From Tony Durkin
IRONMAN BRUCE: A new set of TaylorMade irons bought recently from Head Pro Adam Norlander, has given Bruce Heseltine the impetus his golf needed, and resulted in a win in Saturday’s Single Stableford. The retired engineer, who joined Headland seven years ago following a two-decade break from the game, scored 42 points from his 18 handicap for a win in B Grade, and the best score of the day. Unlike his beloved Brisbane Broncos, Bruce says his golf, in general, has been ‘fairly consistent’ this year with Saturday’s round one of his best in that regard. “Apart from three one-metre missed putts, I felt as though my game was pretty much under control, and I put that down to my new irons,” he said. Bruce won in June with 40 points and has had numerous recent placings in both single and fourball events, and his 84 gross sits alongside an 81 and an 82 as his best rounds since moving to the Sunshine Coast from Brisbane. Scott Lindsay (39 points) won A Grade, Chris Byrnes (40) won C Grade and Kirsten Kaergaard (38) returned the best score for Women.
WHITE STRATEGY: Shaving six strokes from her handicap in one round of golf will not thwart Emilia White’s plan to play for ‘the enjoyment, the camaraderie, the coffee and the lunch’. Emilia, who moved from Melbourne to the Sunshine Coast with her husband Chris three years ago to retire, scored a phenomenal 45 points in Thursday’s Stableford for Women and as a result her handicap of 44 is now 37.7. And while she says she cannot believe this surreal occurrence since she graduated from SWING in 2020, she does not intend to take things too seriously. “My golf has been stop-start since I first joined a learner’s group in Melbourne in 2019, and I started SWING when we moved here primarily to meet people. I have never played any sport in my life, so I will continue to play golf purely for the social enjoyment,” said Emilia, whose start to competition golf at Headland was interrupted firstly by Covid, and then a broken arm following a cycling accident. Her outstanding round on Thursday included four four-pointers and six three-point holes. On a high-scoring day, Emilia won C Grade, Catherine Peterson (41) took out A Grade and Wendy Mosley (also 41) won B Grade.
MID-IRON MAYHEM: Had it not been for three disastrous par threes during Wednesday’s Monthly Mug round, Dylan Fennell could have ‘shot the lights out’. As it was, the 23-marker had 89 off the stick for a nett 66, won his first Medal since joining Headland in November of 2020 and returned the best score in the field of 212. But it could have been so much better had it not been for a triple bogey at the par three-18th, plus doubles at the fifth and eighth holes. “My drives are okay, my chipping and putting have improved, but for some reason the mid-irons are my big weakness,” confessed Dylan, who started golf as a youngster in Tasmania but did not reconnect with the game until 12 months after moving to the Sunshine Coast from Sydney in 2018. The owner of Fit Stop at Maroochydore, a functional training studio, Dylan had a birdie, five pars and seven bogeys on his card and his new AGU handicap is 20. Scott Lindsay (68) won A Grade and the ever-consistent Brett Beaumont (67) was the winner of the B Grade Medal.
CLASSIC VICTORY: Former Headland C Grade Champions Maureen and Graham Cartledge have kicked off the annual Vets’ Living Choice Classic with victory in the opening event, a Medley Fourball Best Ball Stableford, on Sunday. The married couple – whose combined age is 150 – scored 47 points to win on a countback from Ginette Hewlett and Huki Matenga, with David Parker and Chris Swan (46) third. And while Graham (handicap 16) accumulated 26 of the points, Maureen (31) was the star turn with birdies at the par-three eighth and 18th holes and a four-point par at the 11th, garnering the couple 12 valuable points. She was also NTP at the 18th. But Graham played his part too, with five three-pointers for the round. Sunday was the first day of the annual Vet’s Living Choice Classic, which continues on Monday and Tuesday.
