From Tony Durkin
FORM REVERSAL: If recent form was a yardstick, retired Estimator Graham Miller would never have predicted his score of plus seven to win Saturday’s Single Par event at Headland. Graham, a member since 1986, approximates his scores during the past 12 months have been – at best – in the low 30s (Stableford points) and in fact on Wednesday he signed for a paltry 25. But that all changed on Saturday with his +7 card – which won C Grade by four shots – converting to 41 points. And despite a double bogey at 10, Graham tallied 23 points on the back nine with successive three-pointers from holes 12 to 17. While ‘jagging’ a few putts helped get his game back on track, Graham feels a month-long break from the game while holidaying in North Queensland may have helped refreshed his golfing mind. NOTE: Graham is the dad of popular Headland bar attendant Jarvis, who is currently studying for his Masters in Secondary Education after recently completing his Bachelor of Music (Composition) degree.
TAYLES WINS: Retiring Vice-President Kathryn Tayles has farewelled the club in the best possible way with a win in Saturday’s Single Par event. After almost 15 years as a member and four years as a Director, Kathryn is returning to Adelaide for family reasons and her golf clubs, along with her other possessions, are this week on an interstate journey. But Kathryn finished her Headland golfing life in a blaze of glory, winning the Ladies’ event with a score of plus two and scoring a birdie on her favourite hole, the par-five seventh. And she believes fate played a part in not only her win, but the fact she was even able to play on Saturday. When she looked at the field on Thursday night, she miraculously found an entire vacant line, while she believes someone else – a higher power, maybe – was guiding her recently-errant putter during the round.
JACK’S REMORSE: Newish member Jack Williams concedes he felt a pang of sorrow for Ashleigh Matheson on Wednesday when he looked at the scoreboard after completing his round in the Medley Single Stableford event. Jack, an 82-year-old retired engineer who joined Headland in July last year, scored a phenomenal 46 points and just headed Ashleigh, who signed for 44 points. But Jack, whose handicap was sliced from 27 to 23 following his win, says that while the great score and the win were both satisfying, the most enjoyable part of the round was the company of his playing partners, who he described as inspiring. Jack, who has been a social golfer for years but rarely joined a club because he worked mostly in developing countries, says exercise and the social side of the game is more important to him than his scores, but does concede that reducing his handicap is a goal. In a round which featured birdies at the first and 18th holes, Jack had four three-point holes, three four-pointers and a five-point score for his opening birdie.
HOT SCORES: Jack Williams and Ashleigh Matheson were not the only golfers to set the Headland course alight on Wednesday. In a field of 234, 59 played to their handicap or better in brilliant golfing conditions. But it was the C Graders – handicaps of 22 or greater – who best handled the course. Apart from Jack and Ashleigh, scores which would usually win a Headland competition came from Dave Kelso, Rob Holden and Alan Ward on 43 points, Ian McEldowney (42), Cordell Smith (41) and Richard Whittaker, Syd Shilling and Roly Hoy, each with 40 points. Head Professional Adam Norlander was another to turn in a flashy round, with six birdies in his 71 for 40 points, while Brad Butler (plus one) had a mere 33 shots and four birdies on the front nine for a two-under par 70, and 37 points.
NOT AVERAGE: A modest Helen Mulholland describes herself as a ‘very average golfer’, but there was nothing average about her round on Thursday – particularly her start. Helen scored 40 Stableford points to return the equal-best score of the day and win C Grade on a course she once believed was far too hilly for her to enjoy. A Headland member for 3½ years, Helen joined another club when she and her husband moved from Victoria to retire in Buderim, but found the club lacked atmosphere and friendliness. She then found the camaraderie she was seeking at Headland, initially as a Mahjong player and subsequently as that ‘very average’ golfer. Helen started her round superbly on Thursday, scoring five of her eight three-pointers on the opening five holes. A 34 handicapper at the moment, Helen has been playing golf for just on two decades and although she says her golf of late has been ‘terrible’, she is coming to terms with the undulations of Headland. NOTE: Thursday’s Ladies event was sponsored by Headland Mahjong Ladies, ironically one of whom was Helen.
