From Tony Durkin 

BOB’S SIXTH: Despite a double bogey on 10 and a ball in the dam on the third, septuagenarian Bob Trevor shot one less than his age to win Sunday’s Medley Single Stableford event. Bob, 75 years young, scored 37 on both nines to amass 42 Stableford points (21/21) and beat Brad Williams on a countback. Apart from the double bogey, he mixed five birdies and five bogeys with seven pars in his two-over par 74 to better his age for the sixth time since his first breakthrough effort back in 2015. And while many golfers have lamented the time away from the game during the recent Covid-19 lockdown, Bob said his pitching and swing practise at home had enabled him to return in good shape, and with a positive mindset. 

SHOE DOCTOR: Believing that Headland Golf Club management has done a wonderful job handling the Covid-19 pandemic, Doctor Scott Masters has decided to invest his winnings from Wednesday’s Medley Single Stableford event in a new pair of golf shoes from the Pro Shop. A member since the mid-90s, Scott paid tribute to his golfing wife Rebecca for helping fine-tune his pre-game routine when he again broke the 80-barrier in his impressive round of 78, garnering 44 points, $85 and victory by a whopping five points. The impressively-consistent card revealed successive birdies at holes six and seven, eight pars and eight bogeys. Convinced the golfing gods had been on his side, the former Caloundra Lighthouse Rugby flyhalf who took up golf in the early 90s, said no ‘rank’ shots was the secret to his best round in at least two years. 

LADIES’ DAY: Traditionally, Thursday has been the major competition day for ladies at Headland, and that custom certainly continued last week with women filling three of the first four places in the Medley Single Stableford event. And for winner Gail Young it was a case of poor start, great finish, which she needed to seal the victory. Both Gail and runner-up Julie Welsh scored 24 points on the back nine, and both birdied the 18th for four Stableford points. But it was Gail’s impressive card on the final five holes – four three-pointers and a four – which was the eventual sealer. While her 41 points is not the best score returned by the 2013 Headland SWING graduate – that was an outstanding 45 in a Vets’ event last year – Gail was delighted with Thursday’s result, particularly her 24 points on the back nine. Her goal now is to put two strong nines together. 

COOL CORDELL: Newly-handicapped Cordell Smith proved he was cool under pressure when he won Tuesday’s Medley Single Stableford despite a disastrous start.  He started with a 10, lost a ball on the sixth for an eight and with just nine points on his card after six holes was thinking that golf – in just his fourth competition round – was maybe not his caper. But perseverance, and the encouragement of playing partner John Brewster, paid off. The local solicitor scored four three-pointers and a five-point birdie on the next five holes and then came home with seven successive two-pointers to finish with 40 points, and win on a countback. A self-confessed social hacker before moving to the Sunshine Coast two years ago, Cordell now has the golfing bug and has already enlisted the help of Club Professional Adam Norlander to steer his game on the right track. 

A SHAW THING: From the moment he started work as a mature-aged apprentice greenkeeper at Headland in July of 2015, Aaron Shaw knew he had made the right decision. Only trouble was, the former butcher, Pro golfer and hotel retail manager had dropped almost $60,000 in wages for his desire to ‘get outside’. Last month Aaron became a qualified greenkeeper and says he is now employed in an industry in which he hopes to work for the rest of his days. Although trained as a butcher, Aaron’s love of golf was too strong and he turned professional at age 25 and joined the staff at Nambour Golf Club. The opportunity to work in pubs was the next temptation, and he spent time in Darwin and Weipa before heading back to the Sunshine Coast to management roles at Buderim Tavern, BWS and Dan Murphy’s. He joined Headland 10 years ago, won the Club Championship the same year and succumbed to the life of a greenkeeper when a position became available five years ago. And, he says he has never been happier.

DALBY UPDATE: Popular former Headland Golf Manager, Brent Dalby, wants to assure club members he is ‘still alive and kicking’. Late last year Brent was diagnosed with Thymic Carcinoma – a form of bone cancer – and underwent a series of radiation, injections and medications which had stabilised his condition. However, his health has declined in recent months but the tough-as-nails golf tragic refuses to throw in the towel. A Headland member for three decades and Golf Manager for nine years until retiring in December 2017, Brent has asked HH to pass on his heartfelt thanks to those many members who have sent well wishes. And while he concedes his golf playing days may be over, he has vowed to be back for a beer when the club re-opens after the Covid-19 lockdown.

