Finally, a week of settled weather, and doesn’t the course look good. The value of our new mowers was evident on Monday when the club hosted 70 senior golfers from around the district. Matt and his team were on their mowers before dawn and by the time the seniors teed off via a shotgun start at 10.30 all fairways, surrounds and greens had been mown and the course was looking resplendent. Well done Matt, Pat and Lukas – our course was by far the best presented course on the senior circuit this year!
This Weekend’s Events
Tomorrow our women’s Saturday club are playing Stableford.
On Sunday, it is the first round of the men’s match play championships, with the qualifiers and seedings having been determined from last Sunday’s stroke play championship. It was great to see entries up on last year – here is a photo taken by Deane Milne of Don McCrone teeing off on the 12th watched by fellow senior competitors Dominic Milicich and Dave Thorburn.
Our 2018 men’s stroke play champions are:
· Senior: Matt Spraggs
· Intermediate: Horn Dim
· Junior A: Chris Moore
· Junior B: Phil Pigou
Congratulations guys, well done - your names will be engraved on our stroke play cups.
It is the match play champions though who will get their names embossed on our honours board so every qualifier is still in with a chance. Remember, match play is played hole by hole, off the stick. Best of luck to all competitors.
Women’s Midweek Club
9 Hole Midweek Women
On Tuesday the 9 hole ladies played their qualifying round for the Club Championships. There was a good turnout of players and Connie Lee was top qualifier, followed by Ingrid Rampton and Kath Robinson. Hopefully the weather is good next week to play our first round.
Men’s Wednesday Club
The competition was held on a sunny dry day after a week of cabin fever when the it rained continuously without break for at least 4 days. However it was still cold and 26 brave guys turned up for a round of competitive golf. The smooth running of the draw was interrupted by 2 players who took out 2 discs each, leaving us 2 players wondering where to tee off.
Due to lack of practice, most of us did not have a good score except our former green staff Trevor Brown who scored a spectacular 41 with a handicap 6 and gross 71. The runner up is a recently consistent player: Martin Leung at 36 and the score was shared with Don McCrone who survived the whole round. In the last few games, Don did not submit the card. The rest achieved below par and thanks to ball donation of Trevor and Don, balls were distributed down to holders with 32 stableford. No bunny prize was announced because he was not present so the winner is a mystery.
For raffle prize, the first went to Dave Burton, 2nd to Tim Allison and 3rd went to Steve Robinson.
No wine raffle was held but more will be held later on.
So, it was a good fun day and most remained at the club house after the game.
Remember, if you want to play more games on week days, you are always welcome (Men and Women) to join us on Fridays with a similar disc draw at 9:25 and on Mondays starting at the same time. Cheers Victor Diem
Men’s Interclub
Great to see interested players are starting to put their names down on the Expressions of Interest sheet on the notice board in the downstairs foyer. We need a lot more, so if you are interested, please add your name to the sheet next time you are out at the club.
Sand Buckets
We now have a new supply of sand buckets available for players to take out on the course with them every time they play. Spring growth is about to take off so It would be great if everyone remembered to take a bucket of sand with them each time they went out on the course and used the sand to repair not only their own divots but also any other unrepaired divots around where you are waiting to play your next shot. In addition to the first tee where the buckets are, sand is also available for replenishing your buckets on holes 6, 8 and 13. If you haven’t got a scoop, recycle one of the ones that comes with most packets of washing powder.
The correct method for repairing a divot with sand is to use just enough sand to cover the divot and bring it to the level of the surrounding grass. Not enough sand or too much will result in it taking longer to repair.
Toilet on 10th Tee
Those of you who use this “long drop” toilet from time to time may have noticed that the distance of the drop currently doesn’t seem as far as might be expected. This happens most winters when the water table on this part of the course rises, filling the underground cavity. It shouldn’t be long now before the drop returns to its normal height.
Road Safety and Driver Responsibility Reminder
One of the residents who lives south of the golf club got held up on the narrow stretch of road approaching the club during the mass exodus of the seniors who played at the club on Monday. She emailed us as follows:
"I was just coming up the hill towards the golf course and it happened that there were several people leaving at the same time (more than 10 cars, but I lost count). I gave way to a few cars from the bottom of the hill and when there was a gap started proceeding up the hill but drivers continued to come down and squeeze me over and wouldn't give way. I finally had to push my way up as there were still more cars coming and I was in a very narrow part of the road. I am a local person and a courteous driver and often give way to drivers coming down the hill as I know it is a narrow part of the road with limited visibility, but the golfers were coming around the corner very fast without giving any thought to oncoming traffic. It is really frustrating as a resident of South Makara Road to drive in that area as the golfers consistently drive in the middle and don't give way to oncoming traffic."
Please be mindful that this is a very narrow stretch of road and therefore to drive with extra care and on the presumption that someone could be coming the other way.
Sponsor Speak
Our third hole is sponsored by Capital and Gas Plumbing Limited. Capital Plumbing & Gas offer an efficient installation and repair service for all plumbing problems including a 24/7 emergency plumbing repairs. Their team can deal with everything from leaky pipes to hot water cylinder installation, and as certified gasfitters Capital Plumbing & Gas can also help with gas heating and other gas installations.
For general plumbing enquiries or to solve a ‘no hot water’ problem contact Capital Plumbing & Gas via the online form. You will hear back within two business hours. For emergencies contact them directly on 0800 430 442 and they will be with you as soon as possible.
Happy golfing, play safely,
Your KGC Committee