CAPTAIN'S BLOG - NEWS

​​“A” Grade.
Alex Mulholland and Sam Mulholland hit off at 8.30am on the marathon 36 hole match play for the Bowral Golf Club Championship ably refereed by Kevin Burke. John Mulholland was Sam’s caddy, with Brian Hanrahan stepping up to assist Alex. The match got off to a good start with both laying up on the first with seven irons to give them a full shot to the green. Both reached it, however, it took them a further 3 shots to square the hole. The fight was on. Being brothers adds to the excitement of the event. The innuendoes, familiarity, mutual respect and brotherly love was evident through-out the day. Both congratulated each other on successes and were vaguely sympathetic, on the not so good shots. We were entertained with some superb golf by both, with shots rarely seen from professionals. Alex got to a 4 shot lead after the first 18 and Sam was in trouble. However with a sandwich and drink under their belt, they headed off at 12.30 for the remainder of the match. Sam ground his way back, reducing the deficit to 1 on the 7th. Alex did an unbelievable shot from the scrub on the left of the 8th where his ball was in 3 metres of bush. Instead of going back 200 metres to replay the shot and cop a penalty, Alex took his stand in the middle of a Blackberry bush, holding his grip half way down the shaft of his iron and chipped the ball through a less than 6 inch gap between about 8 small trees to land on the green. With a win on the 9th Alex was 3 up at the turn. However, Sam wasn’t finished yet. He won the 10th, 12thand 14th with magical shots the square the match. Alex won back the 16th. An over cooked draw on the 17th,which went out of bounds, was Sam’s undoing and gave Alex the win 2 up. You could see the pride on John’s face for both boy’s. A fabulous match from two very competent and exciting golfers. What an asset the club has in these two fine men. They should be applauded.
 
 
“B” Grade by Roger Williams Referee.
Jim Phillips and Alec Dietsch drove off at 12.43 in ideal weather - overcast, light wind and mild conditions - with Jim winning the toss and taking the honour. The match proved to be a very close contest from start to finish. Both players were variously one up or down except for a brief spell of a two hole advantage. Alec's drive on the fifth required and received a beautifully executed second over the gums on the right to a perfect position to approach the green, Jim's drive on the eighth went OB right and Alec's on the next hole somehow found its way through the left hand trees into a playable recovery location. The front nine was completed all square. The sand trap gave Alec a bit of bother on the eleventh, Jim uncharacteristically fluffed a short putt on the next hole and the thirteenth was halved despite Alec pulling his drive way left and over the ditch - saved by Jim's second to the green being blocked by the trees. A watery sun showed Jim in the right bunker on the fourteenth; Alec's par beating his four. By the next hole the wind was picking up and the temperature dropping noticeably. By the seventeenth hole Alec was one up: it looked as if Jim, who was just off the back of the green in two, would go all square but both took five to drive the final hole into a fresh wind with Alec hanging on to his one hole advantage. Both players made their third shots to similar positions just off to the right of the eighteenth green and the match ended with a half, leaving Alec the winner with his one hole lead intact. The game was completed without any real dramas and in a friendly atmosphere: what more could one want? Congratulations to Alec and commiserations for Jim - it could have gone either way almost down to the wire.
 
“C” Grade
Following up the other two grades were Peter Girven and Warren Ryan eager to do battle for the “C” Grade final. Both were on their game getting away to a good start with wins to each on the 1st and 2nd. Warren then put the foot down winning the 3rd, 4th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th. At this stage, 6 up, Peter unfortunately ran out of holes on the 13th with Warren a deserved victor at 6 up with 5 to go. Peter was magnanimous in defeat and vowed to be back next year.
 

As you will be aware, the Club Championships are in the final stages of match play to determine who will be our male club champion this year. On Sunday, in the “A” Grade Championship, Sam Mulholland beat Doug Elliot, our new 4thGrounds Keeper, on the 36th hole to proceed to the final on the 22nd November. What a match. To be all square after 35 holes or 7 hours of golf is a great achievement and both players deserve to hold their heads high. Sam now moves on to play the winner of John Mulholland and Alex Mulholland, which will be contested on Wednesday. Now that’s keeping it in the family. The “B” Championship will be contested between Alec Dietsch and Jim Phillips and the “C” Grade between Peter Girven and Warren Ryan. We wish them all good luck.

​What a great day. 70 starters for golf, 100 for lunch and everyone looking their best. Many thanks must go to the ladies committee ably led by Carole Turpie, Barbara Clayton and Leah Boyd for the way in which the event was organised. The tables were decorated to perfection reflecting the moment and Chris Hill did a great job in providing the dressing for the tees. The ever enthusiastic David Boyd held the Calcutta and raised $1,575 which was returned in prizes and Anton Sanger and Terry Downing were proficient in running the sweeps. All the staff dressed to the occasion and Rob our chef, served a first class cup luncheon. The golf winners on the day were Blandina and Geof Meere and Jan Ferguson and Peter Dunn, with a net score of 97. This is 17 under their handicap. What a great effort. Everybody agreed, it was a most enjoyable day.