MATES RATE: Headland’s B Grade Pennant captain Matt Hetherington(handicap eight) had every reason to believe he had playing partner and good mate Ciaran Fenton covered when he turned at one under the card in Saturday’s Medley Single Stableford. With six pars, two birdies and a bogey on his excellent front-nine card, his 23 points was four better than six-marker Ciaran. But Ciaran left the best until last. After starting the back nine birdie, par, bogey, bogey, he came home with five pars for 20 points, eventually beating Matt (16 points) on a countback. The fellow B Grade Pennant team members have paired up regularly since golf resumed at Headland, with Ciaran reducing Matt’s side bet booty from $50 two weeks ago, to a meagre $5 after Saturday’s round. But neither score was good enough to beat Tony Pattinson (handicap 12), whose impressive 43 points included a one-over par first nine. 

ACE RENOVATION: Paul Stephens doesn’t mind if the current renovations to the men’s 18th tee continue for a while longer. The 26-marker came within a metre of scoring a hole-in-one from the advanced tee block on Wednesday, and then went one better 24 hours later with his first-ever official ace. But for the retired engineering sales manager these were two rare bright spots in what has been a rather dismal return to the game following the Covid-9 lockdown, his golfing misery epitomised by the fact that he didn’t even see the ace ball disappear. NOTE: Paul has scored a hole-in-one previously – on the seventh at Horton Park in 1995 in a social round when on holiday from Papua New Guinea, where he was working at the time.

WHOOPS: Retired University Professor Paul Burnett had one of those excruciating ‘what if’ moments at Headland last week, and he isn’t likely to forget it for some time. Following a trip to England to visit family, surgery shortly after his return and the Covid-19 lockdown, it was Paul’s third round of golf since November and he was, understandably, a tad rusty. Teeing off the par-three 14th on Wednesday, the 14-marker inexplicably shanked his five iron into the thick bushland, and immediately reloaded. This time the shot was perfect – so perfect in fact that it finished in the hole. But, as much as he would have liked to claim his first ace in four decades playing golf, Paul had to settle for a three, and two Stableford points. Needless to say, he did not search for the first ball.

TALL STORY: Another hole-in-one which can be credited only in the mind of the golfer occurred during a social round two weeks ago, before competition golf at Headland had resumed. A former Commander in the Australian Federal Police, Mick Kelsey aced the par-three fifth hole with a sweetly-struck nine iron for his first hole-in-one in any form of golf and, thankfully, had an audience – none other than Club Captain Tony Kelleher. And there is, apparently, no truth to the rumour that the pair broke Coronavirus restrictions with a high-five. Tony, at a mere 170cms, rates the possibility of the vertical leap to high five Mick (220cms) as near impossible.

WEEKLY WINNERS:

Tuesday, Medley Single Stableford (130 players) – Cordell Smith (40 points), Jock McLaughlin (40), James Kolbe (39), Christine Hall (37), Katrina Watts (37), Steve Eggins (36).

Wednesday, Medley Single Stableford (132 players) – Scott Masters (44 points), Scott Lindsay (39), Matt Prince (39), Graham Cartledge (38), Bruce Heseltine (38), Ed Hoey (37).

Thursday, Medley Single Stableford (130 players) – Gail Young (41 points), Julie Welsh (41), Mal McDougall (41), Christina Claxton (41), Kevin George (40), Tony Flint (40).

Saturday, Medley Single Stableford (132 players) – Tony Pattinson (43 points), John Ross (41), Ciaran Fenton (39), Matt Hetherington (39), Brendan Duncan (38), John Logan (38).

Sunday, Medley Single Stableford (115 players) – Bob Trevor (42 points), Brad Williams (42), Richard Senior (39), Mick Kelsey (38), Mick Kinnear (38), Peter Nash (37).