Congratulations go to Sid Robbins for a superb round of golf in atrocious conditions. With 29 starters and the rain and wind always in our faces, the cream rose to the top and not only was local player Sid Robbins on top of the field with 40 points but Dylis Hinde continues her magnificent march towards the women’s out right championship. I happen to know on good authority that Dylis although enjoying the Renmark weekend has over the years seen little success on the Renmark course. So her plan this year is unfolding as she dominates the early rounds to ensure that no lucky come lately player pips her with better rounds at Renmark, she will have the championship sown up long before November. But Sid’s win and Dave Brooker’s 2nd has opened up the men’s competition with only one more round of the pre Renmark competitions to come. In third place Warwick Pope enjoying his retirement and making a late run for the Championship in C grade made up this week’s winners.

Our nearest the pin winners this week were:

2nd Hole Dave Hudson 12.5m
4th Hole Ron Hinde 4.5m
6th Hole Carol brooker3.5m
11th Hole Kevin Brenton .86m (yes he does carry a tape measure!!
14th Hole Jeff Snedden 5.5m (his only good shot of the day)
17th Hole Andy Dewar 3m

But what stories can I pass on from this weeks adventure, I did hear that with weight loss comes the ability to draw the ball, something about more room to bring the hands over the ball but Mathew Kennedy will I’m sure have more to say on the subject in his newsletter!!

Have you noticed how some player’s ball is drawn towards water even when it is the more difficult shot to play than just plonking it on the green? I witnessed Graham Hackett perform just such a shot. With the open green in front of him he proceeded to chip the ball out to the right connecting beautifully with the only tree for miles and then flying 20m across the fairway to the left into the waiting water hazard. It was beautifully executed and my commentary does not come even close to giving the shot the credit it deserves!!

Congratulations also goes to our illustrious Club Captain, Jeff Snedden, who found himself locked in a pub all day Saturday, but thankfully he managed to drink his way out to be with us on Sunday morning. He told me there were a number of other thoughts that ran through his mind about how to spend his Sunday, but not letting down his team mates was all the motivation he needed. Now that’s what I call a team player!!

Our next outing is to the Patawalonga on the 20th August. Last year we had a team Stableford and although David announced it as a 4BBB at the prize giving in discussions with our Club Captain Jeff we thought we may repeat this competition. So start thinking about your teams for this event.

Finally well done to all the players at Murray Bridge is was a very tough day weather wise and there were some very competitive scores to show for it. Enjoy your golf!!

So how lucky were we, a beautiful morning full of promise, a fabulous golf course beckoning and 29 starters ready to test themselves and their equipment. So what happened between 7.45am when the first group teed off and 12.55pm when the final group finished?

For a change lets start with the heroes, the people who gave it their all but just came up a bit short, like most of my putts. Congratulations first go to Kevin and Keith, for their efforts. (I’m only using their first names to protect the innocent) If we had been able to combine your scores you would have tied the day with our winner Rick Karolewicz. Then there was the team of Bob and Leon, a family effort this one, anyone wanting some new clubs may be able to pick them up cheap as I overheard both of these players suggesting where they might stick their clubs and I don’t think they would be seeing much sunshine. Tony and Warwick also deserve a mention for a dogged round in which no quarter was given and the course came out a clear winner. So different from your round on Saturday Warwick, but that’s what happens when you try to put two good rounds together in one weekend!! I could go on but of the 29 players only 7 players managed to get 30+ points. Maybe too many late nights watching the World Cup and not enough quality sleep was the reason.

However, it’s easy to mock and we can all have off days, my 28 points was well crafted but how annoying is it when a par putt from 18 inches turns into a double bogie, don’t you just hate that. Congratulations also go to the group of Dylis, Ron, Len and James who followed us round the course. They took the Club Captains request quite literally to play the game behind the group in front and not in front of the group behind. I have never been chased round 18 holes in such a dogged manner!!

So who were the winners I hear you ask? Dylis again stepped up and was rewarded with first place and although being the only woman playing, the fact she scored above 30 points was enough to see her justifiably recognised.

