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Strathalbyn Ladies Results1/4/2026Easter Bunny busy at Strath Golf Club 17 ladies hit off on Wednesday and there were quite a few surprises in store for them. Miss Easter Bunny Penny, had been busy on the course and there was 18 Easter Eggs scattered around the course in some of the unusual places that our girls sometimes find themselves in during their golfing rounds on Wednesdays. Eggs under the bushes, lodged in the bushes, wedged up against trees, on the edge of the dam and some actually on the fairway, where we are all supposed to be. At the end of the round all of these eggs went into the draw for the BIG Golden Chocolate egg and Pauline was the lucky winner, lots of chocolate for the Walkhom household. On the 3rd and tenth fairways were placed some hoops which if you were lucky enough to land your drive in, you scored a present from Miss Easter Bunny, guess who landed their first drive in hoop?...Miss Eeaster Bunny Penny!! A few stories came to my attention, did notice Anne Semple in a bit of trouble on the 14th, when her ball very unkindly disappeared up the hazard drain pipe, so head down, bum up and with the help of a professional ball retriever, she claimed her lost ball. That was very brave as I reckoned there could have been anything lurking in that warm, dark hidey hole. On the 5th hole Cara also got in trouble of strife when she got a bit cross and mishit her ball, it dribbled off course , ran around the edge of the creek, but luckily it finished in a hitable position. Shelly Handke and Jo Cullen had a very friendly game with their balls often landing within a metre of each other, but it got even more friendly, when on 17th Shelly's shot was nicely on the green, and Jo with a bit of a messy approach shot pinged into Shelley, BUT on next green Shelly was also on the green and Jo once again managed to ping into Shelly again , silly girl. Marie Kingsbury had a fantastic day and finished with a nett 67 Wow and R/Up was Penny Geue nett 71 on a countback from Kerrie Edwards also on nett 71 NTP Pin was Mel Johnson and Marie Kingsbury had a gobbler on the 16th. Sue Phillips swapped her bowls today for the golf clubs and played 12 holes, Maureen Need was also out and reckons she will soon be back playing as will Carol Pelle, who is having rehab after surgery on her finger. After presentations, Jo Cullen cut her birthday cake, a lovely pavlova made by Cara's Mum, Heather, It was delicious and went down well with some pink bubbles. 25/3/2026 Strathalbyn Ladies Open Trophy Round and Wrap Up Pennant Season On Wednesday, 25 March, 13 ladies took part in the first PAR round of the Patroness Trophy. The day started humid and cloudy, then a breeze arrived and the sun came out, making it quite hot but still very enjoyable. The course played well and was in fantastic condition — thanks to our dedicated volunteer groundsmen. New player Sam Bradley was the winner with (+5), followed by Ann Semple (+4), Pauline Walkom (+3), Kerrie Edwards (+2), Cara Eastwood (+1) and Shelley Handke (+1). Gill Keane and Penny Geue finished even, while Mandi Vardon (-1), Sue Pryor (-2), Marie Kingsbury (-3), Jayne Dunn (-3) and Di Krutli (-6) completed the field. Nearest to the Pin on the 17th hole (second shot) went to Gill Keane. Highlights included gobbler and birdie scores from Kerrie Edwards on the 3rd hole and Di Krutli on the 8th. The day also saw a few wayward approach shots — including one on the 3rd hole that nearly caught Shelley Handke! Two days earlier, on Monday, 23 March, the Strathalbyn Ladies Pennant team competed against Oakbank at Murray Bridge. Despite warm conditions, the shady course and club-length relief on the long fairways made for good playing. Mandi Vardon, Penny Geue, Ann Semple and Cara Eastwood all won their matches, with Di Krutli narrowly falling on the 18th hole. The day ended with a lunch shared with the Oakbank team and marked the close of the 2026 pennant season. Echunga and Aston Hills will contest the Division final at South Lakes on Monday, 30 March, teeing off at 9:00am. We wish both teams all the best. This season, Strathalbyn competed in Division 2 Hills, recording one win, one draw and two losses. A sincere thank you to Mandi Vardon, our team captain, and Cara Eastwood, our Pennant Coordinator, for their leadership and dedication. We also thank all players and supporters — your efforts are greatly appreciated. The team is proud of its season and looks forward to 2027, hoping to enter two teams. 