DUCK BEATEN: In extremely difficult conditions because of the strong wind, eight players beat their handicap in Sunday’s Medley Wood Duck Challenge on the respective black (men) and red courses. The best nett round of the day came from Andrew Ebb (handicap 8), who returned an impressive 68 from his gross score of four-over par 76. Scott Walker (2) continued his impressive form of late with a par 72, which included an eagle at the 10th in a back nine of three-under 33.Each of the eight players who beat their handicap had $64.40 deposited in their House Account.
TOILET-LID GOLF: Three-decade-plus Headland member Tony McDonough, who still manages to play golf three days a week despite recently turning 78 years of age, describes his current game as toilet-lid golf – up and down. But the lid remained very steady during Tuesday’s Single Stableford for men, with Tony scoring 41 points, winning the event and pocketing a tidy $90. The retired salesman mixed a birdie and double bogey with a string of pars and bogeys for a round of 83, one of his best in recent times, and described his effort as one of those infrequent days where things went his way. His putting was ‘on’ – a 20-metre effort for birdie at the 13th proof of that – but he says these days he feels more comfortable over a six-metre putt than a half-metre tiddler.
SUE WAKES: ‘What a difference a day makes’ may well be the name of a 50s hit song, but it is also the mantra for many golfers, and in particular Headland member Sue Wake. Last Monday Sue lined up in the Yachties Social Club nine-hole event, and scored a miserable six Stableford points. A day later the retired nurse blitzed the course, scoring 40 points despite a wash at the second and three one-point holes, giving her a superb 37 points on just 14 holes. “The transformation in my game in less than 24 hours was unbelievable,” Sue declared, and at the same time declaring she had a great day. Sue was one of a number of ladies who turned in impressive cards. Her 40 points was shared by Rhonda Biggs, while Kathy Petrie, Marg Howard and Ladies Captain Jane Boaler each scored 39 points.
BOUQUET FOR BILL: When 87-year-old Bill Boucaut scored 32 points in Tuesday’s Single Stableford, he was delighted. But the 36-handicapper is still coming to terms with the fact he signed for 40 points two days later – without a wipe or a three-putt on his card. A Life Member and genuine stalwart of Headland, Bill joined the club 34 years ago when he moved from Adelaide despite having never previously played golf seriously. For the past two decades he has organised the club’s Friday Volunteers Group which helps titivate the gardens and surrounds, and he is also a member of the Greens Committee. And it was on those same greens that Bill said he putted beautifully on Thursday, the major reason for his best score in memory. But Bill’s 40 points wasn’t good enough to win, with top honours on the day belonging to fellow seniors – Rod O’Leary (75) and Sandy Jamieson (78) – who both scored 41 points. Ironically, Bill and Sandy played together.
MIXED FOURSOMES: Entries have opened for Headland’s 2020 Mixed Foursomes Championship, to be played over 36 holes on Saturday, September 12. The mother-and-son combination of Sharon and Blake Thomas will be defending their title, which they also won in 2017. Blake, who broke his ankle playing basketball in March, has been back to golf for two games in the past two weeks and, ironically, both were Foursomes events. The expected toughest opposition for the Thomas partnership will come from Josie Ryan and Sean McGill, who have also won the title twice – in 2012 and 2018. Entries close at 5pm on Thursday September 3, and anyone seeking a partner should email the club and submit their name. The cost of playing in the Honour Board event, which is sponsored by McKenzie Aged Care Group, is $40 each and includes lunch.
EAGLES DARE: Kangaroos may be scarce at Headland, but during the past week eagles have miraculously appeared. Eight eagles have been scored, one of those a hole-in-one by Annabel Harris from the temporary tee at the 14th on Thursday. On the same day a visitor from Maroochy River, Nathan Adriaans, eagled the par-five second hole while another visitor, plus-one marker Tim McMaster from Rockhampton, eagled the par-five 10th a day earlier. And on the previous day (Tuesday) Colin Cross had a two on the par-four first, the same hole Wayne West eagled six days earlier. But Saturday’s Single Par event provided eagle mania, with three two-under par gems being scored. Neil Playford and Andrew Fisher both scored threes at the par-five 10th, while former Club Champion Justin Nicholson eagled the par-five second hole. And then, to make a bird of things, Scott Walker also eagled the 10th on Sunday, during the Wood Duck Challenge. NOTE: While the hole-in-one by Annabel Harris cannot be officially documented because it was scored from a temporary tee, HH certainly recognises the feat.
