News and views from Club Taree Golf
Champions again
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MANNING Valley Automotive sponsored Club Taree Golf’s annual foursomes championships. The winning pair and champions for 2016 are Brad Allan and Craig Allport who find their name on the trophy for the second time in three years. They were four shots ahead of their nearest rivals, Peter Simpson and Shane Jennings. Net winners on a countback were Rudi Brinkman and Michael Parker; Graham Gibson and John Andrews were runners up.
Paul Ryan Memorial Stableford
THE club played the Paul Ryan Memorial Stableford sponsored by Mark Ryan and Taree Eyewear, whose long standing support of golfing at Taree is much appreciated. The Paul Ryan Memorial trophy goes to the best stableford score across the field and on Saturday that privilege went to Luke Murray in C-grade with a very handsome 44 points. Winner in A-grade was Brad Allan with 40 points and the best score in B-grade went to Michael Parker.
Women on Wednesday
LAST Wednesday our women golfers played an 18 hole seasonal stableford with 35 intrepid souls turning out in cold and windy conditions. Sponsors were Di Hawkins, Neroli Nupier and Shirley Maurer. The winner in division one was Judith Dahl with 38 points. She was followed in second place by Jo Stinson (37). Rachael Russell had the best stableford score of the day (43) to win in division two with Shirley Maurer (35), a distant though creditable second place. In division three Pauline Mackintosh led the field on 33 points with Ros Bourke two points behind on 31. Nearest-to-the pins were won by Alison Fowler at the first; Judy Fuller, Jo Stinson, Shirley Maurer and Leanne Eakin at the fourth; Sally Geary, Jo Stinson, Gail Phillips and Renee Sinclair at the 12th; Rachael Russell at the 14th; and Linda Sinclair, Quedesha Golledge, and Denise Wilkes at the 16th.
Other midweek
ON Monday the Taree veterans competition was a 4BBB multiplier a type of competition that leads to more groans and-or laughs than most. Notwithstanding, the best team on the day was Brian Haynes and Tony 60 points followed in second place by Don Sheather and Darcy Kristiansen with 55 points. On Tuesday the medley stableford was won by Kevin Croak who scored 39 points. In second place was Luke Murray (38) with Ron White (36) third. Thursday’s medley stableford was won Rhett Thomson with a modest 36 points. He was followed by Robert Gyde (35) in second place on a countback. Rhett Thomson combined well with Adam McCann in the four-ball for a score of 48 points and a win for the day.
Coming up
SATURDAY is a stableford sponsored by the Taree-Wingham Race Club.
Rules quiz
1 Ken makes a practice swing and accidentally moves his ball in play on the fairway with his club. What is the ruling? (a) Ken has played a stroke and must play the ball as it lies; (b) Ken incurs a penalty of one stroke and must replace his ball; or (c) There is no penalty but Ken must replace his ball. The answer is (b): Ken had no intention of moving the ball (see definition of stroke). However, he does incur a penalty stroke under rule 18-2 for moving his ball in play and the ball must be replaced. See also decision 18-2/20.
2 Judy replaces her ball on the putting green, at the correct spot 30 cm from the hole, and the ball stays at rest. Without Judy doing anything to cause the ball to move, it rolls into the hole. What is the ruling? (a) Judy is required to replace her ball; (b) Judy is deemed to have holed out with her previous stroke; on (c) Judy is deemed to have holed out with her previous stroke but must add a penalty stroke to her score. The answer is (b): See decision 20-3d/1 The answer lies in whether the ball, when replaced, came to rest on the spot on which it was placed before it started rolling. If it did Judy is deemed to have holed out with the previous stroke; if not Judy would have been required to replace her ball. However, if the ball had been overhanging the hole when it was lifted, the provisions of Rule 16-2 would apply and would override those of 20-3d.
3 Cathy’s ball is part buried in the rough. Having announced her decision in advance to her marker, Cathy, for the purposes of identifying the ball, touches the ball and rotated it. By doing so she identifies the ball as hers. What is the ruling? (a) Cathy incurs a one-stroke penalty; (b) No penalty is incurred; or (c) Cathy loses the hole. The answer is (a) Cathy incurs a one-stroke penalty. Under rules 12-2 and 20-1 a ball may be lifted (or touched and rotated) for identification purposes after its position has been marked. If Cathy had marked her ball’s position before rotating it, there would have been no penalty, assuming the rotating did not result in the ball being cleaned beyond the extent necessary to identify it. See also decision 12-2/2.
Hazards - did you know?
