We suffered some major communication issues last week with Google spam filters preventing us from sending out last week’s Friday Flash and after several unsuccessful attempts, blocking us from sending out any emails at all. As a result not only were we not able to send out the FF, but nor were we able to email out the draw for the CoW, or the notice about the cancellation of the Tim McCrone Memorial tournament planned for last Sunday. We apologise for any inconvenience this caused, and are currently exploring other means of emailing notices to members.
For info, last week’s FF was uploaded onto our website and Facebook page last Friday, as was the draw for the CoW. We rang all the entrants for the Tim McCrone for whom we had phone numbers but we dont have them for some members. It would be appreciated if members could check their profile on Dot Golf and add or correct their phone number if missing or incorrect.
Although the Tim McCrone Memorial was cancelled, the friends and family of Tim are hoping to be able to put it on in March.
This Weekend’s Events
Tomorrow our women’s Saturday Club play Christmas Cheer Stableford. For men it is the last opportunity this year to win a monthly medal and thereby qualify for the end of year Top Dog playoff scheduled for Saturday 7th December. This month’s medal can be played for on either or both Saturday and Sunday, off any tee. And don’t forget a medal round, because it is played for on a best net basis, can also count as a qualifying round for the end of year shootout scheduled for Sunday 1st December. Just make sure you click on both Medal and Shootout when printing out your card and pay the $2 Shootout entry fee at the shop.
CoW Results
The field for this year’s City of Wellington Tournament, our major event of the year and one of Wellington Golf’s Order of Merit tournaments, was disappointedly down on previous years. We had only 60 entries, compared to 90 last year, with the noticeable differences being the much lesser number of KGC men members who entered this year compared to last, and the number of external women entries. We are not sure why numbers were down by so much and would welcome feedback from those members who played last year but didn’t enter this year. Despite the lesser number of entries, the competition was as keen as ever, with 3 men tied for the lowest gross on 74, being Sam Marsters from Miramar, Richard Bartlett from Paraparaumu and Troy Shaw from Mahunga (Troy had driven down on Friday evening and slept in his car overnight at the club, then drove back to Masterton on Saturday afternoon to play 36 holes on Sunday in the regional Champion of Champions!). A play off was therefore required to determine the trophy winner, with Richard Bartlett prevailing on the 2nd hole.
Richard Bartlett receiving the City of Wellington trophy from Club Captain Carl Beentjes (Dont the flowers look good - well done to whoever prepared them):
Club members amongst the prize winners included Patrick Cordue, Nelson Laureles, Victor Esguerra, Russell Turner and Antony Kennedy – well done guys – and Mary Kavanagh (lowest equal women’s gross score with Fe Harris from Manor Park) and Celia Howden, with Gail Kirkland winning the longest drive – well done ladies.
As with last year, there was a Honda car up for grabs to the first person in the event to score a hole-in-one on the 4th hole but also as with last year, no one was able to ace it.
Upcoming Events
On Saturday 23rd November we will be hosting a Murray Halberg tournament being put on by the Wellington Eagles. This is always a great day, and helps raise funds for the Halberg Foundation which was founded by Olympic champion Sir Murray Halberg in 1963 to enhance the lives of physically disabled New Zealanders by enabling them to participate in sport and recreation. An entry sheet is on the notice board in the downstairs foyer – add you name to this or ring/email the club.
On Saturday 30th November we will be holding our Annual General Meeting at which we will be reviewing our Annual Report and Financial Statements plus electing members for the 2020 Committee. This is your chance to input to the running of the club so please attend. Notices for the meeting were circulated earlier this week (and are attached to this Friday Flash) plus are on the notice board in the downstairs foyer and on our website and Facebook page. Please note that any notices of motion that members may wish to raise at the AGM need to be presubmitted by 5pm Friday 22nd November. Similarly nominations for the Committee need to be submitted by the same date. Please give serious consideration to coming onto the Committee – the club is dependent on the voluntary efforts of its members for its long term viability. Many clubs in the region are struggling financially whereas we have been able to build cash reserves for future reinvestment, despite declining membership, but this has only been possible by not having to pay someone to manage the club. We have identified a number of capital projects we wish to make to our course, including improved drainage, more tree trimming, new paths, and increased cart storage. We would much rather spend funds on these projects than having to pay someone to administer the club.
Harcourts Twilight
Sixteen keen golfers took to the tees at Twilight last night. Top golfer was Jo Hurst on 23 STB, followed by Graeme Couper on 22, Geoff Lee on 21 and in 4th equal were Richard Reith and Terry Bastion on 20. Geoff also scored a 2 on the 6th and Peter Nichols was closest to the pin on the 4th. Milo Faletolu played the most golf and Antony Kennedy won the lucky draw. We welcomed Madison Burgess-Smith to her first Karori Twilight experience. Please note that at this stage of the season with the variable weather and associated poor light, we are aiming to tee off between 4:30pm and 5:15pm.
Women’s Tuesday Club
This week the 9 hole ladies played the back 9. We enjoyed a game of Odds and Evens but missed the lovely dry conditions of the previous week. The winner of this game was Trish Titcombe.
Men’s Wednesday Club
Blustery cool conditions challenged the 21 participants who however enjoyed the excellent presentation of the course following the City of Wellington Tournament. Our four had a mighty tussle with Patrick Cordue (37pts) and Chris Pearce (34) taking the honours for the front nine. David Burton and Ian Bates fought back to square the haggle on the back nine winning just one hole and squaring the other 8. The overall winner on the day was Ian (39pts), Patrick 2nd with 37. Our new Office Exec George Morris came 3rd also with 37. Fergus McLean (36), and Alex Lim (35) each received a ball. NTP was David Ainsworth -- he paid the pig and Keith Gaskin scored a two on the 13th (rattled the pin!). My partner Dave was tail-end Charlie but contributed a number of blocking moves!! Raffle prizes were won by Doug Shearer, Keith Gaskin and Fergus. Cheers Ian
Welcome Back George
We are pleased to be able to welcome back university student George Morris who helped man the club house last summer. George will be doing the same this summer, and as a result, for the next 3 months we will aim to open the club house 7 days per week.
Happy golfing, play safely,
Your KGC Committee