Colin Hindson
Now the weather has improved, the interclub golf croquet competition is well under way the three levels of play, Pennant (low handicappers), Shield (middle handicappers) and Plate (high handicaps) have all played in recent weeks.
Results have been mixed, but promising.
On 6 June, our Pennant team travelled to Headland/Buderim to play. This is a tough competition with a number of highly skilled players, some at the state level. Noosa lost the day, 7 games to 3. Rob Moncrieff had a good win against one of the top players in the competition in the singles, then teamed with Niven Gugich for a win in the doubles. Galina Makarova won one game.
On 13 June, the Plate team played a home game against Headland/Buderim at the Noosa courts. This was a delayed game from the previous week which was cancelled due to rain. The result was 6 games to 4 to Noosa, but the result was closer than it looked. Headland played two players in their first competition, and the final doubles game had to be forfeited by Headland due to player illness. Unfortunate but in these days of Covid, something like that is always on the cards. Lorry Ryan of Noosa won both her singles games and teamed with William Godsall for a win in the doubles.
The Shield team also played on 13 June against Coolum at Coolum. This resulted in a win, 6 games to 4. Sally Stopps won both her singles games and Richard Bawden and Cher Boyd teamed for a good win in the doubles. Well done to all here.
On Monday 20 June, the Plate and Pennant teams both played. The Plate team competed against Caloundra at home and won a very close contest where the final scores were five games to each team and the result went to hoops won, where Noosa was ahead by five. A close day and everyone enjoyed the competition. Teresa Martin stood out with three wins – her two singles and partnering William Godsall in the doubles.
The Pennant team’s day at Caloundra was also rewarding as they won 7 games to 3 against strong opposition. Both Rob Moncrieff and John Dark had good days, winning both their singles and a doubles. This keeps them in the hunt for the pennant which they won last year.
It is now the half way mark of the interclub season, and the teams all play each other a second time, reversing the home game fixtures. All Noosa teams are still in contention, hopefully the second half of the season sees some continuing form improvement. The Shield team will play its first game at home at Noosa on 27th June against Headland-Buderim, a strong team. They are looking forward to the challenge.
A reminder to all interested in trying out the highly skilled and relaxing sport of croquet, come down to the club grounds at Seashell Place in Noosa Heads any Sunday morning from 8.15 onwards and give it a try. No obligations, skilled trainers, always happy to ease people into the game – four lessons free.
