(for detailed results click on 'RESULTS')

The Hardy Return
Although without rain, Saturday’s conditions remained testing with very cold winds. After missing last week’s competition the members rallied with 113 taking part in the Par event. Solid scores were returned with the best by Allen Sheils, B Grade, +6; whilst a return of +1 was required to win a ball in the ball competition.

President’s team takes on the Captain’s team
Thursday’s women’s golf took on a different feel with a team event, match play format. Two teams of 16 were chosen to represent President, Anne Eccles, and Captain, Barbara Mahony. An additional twist was supplied with Anne and Barbara asking their followers to also represent their Scottish and Irish heritage. A great day of competitive golf followed with the Presidents team emerging victorious with 9 wins from the Captains teams 7 wins.

Photo: President, Anne Eccles, and Captain, Barbara Mahony, have a little fun at presentation of the Scottish verses Irish Day.

Course Rating
To comply with forthcoming changes due to Golf Australia adopting the International Slope System our course will be officially rated on Tuesday 27 July. Teams of officials with assess the playing difficulty of both the men’s and women’s course layouts with a new official men’s short course layout also adopted which could be used to introduce our new junior golfers to competition. Some playing restrictions will be required on the day and we thank the members for their cooperation.

News 08 July 2010

(for detailed results click on 'RESULTS')

District Winner
A small contingent of Port Fairy golfers travelled to Hamilton on Friday 25 July to take part in the Women’s Golf Western District Bronze Shield event. In the division 3 event Kaye Patterson of Port Fairy was victorious and won the coveted Pat Honan Trophy. Unfortunately Rosalie Bunge was one stroke off repeating Kaye’s success in her division 2 event, however was rewarded with a nearest the pin prize.

Photo: Kay Paterson winner of WGWD Pat Honan Trophy.

Monthly Medal, First round of Club and Riddell Cups
Saturdays Stroke event decided the Monthly Medal for July as well as serving as the qualifying round for two of the club’s competition cups. Solid performances were returned in all grades Bevin Williamson in A grade winning the medal with nett 66, whilst in both B and C grades nett 68 returned victories for Doug Thompson and Brad Hewett respectively.

NEWS for 17 June 2010

Annual June Open Tournament

The Annual June Open was played over the three days of the Queen's Birthday weekend with golfers coming from golf clubs across the state including Ballarat, Horsham, The Dunes, Kingswood, The National, Southern and Curlewis.
One hundred and thirty eight competitors competed in the Open stroke event on Saturday with Port Fairy members Tony Allen, Wayne Jenkins, Barry McCosh, Robert McCosh, Kim Freeman, Sandy Maconachie, Anne Dwyer and Anne Rendell taking out first place in all respective divisions.

With ever improving weather conditions fields of 64 and 40 players took to the links on Sunday and Monday respectively.
Again Port Fairy members were successful with the pairing of John Duncan and Colin Greene taking out the men's division of the Sunday four ball with a solid 49 points whilst the run was halted by Curlewis pair, Christine Barnett and Jenny Alderdice with 46 points in the women's division.

Monday's more relaxed format of Mixed Pinehurst was enjoyed by all competitors with John McIlroy pairing with Sundays winner, Christine Barnett, taking the honours.

Photo: Robbie McCosh presented (captain Pat Grant and v President Peter Smith) with trophy for best A grade Handicap

Photo: Jenny Alderdice and Christine Bennett from Curlewis winners of the 4BBB Stableford.

'Doris Chambers' Stableford
Thirty two players competed in the club qualifier for the state wide  'Doris Chambers' stableford event on Thursday 10 June.
Judy Stephens and Denise Harman took out first place and will represent the club during October at either Rosanna or Spring Valley golf Clubs.
Congratulations and good luck for the final!

Photo: Denise Harman and Judy Stephens

Activity at the Club was close to normal this week following the somewhat hectic schedule over the past few weeks where Club Championships and Pennant Finals provided plenty of interest. Congratulations again to the winning Pennant team and Club Champions Dylan O'Keefe and Anne Dwyer.

Winter affects scoring for Captain's Cup and Monthly Medal
A brisk cold front with fresh to strong and gusty winds and showers affected the field on Saturday.
The first real wintry weather experienced so far this year and scores on the day were consequently a little higher than we have been used to.
It has in fact been quite a while since a nett 76 was good enough to win a ball.
Stirling play then from those who were able to cope with a fine nett 70 from John Moore being the best score recorded and making him the winner of the Captain's Cup and Monthly Medal.
Garry Lindsay prevailed in B Grade and Peter Fisher won C Grade while the women's event was won by Joanna Flaherty for the second week in a row.

PHOTO: John Moore winner of the June Captain's Cup and Monthly Medal



















Women's Stableford
Judy Austin, Pam Brebner and Helen Rix were the Grade winners in the women's stableford event on Thursday with Helen's 44 points being the best round in that competition.



Pro Comp
Marcus Wilkinson won the Pro Comp on Wednesday with 45 points going one better than his second placing the Wednesday before.

Safety on course
Safety is always an issue when playing golf.
Well struck golf shots travel at high speed and are extremely dangerous.
A golfer was recently struck in the hand by a shot from one of his playing partners and received a nasty cut.
He was off to the side but slightly in front of the person playing the shot that skewed out to the side. A lot of shots don't go on the intended line and members are reminded of the dangers of  being even slightly in front of another golfer playing his shot.
"Safety first please"!.

