From Tony Durkin
BROTHERLY LOVE: While beating younger brother Scott on Saturday was pure ecstasy, being in the crowd at the Gabba to watch his beloved St Kilda advance in the AFL finals was just an enjoyable for Glenn Walker as he completed a memorable sporting treble. Glenn fired a superb one-under par 71 to win the A Grade October Monthly Medal with a nett 66, while his 71 took out the gross score by a single shot from Scott (72/71), his junior by 18 months. And, just to add to the fierce competitive theatre of the siblings, Glenn played in the morning field using Scott’s driver and two-iron, transferring them to his brother who teed off in the afternoon. As the scores indicate, both played well with a double bogey by Scott at the third the difference in the end. Glenn inked an eagle (at the 11th), four birdies and four bogeys on his card while Scott had five birdies, three bogeys and a double. Glenn, who started his golf at Headland as a junior, currently works for Adidas in China, but because of Covid-19 has been stranded on the Sunshine Coast since returning to spend Christmas with his family.
CARD SIGNED: Having not won for some time, Peter Elsworth (handicap 22) made certain his card was signed and correctly registered after his 87 on Saturday gave him a nett 65 in the October Monthly Mug. Despite some excellent scores in the windy conditions and on slick greens, Peter’s score did stand up and the took the C Grade double – the best gross and best nett (87/65). His post-round diligence relates to another time he scored brilliantly in a Monthly Mug – at Indooroopilly in Brisbane a decade ago – but his winning card was disqualified because it was unsigned. Peter, who overlooks the Headland course from his residence at The Crest Apartments, was naturally pleased with his round but disappointed he missed a short putt in his ‘backyard’ – the 17th – giving him just his second double bogey of the day. But he went on to par the final hole, enabling him to scrape in by a shot from Neville Schultz. Chiropractor Mark Postles (82/66) was the third winner of the day to complete the nett/gross double, leading the way in B Grade. Marg White (71 nett), clinched the Ladies Monthly Medal.
MEDAL MARVEL: Weighing a mere 39kgs 18 months ago and thinking she may never play golf again, the courage of much-loved Headland member Julie Halliday has never been more evident than her round on Thursday to scoop the October Monthly Medal pool. Not only did Julie win the A Grade Medal with a nett 66, she also returned the best gross score of the day (80) and had just 28 putts in her very impressive round. Suffering auto-immune issues Julie – whose handicap has been as low as eight – had almost two years away from golf before returning last October, but the comeback was horrendous. In fact, such had been her form that when the membership fee renewal arrived recently, Julie seriously considered leaving the club. And even as late as Tuesday, when she managed only 11 points on the front nine, her doubts lingered. But winning creates a wonderful feeling and now, back to good health and near her normal weight, Julie is not only renewing, but doing it with a smile on her face and a spring in her step. Cathy Roberts (89/66) won both the B Grade Medal and gross, as did Jill Nixey (95/64) in C Grade, while Susie Meade (65) won the D Grade Medal and Ree Condon (105) the gross.
BRAD SOARS: Brad Butler cast aside the disappointment of Sunday’s narrow defeat in the Sunshine Coast Men’s Open Amateur Championship at Headland when he scorched the course with a five-under-par 67 in Wednesday’s Medley Single Stableford. His brilliant round, which included eagles at holes two and 13, birdies at eight, 10 and 11 and – proving he was human – bogeys at four and five – gave him 38 points from his handicap of plus three. While plus three is the lowest handicap from which Brad has played, his two eagles in a round was not the first time he had scored that rare triumph. His previous eagle ‘double’ was at his former home course of Bargara, back in 2003. Obviously in superb touch at the moment, Brad is the hot favourite to take out the Headland 2020 Championship, which tees off at the weekend. NOTE: Brad scored another eagle, again at the 13th hole, in Sunday’s Medley Monthly Medal.
MUG EAGLES: Despite the wind, slick greens and championship tees, the quality golf at Headland continued during Saturday’s Monthly Mug round and was highlighted by five eagles. Following on from an eagle double by Brad Butler on Wednesday, Bob Trevor (fourth hole), Matt Fisher and Andrew Stirling (10th), Glenn Walker (11th) and Jamie Holbrook scored eagles on Saturday. In the field of 213, 44 members played to their handicap, or better. Former Club Champion Riley Martin, back visiting the club on Sunday, eagled the 11th hole.
ALI’S ALIBI: When a club golfer suddenly shoots a good score following a long run of outs, there is often no tangible explanation other than ‘it was one of those days’. And while Ali Lamond certainly did have ‘one of those days’ on Tuesday when she scored 41 points to win the Ladies Single Stableford event, she did have a reason for her greatly-improved form. For the past three months – following just on a year of frustrating golf – Ali has been attending a specialised clinic which she says has not only improved her golf, but also her thought process about the game. Once a 27 handicapper, Ali has slipped out to 35 in recent times and is determined to get back to 27, with 30 her goal by the end of this year. Playing off 32, she started Tuesday’s round with successive pars – for eight points – and despite a triple-bogey on the seventh turned with 21 points. And while another triple on the tough 17th was her only blemish on the back nine, Ali’s proudest achievement was the absence of a wipe on her impressive scorecard.
