By Peter Owen
Like almost everyone who grew up in Melbourne, Peter Shortal has had a lifelong love affair with Australian rules football.
When he was a young man, he played the game with Christian Brothers College St Kilda in the Victorian Amateur Football Association, then became an administrator for the club.
Later, when he retired to Noosa, he transferred his allegiance to the Noosa Tigers and, even now, sponsors one of the players.
These days, though, golf is just as important to the retired HR executive, who relocated to Noosa in 2017, and immediately became a Noosa Golf Club member.
And he’s pretty handy at that sport, too.
Last Tuesday he tallied 43 stableford points to win the B grade division of the club’s hotly contested Tuesday Club competition – seven better than his 16 handicap, and his best result since he’s been on the Sunshine Coast.
He puts the performance down to the influence of playing partner Nathan Howie, a plus one handicapper who has long been one of Noosa’s best players.
“There’s something about playing with a really good golfer,” Peter said.
“It makes you concentrate a little more and take it more seriously.”
He said he drove the ball well and one-putted several greens.
“I didn’t make many mistakes,” he said.
Peter’s golf career stalled in 2020 when his knee became so painful he was forced to have knee replacement surgery.
And, though the operation was a success, he says he still favours the knee.
“I still have this thing in my head,” he said.
Peter, now 65, started playing golf as a kid, knocking balls around some of the public courses near his Melbourne home, and fashioning a functional swing.
As often happens, life got in the way of golf, and he didn’t play for a decade or more – not until a group of friends organised a golf trip to the Murray River and invited Peter to come along.
“I hadn’t played for so long that I thought I’d start the process all over again,” he said.
“I had some lessons, learned how to do it properly and got the golf bug.”
It took a seven-year wait but he became a member of Melbourne’s esteemed Huntingdale Golf Club which, for many years, hosted the Australian Masters.
He’s a regular competitor in Noosa’s Tuesday Club and enjoys playing other Coast courses.
“The great thing about golf is not just playing the game, but making friends and enjoying the camaraderie,” he said.
Ros’ game good enough for a win
Though she describes her golf as atrocious, Ros Dehnert accumulated 38 stableford points on Tuesday to take the first round of this year’s Noosa Springs Ladies Series.
Aided by a 45 handicap, Ros, who began playing golf only two years ago, beat Lee-Ann Hay and Margaret Stawski on a countback to win the prize.
A total of 94 women contested the event, which combines golf, a gourmet lunch and a glass of sparkling wine, and attracts entrants from throughout southeast Queensland.
The next leg of the series is scheduled for Tuesday 5 July.
Tooman not too far away
Noosa veteran Simon Tooman turned in two solid rounds of 70 and 69 to finish tied 17th in the Wagga Wagga Pro-Am late last week.
The Noosa pro’s 36-hole total of five-under-par 139 showed the consistent Tooman’s game was in fine shape for the South Australian PGA Seniors Championship, to be played at the Mt Gambier course this week.
He will be joined in that Legends Tour event by Sunshine Coast regulars Brad Burns, Glenn Joyner and Noosa’s Mark Tickle.
Free golf day at Cooroy
Aspiring young golfers will get a chance to become familiar with the game at a free golf day at Cooroy from 12.30pm on Sunday 10 April.
The Sunshine Coast zone and Cooroy Golf Club will host the event – aimed at junior golfers without a GA handicap.
Each youngster will receive a golf ball, learn the basics of the game, and be placed in an Ambrose team to play reduced length holes in a fun, non-threatening format.
Juniors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian, and there’ll be a free barbecue for everyone at the end of the day.
Email names to golf@sunshinecoastgolf.org, or text 0417 776 572.
Fading finish for George
Disappointing rounds of 80 and 78 in tough conditions cruelled George Giblett’s chances in the South Australian Amateur Classic at Royal Adelaide Golf Club last week.
Giblett, the Noosa club champion, was well placed after opening rounds of 75 and 70, but fell away to finish 47th in the elite 72-hole amateur tournament – a lead-up to this week’s Australian Amateur Championship at Victoria’s Cranbourne Golf Club.