MIGHTY MITCH: For most golfers, breaking par on any golf course is merely a dream. To Headland’s Assistant Pro, Mitch Jacobson, Thursday was just ‘another day at the office’ when he shot four-under 68 from his handicap of minus one for 39 points, and a win in the Men’s Single Stableford competition. It is the sixth time this year Mitch has broken par at Headland, where he has been Assistant to Head Pro Adam Norlander for just on two years. The affable 34-year-old had an eagle (at the par-five 13th), five birdies, nine pars and three bogeys on his card, with two of the bogeys coming on par threes. “I just missed the green at the fifth and hit a poor chip and, aggressively chasing birdie at the 14th, three putted,” he explained. NOTE: While we mere mortals often struggle to simply play to our handicap, the ‘gun’ golfers seemingly have no such issues. Club Champion Adam Richards has also broken par at Headland six times this year.
BUNDY WIN: Alan Stratford cannot explain why golf was ‘so easy’ when he scored 41 points to win Tuesday’s Singe Stableford for Men, but concedes the bottle of Bundy Rum he won at Maryborough two weeks earlier may have contributed to his relaxed state. A day prior to his 77th birthday, Alan scored his second win of the year and said had it not been for some sloppy putting, his score could well been 45 points. “I had just two doubles on my card, at the tough 15th and 16th holes, both the results of three putts,” said the retired Engineer who joined Headland in 2011 after 18 years playing at Horton Park. Although he golfs at least twice a week and regularly travels away to Vets events with his wife Susan, Alan says golf remains a conundrum. “Last week I played on successive days and had 36 points one day, and 26 the other. But that’s golf for us long markers I suppose,” he surmised.
SANDY SUCCESS: She is uncertain why her round turned to gold, but Lyn Forbes thinks the ‘lightly dusted’ greens may have helped her win Tuesday’s Single Stableford for Women. Routine course management during the week meant a light layer of sand covered the greens and while others found putting difficult, Lyn said she putted well on her way to three individual firsts. It was her first win since she graduated from SWING in 2014, her 97 shots was the first time she had broken 100, and 42 Stableford points was her best-ever score. But the Property Manager was most impressed that her great round reduced her AGU handicap to 27.1, a huge reduction from the 45 mark where she started. “I was actually quite shocked at the way I played,” quipped Lyn, who usually plays twice a week.
WEEKLY RESULTS:
Tuesday, Single Stableford, Women (60 players) – Lyn Forbes (42 points), Yvonne Henry (39), Marg Howard (39). Men (61 players) – Alan Stratford (41), Dick Gibberd (41), Mark Garcia (40).
Wednesday, Midweek Medal – sponsor, Ryan Tomlinson, Century 21 (212 players) – A Grade, Scott Lindsay (68 nett), Marius Jacobs (70), Dave Mayes (70); B Grade, Brett Beaumont (67), Ross Itzstein (68), Graham Newlove (68); C Grade, Dylan Fennell (66), John Atkins (68), Skip Antony (68). Overall gross – sponsor Roger Van Ginkel, Thomassen Australasia – Chris Massie (74).
Thursday, Single Stableford, Women, – sponsor, Claire Watson Family – (109 players) – A Grade, Catherine Peterson (41 points), Vicki Oxley (40), Marg Howard (39); B Grade, Wendy Mosley (41), Sue Wake (37), Chris Hall (36); C Grade, Emilia White (45), Helen Sedgmen (41), Colleen Sarquis (38). Men (87 players) – Mitch Jacobson (39), Robert McCann (38), Peter Wood (38).
Saturday, Single Stableford – sponsor Bryan Haggarty, R2g Communications – Women (24 players) – Kirsten Kaergaard (38), Robyn Boreham (36), Charlotte Ridley (36). Men (226 players) A Grade, Scott Lindsay (39), Brian Callaghan (39), Neven Daniel (39); B Grade, Bruce Heseltine (42), Wayne Cassidy (41), Phil Maron (40); C Grade, Chris Byrnes (40), Gordon Peak (38), Mark Johnson (37).
Sunday, Vets, Living Choice Classic Medley Fourball Best Ball Stableford (76 players) – Maureen and Graham Cartledge (47 points), Ginette Hewlett and Huki Matenga (47), David Parker and Chris Swann (46).
