From Tony Durkin
GOOD READS: Having first-hand knowledge of reading greens was certainly an advantage to Jay Gourlay and Dane Partridge when they scored 47 points to win Sunday’s Fourball Best Ball Stableford and qualify in top spot for the Headland Fourball Match Play Championship. Together they parred the course, with 16 pars, a bogey at 13 and a birdie at 10, to win the event by three points from three pairs on 44 points. Both have experience in the green-keeping industry – Jay is a member of Headland’s greens’ staff and Dane was formerly employed in Canada and at Bonville – and their course knowledge was obviously invaluable as the pair combined superbly for their win. Dane (handicap (9) scored 33 points while Jay (12) added the remaining 14 to their total. The top teams from Sunday have qualified for the Championship play-off, which will be played over the next three Sundays, Teams to qualify are: Jay Gourlay and Dane Partridge, Matthew Duncan and Brett Charlton, Jason Meehan and Michael Rutledge, Anthony and Sam Fichera, Chris McArdle and Fred Muller, Lang Pryor and Tom Burnett, Adam Richards and Chris Wilson and Warren Selvage and Warren Sorby. The Honour Board event is sponsored by Michael Thomas of Zenfind Accounting. NOTE: Sam Fichera, who qualified alongside his dad, is Headland’s youngest playing member. Sam, aged just 10 and a student at Sienna Catholic College, contributed 13 points to the Fichera team total of 44, and included a tap-in par at the sixth for four points.
WEDDED BLISS: Liz Dunford and Sandee Brimblecombe first met at Headland, have become really close friends and play in the same group every Saturday, so to win Saturday’s Medley Fourball Best Ball Stableford in the big field of 245 was an especially poignant moment for them. But even more special was the fact they left in their absolute wake their respective husbands, who also teamed up for the event. Liz (38 points) and Sandee (36) combined to score 47 points in the fourball event – which was played in conjunction with the Medley Single Stableford – and finished at the head of the field by a point. Husbands Tony Dunford (32 points) and Ross Brimblecombe (35) scored a meagre 41 points in the Fourball, finishing in 54th position, much to their delight of their better halves. And Liz also managed a third placing in C Grade in the single event in which Richard Senior won A Grade with 43 points, Chris Klazema (40) finished first in B Grade and John Miller (39) led in the C Grade field.
NEW MARSHALLS: Headland Golf Club has appointed two temporary Course Marshalls who will job-share the duties until the club’s new General Manager starts work. PGA Professional Glenn Joyner and long-term Headland member Russell Harris were appointed last week, with Russell to start duties today (Monday). Glenn, a 33-year PGA Tour player who is also a former teaching Pro at the prestigious Yarra Yarra Golf Club, still plays on the Australasian Legends Tour, but his schedule will enable him to be available for his new role. Both are local men – Glenn moved to the Sunshine Coast from Melbourne four years ago while Russell, who hails from Burdekin, was married in Buderim in 1986 and has been a Headland member for 19 years. Former Course Marshall, Ian Hepburn, was recently appointed Golf and Operations Manager at Mt Coolum.
BIRDIE DAY: Scoring her first birdie in a nine-hole competition in 2018 was a massive thrill for 2016 SWING graduate Odette Day, but scoring two in three holes – as she did on Thursday – has given her an enduring golfing memory. Odette became the second SWING Graduate in a week to register their best-ever round when he recorded 41 points to post the best score in Thursday’s Single Stableford event for ladies. And while her 19 points on the front nine was exciting, 23 over the final seven holes of the back nine caused mass elation within her playing group – in particular the birdies at 14 and 16. Her only tinge of disappointment was, that because of the positioning of the pin, no-one saw the ball disappear into the hole on 16 for a birdie which Odette described as ‘rather fluky’. Playing her third shot from under the trees situated beneath the left of the green, the 29 handicapper punched a low seven iron ‘over the hills’ and never saw it again. The win follows some lean times of late in which her handicap has slipped from an all-time low of 26, and she hopes the form corner has been turned. Chris Parkinson won A Grade with 39 points, Odette saluted in B Grade and Denise Lawson (40) was best in C Grade.
