Friday 29th August 2008

This week has again been a very busy week. I have built another blog site for the Golf club to show the events being held daily at the club. It is in basic stage at the moment with some polishing to be done. You can view at http://www.gosfordgolfclubevents.blogspot.com/

Last Sunday 24th August was the 2nd round of the Team Series Event. Our Playing partners were Rhonda & Wally Robertson. They were great company & saved the day. I have been having trouble with "Tennis Elbow" & it was giving me some grief. I had my worst score ever so I blamed the "Tennis Elbow" Well that is my story and I am sticking to it!

The best part of all - although I was the weakest link, my other three partners all come in with good scores. It is a three scores to count event & we come in Runners Up on the daily event & won a pair of golf shoes each. It just goes to show that being the weakest link is not always a bad thing. We are also coming equal second in the overall event (over three series) so I will need to come up with something special in the last round to make amends.

Monday the 25th August was a huge "F-Troop" day when we were lucky enough to have a good turn up of volunteers & got a huge amount of work done on the course including a new hedge garden on the first tee (image attached).

Tuesday 26th I played Golf with the ladies. It was a special "Grandma's Day". My playing partners were Yvonne Wilson & Robin Incoll. As none of us were Grandmothers we got to play in the daily event. Our scores were not great however I thankfully did better that last Sunday.

I have decided to give my arm a rest & have cancelled out of weekday golf for next week. The Tasmania Golf week is looming so I need to be right for that. It was Clyde Cruickshanks birthday so we all had a little celebration with him (photo attached)

Wednesday I worked on the new blog for most of the day. It is time consuming to set it up but once there it will be a simple matter to keep updated.

Thursday 28th August I cancelled out of golf for several reasons. One was to rest my arm. The other was to attend the funeral of Sid Dyer. Sid was a client of mine for some 20 years years in my "working career" life and as well he was the father and father-in-law of two of our Gosford Golfers, Duncan & Rosalie Dyer. The service was held at Palmdale and afterwards at the Gosford Sailing Club. It was a fitting send off for Sid & the Sailing Club venue is very attractive (images attached). In the afternoon I met up with a horticulturist from one of the local nurseries & we did a course inspection with a couple of other members of the "F-Troop". It was a very beneficial exercise as it will help us for a structured plan together for the beautification of the course.

Friday 29th August was a catch up day for bits and pieces around the house. I put in an entry form to the local Council to enter the Golf Club gardens in the local "Garden Competition" being held in September. Last year the "Ladies Garden" that we did on the 13th won the 'Best Commercial Garden' so we hope to do well again this year with all the additional gardens we have put in place over the last 12 months.

That evening was a celebration at the Golf Club for Ray Presdee's 70th Birthday (photo attached) I didn't with the Badge draw or any of the raffles but the birthday cake & the malteesers were great. (photo attached)

Images attached: Ray's birthday cake; Ray with the girls; photos from the balcony of the Sailing club including the infamous "Iguanagate" (restaurant accross the water with the white sails); with Clyde Cruickshanks and the girls on his birthday; with my playing partners Robin Incoll & Yvonne Wilson on Tuesday; The F-Troopers at work on Monday building the new hedge garden on the first; Accepting our runner-up trophy of a pair of golf shoes on Sunday; the current scoreboard of the "Team Series" ( one more week to run at the end of September); with our playing partners on Sunday Wally & Rhonda Robertson.

Friday 22nd August 2008

Another busy few days with the final rounds of the Championships on Tuesday & Thursday.

We were so lucky with the weather over all four rounds of the championships. We had near perfect weather for the most of it and a perfect day for the final.

Tuesday I had a bit better day at golf than the previous week but still could have done a lot better if only I could putt. It was a good day with my playing partners Rosalie Dyer and Lesley Gregory. We enjoyed the day which is the main thing and we bought home Lesley who was the winner of our grade for the day.

Wednesday I spent at home as I had to catch up on all the domestics while there was still some good weather around. Everything got washed, ironed, polished and packed away so I have got some more time out for golf this week.

