Tomorrow is our last programmed event of the year and it is great to see a good proportion of our members have entered. We will be doing the draw this afternoon so be quick if you haven’t already entered but want to. It is both an individual stableford event and an Irish Foursome team event, with the team being your playing foursome. Your team score will be the sum of
· The best stableford score of your team members on holes 1-6 (NB not the first 6 holes you play in the shotgun start but literally, Holes 1-6 on the course)
· The best 2 stableford scores of your team members on holes 7-12
· The best 3 stableford scores of your team members on holes 13-18
We will reiterate the scoring before play tomorrow. Note that because we need to put entrants into teams we cannot guarantee we will be able to accommodate late entrants on the day. There will also be a 9 hole competition teeing off around 11 so that 9 holers can also join in the after play festivities.
The tournament will also double as a farewell to our long serving green keeper Pat Redmond. He will be playing in the event so members will have an opportunity to wish him all the best both before and after play. As part of our thank you to Pat for all the years of his sterling service we will be running a raffle with the proceeds going to him, so don’t forget to bring out some raffle money as well as the tournament entry fee of $10.
Miners Arms and Summer Eclectics
Although tomorrow’s tournament is the last major programmed event for several weeks, the Miners Arms and Summer Eclectics are now underway. The idea of the eclectics is to record the lowest score you achieve on each hole across all the rounds you play on weekends and public holidays in December, January, and February. The winner will be the entrant with the lowest net score based on the average of their 1 December and 28 February handicaps. A scoresheet for the men, who can play off either the blue or white tees, is on the notice board in the downstairs foyer and the women’s one will be posted in their changing room.
The Miners Arms Bowl is a best ball stableford pairs event played over 3 rounds, with the first to be played in December, the second in January and the third in February. The best stableford score of the two players for each hole is totalled to provide an aggregate score for each round and recorded on the score sheet that is on the notice board in the downstairs foyer. The round to be scored needs to be nominated before commencement of play and must be played in the presence of at least one other club member. The event is open to all members and teams can be male, female or mixed.
Makara Pony Club on South Makara Road Tomorrow
Makara Pony Club have advised us that there will be 5-6 young riders on their ponies riding from the Makara Pony Club to the Horse Park at 457 South Makara Road this Saturday, 15th December for a combined Christmas rally with the adult riding club.
They will be departing the Makara Pony Club around 9:30am and will take about an hour to ride up to the Horse Park which they will then leave at approximately 3pm for the hour ride back. There will be a car at the front and one at the back of the riders. Please therefore drive extra carefully if you are coming out to or returning from the club during those times.
2018 Top Dog
Congratulations to Anthony Bryant who is the club’s Top Dog for 2018, wining the play off against all the year’s Monthly Medal winners last Saturday with a net round of 66, one better that Erich Bucher, the only other player to break 70. Well done Anthony.
Toad Rush
Members will no doubt have noted the continued spread of toad rush on some of our greens and surrounds. Toad Rush (Juncus bufonius) is a common species of clumping grasslike rush found worldwide. It has a distinct preference for moist soils and is usually found near permanent water or, at least, periodic flooding for part of the year, e.g. the margins of swamps, drainage lines and ditches. It is an opportunist and can also be commonly found growing on fine turf facilities (bowls and golf greens) when conditions favour the plant. It is generally found in turf that holds moisture and can be regularly seen growing in small clumps dispersed around the green.
Our green keepers tried to eradicate it by spraying it a few weeks ago but this has proved unsuccessful. They have now started the arduous task of digging it out by hand. Given the magnitude of the task, and with currently only 2 green keepers, the Committee will consider other options at its monthly meeting on Monday and may look to instigate a working bee to help.
Women’s Midweek Club
9 Hole Midweek Women
Tuesday 11th Dec was the closing day for the women's midweek 9 and 18 holers. We enjoyed perfect golfing conditions. The winners of the Russian Roulette stableford were Julie Wilcox and Elaine Pearse on 37 points and runners up were Sue McLaren and Susan Wright on 32. We had a theme this year of 'women in red' and most of us were able to find something red to wear. We then enjoyed a lovely lunch from Anita followed by the presentation of cups and trophies earned during the year. Life Member Bobbie Monigatti presented the prizes.
The midweek ladies have had a very enjoyable year and we would like to thank Jono for his ongoing support. Happy Christmas from us!
Men’s Wednesday Club
An excellent field of 33 enjoyed pleasant to hot windless conditions for the latest round of the Wed Club. Gunter Karau's son Rainer joined us from the Gold Coast Australia and although he had no applicable handicap scored a birdie on Hole 15 with a 180m 6 iron to within 30cm of the pin!! Well done Rainer--a bigger hitter than his Dad !
The winner on countback was Dave Burton who is making a habit of winning. Changing his habit was Graeme Crocker who went from Bunny last week to runner-up this week. Other ball winners--Tim Brosnahan +4, Keith Atkinson +3, Peter Kennedy +3, Gunter Karau +2, Ian Bates +2, Martin Leung +2 and Mike Cox +2. NTP was Luke Underwood -- he paid the Pig and Dick Adam enjoyed his walk in the sun!! Twos were scored by Graham Presland and David Ainsworth.
First in the raffle was Paul Hawkes, followed by Keith Gaskin and Dick Adam --a small reward for stickability.
To clarify --the final official Wed Club round for 2018 will be on Wed 19th Dec and will resume in 2019 on 9th January but feel free to book for Wed Boxing Day 26th Dec and Wed 2nd January if you need to work off the excesses of the Festive season!! Cheers Ian
Team Yip Twilight Golf
On an outstanding summer night, where nary a goat was to be seen, the sensational 17 played some scintillating golf. Leading the field on 25 STBs was Richard Reith, with Sally Combly and Graeme Couper snapping at his heels on 23 and even closer still was Team Tim (Rivers and Brosnahan) on 22. Tim Rivers was also the first person to receive a prize this season (round 10) for scoring a 2 chip in on the 6th which meant that he also won the NTP. Anita Corlett was well rewarded for the most golf played with a bag of lollies. Next Thursday is the last Twilight for 2018 but we will be kicking off again on the 10th of January 2019. If you did not participate on the 13th but intend to attend on the 20th, email me at antonykennedy@hotmail.com with the subject line: Santa Shot 66 and include names of attendees! There will be some special challenges for this Christmas special - see attached document.
Wellington Golf's "Give Golf a Go" Schools Program
The Club was pleased to be able to host Cardinal McKeefry school on Monday morning for the opportunity to play a few holes of golf on our PnP course under the watchful eye of some wgi coaches supported by some KGC committee members. Having already had a day of SNAG golf at the school, this outing was a follow up to try out some “real” golf on an actual course. Approximately 60 children participated, shuttled out by bus in groups of c20 which then broke into groups of c7 to play ambose golf on the PnP. Everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy the outing, and many of the parent helpers promised to be back during the school holidays. A big thank you to Haydee Wilton from Wellington golf who organised the event.
Sponsor Speak
One of the great things about our course is that the final few holes all have their own challenges which can trip up what looks like a promising round, or keep alive a match play contest. The 15th hole is definitely one of these, with a stream bedded gully on the left and a pond on the right to put the shivers up nervous drivers. Appropriate therefore that the hole is sponsored by Wasabi Air, Wellington's heating and cooling specialists, and experts in heat pumps and air conditioning. With a hot summer being predicted, an air conditioning unit could be just you what you want for Christmas. Click here to connect to their website: Wasabi Air
Happy golfing, play safely,
Your KGC Committee