From Tony Durkin
NIXEY’S NIRVANA: Such was her state of utter bliss – and exhilaration – Jill Nixey said she ‘could not sleep’ on Thursday night. Thursday just happened to be the 54th wedding anniversary of Jill and her husband Wayne, who have been Headland members since 1989 and 1979, respectively. But while jubilant they had attained the impressive marital milestone, that was not the cause of Jill’s excitement, and her resultant insomnia. Jill was still trying to digest her day on the golf course when she stunned not just herself, but her playing partners and all intrigued fellow Headland members by shooting nett 59 in the October Monthly Medal. “I was floating,” she said, describing her mental state following a round which was the equivalent of 50 Stableford points. “It was a dream round, my best ever. And even though I knew I was playing well, I had no idea how well, until we were finished.” A dream round it certainly was, with the 26-handicapper scoring a birdie, six pars, nine bogeys and two three-putt doubles. And, after 54 years of marriage, Jill conceded and applauded the support of her husband. “As I left home Wayne said ‘have a great day, and trust your swing’. And I did both,” she quipped. Standing very much in the background of Jill’s B Grade Medal victory were A Grade winner Josie Ryan (69 nett) and C Grade’s Ellen Bloxsome (67). NOTE: Head Pro Adam Norlander has been at Headland for 11 years, and the best nett score he can recall in that time is 60, when Club Champion, Adam Richards, playing off scratch, shot nine under the card in October two years ago, when par was 69.
POINTS GALORE: Jill Nixey was not the only Headland golfer to smash the course on Thursday. Playing in the Women’s Single Stableford, retired schoolteacher Patrice Jenkins scored an amazing 47 points, while 78-year-old Mark Glassop totalled 44 points in the Men’s event. Patrice elected to play the Single Stableford for Women instead of the Monthly Medal, and after a ‘pick up’ at the first, knew she had made the correct decision. But what was to follow totally amazed Patrice, who concedes she plays golf with a light-hearted attitude. She scored 21 points on the next eight holes, came home with 26, her card revealing four four-point holes, and six threes. “It was one of those days when almost everything went to plan,” she explained. “The ball seemed to go further and straighter, and the putts rolled in.” Ex-banker Mark, who is in his 24th year as a Headland member, was so excited to be back in the winner’s list that he described the feeling as ‘absolutely brilliant’. Missing almost 12 months because of a detached retina and then a shoulder injury, the 26-marker penned one four-pointer and nine threes on his winning card. “Since I came back to golf at the end of August, I have had some really terrible rounds,” he admitted.
SUPER SCORES: The run of outstanding scores continued Saturday, with teenage newcomer Harrison Lane topping the Men’s Single Stableford list with 45 points (see below), and Naomi Doyle winning the Women’s event with 41. Brandishing a new set of TaylorMade clubs, Naomi led in the Women’s field with her 41 points, despite back-to-back wipes at holes 14 and 15. But her seven three-pointers and four-points – at holes six and nine – were enough to win from 40-point scorers Kathy Atkins and Helen Fraser. Bob Trevor (41 points) won A Grade and in doing so – for the 85th time as a Headland member – the 80-year-old has either equalled or beaten his age. Harrison Lane won C Grade and Jack Lambalk (41) topped the B Grade ladder on a day when 36 players in the field of 202 beat their handicap.
WINNING LANE: His dad Josh is a PGA member, and 14-year-old Harrison Lane is already showing signs that golf may well may his career too. After just six competition rounds as a Headland member, Harrison has amassed $150 in prizemoney, in just two wins. And those two victories came on successive days, Saturday of Sunday, on the weekend just passed. On Saturday the Chancellor State High student scored 90 off the bat, with four pars, 10 bogeys and four doubles on his card, for his winning score of 45 points in C Grade. The following day, this time in the Medley Stableford, he scored 43 points, with eight pars, five bogeys, three doubles and a triple from 88 gross, and won again. As a result, his GA handicap has been slashed from 27 to 24. A retired golf professional, Josh coaches at Clubhouse Golf in Maroochydore, and says Harrison is finally starting to ‘listen’ to his dad’s advice. “He’s become a lot keener in the past few months, and is obviously enjoying the success,” he said. While uncertain whether he wants to follow in his dad’s footsteps and become a golf Pro, Harrison says ‘current’ his long-term goal is to become an A grade golfer.
