F-Troop Monday 31st May 2010

First and foremost I must congratulate all of the F-Troopers who turned up today in the pouring rain without knowing quite what task was going to be asked of them. F-Troopers Duncan Dyer, Martin Gallagher, Geoff Bridge, Peter Martin, George Foster & Bruce White did a fantastic job cleaning and painting the outdoor furniture & worked with great team spirit to complete the task at hand.

We were able to work under the cover of the clubhouse downstairs - however it was not the most comfortable of places on such a wet, cold and windy day so my sincere thanks to all who participated. We sanded, dusted, washed, removed chewing gum, spider webs together with spiders and all other foreign matter from all the furniture designated to be painted green & put the painting teams to work. Now try to tell me that it won't make a difference!

Morning tea went down well with freshly baked fruit pastries from Chef John and certainly helped to make the morning's work worthwhile. Thanks John!

At this stage we have only one coat of paint done with another to be done through the week where time permits. When that coat of paint is completed the outdoor furniture will look "as new" and is the first step completed to making the downstairs area a more presentable place.

Furniture from around the putting green & the 1st tee have also been done.

It is still raining as I write this & the course is certainly getting a drenching. However play was possible yesterday after all the rain on Saturday I would not write off play for tomorrow just yet. Check with the website and the Pro Shop regarding tomorrow's play.

Another excellent contribution from F-Troop today when it was too wet for us to get out on the course and do our normal clean up tasks.

YES! WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Golf - Sunday 30th May 2010

The weather behaved overnight and today giving us some sunshine and wind to dry things out a bit. The course was open for play today which was great news. Looking at it yesterday it was hard to believe it could dry up enough to be playable. How things have improved!!!!

The Event of the day was changed to a Single Event for Men and Ladies due to the depleted number of players.

We had 58 starters with one visitor from PGA.


RESULTS:

MEN'S SINGLES RESULTS:

WINNER: Sam Bagala - 41 points

RUNNER UP: Steven Binns - 40 points on a countback

3RD: Mark Stimpson - 40 points on a countback

4TH: Graham Brown - 40 points


WOMEN'S SINGLES RESULTS:

WINNER: Rae Brown - 35 points

RUNNER: Robin Incoll - 33 points

3RD: Pauline Norman - 32 points


NEAREST THE PINS:

MEN'S 12TH: Craig Ward

LADIES 8TH: Not won


BALLS WENT TO:

MEN: 37 points neat

LADIES: 31 points neat


AMCR MEN: 70 (37 points)

AWCR LADIES: 73 (36 points)

I was not at golf today to collect highlights of the day or to take photos but I imagine that every one's highlight was being able to play today and not get wet.

Golf - Saturday 29th May 2010

The continuing deluge overnight & through the day caused the closure of the course so there was no play to report results on.

Thankfully the club had two functions booked for tonight- a 21st birthday and a 50th birthday celebrations which will give us some revenue for the day.

Hopefully the weather will clear without too much damage being done & we are fortunate the course becomes playable in a much shorter time than in previous years. Check the website or with the Pro Shop regarding play scheduled for tomorrow.

A note that F-Troop will be working on Monday regardless of the weather as we have some jobs to do that can be done under cover if the wet continues.

Golf - Friday 28th May 2010

The Event of the day was a Single Stableford for Men and Ladies.

We had 80 starters with 10 visitors from Everglades, Terrigal, Toukley, Tuggerah Lakes and Wyong.

