THERE are still a number of spots available for the 2011 Australian Veteran Golfers Union National Championships taking place this October in spectacular Tasmania.

The five day event will be held at three stunning courses within 15 kilometres of the Hobart CBD with a presentation dinner at the Wrest Point Hotel.

The veteran golf national championship is open to amateur golfers, aged 55 years or older, who are financial members of an affiliated Veteran Golf Club, Group or Association.
Entry for ladies is open to partners of male entrants and Lady Veteran Golfers. All entrants must have a current Golf Australia handicap.

The championship is on from 23rd October to 28th October at the Claremont Golf Club, North West Bay Golf Club and Tasmanian Golf Club.

Tournament Director Ron Graham said while bookings had been very healthy the event still had extra capacity and organisers had decided to keep entry open until the week before the event.

As of September 6 there were some 325 players registered to take part as well as around 100 non-playing visitors.

The cost for males is $220, including four games of golf and the Presentation Dinner, $190 for ladies including three games of golf and the dinner, and $90 for non-players including the dinner.

There is a variety of accommodation available in the area and many entrants were taking advantage of the special rates available for the Spirit of Tasmania to bring their own cars and extend the stay with a tour of the Apple isle.

“The organisation for the event is going well and it should be a memorable tournament for the players,” Graham said.

“We’ve also organised a lot of tours for the non-players because we know a lot of players are bringing their wives and partners and we are ensuring they will be well catered for.”

The Australian Veteran Golfers Union National Championship is an annual event that rotates through the states.

For more information and registration links on the 2011 Championship, which is hosted by the Tasmanian Veteran Golfers Union, visit the championship website here.

The 2010 Australian Veteran Golfers National Championship will be played in the beautiful Port Macquarie Hastings region on the Mid North Coast of NSW.

The event will be held from November 7 to 12 at three courses organisers boast the CSIRO says are in an area with the best climatic conditions in Australia.

The tree courses, Port Macquarie Golf Club, Camden Haven Golf Club and Wauchope Country Club, are located within a region that is a tourist Mecca offering pristine beaches, a lush hinterland, vast national parks and many local attractions.

The national championship, conducted under the auspices of the Australian Veteran Golfers Union, rotates state by state each year and has been growing in popularity annually.

The tournament in Cairns in 2009 was a big success and with the large veteran golfer community in NSW already strongly established, the Port Macquarie event is highly likely to be a sell out – and likely to do so quite quickly.

The tournament includes a 54 Hole Stroke Championship in three grades for men and a 54 hole stableford event for women in two divisions.

There are also single competitions conducted as part of the events and a Medley fourball stableford on the Monday.

The week begins with registration and a welcome function on the Sunday and concludes with the final rounds and a Presentation and Farewell Dinner at the Westport Club on the Friday evening.

Organisers say highlights of the 2010 Championships include

• Lady golfers and their playing male golfing partners will always play on the same course at the same time
• To maximise limited hire cart and buggy availability there will be morning and afternoon shotgun starts
• The three courses are only 30 minutes apart by road
• The program for ladies includes a 54 hole event
• Catering facilities will be available on each course during and after play
• Welcome and Presentation Function at the Westport Club are close to the Port Macquarie CBD and in easy reach of the majority of accommodation places
• There are a wide range of accommodation types and venues available

Entry Forms will be available on the NSWVGA website or you can email Tournament Director Neil Beecroft on neilb2008(at)live.com.au

IT CERTAINLY took some doing, but Port Kembla’s Rod Hall has finally taken out the NSW Veteran Matchplay Championship.

Hall was beaten by a whisker on the 18th hole in last year’s final and today it took him till the 22nd hole to topple Canberra’s Joe Marumo.

There was never more than one stroke difference throughout the match and in a golf format that can be nerve wracking at the best of times, Hall called on some 50 years of golfing experience to retain his composure.

“It can be pretty nerve wracking but I guess you just call on all the things you have done in the past and trust your ability, that’s all. Just trust your swing and go from there,” a delighted Hall said later.