Rick Karolewicz had an excellent round with 37 points and came in first followed on a count back by new member Trevor Jones on 34 points from a regular member of the winners’ enclosure Andy Dewar and bad luck Allan Dix who had to settle for 4th place with 34 points as well. If Allan could putt he would have walked it in, but alas not this week Allan.

Nearest the pins went to Banjo on the 3rd and 14th, Rick and Allan on the 7th and Andy on the 13th. Incidentally Andy almost had a hole in one here, his ball danced around the hole leaving him a very easy birdie, great shot Andy. Now just in case no one else noticed but the 9th was also a par 3. Last week Jeff phoned me up to check on what were the par three holes at Flagstaff and as a member there he asked me. I want you all to know I got 4 out of 5 right!! But as luck would have it my 1 wood off the tee had me only 4m from the pin on a tricky into the wind shot of about 121m, some days it just falls into your lap!! So for those people who played and didn’t realise the 9th was a par three and didn’t mark out the distant if your ball landed on the green, please accept my apologies. (Have I been humble enough Jeff??)

My thanks to you all for a great day and to the Flagstaff Hill Club for allowing us to play on your magnificent course. Special thanks to the duty barman who did a great job of looking after all our liquid and culinary needs.

See you all at Murray Bridge on the 16th July. Ring 8531 1388 if you want to book a buggie.

22 Starters set out to do business at the Sandy Creek Golf Club and what a day of disappointments and triumphs it was. First the triumphs and congratulations go to Dylis Hinde for a magnificent 36 points eclipsing all before her.

On the boys side of the fence it was a low scoring day with Mark Duerden seizing the hour from Jeff Snedden on a count back. How many times does our illustrious Captain Jeff find himself in this position but this time it was Mark who prevailed. Allan Dix 3rd with 31 pts (Local knowledge wasn’t enough this time Allan?)

NTP
2nd hole Chris Skewes 2m
4th hole Andy Dewar 4m and 23 points!!!
6th hole Ron Hinde 6m
11th hole Len Dewsnap 3.2m

Be wary of the injured sportsman!!!! Jeff got the message Sunday morning that Mark Duerden would not attend due to poor health, scrubbed his name from the list and guess what!! He turns up and the rest is history.

Is the course that testing???? 17 players out of the 22 returned scores less than 30 pts. Jeff told me he played with James Lunnay and witnessed a tree pruning exercise for nine holes that any crew with a cherry picker and chainsaws would be proud of and in every case the ball ended up in some terrible positions. Unlike his other playing partner, Len Dewsnap, who was rewarded by ball position after contact with the odd tree. Its simple Jeff, golf is a thinking man’s game isn’t that right Len?

See you all at Flagstaff Hill on 18th June.

34 members waited eagerly on the 1st tee, over-looking the most magnificent view in South Australian golf, the panoramic view of the Bluff, Granite Island and scenic and historic town of Victor Harbor is breath taking. With all that in mind we must stand high above the first fairway and try to imagine our ball flying straight down the middle, over the road hopefully leaving us an unimpeded shot to the first green. Some succeeded and some didn’t, I was one who did succeed in that challenge but how things can go wrong if you only think of the first two shots. Garry Carr however limped home with a superb round of 39 points, 24 on the front and 15 on the back. Great round!! Second place was a mixture of the new and the experienced (some might say young and old, but I’m not one of them), James Newport stormed home with 24 points on the back nine to take his tally to 38 for the day from Sid Robbins who lost on a count back. I must mention, that 24 points by James for nine holes also had 2 scrubs, for those who may be interested that’s an average of 3.43 points per hole that he scored on. Phenomenal effort.

The free lunches have certainly increased our numbers and it is great to see everyone. The new innovation of the nearest pin prizes this year on all holes has also been a great success, primarily reducing any confusion among the players. Dave “The Prez” Brooker knocked one close on the third, Chris Hayes on the seventh, Dave Hudson and Keith Johns swooped away with the remaining two prizes. Great shot guys.