RESULTS:

MEN'S SINGLES RESULTS:

WINNER: Chris Bundy - 45 points

RUNNER UP: John Craddock - 43 points

3RD: Robbie Whyte - 41 points on a countback

4TH: Alex Pitty - 41 points

5TH: Steve Oregan - 40 points on a countback


WOMEN'S SINGLES RESULTS:

WINNER: Debbie Smith (Everglades) - 35 points


NEAREST THE PINS:

MEN'S 12TH: G. Douglas

LADIES 8TH: Not won


BALLS WENT TO:

MEN: 36 points

LADIES: 29 points neat

AMCR MEN: 70 (37 points)

AWCR LADIES: 73 (36 points)

Golf - Thursday 27th May 2010

The wet weather has played havoc again with all our starters being discouraged from yesterday's downfall & the 30 mls of rain overnight. We did not have enough starters to have a competition game as the 2nd Round of the 4 Ball Knockout was being played in conjunction with the usual competition day. As the course was open the Knockout competition was obliged to go ahead & we had 32 players tied up with that.

The weather was kind to us this morning and it was very pleasant to be out on the course with the exception of the puddles that took all the run out of the course & the washed out bunkers if we were unlucky enough to be in them. Given all the water that has descended from the heavens this week the course is in great condition & the greens are particularly good condition.

It was very wet underfoot but not impossible to play. It is not that many years ago that this course would have been rendered unplayable for a week after such a lot of rain.

My playing partner in the 4 Ball Knockout was Faye Levenspiel & we had a very enjoyable day even as inexperienced matchplay golfers - we considered that we did pretty well. Our opposition players were Annette Dunk & Lorraine Linnert who were great company & competitors. We took them to the 19th hole which pleased us as we made them work for their victory. At the halfway mark we were 4 up so Lorraine had to bring out her big guns to make an impact on the score - which she did very efficiently by parring 10th, 11th, 12th and the 18th which we struggled to find an answer for.

RESULTS OF THE 2ND ROUND OF THE 4 BALL KNOCKOUT

Lyn Bates and Sheena Asken DEF Julie Hazzard and Kathy Small

Pam Bourne and Pam Cowin DEF Christine Drakeford and Dawn Tromp

Lorraine Linnert and Annette Dunk DEF Faye Levenspiel and Jan Martin

Robyn Johnston and Robin Incoll DEF Bev Adams and Christine Dekker

Linda Robers and Jan Fitzgerald DEF Helen Stuart & Elly Van Den Berg

Di Thomlinson and Kay Adams DEF Linda Rankin and Lea Southon

Norma Cubis and Lyn Cruickshanks DEF Lesley Gregory and Sue Hutton

Lynn Puiatti and Judy Verlander DEF Silvia Lee and Georgina Lamb

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE WINNERS AND GOOD LUCK NEXT WEEK FOR ROUND 3.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY as reported to me: Lorraine Linnert parred 10th, 11th, 12th and the 18th; Annette Dunk parred the 5th and the 14th; Faye Levenspiel sank a great putt for a par and to win the hole on the 8th and squared the 6th with another great putt; Lyn Bates nearlyhad a hole in one at the 8th; Sue Hutton birdied the 11th ; Lyn Puiatti had a good hole at the 14th; Chris Dekker had two gobblers at the 7th and the 17th; my highlights were my chip onto the 9th close to the hole and good putts to win the holes on the 13th and 17th.

The 12th Hole was an interesting finish for the combination of Norma, Lyn, Sue & Lesley. Both Lyn & Lesley hit great 2nd shots to finish close to the hole. Norma & Sue both put their shots to the back of the green & were about to pick up their balls & let Lyn & Lesley fight it out for the hole when they realised that both Lyn & Lesley had each hit the wrong ball which meant that Sue & Norma had to fight the hole out from the back of the green.

Lorraine Linnert nearly had me scrambling for the camera when she was hitting a bunker shot out of the first left hand bunker on the 3rd fairway. Lorraine had to stand outside the bunker to hit the shot & let fly with a huge airswing that nearly knocked her off her feet and into the large puddle of water in the bunker. Fortunately she regained her balance & hit the second attempt without incident so I was left without a photo opportunity.

Speaking of Lorraine Linnert... At the Canberra Week of Golf held in the first week of May this year in the two day stroke Event Lorraine came 3rd in the gross which was a great achievement as the Canberra Week is a prestigeous event with entries from all over the state. CONGRATULATIONS LORRAINE!