“You are always disappointed when you get beaten on the last but that’s the way it goes. You’ve got to take the good with the bad. This year it just happened to be my turn.”

The fourth and final round of the matchplay event, which included four men’s divisions and two ladies divisions, was played in near perfect sunny conditions at the Shellharbour Links course.

It was a far cry from the first two days of the tournament when sometimes gale force icy winds lashed competitors (see reports below).

“I’m pretty happy. Its always good to be a winner but when you consider what we have gone through all week it is more of a challenge to be still standing at the end of the week,” Hall said.

Hall took up golf as a 12 year old when the local milkman’s son in his home town of Windang suggested “we’ll go up the golf course with dad one afternoon.”

‘The pro up there (at Port Kembla where he has been a member for 49 years) got a few of us together, he used to give us lessons on a Friday afternoon, and it just developed from there,” Hall said of his golfing career.

He went on to have a plus one handicap in his late teens, be a junior and senior NSW state representative, win 13 club championships, the state Champion of Champions title, and a host of other wins.

The 62 year old will be itching to get back next year to defend his title.

‘It’s a good event, I enjoyed it last year. It’s very well organised. Dick (Farrant) does a great job of organising it.”

His final round opponent, Joe Marumo, from the Federal Golf Club, is also highly likely to be back.

Marumo has only recently qualified for the vets (aged 55 plus) and took a week off his job as a Canberra teacher to take part in the tournament.

He needed to win the 18th hole to keep the match alive. Taking Hall to another four sudden death holes should be more than enough to inspire his return.

Ladies Winner “Over the Moon”

QUEENSLANDER Lyn Morrison said she felt “over the moon” to take out the NSWVGA Matchplay Women’s Division One title.

It was a sterling effort from Lyn, from Coolangatta & Tweed Heads Golf Club, who was by far the lowest marker in the field and perhaps the one most feeling the earlier icy conditions.

“I was over the moon. It was quite a thrill. To give 15 shots away to win is a bit of a battle, but I really enjoyed it,” Lyn said.

Lyn beat Joan Hartmann from the Wakehurst Golf Club in Sydney 3/2.

“I was lucky, I got three up straight away and it was enough to hold her,” Lyn said.

“She had the opportunity to get back because I had to give away quite a lot of shots. She played really nicely.”

In the end, Lyn finished the 16th with the three hole advantage she had established early on.

Lyn took up golf some 30 years ago because she was “sick of (husband) Dave being away and I did it to join him”.

Having been involved in lots of other sports including tennis, indoor cricket and athletics, she took to it like a duck to water.

“I enjoyed it immediately,” she said. “I started on 36 and in 9 months I was on a 13 handicap and then the following year I got to 10 and I’ve been as low as four. But in my last 2 years I have gone out to 12. I used to average six or seven but the grandchildren have taken priority.’

Lyn said she loved the Illawarra area where the week long tournament was staged, but with her Queensland heritage she wasn’t that impressed with the icy conditions that had gripped the southern states.

“I really struggled with the cold weather, it just about killed me. I am just not used to it, I was freezing. I have split fingernails and split skin from the cold. It was cold for everyone I suppose but being Cairns born and bred I am just not used to it,” she said.

In the Women’s Division 2, Janina Aird from Branxton defeated Margaret Cole from Port Kembla 2 up.

Round 3

AFTER two days of freezing winds the third round of the NSW Veteran Matchplay Championship took place in comparatively balmy conditions at the Port Kembla Golf Club on Thursday.

Last year’s runner up and Port Kembla member Ron Hall continued his run for the 2009 championship title with a 2/1 win over Camden’s Joe Smuk.

Hall will face off against Canberra’s Joe Marumo (Federal), who convincingly beat Steve Mikosic from the Shoalhaven Heads club.

Much better conditions are forecast for the final round at Shellharbour Links on Friday.

The week long matchplay event, with a number of mens and ladies divisions, is not a knockout and all entrants will play a fellow competitor with the same win/loss ratio on the final day.

Round 1 & 2

ICY winds saw many competitors looking more like skiers than golfers but after two rounds of the NSW Veteran Matchplay Championships in the Illawarra spirits were still high.

