From Tony Durkin
STARK REALITY: Such was the quality of her 44-point round in Tuesday’s Single Stableford Vets competition, Di Stark’s astonished reaction was ‘it’s a fluke – it was really weird’. A SWING graduate from the class of 2015, Di took up golf only when she and her husband David moved to the Sunshine Coast in retirement four years ago and she recalled how, as a child, her mum and dad loved the social aspects of the sport. But never in her wildest dreams did she imagine a score eight better than her handicap, a win in B Grade, a nearest the pin – and a resultant birdie – all encompassed in the one round. Then, on Thursday, she had 35 points and picked up another NTP, just to prove it wasn’t actually a fluke. But Di has not just become a golf tragic – she is also a strong and proactive advocate for women taking up the game later in life, just as he has done. From the start of 2019 Di will assume the reins as Headland’s SWING co-ordinator, taking over from Laurel Opray who was the driving force behind the highly-successful program, which started back in 2013.
SENIOR SALUTE: Popular member Barry Newton has capped off a brilliant month of golf by being crowned Senior Champion at the Hervey Bay Open over the weekend. Barry had rounds of 75 and 81 to win the event, finishing his Sunday round eagle, par, birdie. His win follows victory in Headland’s A Grade November Monthly Mug and a team victory in Headland’s recent VW Scramble, and a spot in the Sunshine Coast regional final. Winner of the Senior event at the Walsh Professional Engineers Men’s Sunshine Coast Open Amateur Championships at Headland over the Easter weekend, Barry was accompanied on the trip to Hervey Bay by fellow members Matt Hetherington, Ciaran Fenton and Gary Martin.
BRIAN IS BACK: After shooting 75 last Wednesday week for a nett 69 in the Monthly Medal, four-time Headland champion Brian Kesby was hopeful his ‘ordinary’ form of late had turned around. And when he followed that with a par round last Wednesday, which garnered him 41 Stableford points and a win in A Grade, the 24-year member now believes he is back in form. So poorly had Brian been playing – by his high standards – his handicap had ‘blown out’ to six in recent months and for the first time since joining the club almost a quarter of a century ago he received a shot on the first hole. But that wasn’t the case last Wednesday when, playing off five, he scored a bogey and a birdie on each nine in his par round – his first since August last year. While uncertain why his game has taken a sudden upwards turn, Brian gave credit to the state of the greens which he said were now back to 90 per cent following renovations in early October.
SUPER GOLF: Headland’s popular Super Golf event has become even more popular – so popular in fact that it will be played over two days this year. The innovative event – in its fifth year – is played over a 10-hole ‘cross-country’ course and this year two different courses have been mapped for the Saturday (December 15) and Sunday (December 16) programs. Three time slots will be available each day – 7am, 10.30am and 2pm – with a capacity of 88 players for each tee time. Online nominations for both days opened at the weekend, but those wanting to play just on the Saturday or the Sunday, will need to wait until a week before the event to book a spot on the timesheet. And while the event is popular, so have sponsorship spots, which have been quickly filled. Major sponsors will be Bidfood and CUB, while EKO Financial, Walsh Professional Engineers, Outdoor Elegance, GV Sensors, Image Business Furniture, BCP Strata, Grant Martyn Constructions, Better Business Finance, Headland Pro Shop and Directline Timbers have taken hole sponsorships for both days. Ideally, it is best to enter a team of four for the four-person Ambrose event, but individuals can book and will be allocated a team if spots are available. Trophies will be awarded for competitions on both days, but overall weekend team winners will also be recognised.
SUPER SCORES: Many exceptional scores during the past week have been accredited to two key factors – more run on the course because of the dry weather and the greens returning to somewhere near their best since renovations just on a month ago. Three ladies – Di Stark, Judith Vine-Murray and Robyn Homans – have led the way with outstanding Stableford scores of 44 points, while Jill McAndrew had 43. And on Wednesday, the rundown for the men went to 36 points, on a countback, with 58 players in the field of 189 playing to their handicap. So extraordinary were the scores that two players who scored 40 points did not fill a placing in their respective grades. The reason for the improved scores – in the opinion of Club Captain James Kidd – is the recent improvement in the greens where good, accurate putts, are now being rewarded. Course Superintendent Ben Tilley agrees, but he also believes the additional run, because of the recent spate of dry weather, is helping the longer-handicapped players. Ben said the greens have been slower than usual to respond since renovations in early October because of the heavy rain that immediately followed, leaching some nutrition from the greens. But he expects them to be back to their ‘perfect best’ by the end of this week.
