{"id":11700,"date":"2025-05-11T22:21:33","date_gmt":"2025-05-11T22:21:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/headland.miclub.com.au\/cms\/?p=11700"},"modified":"2025-05-11T22:23:48","modified_gmt":"2025-05-11T22:23:48","slug":"headland-headlines-12-5-25","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/headland.miclub.com.au\/cms\/2025\/05\/11\/headland-headlines-12-5-25\/","title":{"rendered":"HEADLAND HEADLINES 12-5-25"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Tony Durkin<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

HANDI VICTORY: <\/strong>Headland has been crowned winner of the inaugural team event at the 2025 Handiskins National Championship final, contested on the Gold Coast on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The Headland team of Mick Prince, Bruce Heseltine, Doc Fleming, Peter Dunn and Sue Bolton won the event, with individual Stableford scores added together after the first two days of the championship, played on neighbouring Lakelands and Palm Meadows courses. The final cumulative score was divided by the number of team members, giving Headland the first victory in the newly-introduced event with 60.8 points. To qualify for the team event, clubs had to have a minimum of four finalists. And while no Headland members finished in the top four to contest the overall Handiskins final on Saturday, defending Champion Mick Prince (65 points) was the best of Headland\u2019s qualifiers. He finished 10th overall, with Doc Fleming (64) two places further back. \u201cIt was a tough gig this year,\u201d said Bruce, who revealed that 284 players qualified for the three-day finale, compared to 220 in 2024. \u201cBoth years I have scored 65 points after the two qualifying rounds. Last year that score gave me a spot in the final after finishing second; this year I missed out, after coming 10th.\u201d Playing in the Peter Lehman Wines Golf Challenge, a competition for those golfers who did not qualify for the Handiskins final, Peter Dunn scored 63 points, Sue Bolton 59, and Bruce Heseltine 53 points. Apart from the prestige of winning the inaugural Handiskins Team Challenge, each member of the winning Headland team collected $200. NOTE<\/strong>: The Australia-wide Handiskins tournament was first played in 2016, and Mick Prince and Bruce Heseltine have been consistent standouts. While Mick won last year, Bruce was the first Headland member on the podium, finishing third in 2023.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

THE HUSTLE:<\/strong> A group of \u201840-somethings\u2019 tagged the Headland Hustlers, have remarkably matched their moniker, with members of the 14-man group winning four of five competitions over the past nine days. After dominating the Labour Day long weekend with three successive victories, the group skipped Tuesday\u2019s podium before Ty Pilcher and Dean Oster teamed to win Wednesday\u2019s Medley Fourball Stableford. In doing so, they joined fellow Hustlers Lincoln Harris (Saturday), Brad Williams (Sunday) and Craig Firns (Monday) in the previous week\u2019s list of winners. Ty, whose GA handicap is currently capped at 10.6, was the star on Wednesday, scoring 26 of the winning 45 Fourball points, with 19 of them coming on the front nine. \u201cYou know how it is \u2013 the game comes together every now and again,\u201d quipped Plumber Ty, who also finished second behind Craig Firns in Monday\u2019s Single Stableford. \u201cAnd, as has to happen in a good Fourball score, Dean and I teamed well.\u201d Ty scored 79 on both days, breaking the 80-barrier on the \u2018full\u2019 course layout for the first time in his five years as a member. \u201cWe were pretty stoked with the win, and it was a great feeling to continue the good run of the Hustlers,\u201d said Dean, who confirmed Ty had \u2018lit it up\u2019 on the front nine\u2019. NOTE<\/strong>: Depending on their origin, for internal Headland competitions the Hustlers are divided in to country and city members, with city still revelling in the win over their country counterparts during a recent visit to Bonville.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

HANDICAP BREAKER: <\/strong>Lynn Hayman did not think breaking her handicap to return the best score in Thursday\u2019s Single Stableford for Women was all that special, until reminded hy HH that 37 points was actually an exceptional score of late. Because of the recent extraordinarily wet weather which has saturated the course, only Louise Harriott \u2013 with 71 nett to win the May Monthly Medal – and Suzanne Pledge (39 points), have broken their handicap at Headland in the past three months. \u201cYes, the course has been tough,\u201d Lynn conceded, saying she had played \u2018really well\u2019 on Thursday despite a wipe and a penalty on her card. \u201cLast week, I was struggling so much I disqualified myself from the Monthly Medal round.\u201d But the 2017 SWING graduate, who says her golf highlights have included \u2018a couple of holes-in-one and a few wins\u2019, enjoyed her round, and the company of her playing partners. \u201cWe recently returned from a nine-week caravan trip to South Australia, and I really missed my golf,\u201d said Lynn, who manages to play twice a week. Her winning round, in Division Two, was highlighted by a four-point par at the 11th, and four three-pointers. Anne Callanan, with 34 points, won Division One. NOTE<\/strong>: For this event, long-term member Mark Postles, of Coast Chiropractic, made his debut as a Headland Women\u2019s sponsor.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

THREE TROUBLE: <\/strong>Double bogeys at two par threes on Labour Day has more than likely cost former tennis champion Craig Firns his best round as a 4\u00bd-year Headland member. The Medical Sales rep won Monday\u2019s Medley Single Stableford with 38 points from his 10 handicap, but was disappointed with his misses at holes eight and 14. \u201cSince I have reduced my handicap from 17 to 11, I have probably been a little aggressive on the par threes,\u201d Craig conceded. \u201cAnd that was again the case at eight and 14 on Monday.\u201d But while those par threes were a disaster \u2013 he salvaged just one point – a superb up and down at the 18th actually handed him victory. \u201cMy mate, Ty Pilcher, was sitting on the verandah, already with 38 points, so I needed par to win,\u201d he said. While that par was important, his birdie at the tough, par-four fourth was memorable. \u201cI pushed my drive, and it finished in front of the Women\u2019s tees on the eighth. I then hit almost the shot of my life, going over the trees with a nine iron, landing about 250cm from the pin, and slotting the birdie putt,\u201d he beamed.\u00a0 Craig\u2019s best round at Headland was 78, back in December, and Monday\u2019s win was his third in the past five months.<\/p>\n

