From Tony Durkin
MOUSE ROARS: His partner and his defeated opponents agree that Ash Reck – nicknamed ‘Mouse’ – was the steadying influence and star contributor on Saturday in the Men’s Headland Foursomes Championships for 2019. Ash teamed with long-time mate Wayne West to win their third Foursomes gong, scoring six-over 150 to beat the formidable combination of Jamie Hill and Dave Rattray by just a single shot. And it wasn’t until the second-last of the 36-hole Championship that the pair actually took the lead from their playing partners, Jamie and Dave. Starting on the back nine in the morning round, Ash and Wayne scored a miraculous birdie from the trees on 11 and a bogey on 16 gave them an even par nine of 36, but they faltered with four bogeys on the front for a round of 76. They had two doubles on the front nine in the afternoon for 38, then came home in 36 to surpass Jamie and Dave, who doubled 15 and bogeyed 17. The victors toyed with the par threes in the afternoon, birdying three and shaving the cup on the 18th. The 2019 champions first teamed to play Foursomes back in 2004, have played on all but two occasions since and previously won the prestigious title in 2011 and 2013. Brad Butler and Jake Crowther (152) finished third in the Championships while another pair of long-time mates, Justin Nicholson and Aaron Shaw were fourth on 154, but won the 36-hole nett (142), beating Barry Newton and Gary Martin on a countback. The Championships were sponsored by club member Mick Kinnear, of Zero Termite and Pest.
2019 Men’s Foursomes Champions – Wayne West and Ashley Reck
SUNSHINE COAST OPEN: Just a dozen spots remain for this coming weekend’s rescheduled 2019 Walsh Consulting Engineers Men’s Sunshine Coast Open Amateur Championship, to be played over two days at Headland Golf Club. The 36-hole tournament has attracted a classy field, with golfers coming from as far away as Royal Sydney, Manly and Coolangatta-Tweed in the south, to Maryborough, Biloela and Blackwater in the north. Just on 160 players have already entered for the event, which will be played on Saturday and Sunday (September 21 and 22), with a dozen entrants playing off scratch or less. Defending champion and reigning Headland champion, Jake Crowther (plus one), is expected to face tough opposition, particularly from Redcliffe’s Tyler Duncan (plus 3) and Maroochy River champion Luke Parker (plus 5), the lowest handicappers in the field. Joining Jake Crowther in quest of the prestigious title are fellow Headland 2019 A Grade Pennant team members Jamie Hill (1), Sean McGill (1) and Brad Butler (2). The tournament is again being generously sponsored by club member Justin Walsh of Walsh Consulting Engineers, and late entries will be accepted by phoning the Headland office on 07 5444 5800. Cost is $75 which includes a breakfast or lunch roll each day. The morning field will tee off from 6.20am to 8.20am each day, and the afternoon field between 10.40am and 12.40pm.
THANKS GRANDPA: Osteopath Tommy Adcock won his first-ever golf competition in Sunday’s Medley Monthly Medal with decade-old golf clubs handed down to him by his Grandpa, Neville. But Tommy, who stands 191cms, needed the club-making skills of Headland Club Professional Adam Norlander to customise the set of Cobras by adding four centimetres to each. And that adjustment did the trick, with Tommy scoring 65 nett from his 36 handicap in just his fourth competition round, and winning the Monthly Medal by four shots. A keen social golfer, while in Melbourne studying Tommy lived with a single-figure golfer and refused to play with him, but decided to join Headland when he recently returned to the Sunshine Coast to live. And despite two nines and an eight on his card, Tommy was chuffed by his overall result, in particular a par on his first hole of the day.
LADIES’ FOURSOMES: For the first time in three years, come Thursday evening Headland will have a new Ladies’ Foursomes Championship team. Sharon Thomas and Dom Paice have won the past two Foursomes Championships but Dom, an Occupational Therapy student, is unavailable because of work-placement commitments. Sharon (handicap 9), has teamed with Christina Claxton (11), and they are joint favourites with big-hitting Fiona Munro (10) and Kristin Griffiths (12) to take the 2019 title. Expected to win the 27-hole nett event are Robyn Boreham and Helen Fraser, who two weeks ago won the 2019 Sunshine Coast Burnett and District Women’s Golf Division One Foursomes at Bribie Island. A field of 72 tees off from 7am on Thursday, with the final nine holes played from 11.35am. The Ladies Foursomes are sponsored by Guide Financial (Marc Venter and Brad Wall).
RUN ROSS, RUN: Ross Itzstein, like most ‘senior’ golfers at Headland, is enjoying the current amount of run on the course following a winter of long periods of rain. In his best round since a very wet April, Ross won Wednesday’s B Grade Single Stableford with 41 points and a gross score of 85, and credited the dry conditions for his good round. For the first time in an age he hit both the 16th and 17th greens in regulation, although the difficult positioning of the back pin on 16 resulted in a three-putt bogey. But that wasn’t the case on the first hole when the 32-year Headland member dropped a 10-metre putt for birdie. Once playing off five, Ross willingly accepts that Father Time has caught up with him but he is determined not to allow his handicap to drift any further than the 17.5 from which he is now playing. Another senior member, Don Teague, also scored 41 points to win C Grade, while Garry Clotz saluted in A Grade, with 38 points.