TEX RETURNS: A return to golf on Wednesday following six months of COVID-19 turmoil was ‘unbelievably enjoyable’ for popular Mooloolaba restaurateur Tex Teixeira. While he did not card the best score of the day – that honour went to Gavin Tuck – Tex scored 38 points in his first round in 13 weeks, with a stunning two-under par 34 on the back nine. Tex, who recently sold his Lemon & Thyme restaurant as well as his iconic VW Kombi, described the COVID experience as extremely distressing for him, his young family and his staff, and did not allow him the opportunity for his weekly game of golf. But a family holiday and a new role as manager of the upmarket Fish on Parkyn restaurant, has given him a new lease on life as his excellent round in Wednesday’s Medley Single Stableford demonstrated. A rather inauspicious start, with two double bogeys, a bogey and a wipe on the front nine, was followed by his best-ever back nine which yielded the seven handicapper 23 points. Alan Brooker (40) won A Grade, Gavin Tuck (41) B grade and Peter Hutchison (40) won C Grade.
THREE FIRSTS: SWING graduate Jackie Walkington had three cherished reasons to celebrate after winning Tuesday’s Single Stableford for ladies. Not only did the 41 points give Jackie her first individual win, it was her best score since graduating from SWING in 2017 and her first round without a dastardly pick-up on her card. The former University Professor who joined SWING primarily to meet new friends when she retired to the Sunshine Coast from Canberra, has been playing consistently since the COVID break and her handicap has inched its way from 39 to 32.7. But she says there has almost always been those few poor holes in her three regular rounds each week that have been confining her golf to the ledger of disappointment. Things ‘just fell into place’ on Tuesday – something Jackie hopes will continue as she strives to become more consistent in a game that has captivated her. NOTE: New member Robert Jones, who scored 40 points to win the men’s event on Tuesday, is also a first-time winner.
JACOB’S BEST: He may be kept busy by long hours as one of the mangers at Alexandra Headland’s Blue Bar, but Jacob Mimnaw still gets in at least one round of golf a week. And that round on Thursday proved to be a real winner – not only in the Single Stableford competition, but on Jacob’s fledgling list of golfing feats. His five-over par 77, for 41 points, is his best round in the three years he has been a Headland member, and in fact the three years he has been playing competitive golf. Starting on a handicap of 21 as a rookie three years ago, he had whittled that mark down to eight before COVID-19 struck early in the year but is now out to 10, from where he played on Thursday. His notable round – which won the competition by four points – included 10 pars, two birdies, five bogies and a double at the difficult par-four 15th, which resulted from a rare poor drive.
HELEN AGAIN: Wary of being tagged a ‘media tart’ following her lengthy mention in HH and other media outlets last week because of her hole-in-one association with Jamie Hill, Helen Fraser was reticent to discuss her excellent round on Monday. Playing off 16, Helen returned one of her most consistent rounds in recent memory to record 40 Stableford points in the Vets’ event, and a runaway win by six points. And while the score, naturally, was pleasing, so too was the consistency of her round – seven pars, 10 bogeys and just the lone double, at the 10th. The secret to her best score since a 42-point round a number of years ago was putting, with just 27 of them for 18 holes. However, there was one tinge of disappointment – a bogey four at the 18th, the hole Jamie Hill aced with Helen’s ball in the annual Cindy McKenzie Pink Charity Day four days earlier.
PETER PAN: Peter Norris concedes his memory is not what it once was, but the octogenarian did a Peter Pan impersonation on Monday in what he believes may well be his best-ever Single Stableford score. The 83-year-old former plumber scored 44 points to win the Vets’ B Grade, and that superb score included a wash at the par-four 11th hole. In a round which he described as ‘one for the ages’, Peter signed for six three-pointers and a phenomenal three four-pointers, and streeted the field of 76 by six points. A member at Monash in Sydney before he moved to the Sunshine Coast four decades ago and joined Nambour, Peter has been a member at Headland for 20 years but has never had a handicap less than 18. He played off 29 on Monday and although he says he hasn’t had lessons for ‘a while’, he credits Head Pro Adam Norlander for his memorable round. “I always keep his tips in the back of my mind, but on Monday they were obviously front and centre,” he said.