Women's Anti Cancer Day
The women golfers have an important competition on Thursday the 17^th when they hold their annual Anti Cancer Day event.
They will no doubt raise a significant sum of money in support of this worthwhile cause as they do for several others.
Pink will naturally be the preferred clothing colour and hopefully sunny weather will encourage a large group of participants.

Discussion new course plan.
Yesterday, Bruce Grant, one of the main contributors to the latest improvement plan for the Golf Club, attended a meeting with the Club Committee to explain the detail and reasoning of the plan.

June Tournament
The annual June Tournament takes place this weekend and all members are encouraged to participate.

Club Championships Conclude
The 2010 Club Championships concluded with the third round on Saturday 29^th May followed by the final on Sunday 30^th.
The weather for the final exposed the eight competitors from each grade to testing conditions with 18 year old Dylan O'Keefe able to maintain his excellent form to produce a rarely seen par equalling total of 288 for the four rounds to claim the championship title.
Gary McCosh and Peter Nyikos were successful in B and C grades respectively whilst the 54 hole event for 55 to 65 years was taken out by Rex Grady and the 65 years plus by John Rahilly.

Photo: Dylan O'Keefe

Women's Club Championship
The final round of the women's championships was held in perfect weather on Thursday 20^th May.
This resulted in another win for A grade player, Anne Dwyer with a gross score of 324 the runner-up, Diana Robinson with 330.
Anne's win is her fourth consecutive championship and brings her tally to six from the last seven years.
B grade winner, Judy Austin with 377 and runner-up Carmel O'Keefe with 389
C grade winner, Elena Hammond with 409 and runner-up Rosalie Bunge with 427.

The 54 hole event played over the first three rounds of the championships resulted in a win in A grade for Diana Robinson nett 212.
B grade winner Judy Austin nett 215 and C grade winner Elena Hammond nett 214.

Photo: Lena Hammond (C Grade Scratch) Anne Dwyer (Women's Champion) and Judy Austin (B Grade Scratch)

New Course Record for Women
Port Fairy golfer, Diana Robinson, has achieved what most golfers can only dream of, that of breaking the course record.
Playing in the recent club championships, Diana came in with an almost perfect score of 74-12-62, breaking Debbie Rix's previous course record, held since 2003.
It was a red letter day for Diana as she also won the monthly medal, best gross score, least putts and a nearest the pin.

Photo: Diana Robinson

June Tournament
The Annual June Tournament is quickly approaching and members are reminded that entries are required by Saturday 5^th June to enable draws to be finalized.
This year the 4 Ball format returns as the Sunday event with a mixed Pinehurst scheduled for Monday. The popular Sunday breakfast is also scheduled again this year.

Club Championships
The fine golfing weather continued on Saturday and Dylan O'Keefe took full advantage shooting an excellent two under par 70 to take a four stroke lead in the Club Championship after two rounds.

In B Grade Garry McCosh leads by a shot from Ben Hay and in C Grade Clive Gavin is a stroke in front of Peter Nyikos.
Rex Grady leads the younger field of veterans on 162 while John Rahilly heads the older division on 159.
In the Women's Championship Di Robinson scored a superb 74 to narrow the gap to Anne Dwyer to one stroke with just one round to go.

The Club Championships will be the focus of events for the rest of this week with the Women's event being decided on Thursday and the men completing their event over Saturday and Sunday.
Hopefully the weather will remain kind and we will see closely contested matches in all grades.

Women's Pennant Finals
Port Fairy's women golfers completed an outstanding Pennant season on Sunday with three teams competing in the finals.
Unfortunately they all fell at the final hurdle, nevertheless, a Pennant finals spot is very difficult to achieve and all participants are to be congratulated on an excellent season.

Junior Golf
Stuart Appleby Junior golf was also in town this weekend and Port Fairy golfer Matthew Daly scored 48 Stableford points off a 23 handicap to win Division C.
Joanna Flaherty scored a 90 (17) 73 to finish 3rd in Division B. An excellent effort by both players.

Photo - Division C winner Matthew Daly is congratulated by Club Captain, Pat Grant

Social Club
The Social Club held the annual Donohue Shield event on Sunday where the youthful combination of Merle Rantall and Xavier McCartney posted a solid nett score of 69.25 to win the Shield.
Anne and Andrew Dwyer were victors in the Scratch event with a score 81.

 Veterans Golf
In a very busy week at the Golf Club the Veterans staged their second event for the month and Bill Leddin was again victorious in A Grade while Ian Hamilton triumphed in B Grade.

Club Championships in full swing
The first round of the club championships were held in ideal conditions on Saturday 15 May.
Club President, John Rahilly, led the way with an exceptional 72 (7) 65 in A Grade from defending 2009 champion Nick Hoggan 75 (4) 71 and low marker Dylan O'Keefe 75 (2) 73.
In B Grade Ben Hay returned a 83 (17) 66 whilst Ken Fenwick leads C Grade with 91 (19) 72.

After two rounds of the women's championship, defending champion Anne Dwyer holds a four stroke lead over Diana Robinson.

Pennant season wraps up.
The finals of the Corangamite District Golf Association pennant season were held at Terang on Sunday 16 May.
Port Fairy competed in two of the division finals.
The Division 2 'Handicap' team of Paul Hickman, Glen Wilkinson, Neil Cahill, Paul Farley and Glen Mainsbridge tasted success with a 3 to 2 win over East Framlingham.
Unfortunately the division 3 'Scratch' team could not make it a double going down by the shortest of margins to Cobden.