CALAMARI KID: Tony Roxburgh, who passed away on September 7 after a lengthy but brave battle with pancreatic cancer, will be fondly remembered in the future by any male member who fails to make it past the ladies’ tee with their drive on the seventh hole. As a memento to their great mate, a group of members who were among his regular playing partners have erected a seat in his honour at the hole, bearing the inscription ‘The Calamari Hole’. The significance of the name is that any member of the group who failed to drive further than the ladies’ tee was forced to order a plate of calamari and chips in the clubhouse after golf. And although Tony enjoyed calamari, legend has it that the 18-year Headland member was rarely required to shout. The life of Tony, who is survived by his wife Kerrie and children Jason and Jannica, and 10 months old grandson Jonas, will be celebrated during a private garden memorial service at his Mountain Creek home, 25 Molakai Drive, on Saturday between 2pm-6pm. Members are welcome to attend.
ECLECTIC EGGINS: Steve Eggins happily concedes his golf is erratic, but he deduces that’s the reason he often has success playing eclectic competitions. And that inconsistency, where he claims he never plays the same hole well in successive rounds, won him the recently-concluded two-day Vets’ Headland Living Choice Classic. Steve returned Single Stableford scores of 33 and 37, but his eclectic score over the two days was 49 points. On Monday he wiped the first, third, ninth and tenth holes, but the following day scored 6/2, 5/3, 6/1 and 5/4 respectively, on those same holes. And his two wipes on Tuesday, on the eighth and 16th, were three pointers on the first day. A Headland member from 2010 – after he had moved from Sydney in 2001 – Steve had rarely played golf previously and had his handclap down to 20 in November last year. But a run of poor form and resultant bad scores had him playing off 26 during the two-day tournament, a high mark he hopes will soon become a distant memory.
CORPORATE BUNDLES: With the dual goal of locking up sponsors and guaranteeing an annual income stream, Headland Golf Club has introduced Corporate Member Bundles for the 2019-20 membership year. The Platinum Bundle is available for $5000 and benefits include full club membership, a $1500 Corporate House Account, three sponsor days and a Headland ProAm hole sponsorship package, while the Gold Bundle – $3000 – offers a $750 Corporate House Account and two sponsor days. The primary purpose for Headland making these bundles available is to lock in a significant number of sponsors for the upcoming year – both for regular club events and the Pro Am; to guarantee income across all facets of the club throughout the year via the Corporate House Accounts; and to meet member demand for a single-invoice package that covers a 12-month period. Inquiries should be directed to: GM Ben Dobson – ben@headlandgolfclub.com.au
WEEKLY WINNERS:
Monday, Vets, Headland Living Choice Classic, Single Stableford, Ladies (79 players) – Rhonda Parry (37 points), Megan Breid (37), Carol Monks (36); Men (86 players) – John Ross (42 points), Burgess Stephenson (40), Graham Wilson (39).
Tuesday, Headland Living Choice Classic, Single Stableford, Ladies (77 players) – Kathy Petrie (39 points), Ginette Hewlett (37), Linda Darnell (35); Men (85 players) – John Visser (40 points), Garry Thomas (39), Stuart Dykstra (39).
Eclectic winners, Headland Living Choice Classic, Ladies, Division One – Monica Knowles (44 points), Heather Lum (43), Sue Jones (41); Division Two – Ginette Hewlett (45), Wendy Robinson (44), Kathy Petrie (43); Division Three – Pamela Rossow (45), Leonie Maund (44), Carmel Visser (43); Men, Division One – Burgess Stephenson (43), Huki Matenga (43), Gary Savil (43); Division Two – Alan Stratford (45), Doug Hart (44), Colin Williamson (43); Division Three – Graham Wilson (48), Garry Thomas (46), John Visser (46). Overall winners, Headland Living Choice Classic Ladies – Megan Breid (48); Men – Steve Eggins (49).
Wednesday, Medley Single Stableford (188 players) – A Grade, Garry Clotz (38 points), Paul Burnett (37), Brad Butler (37); B Grade, Ross Itzstein (41), Kevin George (39), Wayne Chugg (39); C Grade, Don Teague (41), Graham Clarke (40), Rod Berger (38).
Thursday, Ladies, Single Stableford, Clare Watson Day (98 players) – A Grade, Carol Dwyer (36 points), Kate Willkie (34), Robyn Homans (33); B Grade, Margaret White (36), Kathy Petrie (36), Carmel Visser (36); C Grade, Bec Francis (39), Pam Andrews (38), Ruth Broderick (37). Men, Fourball Aggregate Stableford (88 players) – Brad Reddan and Barry Mapes (73), John Jamieson and Mick Kinnear (73), Willian Attneave and Tim Rees (72).
Saturday, 2019 Headland Men’s Foursomes Championship (90 players) – 36-hole Champions, Ash Reck and Wayne West (150); runners-up, Jamie Hill and Dave Rattray (151); 36-hole nett, Justin Nicholson and Aaron Shaw (142); runners-up, Barry Newton and Gary Martin (142); 18-hole gross, morning, Jamie Hill and Dave Rattray (73); afternoon, Ash Reck and Wayne West (74); 18 hole nett, morning, Barry Newton and Gary Martin (66); afternoon, Dean Jones and Andrew Ebb (68). Overflow, Medley Single Stableford (99 payers) – Mark Wittholz (41 points), Graham Clarke (38), Barry Potter (36), Dave Wickham (36).
Sunday, Medley Monthly Medal (39 players) – Thomas Adcock (65 nett), Warren Sorby (69), Jason Meehan (70); Junior Monthly Medal – Josh Holbrook (71).