Men and lady golfers from some 40 clubs and from as far afield as Cranbourne and Rich River, Victoria and Coolangatta Tweed, Queensland, were taking part in the week long event.

In the top Men’s scratch championship division last year’s runner up Ron Hall had recorded two wins and was still alive as the event moved into the third day at his home club Port Kembla.

Others unbeaten in the top division included Joe Smuk from Camden, Joe Marumo (Federal) and Steve Mikosic (Shoalhaven Heads).

This is the second year the event is being held in the Illawarra.

The first two rounds were played at Shellharbour Links and The Grange at Kembla Grange.

The fourth and final round will be at the much improved Shellharbour Links course and competitors are hoping that forecasts predicting a respite from the strong winds that have gripped much of the state are correct.

For full results see the NSWVGA website here

More final day photos to come.

[Show as slideshow]

VETERAN GOLFERS considering playing in the 2009 Australian Veteran Golfers National Championships in Cairns need to get in soon with just 40 playing spots remaining.

The Ladies Competition is already closed and there is a waiting list so that would seem out of the question.

Tournament director Claud Clark said this week he currently had 320 male entries, 104 ladies and 121 non players who will attend the social functions.

“This means only 40 more entries available so it appears we have been

successful in challenging the economic downturn with an extensive and innovative marketing program,” Claud said.

“In addition the funding we estimated as a requirement for the

Tournament has been achieved. This means we can get on with

the detail of the Championship.”

For full details of the event and a link to the online entry form click our previous story below.

National Veteran Golfers Championship Cairns

One of the spectacular venues for the Australian Veteran Golfers National Championship to be held in Cairns from August 23 to 28.

A tight par 70 all-weather-course overlooking the Coral Sea, Half Moon Bay features sweeping views looking west to the rainforest clad mountain ranges behind Cairns.

Supporting a myriad of birdlife, the course features undulating fairways and beautiful greens that will test any level of golfer

Veteran Golfers National Championship Cairns 2009 – Story Update 17/02/2009

THE 2009 Australian Veteran Golfers National Championship is shaping up as a spectacular event with organisers delighted with the interest shown by senior golfers.

The Bendigo Bank sponsored event will be held in Cairns from the 23rd to 28th August.

With Queensland the rostered state for the Championships this year, the Queensland Veteran Golfers Union had no hesitation in choosing tropical Cairns, the “city within a garden,” as the preferred venue for the prestigious event.

Tournament director Claud Clark said this week organisers were highly confident the ceiling of 360 male starters would be reached well in advance of the closing date of June 12th.

As of mid February there were 260 nominations already in hand for the men’s championships and applications were being received at an average of 45 a month. Doing the math, places are running out fast.

Claud said a Ladies Golf Classic being held at the same time for accompanying ladies was also proving to be a popular attraction and the 100 spots made available for this event were almost completely taken up.

“A strong contingent of Western Australians have entered and 59 men and 17 lady players will cross the continent by caravan, rail and air for the event. Further contacts with senior golfers from the West indicate a total of around 90 entries from that state is likely before the closing date,” Claud said.

This year, in what is believed to be a first, an overseas player will compete in the Championships. Peter Bailey, a 16 handicapper from Coringa Golf Club near Christchurch, New Zealand, will fly in with his wife Stella for the Tournament.

Current National Champion Richard Froebell of the Cranbourne Golf Club in Victoria is expected to enter and will join a quality field that includes former national titleholders Colin Angel from The Grange in S.A., Ken Madden from Merewether in NSW and Jake O’Donnell from Helensvale in Queensland.

Froebell and Angel are the only players to have won the Championship twice and they will be vying to become the first player to hold the title on three occasions.

Organisers chose to hold the championship in August because they say is the best time of year in the northern city with pleasant dry conditions, low humidity and an average daily maximum temperature of 27 degrees.

They also chose two of the best local courses on which to stage the event.