Unfortunately we only had two ladies out this month, so no prize was up for grabs. Barbara Arnold snuck home ahead of Darlene Crimmins, it is great to see Darlene out there giving it go. It would however be amiss of me not to mention how close Darlene came to doing something special, if it wasn’t for the 7th hole where Darlene hit a 4 for 3points, she would have had a clean score card. Thanks goodness for the 7th!! Keep up the good work ladies and we hope to see more of you out next time.

As always there are some side competitions and betting (which in no way is endorsed by the committee as gambling can be addictive) which goes on. Two years ago , Lenny Dewsnap decided that Crimmo had played so badly that he presented him with a pink ball, well unfortunately for Lenny last year the roles had been reversed and Dave returned the ball to him mounted on a trophy. Congratulations Lenny, I believe this prestigious award for your group has been retained and you are first back to back winner of the “Pink Ball” award. They say there is always one in a crowd, I just can’t understand why I am surrounded by all of them.

We are finally heading North, I am sure the extra sleep in for me will improve my scoring, hope to see you all at Sandy Creek (Gawler) on the 21st of May.

My thanks to Mathew for supplying his match report for the website this month.

On a glorious day 38 players including 3 ladies set to do battle with one of the top 50 courses in Australia, and for some what a battle it was. But more of them later.

It was just fabulous to see so many of our members taking up the opportunity to play and network with each other and 38 members is becoming the norm this season. It will be interesting to see how many turn up at Victor Harbour, which I consider to be one of the best courses we play next month.

I had the pleasure of playing with our Club Captain Jeff Snedden for the first time and what an elegant golfer he is too. With Sid Robbins and Bob Mulder making up the group we enjoyed the golfing challenges Lady Bay has to offer. Shots of note were Bob using his driver on the Par 3 8th hole, (I wish I had) and Jeff’s second shot on the 4th which bounced over the creek in front of the green setting up his birdie. I did say he was an elegant lucky player didn’t I?

Dylis had a great round and congratulations to her for taking out the Ladies prize this month. The men’s placing were finely contested with Jeff once again taking it out on a count back, this time from David Hudson and the 3rd place went to Max James. Just as well Port had the weekend off hey Max??

Nearest the pins went to for the 6th Terry Greaney at 9.8m. John Humphrys on the 8th at 7m. Chris Watson on the 15th at 8m and Len Dewsnap and Brendan Brown on the 17th at 4m. Well done to all our winners given the stiff breeze we experienced during the day those NTP shots were exceptional.

Worthy of a mention is Mr Kennedy and Mr Hunter… The former like a bullet from the 1st with 21 pts then easing into a somber 7 pts on the back nine. The latter with a 13 pts … what do you say?? Although he was in close company with John Humphrys with 16 pts, Scott Healey with 18 pts and Keith Johns with 19 pts.

I know we should be happy that they kept us off the bottom and not mock. Maybe next month. Don’t forget its Victor Harbor on the 9th April. See you there.

With a record turnout of 38 players on a beautiful day Mark Duerden blitzed the course and came in with 43 points from Matt Brooker on 42 pts, (Tough day at the office Matt) and his Dad our President Dave on 39pts. Congratulations to our winners and in the Ladies comp we saw the tri-factor from the Brooker family, with Carol picking up the prize on 35pts. I did ask that the whole family be drug tested but the Club Captain declined saying he wanted whatever they were taking and didn’t want it banned for Lady Bay!!

But let me go back to the beginning, 38 players is the most we have had walk up for one of our monthly competitions for over 3 years and we also saw 4 new members, Brendon Brown, Greg Carr, Byron Linsell and Chris Hayes. We also had a 4 women players, it was great to see you all and we all hope you enjoyed your day. It was also great to John Humphrys and John Dann, welcome back guys, watching you tee off was like you had never been away and your 31 and 32 points respectively was an excellent start to the Club Championship.

This Sunday also saw the new innovation of having prizes for all the Par 3’s, a great idea from our new committee. I would say that as it was the only good shot I had all day that saw me plus Chris Watson, Dave Brooker (that man again) and Greg Watson (bit of a theme on families running here!!) having nearest the pin on the 5th, 9th, 12th and 14th.