11/3/2026 Ann Semple wins on a countback from Penny Geue. A Stableford round of golf was played on Wednesday March 11th by twelve 18hole players. Best on the day were Ann Semple and Penny Geue both scoring 37 points with Ann winning the competition on a countback. Only one point behind on 36 points was Sue Pryor, Di Krutli finished with 35, while Tonya Merritt and Marie Kingsbury both finished with 34 points. Next came Pauline Walkom on 33, Gill Keane and Kerrie Edwards on 32, Mandi Vardon 27 and Jo Cullen completed the field on 26 points. Two ladies played 9 holes with Maureen Need scoring a very good 18 points for her 9. Well done, Maureen. NTP with her second shot on the 17th hole was Mel Johnson. Gill scored a birdie on the 15th. Drove the green and sank the putt. Fabulous work, Gill. Di had a gobbler (chip in) on the 2nd. Jane Dunn put in her final card for handicap and is ready to join in all the competitions for the rest of the year. 2 Laurel Wreath round matches were also played in conjunction with the Stableford competition. Mandi Vardon played Pauline Walkom with Pauline winning 3up, while Cara and Mel played the full 18 holes before Cara won on the last hole. Congratulations to Kerrie who played in the Echunga Autumn Classic recently. She was runner-up in A Grade and won the longest drive for her grade as well. Some nice prizes were won. The Strathalbyn Ladies hosted the Pennant round for their Division on Monday 10th of March. The event went very well and the visiting ladies appreciated the homemade food, the condition of the course and the hospitality of the club. What’s a bad idea during a golf game? Standing too close to the ball after you hit it!! 4/3/2026 Winter Season 2026 Opening Day. In perfect golfing weather, 19 ladies played an Ambrose competition to mark the opening of the Winter season for 2026 on Wednesday March 5th. After the ladies had completed their round, newly appointed Patron Madeline Fletcher had the honour of putting in front of all the ladies to open the season. In 1st place were Jo Cullen, Jenny Drury and Nikki Alves with 58 nett, Mandi Vardon, Sue Pryor and Dawne Thomas were 2nd with 60.5. Coming in 3rd were Penny Geue, Sam Bradley and Cara Eastwood and Gill Keane with 61.75. In 4th position were Kerrie Edwards, Mel Johnson and Pauline Walkom on 62.33, next came Di Krutli, Marie Kingsbury and Claire Methven scoring 63.2 and completing the groups were Ann Semple, Shelley Handke and Jane Dunn with 68.2. NTP 9th hole winner was Jo C with a great drive which she converted into a birdie with her 1 putt. NTP 17th hole was won by Ann Semple with a very good second shot. It was lovely to welcome Shelley back after a time away and our 3 visitors, Sam, Jane and Claire. Hopefully all will be able to continue on a regular basis. The Summer Cup was finalised. Over the summer months the ladies had been playing Stableford competitions each week and all the scores had been tallied. In 5th place Tonya Merritt 152/38, 4th place is Ann Semple 153/38.25, 3rd place is Jo Cullen 154/38.5, 2nd place is Marie Kingsbury 155/38.75 and 1st place went to Mandi Vardon 156/39. Congratulations Mandi on your good summer. The ladies enjoyed a delicious, shared lunch provided by everyone and Cara’s 60th birthday was celebrated with a delicious chocolate cake. On Monday, March 2nd, Strathalbyn Pennant team, Mandi Vardon, Cara Eastwood, Jo Pickhaver, Di Krutli and Ann Semple played Aston Hills at Oakbank. It drizzled rain for most of the round and at Oakbank the ladies always find the approaches to the greens quite difficult. The ladies squared the match with 2 wins, 1 square and 2 losses. They were happy with the result. On Tuesday, 3rd March evening, 8 ladies ventured out for a few holes of night golf. It was the night of the lunar eclipse as well, so they had interesting lighting. Not the full moon they may have been expecting. Fun was had by all. What are the four worst words you could hear during a game of golf? It’s still your turn!! 25/2/2026 Laurel Wreath first round played. On Wednesday 25th February, the ladies at Strathalbyn played their first round of the Laurel Wreath competition. Some of the scores were quite close. Mandi Vardon played Marie Kingsbury and Mandi won 3/2. Tonya Merritt and Di Krutli had a close tussle with Tonya winning 2up. Pauline Walkom and Penny Geue had the same score, with Pauline winning that game. Another 2up conclusion was between Cara Eastwood and Nikki Alves with Cara winning that contest. Jo Cullen played Jo Pickhaver and Jo C won 4/3. Three ladies played a Stroke round. One of the ladies, Jane Dunn, a new member, was playing to gain her handicap. The other two, Gill Keane and Sue Pryor