GLEN GRIMACED: When Glen Grimish returned to Headland Golf Club on Sunday morning last week and was told the new set of Mizuno clubs he had inadvertently ‘forgotten’ to take home the previous day were safely locked away in the office, his face found a wide grin. However, the smile soon turned to a grimace when he noticed his range finder was missing and, on further inspection, realised – despite the identical bag – the clubs were not actually his. It was then that good Samaritan and long-time Bar Manager Derek Azar, who had ‘rescued’ the clubs at 7pm the previous day, had a light-bulb moment. His impeccable memory recalled that fellow member Lindsay Parchert had a similar golf bag, so he made a phone call and a not-so-innocent Lindsay (who had mistakenly taken home Glen’s clubs the night before) was at the club a short time later and the exchange duly made. While Glen, a successful Sunshine Coast company director, was obviously happy his new clubs were located, he was more ecstatic at the fact he could inform his wife Tracey that she was not going to have to ban him from golf.
COBWEBS DESTROYED: Modest Ed Hoey described his round in last Saturday’s Medley Irish Foursomes as ‘a good day’ in which he was able to ‘blow away the cobwebs’. But the truth of the matter is that Ed’s individual score of 45 points was the best in the field of 248 and his best since he took up golf – upon retirement – 14 years ago. It wasn’t however, good enough to pull his team of Alan Deller (29 points), Doug Hancock (26) and Stu Ennever (37) into the major prize list, with their score of 91 points bringing them in fifth for a $4 dividend. Despite scoring almost half the points for his team, Ed said his teammates ‘had their moments’ while he enjoyed a day out. Coincidentally, Hoey is an Irish name – an omen maybe for Ed’ great round in the event.
FOURBALL FINALISTS: Relative Headland newcomers Mick Kelsey and Mick Kinnear have won their way through to the final of the Headland Fourball Match Play Championship, and will meet the experienced golfing duo of Matt Prince and Dean Jones. The finalists were decided on Sunday with the two Micks beating Alex Dwyer and Lachlan Moffat 3&1, and Matt and Dean disposing of the father-and-son pairing of Trevor and Jay Gourlay in a close battle, winning on in the 17th hole. The finalists have agreed to play the decider on the afternoon of Thursday week, November 29.
GRATEFUL JENENE: Jenene Nicholson has been ‘blown away’ by the support from Headland members, but not surprised. A recent golf day at the club – organised by Tim Reed – raised $40,000 to assist Jenene and her family with costs associated with surgery on December 7 to remove a tumour from her brain. And while Jenene and husband Justin are extremely grateful, humbled and comforted by the support, nothing about the Headland ‘family’ amazes them. Jenene has worked at Headland in various capacities for 27 years and says the big-heartedness of the members, who come from all walks of life, has always been one of the things she appreciates most about the club. She said the day, the support and the money raised, has left her totally flabbergasted and so much more determined to ‘get through this bump in life’s rocky road’.
WEEKLY WINNERS:
Tuesday, Vets, Single Stableford, Ladies (52 players) – A Grade, Kristin Griffiths (38 points), Lorelle Palmer (36); B Grade, Di Stark (44), Judith Vine-Murray (44); Men (55 players) – A Grade, Kevin MacDougal (41 points), John Logan (39); B Grade, Paul Santamaria (40), Barry Rawlings (38). Medley Fourball Best Ball Stableford (92 players) – Mick Kelsey and Tony Kelleher (49), Rod and Lesley O’Leary (48), Grahame Denovan and Susan Wake (47).
Wednesday, Men, Single Stableford (189 players) – A Grade, Brian Kesby (41 points), Warren Sorby (41), Brian Richards (40); B Grade, Andrew Murray (42), Nick Cox (41), Scott Masters (41); C Grade, David Bone (43), Peter Corney (41), Brendan Richardson (40).
Thursday, Ladies, Single Stableford (97 players) – A Grade, Robyn Homans (44 points), Monica Knowles (40), Lisa Ramen (40); B Grade, Althea McLean (37), Gay David (36), Lyn Forbes (36); C Grade – Jill McAndrew (43), Odette Day (39), Trudi Russell (38).
Men, Fourball Best Ball Stableford (88 players) – Phil Kornmann and Gary Rugless (49 points), Mark Glassop and George Eastgate (48), Graeme Warne and Mick Kinnear (47).
Saturday, Medley Irish Foursomes (248 players) – Stephen Van Der Linde, Des Sykes, Deon Breytenbach and Dennis Mikolic (94 points), Peter McMillan, Mike Hardy, Kirk Hardy and Haenga Pirini (94), Andrew Murray, Peter Wark, Don Follent and Burgess Stephenson (93), Phil Martin, Terry Ward, Graeme Brown and James Simmons (92).
Sunday, Medley Single Stableford (36 players) – John Cleary (42 points), Tracey O’Connor (38), Chris McArdle (37); Semi-finals of Medley Fourball Best Ball Match Play Championship – Mick Kinnear and Mick Kelsey beat Alex Dwyer and Lachlan Moffat 3&1; Dean Jones and Matt Prince beat Jay and Trevor Gourlay 1up.
