Labour Day tallies soar

Labour Weekend has a reputation for providing extremely unreliable weather, but I must say that the past two years have seen very pleasant conditions. Thus an excellent field was attracted to last Monday's WBS Labour Day tournament, with some good scoring adding to the general air of well-being.
Forty-three stableford points appeared to be the target with the top player in all three groups hitting that figure. Abbreviated results were as follows:
Women: Sam-Marie Brown 43 pts 1, Sandra Cullinane 42 2, Lesley Stewart 37 3, Lorraine Stewart 35 4, Jan Williams 34 5.
Men. Group 1: Gavin Harris 43 pts 1, Hira Renata 40 2, Brent McKenzie 40 3, Joel Macklin 39 4, Andy Morrison (M/B) 38 5.
Men. Group 2: Robin Whitehead 43 pts 1, Adam Ross 43 2, John Tatham 41 3, Graeme Jones 41 4, Trevor Smith 40 5.
Longest drives went to Sam Forrester, Choi Jackson and Netia Bateman, while nearest the pin prizes were taken by Wade Walker and Sam-Maree Brown.
With holidays or the garden claiming most golfers attention only a small field played in Saturday's par competition.
Results:
Men. Group 1: Nigel Udy Plus 3 1, Sam Forrester Plus 2 2, Gavin Harris Plus 1 3.
Men. Group 2: Ray Verhaart Plus 9 1, Bill Sangster Plus 6 2, Franz Marwitz Plus 5 3.
Colin Hicks was nearest the pin at the Alex McLeod 8th while Dennis Hogg did the best at the MMG Advisory Partners 18th.
There was some good scoring again at last Thursday's New World Stableford, with Franz Marwitz nudging out Peter Forrester on a count back after both scored 42 points. The trio of Gavin Harris, Robert Young and Geoff Masters all scored 41, while Steve Hemingway hit 40. John Tatham was nearest the pin at the All Teed Up 8th hole, Peter Forrester shot 73, the best gross, but the "Birds Nest" remains unstruck.
I think Labour Weekend must have left the women a little exhausted as only 22 turned out for their par round last Tuesday - scoring wasn't all that marvellous either. Hannah Meulenbrock took the Clarke's Jewellers Silver Player of the Day with plus 2, followed by Jo Philps and Brenda Blatchford both on plus 1. Nicky Orsborn went against the general run of the play with her fine plus 5, clearly best in the Darlington Drilling Bronze Division. Shirley Saunders was on plus 1 with Janice Hayes third with minus 2. Shirley was also nearest the pin at the Graeme Jones 8th hole while Ann Smith was closest at the New World 18th.
There's a lot of action up at Lansdowne between now and Christmas so it might pay to make a note of certain items, to avoid disappointment, as they say.
First of all Twilight will have started already, and that now continues each Wednesday with tee-off times from 4pm until 5.30pm. It's individual scores for the first two weeks and then team's events are added (if you want to be in that).
Saturday week, November 6, features Murray Halberg Day at Lansdowne, with the original day being postponed because of the weather. It's all in a good cause, so a good turnout of members and Eagles will be expected. As usual there has been excellent support from business houses, so there will be lots of prizes.
A new event appears on the golfing calendar, with the staging of the Lansdowne Park Masters Tournament on Friday and Saturday, November 19 and 20. This is an open event with 18 holes of stableford competition each day. The big difference is that the divisions are based on age, with both men and women having 35 to 49 years, 50 to 59 years and 60-plus (what about the really oldies?). There are plenty of prizes in what is a very well sponsored tournament with entry fees just $40 for the whole event. That's one to really mark down for your attention.
Next Tuesday, November 2, many eyes will be tuned to Flemington Racecourse for the Melbourne Cup. However, up at Lansdowne there should be another big field for the Trust House Melbourne Cup Tournament, which starts with a cup of tea at 10.45am. It's an Open Event which even includes colts and geldings (sorry - I mean men). Entry is just $15 with the field coming under starters orders at 11.30am. It should be a lot of fun and who knows you might even draw a winner! By the way what was shocking about last year's race?