Round 6 vs Nowra at Nowra Golf Club
What do the whispering Poplars whisper?
For those of our members who have never played the picturesque Nowra course one of the features is the elegant whispering Poplars that line many of the fairways. Standing beneath their spread, with the occasional golf ball entrapped within their narrow branches, one wonders, what is it that they whisper?
After the enforced rest week due to the rain last weekend, and the consequent, unfortunate elimination of our gallant B Pennant team, the expectations of the club fell directly on the C pennant team. Leading the division by 0.5 of a match the pressure was well and truly. Nothing short of a 7-0 victory would ensure victory in the division. What made it even more difficult was that we were playing the home team on a rain-affected 9-hole composite course. As I have previously stated, it is a great advantage to play at home, and so it proved to be with our team recording a sad loss, 4-3.
Excellent wins were recorded by Tony McRae, 2/1; Steve Oppert, 1 up; and Tom Zimmerman 5/3. Those less fortunate were Warren Joannou, Wayne Griffiths, Chris Leckey and Chris Goodwin.
Tony again made his famous back nine charge to win a great victory, Steve winning the last hole to withstand his strong Nowra opponent and Tom again playing very solidly to record an easy victory.
Chris G and Wayne both tasted the bitter pill of defeat for the first time, 6/5 and 6/4 respectively, finding their opponent’s local knowledge too much to overcome.
Warren tried very hard and several times played some brilliant golf to surge back into contention in his match. Unfortunately his opponent refused to buckle under the pressure and saw Warren off on the 16th hole.
Chris L trailed early, and was 3 down at the turn. Despite the captain putting extreme pressure on him, saying that his was the key game, and he had to win, Chris responded exceptionally to win 3 holes in a row. The momentum had changed. Unfortunately his opponent took advantage of some lucky breaks, changing the momentum back his way, and closed out the match 2/1.
And I know what those Poplars whisper. They whisper, “I’m not giving your ball back!”, but more importantly they shout, “I hope to see you back again, well played mate, better luck next year”.
Until that time arrives, yours in golf,
Dave Ransom (Captain)
B Pennants and White Horse Cup
The rain prematurely ended what was a very good year for the B Pennant squad. A final round washout meant they finished just one point behind the section leaders.
The White Horse Cup team have had a washout and a bye in the past two weeks but if conditions allow will be back in action this weekend against Wollongong at The Links Shell Cove. Their final match is the following week against Kiama at Kiama.
If only the IDGA held the pennant comp. in as high esteem as the players.How we played Nowra on a bog hole and not Kiama the week previous is beyond me.Byes in the middle of the draw that could have best been used to play washed out rounds, and pennants decided without a ball being struck suggests to me that pennants golf is not being given the priority & respect demanded.thanks to my team mates for another great season regardless of the outcome .
I agree with Warren completely, it is the attitude of the players that make C Pennant special. Our team typifies this by taking every match seriously and each player always tries to do their best as a representative of our club. The other clubs also exhibit this attitude. This is why I am always prepared to captain the C Pennant team. The mateship and camaraderie make it a special time for me, and what’s more, I would not be involved unless a serious attitude was shown by our team.
Yes, it was hard to understand how the round at Kiama was washed out, especially as they played their comp there that day! Surely each venue should determine the playability of its course, rather than making a blanket decision. The IDGA seemed to do this the next weekend despite worse weather in the lead up to the round.
Perhaps the new president and captain of the IDGA are still a little wet behind the ears. Old heads, such as Lance, I am sure will set them straight in future.
Dave Ransom
Congratulations Gents on a your achievments this year, you should all be proud and hold your heads high on representing our club and playing the game in the manner it should be. Competitive, and also with pride and respect for the club you represent.
Hoping for better weather conditions next year……..Don’t worry gents I can Smell a Flag soon.
P.S. Warren, Maybe you should have had a pair of Rooster Coloured Golf Shoes.
Regards:
Ron Hewson