Ladies show off their skills on the golf course
By the sounds of it, they had a very pleasant afternoon
The quiet of the Country Club was broken on Saturday afternoon when a contingent of ladies who were playing in the Northern Region Ladies’ Open and Closed Championship on Sunday, arrived from Durban and surrounds to get acclimatised to the ways of Ladysmith.
They quickly got to grips with the layout of the club, showing special interest in the bar area and not so much in the golf course as such.
By the sounds of it, they had a very pleasant afternoon chatting away like a coven of chipmunks, before descending upon a well-known bed and breakfast where they awoke the master of the establishment from a semi-slumber to have a braai.
The following morning, 36 ladies converged on the club, where a smorgasbord of snacks, sandwiches and coffee awaited them. With all the hugs, greetings and registration done, the starter Wayne Bentley soon had the ladies reporting for duty.
The Gold and Silver division players, who were to play 36 holes, teed off first, and the Bronze division (playing only 18 holes) followed suit.
With the weather closing in, the ladies found the going rather heavy and it reflected in the scores, with very few managing to deal with the cool and slightly wet conditions.
The rough has, over the last weeks, proven to be (thanks to all the rain) rather tough and unforgiving, and certainly did not help your scorecard if you were there.
The cream of the crop Gold Division ladies put on quite a show and after 18 holes, there was very little difference between the seven players and it promised to be a battle royal in the afternoon.
As the afternoon progressed, it became apparent that the two to beat in the closed division were Liezl Smit and Marlie Smit, both from Vryheid.
With Liezl playing very well, she was always going to be hard to beat and she took the best gross on 155, and Marlie the best nett of 148. Marlie is one of the Northern Region’s up-and-coming juniors who plays off an eight handicap.
The open championship proved to be very exciting; with a number of players in the running, but in the end, Liezl and Liz Currie, from Southbroom, shared the trophy with a best gross of 155.
The best nett on 144 was Philly Mnculwane from Mooi River, with our own Jane Mackenzie just out of the running.
Watching these very talented youngsters – Liz, Philly, the Moodliar sisters Seneya and Kameya from Umhlahi, Marlie Smit from Vryheid and Nicola Nel from Athlone – was really special and it certainly looks as if ladies’ golf in Natal is alive and well.
The Silver Division for the ladies closed champion was another Vryheid clean sweep, with Anika Smit winning and Lynette Smit as runner-up.
Lorien de Wit from Dundee spoilt the Vryheid party by just pipping Joan Solm to take best nett.
The Silver Open Division was also very tight, with Wendy Carruthers from Victoria Club squeaking home by one shot from our Jaqui Porrill (the ring leader of the bed and breakfast raid) to win the best gross. The young Kamaya Moodliar, playing off a 13 handicap, won the best nett with a very credible 145.
The Bronze closed division’s best gross was shared by Lesley van der Vaart and Lynette Lotriet, both from Newcastle, with the club’s Pam Sanders taking best nett. In the Bronze open division, Maureen McGibbon from Kloof, and our ex Golf Captain Yvonne Otto, playing out of Victoria, was runner-up. Pam also scooped the best nett for the open division.
The junior best gross was won by Marlie Smit and the best nett by Kamaya Moodliar, who is not much bigger than her golf clubs. Last but not least, the seniors’ best gross was won by Wendy Carruthers and Lynette Smith the best nett.
Congratulations and well played to all the winners, and thanks for making the trip to play our course. Hope you all enjoyed your day.
Thanks must go to the Northern Region for giving us the opportunity to showcase our club, to Mortimer Toyota for their sponsorship of the tournament, to Aurette Boardman for the goody bags and to Paddy Anne Porrill for the flowers, menu and expertise.
To our staff, thanks for all the hard work on the course and in the club, and to our lady golfers for the snacks.
