Club Championship Update

Round 1:  A very tough opening day for most players.  Only five men from a field of 220 were able to break their handicap, with two 69's and three 70's the only scores in Nett better than Par.  No women of 29 players broke their Nett handicap, with only two achieving Par status.  Afternoon players clearly had the worst of conditions with the breeze of the morning developing into a strong wind by the afternoon.  Fast greens and difficult pin placements made for tough putting - although we expect this in a course set up for both the Men's and Women's Camden Cups.

Leading the way in scratch were the players mentioned below in the Camden Cup report.  In A Grade Men's Nett, Michael O'Toole leads by the smallest of margins, while in B Grade Men, Daniel Grzelak and Graham Miles lead the way.  Bradley Keys leads by one stroke from five chasers in C Grade Nett.

In A Grade Women, Mindy Ross has a strong four shot lead in the Nett.  In the Women's B Grade, Susan Miller leads comfortably, while in C Grade Margaret Poulton leads after the first round.

Round 2:  A much better weather day for all players with scores reflecting this.   Five women equaled or bettered Nett par, while in the the Men's event, 15 players managed a score of Par or better, with a Nett 67 the score of the day from our past President and chipping and putting guru David Yong.

All scores can be viewed on the Club's website: Home, Golf Club, Competition Results, Major Events, Club Championships.  Scores in both Nett and Scratch for all grades show the current standings.

In the Women's:  A Grade Scratch - Kendell hunt holds a commanding lead of 13 strokes moving into Round 3.  In B Grade, Susan Miller is leading by five, while in C Grade it is a little tighter with Maureen Brown's lead standing at three.

In the Men's:  A Grade scratch is very tight, with five players within two strokes - Michael Bell and Michael O'Toole currently with a slender one stroke lead.  In B Grade, Daniel Grzelak holds a strong lead, while in C Grade David Yong holds a slender lead from numerous chasers.

Camden Cup

Men's Event:  
For those who were at the Club later (around 6pm), a rare opportunity to witness a dramatic playoff for the Cup this year was their reward.  Robbie Minns and Michael O'Toole had earlier in the day finished on a score of two over Par 73 - well in advance of the third place getter Lincon McLaren on 77.  With a large crowd watching from the outdoor comfort overlooking the 9th green, the two players played the 9th hole twice before a winner was achieved.  After halving the first hole in 4's, both players hit the green on their second attempt with Robbie having a much more accessible putt for birdie.  Unfortunately from distance, Michael three putted for a four, while Robbie tapped in for Par and a victory.  Congratulations to both players on a very difficult scoring day.

Women's Event:

Kendell Hunt continued her dominance in big events, with a solid five stroke victory in the Cup.  Her 85 was enough to take the victory, with Candice Bell runner up with a score of 90 in a close finish for the placings, with Rebecca Wright and Mindy Ross not far behind.  We would like to thank Stuart Meani for his fantastic sponsorship of this event, with  very significant prizes in both the men's and women's events.

Senior Order of Merit:

This event is held each year and like the Camden Cup, invites some of the best senior players from across Sydney.  With COVID restrictions it was cancelled earlier this year and was played in conjunction with Round 1 of the Championships.  There were three winner for the day in age groups from 50-54, (Darren Cummins 80); 55-64, (Greg Matheson 78); and 65+, (Graham Miles 84).  Full results can be viewed on our website.

Many thanks to long term member Bob Zelesco who has sponsored and organised this event for 10 years.  Great job Bobby!

Melbourne Cup Day

Unfortunately due to COVID restrictions and some complications with our extensions and the space available, there will not be a Golf Melbourne Cup event this year.  If you wish to pay a social round prior to the cup, contact Stu to make a booking.  There will be a Melbourne Cup function but no golf.

US Masters

Our traditional Masters final round event will at this stage be held subject to any further COVID changes.  So keep Monday morning, 16th November free.  

More information to come.  (We usually have breakfast while watching the final stages of the event, cheering for the Aussie contingent, follow by a golf game).

Rules of Golf

• Improving Your Lie:  We have touched on this issue in previous editions of Golf News, but we continue to have complaints by members.  Irrespective of if members are playing in the Monday, Tuesday Vets, Wednesday, Thursday or Saturday competition, when we are playing the ball as it lies, players must not move their ball to gain a better lie - calling it as it is, this is cheating.  Please don't put your marker or others in your group in a position of having to call you out.