Half Moon Bay Golf Club is a scenic course with a backdrop of lush rainforest and it has one fairway only 30 metres from the Coral Sea. It is renowned for its abundant wildlife.

Cairns Golf Club is set against spectacular mountain scenery. The course features generous fairways and wide greens and is generally regarded as a friendly course but with the tees back and clever pin placements its mood changes and it has real bite for the unwary golfer.

Both courses will be set up to fully challenge the skills of the low handicap players, but on days when the C Graders and ladies are playing, the courses will be tweaked to make them testing but not as severe.

For those who holiday beyond the tournament, Festival Cairns begins on August 29 and attracts people from all over Australia to a three-week program of fun and festivities, food, wine, music, dance, entertainment, street parades and fireworks.

To be eligible for the championship male entrants must be aged 55 and be financial members of an affiliated Veteran Golfers Association and hold a current Golf Australia handicap. The maximum handicap for men is 36 and women 45.

The men’s championship is conducted as a 54 hole stroke event over three grades.

For further details and an accommodation guide see the Queensland Veteran Golfers Union brochure here. (4.29 MB)

Discuss in Australian Senior Golfer Forums

To download a PDF of the Tournament Brochure and Entry Form Click Here

Related Stories

Cairns 2009 National Veteran Golf Championsip Results

The Veteran Golfers Australian Championship will return to Queensland in 2009 and the Queensland Veteran Golf Union has allocated the event to Cairns.

The Championship will be held in August, which organisers say is the best time of year in the northern city with pleasant dry conditions, low humidity and an average daily maximum temperature of 27 degrees.

The Queensland Union have chosen two of the best local courses on which to stage the event.

Half Moon Bay Golf Club is a scenic course with a backdrop of lush rainforest and it has one fairway only 30 metres from the Coral Sea. It is renowned for its abundant wildlife.

Cairns Golf Club is set against spectacular mountain scenery. The course features generous fairways and wide greens and is generally regarded as a friendly course but with the tees back and clever pin placements its mood changes and it has real bite for the unwary golfer.

Both courses will be set up to fully challenge the skills of the low handicap players, but on days when the C Graders and ladies are playing, the courses will be tweaked to make them testing but not as severe.

A Ladies Golf Classic will be conducted at the same time as the Championship for accompanying ladies and organizers are working to make this a top level event.

Nomination forms will be distributed in October but organisers say they are already receiving a strong flow of enquiries and  indications are that available places will be taken up very quickly.

Cairns 2009 National Veteran Golf Championsip Results

National Veteran Golf Championship Cairns – Story Update February 2009

For more information visit the Queensland Veteran Golf Union.

 See our stories on the 2008 Australian Veteran Golfers Union National Championships in Adelaide

The Senior Golf Exchange website is no longer operating. We will leave this story online for all those interested in the concept. 

This is the sensational view from a Senior Golf Exchange listed beachfront home in Tennyson, South Australia. Owners Chris and Sue Watson are both members of  The Grange Golf Club in metropolitan Adelaide.

 Older golfers gazing longingly at travel brochures or getting all misty eyed thinking about unreachable faraway links and saying to themselves, “if only”, can take heart.

 Often, for the older age group it is not finding the time to take the golfing holiday of your dreams that is the problem, it’s the prohibitive costs involved.

 Well, what if you could schedule, say, a three week holiday in the Australian or international location of your choosing, and the accommodation and associated costs were just a one off $99.

 That’s right,  what if you not only got superior, home-style accommodation at that price, but the possibility of some special golf friendly extras thrown in, such as use of a motor vehicle, golf equipment and reduced private member introduced golf club green fees.

 Not only that, but for that same $99 you could repeat the process as many times as you could arrange in a year. If it is all starting to sound like that old well-known television commercial, “but wait, there’s more!”, don’t be concerned. In this case it is all true.

 This is a new, Australian based, golf related travel concept that is set to revolutionise holiday options for senior golfers. It is modeled on the spectacular growth of international and domestic home exchange programs – there are now some 60 such internet-based operations with more than 130,000 member listings.

