PENOLA Golf Course played host to the fifth annual Coonawarra Cabernet Celebrations Golf Day last week.
It was the first of many feature events to take place during the month-long Coonawarra Cabernet Celebrations Festival.
Coonawarra Vignerons events and marketing officer Heidi Guyett was pleased with the turn out, which saw a diverse field take to the greens.
“27 teams had registered to attend the four-player Ambrose event and despite a few late drop offs, we had overall great representation from our winery members and welcomed an equal amount of sponsor and public teams from far and wide,” she said.
“The event not only attracts players from the Limestone Coast, but an increasing number of teams from the likes of Victor Harbour, Gawler and interstate.
“It was especially great to see Victorians back in the mix, having missed out the past two years due to border closures.”
The title of Coonawarra Golf Day Champion Team went to sponsors One Forty One Team 2, led by David Pick, who produced a winning net score of 54.375.
The winners took home the perpetual red champion jackets and caps, along with an assortment of golfing goods, premium pillows donated by Mini-Jumbuck and a dozen Coonawarra wines between them.
The red jackets will see the winning team gain VIP access to Cabernet Celebrations events throughout the month of October.
Pick praised the organisers for the day and for the condition of the course.
“The Vignerons have done a sensational job to put this day today together and we just love being involved,” he said.
“The hospitality is second to none and the greens are in top condition, a credit to the organisers and the Penola Golf Club.”
Runner-up net honours went to the Wynns Coonawarra team, comprising of Mike Weatherall, Tim Malone, Sam Davidson and Tyler Hannigan, playing a combined net score of 55.25.
Results were also tight in the overall stakes, with only one stroke between the gross winners and runners-up.
A count-back was necessary to determine the winners.
Defending champions, the DiGiorgio Family Wines team, matched the previous year’s gross winning score with 61 off the stick, narrowly missing out on a back-to-back effort.
The Mount Gambier contingent of Christian Daniel, Garry Von Duve, Rodney Heinrich and Hayden Cook were happy to accept the award, each receiving an assortment of Coonawarra Wines, Golf Balls and $50 Voucher donated by the Royal Oak Penola.
Following closely behind were The Warriors with a gross score of 62, comprising of Tim McClelland (Beachport Golf Club), Dean Jennings (Ballarat Golf Club), Matthew Hoey (Port Fairy GC) and Tim Fennell (Tin Can Bay Country Club, QLD).
Individual novelty prizes were also awarded, with the winners selecting from an assortment of Coonawarra wine, Parker Coonawarra Estate Draught beer, Titleist golf hats and chocolate.
Longest drive prizes for the men were won by Kym Davies on the first hole, plus Tony Gleeson (A Grade) and Justin Robbie (B Grade) on the 15th.
The women’s long drives were won by Deb Redman (A Grade) and Deb Tozer (B Grade) on the 18th hole.
Nearest to pin prizes were awarded to Mick Nesbitt on the ninth hole, Leanne Hawkey and Tyler Hennigan on the 13th, Mike Weatherall on the 16th and Dan Christian on the seventh.
Second shot on the fifth hole was won by Mary Winsor.
A chipping contest, in combination with a wine and port tasting, was hosted on the seventh hole, with DiGiorgio Family Wines offering up a suite of prizes for the nearest ball.
James Clarke of the Katnook Coonawarra team claimed the top prize of a magnum bottle of DiGiorgio Coonawarra Wine, with his ball landing right on the mark.