DROUGHT BROKEN: Most golfers can relate to the idiom ‘it’s been a long time between drinks’, but none more so than Michael Gregora, the winner of Wednesday’s A Grade Medley Single Stableford event with 42 points. The retired doctor estimates it has been at least five years since he last won at Headland – a period in which his handicap has bounced between 13 and 21. Since retiring from medical practise a decade ago, Michael has endeavoured to grasp the basic fundamentals of the golf swing through many different avenues, and now believes he has finally found the answer in on-line teaching aids provided by professionals Mark Crossfield, Clay Ballard and Monty Scheinblum. And while the instructions have helped him understand his swing, they have consequently improved his scoring if Wednesday’s round is a yardstick. Playing off 14, the 72-year-old’s 80 strokes consisted of 11 pars, six bogeys and just the one stain – a double, at 17. Graham Clarke won B Grade with 42 points and Geoff Montgomery, with 44 points, was best in C Grade.
DAILY DOUBLE: He carries the same moniker as one of Australia’s most-decorated horse trainers, and Peter Moodie celebrated that by clinching the daily double in the Men’s event at Headland on Thursday. The retired schoolteacher, who says he has been consistently scoring in the low-to-mid 30s of late, smashed that mark with 44 Stableford points from his 23 handicap in a round that featured two four-point holes, three three-pointers and not a single wipe. And, to add to the win in the single event, Peter teamed with Colin Cross (83 points) to lead home the field in the associated Fourball Best Ball Aggregate event, for an overall dividend of $100. Retiring from teaching five years ago, Peter and his wife Cheryl moved to the Sunshine Coast and joined Headland, where Peter has been reacquainted with club members Jock McLaughlin and Biff Barford, fellow Teachers College mates.
PENNY’S ACE: The fact that Penny Cooper’s hole-in-one on Thursday will not be officially recognised does not concern her one iota, because she will forever retain the memory. Penny scored her ace at the shortened second hole – reduced from a par five to a 109-metre par-three because of work being carried out on the new cart paths. Conceding she is ‘not a very good golfer’, Penny described her moment of glory as amazing, but thrilling. Because of where the pin was situated, none of her group saw the ball disappear and when she actually found a ball in the hole, Penny thought it had been left by the previous group. It was, not surprisingly, her first ace. But that was not the only thrill of the day. Penny scored 66 nett in the Monthly Medal, to finish second in C Grade. NOTE: Although not officially recognised, the Ladies Committee will present Penny with a suitably-inscribed trophy.
COP THAT: While Penny’s ace (see story above) has at least been acknowledged by the club, ex-policeman Peter Dickens has not received the same gesture – not even from his mates. Playing a social round on Friday in his regular quartet, 11-handicapper Peter hit a perfectly-struck nine-iron to the par-three eighth and was ecstatic to see it roll in the hole for his first-ever ace. And even though a practise-round hole-in-one is never officially documented in golf records, Peter at least thought his mates would give him the credit. But they apprehended his enthusiasm by declaring the ace illegal, as the shot was from the ladies’ tee.
WEEKLY WINNERS:
Monday, Vets, Medley Two-Person Ambrose (118 players) – John Sims and Neville Kenzler (65.25 nett), Neil Harvey and Biff Barford (65.5), Brian Garnett and Tony Kelleher (66.25), Judy and Dennis Farmer (67).
Tuesday, Single Stableford, Ladies (50 players) – Ali Lamond (41 points), Julie Lewis (39), Donna Rose (39). Men (74 players) – Tim Nunan (40), Robert Jones (39), Damien Johns (38).
Wednesday, Medley Single Stableford (226 players) – A Grade, Michael Gregora (42 points), Ken Anderson (39), Burgess Stephenson (39); B Grade, Graham Clarke (42), Steve Rose (40), Trish Howe (38); C Grade, Geoff Montgomery (44), Neil Doherty (40), Steve Browne (39). Medley Tiger Fourball – Steve Rose and Garry Clotz (79 points), Geoff Montgomery and Gary Savill (76).
Thursday, Ladies, Monthly Medal (119 players) – A Grade, Julie Halliday (66 nett), Karen Wilson (68), Vicky Sheridan (70), gross – Julie Halliday (80); B Grade, Cathy Roberts (66), Mouna Humzey (68), Jean McLachlan (69), gross – Cathy Roberts (89); C Grade, Jill Nixey (64), Penny Cooper (66), Tove Larsen (67), gross – Jill Nixey (95); D Grade, Susie Meade (65), Carolyn Schwarz (69), Leigh Derigo (69), gross – Ree Condon (105). Men, Single Stableford (90 players) – Peter Moodie (44 points), Brad Leslie (41), Les Hanslo (41); Fourball Aggregate Stableford – Peter Moodie and Colin Cross (83 points), Brad Leslie and Mark Dolan (79).
Saturday, Ladies, Monthly Medal (31 players) – Marg White (71 nett), Gwen Nancarrow (71), Annabel Harris (73). Men, Monthly Mug (213 players) – A Grade, Glenn Walker (66 nett), Dennis Roberts (69), Bill Hegarty (70), gross – Glenn Walker (71); B Grade, Mark Postles (66), Brian Richards (68), Chris Klazema (69), gross – Mark Postles (66); C Grade, Peter Elsworth (65), Neville Schultz (66), Phil Kornmann (67), gross – Peter Elsworth (87).
Sunday – Medley Monthly Medal (73 players) – Nathan Eccles (minus 5), Nick Bolton (-4), Les Hanslo (-3). Junior Medal – Van Wild-Baldock (+9).