ALTHOUGH not defined for the first 150 years or so, 'hazards' have been mentioned since the very beginning. From the text of the rules over the years, it can be seen that hazards included water, holes other than the one being played, rabbit burrows (1812), bunkers, and obstructions (1875). When the first definition came in 1891 it included almost anything that hindered a fair lie ... any bunker, water, sand, loose earth, mole hills, paths, roads or railways, whins, bushes, rushes, rabbit scrape, fences, ditches or anything which is not the ordinary green of the course. In subsequent issues of the Rules, the definition was narrowed; 1899 dropped loose earth, mole hills and anything not 'the ordinary green'. By 1908 railways, whins, rushes, rabbit scrapes and fences had been removed, and in 1947 bush and path were also removed from the definition. In 1952 the new definition of a hazard became any bunker, water (except casual water), or water hazard and in the same year, there appeared the first separate definition of water hazards. In 1956 the rules provided that the ball may not be identified in a hazard and this was reversed in 2008 to allow identification of a ball in a hazard.
Inside Racing
By Doug Ryan
KEMPSEY trainer, 81-year-old Tony Green, has never shied at trying different things to get the best out of his racehorses, but the improvement in recently acquired four-year-old gelding Zizumba, a winner at Grafton last week, has amazed him.
He and his wife Jean paid $21,000 for the Danehill Dancer gelding, formerly trained in Sydney by Anthony Cummings, knowing it had a throat operation.
“It had a wind operation but I don’t think it was all that successful.
“In four or five starts for me,I have tried different things to try and improve its racing.”
Noticeable improvement came at its past two starts, thanks to work done by acupuncturist Michelle Fuit and a friend who suggested elevated heels be applied to the gelding’s hind legs. Needles were stuck into the neck of the galloper “and this seems to have done something for the throat.”
Green asked a vet after Zizumba won at Grafton on July 10 what he thought of the galloper’s breathing.
“He told me my horse was breathing well and when I told him what had been done, he walked away.
“I think the proof of the pudding is in the eating,” Green added in his colloquial language.
As for Zizumba’s last three starts, the gelding was a bad beginner but since having elevated hind heels, he has stepped out slowly, but much better, to score by a long neck at odds of $12. The starting problem had been such that it earned the wrath of stewards.
At Grafton on May 10, Zizumba ran a head second after being two lengths slowly away,was third (about a half length) after missing the start by four lengths at the same track and then also at Grafton a warning about its racing manners was given by stewards after running fifth (2.5 lengths) in missing the jump by two lengths on May 30.
The win was full of merit as it was Zizumba’s first run since May 30,it drew the outside barrier in the 1006m race and lumped top-weight of 61kgs for Brisbane jockey Rick McMahon. Green said over the last 600m of the race Zizumba would have broken 34 seconds as the galloper made up about six lengths to win on the soft track.
“The jockey said he knew he would win 600m out as my horse was travelling so well.
“The horse has pulled up good and his next race will probably be at the Coffs Harbour Cup carnival.”
Green believes Zizumba may be worthy of trying his luck back in a Sydney race.
“It is a long way to town and I would have to pace myself, stopping halfway for a sleep or rest,” he said.
Zizumba is believed to be the name of a African dance, the gelding being related to a brother in South Africa which has won up to 2000m.
Purple patch
SIX-year-old Wingham-owned, Taree-bred gelding Get On The Grange has certainly struck a purple patch in winning in Sydney and at Doomben in Queensland at its past two starts.
Part-owner Brian Kelly could be forgiven for having a drink of “The Grange” with fellow owners, Martin Bates and his daughter Fiona Titus, to celebrate the last win two Saturdays ago as a cheque of $40,200 jumped into the bank account after a good cheque for its previous win. Kelly said he would like to see his gelding tackle the rich Taree and Port Macquarie Cups but a lot would depend on what weight the galloper was given. When it was a three-year-old trained at Port by Neil Godbolt, it was scratched at the barrier when taking its place in the Port Cup won by Taree gelding Phrases, trained by Bindi Cheers. The gelding is now trained at Wyong by Allan Kehoe and went to Queensland in preference to a start in the Grafton Cup Prelude. Kelly said Get On The Grange was prone to soreness and most of its trackwork was centred around swimming. He has a lot to look forward to as a full-brother to Get On The Grange, Epic Dan, has had a throat operation after winning its first start and he also has two more progeny from his mare ready to be trained.
Taree on Friday
RACING returns to Bushland Drive Racecourse this Friday for a TAB meeting conducted by Taree Wingham Race Club.
I will preview the meeting in Friday’s edition.