PRO AM UPDATE: Because of border travel restrictions and ongoing COVID-19 issues, Headland’s 2020 Pro-Am has been postponed. Originally scheduled for next Wednesday (September 2) and to be sponsored by GemLife, an innovative developer of premium over-50s lifestyle resorts, with added support from new member and solicitor, Cordell Smith of Galilee Solicitors, a new date in December has been temporarily locked in with the hope of a big-name player possibly taking part. Stay tuned for further details.
WHOOPS 1: Lynn Deacon has quickly discovered that a ball retriever is totally ineffective when trying to recover a bag, buggy, phone, car keys etc from a dam. For a recent birthday, Lynn was gifted a ball retriever by her golfing friends and found a use for it almost immediately when she hit her drive into the dam in front of the 15th tee. However, as she was fishing her ball from the water, she heard a yell from a playing partner warning that her push buggy was following. The result – the bag and buggy had a swim, as did Lynn after she shed her shoes and socks. All was retrieved except her sand bucket, which is the property of the club anyway.
WHOOPS 2: John Marrington usually plays golf in a cart, which he transports to Headland in a trailer. But sometimes he will walk the course, which he and his wife Barb did for nine holes on Monday of last week. When he returned home, John put his bag on the cart but, when called by Barb for a coffee, forgot to strap the bag to the cart. The following day John arrived at Headland – a 4 km drive from home – to the sight of a vacancy where his clubs usually sit. Despite immediately retracing his journey, visiting police and inquiring at the club, John has had no success and has regrettably assigned the clubs to memory. HH is sure that John, a pensioner, would appreciate any acts of kindness in helping restock his golfing kit.
WEEKLY WINNERS:
Tuesday, Single Stableford, Ladies (47 players) – Sue Wakes (40 points), Rhonda Biggs (40), Kathy Petrie (39); Men (81 players) – Tony McDonough (41), Bob Hayward (3(0, Kevin George (37).
Wednesday, Medley Single Stableford (234 players) – A Grade, Ian Moore (39 points), Peter Welsh (39), Aaron Duff (38), Adrian Barr (38); B Grade, Ross K Thompson (39), Jon Welch (39), Roscoe King (39), Ken Maynard (38); C Grade, Jack Williams (46), Ashleigh Matheson (44), Dave Kelso (43), Rob Holden (43).
Thursday, Single Stableford, Ladies (117 players) – A Grade, Jenny Ingham (39 points), Helen Fraser (39), Annabel Harris (38), Pik Chong (37); B Grade, Kathy Petrie (40), Ros Brandt (39), Gay David (38), Odette Day (37); C Grade, Helen Mulholland (40), June Vine-Murray (39), Ali Lamond (37), Di Stark (37). Men (92 players) – Rod O’Leary (41), Sandy Jamieson (41), Bill Boucatt (40), Mark Garcia (39).
Saturday, Single Par, Ladies (30 players) – Kathryn Tayles (plus 2), Kath Kingston (+2), Doreen Davidson (+1); Men (221 players) – A Grade, Les McClymont (+3), Graham Smith (+2), Scott Bromfield (+2), Grant Martyn (+1); B Grade, Richard Eppelstun (+5), Ross Wedmaeir (+4), Burgess Stephenson (+3), Peter Leggo (+3); C Grade, Graham Miller (+7), Alan Reed (+3), Emmett Walsh (+3), Clive Glover (+3).
Sunday, Medley Wood Duck Challenge (83 players) – Andrew Ebb (68 nett), Scott Walker (70), Steve Walters (70), Valerie O’Brien (70), Bev Barnes (70), Greg Jellis (70), Les Hanslo (70), Dennis Roberts (70).
