From Tony Durkin
FAMILY FIRST: When Headland GM Ben Dobson walks out the front door of the club on Friday of this week, it will be into the family solace of wife Alison and boys Ollie and Alex. After 16½ years at Headland – a dozen as General Manager – Ben last week resigned his post and intends spending quality time with his family before deciding on the next stage of his career. “The time has come where I feel I must put my own health and wellbeing, and that of my family, ahead of anything else,” Ben explained. He also added that he was proud of his achievements during his time at Headland and genuinely felt the club was in a far better position, both financially and in the quality of facilities and services, than when he was first employed back in 2004. On behalf of the board of directors, President Jon Welch offered sincere thanks to Ben for what he described as his ‘exemplary contribution to Headland in what is a very demanding role’. He praised the GM for overseeing significant upgrades and improvements to the clubhouse and course while ‘substantially improving the financial position of the club, as well as managing and developing a dedicated team of staff with very low turnover’. A locum GM will be appointed in the near future to cover the period until the new year, when a replacement will be appointed following a thorough, widespread search.
MASSIVE ROUND: Despite a five-under par 67, seven birdies and a win in Sunday’s Medley Single Stableford, Chris Massie claims his golf for the first five holes was rubbish. In fact, his drive on the first hole was so far right that he hit a provisional ball. But the former PGA professional – who joined Headland in March just as COVID-19 restrictions hit – rebounded with six birdies in the next 13 holes, including five on the trot from the ninth to the 14th. Playing off plus one, he finished with seven birdies, two bogeys and nine pars for his 40 points, to pip Gary Marr and Mandy Oster on a countback. And Chris was playing in a hot group. Fellow partners and scratch markers, former Champion Adam Rydwanski (37 points) and A Grade Pennant Captain Sean McGill (32), both scored three birdies, tabling a total of 13 between them. Although still a PGA member, Chris works in commercial real estate and is not eligible to compete in any Honour Board events at Headland. NOTE: Many long-standing members may remember Chris from when he worked as Assistant Pro at Headland for six months in 2000.
INSEPARABLE GOATS: Both retired farmers, John Jackson and John Miller play together most Wednesdays and Saturdays, they have breakfast with the same set of friends on Sundays and are members of the Old Goats golfing group, so it was not surprising that the good mates could not be separated as top scorers in Saturday’s Single Stableford. The pair returned their best scores in ages to both sign for 43 points, with John Jackson (handicap 23) eventually being declared the winner of C Grade on a countback in the Headland Headlines-sponsored event. But it was John Miller (28) who lit up the course on the front nine, with 13 points after four holes and a phenomenal 25 points. Between them the Old Goats (Order of Late Developing Golfers Optimistically Approaching Terminal Senility) had five four-point holes plus 12 three-pointers and, had they been playing as a fourball, would have scored 52 points. But there was even more remarkable scoring within the group. With pars on the No.3 index fourth hole, the foursome of Miller, Jackson and playing partners Peter Andrews and Russell Dowling scored 16 points. Scores weren’t quite as overwhelming in the other grades, with Graham Smith saluting in A Grade and Grahame Denovan in B Grade, both on 40 points.
TRIPLE TREAT: Following six months with her golf game very much in the doldrums, Doreen Davidson completed a week of continued improvement by scoring 41 points on Saturday, winning the Ladies’ Single Stableford event. With plus one in a par event the previous Saturday and 37 points on Thursday, Doreen hopes that she has finally turned the corner from a period where her handicap had ballooned by six strokes. Like many golfers who suddenly find form, Doreen says she is not certain why the sudden improvement has occurred, but she is ‘happy’ with the turnaround and enjoying the additional run on the course at the moment. And happy she should be with eight three-point holes and a four-pointer on her Saturday card, and a massive 25 points on the front nine. Naomi Doyle (40 points) continued her good form of late with 22 points on the back nine to finish runner-up, and Josie Ryan (77 gross) was third on 39 points.
COLOURFUL GOLF: Mature-age Uni student Jason Childs aptly described his winning round in Thursday’s Single Stableford as colourful, but enjoyable, and says that typified his reasons for loving the Headland layout. A member since March, 10-handicapper Jason signed for an eagle, two birdies, eight pars, six bogeys and one double bogey in his four-over par round of 76 which yielded 42 points, yet he thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Originally from Hervey Bay where he played off four as a junior, Jason spent a year at university before joining the workforce, most recently as manager of the Soul Bar in Ocean Street. But the desire to have a social life, and an opportunity to again play competition golf, prompted the 28-year-old to enroll at USC this year where he studies Business and Accounting. And if Thursday’s round is a sample of the quality of his golf, that 10 handicap will soon diminish.
