One of our largest fields at a monthly game in recent years, of 37 Members and 1 guest, contested this challenging links-style course for our second round of the year. With only 4 members playing to or above handicap the course offered the biggest challenge of the day, not surprising considering the recently cored greens and the thick rough swallowing any errant shots – and only the bold were prepared to take on the snake community in the latter ! 

The course was in reasonably good shape (apart from the greens, but they’ll recover soon enough) and the food & service in the restaurant afterwards was excellent, as always.

Thanks to those who stayed for the AGM (which was completed in under 6 minutes so not a big ask !) and prize-giving.

1st = Annie Gower 37 points;

2nd = Frank Topolnjak (last year’s winner) on 36 points;

3rd (on count back) = John Elliott on 36 points.

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

NTPs:

5th 0-19HC: James Lunnay 19.0m (really ?!), 20+HC: Helen Janetzki 7.0m

9th 0-19HC: Benn Cox 5.0m, 20+ HC: Lyndon Prior 1.0m

12th 0-19HC: Oska Wyness 8.5m, 20+HC: Garry Odgers 14.0m

14th 0-19HC: Darren Griffiths 0.9m, 20+ HC: Kathy Cuninghame 1.5m 

Our next round is on Sunday March 19th at Tanunda Pines.

Stu Thomson 🏌️⛳️

Darren shot a fantastic score of 42 to be only 4 strokes over par – well done ! Lyndon Prior was second on 41 points and Benn Cox was 3rd on 40 points – great scores !

This game was used as a trial run of the new MiScore system which, after a few teething problems at the start, seemed to work quite well with most players participating – so thanks to all of you for persisting with this !

A full field for the season opener on this challenging golf course with 72 bunkers and 14 Lakes & ponds just waiting to welcome any errant shots.

The Clubhouse facilities were excellent as was the food in the Bistro.

Looking down the 1st and 10th Fairways from the balcony:

Results:

1st = Darren Griffiths with 42 points;

2nd = Lyndon Prior with 41 points;

3rd = Benn Cox with 40 points.

The next 6 place-getters also received a ball each – down to 36 points.

NTPs:

2nd 0-19HC: Chris Skewes 2.7m, 20+HC: Nobody

5th 0-19HC: Tony Harrison 10.5m, 20+HC: Andrew Hudson 7.0m

7th 0-19HC: Jai Brown 1.0m, 20+HC: Nobody

13th 0-19HC: Darren Griffiths 3.5m, 20+HC: Peter Green 12.0m

17th 0-19HC: Jim Day 9.5m, 20+HC: Jim Stobie & Rob Mulder both 7.0m

Our next stop is the mighty Mt Compass on Sunday February 12th (including AGM).

John Mortimer 🏌️⛳️

10 Teams Contested this 4BBB Competition in great weather at Blackwood Golf Club.

The Course was in excellent condition and some great scores were achieved!

All enjoyed the day, hopefully we can get some more teams fronting up next year.

Results:

1st (and Summer Cup winners) = Rob & Leon Mulder with 45 points;

2nd = Kevin & Sandy Turnbull with 44 points;

3rd = Gary Odgers & Al Macdonald, on a count-back with 42 points.

NTPs:

3rd Kris Rodrigues 2.5m

8th Mark Duerden 1m

11th John Elliot 4.2m

14th Gary Odgers 3m

Our next event is at McCracken Country Club on Sunday 22nd January 2023.

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

John Mortimer 🏌️⛳️

The 40th SAOGA Golf Tournament was successfully held at the Clare Golf Course & Country Club from 10th to 14th November 2022.  

We had a full set of weather events over the 4 days – from calm days with full sun to windy and torrential rain. 

10 golfers joined us for a Stroke round on Thursday, 48 golfers had a lot of laughs playing Ambrose on Friday, and 40 to 42 golfers put on their serious faces while playing Stableford on Saturday and Sunday (42 on Saturday & 40 on Sunday) and 4 budding new golfers played Calloway on Sunday – including 7 year-old Oliver Rodrigues, so watch out Sam Garrick, some competition is coming your way!

There was good Sponsor representation on Friday with some new people coming on board.   See our Sponsor details at this link – as always, their generous contributions made the weekend possible.

The food provided at our 4 meals was excellent and feedback on the new Saturday dinner location and format was positive. 56 guests were seated for dinner on Saturday night and several guests participated in the live music provided.  

For those who stayed for the Sunday night BBQ, it was very enjoyable with great food and more live music (provided by Glenn Wilkin & Stu Thomson, with many of the guests singing along with them) during a big thunderstorm. A big thanks to Andrew Hudson & Bruce Clark for putting this on.

