From Tony Durkin
DAD’S TURN: He is an unabashed admirer of his son, but Brian Richards claimed he could not let Adam take all the glory after the septuagenarian shot his equal-lowest round on Saturday. And, had it not been for successive double bogeys at holes 16 (15th) and 17, the 78-year-old was on target to break his age for the first time as a 36-year Headland member. “They were both small putts too,” he lamented after his 79 harvested him 42 points in the Single Stableford, from his 15 handicap. “I haven’t been playing well lately, and 15 is the biggest handicap I have had since joining the club all those years ago,” Brian revealed. “But today I managed to keep my swing flowing throughout the round.” Apart from the two doubles, Brian’s card was very impressive – 11 pars and five bogeys – for 42 points, the same score as A Grade winner Geoff Bland and Lindsay Blair (C Grade). NOTE: Adam Richards, Headland’s prolific Champion with 20 Honour Board titles to his name, has – in consecutive weekends this month – captured the 2023 Headland Men’s Match Play Championship for the sixth time, and gone back-to-back in the 2023 Sunshine Coast/Glasshouse District Open and Closed Championships.
WILKIE DOUBLE: Three days to remember for Kate Wilkie last week featured wins on the ‘wide, open greens’ at Maroochy River, as well as the ‘sandy specials’ at Headland. Following on from her Division One nett victory in the two-day 2023 Sunshine Coast Burnett and District Women’s Championships at Maroochy River on Thursday and Friday, Kate backed up with 41 points to win Saturday’s Single Stableford for Women at Headland. “Even though I won at Maroochy River, I found our compact and freshly-sanded greens more to my liking,” she said. And despite a wipe at the par-five third (2nd) hole, Kate ripped the first nine apart with 22 points – including six three-pointers – from her 15 handicap. But Kate was not the only Saturday star. Cathy Roberts, after being challenged by Kate the previous night to chase her score, also returned 41 points, while Annabel Harris won three of the four NTPs on offer.
SUPERMEN WIN: They did not dress themselves in a phone box, but the Clarke boys played like virtual supermen to win Wednesday’s Medley Two-Person Ambrose. Gary Clarke (11 handicap), the 2023 B Grade Champion, and 17-year member Paul Clarke (10) – who are not related – reeled off eight birdies, seven pars and a lone bogey in their round of 61, for 58.75 nett and a win by 1¼ shots. And the $85 individual prizemoney was not their only booty on the day. Playing against the pairing of Andy Whitmore and Darcy Brown for bonuses on three nominated holes, the victorious pair also collected pies, post-round snacks as well as drinks, while Paul snared a further $52.50 for the Pro Pin at the 12th. “It turned into a very rewarding day,” chirped Paul, who said the non-regular partners had teamed perfectly. Starting on the tenth hole, they blitzed the back nine in 30 shots, with six birdies and no errors.
ENTHUSIASM BACK: Formerly the Women’s Captain at Caloundra, Denise Hutchinson has been playing so poorly in recent years that she had lost her love for the game. But some steady improvement over the past few months, highlighted by a stunning 25 points on the first nine on Tuesday, has her thinking the sport she has played for 20 years is actually not too bad. “I’ve had a pretty ugly few years to be honest, but I can feel it coming back,” she said, after her 38 points was the best score in the Single Stableford for Women, and scored her a win in B Grade. While playing from around a 20-handicap mark most of her golfing life, Denise is keen to reduce her current mark of 28, but was chuffed with the result that handicap gained her on Tuesday. Starting on the first, she scored one point, then followed with an impressive run of 3,2,3,4,3,3,2 and 4 points. “I had just 13 points on the back, but left a few out there,” she lamented. Valerie O’Brien (36 points) won A Grade.
CRAIG’S PB: He may have once been the No.1 ranked junior tennis player in Western Australia, but Craig Firns says his PB at Headland on Thursday is up there alongside his most satisfying sporting achievements. “Breaking 80 has been my goal since I started playing golf seriously,” revealed Craig, who is yet to register 100 competition rounds. Scoring 41 points in Thursday’s Single Stableford for Men not only gave him his first victory since winning the B Grade Monthly Medal in May, but his 79 is the best round of his career. “Even though the course is not yet back to par 72, it was 70 on Thursday and I’ll willingly take that as my PB. I have never hit it better,” he declared. Seven pars and 10 bogeys underlined the consistency of Craig’s great round, but a birdie at the par-four 16th (15th) – the No.1 rated hole on the course – was the icing on the cake. A Medical Sales rep, Craig joined Headland in 2021 and put his super round down to ‘being in a good mood, and feeling relaxed’ on the eve of his 44th birthday.
ANT-E-GOLF: She won her first golf event for ‘a long time’ and scored seven three-pointers and a four-point par, but Carmel Visser’s lasting memory from her round on Thursday is of ants. “My drive at the seventh finished just off the fairway, and on an ant bed,” she revealed. “No-one in our group was aware of whether I could take relief, so I stood on the ant bed and hit – quickly. Thankfully only one black ant bit me.” Carmel finished with a double bogey on the hole after playing a ‘shocker’ for her second, but overall she was very happy with her B Grade winning score of 39 points, a far cry from ‘around the 30s’ she has been returning of late. But the mother of world-renowned big wave surfer Mark Visser was still a long way from her best-ever score – 45 points back in 2018 – playing from her lowest-ever handicap of 23. Wil Sprake (38) won A Grade and Denise Lawson (37) saluted in C Grade.