Thursday was the final day of the championships and the weather was perfect. My playing partners today were Bev Adams & Lyn Cruickshanks and they were great company. I would have had to put in a blinding finish to make any impact on the leaders and at the end of the day I was happy that I had my best round of the championships and finished equal 4th in the gross out of a field of 33. In the nett I would have finished in the top third so that is okay. I had a slow start this year & had to do catch up. Well at least I have my name on the trophy once. I will try again next year.

We had some very popular and deserving winners & enjoyed a really nice presentation after the match.

On Thursday one of the girls accidently drove a cart through the hedge at the front of the club (photo attached) so my next challenge is to be creative in the repair - perhaps an archway would fix the problem. I will keep you posted.

Today (Friday) it has been very cold & raining. It would have been a miserable day for golf.

I spent the day doing fiddly catch up jobs like claiming medicare bills, making appointments, doing some banking etc , etc. Had lunch at Erina Fair and it seemed like everyone else on the coast had the same idea. It was a very busy place - so curled up on the lounge under a blanket watching the olympic games seemed a much better option the afternoon.

It is only a few weeks now until we go on our Tasmanian Golf holiday experience. I have been watching the Tasmanian weather and Hobart has been 10 degrees and snowing this week. With that in mind I bought some thermals while I was shopping today as I think they may be a necessity out in the elements on the golf courses.

Images attached: With my playing partners on Tuesday Lesley Gregory and Rosalie Dyer; out on the golf club balcony enjoying the sunshine on Tuesday afternoon; with my playing partners on Thursday Bev Adams and Lyn Cruishanks; with Rosalie Dyer & Lesley Gregory on Thursday - we were supposed to be playing together but there was a late withdrawal & I was moved up one slot; The trophies ready for presentation; The damaged hedge at the golf club in need of repair; the final scoreboard from the Championships - you can click on the photo to enlarge it to viewing size. Click the "backspace" key to return to this page.

Monday 18th August 2008

This last week has gone so quickly I have not been able to find time to update this blog. It has been a full on week - mainly taken up with golf and golf club work.

On Sunday 10th August the day started off really nicely, blue sky and sunshine, a little cool but not too bad. It developed into a full blown storm including hail. Our playing partners that day were Ray & Norma Presdee and they were great company. It was fun trying to putt across hail stones (only small ones) & try to get the ball in the hole. We got soaking wet & decided to call it quits at the 12th hole. I am not at all impressed about playing in the rain, let alone gale force winds blowing our umbrellas inside out and hail for good measure.

Monday 11th was full on work at the golf club clearing the fairways and paths. That took us most of the day as the recent high winds had made quite a mess of the place. I had my eyes checked for new glasses in the late afternoon and made a decision to move up to bifocals as I am sick of taking my glasses on and off and forever misplacing them.

Tuesday 12th August was the first day of the Championships. My playing partners were Lyn Bates and Margaret Pratt. We had some good highlights during the day but none of us finished with a spectacular score. The greens were very fast & our putting bought us undone. The weather held for us which was good & the course was starting to dry out well.

Wednesday 13th I had a "me" day and caught the train to Sydney for a day. (Photo attached of the QVB (Queen Victoria Building) one of my favourite haunts when I visit Sydney. It was not quite as spectacular as it was at Christmas Season when all the decorations are out but the place has always got a special atmosphere. I did of course do a bit of the mandatory retail therapy to relax me for the next days championship match.

Thursday 14th was the second day of the Championships and again we had good weather & the course was even dryer. My playing partners were again Lyn Bates and Margaret Nash. The greens were even deadlier today and that was where we struggled. The fairways had some good run - so I enjoyed that after playing for so many months in the wet and mud. We had a fun day but unfortunately not up with the winners. I will need a spectacular effort next week to make any impression on the leaderboard.

Friday 15th August was a very big day being the final clean up before the Pro-Am began.

We worked from 7.30 am until 1 o'clock when we stopped to have a BBQ lunch that the club put on for all the "F-Troop" workers. We had a good response from the members & a lot of good work was achieved. At 2 o'clock the Skins Match began with four of the professional golfers playing nine holes for quite a large amount of money. Andre Stoltz won $2,000 just on the 18th hole playoff. We had a lot of members and visitors turn up to watch the match & we all walked around the nine holes with them. It was good to watch their technics at close hand.