The golf course was in great condition considering the amount of wet weather received recently but the cut grass in the rough proved challenging with finding wayward balls.  As always, hitting the fairways made it much easier !  The weather and course condition was reflected with some very average scores. Kris Rodrigues took out the Stealth Trophy – well done!

Overall, the event went flawlessly based on a lot of work from Stu especially, with help from the other committee members Mark, Darren, James, Benn, Jai, John & Oska, and Mike Willis returned to help Stu with the final scoring on Sunday.  

It was bad luck for James Lunnay (along with Sharon Lunnay & June Dewsnap) to come down with COVID the night before the event started – and then Sophie Griffiths came down with it on Friday so she and Sharon Griffiths headed back to Adelaide, leaving Darren on his own (who posted daily negative RATs for the next 3 days)!

Thanks also go out to the Clare Golf Club for their volunteers and the Pro, Phil.  The Country Club was accommodating and it is good to see they are continuing with renovations.

Here is a summary of the results:

In addition to all of the above trophy winners, 58 prize vouchers were won by 40 different players for various Nearest the Pin, Long Drive and Novelty Hole prowess displayed during the Friday, Saturday and Sunday games.

Again, many thanks to our generous sponsors who make the weekend possible. Also, thank you to all who donated prizes for the raffle on Saturday night.

Mark Duerden, SAOGA President

The weather was as good as you will get for golf down on the South Coast, with light winds on a beautiful day for the 27 members who teed off.

The Course was in great condition and it was nice to have a bit of fun on the fairways. However, as the greens had recently been cored and sanded, putting was a bit of an issue for most players. 

Lunch was held at the Corio in central Goolwa.

Results:

1st = Benn Cox with 37 points;

2nd = Cathy Goldsworthy, on a count-back with 35 points;

3rd = Annie Gower, also with 35  points.

The next 6 place-getters also received a ball each – down to 31 points.

NTPs:

5th 0-19HC: Benn Cox and Martin Henderson tied with 8m, 20+HC: Frank Topolnjak 10m

8th 0-19HC: Stu Thomson 4.3m, 20+HC: Nobody

10th 0-19HC: Jai Brown 5.0m, 20+HC: Nobody

15th 0-19HC: Chris Skewes 4.3m, 20+HC: Mark Duerden 3m

Our next even is at Clare from Thu 10th to Sun 13th November.

John Mortimer 🏌️⛳️

23 players enjoyed great spring weather on this testing par 71 course. It was a bit windy which made it tough for most of the participants but the course was generally in pretty good condition, despite the amount of rain we experienced during the week – although the greens were super-fast thanks to the wind !

Jai Brown shot the low round of the season as he came home 1 under the card with 44 points off a handicap of 7 – fantastic golf Jai ! His nearest challenger, Annie Gower, was a mere 10 points behind him !

Results:

1st = Jai Brown with 44 points;

2nd = new member Annie Gower with 34  points;

3rd = another new member Tony van Wyk with 32 points.

The next 6 place-getters also received a ball each – right down to 26 points !

NTPs:

3rd 0-19HC: Jim Day 5.5m, 20+HC: Nobody

6th 0-19HC: Tony Carter 6.5m, 20+HC: Nobody

10th 0-19HC: Wolf Engel 2.5m, 20+HC: Nobody

14th 0-19HC: Benn Cox 8.0m, 20+HC: Stuart Carnell 9.0m

Our next round is at South Lakes on Sunday 2nd October.

John Mortimer 🏌️⛳️

The weather was kind to the 23 members who took on this 5884m course with its great views of the City and Parklands. It’s a must to stay straight on the South Course with mature gums lining the fairways, punishing any errant shots ! The course was generally in pretty good condition.

In the Clubhouse the food was very good and enjoyed by all.

Results:

1st = Kim Keane 37 points;

2nd = Mark Mancini 36  points;

3rd (on count-back) = Benn Cox 34 points.

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

One of the Semi-final Matchplay Games was also contested, with John Mortimer defeating Andrew Reid 2/1. John will now advance to the Grand Final, competing against the winner of the match (scheduled for 31st July at Grange) between Martin Henderson and Tony Harrison. Andrew will contest the loser of that match in the 3rd/4th Playoff match.

NTPs:

5th 0-19HC: John Elliot 6m, 20+HC: Nobody

6th 0-19HC: Stuart Carnell 1m, 20+HC: Gary Odgers 6m

12th 0-19HC: Benn Cox 4m, 20+HC: Ryan Mancini 12m

16th 0-19HC: Stu Thomson 13m, 20+HC: Leon Mulder 6.9m

Our next round is at The Vines on Sunday 28th August.

