THE LAKES V CRONULLA AT RYDE PARRAMATTA GOLF CLUB
This midweek match was in replacement of the washed out event of 25 Julv 2022. The day was brilliant. The starting 8 today were, in play order:-
- Roy VANDERSLUIS
- John DALLEY
- Albert SALERNO
- Kevin TRENORDEN
- Steve LANG
- Gary SNOW
- Stuart BECK and
- John BOYS
The drives off the 1*t tee were great, other than for Steven, who put on one of his fades and finished up on the 10th fairway.
No matter, Roy’s shot to the 2nd hole was about 20’ behind the pin. John put his second shot in the creek and had a putt for 5 which just slid by the hole. No matter, his opponent fluffed a couple of chips and the hole was squared.
On the 3rd hole, a difficult par 4 with water on the right, John Boys 2″d shot finished left. He left his chip a little short and made 5. After the 3rd, John was square. Stuart played the hole solidly.
Stuart in control, 2 up.
Gary Snow hit a good drive to the 3 and his 2nd shot was short right. He made 5. Peter Brinsley of Cronulla, a seasoned player, made 4 with a good putt to win the hole. Gary 1 down.
Steven Lang hit his drive to the 3rd very well and his 2nd was short left. He putted to 5’, but did not make what I call his best effort. He missed the putt and squared the hole with Gary Vaughan from Cronulla. Steve still 1 down.
Kevin Trenorden made the bunker off the tee and then the bunker near the green. His opponent, David Finlay was short right. The hole was squared and Kevin is 1 up to this point.
Albert’s drive was right of the fairway bunker on 3 and almost in the water. He hit a good shot, 30’ short left of the green. His opponent, Glenn Anthony, was short right with a good shot coming out of the left trees from his drive. He didn’t really have to worry, because Albert holes his chip for a birdie. He was apologetic, but deep down, very happy.
John Dalley hit a good drive to the left hand side of 3 and his second flew over the pin to 8’ and spun back to 6’. His birdie putt slid precariously by the hole. John’s opponent, Laurie O’Neill, was 35’ short. The hole was squared but John was still 1 up.
Roy hit a good drive at the 3′d hole to the left hand side. His iron shot was 10′ to the right of the pin and he made 2 putts for 4. His opponent, Mike Abbott, wasn’t so fortunate with his 2nd. After a decent drive he was 80m short of the green. All he could do was make 5 to Roy’s 4. Roy was 2 up.
After 5 holes, Stuart has gone to 3 up and John Boys 2 up.
At this point I was called to a meeting so am unable to provide a further report except to be elated when I found the final result was 7 matches to the Lakes and 1 match to Cronulla.
The eventual results were as follows:-
- Roy VANDERSLUIS – 7 / 5 against Mike Abbott;
- John DALLEY — 5 / 4 against Laurie O’NeiII;
- Albert SALERNO – 1 up against Glenn Anthony;
- Kevin TRENORDEN — 1 up against David Finlay:
- Steve LANG– 2 up against Gary Vaughan;
- Gary SNOW—2 down against Peter Brinsley;
- Stuart BECK— 4 / 2 against Barry Brokenshire; and
- John BOYS— 3/ 2 against Michael Marney
Interestingly enough, Michael Marney is an acquaintance of mine, having been a local lawyer for many years. Everyone said I was unkind to him when I told him that his drive off the 1st into the trees on the right was the worst shot I had seen him play in years. Perhaps not sportsmanlike on my part.
Of further interest is the fact that the Course Superintendent at Ryde Parramatta is a man called Sean Probert, who was second in charge at The Lakes for many years, about 20 years ago. I ran into him on the 5th tee and he told me he was struggling with the water on the golf course, but to me it looked in good condition considering the weather we’ve had.
The next game in the Super Seniors is at The Lakes Golf Club, where we host and do not play. At this stage, 4 wins out of 4 is not a bad start for this excellently credentialed team.
Joe GILLES