Pennant Season Final.
Golf West Gippsland Pennant Season 2024 Finals have been run and won.
A beautiful day greeted the players at Garfield and the course was in pristine condition for the teams to battle it out for Premiership Glory.
Garfield staff had the barbeque roaring with a breakfast feast for all to enjoy, and the teams were nervously practicing their putting and chipping and warming to the task ahead.
Life member Paul Wheeler was there early to witness the Handicap 1 players from Garfield and Churchill-Monash be announced and tee off on the first hole while over on the tenth hole, Garfield and Drouin were sent off, in both cases with the number 7’s from each team leading off.
Once the number 1’s from Garfield and Churchill-Monash had teed it up, it was time for Scratch teams Drouin and Warragul to commence another epic battle. By now the crowd had grown considerably and the players were very deliberate in their set ups to ensure they got away to a good start.
With both the 1st and 10th tee starts it was a feast of golf wherever you looked and the spectators didn’t need to walk far to witness a close contest, or, some followed their preferred or favourite group around the course.
The Garfield staff, with a keen sense of how things might play out had set up the barbeque again adjacent to the 13th and 15th greens and did plenty of business from spectators and players alike and also witnessed some key plays as the contests began to be won and lost.
With both Handicap 1 and Scratch playing from the 1st this was likely to be a zone where contests might come to a conclusion and so it occurred in and around this great vantage point for several holes.
Handicap 1 players were starting to get towards a result and Garfield had wracked up a couple of early wins through Captain Doug Amos and number 6 John Hoare, but the Churchill Monash boys were not going down that easily and it was soon a 3-3 battle with the last pair of Darren Grayson from Garfield and Nathan Lugton from Churchill Monash who would provide a result. With a substantial crowd witnessing their tee shots to the par 3 16th, and duly crowding around the green, it was Nathan who prevailed to get that vital 4th win and glory for Churchill-Monash. A hard pill to swallow for the trophy namesake and life member, Garfield’s own Rod Norton, but he would agree, the better team won on the day.
There was much joy and back slaps all round but wiser heads prevailed and the boys were asked to clear out so that the following scratch teams could come through.
Scratch Pennant, some say is the pinnacle competition in any district, although ask the Handicap winners and they might disagree… , but, all the same it is the best playing the best.
And today was no exception, with close contests ebbing and flowing all the way around the course. Interestingly in all three contests today the opposing Captains were playing each other and it was Warragul Captain Ryan Percy who drew first blood over Matty Long. A huge relief to him I’m sure but then his attention had to turn to the rest of the field as contest’s got tighter. Life member and Drouin team member Mark Allen quickly levelled the contest and so it went on.
The trophy namesakes Bob Goldie and Brian Fox, were both in attendance to witness these intriguing battles unfold. Once again players were up and down, and when it looked like a contest may be over they fought back to go that extra hole. In the end it was, like Handicap 1, a 3-3 battle relying on the last pair of Lachie Bambridge from Warragul and champion golfer Ryan Hammond from Drouin to play out the dramatic finish. With the crowd following every shot it came to the 17th green for Ryan to concede the hole and so give Warragul a much deserved win.
Meanwhile over on the front nine Handicap 2 teams were fighting tooth and nail. The Captains, as I said, were opposed and went the full 18 holes in a typical Captain’s battle with Bob Collins coming off the 18th green to be told that his side had not only prevailed but had won every contest. The scoreboard does not reflect the fight that was played out and many close putts were the difference on more than one occasion.
And so it was back to the Garfield clubrooms for many a celebratory drink, the awarding of medals and trophies by Life Members, speeches by joyous, and… not so joyous Captains, and the thought that doing it all again next year will be something to savour.
Warren Butcher
Men’s Captain
