THEY raised more than $25,000 when 188 players teed off in the annual Capital Body Works Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service (WRHS) Charity Golf Day at Tamworth Golf Course on Monday.
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Played under blue skies with a sneaky little breeze, it was another successful day, so successful major sponsor Darren Mackenzie (Capital Body Works) reiterated his financial support was for five years.
“It is great to have them back on board,”WRHS’s events co-ordinator Jeff Galbraith said.
“And the course was outstanding, a credit to the Tamworth Golf Club.”
Ironically, the Longyard’s course curator, Adam Shields, starred on Monday.
The former Country representative cricketer won the two nearest the pins, at the 9th and 16th.
His approach at the 16th was just 70cm from the hole, his shot at the 9th even better, a hole in one!
As much as golf can be an individual game and torment, it is also a team game, especially on ambrose days when the four players (usually) line up to hit from the best ball.
Shields was part of the South Tamworth Bowling Club team, a team made up of former professional golfer Anthony Painter, wizened bookmaker Ken Muller and Owen Walker, the chief executive at the South Bowlo.
That’s a pretty handy team as Muller is no mug with the clubs either but he will be in his element and shining at the two-day Scone Cup Carnival tomorrow and Saturday. Together the quartet murdered the course to finish with 54 off the stick and a nett 51 and a sixth.
However it was only good enough to run second to the Tamex team of Phillip Davis, Nick Baker, Brett Follington and Craig Johnson. They had a 58 off the stick with a nett 50!
For the rest of us mere mortals the day was a challenge. I hadn’t played for two years and celebrated by sinking two big putts from just off the green.
I had the pleasure of playing with Mark “Poppy” Kearney, Ray Watt and chopper chief Richard Jones.
As a golfer, Jones makes a great after-dinner “dribbler” speaker, or at least that’s what Poppy reckons.
Poppy, 78, still hits a mean ball but the best game was off the green where he and Jones continued a snappy discussion while Watt and I looked and added a few little comments to fuel up their spirited observations and retorts.
Great fun.
That’s what all the happy faces said too in the clubhouse after it was all done and dusted for another year.
Just about everyone won a prize while my prize was a fine day in the fresh air rediscovering how good a game golf can and cannot be and how tasty a few rascally red drinks in the Fairway Room can be.
