Welcome to the August edition of the Captain’s Report.
Plenty of exciting news and happenings around Golf at BGC during this period. The Ladies Championships are currently being hotly contested while the Men’s Championships were played during May and June. The standard of play in the qualifying and match play rounds was exceptionally high and highlighted the quality of depth we have at BGC. I have long held the view that a Club of our standing, our golfing culture, and quality Championship Course should encourage and develop elite golf and I think this year’s A.H. Colledge Championship highlights the advancement we have made in recent years.
Congratulations to all the winners (outlined later in the report), but especially to our A.H. Colledge Club Champion, Steven Cox. Steven is a worthy addition to the honour roll of great Champions we have at BGC. He is a fine golfer with enormous talent but also is someone who carries himself extremely well.
Special acknowledgment to long-term member Rob Tathem who won his first Senior Championship. Rob is a long time quality golfer of the Club and thoroughly deserves his success.
This last period saw the playing of our Foursomes Honour Board. Sadly, the numbers who participated was slightly down. I am a believer that a strong golf culture should include the many variety of competitions that the game offers. Foursomes is a traditional format that we should continue to play and will continue to encourage new participants to the game and the Club to experience and enjoy.
It is an exciting period for the Men’s Pennants, whose season is underway as they attempt to secure consecutive BDGA Division 1 Pennants titles. We really appreciate the support of Members and hope you are keeping up to date through the Latest News feature on the website and through our Facebook page.
I trust you enjoy this edition and are able to catch up on all the information around Golf at the Club. There are also some useful hints on looking after the Course and getting ready for the events that are on the horizon.
Good golfing!!
Stephen Deane
Member News
Pennants
The Club’s Pennant team has commenced its campaign for back to back BDGA Division 1 Pennant titles. As this report is written we currently sit on top of the table but with the ebbs and flows of a home and away season, it will be a close run thing. The team has really appreciated the support it’s received for the home games from fellow Members who have enjoyed coming out to look at some tough competitive team golf. We thank everyone for showing an interest. It adds to the joy the players feel in competing in a team environment and representing the Club. Keep following the team through our various platforms and we look forward to the rest of the season.
Round 1 – Learn more here.
Round 2 – Learn more here.
Round 3 – Learn more here.
Yellow Tees
It is pleasing to see more and more members electing to use the Yellow Tees for competition play. The introduction of the Handicap and Slope System by Golf Australia a couple of years ago provides an opportunity for competitions to be run with players using different tees and compete in the same competition in a fair manner.
Members will recall in March last year we ran a ‘choose your tee day’ competition on a Wednesday and Saturday to trial the experience. The results of those days certainly showed the evenness of the competition, regardless of which tee was used. We are doing this again in early August.
We are hoping more and more older members utilise this option of a ‘shorter course’ to enjoy their golfing experience more, and stay longer in the game.
The Match Committee has removed the previous criteria of age and handicap as a pre-condition for using yellow tees, and would encourage any member wanting to use Yellow Tees to do so. Simply on arrival for your Game advise the staff in the Golf Shop your intent to play off yellow tees for the day’s play and your card will be adjusted accordingly.
Note – Your Golf Australia Handicap is adjusted to your Daily Handicap using the slope rating for the course. Your score is then adjusted using the scratch rating of the course that most players played off on the day.
Hence, on a Saturday, when the standard is the blue tee, a yellow tee score is adjusted by -3, a white tee score adjusted by -1 and blue is the standard, whereas, on Wednesday when the White Tee is standard, yellow was adjusted by -2, blue by +1 and white was the standard,
Please also note the alternative tee option is not available for Major Events and Honour Boards.
9 Hole Competitions and the Australian Open
There is a lot of talk in the Golf community of the need to provide alternatives for players aside from the traditional 18 hole long form of the game.
With many people at different stages of life, the feedback is that 4 -5 hours to play 18 holes is difficult to fit into a busy professional and personal life.
Research indicates golfers are looking to play shorter forms of the game.
Golf Australia and Golf Queensland, as part of their Australian Open Golf promotion are running a Play 9 Hole Golf initiative which culminates in four Queensland golfers playing a 9-hole competition at the Australian Open in November 2018. You may recall four BGC members qualified for this event last year and came back raving about their experience.
For BGC Members we will again have an opportunity to qualify for this event on Sunday October 28th, preceding the Queensland Open.
However, in the spirit of the initiative and to endeavour to provide members with an opportunity to play in more and more 9-hole competitions when they desire, we will commence a 9-hole competition every week for members with this initiative kicking off from September 1st.
The competition will be weekly (Sunday to Saturday) and members are available to play as many 9-holes as they wish in that week for the weekly competition run down. The competition will be open on timesheet at 3.00 every day of the week to accommodate the various categories and needs for members.
There will be a $5 competition fee to enter each 9-hole competition with the normal ball run down formulas to apply.
Note for handicapping purposes, as per Golf Australia Handicap guidelines, we will be recording all 9-hole scores for handicap purposes. When a player has played two 9-hole rounds, their two cards will be totalled to produce an 18-hole score and handicapped accordingly.
Saturday Timesheet Mixed Lines
We have been delighted with the introduction of the new Sunday and Thursday initiative of non-generic timesheets for Members. Particularly on Saturdays, we are seeing more and more ‘mixed lines’ and the feedback has been positive. It was especially pleasing to see that all Members wishing to play on any given Saturday have the freedom to play where and whenever they wish. We would encourage all members to support the experience.