Photo: Successful Division 2 Handicap Pennant Team

Meanwhile the teams to compete in the Women's Golf Western District pennant finals were decided in the last round of competition held on Monday 17 May.
Port Fairy teams have won their way into the final in three Divisions. Congratulations and good golfing to the teams from Division 1(Scratch), 2 and 4 who will represent the club in the final to be played at Camperdown next Monday 24 May.

Photo: Division four pennant team member Gen Baulch drives on the 16^th during the final round of pennant.

Photo: Division four pennant team member Barbara Mahony putts on the 16^th to win her match 3 and 2 during the final round of pennant.

Upcoming Events
Two events of interest in the coming weeks are the popular 'Donohue' social club day on Sunday 23 May and the annual open tournament on the Queens Birthday weekend in June.
Members are requested to express their interest in both these event early to help with planning.

Captains Cup and Monthly Medal days
The winter golf season is upon us with variable conditions the order of the day.
Saturdays Stableford competition, the last for a few weeks due to the upcoming Championships, resulted in wins to Robbie McCosh, Brian Solomon and Matthew Norton in their respective grades.
This result continued Brian's good form from the previous week where he was successful in his bi annual four ball challenge with course superintendant, John McIlroy.

Photo: John McIlroy and Terry Hadden receive the 'Pink Loser's' caps whilst James Smith and Brian Solomon enjoy the spoils of victory.

Upcoming Events
Two events of interest in the coming weeks are the popular 'Donohue' social club day on Sunday 23 May and the annual open tournament on the Queens Birthday weekend in June.
Members are requested to express their interest in both these event early to help with planning.

Club Championships
The first round of the men's club championships begin this Saturday 15 May.
Competitors should check with the Pro Shop for their tee times. Women's championships move into the second round today after a one week break for race week.

Captain's Cup and Monthly Medal days
The May Captain's Cup and Monthly Medal was held in windy conditions last Saturday with an excellent round recorded in C Grade by Matt Hatfield 93 (30) 63 winning the event.
Matt competed in the first group of the morning, which experienced the lightest conditions.
The monthly medal for women golfers, for April, was awarded to Edna Halliwell 97 (26) 71 last Thursday. 

Photo: Edna Halliwell, May Monthly Medal Winner

Ace
The latest 'Hole in One' was achieved by club committee man, Bruce Leishman, on Saturday at the 11^th hole.
The tough conditions only added to the achievement according to Bruce.

Photo: Bruce Leishman scored an Ace on Saturday.

Club Championships
Final entries for the men's Club Championship are due by tomorrow, Friday 6 May with round one scheduled for Saturday 15 May.
Please contact the Pro shop for tee times.

Pennant Finals
Congratulations to division 3 'Scratch' and division 2 'Handicap' men's pennant teams for making the finals to be played at Terang on Sunday May 16.
The division 2 team with play East Framlingham from the 10^th tee starting at 10.30am whilst the division 3 team will compete against Cobden starting on the 1^st tee at 11am.

'Belfast Classic'
The annual Belfast Classic event was conducted over Saturday and Sunday of the Anzac weekend.
A smaller number took part this year due to the altered timing however the golfing and competition between this group of seasoned members and their guests, together with the inevitable social activities that follow, resulted in memorable weekend.
Funds raised by this group are donated to the clubs junior program through the 'Alec Calvert Junior Development Fund'.
Over the past three years the fund has grown to some $5500 which will secure junior development within the club.
Many thanks to all involved.

Ongoing Course Works
In the desire to continually improve our course and to maximise our standing within the golfing community the hard working ground staff under the direction of Course Superintendant, John McIlroy, are undertaking some major works over the next few months.
Projects include the extension of the watering system through to the seventeenth fairway and the removal of trees around the practise fairway.
One major project which would have gone unnoticed by many golfers was the 'oversowing' of the 10^th and 12^th fairway with an alternative grass seed mixture.
This was conducted speedily by a group of contractors and we will need to be patient to see the full effects in spring.

Photo: Oversowing the 10^th and 12^th fairways with a new seed mix

Club Championships
Round one of the women's Club Championships are being held on Thursday 29th April whilst subsequent rounds will resume in two weeks time to avoid 'May Race Week'.
Final entries for the men's Club Championship are due by Saturday 7 May with round one scheduled for Saturday 15 May.

Red Cross Charity Day
Twenty eight teams from across the district came to support the annual charity day on Thursday 15 April.
Funds this year were again directed to 'Red Cross' with a total from entry fees, raffles and trading table exceeding $2000.

Photo: Winning Charity Day Team with local Red Cross representative Maureen Beattie (left)

Calm conditions conducive to impressive scoring
With calmer conditions prevailing Saturday's Stroke event resulted in a string of very impressive scores.
Of the 165 player tacking to the course more than 50 returned nett scores of 72 or better, with a nett of two under required to receive a ball in the ball competition.
One standout score was from Paul Farley, C grade, with a nett 63 whilst both Evan McLaren and Tony Allen scored 'Eagles' at the 13^th hole.

Club Championships
Members are reminded that championship time is quickly approaching with entries closing Thursday 22 April for women and Friday 7 May for the men.

New Handicapping System
Regular golfers would be aware that players handicaps were frozen after Easter for two days for Golf Australia to introduce the new golf handicap system.
The new system uses the best 10 of a players last 20 rounds and was introduced over the weekend. Many players were keen to sign on and find if they benefited from the recalculations.
Phil Du Guesclin tested the system to its limits by recording the round of his life with 49 points on Wednesday whilst the system was off air.
The new calculations initially sent Phil's handicap out by half a stroke whilst his performance on Wednesday returned it back by one and a half.
You sure picked the right week Phil!