 But Adelaide entrepreneur and avid golfer Graeme Smith has taken the concept a step further and optimised it for golfers – particularly those aged 50 and over.

 He has launched SeniorGolfExchange.com, which he says is the world’s only private member listing specifically designed for golfers, and one which will facilitate the opportunity to play the world’s best golf courses without incurring accommodation costs.

 Essentially, Smith has adopted the increasingly popular concept of people swapping homes – or alternately hosting each other – for holidays, and improved and tweaked it for older golfers.

 ‘‘The aim is to offer golfers the opportunity to stay in privacy and comfort, close to virtually any world golfing region of their choosing,” Graeme says.

 ‘‘For Adelaide golfers that could mean a weekend within comfortable driving distance of, say, Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula or the sand belt. They could also travel to further afield golfing meccas such as Perth or the Gold and Sunshine Coasts.

 ‘‘But I expect the jewel in the operation will be the international program which will give members the opportunity to spend several months abroad – potentially playing courses like St Andrews, Pinehurst and Pebble Beach – with no accommodation costs and reduced green fees through member introductions.”

 There are also other spin-offs that will add appreciably to the concept’s appeal.

 ”Vehicle hire costs might also be avoided by the exchange process, and the same with golf equipment, even motorised or electric buggies,” he says.

 ‘‘It will also give members the opportunity to live like a local in the area when it comes to meals and entertainment.”

 Initially, many people are attracted to the home exchange concept because of the huge cost benefits, but often they find that it is the actual experience that is the real value.  Things like making new friends and having the opportunity of living in an area like a local, rather than as tourists segregated away in an expensive but nondescript hotel.

 As Graeme says, it can “provide golf travel experiences that money can’t buy.”

 As a first reaction, some people might balk at the idea of having “strangers” in their homes and have a myriad of questions.

 If you visit the extensive Senior Golf Exchange website you will see every possible issue and topic is covered down to the finest details. Everything can be discussed and agreed upon beforehand, so you will extensively “know” who you are dealing with long before there is any  home or hospitality exchanged. (Check out some of the member profiles to see the sorts of people involved with the scheme.)

 It is one of the beauties of Graeme’s service that senior golf fits so perfectly with the home exchange concept. These schemes operate quite successfully with a general populace clientele without problem. Here you know you are dealing with senior golfers only. It is also ideal for golfers wishing to travel extensively within Australia playing in major veteran golf tournaments.

Graeme admits that, apart from his own passion for the game, this is one of the main reasons he specialised the exchange  for the senior golf market.

 ‘‘It is very much because of the ethos of the game and the fraternity it invokes,” he says. ‘‘What that means is that golfers know other golfers will respect the privileges, property and environment afforded to them. ”

 ‘‘It may sound corny but the great English writer PG Wodehouse got it absolutely right. ‘‘What he said was this – ‘Golf is the infallible test. The man who can go into a patch of rough alone,  with the knowledge that only God is watching him, and play his ball where it lies, is the man who will serve you faithfully and well’.”

 Sticking with the golf theme, SeniorGolfExchange.com will also offer exchange arrangements to coincide with significant professional and amateur events around the world.

 Officially launched in April, there are still foundation memberships available to the first 100 suitable applicants from each of the major regions of the world. This will entail a joining fee of $99 that will provide two years of free subscription. Life membership is available for just $499.

 Enquiries can be made to at the Senior Golf Exchange website, or call Graeme Smith on 08 8344 8400 or Mobile 0412 822 233.

This US home, perched on a private golf course itself and minutes from Chanbers Bay Golf Course, selected for a future US Open, is one of the properties listed at the new Senior Golf Exchange private members club.

 What Are Home And Hospitality Exchanges?

Home exchange is a reciprocal arrangement between two exchange partners to exchange vacant possession of each other’s home for an agreed period of time and with specific understandings relating to the use of each home’s facilities.

A non-simultaneous home exchange can occur if one exchange partner has a second or holiday home or may be travelling on another arrangement, and would prefer to have their home occupied in their absence, and “bank” an exchange opportunity for later.