MORE CONGRATULATIONS to Ross & Christine Drakeford who became grandparents this week - Sebastian born 20th May 2010, 8lb 1oz, 18" long. CONGRATULATIONS ROSS & CHRISTINE! (photo attached). Sebastian is already sleeping right through the night.

Golf - Wednesday 26th May 2010

The only golfer happy with the weather today would have been me because the gardens are all getting a good soaking and I did not have to play golf. We did have some good scores come in from the men regardless of the rain but the starter numbers were down which we can directly blame on the weather. It has rained heavily for most of the afternoon and is still raining as this report is written.

The Event of the day was a Men's Single Stableford. There were insufficient starters to play the intended 2 Ball Team Event.

We had 76 starters with 4 visitors from Everglades, Glenmore and PGA.


RESULTS:

SINGLE STABLEFORD EVENT:

WINNER: Colin Bean - 42 points

RUNNER UP: Victor Hocking - 40 points on a countback

3RD: Graham Cunningham - 40 points on a countback

4TH: David Foster (Everglades) - 40 points on a countback

5TH: Michael Crehan - 40 points

SCRATCH WINNER: Johnathon Homer - 33 points on a countback


NEAREST THE PINS 8TH:

A GRADE: To be advised

B GRADE: To be advised

C GRADE: To be advised


BALLS WENT TO: 32 points neat


AMCR: 70 (37 points)

Golf - Tuesday 25th May 2010

The wet weather cancelled today's programmed medal round.

Please note the following changes to the forward events:

Tuesday 22nd June 2010 - 3rd Club & WGNSW Medal, NSWVWGA Championships, Mabel McKenzie Brooch.

Tuesday 29th June 2010 - 4th Club & WGNSW Medal. - (This day replaces a single stableford.)


These changes will be noted on the Events Blog which can be accessed by clicking on "my profile" at the top of this page, arrow to the bottom & select the Events Blog from the five listed blogs - once there - select to view the month of June 2010.

F-Troop - Monday 24th May 2010

We only had our "regular" regulars this morning to help out so we had to spread ourselves thinly to cope with the workload for today. There was a Ladies Pennants competition being played on the course so we had to keep clear of the busy fairways.

Today we had Duncan Dyer, Martin Gallagher, Geoff Bridge, George Foster, Warren Gray and Peter Martin so we split into two groups.

Duncan, Martin, Geoff & George took on tree removal duties outside of the practice area of the first fairway where there was nuisance trees and a dangerous tree to come down. These were proficiently cut & removed including all the excess rubbish removed to the dumping area.

Warren, Peter & I put on the gloves & rakes & cleaned up the fairways & rough ahead of the girls playing pennants. We started by cleaning up around the 1st tee and along the fairway & rough, continued on to the 2nd, picked up rubbish at the 3rd, raked & cleared at the 4th tee, picked up rubbish from the 6th tee, raked and cleared near the 12th green and the 13th tee, picked up rubbish from the 18th tee, trimmed the hedges and shrubs at the 2nd & raked along the left hand side of the 2nd fairway & fertilized the camellias along Camellia Way. It took us six loads to the dumping area to clear all the rubbish that we had collected off the course.

A fair days hard work was done by all.

Chef John had some ham & cheese croissants hot from the oven ready for us for morning tea which got a popular vote from us all. Thanks John!

This week marks the 3rd Anniversary of the completion of the "Ladies Garden" at the 13th tee.

3 years ago we won the "Best Commercial Garden" in the local garden competition with this garden when it was 3 months old. At the time that I was asked to complete this garden there was a lot of "doubting Thomas" with attitude who thought that this garden could not be achieved or would be a failure and were happy to be quite vocal about it. Other Members were very supportive and encouraging. I hope three years down the track I have been able to change how people view the gardens of this course & they may like to celebrate this moment with me. This garden also marks my first involvement with F-Troop now also three years old. I would like to acknowledge my fellow F-Troopers who have helped me constantly over the last three years & collectively we have achieved great things.

