From Tony Durkin
IRON GRIP: With his driver chastened to the ‘naughty corner’ of his office, Dave Mayes used primarily his new set of Mizuno irons to negotiate the Headland layout in Saturday’s Monthly Mug in a six-over par 78, for a sizzling nett 64. Not only was it the best score of the day, but for U Blinds Australia’s No.1 salesman three years running, it gave him the B Grade nett/gross double. With the driver becoming errant in recent months as his game struggled and his handicap ballooned to its highest since he started golf in England on 13 in his late 20s, Dave decided three weeks ago to extricate it from his bag and rely mostly on his new irons, purchased two months ago from Club Pro Adam Norlander. And after Saturday’s round, which included a birdie, five bogeys and a lone double in his otherwise clean round, that’s where the driver will stay for at least a few more weeks. The best round of the day was a two-over 74 from Scott Walker while Jamie Holbrook (66 nett) was just four over Par in winning the A Grade Mug.
MK RULES: Headland debutants during 2018, Mick Kelsey and Mick Kinnear, have rounded out a spectacular year with a runaway victory in the inaugural Fourball Best Ball Match Play Championship. Held over from the previous weekend and played on Thursday afternoon, the two Micks hammered the team of Matt Prince and Dean Jones eight and six, with the match finishing on the par-five 12th hole. With Mick Kelsey within two metres of the hole putting for birdie – and with two putts for the win – Matt and Dean respectfully surrendered. And, incredibly, the only hole the victors lost, was the first. In a stellar first year as Headland members the two Micks have won eight events between them, reducing their handicaps by 12 and nine shots respectively. The Four Ball Best Ball match Play Championship, sponsored by Zenfind Accounting (Michael Thomas), was in its inaugural year and is classified an Honour Board event.
HOT SCORES: Outstanding scores and small margins highlighted Wednesday’s Fourball Best Ball Stableford for men, with a mere four points separating the top 18 teams. So close were the scores that countbacks were required to finalise four of the five major prize winners, with 50 points needed to win. And the victors – Roy Gillrie and Allan Perry – proved to be the ‘perfect’ pairing with 25 points on each nine – Roy contributing 20 and Allan 30, 10 points and 15, respectively, on each nine. Some hot individual scores were returned, none better than from Kev Woodcroft, who teamed with Sergio Nogarotto to finish second. Big Kev, playing off 34, scored on 12 holes and garnered 35 points for the team. Others to star were Darcy Brown – 34 points in 13 holes; Aaron Shaw 31 points in 12 holes with four birdies; and Jack Pyke, 30 points in 11 holes with three four-point birdies.
NORFOLK VISIT: Old habits certainly die hard where Headland’s Course Superintendent, Ben Tilley, is concerned, and he could not forget the past when recently called on to help out during greens renovation at Norfolk Island Golf Club. Ben worked at the now heritage-listed club in 1992-93 and has often returned to lend a hand when sent an SOS. Two weeks ago he took two days annual leave from Headland to assist the two permanent staff and a dozen members with the renovation work over two days of the club’s nine greens, with work each day starting at 5am. However, the first day the group could only renovate until 2pm because a funeral service was held at the local cemetery, which is adjacent to the fifth fairway, and – as cultural tradition dictates – work on the course must cease. The visit ended with Ben meeting the club’s greens director, greenkeeper, and golf pro to discuss major maintenance issues.
BURKE’S LAW: Katrina Burke may have had 22 points to win the Thursday morning ladies nine-hole competition, but she believes she is still not golf-ready to play in the 18-hole competitions. Katrina is a graduate of the 2017 SWING program and her goal is to progress to playing regular 18-hole events when her consistency improves. If she can put together three successive rounds like Thursday, when she had five three-pointers and a four-pointer, she will consider taking the next step, but not before. Another impediment is her marketing role for Explorer Motor Homes, which is owned by her husband and often precludes her from playing golf at all.
MEET MACKENZIE: A new face will be seen around the Headland Pro Shop from Tuesday of this week. Nineteen-year-old MacKenzie Wright kicks off his time as a first-year PGA trainee professional under the guidance of 2018 Australian PGA Club Professional of the Year, Adam Norlander. With a distinguished amateur career behind him, including a recent second in the Yamba Pro Am, McKenzie is following in the footsteps of his dad, John Wright, who is now Club Professional at Yamba. A former member of the Victorian Sheffield Shield cricket squad, John was a late starter as a pro golfer and did his traineeship, in his late-30s, at Peregian Springs under the guidance of Wayne Rostron.
