the conditions and had varying success. Welcome to Martin Woods (Pks), Caleb Hanrahan (Wollongong) and Tye and Brian Pilon (W/Wyalong).

There was a bit of a breeze blowing, which sometimes affected a player's shot.

Alf Davies, a Leftie, claimed a massive wind drift when he hooked his tee shot off the 12th to finish on the side of the 11th fairway on the opposite side to the 12th hole.

In the same group, Jono Roylance also claimed wind assistance, as he too finished on the 11th fairway. But Jono's real problem was having his ball unknowingly run over by a 'helpful' person. Thank goodness for preferred lies.

The greens were once again in good condition, although some players seemed to have problems reading the 'borrow', even when none was there.

Frank Haans was very close to turning his putter into a helicopter club as he time and again three and four putted from close distance.

But Frank's putting problem may have been direction. On the 7th his second shot off the fairway skewed right and hit the cart of Les Little, rebounding almost to Frank's feet.

Luckily Les had turned back to face Frank, else he may have carried Frank's ball down the fairway in his cart.

Pete Cowhan could possibly attribute his good form to his new grips. Head Pro Adam fitted slightly larger grips to Pete's clubs and a monster grip to his putter.

They obviously felt more comfortable, and perhaps akin to cows teats, with which he is most familiar.

Pete Barnes was aggrieved but philosophical about the 'no touch' pins status. Sometimes it means a well struck putt will strike the pin and stop dead.

Sometimes a chip which may have hopped into the hole stays out. In Pete's case, a lengthy putt which was struck solidly, tracked true to the pin on the 14th. It hit the pin, ran around the edge of the hole and settled on the lip. He did say 'bother'!

The Sunday Stableford Medley had a quality field of eight players. The players spread themselves across the day to take advantage of the mild conditions and the completion of gardening chores.

The outstanding winner was Nick Ryan who blitzed the field with 38 points, which could have been more except for an unfortunate '8' on the 15th hole.

Runner-up was Dave Tildsley with 34 points. His game included a number of blemishes.

The ball sweep went to 32 points on count back. The only recipient was Head Pro Adam who took the opportunity to play with members in the morning.

Adam was relatively happy with his game, scoring only two bogeys to be offset by three birdies. But of course the killer is his handicap of -5, which means pars on five holes actually mean bogeys. But he struck the ball well and managed a 71 scratch.

Here is the news:

The 2021 CWDGA Pennants will commence soon, with some teams still needing players.

Please contact John Betland (0437 572529) to find out more and to express your interest. The handicap cut-off is 30 January, which should help players to settle into a suitable Division.

A reminder to parents of the Junior coaching classes being run by Head Pro Adam in the second week of Term 1.

The classes will be on Thursday afternoons, with 4pm for the 6-10 yo and 5pm for 11 yo and older.

Drop into the Pro Shop to pick up an Information Pamphlet, which explains how to register through the 'My Golf' initiative. Contact the Pro Shop 6851 1554 to get more details.

The Summer Super Sixes comp, sponsored by ASI Capital, is reaching the final stages of the Pool Play.

We are currently in week 13, with a total of 16 weeks to be played. This will be followed by the Finals series culminating in the Grand Final on 28 March.

There is another 'Double Points' round to be played, and of course the ceiling of handicaps during the Finals. So now is the time to cement your place in the top five, and prepare for the Finals.

It is crystal ball time:

Saturday 23 Jan is an 18-hole Individual Stroke, sponsored by Rob Allen Livestock Transport. Sun 24 and Tue 26 are both Stableford Medleys.

Sat 6 Feb will be the Monthly Medal, sponsored by Michael Robinson & Co, with a Stableford Medley on Sunday 7 Feb.