ENJOYABLE, FINALLY<\/strong>: Nev Kenzler feels he echoes the sentiments of countless Headland members when he says golf, of late, has not been enjoyable. \u201cObviously, that has nothing to do with the club, the course or management, but the recent spate of bad weather has made playing conditions extremely unpleasant,\u201d lamented the ex-banker. But Nev made the best of a regretful situation on Thursday, scoring 81 from his 11 handicap to table 38 points and win the Men\u2019s Single Stableford. \u201cI was pleased with the round. My only stumble was at the tough 15th, where I scored a double,\u201d he said, after also penning 10 pars and seven bogeys. \u201cI putted fine, and my best club in the bag proved to be my five wood, which I hit half a dozen times, and hit it really well.\u201d But Nev, who was a member at Brisbane\u2019s Pacific and Ashgrove clubs before joining Headland in 2017, was never confident 38 points would be enough to win, and bank the $90 first prizemoney. \u201cOur group was the first off, and I was surprised my score held up all afternoon,\u201d he quipped.<\/p>\n

GOLF BUBBLE<\/strong>: Steve Eggins reckons the \u2018carts on paths\u2019 ruling on Tuesday helped him win the Single Stableford for Men with \u2018maybe\u2019 his best-ever score. \u201cI was able to walk the course, and stay in my own little bubble,\u201d confessed the ex-NSW Public Servant who is closing in on two decades as a Headland member. \u201cPlaying alongside people in carts, I often hurry along, not wanting to delay anyone. But today I was really relaxed, and in an easy-walking tempo.\u201d Steve, whose handicap has regrettably \u2018expanded\u2019 from 20 to 25 in recent times, scored 44 points, which he thinks either equals or is one short of his best result at Headland. And although he recorded two four-pointers and seven three-point holes, he was equally chuffed at no wipes. \u201cI started well, with my two four-pointers on successive holes, and that always helps my confidence,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it is only the second time this year I have broken my handicap, so the goal now is to keep that form coming.\u201d Steve smashed the rest of the men\u2019s field, winning by five points, while Ali Lamond prevailed in the Women\u2019s event, scoring 32 points to beat Jenny Stokes and Ruth Broderick on a countback.<\/p>\n

JOSH ON TOUR<\/strong>: Former two-time Headland Junior Champion and existing member, Josh Holbrook, is Canada bound. Currently playing on the Australasian PGA Tour, Josh will try his hand at the Canadian PGA Tour, with a qualifying tournament set for early next month (June 2-6). He needs to finish top 11 to qualify. Josh started as a junior at Headland, played his way into the A Grade Pennant while still at school and won the 2021 Men\u2019s Foursomes Championship alongside current Club Champion, Ben Duncombe. The following year he started his PGA Membership Program under the guidance of Head Pro, Adam Norlander, and last year graduated from Caloundra Golf Club. He officially received his full Vocational Membership with the PGA of Australia in March of this year. The first PGA Tour event foray for Josh was the PNG Open at Port Moresby in August last year, at which he celebrated his 21st birthday.<\/p>\n

WEEKLY RESULTS:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Monday,<\/strong> Medley Single Stableford (53 players) \u2013 Craig Firns (38 points), Ty Pilcher (38), Brendan Duncan (37).\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tuesday,<\/strong> Single Stableford, Women (23 players) \u2013 Ali Lamond (32 points), Jenny Stokes (32), Ruth Broderick (32).<\/p>\n

Men (54 players) \u2013 Steve Eggins (44 points), Bill McKinstrey (39), Philip Cotton (38).<\/p>\n

Wednesday,<\/strong> Medley Fourball Best Ball Stableford \u2013 sponsor, Brendan Southey and Bevan Horsnell, Prime Property – <\/em><\/strong>(172 players) \u2013 Ty Pilcher and Dean Oster (45 points), Simon Whittle and Drew Walker (44), Toby Zaremba and Ian Farrington (44), Jamie Hill and Rhett Charlton (43).<\/p>\n

Thursday,<\/strong> Single Stableford, Women \u2013 sponsor, Mark Postles, Coast Chiropractic – <\/em><\/strong>(57 players) \u2013 Division One, Anne Callanan (34 points), Liz Dunford (34), Maria Hireme (33); Division Two, Lynn Hayman (37), Tove Larsen (34), Odette day (34).<\/p>\n

Men, (66 players) \u2013 Nev Kenzler (38), John Christmas (38), Stephen Blampied (37).<\/p>\n

Saturday<\/strong>, Monthly Medal, Women and Men (no competition, course closed).<\/p>\n

Sunday<\/strong>, Mother\u2019s Day Medley Single Stableford (no competition, course closed).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From Tony Durkin\u00a0 HANDI VICTORY: Headland has been crowned winner of the inaugural team event at the 2025 Handiskins National Championship final, contested on the Gold Coast on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The Headland team of Mick Prince, Bruce Heseltine,… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1911,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-headland-headlines"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/headland.miclub.com.au\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/headland.miclub.com.au\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/headland.miclub.com.au\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/headland.miclub.com.au\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1911"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/headland.miclub.com.au\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11700"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/headland.miclub.com.au\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11700\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11704,"href":"https:\/\/headland.miclub.com.au\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11700\/revisions\/11704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/headland.miclub.com.au\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/headland.miclub.com.au\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/headland.miclub.com.au\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}