By Peter Owen
The first time Shane LeGale ever came to Australia was on a Boeing 737 that he flew from Honiara in the Solomon Islands to Brisbane.
The airline captain, who made his living flying jets from one side of the Pacific to the other, was so impressed he made an instant decision that this was the place he wanted to call home.
He based himself in the Sunshine Coast hinterland and, when he eventually retired, joined Cooroy Golf Club and went about learning the game of golf.
“I knew nothing about golf, but I often drove past the course and saw people playing,” Shane said. “It always looked as if they were enjoying themselves and having fun.
“At first I just picked up a club and hit the ball as hard as I could,” he said. “My game was going nowhere and I became very frustrated.”
But a few lessons with teaching professional Cyril Trist – a ‘wizard,’ according to Shane – cured his problems and his handicap quickly dropped from 22 to 12, a mark the modest Shane says he can’t play to.
Last week, though, something certainly clicked. Shane played the round of his life, tallying 41 stableford points to win the A grade division of Cooroy’s popular Veterans’ competition.
“I was relaxed and light of spirit, in a great group and my mind was clear,” he said. “It also helped that quite a few putts dropped.
“I played to a handicap of seven which, for me, was quite extraordinary.”
When he’s not on the golf course you’re likely to find sporty Shane playing pickleball with a group of friends on the Cooroy badminton courts.
He finds the game – a paddleball sport that uses a perforated polymer ball and combines elements of badminton, table tennis and tennis – addictive, and plays most Tuesdays and Thursdays.
“We started off with just one session, and only four or five players,” he said. “Now it’s twice a week and with a limited number of courts available we’ve had to cap the number of players at 18.
“If you’re not quick enough to book you have to go onto a waiting list,” he said.
Marcus right on target at Noosa
Scoring a hole-in-one is nothing new for Noosa’s Marcus Edwards – the 17-handicapper has done it five times, including four at his home course.
But collecting three Nearest the Pin prizes in a single round, as he did in Noosa’s Tuesday Club competition, was a first for the man who’s been playing golf for more than 50 years.
His only regret is that he didn’t win the B grade trophy – and he blames his playing partner Trevor Sumner for that misfortune.
“With three holes to go, Trevor remarked that I had a really good round going,” Marcus said. “That was it – I wiped the next two holes, and the damage was done.”
As it was, Marcus scored 35 stableford points – two fewer than B grade winner Alan Burton.
His immaculate tee shot on the 10th gave him NTP honours on that difficult par three. His other NTPs were on the shortened 14th (replacing the fifth hole which is being renovated) and a shortened third (replacing the 12th).
In fact his tee shot on the 14th – 14A as it was described on the day – was perfect, his ball coming to rest short of the hole and rolling in for an ace. Marcus has also had holes-in-one at Noosa’s 5th, 7th and 10th holes, and also once holed out on a par-three at Cootamundra.
Retired now for 17 years, Marcus regularly plays twice a week at Noosa. And he’s right for balls for the next few weeks. He collected 14 on Tuesday – 12 for his three NTPs and two for being in the rundown.
Another great showing by Cassie
Peregian’s Cassie Porter will continue her enormously promising professional career this week at The Athena, a creative new event for just 12 players that will be played at the Sandringham Links golf course in suburban Melbourne.
And the good news is that this time she won’t be up against her nemesis – and heroine – Hannah Green, who in the past fortnight has won the Victorian Open and the TPS Murray River at Cobram-Barooga in southern NSW.
Green, who on Sunday became the first female winner of a mixed gender 72-hole golf tournament anywhere in the world, has returned to Perth, before rejoining the LPGA Tour in tournaments in Singapore and Thailand in early March.
Cassie, meanwhile, will play the 36-hole Athena in Melbourne, the Webex Sydney Players Series at Bonnie Doon (March 3-6) and the Webex Hunter Valley Players Series at Cypress Lakes (March 10-13), before taking a break of her own.
Cassie’s performance at Cobram – returning rounds of 66, 66, 70 and 68, to finish equal sixth in an event contested by male and female professionals and amateurs – continued her remarkable run of consistency since joining the professional ranks.
She sits in the top five in the WPGA Order of Merit.
In the four tournaments she’s played, she has finished top 10 three times and impressed everybody with her poise and attitude, as well as her ability.
Cooroy turns tables on Mt Coolum
Cooroy now has its name on the Coo-Coo Shield, a trophy awarded to the winner of the twice-yearly contest between Mt Coolum and Cooroy veteran golfers.
The shield takes its name from the letters ‘Coo’ which appear in both clubs’ names, and was emphatically won twice last year by Mt Coolum.
The contest is based on the sum of the top 20 scores from players of both clubs during their bi-annual host days, with the scores of each captain and president automatically included.
Cooroy – greatly assisted by the performance of their C graders – won last Monday’s edition by 70 stableford points and gets to keep the trophy until at least May, when the return clash takes place.
The best 11 scores in C grade were by Cooroy players, including Darryl Ayers’ 43 points, which was the best score of the day for any grade.
Club competitions
NOOSA
Monday, 14 February
Women’s stableford: A grade – Michelle Greenwood 39, Janis Rimkus 38, Noreen Flood 36c/b; B grade – Julie Preskett 35, Tracey Frawley 32, Adrienne Wild 30; women’s 9-hole stableford: Barb Allen 20c/b, Margaret Schofield 33.
Tuesday, 15 February
Men’s stableford: A grade – Colin Kinnaird 38, Justin Morgan 37c/b, Ken Robinson 37c/b, Alan Holley 37; B grade – Alan Burton 37, Bob Cox 36c/b, John Curtiss 36c/b, Peter Telley 36; C grade – Paul Banford 39, Tim McKiernan 38, Greg Kuch 37, Bob Hobart 36.
Wednesday, 16 February
Vets 4-man Ambrose: Michael Morgan, Geoff Kerr, Warwick Creed & Darren Wylie 57.5, Richard Rudledge, Peter Wright, Peter Crooks & Terry Dale 57.875.
NOOSA SPRINGS
Monday, 14 February
Men’s stableford: Anthony Murray 38c/b, Greg Copeland 38, Bob Layton 37; women’s: Irene Cordukes 37c/b, Niki Matthews 37, Elise Fisher 36.
Wednesday, 16 February
Men’s stableford: Christopher Rolph 39, David Burr 38, Steven Burr 37; women’s: Sandi Hoskins 35, Dana Foulsham 31c/b, Waraporn Paknuea 31.
Thursday, 17 February
Men’s stableford (black tee): John Mulquiney 35c/b, Martin Scollon 35, Russell Bennett 28.
Saturday, 19 February
Men’s stableford: Joost Wamsteeker 40, Brian O’Keefe 39c/b, Iven Macleod 39; women’s: Sandie Tregaskis 38c/b, Jenny Hickey 38, Toni Liddy 37c/b.
Sunday, 20 February
Men’s Sunday Series, stableford: Angus Thomson 42, Timothy Monger 41, James Hordern 37; women’s: Wendy Dauphin 33, Chrissy Hordern 30c/b, Persephone Lobb 30.
COOROY
Wednesday, 16 February
Vets stableford: A grade – Shane LeGale 41, Paul Korczynski 40, Scott Bennett 39; B grade – Wayne Carty 39c/b, Rick Lenske 39c/b, Neville Kunst 39; C grade – Kevin Pickford 38, John Cairns 34, Ron Blount 33.