School Holidays
A number of younger golfers have made the most of the past weeks during school holidays and although Victorian schools are back, visitors from South Australia continue to introduce younger people to the joys of golf.
A large contingent from South Australia's Mount Osmond Golf Club based themselves in Port Fairy during the week and enjoyed the course and hospitality of the club.

Photo: A visiting party from Mount Osmond Golf Club. SA

Club Championships
Members are reminded that championship time is quickly approaching with entries closing Thursday 22 April for women and Friday 7 May for the men.

L'Oreal Day
Women's golf on Thursday 01 April was the annual 'L'Oreal Day' Stableford event.
The shot gun start format ensured golfers returned to the club house together for afternoon tea and presentations.
Gail Sedgley from 'McLeans Pharmacy' presented the winners from each grade with gift packs as trophies for the days play.

Photo: Gail Sedgley from McLean's Pharmacy presents Judy Stephens, Vi Fenwich and Isabelle Pitman with trophies as winners of the 'L'Oreal Day' competition

Busy Easter.
Visitor sto the Port Fairy Golf Links this Easter holiday period exceeded expectations yet again with the popularity of the course bringing golfers from across South Eastern Australia to enjoy Port Fairy.
These visitor numbers were complemented with our own Social Club on its regular Easter Monday time slot with a secret draw Stableford whilst both Men's and Women's Pennant competitions are in recess  over the break.

Another Day ; Another Course
Two 'Kiwi' golfers, Michael Goldstein and Jamie Patton, have taken on the challenge of playing a different golf course ever day of the year throughout 2010.
That's 365 courses in 365 days throughout New Zealand, Australia, the USA, Europe and Asia.

Michael and Jamie spend day 87 playing with club president, John Rahilly, and club manager, Trevor Brown, last Sunday at Port Fairy.
The golfers efforts are helping the New Zealand Children's charity 'First Tee' and their exploits can be followed on http://www.puregolf2010.com/ .
Members are encouraged to take a look at their web page where Jamie has placed a comprehensive review of their day and their opinion of our course.
It reinforces the belief that our visitors hold us in high regard and it was interesting to note that many advisors recommended that Port Fairy be visited in such an epic journey.

Photo: 'Kiwis' Michael Goldstein and Jamie Patton

March Monthly Medal
The first of the years monthly medals was decided for the Women's golf on Thursday 25 March.
The first winner, Di Grieves in B Grade, has set a very high standard with an outstanding nett 61.

Photo: March Medal winner Di Grieves

Women's Pennant Begins.
Monday 29 March was the first round for Division 1 and Division 4 in the WGWD competition.
Both Port Fairy teams were successful in their respective matches and have started the year well.

Meanwhile in the men's pennant competition Round 2 returned another week of mixed results with three wins and three defeats.

Police and Community Day
Another successful 'Police and Community Day' was conducted on Monday 22 March. Over 100 players enjoyed the Ambrose Competition, BBQ, evening meal, raffles and charity auction made possible by the tireless work from our local police force. The community spirit is enhanced by contributions each year from the Red Cross, Rotary, Lions, SES and for the first time this year the boys from 'The Men's Shed.' This years beneficiary was the Men's Shed who were presented with a cheque in excess of $8000 for the purchase of safety gear and dust extraction equipment.

Jean Whitehead Bowl
114 golfers from across the southwest competed for the 'Jean Whitehead Bowl' on Tuesday 16 March. This even is a highlight of the local golfing calendar and it was exciting for all involved for the Bowl to be won by the Port Fairy team of Beryl Duncan, Mary Anscombe and Dawn Barker with a nett score of 207. In a tightly contested event the result was decided by a single stroke from the second placed Warrnambool team.

Photo: Beryl Duncan, Dawn Barker, Mary Anscombe winners of 2010 Jean Whitehead Bowl.

Pennant Begins.
Sunday 21 March was the first round of the 2010 pennant season. Division 1 (Handicap) team was successful at home with a 4/1 victory whilst results from other divisions were spread across the board.

Women Golfers are reminded that their season begins on Monday 28 March.

Solid Scoring
Although a smaller field due to some members having 'Folkie' commitments, Saturday's results saw some solid scores returned in good weather conditions.
Excellent, sub par nett scores were returned by a number of golfers including nett 64 from Paul Williams in A Grade, nett 66 from John Waterston in B Grade and nett 68 from Peter Holcombe in C Grade.

Busy times ahead.
The golfing season increases its space over the coming weeks with club pennant starting on 21 March for the male competitors and 29 March for women.
Tuesday 16 March sees the club host visiting teams for the "Jean Whitehead Bowl" whilst the annual charity Police and Community day is held on Monday 22 March.
Social Club and the Vets slip into the program for Sunday 14 March and Monday 15 respectively.

Congratulations
Congratulations are extended to Dylan O'Keefe who's hard work on reducing his handicap to below 2 enabled him to qualify for the 'Riversdale Cup' last weekend.
This is a great achievement as the event is the major amateur event leading up to state and national amateur championships.

Photo:  Dylan O'Keefe

Also congratulations to the Rasmussen family for their success in the lottery stakes due to their win of an all expenses paid golfing trip to Tasmania courtesy of Wira Wira Wines.

