By Peter Owen
Golf is in Peter Zipf’s blood; a part of his DNA. His earliest memories are of a golf course, and he’s been playing the game for almost his entire life.
Peter’s mother was born on a family-owned golf course in Melbourne. And when he was a toddler, his parents would take him to the Mundubbera golf course, place him in a playpen with the rest of the young kids, and go and play 18 holes.
“My earliest memories are of the Mundubbera golf course,” Peter says. “I began caddying there when I was eight, and I started playing as soon as I could.”
Readers may be familiar with the name. The Zipf family has operated successful IGA supermarkets in Cooroy and Pomona for the past 20 years.
And for much of that time Peter has been playing golf at Noosa, where he is a long-standing member.
But it wasn’t until last week that he won his first Noosa Tuesday Club competition – and for Peter it’s a significant milestone.
“I’ve had seconds and thirds, and I’ve been part of Ambrose teams that have won,” he said. “But this is the first time I’ve won an individual event.”
Peter, a nine-handicapper, shot four-over-par 76 on Tuesday and tallied 41 stableford points.
“I hit the ball long and straight and managed to make a few good putts,” he said. “That always makes the difference.”
Peter, 63, puts his improved recent form down to a fitness regime which includes boxing training.
“It’s improved my stamina and given me a lot more flexibility,” he said.
Peter is from Mundubbera, in the North Burnett, where his family operated a citrus farm and grazed cattle.
When they decided to sell up and move to the Sunshine Coast in 1996, they settled near Cooroy and bought the Four Square grocery store in the nearby town.
That later became an IGA supermarket, and the Zipfs were away. The family still operates the Cooroy and Pomona IGA stores, and they still play golf. Peter is also a member at Cooroy and Mundubbera.
Peter and his son Anthony are strong supporters of the Invincibles Sunshine Coast Junior Golf Tour and sponsor the organisation’s annual corporate golf day.
Coast star tackles the best in Europe
Victoria Fricot, the former outstanding Peregian junior with dreams of becoming a world golfing star, earned a start last week in the rich Skafto Open on the Ladies European Tour, but found the wet and windy weather too much of an obstacle.
Victoria, 26, turned professional and headed for Europe after practising and playing for more than a year at Noosa Springs where she was a resort ambassador.
A former student at Peregian Beach College, Victoria had won three club championships at Peregian before she was 17 and was ranked one of the country’s leading amateurs.
Though she failed to make the 36-hole cut at the Skafto Open – she shot rounds of 79 and 78 – Victoria put the exercise down to experience.
She’s made five appearances on the Ladies European Tour this year, one of her highlights being an Aramco Team Series event in England last month, in which she was a member of Minjee Lee’s Australian squad. Her teammates were Steph Kyriacou and Whitney Hillier.
While golf is very much Victoria’s priority, she has more than one string to her bow.
She has a business degree, has been modelling since she was 17, is a graduate of the Sunshine Coast business mentoring program Generation Innovation Challenge, and is planning to become more involved in media work.
Burns back on winners list
Prolific Yandina Creek veteran Brad Burns has added the Wynnum Legends Pro-Am title to his long list of victories, adding to pro-am tournaments he collected at Wynnum in 2014 and 2018.
Burns, who has won the Legends Tour Order of Merit a record four times, shot five-under 65 to win this year’s event from David Hando, who had a hole-in-one at the 156m par three ninth hole.
It was the first win this season for Burns, who jetted to the US for the US Senior PGA Championship earlier in the year.
Noosa’s Simon Tooman was tied 35th after shooting 78, while Mark Tickle had 80 for tied 44th.
The Legends Tour then moved to North Queensland, where Burns shot two-under 70 to be tied third in the Cairns Legends Pro-Am, two strokes behind the winner, Victorian Tim Elliott.
Play Noosa Springs for $79
It’s an opportunity to test your game against quality opposition and to play one of the region’s best golf courses at a heavily reduced cost.
Noosa Springs annual Open is scheduled for Sunday, September 12, with all players teeing off at 8am.
Green fees are usually $120, but with Club Car sponsorship, players in the Noosa Springs Open need pay only $79 ($29 for Noosa Springs members).
The 18-hole stableford event is open to all golfers with a Golf Australia handicap and there are some excellent prizes to be won.
Register online or call the Golf Shop on 5440 3325.
And bookings are still being taken for the Noosa Springs Skins event on Wednesday, September 8.
It’s a fun, social competition with teams in the running to win four bottles of wine on each hole.
If anybody aces the par three 4th hole they will win a Noosa Springs corporate membership worth $2250.
The cost, which includes lunch and post-game nibbles is $85 ($39 for members).
Club competitions
NOOSA
Monday 23 August
Women’s stableford: A grade – Jeannie Dodds 41, Anne Martin 40; B grade – Barb Forder 42, Judith Boakes 36; women’s 9-hole: Jeanette Dehnen 20.
Tuesday 24 August
Men’s stableford: A grade – Peter Zipf 41c/b, Bruce Blakemore 41, Ken Robinson 40, Tim Butterworth 38; B grade – Peter Shortal 38, John Loader 36, Greg Strang 35c/b, Colin Myers 35c/b; C grade – Mark Levy 37c/b, Phil Grieve 37c/b, Damian Hopkins 37, Glenn Puckeridge 36c/b.
Wednesday 25 August
Vets 2-man Ambrose: Ken Robinson & Jim Crawford 61.75c/b, Bruce Blakemore & Eugene Barry 61.75, Brian Jackson & Trevor Payne 64.25.
Saturday 28 August
Men’s stroke, 1st round club championship: A grade – Justin Morgan 68c/b, Alan Holley 68, Geoff Foster 69; B grade – Brad Edwards 70c/b, Ian Burrough 70c/b, Edward Dodd 70; C grade – Anthony Broad 65, Andrew Broad 69c/b, Brian Priebe 69; women’s stroke: Noreen Scanlon 70, Peta Mancktelow 72, Jess Fleming 73.
NOOSA SPRINGS
Monday 23 August
Women’s stableford: Judy Buss 40, Leisha McMenamin 39, Chrissy Hordern 38.
Tuesday 24 August
Men’s stableford: Adam Viney 38, John Taylor 35, Phillip Fortington 34.
Wednesday 25 August
Men’s stableford: Simon Rice 40, Geoffrey Phillips 39, Peter Butt 38; women’s: Carol Yancey 39, Jill Yeatman 38c/b, Janet Dunn 38.
Thursday 26 August
Men’s stableford: David McMartin 37, John Mulquiney 32, Ken Pritchard 31.
Saturday 28 August
Men’s stableford: John Stephens 41, Will Costin 39, Rob Mowat 38; women’s: Susan Griffiths 39c/b, Dorothy Marlow 39c/b, Lianne Wamsteeker 39.
COOROY
Tuesday 24 August
Women’s stroke, 9 holes: Juanita Langford 37, Beatrice Bruin 39.
Wednesday 25 August
Vets 4-man Ambrose: Greg Michael, Paul Korczynski, Terry Magill, Hans Herle 52.75; Matt McQueen, Ray Hand, Mark Woolway, Laurie Staples 54.875; Jim Henderson, Bob Read, Grant Smallacombe, Rex Williams, and Brett LeMoy, Bronco Price, Mike O’Donnell, Dale Rickard 55.
Thursday 26 August
Women’s 4-ball aggregate stableford: Jocelyn Rabjohns & Elaine Henman 76, Terri Cairns & Mary Miller 68.
Saturday 28 August
Women’s stableford: Terri Cairns 37, Sarah Brogden 35c/b.
