THE Blue Lake Golf Club held its monthly medal on Saturday and it was the up and coming Tom Von Stanke who prevailed with a dominant round of 88-21-67.
With the course set up to its maximum and some tricky pin placements, the winners list is normally made up of either A or B Graders or the more experienced golfers but this time it was youth that prevailed.
The Von Stanke name has been featuring prominently in the winners’ list recently with Tom and Will fighting it out for the honours.
This time it was Tom who hooked the big prize, opening with a solid 42 on the outward nine with pars on the third and 7 seventh holes.
While he could not match that on the back nine, he kept the damage to a minimum with just the two double bogeys on the 11th and 18th holes.
However, he already had the score on the board to overcome those.
Von Stanke’s round was better in context with no other golfer able to better their handicap, although A Grade winner Tim Smith came close with a nett 70.
For him, it was a case of what could have been after opening even with the card.
His ten straight pars were only interrupted by a bogey on the 11th hole before he got back on the par train.
With the innocuous 15th hole in front of him, Smith was eyeing off the chance of adding a birdie or better to his card before disaster struck.
An errant tee shot saw a double bogey ensue and while he parred the next hole he spoiled some of his good work, closing with another two double bogeys.
It was the reverse for Colin Ferguson, who started with two double bogey.
Playing off a handicap of six, it is hard to come back from that start but being the fighter he is, his two birdies on the back nine saw him equal with the card for splits of 42 and 35 and second place.
Dan Christian made short work of the front nine, one birdie and one bogey seeing the scratch golfer even with the card.
The birdie putts did not fall for him on the inward nine and he closed with a 38 for a nett 73.
While the overall win went to the exuberance of youth it was the experienced Richard Kuhn who took out the A Grade win.
After an average front nine of 42, Kuhn found himself in trouble on the 11th hole, which in his own words, he played “like a wild turkey.”
However, he regrouped to finish with four pars for a 41 and nett 70.
Fred Knight’s nett score of 74 was enough for him to claim second place.
A three-way count-back was needed to determine third place.
Michael Millhouse can thank both a closing 44 and Fred Gould’s triple on the last, for his third place, while Stephen Smith was the other player in the count-back, who went out in a superb 41 but faltered badly on the back nine.
C Grade winner Russell Lingham showed all his guile and experience to resurrect his round after a three-over front nine of 49.
Despite the fact it did not get better straight away, his two pars on the 16th and 17th hole were good enough to take the win with a nett 74.
Jake Turner claimed second place and also had his struggles over the front nine.
However, he turned things around until the 17th hole which was one he would rather forget.
Turner closed with 52 for a nett score of 75 to see off Brenton Speck who was just one stroke behind in third.
Mostly A and B graders filled the ball winners list, headed by scratch golfer Anthony Williams, Trevor Little, Gould, Michael Watts, Zeick Dalton, Smith, David Lovie, Matt Jennings, Colin Stratford, Gary Telford, Keiren Weistra and Daniel Loupos.
Chris Hoggan and Ferguson took out the pro shots on the fifth and 16th holes, while Stratford (B), Speck (C) and Tyson Ploenges (A) won their NTP’s.
