11 teams (and one single player !) contested this 4BBB Competition on a great day at Links Lady Bay Golf Club – not too hot, no rain and not much wind – were we at the correct golf club ?  

It was a close battle at the end, with only 2 points separating the 1st and 3rd place teams, but Tony Carter and Chris Belshaw took the trophy with a very respectable score of 49 points !

The Course was quite dry but was generally in great condition and some other good scores were posted.

All enjoyed the day, with a slightly higher turnout for this event than last year – which will be repeated at Links Lady Bay again in early December 2026 – the exact date TBA.

We welcomed Aston Bradbrook (the grandson of Dennis Sisely’, one of our Life Members) into the club and Mat Kennedy (John Kennedy’s son – we play a stroke round at Clare for the JFK Trophy & Medal) back to the club after a long absence overseas.

And we also congratulated Haydn Funnell on achieving an official handicap just before this game.

Results:

1st (and Summer Cup winners) = Tony Carter and Chris Belshaw with 49 points;

2nd = Sylvia & Uwe Ebert with 48 points;

3rd = Mark Duerden & Andrew Reid with 47 points.

NTPs: 

3rd 0-20HC: Darren Griffiths 9.0m, 21+HC: Mark Duerden 3.0m

8th 0-20HC: Mat Kennedy 6.5m, 21+HC: Sandy Turnbull 12.5m

15th 0-20HC: Tony Carter 1.2m, 21+HC: Uwe Ebert 13.0m

17th 0-20HC: Stu Thomson 6.0m, 21+HC: Theo van Mil 14.0m 

Our next event will be at the McCracken Country Club on Sunday 18th January 2026.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year in the meantime !

Stu Thomson 🏌️⛳️

The 43rd SAOGA golf tournament (our 7th event at Clare) was held at the Clare Golf Course and the Clare Country Club from 13th to 16th November and was a very successful event.  The weather was good for most of the time although the nights were very cool. The course was in fantastic condition – probably due to the new groundskeeper.   However, the greens were hard to read for most golfers.

We had 13 players in the Stroke round on Thursday, 40 players in the Ambrose round on the Friday Sponsors Day and 34 players on both the Saturday and Sunday stableford rounds.

Big thanks go to Stu for organising most of the event and to Huddo for organising all the meals. The contribution from our major sponsors and from Bruce and Huddo for the Sunday barbecue was greatly appreciated.  The music from the band on Sunday –  Glenn (lead singer), Stu (12- and 6-string guitars), Jai (6-string guitar), Bruce (ukulele) and Steph (keyboard) was fantastic – a great singalong night. 

Helen Janetzki took out the major Stealth Trophy with a spectacular score on Sunday, and a further 16 trophies were shared around:

In addition to all of the above trophy winners, 48 prize vouchers were won by 28 different players for various Nearest the Pin shots and Long Drives, etc.

Again, many thanks to our generous sponsors who make the weekend possible and to those who donated prizes for the raffle on Saturday night.

The committee is looking forward to the 2026 event, having already booked the Clare Country Club and the Clare Golf Course for the period 12th to 15th November 2026 – so lock these dates into your diary now !

Mark Duerden, SAOGA President & Stuart Thomson, SAOGA Secretary

IF YOU HAVE READ THIS POST, could you please send an email to saogasecretary@gmail.com to let us know that people do actually look at this website (because we’re convinced that they don’t !)

It was a cool overcast start to the morning, turning into a great sunny afternoon finish for the 28 members who took on the challenge at the Vines of Reynella golf course.

The course beat up a lot of the field with Richard and Liz the only ones to play better than handicap and with 17 players below 30 points.

The clubhouse Bistro’s menu selection was impressive and the food was good quality 😊

Winner = Richard Wheare with 42 points

2nd = Liza Wedge with 40 points

3rd = Andrew Reid with 35 points

The next 6 players were awarded a ball each, down to 30 points.

NTPs:

3rd 0-24HC: Andrew Reid 2.2m, 25+HC: Richard Wheare 6.0m

6th 0-24HC: Martin Henderson 8.5m, 25+HC: Helen Janetzki 18.0m

10th 0-24HC: Darren Griffiths 7.5m, 25+HC: Garry Odgers 5.0m

14th 0-24HC: Stu Thomson 8.0m, 25+HC: Theo van Mil 2.0m

Matchplay results:

Chris Skewes and Lyndon Prior played their 3rd-4th Playoff Match today, with Chris winning 5/3.

