Ian Keeps his Prize at Gailes

The first of three 6am starts sees 15 people arrive at Gailes for the matchplay semi-finals. In addition, it’s also the Ian van der Hoeven stroke trophy, so the rest of the field has something to do.

A-grade matchplay results went with the seedings, with Chris Young defeating Dennis Hogan 3 & 1, and Ian van der Hoeven defeating Tony Armbruster 2 & 1.

B-grade also followed the seedings, with Ray Bugg defeating Mick van Bemmel 5 & 4, and Blair George defeating Eric Brunovs 4 & 3.

The stroke competition, saw Ian van der Hoeven take out his own trophy with 73. Troy van der Haar gets runner-up on his home course with a 74. No-one broke par today, showing that Gailes is still a testing layout to get around.

Pin shots went to Blair George, Steve Gifkins, Steve Friedrichs and Troy van der Haar – it’s good to see them all going off! The longest drive was hotly contested, and went to Chris Haire, who joined us as our newest member.

Another 6am start is at Oxley in two weeks for the matchplay finals. See you there!

Spring arrives at Carbrook

The first game of Spring still contained a little Winter nip in the air at the start, but the fifteen folks who fronted Carbrook, were soon greeted with a pleasant Spring day that had a steady overcast taking the edge off the strengthening sunlight.

The course seemed to be in good condition, yet no-one returned a high score, with none beating their handicap. The winner was Ian Davidson, appearing for only the second time this year getting 36 points. Runner-up was reliable performer, Chris Young with 35. Winner Ian Davidson also took out the longest drive.

Our winner also knocked off my pin-shot attempt on the 7th, with the 11th going to Mike Brennan, and Dennis Hogan taking the 14th. With three pin shots awarded, that’s one of the best performances we’ve had at Carbrook for quite some time!

As promised last game, I’ve got the results for the annual putting competition. A grade went to Ian van der Hoeven, with 186 putts, while B grade was won by Mick van Bemmel with 185. Those two scores average about 31 putts per round, so that’s the level you need to compete.

The next game in two weeks at 6am at Gailes is the Matchplay semi-finals. I published the seedings a few weeks ago, but even if you’re not in the top four, you may get to play as a reserve if someone above you doesn’t show on the day. Others will be needed as match referees, so brush up on the rules for matchplay, since they vary slightly from conventional stroke play.