SUPER GOLF: Places in the field for Headland’s annual Super Golf tournament are quickly diminishing, with the majority of the 60 team spots for the two-day event already filled. Because of its increased popularity, Super Golf this year is being played on two completely different 10-hole ‘cross-country’ courses on Saturday (December 15) and Sunday (December 16). Three time slots are available each day – 7am, 10.30am and 2pm – with a capacity of 88 players for each tee time. Online nominations for teams playing on both days opened last weekend, but those wanting to play just on the Saturday or the Sunday, will need to wait until this coming Saturday (December 8) to book a spot on the timesheet. Trophies will be awarded for competitions on both days, but overall weekend team winners will also be recognised. Major sponsors are Bidfood and CUB while EKO Financial, Walsh Professional Engineers, Outdoor Elegance, GV Sensors, Image Business Furniture, BCP Strata, Grant Martyn Constructions, Better Business Finance, Headland Pro Shop and Directline Timbers have taken hole sponsorships for both days.
RETURN OF THE DUCK: The richest cash prize ever offered in a regular Headland club competition will be up for grabs this coming Sunday (December 9) with the final staging for 2018 of the Wood Duck Challenge. A minimum purse of $1000 – sponsored by EKO Financial (James Kidd) and Mod Bathrooms (Chris Klazema) – will be shared between only those golfers who break their handicap in the event, with the prizemoney having jackpotted for the fifth time. And because of the anticipated popularity of this exclusive Sunday competition, the capacity of the field has been extended from 64 to 92, with the first groups teeing off from 10.06am. And, to add some serious competition to the field, members of Headland’s 2019 Masters Pennant team will he playing together in groups. As can be expected with such prizemoney on the line, the competition will be played from the championship tees and the pins will be placed in tough positions.
WHOOPS: Has there been a better example of the agony and the ecstasy of golf than the experience of Headland’s Bob Hayward during the past week? On Tuesday Bob, playing off 19, scored a one-over par 37 on the front nine on his way to 44 points, and a two-point win in the Single Stableford competition. His 37 strokes on the front nine garnered him the almost-perfect score of 26 points. Two days later, lining up in the Thursday men’s competition – also a Single Stableford – it was time to taste the agony of our great game. Bob could manage only 16 points on that same front nine, finishing with an overall total of 26, giving his fellow course volunteers plenty of grist for the mill at Friday’s working bee.
WEEKLY WINNERS:
Tuesday, Vets, Single Stableford, Ladies (39 players) – A Grade, Lisa Ramen (37 points), Robyn Homans (37); B Grade, Maureen Lyon (37), Jane Boaler (37); Men (56 players) – A Grade, Ray Moody (39 points), Peter McMillan (39); B Grade, Barry Euston (42), Steve Nash (41). Single Stableford, Ladies (26 players) – Marion Dennis (39 points), Gay David (38), Denise Hutchinson (37); Men (53 players), Bob Hayward (44 points), Mick Kelsey (42), Andrew Beck (38).
Wednesday, Men, Fourball Best Ball Stableford (196 players) – Roy Gillrie and Allan Perry (50 points), Sergio Nogarotto and Kev Woodcroft (50), Jack Pyke and Tony Durkin (49), Darcy Brown and Paul Clarke (49), Russell Thistlewood and Adrian Barr (49).
Thursday, Ladies, Canadian Foursomes (96 players) – Catherine Peterson and Kathryn Tayles (69.25 nett), Monica Antony and Kate Wilkie (69.5), Rosalie Brandt and Sue Jones (74.25), Kathy Atkins and Monica Knowles (75.875), Maureen Lyon and Del Whittaker (76).
Men, Single Stableford (77 players) – Will Norman (41 points), Mark Glassop (40), Greg O’Connor (39). Final, Fourball Best Ball Match Play Championship – Mick Kelsey and Mick Kinnear beat Dean Jones and Matt Prince 8&6.
Saturday, Ladies, Single Stroke (25 players) – Wil Sprake (37 points), Lisa Ramen (36). Men, Monthly Mug (220 players) – A Grade, Jamie Holbrook (66 nett), Peter Holt (68), Tristan Scott (70), Matt Fisher (70); Gross, Scott Walker (74); B Grade, Dave Mayes (64), Will Millroy (67), Glen Grimish (68), Mick Morris (68); Gross, Dave Mayes (78); C Grade, John Christmas (68), Chris McArdle (70), Sid Ryan (71), Bruce Heseltine (71); Gross, Greg Wareham (92).
Sunday, Medley Monthly Medal (17 players) – Trevor Beall (70 nett), Wayne West (71); Junior Monthly Medal – James Daniel (77).