YES! WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Golf - Sunday 23rd May 2010

One of the biggest highlight of the day for the late players today is that we did not get wet at all. Earlier this morning the skies did not look good & the showers continued on and off for most of the morning - clearing just in time for us to hit off in the dry. Our playing partners today were to be Col & Kay Adams, but as Kay had a similar virus to what I had last week they opted not to chance the wet & cold which was understandable. Our playing partners gained from the list of bravehearts that waited around to see if the weather improved was Doug & Robin Incoll. We had a lovely day & the course was good to play even though it was a little wet underfoot in places. Those that did brave the showers did not seem to be disadvantaged as there were some good scores come in.

The Event of the day was a Single Stableford + Team Split Sixes.

We had 69 starters with 3 visitors from Mona Vale and Wyong.

RESULTS:

TEAM SPLIT SIXES RESULTS:

WINNERS: Fraser Bates, Lyn Bates, Josh Parr and Wayne Tomkinson - 93 points

MEN'S SINGLES RESULTS:

WINNER: Graeme Elliott - 41 points

RUNNER UP: Peter Laybutt - 40 points on a countback

3RD: Trevor Way - 40 points

4TH: Wayne Tomkinson - 39 points on a countback

WOMEN'S SINGLES RESULTS:

WINNER: Lyn Bates - 37 points on a countback

RUNNER UP: Lyn Cruickshanks - 37 points

3RD: Pam Witt - 36 points

NEAREST THE PINS:

MEN'S 12TH: Bert Brink

LADIES 8TH: Jan Martin (Hooray!)

BALLS WENT TO:

MEN: 36 points

LADIES: 32 points

AMCR MEN: 70 (37 points)

AWCR LADIES: 73 (36 points)

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY as reported to me: Doon Jansen had 21 points at the turn; Lauren Matterson had 3/4 on the 14th; Clyde Cruickshanks had three birdies on the 4th, 6th & 7th (welcome back Clyde - I have been missing your highlights); Lyn Cruickshanks had a birdie on the 15th; Ron Puiatti had a birdie on the 18th; Ray Presdee had a birdie on the 15th; George Foster had a birdie on the 14th; Lyn Puiatti had a 4 pointer; Vicki Foster's highlight was scoring 5/3 on the 9th to square the boys for the keno ticket; my highlight was getting nearest the pin on the 8th .......and yes! I got the putt for a birdie.

Golf - Saturday 22nd May 2010

The Event of the day was a Single Stableford + 2 Ball Irish Multiplier.

We had 189 starters with 3 visitors from Terrigal, Trundle and Tuggerah Lakes.


RESULTS;

IRISH MULTIPLIER RESULTS:

WINNERS: Ross Sharman & Andy Harris - 93 points

RUNNER UP: Steve Laing and Geoff Bridge - 89 points

3RD: Wayne Jennings and Andy Harris - 87 points

4TH: Des Wilson and Ian Jackson - 85 points



MEN'S SINGLES RESULTS:

WINNER: Garry Frost - 44 points

RUNNER UP: Ken Couchman - 43 points on a countback

3RD: Scott Salter - 43 points

4TH: Andy Harris - 42 points on a countback

5TH: David Scott - 42 points

SCRATCH WINNER: Gavin Godwin - 35 points


NEAREST THE PINS 12TH:

A GRADE: To be advised

B GRADE: To be advised

C GRADE: To be advised


BALLS WENT TO: 36 points neat

AMCR: 70 (37 points)

Golf - Friday 21st May 2010

We have had some more gardening action in the last couple of days with new Tanika grasses added at the 17th green, three new camellias planted along Camelia Way and the addition of some more Electric Pink Cordylines at the 6th. This garden has also been complimented by the planting of some Rhoeo (Tradescantia) plants which by description are one of the hardiest, drought tolerant plants available and will live where other plants will not survive. We could do with a few more in this garden if anyone feels the urge to make a donation.