Match Play Championship Decided.
The final rounds of the Club Match Play Championships have been completed with close hard fought matches being the order of the day.
Congratulations are extended to Dylan O'Keefe for his victory over Xavier McCartney (1 up) in A grade. Arron Finnigan was successful over Wayne Jenkins (3 and 2) in B Grade whilst Paul Dwyer needed 3 extra playoff holes to defeat Paul Carter (1 up) in C Grade.

Ace
Saturdays Par event will be long remembered by Peter Fisher for the single shot he played on the 8^th hole.
This shot not only gave him the 'Nearest the Pin' prize, the 'Super Pin' and the 'Eagles Nest' for the day but more importantly bragging rights over his playing partners for many weeks to come for his 'Hole in One'. Congratulations Peter!

Photo: Peter Fisher at the Hole in One Board soon to be engraved with his name.

Women's Opening Day
Thursday 24 February was opening day for the women's season with a good field of 55 taking the opportunity to catch up on the summer happenings and prepare for the season ahead.
Club champion Anne Dwyer played the first stroke to begin the days' activities.

Photo: Anne Dwyer begins play on opening day.

Junior summer season draws to a close.
A family day on Sunday 28 February completed the popular summer series for the clubs juniors.
At the conclusion of play the aggregate results from the summer series were announced as follows:
Winners:
Under 18: Dylan O'Keefe 190 pts from Peppi Cavalieri 100pts.
Under 16: Matt Daly 210 pts. Joanna Flaherty 150 pts.
Inter Under 14: Tiger Roberts 100 pts from Matthew Roache 90 pts.
Non Handicap: Noah Best 90 pts form Will Clarke and Mal Riddle 70 pts.
Summer Encouragement Award: Patrick Roache.

Photo: The delighted participants from the junior summer program.

Strong Fields Continue
The holiday season may be over however field numbers continue to be very strong for both Saturday and Wednesday competitions.
With the women's competitions resuming this Thursday and the veteran's and social club events returning the course is well utilized.

The semi finals of the Club Match Play competitions are now complete with the finals to be contested this week. 'Young Guns' Xavier McCartney and Dylan O'Keefe have won their way to the final of A grade.
B Grade will be contested by Aaron Finnigan and Wayne Jenkins, whilst Paul Dwyer and Paul Carter are the final pair in C grade.

VGA Four Ball Championship Qualifying.
Ideal conditions greeted the 80 competitors who chose Port Fairy for their qualifying round of this popular, annual event.
Due to the field sizes three pairs will qualify in the men's section whilst Port Fairy's Kate Stuchberry and expat Margaret Sinnott will be the sole representative in the final to be held in Melbourne later in the year.

Photo: Margaret Sinnott  and Kate Stuchbery successful in regional qualifier.

Programme Book
The 2010 Programme Book is now available so please pick up a copy from the Pro Shop or Bar.
The printing of the book has been arranged by Azeus Print Management, Warrnambool and features a full colour cover for the first time giving the programme a fresh, new look.
Members are advised that the first Social Club day is Sunday March 14 and that the CVGA event is on this coming Tuesday March 2.

Women's Opening Day
Women members are reminded that today, Thursday 25 February, is the season Opening Day. 8.30am for a 9am SGS 9 holes in 9 holes out with Afternoon Tea to follow.
The annual competition fee is payable on that day.

Quality scoring on refreshed fairways.
There is nothing like good soaking rainfall to refresh the fairways and surrounds of a golf course.
After Thursday's rain the course presented ideal conditions for Saturdays Par event with some outstanding scores returned including a +11 from Mal Mc Eachern in B grade whilst + 8 was needed for victory in A Grade and + 3 was required to win a ball.
The second round of match play has been completed and the draw for the next round is as follows:
A Grade: X McCartney Vs J Watson, D O'Keefe Vs T Richardson.
B Grade: B Crispe Vs A Finnigan, G Nunn Vs W Jenkins.
C Grade: P Dwyer Vs J Dwyer, P Carter Vs S Raby.

New Golfer Tuesdays
Once again the new golfers program has proven to be very popular - particularly with women contemplating taking up golf.
Club sponsored clinics for our newest golfers along with refresher classes are conducted by Club Professional, Paul Smith. 
Those interested in joining the group are encouraged to contact Beryl Duncan on 5565 8436

Photo: New Golfers refresher clinic

Programme Book
The 2010 Programme Book is now available so please pick up a copy from the Pro Shop or Bar. 
The printing of the book has been arranged by Azeus Print Management of Warrnambool and features a full colour cover for the first time giving the programme a fresh new look.
 

Women's Opening Day
Women members are reminded that Thursday 25 February is the season Opening Day. 
There will be an 8.30am for a 9am Shot Gun Start with a 9 holes in 9 holes out event followed by Afternoon Tea.
The annual competition fee is payable on that day.

Match Play Qualifying Event
Saturdays Stroke event doubled as the qualifying round for the club Match Play Championship with the top eight qualifiers progressing in each grade.
Competition was extremely keen which was reflected in the ball run down which required a nett sub par effort to return a golf ball.
The draw for the next round is as follows:
A Grade:
X McCartney V N Williams,
J Watson V T Allen,
D O'Keefe V D. Squires,
B Tippett V T Richardson.
B Grade:
B Crispe V T Eccles,
A Finnigan V M Hunt,
J Smith V W Jenkins,
G Nunn V R Quigley.
C Grade:
P Dwyer V A Rasmussen,
J Dwyer V P Laird,
I Abrahams V P Carter,
P Farley V S Raby.