PROUD POPPY: Graham Cartledge hopes his grandson is as proud of his Headland win on Wednesday as ‘Poppy’ was on AFL grand final day in September. Buderim-born Sam Marshall is Graham’s grandson, and the 78-year-old owner of Concept Pools bursts with pride when he speaks of Sam, who debuted for the Brisbane Lions this season and his 11th appearance was in the grand final. And while Graham’s two-decade membership at Headland can only ‘boast’ a C Grade Club Championship and Match Play title, as well as a Mid-Week Gold Medal, he reckons Sam would still be proud of his winning round in Wednesday’s Medley Single Stableford. “Sam started playing at Headland as a kid, but gave golf away to concentrate on his footy,” Graham explained. “He and I actually had a game here a few weeks ago.” Wednesday’s win broke a long drought for Graham, whose card was quite extraordinary. Playing off 22 – his biggest-ever handicap – he scored two pars, 15 bogeys and one double. Following his double at the par-four fourth hole, he penned 13 successive bogeys, and finished with a par. “I can’t explain why, but my game felt different. For some reason, I was more confident standing over the ball,” he said. Graham won C Grade, Terry Grogan (40) won A Grade and Jay Gourlay (41) won B Grade.
IS TRISH BACK: After a ‘longish’ stint recovering from illness and a broken arm – suffered when struck by a golf ball – Trish Marsden is hoping her golf game is back on track. The former Londoner scored 42 points on Tuesday to win her first event since September four years ago, equalling her best-ever front nine tally of 25 points. “It has been a long time between wins, and I am very happy with today’s result,” said the 14-year member. “Between injuries, illness and moving house, golf has taken a back seat lately. But hopefully my game can improve further, and I am able to reduce my ever-expanding handicap.” Trish, who listed one four-point hole and nine three-pointers on her winning card, said her past three rounds had shown an improvement, but the win was most unexpected. “Before that, I had been playing so badly,” she lamented. Trish won the Women’s Single Stableford event from Jill Nixey (40 points), and Janette Ritchie (40).
PREFERRED SCORE: Although Geoff Sawyer is obviously proud of his par-72 best round as a Headland member, he has achieved better results with his three next-best scores. “My only par round was earlier this year when I scored 41 points, but was beaten,” he explained after scoring 40 points on Tuesday to win the Men’s Single Stableford event. Geoff, who worked for Queensland icon Golden Circle before retiring to the Sunshine Coast and joining Headland in 2012, has scored 74 on three occasions this year, and each time has won the ‘golden’ prize. Before Tuesday’s victory – with one of his rounds of 74, but with preferred lies – he won twice in a week back in March, both with two-over rounds. “On Tuesday it was nothing spectacular or no standout holes, but I didn’t do a lot wrong,” he said after penning two birdies, 12 pars and four bogeys. Having never played any serious golf until he joined Headland, Geoff has had a remarkable turnaround in 13 years. He started with a GA of 25, has been as low as five and now sits on 6.6. “I lived in the country as a kid and played a lot of sports, so maybe I have good hand-eye co-ordination,” explained Geoff, who plays three days a week.
WEEKLY RESULTS:
Tuesday, Single Stableford, Women (44 players) – Trish Marsden (42 points), Jill Nixey (41), Janette Ritchie (40).
Men (62 players) – Geoff Sawyer (40 points), Brian Balocca (39), Joe Stotschek (39).
Wednesday, Medley Single Stableford – (216 players) – A Grade, Terry Grogan (40 points), Andrew Ebb (39), Graham Smith (38); B Grade, Jay Gourlay (41), Graham Meyers (40), John Hall (39); C Grade, Graham Cartledge (41), Graham Miller (39), Malcolm Webster (39).
Thursday, Women, Monthly Medal – sponsors, Jodie McDonnel, Century 21 on Duporth (60 players) – A Grade, Josie Ryan (69 nett), Narelle Hollowood (73), Julie Halliday (75) – gross, Josie Ryan (83); B Grade, Jill Nixey (59), Carol Quin (70), Mary Young (70) – gross, Jill Nixey (85); C Grade, Ellen Bloxsome (67), Laura Mason- Baierl (70), Kym Mason (71) – gross, Kym Mason (102).
Single Stableford (38 players) – Patrice Jenkins (47 points), Trish Marsden (40), Lyn Forbes (40).
Men, Single Stableford (74 players) – Mark Glassop (44 points), Todd Petrie (42), Des McNee (41).
Saturday, Single Stableford, Women – sponsors, Leeanne Ptak, Robyn Muir, Anne Callanan – (28 players) – Naomi Doyle (41 points), Kathy Atkins (40), Helen Fraser (40).
Men (202 players) – A Grade, Bob Trevor (41 points), Tony Pattinson (41), Brett Adamson (40); B Grade, Jack Lambalk (41), Kevin Howe (40), Steve Rose (39); C Grade, Harrison Lane (45), Mike Radmill (41), Dave Wickham (40).
Juniors – Parent-Child, Nine-hole Twoball Ambrose – Max and Leon Faulkner (37 nett), Nash and Lyndon Hoger (39), Isaac and Richard Stone (41), Emme and Josh Coburn (45).
Sunday, Medley Single Stableford (36 players) – Harrison Lane (43 points), Sheree Sydenham (39), Derrick Bogaart (37).