scored 76 and 81 nett respectively. NTP on the 9th hole was won by Sue Pryor. It was a very good drive on the par 3 hole. A few birdies were scored on the day. Mandi had one on the 3rd, Jo P and Tonya had one each on the 8th, and Nikki had one on the 14th hole. Once again trees provided good and bad results, but happily there were no reports of any lady hitting into the creek or the dam. That must be a first for a while. Pennant season starts Strathalbyn ladies play Pennants in Division 2 in the Hills Section and their first game for 2026 was held at Echunga where they played Murray Bridge. They had perfect weather and the course was in good condition. Mandi, Mel Johnson, Di, Jenny Drury and Cara made up the team this week. However, Cara was the only one who won their game. Better luck, next time, team. Why are golf balls like eggs? They’re white, sold by the dozen, and a week later you have to buy more!! 18/2/2026 A busy week for the ladies from Strathalbyn. On Monday, February 16th, 12 ladies headed to South Lakes Golf Club for their Open Day. Well done to Di Krutli, Kerrie Edwards, Cara Eastwood, Jo Cullen, Mel Johnson, Gill Keane, Nikki Alves, Mandi Vardon, Ann Semple, Penny Geue, Jenny Drury and Jo Pickhaver for coping with the oppressively hot conditions that greeted them. Some relief came by the last 5 holes, when the cloud cover came over and the wind changed from the north to the south. Kerrie, Cara, Mandi and Nikki all won a ball in the run down while Jo Cullen won the prize for being nearest the pelican. Jo also won a raffle prize so came home a happy golfer. On Wednesday, 6 golfers stayed in Strathalbyn to play the final round of the Summer Cup. The winner on the day was Gill Keane with a great score of 37 points. Evidently, she took Maureen on a magical mystery tour to places on the course she had never been before. Ann Semple scored 35, Marie Kingsbury 34, Maureen Need 30 and Pauline Walkom and Sue Pryor both finished on 28 points. No-one won the NTP with their second shot on the 17th. But Maureen had a gobbler on the 3rd, Marie showed good luck in skirting the dam, and Sue and Pauline were more than happy to get over the creek. Ann and Sue found a few trees on their round. Kangaroos and yellow tailed cockatoos kept a close eye on all the ladies on a lovely day perfect for golf. Meanwhile, on the same day, 10 ladies from Strath were joined by one from South Lakes to play in Victor Harbor’s ‘A Day at the Beach’ themed Open day. Unfortunately, for Di, Kerrie, Mandi, Nikki, Tonya, Jo P., Mel, Jo C., Cara, Jenny and Lesley Scott there were no golf prizes for the day. However, the weather was perfect for golf and maybe our scores should have been better. Jo Cullen was awarded a prize for wearing her father’s 100 year old bathers complete with moth holes. Four ladies were luckier in the raffle winning very nice prizes – Jenny, Tonya, Mel, and Cara. It was a fun day and thoroughly enjoyed by all. Why did the golfer cross the green? To get to the other side!! 11/2/2026 Kerrie Edwards wins on a countback with 38 points. In humid and warm weather 14 ladies started in another Stableford round of the Summer Cup. As the day progressed, the weather became more conducive to playing golf, but the rain didn’t eventuate as forecast. One lady found the weather too oppressive and needed to pullout after 7 holes. Kerrie Edwards and Jenny Drury played the best on the day with 38 points with Kerrie taking first place on a countback. Ann Semple, Penny Geue and Tonya Merritt were next in line with 36 points each. Di Krutli 34, Gill Keane 33, Marie Kingsbury 32 were the following players. Finishing with 30 points were Mel Johnson and Jo Cullen, while Jo Pickhaver and Pauline Walkom scored 29 points for the day. No player found the green on the 9th hole for the NTP, however, on the 3rd/12th the winner of nearest the reindeer was Mel. Tonya had a birdie/gobbler on the 6th hole and Jenny had a gobbler on the 16th. Jenny found the dam both times she passed by while Ann and Jo P both found the creek on the 6th hole. On the 15th, Jo P landed on the green. That’s golf!!?? On the 4th tee block, the ladies had some very casual spectators as a group of kangaroos had taken up residence. One was so laid back it was lying on the edge of the tee block. In Ann and Jo P’s group, it only moved about 4 metres when Ann went to drive. Next week is the last of the Summer Cup Stableford rounds with a winner being determined. There have been some very good scores over the summer season. What do you call a golf ball that goes straight down the fairway after you hit it? A miracle!! |