COUNTRY TEAMS 2008 - DAY ONE

The Ranfurlie Course at Amstel GC was the venue for Round One.  It was a "challenging" day with cold 30 to 40 knot winds, and those who know the course will realise that there is no part of it which is not exposed to the elements.  Our team did well to defeat Goulburn ValleyDistrict 6-1 in the morning, and we had the "luck of the draw" in that we had our bye in the afternoon whereas three teams had to play two matches on the day.

 DAY TWO

The weather was much kinder at Woodlands where Rounds Three and Four were played.  We met the North Eastern District which was recognised as being our strongest opposition in the morning, and won 5-2, then went on to defeat Western District 4-3 in the afternoon.

DAY THREE

Round Five on the final day was at Patterson River Country Club.  Although we had defeated North Eastern District, they had had big wins in their other matches and their total number of games won was higher than ours.  They had their bye on the final day, so we knew that a loss in our match against Ballarat would have given the Coltman Cup to North Eastern.   A tense morning of golf ensued  with some players "down" or "square" as they finished the front nine holes.  However they persevered and finished up with a 6-1 win.  The Coltman Cup was presented to Captain Helen Hall after lunch by WGV President Jenny Hoff, and all members of the team received commemorative badges.

2009

The South Western District won Division 2 so will be promoted next year to Division 1, while Western will be relegated to Division 2.  The Chair of the WGV Match Committee Elinor Stawell announced that Division 1 matches will be played at Long Island, Cranbourne and Patterson River.  She mentioned that is becoming increasingly difficult to find host clubs for such events.

CONGRATULATIONS AND THANKS

Congratulations to our team - all ten members of our squad played during the three days, and they were ably supported by their caddies and the Match Committee members Helen, Wendy Barnes and Innes Benson.  It was pleasing to have former leading players Ronnie Ferguson and Fay Vizard among the advisors and supporters, and many other Peninsula visitors too.  The MPDWG is grateful to John Horvath, the Professional at Sorrento GC, for his help and assistance to our players.