Hospitality Exchange, sometimes referred to as “hosted”, is a two-part arrangement. One exchange partner stays with the other for an agreed period of time and at a later agreed date the positions are reversed. If, for a time, Members are precluded from offering accommodation within their home, a Hospitality Exchange, excluding accommodation may be arranged.

Exchanges don’t need to be “like-for-like”, or of the same duration. The exchange partners agree on what is acceptable to them and the end result may be a very creative combination of the various exchange options.

Because SeniorGolfExchange.com is a Private Members’ Club, it is anticipated about half of the exchanges will be Hospitality Exchange, sharing in some of their golfing experiences, and other common interests, which are discovered during search activity and time spent getting to know each other.

“First, search for a fellow Member with compatible circumstances, in a location you want to visit, then two way communication by all the means at your disposal – email, telephone, digital photos, video. Ask for references if they make you more comfortable.

Ask all the questions you need answers for. If you are still not comfortable with the prospect of handing over your home, select another Member as your exchange partner, or perhaps you are more suited to a Hospitality Exchange, with or without in-home accommodation.”

For answers to any questions, call Graeme Smith direct on 0412 822 233.


 

Australian Veteran Golfers National Championship Cairns – Story Update 2/02/2009

Preparations for the 2008 Australian Veteran Golfers Union National Championships in Adelaide are well under way and organisers are expecting a bumper event.

Tournament Coordinator Jeff McAllister says entries have picked up significantly for the October event but there are still plenty of places left.

The championships are open to all men and lady golfers who are members of state veteran golf organisations and will be held at some of Adelaide’s premier golf course from October 12 to 17.

As well as a marvellous week of golf, there are also various tour options available and you can also plot your own course, perhaps with the help of the Tourism South Australia.

In addition to a host of traditional accommodation options, it could also be a great opportunity to think about joining the new Senior Golf Exchange, which would drastically cut your accommodation costs and open up a new world of golf travel in Australia and internationally. (See our upcoming story.)

Just prior to the veteran’s championship, Adelaide will host the World Amateur Teams Championships, which will bring some of the world’s leading male and female golfers to contest the Eisenhower Trophy and the Espirito Santo Trophy.

 Most of the world’s biggest names in golf have played for these Trophies over the years, including Jack Nicklaus, Sergio Garcia, David Duval, Tiger Woods; and leading female golfers such as Annika Sorenstam, Nancy Lopez and Karrie Webb.

The WATC will be a great opportunity to see the next generation of golf’s superstars from over 25 countries on two great golf courses – Royal Adelaide and The Grange.

Entries for the veteran golfer championships will close on August 31.

As the event draws closer, organisers are finalising the details.

“The registration day on Sunday 12th October is all arranged at the Westward Ho club rooms,” Jeff McAllister says.

“Port Road Sports who will supply the shirts and caps/visors will set up a marquee to distribute to those who have pre purchased and have a selection of other items for sale on the day, including bucket hats, sleeveless tops and additional clothing of interest,” he says.

“The Cocktail Party is to be held on the Monday evening from 5.30 to 7.30pm and will include all drinks during that period and a large selection of finger food.

“All playing venues are locked in and the final Presentation Dinner is booked at AAMI stadium at West lakes.

“We hope to have room for a dance floor, depending on the entry numbers, music will be provided by the group “LA”, playing suitable popular music on the night.

“We are still hoping that the Governor of South Australia will be able to attend and present the winners trophies on the night. The Right Honorable Rear Admiral Kevin Scarce is a down to earth man, a member of Backwood Golf club and a fellow SA Veteran golfer. “Tourism South Australia will have short tours available for those interested. Des’s Minibus also have day tours for the “free” Wednesday, priced from $75 to $100 per person (minimum 10 ) to the Barossa Valley, Victor Harbour and the Adelaide Hills wine regions, package lunch provided. Those interested can book on the Sunday at Registration.

“There are also quite a few players booked to play at Adelaide Shores on the free day, we have reserved times for them and all interested can pay at the Pro Shop on the day. There are plenty of carts for hire also.   

