A total of 76 adults and 4 children, including up to 59 golfers, attended the 2021 Clare weekend. The weather was near perfect for most of the weekend.  A wild storm swept through on Saturday afternoon – we were lucky to be back at the hotel by then so missed that.  It was good to see some new sponsors and new members attend.  This was our third outing to Clare for our end of year tournament – it will be our 40^th year next year. 

Both the Clare Golf Club and the Clare Country Club were great hosts with plenty of food and drink available for everyone. The relatively hilly course is picturesque and quite challenging, however a fun time was had by all. The greens were generally in very good condition and improved over the weekend.

Our SAOGA sponsors provided teams in the Friday Ambrose competition with a total of 15 teams entered – probably our best-ever turn-out. It was a great day with good feedback from our generous sponsors. Well done to Tony Carter, Frank Sampson, Kevin Turnbull and Sandy Turnbull for winning the Presidents Cup and to Travis Reardon and the Prochem team for winning the Sponsor’s Cup (second year in a row).

There were many Covid-related challenges this year with some uncertainty regarding our budget and sponsorship. Great work by the Committee in bringing it together.  Also for the catering efforts by the Clare Country Club on Friday and Saturday evenings as well as to Steve for providing the excellent Pizza lunch after golf on Saturday. 

Thanks to Bruce Clark and Andrew Hudson for hosting an excellent BBQ on Sunday night.

Here is a summary of the results:

In addition to all of the above trophy winners, 64 prize vouchers were won by 52 different players for various Nearest the Pin, Long Drive and Novelty Hole prowess displayed during the Friday, Saturday and Sunday games. The Novelty Hole competitions during the Ambrose game on Friday, comprising a “Straight Drive”, a “Target Drive” and a “Long Drive with a Practice Ball”, were again added for a bit of extra fun on this light-hearted day.

Again, many thanks to our generous sponsors who make the weekend possible. Also, thank you to all who donated (and re-submitted) prizes for the raffle on Saturday night.

Mark Duerden, SAOGA President

A stunning blue-sky day greeted (and stayed with) us, with a light wind to add a little challenge every now and then and quite a bit of dew on the greens slowing our putts. But obviously the course was more challenging than it looked, with only 6 players (out of 21 starters) managing to score in the 30’s. Members were very lucky to enjoy a beautiful day on this picturesque course on the edge of the hills.

The bistro and bar in the clubhouse served us well, with tasty food on offer and friendly service.

Results:

First = Liz Wedge with 36 points

2nd = Benn Cox with 35 points

3rd = Wolf Engel with 33 points

The next 6 place-getters also received a ball each.

There were also 3 of the SAOGA Winter Matchplay games taking place, resulting in Stu Thomson beating Martin Henderson 3/2, James Lunnay coming from behind to beat Mark Duerden 3/2, and Darren Griffiths hanging on to win 2 Up against Stuart Carnell.

NTPs:

3rd 0-19HC: Alistair Macdonald 2.5m, 20+HC: Nobody

6th 0-19HC: Stu Thomson 3.0m, 20+ HC: Samuel Garrick 15.0m

10th 0-19HC: Benn Cox 2.5m, 20+HC: Nobody

14th 0-19HC: Dave Garrick 3.2m, 20+ HC: Stuart Carnell 1.0m

Next Round 26th September at South Lakes, Goolwa

Stu Thomson ?️⛳️

Considering the weather over the previous week, members were very lucky to enjoy an almost rain-free round on this picturesque layout.

Being a public golf course and the amount of people who play it, it was in pretty good shape. Car parking on the grass near the clubhouse was excellent, providing easy access and no worries of finding a ticket on the window when we returned to our cars!

A very nice spot for lunch with the views from the clubhouse, the menu provided a good choice, the food was great and staff were friendly.

Results:

First = Stuart Carnell with 37 points

2nd = Rob Mulder with 36 points

3rd = John Elliot with 35 points

The next 7 place-getters also received a ball each.

NTPs:

5th 0-19HC: Wolf Engel 5m, 20+HC: Nobody

6th 0-19HC: Nobody, 20+ HC: Brad Cunynghame 1m

12th 0-19HC: Marcus Kernahan 5m, 20+HC: Leon Mulder 6.3m

16th 0-19HC: John Mortimer 4.5m, 20+ HC: Nobody

Next Round 15th August at the Vines

John Mortimer ?️⛳️

It was a tough day out for 26 Members with no one playing to handicap and only 6 scores in the 30’s ! Either the course was too challenging or we mostly all played poorly in perfect weather? A couple of the Winter Matchplay games were also conducted, both finishing with close results.

Results:

First = Vera Mortimer with 34 points

2nd = Oska Wyness with 32 points

3rd = Jim Day with 31 points

The next 6 place-getters also received a ball each.

