By Peter Owen
Marc Bright describes himself as a ‘joyologist’ and, yes, it’s a real word.It means a person whose main purpose is to bring joy to others. And Marc has brought loads of joy to hundreds of disabled Sunshine Coast people through the game of golf.
A former professional golfer, Marc Bright has made it his life’s work to introduce disabled men and women to golf, in the sure knowledge it will improve their confidence, give them purpose, and allow them to have fun.
He gained the support of Cooroy Golf Club, where he is a member, and his band of ‘All Abilities golfers’ now meets there every Monday to practice their game.
“We look forward to it,” he said. “Each week about 20 players turn up, often with their carers. We all have fun and don’t get too worried about things.”
They learn the basics of golf, the rules and etiquette of the game and, because Marc’s interests are wide and varied, other things like indigenous culture, the plant and wildlife that abounds on the golf course, and how better to interact socially.Marc tells the story of Matty, a disabled man who, when he joined the group, found it difficult to walk and to communicate.
“You should see him now,” Marc said. “He’s walking everywhere, having a hit with us, and he’s made some great friends.”
Cooroy members have taken the All Abilities players to heart, often joining in to provide instruction, and caddying for the group when they play a few holes.
And tomorrow (Saturday, 14 November) they’ll show their support in a practical way when they take part in a fund-raising day at Cooroy.
About 50 Cooroy members and up to 30 All Abilities golfers will play together in a very special morning competition, followed by a sausage sizzle lunch and presentation. The day begins at 8.30am.
Noosa pro in the mix
Noosa pro Simon Tooman shot a final round 68 to be third in the Australian PGA Seniors Championship at Richmond, north of Sydney. Tooman, who had been runner-up in the Blackheath Legends Pro-Am a few days earlier, played consistently for a four-under par total of 206 – five strokes behind winner, Andre Stolz.
Brad Burns, of Yandina Creek, was 6th after rounds of 70, 68 and 70, while fellow Sunshine Coaster Glenn Joyner (72, 73, 68) was 15th.
Scott bounces back in top form
Adam Scott, fully recovered from his bout with Covid-19 and all the better for an impressive hit-out in last week’s Houston Open in Texas, is leading Australia’s challenge for the US Masters at Augusta this weekend.
Scott, 40, who spent much of the year at his Sunshine Beach home, tested positive for coronavirus last month and spent the mandatory 10-day period quarantining in a Los Angeles hotel, practising his putting on a mat, then at a house.
“Fortunately for me, the symptoms weren’t too bad and I was really only feeling below par for a day or so and then started feeling a lot better,” Scott said.
He said he was utterly surprised by the test result.
“I had no symptoms at the time I tested positive, but I developed some symptoms about 12 hours later, and I had a slight fever for 24 hours and a headache and then that kind of passed. Then I continued to get better.
“I was in the hotel there in LA for six days. Once I was sure I was healthy and not kind of just feeling okay, I investigated finding a house by myself for the next four or five days to isolate just so I could go outside and get some fresh air. So I drove myself to a house. And again, didn’t have any contact with anyone until my 10 days of isolation was up.’’
He doesn’t know where or how he picked up the virus. Fortunately, none of his family or inner circle were impacted, and Scott said the tour had produced a “remarkable effort” to keep tournaments running given the spread of the virus around the world.
Minjee wins under the stars
MINJEE Lee has won the Ladies European Tour’s Dubai Moonlight Classic in a playoff, becoming the 12th Australian to win an international golf tournament in 2020.
The Western Australian champion shot a closing 69 to tie with France’s Celine Boutier at the Emirates Golf Club. Under lights at the unique floodlit tournament, she then birdied the first playoff hole to cement her standing as world No 9.
Still time for Noosa Springs Skins
Some spots remain for the Noosa Springs Skins Series on Wednesday, November 25 – the year’s final staging of the popular teams event.
Golfers compete in a skins-type stableford competition where the total of the best three scores becomes the team’s score on each hole. At stake are 72 bottles of fine wine – four to be won on each hole.Guests pay just $79 – and that includes lunch and post-game nibbles. For members, the cost is $39. It’s a shotgun start at 12 noon, and anybody can register at the Golf Shop (5440 3325) or download an entry form from the Noosa Springs’ website.
How lucky are we?
Australia has been named the best place on the planet to play golf.