MATCH PLAY: The draw for the quarter finals of the Headland Men’s Match Play Championships, to be played on Saturday, has been announced. The draw is: A Grade – Scott Walker V Scott Bromfield, Brad Butler V Glenn Walker, Adam Rydwanski V Adam Richards, Josh Holbrook V Sean McGill; B Grade – Aaron Duff V Tom Burnett, Ian Farrington V Rhett Charlton, Will Millroy V Brett Adamson, Michael Thomas V Alex Sue See; C Grade – Geoff Bland V Greg Patrick, Josh Poole V Mick Prince, Ross Carvell V Tony Vickers, Chris Klazema V David Munns. All matches, in each grade, will be played off scratch.
VALE IAN BUSCH: Long-time member Ian Busch has passed away suddenly at the age of 74. Ian, who owned and operated the Maroochydore Newsagency in the Big Top Shopping Centre since the building was first opened, was a Headland member for 37 years, and his membership number was 204. He was also an active member of the Fraser Follies group and played regularly each Thursday afternoon. Ian is survived by his wife Marilyn, children Sheldon, Nick and Simone, and their respective families.
EAGLE UPDATE: When compared with recent weeks, the past seven days has been a drought of eagles at Headland with just the one – and it was part of an extremely interesting round. Five-handicapper Michael Hinds eagled the par-five 10th on Saturday, and added to his birdies at the first, seventh, 11th and 13th. But there was a downside – his round of 75, for 38 Stableford points, also included four double bogeys and a bogey.
WEEKLY WINNERS:
Monday, Vets, Single Stableford, Ladies (40 players) – A Grade, Helen Fraser (40 points), Heather Lum (34), Kate Wilkie (32); B Grade, Diane Molineux (37), Rhonda Biggs (35), Judy Farmer (35); Men (76 players) – A Grade, Brian Richards (38), Graham Newlove (38), Peter McMillan (36); B Grade, Peter Norris (44), Jim Macready (38), Jim Snowball (36). .
Tuesday, Single Stableford, Ladies 29 players) – Jackie Walkington (41 points), Kathy Petrie (39), Trish Marsden (39); Men (55 players) – Robert Jones (40), Ted Banaszczyk (38), Gary Small (36).
Wednesday, Medley Single Stableford (220 players) – A Grade, Alan Brooker (40 points), Merv Lum (39), Tex Teixeira (38), Will Millroy (38); B Grade, Gavin Tuck (41), Mark Bown (40), Ross Itzstein (39), Fred Muller (39); C Grade, Peter Hutchinson (40), Michael Parkinson (39), Barry Euston (38), Bob Lane (37).
Thursday, Single Stableford, Ladies (122 players) – A Grade, Chris Parkinson (39 points), Kate Wilkie (38), Katrina Watts (38); B Grade, Odette Day (41), Yvonne Henry (38), Leanne Ptak (38); C Grade, Denise Lawson (40), Coralie Snowball (37), Janette Mason (36).
Men (86 players) – Jacob Mimnaw (41), Will Norman (37), Errol Greiner (37).
Saturday, Medley Single Stableford (245 players) – A Grade, Richard Senior (43 points), Warren Selvage (40), Dennis Roberts (39); B Grade, Chris Klazema (40), Kristin Griffiths (40), Tony Kelleher (40); C Grade, John Miller (39), Chris Byrnes (39), Liz Dunford (39. Fourball Best Ball Stableford, Liz Dunford and Sandee Brimblecombe (47 points), Dennis Orr and Steve Walters (46).
Sunday – Medley 4BBB Match Play Championship (72 players) – Jay Gourlay and Dane Partridge (47 points), Matthew Duncan and Rhett Charlton (44), Jason Meehan and Michael Rutledge (44),