LADIES RULE: For the second successive week ladies dominated the Tuesday Medley competition, filling 20 of the top 37 placings in the field of 126. Not only did Bec Francis return the best score of the day with 41 points, but the ladies filled all three placings in B Grade – Bec Francis (41), Denise Lawson (40) and Judy Norman (40). Carrying the flag for the men was Sandy Jamieson – beaten on a countback the previous Thursday – who won A Grade with 40 points.
PRINCE OF PUTT: Matt Prince credited a fantastic short game for his A Grade win in Wednesday’s Medley Single Stableford – a win which could have been by a bigger margin had it not been for stroke of bad luck on 17. Playing off seven, Matt sourced 41 points from his two-over par 74 which included a double bogey on the third after a visit to the dam, a birdie at seven and a bogey at 17 after his gap-wedge approach hit the pin and ricocheted off the green. But the Parramatta Eels fanatic, who has been working on his game, was pleased with his otherwise consistent round of 15 pars and in particular his chipping and putting. “I made some terrific recoveries,” he said.
TOUGH SCHOOL: It’s a tough golfing school when someone scores 40 points in a Single Stableford event and wins a paltry $5. But that was the case for Barry Potter in Wednesday’s Medley event when he scored 89 from his 21 handicap for his 40 points, and his best round in possibly two years. Former Queensland Police Superintendent, 85-year-old Don Teague, did not suffer the same fate however, with his 44 points winning C Grade and claiming best score of the day. Struggling with his game of late, Don reckons any good score at Headland can usually be contributed to ‘the putts going in’. In the field of 228 for the Medley event on Wednesday, 47 played to their handicap or better with 10 scores in the 40s.
VICKI’S GOAL: Back in June when 2018 SWING graduate Vicki Oxley had her best-ever round of golf – 40 Stableford points – she told HH her long-term golfing goal was a handicap in the 20s. Now, after winning Thursday’s B Grade Ladies event with a fabulous 44 points, she has unquestionably reached that goal with her handicap reduced to 26.7. Not normally a ‘morning person’, Vicki started her round early on Thursday and kicked off with a wipe on the 10th hole. But she was soon into full stride with an amazing 24 points on the following eight holes, despite a one-point double bogey at the par-three 14th. She then added another 20 on the front nine for the best score of the day by four points. Sandy Whittle was best in A Grade with 40 points, while Ellen Bloxsome won C Grade, also with 40.
MORE EAGLES: Eagles continued to fly on to cards at Headland during the past week, with a further seven being added to the eight scored the previous week. Adriaan Moorcroft (7th) and Andrew Scott (13th) scored eagles on Wednesday, winner Jason Childs (7th) and Paul Henricks (13th) added to the number on Thursday while Scott Walker (10th), Matt Hetherington (10th) and Dave Mansley (8th) completed the eagle hunt on Saturday. For Scott Walker, it was his second eagle at the tenth hole in six days. And Dave Mansley’s eagle at the eighth – a hole-in-one – was his second in four years following his hole-out at the 14th in 2016.
WEEKLY WINNERS:
Tuesday, Medley Single Stableford (126 players) – A Grade, Sandy Jamieson (40 points), Patrick Carmody (39), Greg Jellis (39); B Grade, Bec Francis (41), Denise Lawson (40), Judy Norman (40).
Wednesday, Medley Single Stableford (228 players) – A Grade, Matt Prince (41 points), Michael Thomas (41), Peter Brown (39), Barry Newton (39); B Grade, Chris Swan (41), Stephen Blampied (40), Patrick Walsh (40), Bruce Heseltine (40); C Grade, Don Teague (44), Clive Glover (41), Megan Walker (40), John Kingston (39).
Thursday, Single Stableford, Ladies (115 players) – A Grade, Sandy Whittle (40 points), Kathy Atkins (39), Kate Wilkie (38), Sue Jones (37); B Grade, Vicki Oxley (44), Gail Young (40), Kathy Walker (40), Libby Hall (39); C Grade, Ellen Bloxsome (40), Judith Vine-Murray (39), Lesley O’Leary (38), Ree Condon (38). Men (95 players) – Jason Childs (42 points), Ross Halyday (41), Malcolm Woods (39), John Robertson (39).
Saturday, Single Stableford, Ladies (34 players) – Doreen Davidson (41 points), Naomi Doyle (40), Josie Ryan (39). Men (216 players) – A Grade, Graham Smith (40), Justin Walsh (40), Mike Hardy (39), Ciaran Fenton (39); B Grade, Grahame Denovan (40), Greg Patrick (39), Ted Banaszczyk (39), Stephen Blampied (38); C Grade, John Jackson (43), John Miller (43), Bernie Duncan (41), Trevor Gourlay (40).
Sunday, Medley Single Stableford (92 players) – Chris Massie (40 points), Gary Marr (40), Mandy Oster (40).
