By Peter Owen
For a couple who spent their life playing tennis and raised two US college tennis players, golf has become a pretty important part of Bill and Ruby Jaede’s life.
The Jaedes had limited exposure to the game until they retired to Noosa a couple of years ago.
Ruby Jaede did not even have a Golf Australia handicap until 11 months ago. And, before his retirement, Bill Jaede’s golf experience was limited to the occasional corporate romp.
But they’ve made up for lost time since they settled at Noosa Springs.
Both appear regularly on the resort’s competition results sheets, and at the weekend they both featured in the placings for the Saturday stableford competition.
Bill’s 40 points was good enough for runner-up honours in the men’s division, while Ruby tallied 43 points to win the ladies’ competition.
Ruby puts her success down to regular practice sessions with teaching professional Greg Lynch, and just playing the game more frequently.
“I think I’ve benefited from my weekly sessions with Greg, and I’m trying to play two or three competition rounds each week,” she said.
When Ruby took up the game less than a year ago, her handicap was 36.8. It’s now 22.1, and falling fast. Bill plays off a useful 10 handicap.
The Jaedes lived in Brisbane, interspersed with stints in Singapore, before Bill, a commodity trader, retired and relocated to Noosa in 2020.
Until then, their sport of choice had been tennis.
Bill and Ruby were regular players, and their son Jack was an outstanding junior who won a tennis scholarship to the University of Southern California, while younger brother Ryan attended a Division 1 college in South Carolina.
“When we retired, we made a conscious decision that we were going to take up golf,” Ruby said.
“Golf’s much easier on the body than tennis.”
Everybody wants to play at Cooroy
More than a month before the event, the field for this year’s Cooroy Women’s Open is already full, with Cooroy Golf Club now placing women on a wait list for the popular event.
Maleny’s Debbie Hansen booked the 124th – and final – spot late last week, and the next 10 women to register will be on a wait list, in case of drop-outs.
The rush to register for the Cooroy Women’s Open is an indication of the popularity of women’s golf on the Sunshine Coast.
The event, on Tuesday 7June, will be played in three divisions. Divisions 1 and 2 will be a stroke competition, while those in Division 3 will play stableford.
The event is open to amateur golfers who hold a Golf Australia handicap and are members of an affiliated club.
Two Classics on Coast this year
Only a few places remain in this year’s Sunshine Coast Winter Classic, the popular golf tournament established to showcase the region’s best golf courses, including Noosa Springs and Peregian.
But, even if they miss out on next month’s Winter Classic, golfers can still book a spot in a second event, a Spring Classic, scheduled for 10-14 October.
The idea of a Sunshine Coast Winter Classic was floated three years ago but, because of Covid-19 travel restrictions, the first Classic was delayed until October 2020. The event was such a success that a Winter Classic quickly followed last June.
This year there will be two.
“The feedback from players was very encouraging and we’ve learned a lot from the first two classics,” Noosa Springs executive general manager Mark Brady, one of the event organisers, said.
“We’re hopeful this will become a major event and have a positive impact on our region’s economy.”
This year’s Winter Classic will be played from 13 to 17 June at Maroochy River, Peregian, Noosa Springs and Twin Waters. Golfers will compete on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, with a rest day on Wednesday.
The event is aimed at showcasing the region’s outstanding golf courses and giving interstate and New Zealand golfers a chance to enjoy the Sunshine Coast’s balmy weather.
The Winter and Spring Classics will be 72-hole stableford competitions, graded for men and women, offering daily and overall prizes. The entry fee of $695 includes electric carts, lunch each day.
Book online by going to golfsunshinecoast.com.au
Porter mixes it with the Europeans
Peregian’s Cassie Porter completed the most successful tournament of her short professional career when she shot rounds of 72, 68, 67 and 73 to finish fourth in the NSW Open at Coolangatta-Tweed Heads at the weekend.
Porter’s eight under par total made her the leading Australian in a strong field, dominated by international stars who compete regularly on the European Ladies Tour.
The event was the final one on this year’s WPGA Tour, and Porter, 19, will now look forward to being invited into more LET events, before tackling qualification tournaments for the US LPGA Tour later in the year.
Peregian’s teaching professional Katelyn Must made the 36-hole cut, shooting a nine-over total of 297 and finishing tied 54th.
Solid performance by Kirk
Noosa’s Katherine Kirk, who has played only rarely this year on the LPGA Tour, delivered four solid rounds – 69, 73, 73 and 69 – to finish 39th in the weekend’s Palos Verdes Championship in California, won by American Marina Alex.
Elsewhere, the news was grim for Noosa’s elite golfers.
Ryley Martin, who plays and practices at Noosa Springs, missed the cut in the Western Australian Open after rounds of 75 and 72.
And in the Huntsville Championship on the US Korn Ferry Tour in Aalabama, Steve Bowditch’s recent run of moderate form continued, the comeback golfer shooting 80 and 73 to miss the cut by 13 strokes.
Wine’s the prize at Skins
The second of this year’s Noosa Springs Skins Series is scheduled for Wednesday 8 June.
The series – four events are scheduled for this year – is a fun social competition with four bottles of wine to be won on each hole.
And if you sink your tee shot on the fourth hole, you will win a Noosa Springs corporate membership valued at $2250.
It’s a team’s stableford competition, with the best three scores on each hole becoming the team score. If two or more teams tie, the wine prize jackpots to the next hole.
The entry fee – $95 for non-members and $49 for members – includes lunch and post-game nibbles.
Club competitions
NOOSA
Tuesday 26 April
Men’s stableford: A grade – Rick Coneybeare 41, Stephen Thorn 38, Aaron Whitfield 37c/b, Andrew Watson 37; B grade – Geoff Cohen 36, Bob Cox 35, Dorcen Walters 34c/b, Stephen Jackson 34c/b; C grade – Danny Woodward 36c/b, Craig Beckey 36, Lyndon Bruggy 35, Stephen Ball 34c/b.
Wednesday 27 April
Vets stableford: A grade – Richard Rudledge 42, Alan Hollows 39, Mal Thoms 38; B grade – Ken Reed 42, Jorma Rusanen 36, Scott Hobden 35c/b; C grade – Max Stockwell 36, Roland Dean 35c/b, Lindsay Binnie 35.
NOOSA SPRINGS
Monday 25 April
Men’s stableford: David Townend 42, John Betar 35c/b, Philip Morgan 35c/b; women’s: Silvana Phillips 37, Gillian Maddern 34c/b, Rowena Faerch 34c/b.
Wednesday 27 April
Men’s stableford: John Gavin 40, John Glennon 39, Rick Tasso 36; women’s: Margie Waters 39, Susan Walker 35, Helen Ringrose 34.
Thursday 28 April
Men’s stableford, black tee: Dylan Hayes 39, Bob Hunt 35, Alan Holley 34.
Saturday 30 April
Men’s stableford: Vince Green 40, William Jaede 40, Peter Catchlove 39c/b; women’s: Ruby Jaede 43, Fran McLaughlin 41, Kini Naughton 38.
Sunday 1 May
Men’s stableford: William Sultmann 40, Bruce McCleary 39c/b, Angus Thomson 39.
COOROY
Wednesday 27 April
Vets Best 3 of 4 stableford: Graham Laing, Peter Palmer, Anthony Jones & Terry Wilson 113, Shane LeGale, Geoff Currie, Geoff Pembroke & Phil Botting 111, Brian Clemow, Paul Hennessy, Robert Little & Gavin Slater 110.