Photo: Xavier McCartney top qualifier in club Match Play Championship

Tri Shield
The annual inter club Tri Shield was held on Sunday 7^th February at Portland.
106 players from Portland, Heywood and Port Fairy competed in an individual stableford event.

Heywood won the aggregate shield by the smallest of margins from Portland with Port Fairy third. It was the first time in the shield history that the home club hasn't won.
In his acceptance speech the Heywood President remarked remarked that "it was as sweet as beating Collingwood."
Dawne Barker, Colin Greene, Philip Liard, Neil Cahill, Lindsay Wilkinson and John Duncan all received a ball in the ball run down.

Memberships
Members are reminded that annual fees are now overdue.
A thank you to those who payed promptly and a reminder to others that competition restrictions will now be in place.

Women's Opening Day
Women members are reminded that Thursday 25 February is the season Opening Day.
There will be an 8.30am for a 9am Shot Gun Start -  9 holes in 9 holes out event and Afternoon Tea.

Juniors Progress
At the end of Saturday's competition field a group of keen new golfers continued the next stage of their development.
Junior golf program graduates Matthew Roache and Chris 'Tiger' Roberts together with junior mentor Michael Andersen completed the boys second competition event since obtaining their golf handicaps.

Photo: Matthew Roache and Chris 'Tiger' Roberts

Upcoming Events
This weekend saw a busy schedule for club and social golfers. Saturday's monthly Captain's Cup and Monthly Medal also doubles as the qualifying round of the Club Match Play Championship.
On Sunday members of the social club travel to Portland for the annual 'Tri Shield' event contested between Port Fairy, Portland and Heywood golf clubs.

Memberships
Members are reminded that annual fees are now overdue.
A thank you to those who paid promptly and a reminder to others that competition restrictions will now be in place.

Moyneyana Tournament
Eighty players took the opportunity to compete over twenty seven holes, in ideal conditions, during the Moyneyana Open Tournament.
An additional eighty four completed the field for the inclusive eighteen hole event.
A large contingent travelled from Horsham, including their junior development squad, whilst players from Casterton and Millicent also made their annual visit for the event.
The trip proved worthwhile for Horsham golfers with Heath Jaensch (4) 111 winning the scratch 27 hole event and Stephen Briggs 113 (9) 104 taking out the handicap 27 hole event.
Local golfers featured in all other grades of the 27 and 18 hole events with Johanna Flaherty 130 (28.5) 101.5 winning the women's event.

Photo: Johanna Flaherty with Captain Pat Grant

Photo: A jubilant Heath Jaensch with Captain Pat Grant and President John Rahilly

Photo: Stephen Briggs with Captain Pat Grant

New Golfer's Day
The first new golfers day is scheduled for Tuesday 2 February. 
Anyone considering golf as a pastime, are encouraged to 'come and try'.
Club sponsored clinics will also be offered at a later date so this is a great chance to experience the sport, club and social aspects of golf.
Further details from Beryl Duncan Ph 5565 8436

Solid scoring again.
High scores of 46 points were returned in both Saturday's club competition and the Wednesday Pro competition during the past week.
Luke Tennant 44 points, Ron Key 43 points and Kerry Hutchins won their respective grade on Saturday whilst Tania Dalton 46 points was successful on Wednesday.

Cudmore-Cheney Challenge
State teams from Victoria and South Australia competed in the Cudmore-Cheney Challenge at Port Fairy Golf Links from Monday 18 January through to Wednesday 20 January.
This event showcases the junior female amateur talent from both states.
On Monday the girls competed in a Stableford event in very trying conditions, ensuring they will leave Port Fairy with an appreciation of the adjustments required on windy coastal courses.
Victorian girls filled the top two places on Monday and this trend continued through to Tuesday's Foursomes match play with Victoria winning two of the three matches.

Photo: President Anne Eccles welcomes the two teams

Photo: Melissa Hui (Vic) putts out.

Photo: Julienne Soo (Vic) putts watched by partner in the foursomes match play Melissa Hui

Moyneyana Tournament
Golfers are reminded that the annual 'Moyneyana 27 Hole Open Tournament' will be held this Saturday.
Fields for the 27 hole event filled very early whilst a few spots may remain in the 18 hole event and members should contact the Pro shop to book.
A 'Nine and Dine' event is also being held on Friday, tee times beginning at 4.30pm.

New Golfers Day
The first new golfers day is scheduled for Tuesday 2 February. 
Anyone who may be considering golf as a pastime, is encouraged to 'come and try'.
Club sponsored clinics will also be offered at a later date so this is a great chance to experience the sport, club and social aspects of golf.
Further details from Beryl Duncan phone 5565 8436

High Scores Required for Placings.
Saturday's Stableford event continued the trend of high scores with scores in excess of 40 points required to be among the winners list.
In addition each grade was decided by count back with 43 returned by Andrew Dwyer to win A grade; 42 by Ming Chiu in B Grade and 41 by Allan Rasmussen in C Grade.
All three were outshone by Joan Young in the women's section with an excellent 48 points.

Photo: Joan Young

Cudmore-Cheney Challenge
State teams from Victoria and South Australia will compete in the Cudmore-Cheney Challenge at Port Fairy Golf Links from Monday 18 January through to Wednesday 20 January.
This event showcases the elite junior female amateur talent from both states and very competitive golf of a high standard is ensured on each day from 8am.
On Monday the girls will compete in a Stableford format, whilst on Tuesday a four ball match play event will be held.
The final round on Wednesday will be an individual match play event.
The girls will also experience local sights and tours during their stay including a visit to Shaw River Buffalo Cheese.
We would invite members to come along and support the teams during each days play.