Not much gossip from the course, John Dann helped his partner to a penalty, but we all know how heavy those flags can be John. Maybe now you are officially retired you could take up weights and get to pull the flag out next time before the ball arrives!!

The course and catering were excellent and I’m sure we will all look forward to returning next year so we can leave another 4 or 5 balls out there!!

Our next meeting is at Lady Bay on 19th March. I hear some members may be staying over on Saturday night and having dinner in the restaurant. Sounds like a good idea, you could even arrange to play on Saturday afternoon, now wouldn’t that be fun.

Happy golfing, remember make you putter and wedge your friend and as David Hudson told me; hit the small ball before you hit the big one!!

Renmark for 2005 is now over but I’m sure like me you have countless great memories from the weekend. It really was a fabulous time and my thanks go out to the Committee men whose tireless efforts brought the whole weekend together. On behalf of the Committee I would like to especially thank our Sponsors whose support we could not do without. I will be publishing the names of the winners once I manage to unpack but just wanted to get a note up on the website thanking everyone involved in making it such a great event.

If you have any photographs I can publish from the weekend drop them on an email to me.

We moved away from our regular monthly format and played a Team Stableford competition this time around. The teams were selected on handicap and this had the added bonus of players getting acquainted with other members of SAOGA who they wouldn’t normally play in a foursome. This idea came from Chris Skewes and although I don’t normally single a committee man out for praise as they all work tirelessly behind the scenes on your behalf, Chris really put out organising the venue, food, raffle and prizes, so many thanks Chris.

The weather had been very overcast for the last few days but a break in the clouds enabled us to enjoy this new venue in bright sunlight, well that was until the closing holes when the sky’s let loose but hey that’s why we lugged round umbrella’s for 16 holes.

24 players turned up and it was great to see a few old faces, Chris and Sue Watson and Chris Porter for this our first visit to the Patawalonga. A later start than normal and it seems to have had a very positive effect on the scores or maybe it was the team format that brought out some of the best golf we have recorded this year. The best score of the day went to Kevin Brenton who broke the course open with a 38, a great score in the conditions but he was chased all the way by Terry Greaney who also had 38 but was pipped on a count back. Barbara Beesley came in with 37 points to take the ladies prize. But to show how competitive a day it was 18 players had 30 points or better which was a fantastic day for golf.

Cyril Arnold using a bit of local knowledge claimed the NTP on the 5th at 2.5 m and made birdie and congratulations to Martin Joyce for his winning shot on the tricky 16th. I say tricky because although there were a high percentage of pars scored on this hole, Martin was the only one who must have landed on the green cause no one else marked down their distances. Go Martin!!

But the day belonged to Team Skewes, Duerden, Carol Brooker and Woodstock who walked away with the coveted title of SAOGA Stableford team of the year 2005. It was a magnificent effort from this team, I know, I did the scoring!! Runner up went to Team Hudson, Brenton, Prater and Keane, tough luck guys, only one point on the 7th really hurt didn’t it?

Our thanks also go to the Westward Ho golf club who allowed us to use their club rooms. The feedback I received after the game was very positive both for the format of the day and the venue, so it looks like we will be adding the Pat to our list for next year.

On a beautiful winters morning with the air crisp and clear, 29 players from SAOGA lined up to take on Murray Bridge’s finest golf course.

It was therefore with some sadness as I watched my first drive sail out of bounds, was this an omen that I should have stayed in bed or was it for-telling me of even worse things to follow. Not quite but it was interesting to reflect on the players scores over lunch how things can change in a month. The winners from Flagstaff Hill were nowhere to be seen in the winners circle this time out. In fact some of them you had to look a long way down the list to find their names. What happened Captain Jeff, only 26 points this time out and 4 pointer Mark Duerden only 29, it’s easy to mock but my 27 points sits comfortably within these two fine players!!

