By Peter Owen
Cody Pyne’s first memory, so he says, is watching his grandfather putting on the practice green at Noosa Golf Club.
Cody reckons he was two at the time, and his pop – life member John Graham – would often take the toddler with him to the golf course.
“I pretty much grew up there,” he said. “Then, when I started school, I’d sneak out and play a few holes with my mates.”
Cody, now 19, learned the game from his grandfather and his dad, Shaun, still a member at Noosa, and inevitably joined the club as a junior member.
He was a handy young player, competing in junior tournaments on the Sunshine Coast and playing regularly with his pop at Noosa.
But there are other sporting temptations for Noosa teenagers, especially ones as talented as Cody Pyne. He turned his hand to soccer, rugby league and basketball – but it was a game of cricket that was to change his life.
A student at St Theresa’s, Cody was selected to play in a cricket match at Toowoomba, where he did so well he was offered a scholarship to attend Ipswich Grammar School for the final years of his secondary education.
These days he’s studying sport and exercise science at the University of the Sunshine Coast, and working a couple of part-time jobs to help with the expenses. And, along the way, he’s rekindled his love for golf.
One day last year he gave notice of things to come. Playing with his dad, he scored 54 stableford points to easily win the daily competition.
“When I got back into the game they gave me a handicap of 35,” Cody said, with just a hint of embarrassment. “It’s not that hard to score well when you’ve got two strokes on every hole.”
That wasn’t the case last week, however.
With his handicap trimmed to a more realistic 15, Cody Pyne went around in six-over-par 78 to score 45 stableford points and win the B grade section of Noosa’s Tuesday Club competition by five strokes.
It was his best ever round, and gave the young man confidence that his game is headed in the right direction.
It cut his handicap to 12, but that’s fine with Cody.
“I’m just trying to get better and get my handicap down,” he said.
He’s trying to play more golf, and builds his work and study schedule around golf at Noosa on Tuesdays and Saturdays when, more often than not, he tees it up with dad Shaun.
Gratham stakes his claim as the best hickory player
A committed band of golfers, dedicated to the preservation of the traditions of the game, get together regularly to test their skill playing golf with hickory clubs – just as the pioneers of the modern game did a century ago.
Last weekend golfers from Royal Queensland, Brisbane, Toowoomba and Cooroy gathered at Cooroy for the Sunshine Coast Hickory Classic – the pinnacle of achievement for died-in-the-wool hickory players.
And it was a Cooroy golfer – 73-year-old Gratham Leatherbarrow – who claimed the Bobby Jones Trophy after 36 holes of intense competition.
Gratham, one of the most devoted supporters of hickory golf in our region, shot rounds of 79 and 73 with his antique wooden clubs to pip young gun George Giblett (76, 77) by a single stroke..
George, 20, a member of both Cooroy and Noosa, had earlier set a course record 67 while competing in Cooroy’s Monthly Medal on Saturday before swapping his regular clubs for hickories in the afternoon.
Kaleb Hamilton, also from Cooroy, won the stableford section of the competition, from Royal Queensland’s Ross Bishop.
Classic back with a change of season
It began life last year as a spring tournament but, whatever the season, the Sunshine Coast Winter Golf Classic has proved it’s a winner.
This year’s event, which begins on Monday, June 7 and continues until Friday, June 11, is a sell-out. Indeed, nearly 40 hopeful golfers have put their name down on a waiting list.
Last year’s inaugural event was delayed until October as a result of COVID-19 restrictions.
But those club golfers who competed in the 72-hole tournament, staged across four of the Sunshine Coast’s best courses, were thoroughly impressed.
And the word has spread.
Mark Brady, general manager of Noosa Springs and one of the event organisers, said he was hopeful next year’s event would be bigger.
“The Classic was conceived to showcase the quality of our region’s courses and to attract visitors to the Sunshine Coast during a time when our winter sunshine is such an asset,” he said.
“We’re still affected by COVID-19, of course, but by next year we will hopefully get strong contingents of golfers from the southern states and New Zealand.”
This year’s Classic – a 72-hole stableford event, conducted in grades for men and women – begins at Maroochy River at 11am on June 7. Play continues at Peregian on June 8, Noosa Springs on June 10 and Twin Waters on June 11. There is a rest day on Wednesday, June 9.