Mixed 4BBB on a Sunday
Older Members will recall a time when Sunday afternoon was a time for mixed golf. For many reasons, this has declined over the last few years.
The Ladies and Men match Committee are keen to reinvigorate this culture at the Club.
One Sunday a month, we hold a Stroke Blue Tee Challenge for all members. On those Sundays, we intend to also hold a 4BBB Mixed competition to allow mixed pairs to compete against each other in a competition dedicated to that format.
Keep an eye out in the Member Diary and on the timesheets for this event. The August date is Sunday 19th and then on September 9th.
Rotation of pins
Just a reminder to members we have removed the pin positions on the Cards during this Winter Period and have also ceased following a pattern of successive Front, Middle and Back flags during a round. We have done this to provide the Course Staff with the flexibility to place pins in appropriate positions given the condition and pace of the greens. We are often restricted in doing that by the rotation and card policy. We will return to normal practices in Spring 2018. Thank you for your patience.
Message from Mitch – filling in divots
I was recently asked by a new member how he should fill in a divot with sand. Great question and nice to be asked. So, for all members please note Mitch Hayes Course Superintendent’s response.
Divots should be flat, and if anything, slightly below surface height. Reasons being:
- Couch grows laterally and will grow over most things, curbs, garden edges etc. Keeping that in mind, as the grass is recovering from the divot it will grow over the mound of sand and causes unevenness. The best example of this is on Par 3 tees where we regularly repair divots and over the years these areas become lumpy and uneven.
- From a machinery maintenance view, before each mow, our machines are sharpened on a lathe and tested by cutting paper before they are sent out on to the course. Sand is extremely abrasive and if our mowers are cutting through it, it will instantly remove the cutting-edge, negating hours of labour. Needless to say, our Club Mechanic doesn’t like “sandcastles” either.
Staying in the Game
Our resident Golf Strength & Conditioning coach Matt Winkley will be holding 2 free sessions this month. No bookings required just turn up to the Movement Area in athletic clothing. See flyers below.
Latest Result
Club Championship
To learn more about the 2018 Club Championship Finals, click here.
Club Foursomes and Boyce Trophy
To learn more about the 2018 Club Championship Finals, click here.
Vinidex Captain’s Challenge
June Captain’s Challenge
- June was won by Matt Winkley with an impressive 41pts on a 5 handicap. Runner-up was Hiro Kano on 38pts. In total, four players broke their handicap and won a dozen balls. Top female was Angela Fong with 31pts.
July Captain’s Challenge
- July was taken out by Richard Peacock on a very difficult course setup. Richard had 35pts and pipped Geoff Crozier on countback. Top female for the day was Catherine Hammond with 33pts.
Callaway Order of Merit
- The June Vinidex Captain’s Challenge saw the completion of the 6 month Order of Merit (4 best scores out of 6). Stuart Logue…..more to come
Lamington Cup
At the time of writing, we are in the semi-final stage of this highly regarded Honour Board event that has been running since 1898. (The first final was played on the 12th September 1898). It is named after Lord Lamington, who was Governor of Queensland and the inaugural President of the Golf Club.
The August 4 final will see Phillip Abood and Craig Madigan take on Jordan Lett and Adam Gray.
Yeerongpilly Cup
Entries are now open for the Yeerongpilly Cup. To find out more click here.
Alternatively, entries can be made through https://tourentry.golfbox.dk/
Monthly Medals
June
- A Grade – Kristian Poole nett 69
- B Grade – B Myers nett 68
- C Grade – Robert Strutt 38pts
- Best Gross – Ilija Soldan 74
July
- A Grade – G Thams nett 64
- B Grade – G Holding nett 66
- C Grade – Jack Andersen 45pts
- Best Gross – Cameron Powell 71
Hunter Trophy Update
Click here to view full the leaderboard.
Upcoming Events
Friday, 24th August – Vinidex Captain’s Challenge
Saturday, 8th of September – Qualifying of the MT Stafford Trophy
Friday, 28th September – Vinidex Captain’s Challenge
Around the Traps
Our Junior Golfers have shown some impressive form around the state in recent weeks. Sam Slater successfully defended his Queensland School championship title, winning by 4 shots at Kingaroy, and was also selected to represent Queensland in the Australian School Championships in November.
Jordan Hampson continued his recent good form by claiming the Middle Ridge Junior Cup & the Meadowbrook Junior Championship.
The Queensland Boys Championships were recently played at Bargara Golf Club. Congratulations to Jordan Hampson who finished 5th on 280. Jordan played the last two days 10 under par, making 12 birdies and only 2 bogeys in a great finish to the tournament. Louis Dobbelaar finished 6th, Sam Slater tied for 14th. Sam had a very consistent week shooting 71,74,73.72 for his 4 rounds. Ben Stieler was T17 and Curtis Eldering finished on 303 and tied for 38th.
Members Abroad
BGC Members Gary Brodie and Gary Macpherson visited our reciprocal Club in France, the Fourqueux Golf Club. They played each of the three Nines at the Club and were most impressed by both the course and the hospitality. They would encourage any members visiting France to make it part of the experience.
Travel Members
