The second week of the Men’s Golf competition didn’t see much of an improvement in scores as golfers battled with the slow fairways and overgrown rough.
While the curators have done their best with the course over the drought, after the recent rain everything has taken off on the course and there is not much of the old fairway grass left, but plenty of pigweed, khaki weed and three-corned jack (cathead) to challenge the best golfers.
The new handicap system isn’t helping much either and is playing havoc with the scores as players try to adapt.
The hazards are all full of water too, just ask Colin ‘Butch’ Eves who lost seven balls on Saturday. However, there is one redeeming factor, the greens are in excellent shape, which is a bonus for those who can putt.
Nine players originally went out to play on Saturday, but that turned into 10 when Steve Manns, who had slept in, finally turned up.
It’s hard to believe a score of 31 would win the day, but that gives the reader an idea of how tough the course is at the moment.
(With a Stableford, 36 points is par. It usually takes a score of 40 plus to win.)
Alec and Stewart Fraser both scored 31 points with Alec the winner after a countback.
Peter Lawrence, with 29 points came third.
Nearest the Pin prizes were only won on the 8th hole by Manns and on the 115th by Stewart Fraser.
Sunday was a four-ball aggregate game and four teams competed. The team of Alec Fraser and Jay Egan cleaned up by a country mile, with a score of 69, beating Sam and Paul Kershaw with 60. Third was Peter Lawrence and Mark Fraser with 57.
The best individual score was 36 points by Jay Egan, followed by Garry Wilkin with 34 and with Alec Fraser 33.
Nearest the Pin prizes were won by Alec Fraser on the 3rd and 7th holes, Mark Fraser (8th) and Michael Bannister (15th).
The first round of the Captain’s Trophy competition will be played on Saturday and, as it is a Stroke event, there could be some huge scores. Sunday’s game is a much friendlier
four-ball multiplier.
Golfers are reminded the Nearest the Pin competition starts at the end of the month and players can now also nominate on the golfers’ notice board for the 2020 Bill Bartlett Match-play competition.—Out of Bounds
