Avery full program last week saw seven of our players head down to Urunga on Tuesday. Although their Open Day was cancelled, our men joined 72 others from 9 different clubs for what turned out to be an enjoyable day.
Mid field placings did not deter the Grafton group, and subsequent discussions following the game led to our President John and Coffs’ Frank Ryan arranging a Grafton Mid North Coast Veteran Golfers Challenge Shield, to be contested twice yearly.
Tuesday 2nd September will be the first match, and as Mid North Coast is made up of 9 different clubs there will no doubt be fierce competition.
Thursday was not only cold at first, but a very heavy fog slowed down the contingent of 16 veterans who shared cars to head over to the Coraki course for an interclub challenge.
The short story is that Grafton lost the day, but the superb friendship, camaraderie and great lunch served was enough to make it a day to remember.
78 players were present, but the Challenge was contested by the top 16 in each side. A 583 points to 495 points loss by Grafton was hard to take, but getting a game of golf and a couple of steak sandwiches for only $12 lessened the pain of the defeat.
A special thanks to Jim Orman who arranged cart rides for all required. Our Jim McDougal was top scorer for Grafton with 39 points and Derek Latimer was next with 35, and a Coraki player with 41 points won the day.
Those who think we have too much fun should come along and join us in our Mixed Open Day. Many other clubs have been invited to participate, so Grafton players should get in early, and the sheets are on the main club notice boards to take your nominations. Ladies are advised that if they don’t have a playing partner, President John has promised to find one for you. He is also looking at catering for the day, so come along on the 17th August. A presentation on the club multiscreen system will soon tell all that our great sponsor for this occasion is Big River Glass.
For the stalwarts who were ready to play at the Woodburn Challenge day and were washed out, you have another chance on 11th September. This is the John Copeland Challenge Shield, and we have won the first match already. The next game will be at Woodburn, and we would like to have 25 players to catch the ready booked bus to do our best. Nomination sheets will be out soon, so don’t miss the hospitality of our neighbours from the north. Our part of the Challenge on 1st July at home was won by us with 720 points to their 397, with the top scorers coming from Woodburn.
Just a quick reminder that we have another challenge to finalise, that is with Yamba in October, at Grafton. Full details later in putts and Pars. Also in the same month is the Return Coraki match, so there is plenty to look ford to in veterans’ golf.
No one can say our resident canine Hugo has a dogs’ life. He seems to spend a lot of time riding in Bill Carters buggy lately, and he is not even a veteran. Hope his boss cuts down on his food allowance a bit to compensate for not walking so much.