It was good to see Scott Healey working on his handicap and a warm welcome to a prospective new member Brendon Brown. It was also great to see Tony Graves back playing after his accident. Obviously you need a bit more time on the driving range and practise putting green Tony but your DIY skills looked spot on, however, joking apart you told me you were very happy with the days outcome and a three way split for the Naga award on 22 points with Chris Skewes and Ron Burrows!!

It was pleasing to see more names down for the NTP this month and congratulations go to Jim Stobie for his magnificent shot on the 2nd and Chris Skewes had at least one shot he was happy with for his NTP on the 4th. The prize giving was over quickly for the NTP’s as the committee man responsible for these prizes didn’t!! But we promise to get them back to you next time!!

So who did step up to the plate this month and dazzle us with their skill and dexterity around this well prepared course. I can speak glowingly of Graham Hackett’s magnificent 39 points which earned him second place. His round was exemplified by his play on the final hole. A terrible drive saw him lost in the dense undergrowth to the right, but he was able to get the ball back out the fairway some 170 metres out. Then a fabulous iron shot onto the green and two putts saw him claim those vital 2 points. I’m sure Matt Kennedy who took first place with 40 points and Carol Brooker who took the Ladies first place had just as fine shots to boast about in the bar after, its just that they didn’t tell me about them!! However Kim Keane who came in third on 37 points did tell me about his round. Ten, 3 pointers and 7 lucky single pointers were the highs and lows of his round. Isn’t golf a great game and doesn’t it do strange things to your head!!

Well done to the winners and we look forward to seeing you all next month when we take on the new challenge of the Pattawalonga course on 21st August.

It never ceases to amaze me the veracity that my fellow golfers display when it comes to playing their sport whatever the weather. On a very cold and cloudy day reminiscent of a summer’s day in England, 27 of our hardy members turned up to do battle with the Flagstaff Hill Golf course. The first tee was booked at 7.36 and the Mulder’s, Bob and Leon and your intrepid author led off the field. I would like to report that local knowledge and skill gave this team an edge but that was not the order of the day, others more worthy took those honours. But we did get round in 3½hours a credit more to our speed of golf than an ability to shoot a low score.

But before I name the names it was good to see a few more of our members taking up the opportunity to take part in these monthly gatherings: Banjo Paterson, Augustin Paul, Cameron Galloway, Warwick Pope and Tony Meadows to name but a few. A couple of no shows Neil Hunter and James Czornhalan. Now James’s wife is about to give birth so what is your excuse Neil, it can’t have been too hot for a young Scot now could it? At least Dave Brooker didn’t put in an entry form, he knew his Saturday night out did not have waking up at 6am on Sunday morning printed on the dance card!!

So on with the golf, and congratulations this month go to Mark Duerden, I have never seen so many 4 pointers and scrubs on one card, but it doesn’t matter how you score only that it adds up to more than anyone else and in Mark’s case 38 points was enough to win the day. Commiserations go to the runners up, our illustrious Club Captain, Jeff Snedden on 37 points and Rick Karolewicz on 36. For those regular readers of this monthly update you will note that these three have been regular winners and already I can see the club championship slipping in their direction. Catherine Robinson was once again the winner of the Ladies competition and she is playing some great golf, well done Catherine.

So fellow members if you have any aspirations of winning this prestigious award you have a few events left to make your mark. It should also be noted that Jeff was nearest the pin on both of the chosen par 3’s but in accordance with the new rule (Jeff and I made it up yesterday) he could only take out one, so congratulations also go to Bob Mulder for his 1.8m shot of the 13th. It was therefore something of a shame that he three putted!!(or was that the next hole Bob?)

Our thanks go to the Flagstaff Hill staff for a beautifully prepared course and to the bar and kitchen staff for the excellent service post golf.

Our next monthly meeting is at Murray Bridge on 17th July and I look forward to catching up with as many of you who can make the journey. Oh yes the low score of the day, congratulations to Allan Dix who was well out of the frame this month but the winner this month whose name starts with Len and ends with Dewsnap 16 points was by far the best of the day!!