October Golf Summary...

We had 8,357 rounds of golf played in October which was 1,357 (19%) up on budget and 2,209 (36%) up on October 2022.

There were 5,050 rounds played at Hilltop and 3,307 rounds played at Beachside.  At Hilltop, 79% of the rounds were from members with 21% from visitors.  At Beachside, 57% of rounds were from members with 43% from visitors. 

There were 2,656 competition rounds played at Hilltop with 30 players scoring 40 points (68 nett or +4) or better last month.

Some fantastic scores last month including 15 year old Bailey Bergin, who shot 48 points (including a wipe on 17).  Bailey has only recently started playing and she is off to a flying start.  Michael Rogers shot an outstanding 45 points while 5 members shot 43 points with one standout being 15 year old Harry Gourlay off a handicap of 3.  Harry's round of 68 included 7 birdies.  Glenn Harber, Aaron Sharp, Keith Harvey and David Quattromani all shot 43 points.  42 was also a popular score with Brad Smith, Ben Johnson, Sue Adams, Hayden Ralph, Geoff Muir and Dorothy Buck all scoring 42 points.

In stroke events, Chicka Schorobura and Ian Broderick were the best of the men with 67s while Denise Bower, Joy Sweet and Wendy Smith all shot 69 nett in the women's stroke events.

Eagle Brigade...   6th Hole - Blake Halls,    13th Hole - David Sims.   Two pros also had eagles during the NSW Senior Masters (both on the 6th hole).

No Hole-In-Ones last month which is unusual, especially with over 2,600 comp rounds played!

The Family of League Charity Golf Day was a huge success with 120 players and the event raised over $16,000 for the Family of League Foundation.  Congratulations to Henry Jones, Jordan Jaffrey, Blake Halls and Gareth Lawson who won the 4 person ambrose with 55 nett.

Women's Club Championship

Congratulations to Veronica Johnston who successfully defended her title from last year and won her fourth Club Championship last week.

The women's championships were close in every division and it came down to a thrilling finish with sudden death playoffs in 2 of the 3 divisions.

In Division 1, Veronica scooted clear with the lowest round of the championship (84) in the last round.  Veronica finished 14 shots ahead of Ros Hughes.

In Division 2, Joy Sweet and Olivia Bell finished all tied up on 406, just 2 shots ahead of Leanne Ewin.  Joy and Olivia headed to the 9th for the sudden death playoff where Olivia won the Division 2 title on the second playoff hole.

In Division 3, Kristine Gardner and Therese Lahiff finished tied on 133 points, 10 points clear of the field.  It was a marathon playoff as they had to play the 9th hole four times until Kristine finally won.  Both players had their chance to win during the sudden death format and it was a great atmosphere around the 9th hole during the playoffs.

PGA Legends Tour

NSW Senior Masters

It was a tough two days for the Senior Professionals with quick greens and windy conditions which prevented anyone from breaking par for the Championship.

Nicholas Robb (pictured holding trophy), the Head Professional from Cromer GC, proved to good with rounds of 73, 71 (144) to win by just one shot from defending champion, Chris Taylor.

The lead changed several times on the last 9 between Adam Henwood, Nicholas Robb, Chris Taylor and Brad Burns.

Adam Henwood looked to have it sown up until hitting his tee shot "Out Of Bounds" on the 16th followed by bogies on the 17th and 18th left him in 3rd place on 2 over par.  Chris Taylor also lost his chance on the 13th when he 3 putted from one foot above the hole.  

A big thank you to all the sponsors and especially the volunteers who helped look for the wayward tee shots during the tournament.  We had great feedback from all the players and PGA officials on the member's hospitality and how well the tournament went.  

Adam Henwood went on to bigger things the following week where he won the $120,000 NSW Senior Open at Thurgoona Country Club.

To view the final results and prizemoney from the NSW Senior Masters, click the link below...

Thank you to the sponsors of the NSW Senior Masters...

3rd Hole @ Beachside

The renovation of the bunker on the 3rd Hole at Beachside is almost complete.  This was done to "soften" the hole and make the green more accessible from the left hand side from the Tee.  The bunker has been made much smaller on the right and new turf and drainage installed where the old bunker section was.  The new bunker will be in play very soon.  Please see photos below....

8th Hole @ Beachside

The new 8th Tee has been finished and will now go through the "grow in" period.  We are planning to have this new tee in action by the 1st December (or sooner).  New garden beds will be installed around the sides and back of the tee and the new hole will play from 100m to 125m and hopefully reduce the chance of any further vehicle or property damage along Riversdale Avenue.

Toilet Update!

The new toilets are nearly ready to go as we are currently  installing new pathways to the toilet block behind the 14th green and a new access path to the one on the right side of the 3rd hole.

These areas will then be finished off with new gardens around the pathways.

We are still waiting for approval for the new toilet block on the Beachside Course.  It's coming up to the 1 year anniversary since we submitted the DA so hopefully not too much longer.

Good Golfing this month and please support the WPGA event in a couple of weeks by way of spectating or volunteering.

Barry West CCM, PGA
Golf Manager