Learn from experts
Noosa Springs and Heiniger Golf will host a series of holiday camps for young golfers during April. The first runs from 4 to 8 April, the second from 11 to 14 April , and the final camp from 19 to 22 April.
The camps, which run from 8.30am to 9.30am each day, are for youngsters aged eight to 14, and are designed for absolute beginners, through to seasoned juniors seeking to improve their game.
The cost is $25 per day and bookings can be made through teaching professional Greg Lynch (0425 228 796).
And during school holidays kids aged 17 and under play free at Noosa Springs, providing they play with a fee-paying adult.
Club competitions
NOOSA
Monday 21 March
Women’s stableford: Lani McDowall 41, Marilyn Cliff 38c/b, Dorothy Heaslip 38; women’s stableford, 9 holes: Lou Bowen 21, Diane Porter 19c/b.
Tuesday 22 March
Men’s stableford: Bruce Blakemore 40c/b, Justin Smith 40, Bradley Juillerat 39, Darren Weatherby-Blythe 38; B grade – Peter Shortal 43, Geoff Cohen 40, Gary Tye 39, Jim Lawrence 38; C grade – Brian Holmes 41c/b, Peter Crooks 41c/b, Greg Kuch 41, Neil Bickley 40.
Wednesday 23 March
Vets stableford: A grade – James McKean 38c/b, Brian Jackson 38c/b, Ray Egge 38; B grade – Laurie James 41c/b, Andy McGill 41, Brian Roper 40; C grade – David Tilley 41, John Dover 37c/b, Neil Beasley 37c/b.
Thursday 24 March
Women’s stableford: A grade – Susie Barlow 36, Paula Jeffrey 35; B grade: Diana Stagg 38, Dorothy Heaslip 37c/b; C grade – Lou Bowen 36, Eugenie Mooney 35; men’s stableford: Michael Cowell 39, Steve Garrett 34c/b, Terry Fitzgerald 34.
Friday 25 March
Men’s stableford: Patrick Martin 33, Don Paterson 33, Craig Deacon 30c/b.
Saturday 26 March
Men’s stableford: A grade – Darren Wylie 39c/b, Thomas Loveridge 39c/b, Michael Cookman 39; B grade – Joseph Barbaro 39c/b, Neil Callow 39, Gary Ward 38c/b; C grade – Jack Bryant 39, Keith Moore 37c/b, Philip Bowden 37; women’s: Jennifer Eborall 37, Michelle Linklater 36, Cindy Lawson 34c/b.
NOOSA SPRINGS
Monday 21 March
Men’s Seniors Medal, stroke: Iven MacLeod 68, Reon Weir 69c/b, John Krimmer 69c/b; women’s: Susan Harrold 72, Marlo Douglass 73c/b, Amanda Harburg 73.
Tuesday 22 March
Ladies Day, stableford: Roslyn Dehnert 38c/b, Lee-Ann Hay 38c/b, Margaret Stawski 38.
Wednesday 23 March
Men’s stableford: John Glennon 37c/b, Darryl Dent 37, Ryley Martin 36; women’s: Sandi Hoskins 35, Diana Foulsham 30, Jan Fancsali 28.
Thursday 24 March
Men’s stableford, black tee: Daniel Morelli 38, Josh Constable 33, Simon Cotton 32.
Saturday 26 March
Men’s stableford: Christopher Harrold 42, Andrew Horner 41, Paul Betar 39c/b; women’s: Helen Ringrose 42, Jill Wilson 41c/b, Noi Pike 41.
Sunday 27 March
Men’s stableford: John Barker 46, Ryza Garbacz 38, Angus Thomson 37.
COOROY
Wednesday 23 March
Vets stableford: A grade – Kelvin Brittain 41, Peter Buchbach 40, Paul Korczynski 40; B grade – Matt McQueen 38c/b, Bruce Dooley 38, Tom Williams 36; C grade – Jack Timm 42, Tony Kershaw 41, Ron Ballantyne 39.