Moyneyana Tournament
Golfers are reminded that the annual 'Moyneyana 27 Hole Open Tournament' will be held on Saturday 23 January.
Entry forms are now available.

High Acclaim
Port Fairy Golf Links have again received outstanding recognition by being placed within Golf Australia magazine's "Best 50 Courses in Australia"
This is an Australia wide, all course rating so we are very proud to be placed at number 41 within such a prestigious group of golf courses.
The 2010 "Golf Course Guide" also rates Port Fairy highly by including it at number 9 within a list of Victoria's top ten public access courses and at number 26 Australia wide.

Holiday Crowds
Great golfing weather has encouraged high numbers of golfers in both competition fields and casual golfing time slots.
Fields for Saturday competitions and Wednesday pro competition are at capacity with time slots filling early, so it is important to book and if unable to play inform the club as early as possible to allow the spot to be filled.

Photo: Holiday golfers enjoying golf at Port Fairy

Cudmore-Cheney Challenge
State teams from Victoria and South Australia will compete in the Cudmore-Cheney Challenge at Port Fairy Golf Links from Monday 18 January through to Wednesday 20 January.
This event showcases the elite junior female amateur talent from both states and very competitive golf of a high standard is ensured on each day from 8am.

Moyneyana Tournament
Golfers are reminded that the annual 'Moyneyana 27 Hole Open Tournament' will be held on Saturday 23 January.
Entry forms are now available.

The January 2010 edition of one of Australia's most prestigious, best selling golf magazines,"Golf Australia" features "AUSTRALIA'S 50 BEST COURSES 2010"  and PORT FAIRY HAS DONE IT AGAIN!  - but even  better - improving from 44th to best course in the nation in 2006 to 42nd in 2008 to 41st in 2010!

The feature says
"The ranking of 2010 is a superb mixture of classic courses - some made over for these modern times - as well as relatively new and exciting layouts.
As you read through our list you can be assured the courses featured are the best of the best - the cream of Australian golf"

The 13 judges (7 of whom were new) were each asked to submit their list of 50 courses with greater emphasis criterion to be placed on a courses design and less on it's conditioning.

The top 50 are an impressive list of courses and the Port Fairy Golf Club has every reason to be extremely  proud not only of its inclusion again but also its improved ranking.

Again only three western Victorian courses are included in this years ranking: Thirteenth Beach - Beach course, Barwon Heads and Port Fairy.

In addition Port Fairy has been ranked above some extremely well known courses including Amstel, The Vines, Club Pelican, Hope Island,  Huntingdale and Hyatt Regency Coolum with many other well known couses not attaining a top 50 ranking.

With green fees of $37 and a full membership of $445 
(and for those outside the 40km radius - a country membership of $370 ) it must be said that:

 Port Fairy has again lived up to its reputation  as
"the best value golf in the world  -  without question!"

Golf Australia Rankings for 2010
1. Royal Melbourne (West)
2. Kingston Heath
3. Barnbougle Dunes
4. New South Wales
5. Royal Melbourne (East)
6. The National (Moonah)
7. Royal Adelaide
8. Metropolitan
9. Victoria
10. St Andrews Beach
11. Newcastle
12. Kooyonga
13. Woodlands
14. Kennedy Bay
15. Commonwealth
16. The Lakes
17. 13 th Beach (Beach Course)
18. Lake Karrinyup
19. Peninsula (North Course)
20. Royal Sydney
21. The National (old Course)
22. Barwon Heads
23. Moonah Links (Legends)
24. The Dunes
25. Magenta Shores
26. Peninsula (South)
27. Brookwater
28. The Australian
29. Yarra Yarra
30. Royal Queensland
31. The National (Ocean Course)
32. Joondalup
33. The Glades
34. Portsea
35. The Cut
36. Royal Canberra (118)
37. Grange (West Course)
38. Elanora
39. Moonah Links (Open)
40. Settlers Run
41. Port Fairy
42. Amstel (Ranfurlie)
43. The Vines (Lakes Course)
44. Club Pelican
45. The Vintage
46. The Grand
47. Huntingdale
48. Hope Island
49. Hyatt Regancy Coolum
50. Concord

'Young and Older'
The Christmas Ambrose held on Saturday came down to a battle between the 'young and the older golfers'.
The winning group consisted of teenagers Marcus Wilkinson, Xavier McCartney and Dylan O'Keefe, all sub ten handicappers, together with Ross Moray who may have had his handicap for sale!
This win capped off a fine week for Marcus who won Wednesday's pro competition with a solid 43 points.

Peugeot Classic Final
Port Fairy's representatives in the state wide Peugeot Classic final represented the district with pride recently.
Although unsuccessful the team enjoyed the experience of competing at such an event and look forward to next years heats.

Photo: Geraldine Dalton, Judy Stephens and Helen Dwyer at Keysborough Golf Course for the final of Peugeot Classic.

Sad Loss
The President, Committee and members were saddened by the passing of our distinguished Life Member, Jim Fitzwilliam.
Jim was a driving force in establishing the course in its present 'dunes' location and we will all miss the stories he had to offer of those early years.

 Final Captains Cup and Medallist
The final of the 2009 Captains Cup and Medal of Medallists was played on Sunday 13 December.
The addition this year of a final played by the top 20 performers in the monthly Saturday medal events proved popular and will continue in 2010.
An outstanding round returned by Tony Allen, playing off 5, of 71 (66) saw him take out both events.