The World Golf Awards, a global travel body that celebrates and rewards excellence in golf tourism, world-class courses and golf destinations, placed Australia ahead of Vietnam, the US, UK, Ireland, Canada, Dubai and Mexico.
Club competitions
NOOSA
Monday, 2 November
Women’s stableford: A grade – Cheril Kane 40, Jeannie Dodds 39; B grade – Joy Esden 43, Joy Lewis 39c/b. Rundown to 36c/b.Wednesday, 4 November
Vets single stableford: A grade – Brian Jackson 43, Neil Callow 40c/b, Colin Myers 40c/b; B grade – Mick Jones 42c/b, John Wex 42c/b, Andy McGill 42; C grade – Ron Smith 44, Ralph Rickman 42, Dudley Hobbs 41. Rundown to 37. Thursday, 5 November
Women’s Medal of Medals, stroke: A grade – Barb Allen 70, Cynthia Duco 71c/b, Ann Tummon 71; B grade – Michelle Linklater 67, Irene Kerr 71c/b, Pamela Lavender 71; C grade – Margaret Schofield 73c/b, Rosanne Chisholm 73, Margaret Storrer 77. Rundown to 76c/b.Saturday, 7 November
Men’s Monthly Medal, stroke: A grade – Bronson White 62, Sam Boulden 65, Grant Baker 66c/b; B grade – Robert Knott 66c/b, Michael Norman 66, Bruce Davidson 68c/b; C grade – Max Rogers 65c/b, Neil Prideaux 65c/b, Dieter Hoffman 65. Rundown to 71c/b. Women’s Monthly Medal: Orawan Millar 70, Arlene Penlington 72, Kathleen Ainschau 73.
NOOSA SPRINGS
Wednesday, 4 November
Men’s stableford: Donald Gregor 43, Mark Latham 40, Alistair Rooney 39. Saturday, 7 November
Men’s stableford: John Betar 41, Brian Cairns 39, Ben Kearney 39; women’s stableford: Dianne Kemp 42, Tereza Holley 40, Sandra Probert 40.Sunday, 8 November
Men’s Universal Property Sunday Series, stableford: Paul Crothall 36, James Hordern 35, Phil Harrison 34; women’s: Silvana Phillips 33, Dana Angus 32, Fay Layton 30.
COOROY
Wednesday, 4 November
Vets’ stableford: Greg Michael 39, Peter Jeucken 38, Errol Radley 37c/b; B grade – Peter Palmer 39, Jack Ruig 37c/b, Andre Smit 37c/b; C grade: Rod Roemermann 42, John Kelly 37c/b, John Round 37. Rundown to 35.
Thursday, 5 November
Women’s Monthly Medal, stroke: Div 1 – Juliet Hall; Div 2 – Carmel Clark 66; Div 3 – Sue Sendall 71. Rundown to 69.
Friday, 6 NovemberCooper’s Challenge, stableford: W. Brogden 43, C. Ryan 39c/b, P. Jeucken 39.Saturday, 7 November
Men’s Monthly Medal, stroke: Div 1 – W. Hastie 66, J. Kennedy 67; Div 2 – G. Michael 67, G. Flanno 69; Div 3 – L. Cobb 63, T. Foster 67c/b. Rundown to 69. Women’s Monthly Medal, stroke: Judy Kitcher 67, Sarah Brogden 70.SIDEBAR BELOW
IS LONGER BETTER ALWAYS BETTER?
Ever since the game began, golfers have always been infatuated with hitting the ball further. This journey for length has been continually fuelled by golf club manufacturers who have searched for ways to feed the golfer’s desire of it hitting longer.Sadly, we always rate a golf club on its ability to hit the ball further and not straighter. Many great golf courses have even changed their layout to combat the evolution of a longer golf shot by making the holes longer. But is longer better for the majority of golfers? Not always.
For most golfers, direction should far outweigh the need to hit the ball longer. Generally speaking, by keeping the ball in play more, you’ll have less penalty shots in your rounds which makes for lower scores.For example, the longer you hit the ball, the wider your misses will be. That’s why the cagey, more experienced golfers in our clubs are always down the middle and very rarely lose a ball.
So when you’re next in the market for a new driver, the best driver for you will be the one where the miss is still respectable. Don’t necessarily buy it because it’s longer, but because it’s straighter.
Peter Heiniger, of Heiniger Golf, is the head PGA teaching professional at Noosa Springs