• Marking Your Ball on the Green:  The purpose of marking the ball is to potentially clean the ball or remove it from potentially being hit by another ball.  It is not to move your ball to a slightly better location.  The ball must be placed exactly where it was prior to marking.
  

Thanks to our Greens Staff

It has been an incredibly busy time for our staff on the course.  Preparing for championship play during the growing season with the course busier than it has ever been is a challenge for Justin and his team.  Please be patient when they are working on the course - due to the huge fields on almost ever day, preparation time is impacted significantly.

• Some members will be pleased that some trimming of branches has been completed on the right hand edge of the 10th fairway, making your approach shot just that little bit more comfortable.

• New cart paths are being constructed on the 8/12 tee box widening program and the 8th green exit to the 9th tee.

• Another reminder about filling in divots - it is so essential at all times of the year, but particularly now.  Please carry and use a bucket, including those carrying their clubs.  It would be nice to see members refilling buckets on every hole.

Super Seniors Pennants Report - 12th October

After a four all draw against Wallacia, we travelled to Wallacia Golf Club to play against the Richmond team hoping for a better finish.

Presently Wallacia Golf Club is in a difficult situation yet the course was in quite good condition.  The Wallacia members looked after the teams in providing 'lookouts' throughout the course and provided for our needs at halftime.  Well done to the Wallacia people.

Again, Noel Beattie took us out first with his partner Steve O'Donnell.  They were then followed by Wayne Shaw and Danny Senko, Peter Bonfield and Joe Smuk and following up the rear was the combination of Nev Hoskin and Bob Zelesco.

At the halfway point we had four players in front and a couple of players level.  This gave me confidence that we may win with some advantage.

This gave Camden seven games won to one game loss, a very solid team effort.

Well done guys!

Super Seniors Pennants Report - 20th October

This week our Super Seniors Team travelled to Richmond Golf Club to play against the Springwood team and were hoping for a good finish.

Campbelltown and Wallacia hit off in the first section and the other two Golf Clubs i.e. Springwood and Camden followed up.

Once again at the halfway point we had some four players in front and a couple of players level or behind. However, Springwood seemed to get going and started closing the gap.

Thus, the last two players came down to the wire, Neville Hoskin losing on the 17th hole 2 & 1 and Bob Zelesco had some trouble with his 2nd and 3rd shots thus losing the hole but coming out with a draw.  Overall Camden finished with a draw.

Next week we're off to Springwood to play against Campbelltown.

Other Results

We have a few members representing our Club at the NSW Mid Amateur Championships this week.  Michael Bell, Bill Bell, Leonardo Garcia and Candice Bell travelled to Forster - Tuncurry for the three day event, where some of the best amateur golfers in NSW over the age of 30 were in attendance.  Michael finished in a tie for 13th in a strong field.  Antill Park local Keith Shepherd had an excellent tournament finishing runner up - and if the scoreboard was correct, he had an albatross in the final round - 2 on a Par 5.

Board of Directors/AGM

The Club held its 71st Annual General meeting on Monday 19th October.  Returning Officer Richard Cornhill announced that as a result of the Board Election process Ben Watkins and Troy Erickson have been re-elected as members of the Board of Directors. Congratulations Ben and Troy and a special thanks to all candidates who nominated for the Board.

Club President Stephen Humphreys advised members that he would be stepping down from his role as President of the Club, a position Stephen has held for the past 20 years.  Vice President Andrew Moyle was elected President and Stephen will remain on the Board as a Director and will offer his assistance to Andrew as he settles into his new role.  We would like to thank Stephen for his leadership, hard work and dedication to the Club over the past 20 years as President and welcome and support Andrew as our new President.

Director David Kidd did not re-stand and has retired as a Director of the Club.  We thank David for his continued support and assistance to the game of golf and the Club over the years.

Camden Golf Club Board of Directors:

• Andrew Moyle - President

• James Blaker - Vice President

• Gary Hunt - Captain

• Ben Watkins - Vice Captain

• Colleen Versluis - Treasurer

• Stephen Humphreys - Director

• Brett Moyes - Director

• Troy Erickson - Director

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