Photo: Tony Allen

High Scores continue.
Another week of high scores were recorded with Dylan O'Keefe's 43 points in A Grade on Saturday being shaded by a 44 from Chris Rowan from B Grade.
The same 44 points was required by Peter Chamberlain to win Wednesdays Pro Competition.

Saturday Ambrose
This Saturdays competition is the Christmas Ambrose which has proven to be a popular event for district golfers.
Fields for the holiday period are sure to be large so members are reminded to have their names in early each week.
The major event in January will once again be the 27 hole Moyneyana Open held on Saturday 23 January.

We wish all members a happy festive season and good golfing over the warmer months.

'Turkey Day'
The final event on the Social Club calendar, 'Turkey Day', where all prizes are Christmas turkeys, was held on Sunday 6 December.
In her last role as 2009 President of the Social Club, Merle Rantall, thanked all who attended events over the year and particularly those who made the Christmas breakup such an enjoyable day.

Photo: Mark Jenkins and Evelyn Robertson are presented with the 'Turkey' by 2009 Social Club President Merle Rantall.

December Captain's Cup and Monthly Medal
With 162 players taking the field the last monthly medal of the year was a keenly fought contest.
Sub par rounds were the order of the day for all grades with Michael Hunt 81 (18) 63 returning the best nett score of the day and thus awarded the Monthly Medal.
Michael will now join the other medal winners and the top 20 competitors in Captain Cups across the year to compete in a final on Sunday 13 December.

2009 Moyne Seniors Classic Run and Won
Sixty golfers from more than 35 clubs descended on Port Fairy Thursday 26^th and Friday 27 November.
Under threatening skies the field competed on Thursday afternoon in windless conditions, and with handicaps ranging all the way down to 3, excellent results were returned.
The first day's leader was VGA councillor, Pat Giles of Goonawarra, with 70 (5) 65.
With the expected storms replaced again by windless sunny skies for the second round Pat continued his good form for a 36 hole win of 143.
The nett section was awarded to Tony Hyde from Rossdale with a 138 total.

The event was a sound demonstration of the club's ability to host major events whilst the Thursday night dinner was enjoyed by all.

Photo: Pat Giles winner of the VGA Moyne Seniors Classic congratulated by Tony Hyde, Nett winner

Week of extremes.
Results and conditions varied greatly over the past week. Wednesdays 25 November's Pro Comp saw 20 golfers return scores of 40 or more points, with Paul Smith returning an excellent round of 46 points off a handicap of 2 (equivalent to 8 under).
Saturday's large field set off with high hopes which came crashing down with an intense storm causing the withdrawal of many.
Oddly those that persevered received improved conditions later in the day.
The corresponding 'ball run downs' tell the tale of the days with 40 points required on Wednesday and nett 77 on Saturday.

Social Club Turkey Day
Members are reminded that Sunday 6 December is the annual 'Turkey Day'.
This event is developing into a Christmas breakup for many and an enjoyable day is ensured with a shotgun start at 12 noon.

Aces keep coming.
The latest golfer to receive the thrill of a hole in one was Paul Cross.
Paul plays off a handicap of 26 and scored an ace on the 11^th hole on Wednesday 18 November.
Well done Paul.

Photo: Paul Cross

VGA Moyne Senior Classic
On Thursday 26 and Friday 27 November the club will host the third year of this state sanctioned 36 hole event.
Seventy of the states best senior golfers will once again compete over two days and be treated to the clubs hospitality on Thursday evening.
We are fortunate to have this event at this time as competition is keen to gain the last points available toward the years aggregate trophy.

Social Club
Sunday's social club field was restricted by the morning down pours however although tough conditions, no rain was experienced throughout play.
After the event elections were held for 2010 positions with John Duncan taking on the role of President while Allen Sheils remains secretary/treasurer for the Social club.
The next event is the popular 'Turkey' day on Sunday 6 December.

Great weather equals great scoring.
Ideal conditions over the past week have seen many remarkable scores returned from all competitions. In Wednesday's Pro Comp, Warrnambool golfer, Mark Lewis returned 48 points to lower his handicap by 5, whilst on Saturday 17 year old Michael Andersen celebrated his birthday two days early with 45 points and a reduction of handicap of 2 which will see him move into A grade.
Not to be outdone Judy Stephens returned a nett 29 during the 9 hole event for women golfers on Thursday

Women's Golf Presentations.
The Women's Golfing year drew to a close on Thursday 12 November with a 9 Hole competition followed by presentation of awards and afternoon tea.
The day was attended by a number of retired members who were invited to return to the club to enjoy the hospitality.
They were treated to a tour of the course, which has altered considerably since they played, and also showed their skill at a putting competition prior to afternoon tea.
Key awards presented were to Jill Rasmussen (Medal of Medallists), Helen Wake (Captain's Trophy), Judy Stephens (Most improved 35 to 45 handicap)

Photo: Retired members showing their skill on the putting green

Photo: Retired members were treated to a tour in vehicles unfamiliar in their day

Photo: Captain Barbara Mahony presents Helen Wake with the 'Captains Trophy'

Photo: Jill Rasmussen (centre) was Medal of Medallists for 2009

Peugeot Classic Success
A Port Fairy team has been successful in the regional final of the 'Women's Peugeot Classic' and will be competing in the State Final at the Keysborough Golf Club in December.
The team consists of Geraldine Dalton, Helen Dwyer and Judy Stephens.

Photo: Peugeot Classic finalists Geraldine Dalton, Helen Dwyer and Judy Stephens.