The weather held for most of the day so our golfers did not get too wet.

The Event of the day was a Single Stableford for Men and Ladies.

We had 78 starters with 8 visitors from Emmaville, Everglades, Fairbairn, Magenta, Terrigal and Toukley.

RESULTS:

MEN'S SINGLES RESULTS:

WINNER: Joseph Keplinger - 42 points on a countback

RUNNER UP: Chris Bundy - 42 points

3RD: Daniel Mullins - 40 points on a countback

4TH: Rod Fell - 40 points

5TH: Johnathon Homer - 39 points on a countback

WOMEN'S SINGLES RESULTS:

WINNER: Sheila Williams - 31 points on a countback

RUNNER UP: Anne Cropley - 31 points

NEAREST THE PINS:

MEN'S 12TH: Roger Williams

LADIES 8TH: Not won

BALLS WENT TO:

MEN: 35 points on a countback

LADIES: 31 points neat

AMCR MEN: 70 (37 points)

AWCR LADIES: 73 (36 points)

Golf - Thursday 20th May 2010

The Event of the day was a Ladies Single Stroke and we had 37 starters with no visitors.


RESULTS:

WINNER: Lyn Bates - 64 nett

RUNNER UP: Robyn Johnston - 68 nett

3RD: Anne Burgess - 69 nett

4TH: Maggie Minjoy - 73 nett

5TH: Lesley Gregory - 74 nett on a countback

6TH: Fay Bailey - 74 nett on a countback

BALL COMPETITION:

Val Anderson - 74 nett

Michelle Kennett - 75 nett on a countback

Lyn Cruickshanks - 75 nett on a countback


NEAREST THE PIN - 14TH HOLE:

0 TO 30: Lea Southon

31 TO 45 SECOND SHOT: Lynn Puiatti


BALLS WENT TO : 75 nett on a countback

AWCR LADIES: 73 (73 nett)

Golf - Wednesday 19th May 2010

Have you stopped to appreciate the Grevilleas (photos attached) coming into flower at the Native Garden on the 6th. These Grevilleas were donated by Graham & Anne Smith. Thanks Graham & Anne!

The golf event of the day was a Men's Single Stableford - 3 grades.

We had 150 starters with 2 visitors from Everglades and Tuggerah Lakes.

Threatening weather put off a lot of our golfers but it ended up being quite a nice day for golf.

RESULTS:

A GRADE:

WINNER: Tom Ballard - 41 points on a countback

RUNNER UP: Jeff Nash - 41 points

3RD: David Flanigan - 40 points on a countback

4TH: Ron Puiatti - 40 points

5TH: Jim Williams - 38 points

SCRATCH WINNER: Tom Ballard - 37 points

B GRADE:

WINNER: Laurie Godfrey - 39 points on a countback

RUNNER UP: Craig Stevens - 39 points

3RD: Ken Ongley - 37 points on a countback

4TH: Victor Hocking - 37 points

5TH: Jeff Rogers - 36 points on a countback

SCRATCH WINNER: Craig Stevens - 25 points

C GRADE:

WINNER: Grahame Muller - 43 points

RUNNER UP: Jim Fahey - 40 points on a countback

3RD: Trevor Way - 40 points

4TH: Ken Couchman - 39 points

5TH: Peter McPherson - 37 points

SCRATCH WINNER: Trevor Way - 19 points

NEAREST THE PINS 8TH HOLE:

A GRADE: Clyde Cruickshanks

B GRADE: Jeff Rogers

C GRADE: Clyde Wyborn

EAGLES NEST 12TH HOLE:

DUAL WINNERS: G. Pollock - 28 cms and J. Strong - 28cms. 3 Balls each.

BALLS WENT TO: 34 points neat

AMCR: 70 (37 points)

Highlight of my day today was my Grandson Joel's first birthday - see photo attached of Joel on his "Smart Trike" - birthday gift from doting grandparents.