Putt’s ‘n’ Pars from Grafton Golf Club 16/06

At long last we have seemed to have turned the corner with active golf returning, although with some restrictions.  No doubt Grafton Golf Club administration and golf organisers were more than pleased to see golfers back on the course. 

It all began last Tuesday, in which there were only a handful of players, with motorised carts not permitted however it was a start.  For the record Leon McPhee (12) led the small field home with 33 points from Stephen Castle (17) with 26.  Stephen also picked up the nearest the pin prize on the 1st.

However, on Thursday, things picked up a little with 47 hardy golfers taking on the challenging conditions.  Those difficult conditions were reflected in the scoring, but that did not concern those players, at last they were able to play golf.  With a score of 38 points, Craig Haase (15) captured the main prize from Shane Pitt (19) on 37.  Next in line was Neil Hayward (20) with 36.  The nearest the pin awards went to Jason Casserly (9) on the 1st, Dale McKeough (17) on the 6th, the 10th went to Kin Li (15) with Shane Essex (14) taking out the 17th.

Playing numbers continued to improve for the Saturday for the Grafton Motor Group 18 Hole Stableford competition with just under 100 starters taking on the challenging course conditions once again. Scoring was not all that great, but there was some improvement over the previous two competitions.  The winning overall score on Saturday was 40 points achieved by Bill Bishop (17).  Bill recorded 22 around the front 9 and backed that up with a further 18 on the back 9.  In ‘A’ grade two players recorded 38, Rohan Ford (2) and Tim Bartlett (5) with Rohan being awarded the win.  Tim added the nearest the pin prize on the 6th to his weekend trophy haul as a bonus.  A countback was also required to determine the winners of ‘B’ grade with David Wilks (14) eventually awarded the win from Allan Donaghey (14), both players recording 36.  Nigel deVoogd (17) left no doubt who won ‘C’ grade with an outstanding score of 39 four points clear of his nearest rival, William Dougherty (31) with 35 on a countback.  The Pro pin award on the 1st was won by Tim Gooley (10 ) with his gee shot finishing 68cm from the cup.  As recognised earlier, Tim Bartlett (5) was the best on the 6th, his tee shot just a mere 49cm away.  Frank Petty (15) found the 10th to his liking his tee shot finishing 203cm short.  Jim O’Donohue (7) claimed the 17th his tee shot 156cm from the pin.  Pro balls on the day went down to 31 on a countback.

There is a significant change to the Saturday’s scheduled competition.  The event will remain as the Legacy Day, but will also incorporate the June Monthly Mug, which of course will be played under the stroke format.  It will be a busy day as well as the mug and Legacy components on the day the competition will also include round two of the Winter Consistency Cup, with Clarence Valley Rural & Industrial Supplies are continuing their long association with this series.  On the following Saturday, the event will be the Grafton Glass 2 Man Ambrose.  Now would be an appropriate time to organise and nominate your teams for this competition as it will also serve as the qualifier for the NSW Keno 2-man Ambrose series.

Club Captain, David Morgan, would like to remind all motorised cart drivers that despite the continuing improvement in course conditions, it is important that cart directions be adhered to, which wil assist in the possibility of any damage to the course being reduced.

Ray Hopwood

0408 431 343