Friday night we stayed for dinner at the Golf Club. We had billeted one of the young professional golfers for the weekend and had arranged to meet him at the club on Friday night.

Our billet was Jason Shine from Bunbury in Western Australia & he was a delightful young man.

Saturday 16th of August was my 65th birthday. Peter played golf with his mates and the professional Andre Stoltz so Rod & Anne took me to lunch at Iguana's Restaurant on the Gosford waterfront (Yes! the famous "Don't you know who I am" restaurant). I was a bit dissapointed that they did not ask me who I was!!! It was a lovely day and we sat out on the balcony overlooking the water (photo of Rod & Anne attached). Previous to that Shane & Sam arrived with a lovely birthday cake for me & stayed for morning tea. In the afternoon I was back at the golf club setting up for the Pro-Am Dinner that was being held there that night. As my birthday just happened to be on the same day it became my birthday party. We had about 100 people there so I had a wonderful day and night. (photo attached with the cake and very becoming birthday hat).

Sunday 17th August was the second day of the Pro-Am. We played with Alan Graham and Andre Stoltz which was very exciting for me. For those of you who do not remember Andre Stoltz won a major event in America (huge prize money). His caddy was his young son Zac - his handicap is 14 and he is only as high as my golf buggy. I can see a huge future for him.

We had a good team score for the first nine with Andre scoring birdies on the first two holes.

We played quite well down the fairways for the most part but it was the little green patch down the other end that caused us some problems. Even Andre 2 and 3 putted some holes which made me feel a little better. My highlight for the day was winning nearest the pin on both the 5th and the 14th 3 pars and I fluked a huge long putt into the hole on the 13th to score 4/4.

I did enjoy the day even though our scores were not too wonderful. There were not a lot of good scores in on the day as the greens were very difficult so I didn't feel too bad.

Jason joined us for dinner at the club that night & I shared out the birthday cake from the previous evening with the members that were at the club. The meal we had the previous night was so huge that we could not even consider eating any cake so it was good to have another opportunity to have more celebrations.

Today, Monday 18th was tagged for a recovery day. We had to go to the club to return some pot plants borrowed from a local nursery for the weekend & then helped out with a mail out to members from the club regarding the upcoming AGM. Peter has put his hand up for the Vice Presidents position and has been accepted unapposed.

We farewelled Jason as he headed off to his next Pro-Am in Newcastle.

In the afternoon we visited Palmdale to view Mum's plaque. Mum & Dad are resting together in a very peaceful setting (photos attached). The native garden has been cleared and replaced with new plants which should look lovely when they get some growth on them.

I picked up my new glasses today and find them a bit off putting. I will perservere as I have been told that it takes up to a week to adjust to them.

Tomorrow is the third day of the Club Championships so I am hoping that I have been inspired by all the good golfers that I have watched over the weekend.

Images attached: Hail on the green on Sunday 11th; Peter & Ray under the umbrellas in the storm - we gave up shortly after; With Ray & Norma at the beginning of the day; with Margaret Nash & Lyn Bates on each of the Championship days last week; The QVB on Wednesday; photos from the skins match on Friday; F-Troop BBQ; Peter helping me with the garden work on Friday; one of the finished gardens on Friday; my birthday cake from Shane & Sam; Rod & Anne at my birthday lunch at Iguana's; my birthday cake on Saturday night; my good look birthday hat; with Carolyn, Vicki & Margaret on Saturday night; with my nearest the pin trophy on Sunday; with Alan Graham, Andre Stoltz and Zac Stoltz prior to our match on Sunday; Jason Shine - our visiting golf professional; Mum & Dad's resting place at Palmdale.

Thursday 7th August 2008

Today the weather stayed fine for our golf match & we were safely inside the club by the time the storm hit. My playing partners today were Yvonne Wilson & Maryanne Lanham who were great company & we had some good highlights that did not reflect in the final scores. Our friends playing ahead of us left us a "Look here" note and some jelly snakes at the 13th tee. We needed a sugar hit by then. It was all good fun.


