Week 3 of the Illawarra Pennants season and a bye for the A and C Pennants teams. The B Pennants travelled to Kiama to take on the side from Worrigee. Unfortunately the team suffered their third loss in a row. Luke Day and Geoff Dunn both went down fighting, losing on the 18th whilst there were also losses for Chris Phillips and Pete Connor. Justin Mangan won a tight one 2 and 1 but unfortunately the team had to forfeit one of the games resulting in a 5 : 1 loss overall. The White Horse Cup Team also travelled to Kiama, taking on the team from The Vale. With their Captain still overseas in Japan, Simon Rudd led the team to their first win of the season. There were big wins for the acting skipper as well as Rob Walker, Kye Hawkins and Ian Fox. Brendon Miller and Steve White were also able to record a win in close matches. Troy Webster unfortunately couldn’t make it a clean sweep but I’m sure he will be happy with the big 6 : 1 win for the team.

Week 2 of the Illawarra Pennants season and all four of our teams were in action. Most of the team members would have probably pulled back the curtains and thought about going back to bed rather than venturing out to play golf on a pretty wet and miserable Sunday morning.

The A Pennants side travelled up the mountain to Moss Vale to take on Gerringong. In spite of the poor weather the guys had a good match and won fairly comfortably 4 : 2. There were wins for Mark Johnston, John McFarlane, Jack Brand and Will Ockenden. Dave McLean and Steve Walda both suffered defeats.

The B Pennants only had a short trip to Nowra, up against the side from The Vale. Unfortunately the team did not fare very well. Matt Shirlaw and Gerard Day managed to square their matches, but losses to Peta Griffin, Geoff Dunn, Chris Phillips and Justin Mangan meant the team were well beaten 1 : 5.

The C Pennants also only had a short drive South of the river to Worrigee to take on Kiama. After last weeks good start the team were looking to consolidate their position but came up against a side playing very well. Only Tracey Casinelli was able to secure half a point as the rest of the team comprising Gary Hoare, Will Vale, Jo Webber, Paul Feest and Vincent Muller were all well beaten in the 0.5 : 5.5 scoreline.

Finally the White Horse Cup Team also stayed local, taking on Moss Vale at Nowra. With their Captain overseas in Japan they struggled to a 2.5 : 4.5 defeat. Simon Rudd and Rob Walker secured wins and Brendon Miller a half. Unfortunately there were losses to Ian Fox, Jordan Green, Troy Webster and Anthony Ballard.

Today marked the start of the season for our representative teams in this years Golf NSW Illawarra pennant’s matches. We have a team in each of A, B and C Pennants and a team in the White Horse Cup.

The A Pennants side had a tough start to the year, heading up the road to Gerringong to take on the always strong Links Shell Cove. Unfortunately, only Dave McLean was able to register a win as the team went down 1 : 5 with losses for Mark Johnston, Steven Walda, Lloyd Herron, Jack Brand and Will Ockenden.

The B Pennants travelled to Port Kembla to take on local rivals Nowra. In a close match, the guys went down 2.5 : 3.5. There were wins for Peta Griffin and Craig Ratcliff. Luke Day managed to get a half out of his match winning the 18th. Unfortunately, Gerard Day, Ian Paynter and Justin Mangan all lost their games.

The C Pennants drove up the mountain to Moss Vale to play against Port Kembla. The champions from two years ago got off to a good start with a 3.5 : 2.5 win. Jo Webber and Tracey Casinelli led the team out with strong wins and young star Vincent Muller also had a good win. The match then turned with Big Barney and Garry Hoare losing their games. At this point Will Vale, making his Pennants debut, was 5 down with 5 to play. In an amazing run of holes he managed to win all 5 holes and secure the half point required for the win. Great work Will.

Finally the White Horse Cup Team travelled up the highway to the Vale to take on Port Kembla. In a close match the team went down 3 : 4. There were wins for Troy Webster who had a great debut and Ian Fox. Matthew McAlister halved his game but losses to Garry Podmore, Kye Hawkins and Brendon Miller put the team on the back foot. Needing a win in the top match Simon Rudd, unfortunately, could only get a half point.

Congratulations Adele Abbott on a Hole-in-0ne on the 11th on Tuesday 6 January 26.

Congratulations to Norbert Beringer for christening the new 11th hole with Hole-in-0ne on Tuesday 2 December 25.

The course was looking and playing great and the weather was perfect for yesterday’s 2nd annual David Lamb Memorial Event. If you didn’t play then you definitely missed out! The trophy went to Amanda McFeeters, overall net winner (66) by a margin of 2 strokes. Congratulations Amanda.
Other winners:
Div 1 – Ryan Hennessy (68) Gerard Day (69)
Div 2 – Graeme Murphy (69) Ian Fox (69)
Div 3 – Luke Morris (68) Lee Jeffs (73)
NTP 8th – Stephen McCormac
NTP 11th – Paul Gilbert 

Congratulations to Trev Harris for his first ever hole in one at the temporary 16th on Wednesday 19 November 25.