The next SAOGA round will be at the Clare GC on Thursday 13th November, followed by 3 more days of golf and socialising.

John & Stu 🏌️⛳️

23 Members made the trip down the Fleurieu to take on this challenging layout near McLaren Vale.

We’re sure everyone would like to play this one again as course knowledge is a must on some of these holes. It was pretty ordinary weather and this produced some ordinary results to match, with no one managing to play to handicap. 

Winner = Liza Wedge with 33 points

2nd = Chris Belshaw (on countback) with 32 points

3rd = Frank Sampson (also on count back from 4th place) with 32 points

The next 6 players were awarded a ball each, down to 29 points.

NTPs:

3rd 0-25HC: Song Curtis 5.0m, 26+HC: Nobody

5th 0-25HC: Tony Carter 2.9m, 26+HC: Garry Odgers 3.3m

12th 0-25HC: Chris Skewes 1.3m, 26+HC: James Prater 7.5m

14th 0-25HC: Matt Curtis 2.3m, 26+HC: Liza Wedge 4.5m

16th 0-25HC: Andrew Reid 6.5m, 26+HC: Frank Sampson 17.0m

Matchplay results:

No Matchplay games at this event, but Darren Griffiths defeated Lyndon Prior in their Semi-Final match at The Pat on Friday 22nd August.

The next SAOGA round will be at the Vines GC on 12th October (Note that this was originally scheduled for 5th October but the Vines GC advised this week that they can no longer accommodate us on this date).

John & Stu 🏌️⛳️

19 members enjoyed the lovely weather for our round on this challenging layout, including 1 new member Haydn Funnell.

The course came up pretty well (considering the amount of rain we had  during the week) and some great scores were achieved, with 11 players scoring 30 or more points.

Winner = Chris Belshaw with 41 points

2nd = Al Macdonald (on countback) with 40 points

3rd = Alberto Ambrogi with 40 points

The next 6 players were awarded a ball each, down to 32 points.

NTPs:

2nd 0-22HC: Jai Brown 6.5m, 23+HC: Chris Belshaw 5.0m

5th 0-22HC: Darren Griffiths 2.0m, 23+HC: Nobody

12th 0-22HC: John Elliott 1.0m, 23+HC: Nobody

16th 0-22HC: Al Macdonald 1.1m, 23+HC: Alberto Ambrogi 19.0m

Matchplay results:

This game: Darren Griffiths defeated Andrew Reid 2/1, Chris Skewes defeated Jai Brown 3/2.

Earlier games: Stu Thomson defeated Al Macdonald 2/1 at Grange, Lyndon Prior defeated Mark Duerden 2/1 at The Pat.

So the Semi-Finals will be as follows: Stu Thomson vs Chris Skewes, and Lyndon Prior vs Darren Griffiths.

The next SAOGA round will be at Willunga GC on 31st August

John & Stu 🏌️⛳️

Once again we were extremely lucky with the weather, enjoying another dry round for the field of 24 players.

Considering that this is a public and very popular course, it was in pretty reasonable shape. 14 players scored 30 or more but with only 2 playing better than their handicap.

With the amount of rain we have had the sand-belt was the only place to be and generally everyone enjoyed their round.

Davis Lindsay was welcomed to the club as a new member.

Results:

Winner = Andrew Reid with 40 points;

2nd = Theo van Mil with 38 points;

3rd = James Prater with 35 points.

The next 6 players were awarded a ball each, down to 33 points (on count-back).

NTPs:

2nd 0-22HC: Andrew Reid 3.5m, 23+HC: Nobody

5th 0-22HC: Darren Griffiths 5.5m, 23+HC: Nobody

12th 0-22HC: Lyndon Prior 5.5m, 23+HC: Peter Green 2.5m

16th 0-22HC: Alistair Macdonald 7.5m, 23+HC: Chris Belshaw 1.1m

No Matchplay matches were undertaken at this game.

Our next game is at North Adelaide (South Course) on Sunday July 20th.

John & Stu ⛳️

25 Members enjoyed SAOGA’S return to this Challenging Golf Course.

Despite the massive building works going on, the course was in pretty good shape and some great scores were posted. Our timing was off by a couple of weeks as the very flash-looking new clubhouse is due to open at the end of May – so we’ll have to wait until this time next year to enjoy these new facilities !

