By Peter Owen
Ned Richards has returned to golf on the Sunshine Coast in red-hot form.
Playing in Noosa Springs’ Thursday members’ competition, Ned scored 51 stableford points for an emphatic win.
Despite a quadruple bogey eight on the sixth hole, Ned shot 83 off the stick – a pretty good effort from the tough black tees. Deduct his 25 handicap and Ned returned a net score of 58.
That equated to a rare 51 points, and saw his handicap sliced to 19.
Ned, an electrical engineer, relocated from Melbourne to Noosa in 2015 and joined Noosa Springs, where he played for two or three years.
Golf Services manager Warren Ellis said Ned had recently rejoined as a corporate member after being away for some years.
“I can’t remember the last time anybody had 51 stableford points here,” he said.
Judy’s learnt the game well
Judy Buss, who learnt how to play golf while living in Singapore rather than become a golf widow, showed how good a student she had been when she returned 40 points to win a Noosa Springs stableford competition before the rain started falling.
Judy, a 10-handicapper and a consistent performer at Noosa Springs, had three points to spare over Tracey Carter and Lee-Ann Hay.
Judy, who grew up in Canada, was living with her husband Tony in Singapore in the ’90s when she took up the game.
The couple owned a home in Noosa and spent most of their holidays there before retiring to Noosa Springs a decade ago.
Rare double for Greg
Last week’s drenching rain could not have come at a worse time for consistent Noosa Springs member Greg Taylor, who had tapped into a rich vein of form before the heavens opened.
Greg, playing off a handicap of 13, won the Monthly Medal stroke event on Saturday 7 May, shooting a round of 85 for a net score of 72. He beat Steve Walker on countback.
The following day he backed up in the Sunday stableford competition, this time from a handicap of nine.
Greg tallied 39 points to win by three points from David Wrigley.
One of Noosa Springs’ most dependable players, Greg scored a remarkable 47 points in a stableford competition two years ago.
Heavy rain closes Noosa courses
The week of heavy rain played havoc with golf on the Sunshine Coast, closing courses, cancelling club competitions, and forcing the first round of zone junior pennant competition to be abandoned.
The first round, scheduled to be played at Mt Coolum on Sunday and featuring a clash between defending champions Noosa Springs and a team from Noosa Golf Club, has been declared a washout, and will not be replayed.
All teams will be allocated one point.
Most Noosa region courses were open for play early this week.
Olivia and Jen dodge the rain
Noosa’s Olivia Dolan was the best performed of a strong Sunshine Coast contingent in the rain-affected Queensland Women’s Country Championship played in Cairns last week.
Olivia shot a 12-over-par 82 in difficult conditions at Cairns’ Half Moon Bay Golf Club on Tuesday to finish eighth in Division 1 of the stroke competition.
She and playing partner Judy Meager had withdrawn from the foursomes competition a day earlier because of the wet and windy conditions which restricted the event to nine holes.
Noosa Springs’ Jen Carr was the individual Division 2 net winner on 73. Her gross score of 97 placed her 13th outright.
Silvana Phillips, also of Noosa Springs, scored 85 in the individual stroke event, and teamed with Mount Coolum’s Kim Cummins to finish 9th in the foursomes.
Tick off an item on your bucket list
Noosa golfers and their families have the chance to make their dreams come true and attend next year’s US Masters championship.
And they’ll be hosted by two very well-informed locals – Noosa Springs teaching professional Peter Heiniger and Teed Up Golf’s Chrissy Hordern.
Peter and Chrissy hosted a similar tour in 2018, and describe it as the trip of a lifetime.
Tourists will play golf at some great golf courses and witness four days of the Masters, including the par three tournament prior to the big event, and the exciting final round on Sunday.
“There will be a lot of fun together as a group, but there will also be plenty of time for guests to do their own thing,” Heiniger said.
Accommodation for Masters week will be at the charming Willcox Hotel in nearby Aiken, South Carolina.
“If you’ve always dreamt of watching play at Amen Corner from your very own Masters chair and witnessing the presentation of the green jacket on Sunday, this trip is definitely for you,” said Heiniger.
Contact Chrissy Hordern at chrissy.hordern@gmail.com for information.
Kirk struggling on LPGA Tour
Katherine Kirk’s career on the US LPGA Tour may be winding down.
The veteran, who still calls Noosa home, has played a limited schedule this year, choosing to remain in the United States rather than follow the tour overseas.
She followed a first-round 70 in this week’s Founders Cup at Clifton, New Jersey, with an uncharacteristic second round 80 and missed the cut by a margin.
After competing in five events this season, Kirk was languishing in 128th place on the LPGA standings and in danger of not automatically qualifying for playing rights next season.
During an outstanding 19-year LPGA career, Kirk, 40, has won three times, scored 40 top 10s and earned more than $5.75 million in prizemoney.
How to produce great juniors
Noosa Golf Club’s success in producing outstanding junior golfers does not come by accident.
The club has a strong junior program, conducted by teaching pro Jimmy Douris, which helps turn inexperienced youngsters into proficient golfers.
Classes are held after school each Wednesday for boys and girls aged from six, and on Friday for older children.
To be a part of the program, children must be Noosa members. Beginners can join as cadet members for $49 a year, while junior membership costs $225. Membership includes one clinic a week, a free tee-shirt and free social membership for parents.
Katelyn tackles the best trainees
Peregian teaching professional Katelyn Must tested her game in the Bribie Island PGA Open Match event last week – shooting one-over-par 73 and finishing only one stroke behind a quartet of winners that included trainee Order of Merit leader Dylan Gardner, of Pelican Waters.
The Monday series of 18-hole events is usually restricted to trainees, but professionals engaged in teaching and other areas of the golf industry are allowed to play in some of the tournaments.
Must’s days as a trainee are long gone, but she remains one of Australia’s most accomplished female golfers, campaigning impressively this year on the WPGA Tour.