“We have negotiated with Pete Drummond Golf for Vouchers which can be redeemed at their stores throughout Australia. Other trophies will be in the form of golf balls and bottles of South Australian wine. Daily Trophies can be redeemed by the winners the next day or during the week up to the presentation night. 

“A raffle will be also be held with tickets available on the Sunday, for a TaylorMade golf bag and a top golf driver, plus more SA wine. This will be drawn on the Friday night at the presentation dinner.”

For further details see our previous story here or visit the website of the hosts, the South Australian Veteran Golfers Association.

SHOWING all his class and experience, Lake Macquarie golfer Tony Jones (pictured left) has won the NSW Veteran Golfers Association Matchplay Championships. 

The 72 year old single handicapper beat his younger rival Rod Hall, from the Port Kembla Golf Club, in a hard fought and close final at the much improved Shellharbour Links course. 

Both these players have been NSW representative golfers in their time and the talent shone through during the week long event, with preliminary rounds also held at the championship Port Kembla course and The Grange at Kembla Grange. 

Jones (Waratah Golf  Club) has been playing golf for 57 years and needed all the guile and cunning he has built up over that time to make up for the distance he was losing on the longer shots. 

Jones and Hall turned level after nine holes but a couple of birdies on the par threes saw Jones one hole ahead with one to play. 

His second shot on the final hole ended up in a gully about 35 metres short of the green but a brilliant chip to within a few feet of the hole clinched the championship. 

Hall, unlucky with a few very close putts on previous holes, failed with the birdie putt he needed from the fringe to force the match into overtime. 

Jones was in the NSW Amateur Junior side as a 22 year old, and has won a number of tournaments over the years. In latter times he has been a runner up and frequent competitor at the Australian Men’s Senior Amateur Championships. 

Jones was delighted with his Veterans win, particularly after slipping two holes behind on their back nine (they teed off the 10th). 

“It was a good win but I know he can play better than that,” he said of his 62 year old matchplay foe Ron Hall. 

“He’s a good player all right, he played for the state for quite a while, plus he comes from down here,” Jones said. 

“Plus he’s off four and I’m off seven so I was giving him a bit of a start (they played off scratch for the matchplay), there’s ten years in age and about 30 kilograms in weight,” Jones joked. 

The veterans matchplay championship has previously been held annually in Coffs Harbour and this is the first year it has moved to what looks like its permanent new home in the Illawarra. 

NSWVGA secretary and matchplay tournament director Dick Farrant said whilst numbers were slightly down because of the move it had  been a very successful week. 

Farrant said there had been entrants from all over NSW and the ACT, with particularly strong support from the Newcastle area. 

“We will definitely be holding it at the same three courses next year,” he said. 

“It has been a very popular event and I’m  sure if you spoke to any of the competitors involved they would have had a great week.” 

Tony Jones is one competitor predicting an even bigger and better event next year. 

“There will be a lot of better players next year because they will all be saying ‘if that old bastard can win it, it must be pretty easy’, so they’ll all be down here,” he said.

Marie Wins Ladies Matchplay Championship

Jamberoo Golf Club member Marie Farrant (pictured right) won the ladies section of the NSW Veterans Matchplay Championship, blaming the win on her new Lady Cobra golf clubs.

“They’re beautiful,” she said of the month old clubs.

Marie has been playing veterans golf for 13 years and was celebrating her best win.

“This is my biggest win and also the first time I have played veterans matchplay,” she said.

Marie beat rival Jane Hartmann from the Wakehurst Golf Club in Sydney. She was three up with two holes to play.

“I’m very happy, it was a good win,” Marie said. “I’m really happy with the golf sticks, really pleased with them.”

“We’ve played four games of matchplay this week and I’ve won four in a row.” 

Marie and her husband Dick (NSWVGA secretary) have travelled Australia playing veterans golf and have attended all the Australian Veterans Golfers Union National Championships, which rotate around the country on a state by state roster.

They’ll be attending the AVGU National Championships in Adelaide this October.

“We’ll be going to Adelaide this year and this will be our second time around now,” Marie said.