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⛳️

The Birthday Boy, Marty Goldsworthy, posted a massive 45 point score to take the win at McCracken.

It was a very warm and sunny day at McCracken, with a light breeze there to help cool us down a (little) bit.

21 players completed the round, with scores ranging from 45 to 24 points, so lots of variation ! 2 players posted scores over 40 points and 12 players posted scores in the 30’s, well above our usual averages !

Results:

Winner = Marty Goldsworthy with 45 points;

2nd = Helen Janetzki with 43 points;

3rd = Dave Crimmins with 39 points.

NTPs:

2nd 0-24HC: Stu Thomson 17.0m (tapped in for birdie !), 25+HC: Sandy Turnbull 13.0m

5th 0-24HC: Marty Goldsworthy 4.0m, 25+HC: Nobody

7th 0-24HC: Darren Griffiths 20+m, 25+HC: Dave Crimmins 15.0m

13th 0-24HC: John Mortimer 6.0m, 25+HC: Uwe Ebert 3.5m

17th 0-24HC: Nobody, 25+HC: Mark Duerden 7.3m

Matchplay Competitions:

Group A: Stu Thomson defeated Tony Carter 1-Up

Group B: Mark Duerden drew with Al Macdonald, Chris Skewes defeated Mark Duerden 6/5 and Chris Skewes defeated Al Macdonald 1-Up

Group C: Lyndon Prior defeated James Prater 2/1

Our next stop is the mighty Mt Compass on Sunday February 23rd (including AGM) – we’d appreciate it if as many of you as possible will join us at this event.

Stu Thomson⛳️

11 teams contested this 4BBB Competition on a beautiful day at Links Lady Bay Golf Club, which is a much bigger turnout than in previous years. The moderate breeze seemed to provide a handy tailwind on the difficult holes, but it made some of the easier holes a bit more challenging. 

Helen and Lyndon blitzed the field by posting a massive team score of 51 points !

The Course was in excellent condition and some other great scores were posted.

All enjoyed the day, hopefully we can get a similar turnout for this event next year – which will be held at Links Lady Bay again in early December 2025 – the exact date TBA.

Results:

1st (and Summer Cup winners) = Helen Janetzki and Lyndon Prior with 51 points;

2nd = Graeme & Richard Wheare with 49 points;

3rd = Brad & Kathy Cunynghame with 47 points.

NTPs: (Note that the handicap groups were set to split the groups evenly).

3rd 0-27HC: Marty Goldsworthy 1.0m, 28+HC: Lyndon Prior 5.5m

8th 0-27HC: Jai Brown 2.0m, 28+ HC: Nobody

15th 0-27HC: Stu Thomson 8.0m, 28+ HC: Richard Wheare 4.0m & Peter Green 11.0m

17th 0-27HC: Darren Griffiths 4.5m & Tony Harrison 5.0m, 28+ HC: Nobody 

Our next event will be at the McCracken Country Club on Sunday 20th January 2025.

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

Stu Thomson 🏌️⛳️

25 Members and one guest took the trip to The Vines for our last game before Clare.

The weather was good with no rain although there was a fair bit of wind wreaking havoc with some shots. Also, due to extensive course works / irrigation upgrade, there was a lot of mud about, sticking to shoes and buggy wheels.

It was a tough day for all with nobody playing to handicap ! As Darren said, we have to do better next time !

The Clubhouse food was excellent 😊 

RESULTS:

1st = Frank Sampson with 35 points;

2nd = Al Macdonald with 34 points;

3rd = Marty Goldsworthy with 33 points.

The next 6 place-getters also received a ball each.

NTPs:

3rd 0-20HC: Chris Skewes 1.5m, 21+HC: Liza Wedge 7.0m

6th 0-20HC: Darren Griffiths 8.0m, 21+HC: Leon Mulder 2.3m

10th 0-20HC: Tony Carter 6.0m, 21+HC: Nobody

14th 0-20HC: John Elliott 13.5m, 21+HC: Tony van Wyk 13.0m

No Matchplay Games undertaken at this event.

Our next round is on Thursday 14th November at Clare GC – that’s only just over 6 weeks away !

See you all at Clare 🏌️⛳️

John Mortimer & Stu Thomson

23 Members and one guest made the trip down to this excellent links-style course.

Strong winds made club selection and shot direction critical, with the gusts taking your ball on a ride you didn’t need !

However, despite the gale-force winds, most of the field did quite well with 14 players scoring 30 or more points.

RESULTS:

1st = Benn Cox with 38 points;

2nd = Rob Pearce with 37 points;

3rd (on count-back) = Vera Mortimer, also with 37 points.

The next 6 place-getters also received a ball each.

NTPs:

5th 0-21HC: John Elliott 5.5m, 22+HC: Leon Mulder 6.4m

8th 0-21HC: Rob Pearce 3.5m, 22+HC: Alberto Ambrogi 3.5m

10th 0-21HC: Graeme Wheare 10.0m, 22+HC: Nobody

14th (Temporary) 0-21HC: Al Macdonald 6.0m, 22+HC: Garry Odgers 5.8m

15th 0-21HC: Nobody, 22+HC: Nobody

No Matchplay Games undertaken at this event.

Our next round is on Sunday 29th September at The Vines of Reynella.

John Mortimer & Stu Thomson ⛳️

An intrepid group of SAOGA Members (L-R in above photo: Mark Duerden, Bruce Clark, John Elliott, Stu Thomson, Darren Griffiths and Tony Carter) ventured up to the Gold coast last weekend to take on the Queensland Oilfield representatives (Chun Kang, Matt Conroy, Rick Popik, Terry Greaney and 2 SAOGA members Al Macdonald & Mike Willis) in a State of Origin Golf Tournament, with the SA Team emerging victorious with the cup (that is, we retained it from the previous tournament in August 2022) !

Andrew Hudson was also supposed to join the contest but, regrettably, had to withdraw shortly before the event on account of back issues.

The Tournament was a 2-day event held at Links Hope Island GC on Saturday 17th August, where pairs Matchplay games were contested, followed by a Singles Matchplay contest at Palm Meadows GC on Sunday 18th August, along with a social match at Southport GC on Friday 16th. The Tournament followed Ryder Cup rules, that is 1 point for a match win and 1/2 point for a draw, with the SA Team finishing with 5-1/2 points vs the Queensland Team’s score of 3-1/2 points.

Some highlights:

• Near hole-in-one shots by Matt & Chun (both less than 1m from the pin);
• Tony holing-out with a chip after being in the water;
• Mark cleaned up on Friday at Southport with 39 points;
• Mike & Terry had the biggest winning margin of 5/4 over Tony & Mark on Saturday at Links Hope Island;
• Mike had the biggest winning margin of 6/5 over John on Sunday at Palm Meadows;
• Mike, Darren & Bruce were the only players to win both their Saturday & Sunday matches;
• Mike collected $60 in vouchers (winner on both Sat & Sun);
• Chun collected 9 balls and Tony collected 8 balls over the weekend in the NTP/LD competitions;
• Stu, Tony, Mark & John were proud recipients of the pink balls after the games each day (respectively);
• and apologies from Rick & Stu for holding up everyone at the end while we battled it out right down to the final putt – a gentlemanly draw being achieved !

A special word of thanks to Bruce & Huddo for sponsoring the prizes, and to Huddo for organising the dinner venue on Saturday (great beer !), and thanks also to Matt for stepping in for Huddo at the last minute – but we were sorry not to see Huddo on the course.

Stu Thomson ⛳️🏌️‍♂️