GREENS AMAZE: A two-decade hiatus between ‘serious’ golf has not weakened the fervour of recently-retired CEO Richard Dinkelmann, and he hopes Tuesday’s win is not a temporary thing. After playing golf in his native South Africa and then socially in Sydney and Wollongong more recently, Richard received his invitation to join Headland in March and has since scored two wins. “My first was in July when three of us scored the same points, but this is my first outright win,” he said after rolling in some ‘amazing’ putts on Tuesday’s reconditioned greens. Once a 16 handicapper and now on 27, Richard penned five three-pointers and two four-pointers on his card of 38 points, to collect $85 and some new-found confidence.
SLOW START: While Jenny Campbell enjoys her golf, she says she is far too competitive to allow herself to fully relax during a round. In view of that philosophy, it isn’t difficult to comprehend that Jenny was somewhat annoyed after starting with two double bogeys in Sunday’s Medley Single Stableford event. But apart from a wipe at the par-five 11th (10th) hole, that poor start was the end of Jenny’s frustrations. She carded 22 points on the front nine – which included four three-pointers and a four-point par – and finished with 39 points to beat all comers and win her first event since the weekend Monthly Medal back in May. Recently returning to the work force five days a week, the ‘jack-of-all-trades’ endeavours to play most weekends and savours any result that helps her relax.
VALE KATHY WALKER: One of Headland’s most-loved and admired members, Kathy Walker, passed away on Tuesday following a five-year battle with leukaemia. Kathy, who graduated from Headland’s hugely-successful SWING program in 2014 and played regularly on Tuesdays and Thursdays, was admired for her ‘warmth, her kindness and her unwavering love of golf’, as well as her stoic fight against the insidious disease that finally took her life. Emphasising her courage is the fact that despite her health deteriorating significantly in recent months, Kathy teamed with Libby Hall on August 17 to score 49 points and win the Women’s Thursday Fourball Best Ball Stableford event, and pocket $100 each. Sue Jones, Headland Women’s Director of Golf, paid Kathy the ultimate tribute when she said she would be sadly missed by every member. “Kathy was loved by everyone, and was an absolute pleasure to have as a member,” she said. Kathy is survived by her husband Roger, sons Glenn and Scott and grandkids Lennox and Elouise. Glenn and Scott are both Headland members and extremely accomplished golfers. A private family service was held over the weekend. NOTE: Below is the HH report following Kathy’s final win as a Headland member.
PIONEERS WIN: Two graduates from Headland’s original SWING program of 2013, Kathy Walker and Libby Hall, have teamed to win their first Fourball together. And, to add a sweetener to the breakthrough result, their score – 49 points – is the best returned in a Women’s competition this year, and the equal best in all competitions since Brett Beaumont and David James scored 50 points in May. Kathy and Libby jumped out of the blocks like champions, scoring a phenomenal 27 points on their first nine, with Kathy birdieing hole 1B for four points. And despite their lone one-pointer at the par-five 15th (the original 13th), the pair recovered superbly, with Libby adding another four-pointer with par at the 17th (the original 16th hole). “We co-ordinated well,” said the modest Kathy, the mother of 2020 Headland Club Champion Scott Walker, who now lives in Melbourne.
HEADLINE BREAK: Headland Headlines will take a break next week, returning on Monday, October 30. However, any outstanding rounds of golf, results, or incidents in the intervening week, will be reported.
WEEKLY RESULTS:
Tuesday, Single Stableford, Women (56 players) – A Grade, Valerie O’Brien (36), Lynn Deacon (35), Cathy Roberts (34); B Grade, Denise Hutchinson (38), Trish Marsden (37), Elizabeth Goodhew (36).
Men (64 players) – Richard Dinkelmann (38), Mark Beswick (37), Rodney Hutchinson (37).
Wednesday, Medley Two-Person Ambrose (210 players) – Paul Clarke and Gary Clarke (58.75 nett), David Mayes and Rob Cunningham (60), Mick Rose and John Harris (60), Gary Ehsman and Barry Euston (60), Louise and Wayne Harriott (60.75), Gavin Rooney and Scott Simpson (61).
Thursday, Single Stableford, Women (98 players) – A Grade, Wil Sprake (38 points), Julie Halliday (37), Jill Nixey (37); B Grade, Carmel Visser (39), Denise Hutchinson (37), Ellen Bloxsome (35); C Grade, Denise Lawson (37), Mary Gibberd (35), Barbara Parkinson (35).
Men (78 players) – Craig Firns (41), Dennis Schloss (40), Don Caldwell (40).
Saturday, Single Stableford, Women (21 players) – Kate Wilkie (41 points), Cathy Roberts (41), Monica Antony (39).
Men (204 players) – A Grade, Geoff Bland (42), Terry Grogan 39), Aaron Shaw (38); B Grade, Brian Richards (42), John Cleary (41), Greg Patrick (40); C Grade, Lindsay Blair (42), Mick Morris (38), Wes Houk (38).
Juniors – Eight-hole Two Ball Best Ball Stroke – Max Faulkner and Benjamin Cox (32), Finn Darlison and Matthew Bothma (37), Oliver Brown and Rowan Scott (40), Peter Hall and Gurmantar Gill (41).
Sunday, Medley Single Stableford (42 players) – Jenny Campbell (39 points), Ty Pilcher (38), Todd Petrie (38).