NTPs:

3rd 0-19HC: Oska Wyness 1m, 20+HC: Nobody

7th 0-19HC: Rob DeVries 5m, 20+ HC: Annette Pearce 19m (!!)

9th 0-19HC: Chris Skewes 0.3m, 20+HC: Nobody

13th 0-19HC: Darren Griffiths 1m, 20+ HC: Tony Harrison 4m

14th 0-19HC: Wolf Engel 1.4m, 20+ HC: Nobody

Winter Matchplay:

Mark Duerden beat Stuart Carnell 2/1

Al Macdonald beat Tony Harrison 1 up

See you at North Adelaide on the 18th of July

John Mortimer ?️⛳️

22 Members fronted up for SAOGA’s return to this lovely golf course nestled amongst some of Australia’s best Vineyards. A very enjoyable round of golf, the weather was great and the course is in pretty good shape, the greens were excellent.

Results:

Winner: Vera Mortimer with 42 points

2nd: Darren Griffiths with 36 points

3rd: Helen Janetzki with 35 points

NTPs:

3rd: Nobody

6th: 0-19HC: Andrew Reid 7.5m, 20+HC: Nobody

12th: 0-19HC: Stuart Thomson 9.4m, 20+HC: Nobody

15th: Nobody

17th: 0-19HC:Wolf Engel 3.5m; 20+HC: Carolyn Kernahan, 3.5m.

See you at Flagstaff Hill on 13th June.

John Mortimer ?️⛳️

Excellent conditions on the day , the weather was perfect and the Course was in great shape . The Clubhouse food was also very good and enjoyed by all.

Results:

Winner = Rob Mulder 40 pts,

2nd = Al MacDonald 38 pts (C/B),

3rd = Mark Harkins 38 pts

NTPs:

3rd 0-19HC Stuart Thomson 5.7m       20+HC Mark Duerden 5.6m

7th 0-19HC Darren Griffiths 4.3m       20+HC Liza Wedge (42) 5.0m

10th 0-19HC Nobody        20+HC James Skewes 8.0

14th 0-19HC Marcus Kernahan 2.3m 20+HC Nobody

Also congratulations to Lyndon Prior on completing his obligatory 3 rounds to achieve an official Golf Australia handicap.

Our next game is at the Barossa Valley Golf Club on 16th May ?️⛳️

Tough times at Tanunda for most of the 28 starters with only 11 recording a score of 30 or more. This course belies it’s Stroke vs Par Rating and with trees, rough and bunkers it’s a great test of Golf. The weather was excellent and all enjoyed the BBQ. 

Results:

1st Al MacDonald 36 pts, 2nd Jai Brown 33 pts, 3rd on C/B Frank Topolnjak 33 pts

NTPs (now 2 categories: NTP for handicappers up to 19 and separate NTP for handicappers 20 and over):

7th: Benn Cox & Bob Troubridge 

11th No one made it ?

13th Bruce Clark & Mark Duerden 

16th Darren Griffiths & ?

Match play Result: Benn Cox and Bruce Clark went down to the wire with Bruce prevailing on the the last hole to win a close one.

Our next event is at Victor Harbor on Sunday 18th April

John Mortimer ?️⛳️

33 Members teed off on this challenging Links Style course in perfect conditions.

New Member Kevin Turnbull took the prize on a countback from Wolf Engel.

All enjoyed the lunch, great food was provided. 6 new Members were introduced and welcomed into SAOGA (Cathy & Marty Goldsworthy, Helen Janetzki, Lyndon Prior, Marcus Kernahan and Kevin Turnbull) and 2 other new members who were unable to attend (Hamish Kennedy and Stephen Mortimer) were acknowledged.

The AGM was conducted, the major point being the re-election of all existing committee members (Mark Duerden as President, James Lunnay as Captain, Stuart Thomson as Secretary-Treasurer, and John Mortimer, Darren Griffiths, Oska Wyness, Benn Cox and Rob Mulder as General Committee Members). Stuart Thomson agreed to take on the Secretary’s role (in addition to his existing Treasurer’s role), given Mike Willis’ resignation from the club after his move to Queensland.

Results:

1st Kevin Turnbull (39 pts), 2nd on count-back Wolf Engel (39 pts), 3rd Bob Troubridge (35 pts).

NTPs: 5th Stu Thomson (6m), 9th Jai Brown (2.7m), 12th Kevin Turnbull (2.2m), 14th John Mortimer (3.5m).

Also, 2 of the Summer Match Play games were played, between Oska Wyness and Tony Harrison as well as between Oska Wyness and Jim Day – these were close battles throughout the game, with Tony and Jim ganging up on Oska at the end to each win their matches +2 and +1 (respectively) on the last hole !

See you on Sunday 21st March at Tanunda for our next round !

John Mortimer  ?️⛳️