AS the Blue Lake Golf Club continues to grow, not only is it gaining numbers, but the quality of its members’ games is growing exponentially.
Where once the holy grail of playing off scratch numbered one or two, there are now quite a few members who are at that pinnacle or well on their way.
Anthony Williams and Dan Christian are two who readily come to mind but now you can throw in the likes of the Daltons, Zeick and Marc, club manager Bill Burley, Trevor Little, Josh Ransom, Colin Ferguson, Tyson Ploenges and a few others who have been there or well and truly knocking on the door of scratch or better.
In Saturday’s Par competition, it was Brayden Lane who emerged from a chasing pack to claim the win, but Burley had a round to take note of.
After a recent win in the mid week competition, Burley – who also volunteers an inordinate amount of hours at the club – produced the round of the day.
Playing off a handicap of three, Burley went out in 33 strokes for a +3 at the turn thanks to birdies on the third, eighth and ninth holes.
Two more birdies on the inward nine – 15th and 17th holes – had him add another plus to his score for a +4 total, taking a strong step towards the scratch handicap.
However, take nothing away from Lane who was strong on both sides of the course.
Off 26 he picked up five pars on the front nine but also chalked up a couple of scrubs for a +3 at the halfway mark.
It was a bit up and down on the back nine with a string of double bogey sixes to slightly mar his score mid way through.
He regrouped well though to finish with three plusses thanks to pars on the 16th, 17th and a bogey on the last for +5 total.
Lane will be never more happier to have a bogey than his one on the last on Saturday as that still scored him a plus and broke him away from a pack of players on +4.
In A Grade it was Burley who secured the win, finishing on +4 and one clear of Smokey Von Duve and Bob White on +3.
Von Duve continues to improve his game after clawing his way back into the premier grade.
Starting strongly with a superb 37 off-the-stick and +4 his first blemish came on the 11th hole with a wipe.
Unfortunately that opened the door for a few more.
It was a rough patch, giving three back to the course over the 11th to the 15th but he regrouped to finish with four pars to limit the damage and escape with a -1 on the back nine.
It was a similar – if not better or worse – story for White.
A birdie on the first was the start of an almost perfect recipe, only spoilt by a bogey on the sixth.
With +5 after nine holes White was firing on all cylinders, but then dropped off over the back nine with -2.
That not only cost him the outright win but also the countback with Von Duve.
It was the old and the new in the three placings for B Grade.
A couple of veterans in David Dowie and Richard Kuhn found themselves in a countback against Riley Rolph and in the end it was experience which prevailed.
Dowie knew he had to lift his game against his playing partners but he took advantage of his new driver firing to power him to a winning score.
The only time it let him down was on the eighth where an errant drive found him in the trees.
Needing to chip out and failing to get up and down and he replicated that on the ninth for -1.
However, the seasoned veteran had some fresh food intake at the interval, restoring his energy and finishing strongly with a trolley full of seven pars and just the two bogeys for an inward 37 and +5.
Kuhn is a past A Grade champion and he turned back the clock, especially on the back nine where it was the Richard of old.
He fired off an inward 38 and +4 which was his total.
He was unlucky to come up against Dowie’s +5 as a +4 would normally take out a countback in a par competition.
Rolph continues to make inroads with his game and that was evident over the front nine where a 40 off-the-stick was a personal best for him, netting a mammoth +5.
Despite a birdie on the 17th the damage was done through the midway part of the back nine with three successive wipes on his way to a -1 which dented his chances in the countback.
Lane was the standout performer in C Grade but as he was the outright winner he was not eligible to also win the grade prize.
Those prizes went to Conway Johnson in first after a countback against Gary Telford.
Both off 21 Johnson birdied the 16th on his way to a -2/+2 split while Telford had two nines of square with his handicap.
Rounding out the prizes was the sprightly Vic Smith (25) who saw off three other players to claim third with a -1 total.
There were several players who were unlucky to finish outside the major prize lists including Michael Olle who bounced back from a rushed start and a subsequent duffed drive on the first to finish with +3.
Ransom, Stephen Smith, Jarrod Ryan, Brenton Speck, Fred Knight, Jamie Parry-Hill and Michael Dedonatis all finished on +2.
Williams off scratch had five birdies on his way to a +1 total, which was the same score as Little (3) who was a little inconsistent on the back nine with three birdies and four bogeys.
Stephen Von Duve, Little and Brett Perryman rounded out the ball winners.
Marc Dalton is making a habit of clearing out the eagle’s nest and he did it again on the 12th.
Fred Gould and Johnson won the respective pro shots while Gould continued his accuracy off the tee block with a nearest-the-pin on the fifth and Parry-Hill won the C Grade nearest-the-pin.
