DESPITE the weather predictions being grim this week, both the Saturday and Tuesday events were played in pleasant, mainly sunny conditions. We were so lucky, especially when heavy rain fell from Saturday night until Monday, leaving the course quite soggy in places for the Tuesday event. The strong winds also brought down a lot of tree branches and debris, so the ladies had a hard time finding balls hidden in the leaf litter on the fairways. Scores were kept low as there was very little run on either fairways or greens. The long, wet rough lived up to its nickname of “the velcro” and many poor souls found it really hard to escape its clutches.
27 Saturday ladies teed off later than usual due to the Men’s Foursomes Championship event. For the provisional leaders, it was a long wait for the last players to come in, and of course it was one of the last home who swooped in for the win. Carolyn Affleck had a great day, finishing with 38 points and 2 clear of Kathy Griffiths. Carolyn described her game as solid, and was very happy with her putting. Angie Clipperton and Di Bott both had chip ins on the 8th and 12th holes respectively, and our visitors from Belmont finished well in the placings today. Well played, ladies!
Results: Saturday 26/4/25
Ladies 18 Hole Stableford
A Grade Winners: 1st Carolyn Affleck on 38 (best score of the day); 2nd Kathy Griffiths 36; 3rd Angela Clipperton 34 C/B
B Grade Winners: 1st Kathryn Dickison 34; 2nd Jo Scott 32; 3rd Cheryl Rose 31
Place Getters (34 C/B – 30 C/B): Susan Armstrong (Belmont GC), Michelle Vallender (Belmont GC), Julie Hammond, Cheryl Foster, Tanya Sinclair, Maxine Mitchell, Di Bowes
Tuesday’s event saw 40 ladies take part in the friendly rivalry of the Captain’s VS President’s Challenge. Players were randomly allocated a team, and their combined scores were calculated at the end of play. Thanks to Carolyn who took the honorary role of President for the day, though it was Captain Denise’s team which took the bragging rights on 525, 17 points clear of the opposition.
Results: Tuesday 29/4/25
Ladies 18 Hole Stableford
A Grade Winners: 1st Angela Clipperton on 36 (best score of the day); 2nd Liz Ross 32 C/B; 3rd Marcia Smith 32
B Grade Winners: 1st Deb Dummett 35; 2nd Tanya Sinclair 34; 3rd Di Bowes 33
C Grade Winners: 1st Jo Scott 31 C/B; 2nd Rhonda Dorman 31; 3rd Sue Brownrigg 30
Place Getters (32-27 C/B): Robyn Keegan, Denise Sainty, Sue Fordy, Di Bott, Elsa jones, Jube Biddle, Karen Serhan, Carol Maher, Fran Henderson, Jeanette Kemp, Helena Wilton
Throughout our April competitions there have been a number of our ladies who have found some good form, finishing well up in their grades. In A Grade, Angie Clipperton continues to excel, with Maxine Mitchell and Marcia Smith also playing consistently good golf. Deb Dummett, Tanya Sinclair and Di Bowes have been finishing in the winners’ lists in B Grade; while Rhonda Dorman and Jo Scott are moving up in C Grade. There’s sure to be some shots pruned off their handicaps!
Well played, ladies!
In the Lady Vets event this week, 7 ladies played the back 9. Everyone found the going tough in the wet areas, especially in the long rough, where the best club in your bag might have been a shovel to dig yourself out of trouble!
Results Tuesday 29/4/25
Lady Vets 9 Hole Event
1st Ann Browning 10 C/B; 2nd Pat Marr 10, 3rd Di Vercoe 6 C/B; 4th Kate Brown 6
Our Thursday Lady Vets 9 hole event was cancelled due to the poor weather conditions. More torrential rain overnight on Wednesday brought the week’s total to more than 214mm, so let’s hope we have some dry days soon to allow the grounds to recover.
By Dianne BOWES
