Golfers back in the swing

Graeme Pretty won the nearest the pin on the 11th hole at Garfield on Saturday. 170568 Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS

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Golfers jumped out of their cars, took the clubs out of the boot, and took a deep breath this week as the Deep Creek Golf Club reopened for the very important business of playing the game we all love.

Even masks couldn’t wipe the smiles off the faces of golfers as they returned to the fairways after the most recent Covid-lockdown.

And the smile on the face of Steven Van Roy (33) was bigger and wider than most after he scored 38 points to take out the Saturday stableford competition.

Van Roy was the only player to shoot better than his handicap with his 38 points giving him a comfortable two-shot victory over Terry Bull (29) who signed off on a fine round of 36 points.

Matt Lloyd (7) was the best of the single-figure handicappers, scoring 35 points, a score matched by Brenton Hollingworth off his handicap of 29.

Peter Reilly (9) scored 34 points to finish in standalone fifth place with David Bell (22), Graham Brennan (29) and David Mair (10) next best on 33.

Others to score in the thirties included Marcus Cameron (17) with 32, Tony Mafodda (21), Michael Anlanger (16), James Dimtsas (16) and Craig Clissold (11) with 31, while Peter Norman (8), Barry Williams (19), Rob Nobelius (12), John Curtin (19), Shane Franzi (18) and Geoff Percival (15) all snuck in with scores of 30.

An expected small field greeted the starters gun for Thursday’s ladies stableford competition with Yvonne Smith (21) winning the first event to be held after lockdown with a score of 22 points.

Shirley McGrath (30) finished a stroke back on 21 points with Liz Garvey (40) and Yvonne Barrot (29) rounding out the field with 20 and 13 points respectively.

Windy conditions made scoring extremely difficult in Friday’s Par competition with Shaun Hegarty (19) scoring -6 to score an unexpected victory over second-placed Brett Nowlan (12) on -8.

Harry Elyasie (5) and Timothy Pratt (7) finished with -9, while Matthew Hogan (17) -11 and Heath Barclay (9) -12 had a healthy battle for last place.

Harry Elyasie (5) made a one-act affair of Sunday’s stableford competition, scoring 39 points to win by a whopping seven points from Heath Barclay (9) on 32.

Elyasie has been in great form of late and the lay-off obviously hasn’t affected the smooth rhythm of his golf swing.

The chasing pack was led by Matt Yusoff (12) and Brett Nowlan (12) on 30 points, while Glenn Rees (11) on 29, and Brian Bateup (22) on 28, were next best in the field.

Simon Fay (27) on 25 points, Nick Gray (7) on 21 and Matthew Hogan (17) on 19 all enjoyed a day out on the course despite their struggles.

DROUIN

Wednesday…the first day of freedom from the most recent lockdown saw eager golfers take to the course for a Stableford event.

Unfortunately, the weather gods showed no mercy, with a blistering cold front of strong icy winds and driving rain keeping many players from completing their round.

• Division One: Winner: Gary Cline (7) 36 points, from Jack Henning (11) 35, David Anderson (8) 31, Darryl Brice (13) 31.

• Division Two: Winner: Keith Crew (34) 33 points, from Philip Mason (21) 31, Graham Austin (18) 30. Down the line balls went to Jack Henning and David Anderson. The median score was 27 points.

Unlike Wednesday golfers were greeted to mild, sunny conditions for Saturday’s stableford competition with a triple-figure field making the most of the improved weather outlook.

The condition of the golf course underfoot was also excellent, with fairways in good shape and the greens in the best shape for July in living memory.

• Division One: Winner: Frank Clebney (14) 37 points, from Peter Morris (8) 36, Brian Seers (8) 36, Bob Simpson (12) 36.

• Division Two: Winner: Bob Collins (Garfield GC, 17) 37 points, from Darren Wolffenbuttal (17) 35, John Hoare (20) 34.

• Division Three: Winner: Peter De Vries (23) 33 points, from Peter Phillips (22) 32, Hank Van Dueran (34) 30. Down the line balls went to 34 points on a countback and the median score was 29 points.

• Nearest the pins went to; 5th: Brian Tolkuhn, 8th: Duart Perrin, 10th: Ray Hayley, 14th Wayne Robbins.

Today (Wednesday) is stableford and Saturday is Monthly Medal Stroke for the men.

DROUIN LADIES

No golf was played last Tuesday due to the COVID lockdown.

Drouin Ladies first returned to competition golf in glorious sunshine on Saturday, 31 July for an individual stableford event.

The winner was Leanne Pollard (11) with 31 points and runner up was Kay Feaver (15) on 29 points.

Next week, August 10 will be an 18-hole competition, as the AGM originally scheduled for August 10 will now be held on September 21.

