The Penola Golf Club A-Grade pennant team went down to Naracoorte  4-1 in the first round of the season. The side was very much undermanned, with key players out due to vintage and other commitments.  Even with a full strength team, Naracoorte with a host of near scratch golfers, were always going to be tough to beat. Don Ferguson was the sole winner for the Rosellas as he won 2-up in a tight contest. Chris Holden had an admirable game as he battled hard to go down 3&2.

However, Penola did fare better than host side Bordertown, who could only manage fielding two players, despite being a home match.

There is an Easter break this weekend for all pennant sides. The following weeks sees the handicap team start their campaign at home, with Penola also hosting the A-Grade. 

Robert  ‘Blue’Kuhl has won a very tight contest to take out the B-grade division of the first round of the Club Stableford Championship at the Penola Golf Club on Saturday.

In the first official competition of the season, Kuhl had a blistering first nine to get him to 38 points and set up the win. Playing the back nine first, he had 39 off the stick for 24 points, ensuring he would come out on top of any count back.Kuhl hit four pars and a birdie over a seven hole purple patch.He wilted on the back nine, having only 14 points, however, he had done just enough to edge out his opposition in a three way countback.

Four players of the 22 who played scored 38 points to share the spoils for the day. Conditions varied throughout the day with patches of warm sunshine punctuated with strong winds and the odd shower.

Close behind in the B-Grade was Shane McPherson, who also had 38 points. He would have thought his 21 points on the back nine was enough, but not on this occasion. His best golf came on that back nine where he had three pars in three holes to set up a great nine.

In third place was Tony Gleeson, who also had 38 points. Gleeson stuck to the conventional methos of getting 19 points in each nine. Gleeson had four pars and a birdie on the fifth to build up his tally.

Mark Edwards rounded out the placings with 37 points, which was a good result after scratching the first. He also had four pars and a birdie amongst a few bogeys as he accumulated a good score.

In the A-Grade competition, Paul Harmer won his third competition in a month, also with 38 points.  Another playing the back nine first, he had five pars to help himself to 21 points and a solid foundation. The back nine was spent scrambling as a lot of up and downs from difficult places helped him hold on.

The evergreen Peter Walker finished second with 36 points which helped him take the cash from the Tarpeena boys once again. Walker was steady as a rock as he scored 11 pars in his round.

In third place was the popular Don Ferguson who also had 36 points. Ferguson had a somewhat sluggish start before warming to the task on the front nine where he had five pars and a birdie for 19 points.

It was great to see four juniors out having a hit, with Brad Walker finishing out on top by two shots. Another junior, Luke Walker, had the best shot into the 13th, winning nearest to the pin.

Visitor Judy Webb won nearest the pin on the 9th with Tony Gleeson having the best shot into the 5th, helpinghim secure the birdie.

Next week is a par round.

Click here for full results.

The Penola Golf club officially opened the 2013 winter season with a two ball ambrose competition last Saturday. The day began with the traditional first ball of the season hit by Club Champion, Jock Agnew. With the pressure of 40 plus watching him, Agnew didn’t falter and nailed one straight down the middle. 

Both men and women, members and non-members joined took part in the Open Day competition sponsored by Majella, which saw a great total of 39 players taking part. Despite the odd shower and a coolish breeze, there were some hot scores in both the men’s and mixed competition.

In the men’s competition, Steven Skeer and Fred Clayfield had a great round scoring 75 off the stick for nett 63½. The pair managed to par every hole on the back nine, helping them edge out the opposition. 

The runner’s up were George Kidman and Nathan Williams, who had an impressive 69 off the stick for nett 64¾. 

In third place was Jock Agnew and David Marcus with a competitive score of 65½. Finishing fourth was Shane Anderson and Tony Gleeson, who finished with three threes to put themselves in contention. 

In the mixed competition, Steven Hill and Janice Coote topped the scoresheets with nett 63¾. Good consistent golf all day and birdies on the 3rd and 17th was the key to their win, and taking home the Majella prizes on offer.

Runner’s up were Peter Walker and Helen Ferguson, who were only 1½ shots behind with their score of 65¼. 

Don and Marg Ferguson finished third with 67 ¼, largely due to Marg, who carried Don for most of the final nine, including personal birdies on the 1st and 3rd and draining a 20 footer on the 9th.  

Paul Harmer and Claire Mossop just edged out Andrew and Katrina Hutchesson on count back for fourth, after each had nett 68. 

Ant Mathys and John Wilkinson combined forces again but didn’t take home any prizes, despite trying to play off a different handicap. When asked by their playing partners what their handicap was, Ant looked at the card and confidently replied, “Sixteen and a third.” 

When questioned on the legitimacy of this, Ant looked at the card again and replied, “No wait, that’s the date!”

However not to be outdone, story of the week goes to his partner, Johnny Wilkinson, who has been dining out on the fact he got a hole in one two weeks ago. Playing on a Tuesday afternoon, Wilkinson teed off the 13th and didn’t quite get it out of the middle. The ball squirted hard left, ricocheted off a strainer post across the fairway,  onto the 12th green and into the cup! Not quite a perfect ace, but good effort.