Chris Belshaw was welcomed back as a rejoining member.

Results:

Winner = Richard Wheare with 40 points;

2nd = Peter Green (on countback) with 40 points;

3rd = Chris Skewes with 38 points.

The next 6 players were awarded a ball each, down to 32 points.

NTPs:

3rd 0-20HC: Chris Skewes 4.2m, 24+HC: Chris Belshaw 2.5m

7th 0-20HC: Marcus Kernahan 2.5m, 24+HC: Frank Topolnjak 7.0m

9th (replaced by 1.5th hole) 0-20HC: John Mortimer 1.4m, 24+HC: Frank Sampson 1.4m

13th 0-20HC: Matt Curtis 4.0m, 24+HC: Theo van Mil 2.5m

14th 0-20HC: Graeme Wheare 6.0m, 24+HC: Alberto Ambrogi 4.0m

No Matchplay matches were undertaken at this game.

Our next game is at The Pat (West Beach) on Sunday June 15th.

John & Stu ⛳️

Always a pleasure to play on this Golf Course ,with its awesome views on the 1st tee, wide tree-lined sweeping fairways and well maintained greens, it’s one to look forward to each year.

23 Members attended and some great scores were achieved on the day.

New members Matt & Song Curtis were welcomed to the club, playing in their first game with us.

Results:

Winner = Rob Mulder with 40 points;

2nd = Theo van Mil with 39 points;

3rd = Liza Wedge with 38 points.

The next 6 players were awarded a ball each, down to 34 points.

NTPs:

3rd 0-23HC: Stu Thomson 4.5m, 24+HC: Nobody

7th 0-23HC: Tony Carter 5.5m, 24+HC: Peter Green 3.5m

10th 0-23HC: Marty Goldsworthy 5.2m, 24+HC: Nobody

14th 0-23HC: Song Curtis 5.0m, 24+HC: Gary Odgers 10.0m

Only one Matchplay Competition at this game, with Andrew Reid defeating Lyndon Prior 1-Up.

Our next game is at Flagstaff Hill on Sunday May 18th.

John & Stu ⛳️

Built in 1938 and redesigned in the 1970’s, this once awesome course has hosted several major state men’s and ladies competitions over the years, yet several members were disappointed with the current condition of this course.

But some enjoyable golf was played, all the same ! 

Results:

Winner = Dave Crimmins with 37 points;

2nd (on count back) = Andrew Reid with 33 points;

3rd = Frank Topolnjak with 33 points.

The next 6 players were awarded a ball each, down to 29 points (on countback).

NTPs:

4th 0-23HC: Tony Carter 2.0m, 24+HC: Sandy Turnbull 0.7m

9th 0-23HC: John Elliott 5.0m, 24+HC: Frank Sampson 0.9m

12th 0-23HC: Tony Carter 4.0m, 24+HC: Nobody

14th 0-23HC: John Mortimer 1.0m, 24+HC: Nobody

No Matchplay Competitions at this game.

Our next game is at Victor Harbor on Sunday April 6th.

John & Stu ⛳️

It was a pleasant temperature at Mt Compass, mostly overcast and even with a very short period of what felt like a light rain shower (can anyone remember what rain is ??), along with quite a strong breeze at times to challenge us even more !

24 players completed the round, with scores ranging from 15 to 33 points, so nobody played to their handicap and only 6 players reached the 30’s ! Leon led the charge with 33 points, closely followed by a couple of players on 32 points each.

Results:

Winner = Leon Mulder with 33 points;

2nd (on countback) = Jim Stobie with 32 points;

3rd = Tony Carter with 32 points.

The next 6 players were awarded a ball each, down to 29 points (on countback).

NTPs:

5th 0-23HC: Stu Thomson 7.0m, 24+HC: Nobody

9th 0-23HC: Leon Mulder 3.0m, 24+HC: Helen Janetzki 6.3m

12th 0-23HC: Tony Carter 0.5m, 24+HC: Annette Pearce 2.7m

14th 0-23HC: Nobody, 24+HC: Kathy Cunynghame 10.0m

Matchplay Competitions:

Group B: Brad Cunynghame defeated James Prater 4/3, Andrew Reid defeated Brad Cunynghame 1-Up

Our next stop is the Tanunda Pines course on Sunday 16th March.

Stu Thomson⛳️