GARFIELD GOLF CLUB

Thursday’s weather started off very cold with a biting wind affecting ball flight but by the afternoon we reached a very mild day of 17 degrees for the field of 54 contenders.

Best in for the day, and easily the best achieved score, was Steve Wallace, having a good form run with a B Grade winning score of 38 points to defeat Don Towan by four points.

Wallace also scored a nearest the pin and a birdie on the eleventh hole.

Kevan McMillan was the best for A Grade with a round of 34 points, playing off his handicap of just eight, to also score an easy victory with a seven-point margin back to Andrew Rose and Mr Reliable, Trevor Male.

Lou Artico won the C Grade event with a less than impressive total of 32 points winning on a count back from Richard Gould. A final score of 30 points or more was all that was required to get a ball down the line.

Saturday’s weather was the warmest in months with a top temp of 20 degrees presenting for a field of 106 for a game of single stableford.

The overall scoring average was superior to Thursday probably because of the conditions which included lift, clean and place which is now in play. Peter Glasscock won the A Grade event with a handicap round of 36 points playing off his mark of 10 to defeat Ian Hopper by just the single point.

Ross Mitchell posted the week’s best score with a B Grade-winning round of 39 points playing off his handicap of 14 to defeat Darren Stanton by four points.

Richard Gould, having a good week, won the D Grade event with a round of 35 points playing off his mark of 25 to defeat James Long by two points.

Mick Jusic got the C Grade result with a score of 36 points to defeat Greg Noonan and Kelvin Rhodes by two points. A total of nine birdies were scored for the day on the par threes whilst the two eagles were achieved by Darren Stanton on the 10th and Matt Van Der Horst on the 15th.

Both gentlemen were awarded the 10 balls each for their efforts.

A final score of 31 points or better was good enough for a ball down the line.

All members are advised that nominations are now open for the 2021/22 office bearers and committee positions for the AGM which is to be held on Saturday, 28 August.

Nominations close Friday, 6 August at 5pm. Nomination forms are available at the club.

This Saturday is the August Monthly Medal as well as the semi-finals of the par match-play event.

RESULTS

Thursday/Single Stableford/Field of 54

• A Grade: Kevan McMillan (8) 34, runner up Andrew Rose (13) 31 C/B, third Trevor Male (9) 31.

• B Grade: Steve Wallace (15) 38, runner up Don Towan (20) 34, third Clinton Smith (2) 32.

• C Grade: Lou Artico (23) 32 C/B, runner up Richard Gould (25) 32, third Harry Huyskens (21) 30.

• Down the lines: Terry McLaughlin 32, Greg Needham 31, Rob Coates 31, Darren Stanton 30, Kevin Whitmore 30.

• Nearest the pins: 4th Darren Stanton, 8th and 9th Kevan McMillan 11th Steve Wallace, 14th Bob Calderara, 16th Terry McLaughlin.

Saturday/Ladies/Single Stableford

• Winner: Jeanette Mitchell (27) 33. Nearest the pins went to; 4th Jeanette Mitchell, 8th Karli Van Der Horst, 16th Leesa Matthews.

Saturday/Single Stableford/Field of 106

• A Grade: Peter Glasscock (10) 36, runner up Ian Hopper (10) 35, third Steve Kohut (7) 34.

• B Grade: Ross Mitchell (14) 39, runner up Darren Stanton (13) 35, third Dave Lawler (13) 34.

• C Grade: Mick Jusic (20) 36, runner up Greg Noonan (18) 34 C/B, third Kelvin Rhodes (21) 34.

• D Grade: Richard Gould (25) 35, runner up James Long (23) 33, third Allan Milkins (27) 32.

• Down the lines: Robert Murphy 33, Mick Matthews 33, Sepp Krummenacher 33 , Craig Cousin 32, Terry Garratt 32, Trevor Male 32, Daniel Kelly 32, Peter Bogart 32,Kevin Booker 31, Gary Kelly 31.

• Nearest the pins: 4th Craig Hunter, 8th Greg Macklin, 9th Steve Wallace, 11th Graeme Pretty, 14th Matt Van Der Horst, 16th Trevor Male. Second shot C Grade Robert Murphy. Eagles: 10th Darren Stanton, 15th Matt Van Der Horst.

Sunday/Single Stableford/Field of 23

• Winner: Jack Henning (10) 38, runner up Chris Naughton (11) 35 C/B, third Brad Connelly (12) 35.

• Down the lines: Keith Edwards 34, Bernie Flynn 31 C/B. Nearest the pins: 4th Rob Coates, 8th Steve Barrett, 9th Jack Henning, 11th Bob Calderara, 14th and 16th Shane Male.