John Mortimer 🏌️⛳️

Very cold for the 23 members who contested at this picturesque Adelaide Hills course.The rain stayed away and, considering the amount of rain we’d had during the week, the course conditions were very good.

A nice warm fire was welcome in the Clubhouse and the food was excellent.

Results:

1st = John Elliott 39 points;

2nd = Vera Mortimer 36  points;

3rd (on count-back) = Helen Janetzki 36 points.

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

2 of the Round-2 Matchplay Games were also contested, with Tony Harrison beating Mark Duerden 6/4 and Andrew Reid beating Bruce Clark in a putt-off (they were all-square after 18); Tony and Andrew will advance to the Semi-finals, each competing against Martin Henderson and John Mortimer (respectively) for a place in the Grand Final.

NTPs:

2nd 0-19HC: Nobody, 20+HC: Carolyn Kernahan 4.0m

4th 0-19HC: Andrew Reid 4.3m, 20+HC: Kim Keane 14.0m

12th 0-19HC: Al Macdonald 6.0m, 20+HC: Nobody

15th 0-19HC: Nobody, 20+HC: Nobody

Our next round is at North Adelaide (South Course) on Sunday July 24th.

John Mortimer 🏌️⛳️

The weather report did not look good, however the rain stayed away and the 15 Members that made the trip up to the Barossa Valley enjoyed pretty good conditions.

Nestled amongst the vineyards, the course was in great condition – but beware, any errant shot can put you into the thick bush and big trouble!

Results:

1st = John Mortimer 37 points;

2nd = Darren Griffiths 36  points;

3rd (on count-back) = James Lunnay 35 points.

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

NTPs:

3rd 0-19HC: John Elliott 7.0m, 20+HC: Nobody

6th 0-19HC: John Elliot 4.5m, 20+ HC: Kym Keane 4.5m

12th 0-19HC: Nobody, 20+HC: Mark Mancini 7.0m

15th 0-19HC: Nobody, 20+HC: Mark Mancini 10.5m

17th 0-19HC: Tony Harrison 15.0m, 20+HC: Nobody

Our next round is at Mt Barker / Aston Hills on Sunday June 19th.

John Mortimer 🏌️⛳️

SOUTH AUSTRALIA BRINGS HOME THE TROPHY !!

Each state fielded 2 teams of 8 players to play in this inaugural tournament, held at Royal Pines Golf Club on Saturday 30th April 2022 (Pairs Matchplay) and at Links Hope Island Golf Club on Sunday 1st May 2022 (Singles Matchplay), both on the Gold Coast in Queensland.

The teams comprised the following players (in alphabetical order by surname):

SA = Tony Carter, Bruce Clark, Benn Cox, John Elliott, Darren Griffiths, Al Macdonald, Andrew Reid & Stu Thomson.

Qld = Terry Greaney, Andrew Hudson, Debbie Malson, Scott Malson, Rick Popik, Dennis Schloss, Mike Willis and Oska Wyness.

Using Ryder-cup scoring (1 point for a win, 1/2 point for a draw and 0 for a loss), SA prevailed with a score of 7.5 to 6.5 over the weekend.

Prizes (sponsored by John Elliott, GPA Engineering) were awarded for nearest the pins on all par 3 holes and a long drive each day, winners were Benn, Darren, John, Oska, Stu & Tony.

Some items of note over the weekend:

Stu & John were the leading pairs winners on Saturday with a 7/6 score (the 4 birdies helped !), and Tony was the leading singles winner on Sunday with a 5/4 score.

BBQ Dinner at the Royal Pines GC on Saturday evening was sponsored by Huddo and Bruce (Desert City & Drill Quip).

Wines at the BBQ dinner were sponsored by Oska (ChampionX).

Bruce managed to lose but then find his 8-iron in his golf bag on Saturday.

Oska completed the entire round on Sunday with his new Pink Ball (won on Saturday as the NAGA award).

Thanks to Debbie for joining in with us blokes over the weekend and not complaining once about us – at least not loud enough for us to hear her !

John came up with the best excuse for not managing to make it to Sunday’s game – his house in Adelaide caught fire on Saturday night so he had to fly home early on Sunday to attend to this crisis !

A number of players (11 of the 16) also enjoyed a challenging game (thanks Huddo !!) at Brisbane GC on Friday 29th April – the “Captain’s Challenge” had us off the back tees and into some extremely nasty pin positions …

And, finally, as if 3 days in a row of golf wasn’t enough for anyone, a few players went on to punish themselves with a round at Southport GC on Monday 2nd May.

SEE THE GALLERY (https://saoga.com.au/gallery/) FOR A COLLECTION OF PHOTOS FROM THIS WEEKEND.