Girl power gives Noosa Springs a win
Noosa Springs’ gun team of golfing girls performed magnificently to take down the highly rated Maroochy River 1 team 2-1 in junior pennants at Caloundra on Sunday.
Noosa Springs’ No 1 player Sunday Moore narrowly lost to Julian Stavrov 1 down, but Jasmine Luna scored a great 6&5 win over Sienna Coghlan, and Sunday’s little sister Coco Moore beat Harrison Darr 3&2.
It was part of a promising day for Noosa teams.
Noosa 1 beat Maroochy River 3 with Max Rogan and Cooper Liddell scoring comfortable wins, while Noosa Springs 2 and Noosa 2 were beaten narrowly.
Junior pennant competition continues on Sunday at Noosa Golf Club.
TJ again in the mix
Mt Coolum professional T. J. King shot a solid three-under-par 67 to finish sixth in the Bowen Pro-Am on Saturday, as the national pro-am circuit began its north Queensland swing.
King, who was an outstanding junior before beginning a traineeship at Mt Coolum, finished three strokes behind winner, Chris Wood.
Club competitions
NOOSA
Tuesday, 18 May
Men’s stableford: A grade – Trev Sumner 41, Grant Baker 39, Greg Midolo 38, Shaun Taylor 37c/b; B grade – Cody Pyne 45, Aldo Oriti 40, Marcus Edwards 39, John Henshall 37; C grade – Jim Lawrence 39, Greg Kuch 38c/b, Stephen Alexander 38, John Hughes 37.
Wednesday, 19 May
Vets stableford: A grade – Pieter Kanters 38, Ray Egge 36c/b, Dave Whitehead 36c/b; B grade – Geoff Kerr 38, Edward Dodd 36c/b, Rowan Braithwaite 36; C grade – John Maree 39, Peter Gordon 36, Paul McKernan 34.
Thursday, 20 May
Women’s stableford: A grade – Deb Matheson 35, Rungratree Cox 34, Gail Murden 32c/b; B grade – Marilyn Cliff 35, Sandra Fortington 34c/b, Tracy Whitbread 34; C grade – Kathryn Jones 36, Alice Cumming 31c/b, Rosanna Chisholm 31.
Saturday, 22 May
Men’s 4BBB stableford: Robin Versluys & Richard Henley 47c/b, Ryan Quinn & Nick Cole 47, John Wex & Dave Stewart 46c/b. Women’s 4BBB stableford: Tash Baker & Paula Jeffrey 45, Janine Freestall & Judy Meager 43, Peta Mancktelow & Allana Moore 42.
NOOSA SPRINGS
Monday, 17 May
Men’s stableford: Doug Oates 36, Robert Hobson 35, Ian Griffiths 33c/b; women’s stableford: Lorna Gibson 37, Debbie Collinge 36c/b, Dianne Hudson 36c/b.
Tuesday, 18 May
Men’s stableford: Tony Carabetta 33, Phillip Fortington 31, Martin Scollon 30; women’s stableford: Persephone Lobb 36, Margot McKellar 34, Helen MacKenzie 31.
Thursday, 20 May
Men’s stableford: Ross Anderson 37, Charles Denaro 33c/b, Robert Dutton 33.
Saturday, 22 May
Men’s stableford: Scott McMenamin 41, Bob MacPherson 38c/b, Ross Taylor 38. Women’s stableford: Rosie Randall 36, Wendy Hopping 35c/b, Dorothy Marlow 35.
COOROY
Tuesday, 18 May
Women’s stableford, 9 holes: Kay Gilmour 18, Elaine Henman 17c/b;
Wednesday, 19 May
Vets 2-man Ambrose: Terry Lyons & Ian Mulhall 58.75, Peter Crosby & Geoff Cowan 60.25, Jack Ruig & Mark Woolway 61.75.
Thursday, 20 May
Women’s 4BBB stroke: Judy Kitcher & Patsy Fayne 59, Lee Williams & Michelle Blundell 63.
Saturday, 22 May
Men’s Monthly Medal, stroke: A grade – A. Stewart 67, R. Rashoi 69; B grade – G. Michael 66, M. Davies 67; C grade – I. Lumsden 67c/b, T. Bancroft 67.