Tonight we had dinner at Aree's Thai Restaurant with George & Tosca & caught up with their nine week adventure around the top of Australia. They had a wonderful trip and we are looking forward to doing a similar type of trip next year.

We all then went on to the Laycock Theatre where we saw "70 Girls 70" which was a song and dance show and we really enjoyed that. Tosca & George had heard the show advertised on the ABC radio and rang me from Coffs Harbour on their return journey to get some tickets for tonight's show. It was an amusing show & worth a visit.


Images attached: With George & Tosca at Aree's Restaurant; the stage setting at "70 girls 70" at the Laycock Theatre; with my playing partners today Yvonne Wilson & Maryanne Lanham; the note and jelly snakes at golf.

Tuesday 5th August 2008

Today the promised showers did not come & it was a pleasant sunny day for golf. My playing partners today were Jan Fitzgerald & Yvonne Bean. We had a lovely day even though the scores were not great. We had some highlights which made our day. The course is gradually drying out & I am hoping that the predicted showers over the next few days hold off so that I can get Thursday's game in for some practice. The Club Championships start next week & my chances are looking very grim unless a purple patch arrives very shortly.


Today was Rod's induction day at his new job with Gosford City Council. It will be a new learning curve for him as he has worked for private enterprise since leaving school. His experience in concreting will be beneficial & he is looking forward to the new challenge.


Images attached: Rod with his allocated safety gear at his induction day at the council today; with my playing partners today Yvonne Bean & Jan Fitzgerald.

Monday 4th August 2008

This last week has been mainly about golf, golf course maintenance and wild wet weather (except for the last two days that have been sunny & beautiful).

Sunday 27th July was the first round of the Team Series set over three days. Our playing partners were Ian Mitchell & Iris Talbot. Our team did not win, but we are not that far out of the main scores - so we have a chance in the overall series if we play well in the next two matches. I was the weakest link on the day - so have to improve next time.

Monday it was so wet that we had to call off our normal F-Troop day at the golf club.

Tuesday it was pouring rain again so I did not play golf which gave me time to catch up with all my travel documentation that I had to update.

Wednesday the weather was better & I caught up on housework & had some "me" time at my beauticians.

Thursday instead of playing golf as the course was still so wet, I opted instead to have a catch up F-Troop day at the club. We had to lay 6 cubic metres of woodchip mulch on the wedding garden & do a lot of cleaning up after the recent wild winds.

Friday was a repeat of Thursday - just finishing off all the jobs we had to do in the gardens at the golf club.

Saturday was a nice day weather wise. A bit of shopping in the morning and then some golf practice in the afternoon. I really hate practicing golf and this day was no exception. I get bored hitting ball after ball & most of them badly. I guess that is why my golf does not improve. Saturday night was a quite night at home watching the NZ vs Australia Rugby match.

Sunday was a beautiful day & we had an enjoyable day at golf - our playing partners were Doug & Robin Incoll & they were the winners of the mixed event of the day.
My highlight of the day was on the 15th hole - where I hit a nice drive down the middle of the fairway; put the next shot into the dam; penalty point; 4th shot I slammed accross the green leaving the ball teetering on the edge of the bunker, 5th shot I chipped into the hole to score 5/2.


Today, Monday 4th August was a huge day working on the Golf Club gardens & grounds.
The club is holding a Pro-Am event on the 16th & 17th of this month & we have to try & get it to the best condition that we can. I started at 7.30 am and finished at 3.30 pm. A lovely hot bubble bath was my first move when I got home.

I have attached some photos of the gardens & paths that we are working on.
Overall the place is looking much better. I am hoping that we do not have any more wild winds that causes all the mess. Showers are predicted for tomorrow - hopefully after I have finished golf.




Images attached: Golf club gardens and grounds; grevilleas & bottle brush native plants on the 13th garden; with our playing partners in the team series Ian Mitchell & Iris Talbot; with our playing partners on Sunday - Doug & Robin Incoll; A rainbow on the golf course during the team series match.