Author: lasantam.sevenhillsrsl

Top Gun Shootout Calcutta

Posted on March 17, 2021

The final of the 2021 Top Gun Shootout Final will take place on Sunday 28 March 21.

The Top Gun Calcutta will be held on Saturday 27 March 21 commencing at 6.30 pm in the Sports Lounge in the club. This is an exciting night with an opportunity to purchase raffle tickets and go in the draw to own a player vying to be the Top Gun Champion for 2021.

Then participate in the auction following the draw to purchase your favourite player or sell the player you own.

So get your syndicate together now for a chance to walk away with some cash.

The raffle tickets will be sold on the night.

Please book a table directly with the bistro if your family and friends are joining you for dinner.

2021 Top Gun Championship

Posted on March 17, 2021

The qualifying for the 2021 Top Gun Championship is well and truly at the pointy end with the qualifying rounds concluding this Saturday 20 March. That means weather permitting there is just 3 qualifying rounds available for those players hoping to secure a spot. Please see [Current Qualifiers] for the current list of qualifiers – yet again there was no movement in the top 19 or reserves over the last week. For those that still have an eye on a spot see [here] for the full list so you can see what you need to do.

For the final qualifiers please note the Calcutta is on Saturday evening 27 March 21 commencing at 6.30 pm with the final on the Sunday 28 March 21. The Calcutta will take place in the members lounge area (carpeted area). If you have family and friends coming and plan to have dinner please contact the bistro and make a booking for the members lounge area. We do expect your attendance at the Calcutta and encourage you to bring your family and friends for this exciting night.

There is a mandatory player and caddie briefing at 9.30 am on the day of the game Sunday 28 March 21 in the Club.

Penrith right at home in Big Leagues!

Posted on March 12, 2021

Penrith have proved their credentials with the club’s first foray into the top tier of NSW Major Pennant.

At the conclusion of the home and away season last Sunday, Penrith claimed third place in their Division One section behind The Australian and Bonnie Doon and ahead of Monash. The top three teams remain in Division One in 2022, while Monash have been forced into the relegation matches.

Sunday’s final round saw The Australian defeat Bonnie Doon to advance to the semi-finals but that mattered little at the foot of the mountains, where Penrith needed to win against Monash at home to steer clear of the dreaded drop zone.

In a mature and gritty performance, Penrith defeated a spirited Monash outfit 4.5 matches to 2.5. Dale Hughes scored an emphatic 7&6 win over Zac Telfer to set the tone early, and he was soon followed by a resurgent Chris Lawler, who defeated Michael Eksteen 5&4, and club champion Dan Smyth, who dispatched Danny Marshall 3&2. Losses by Josh and Jeff Gadd tightened the contest as Monash tried to mount a comeback but Will Arnold withstood a back-nine, birdie-laden charge by Olli Hugill and ended the match on the 17^th hole.

Throughout the Pennant season, the hallmark of the Penrith outfit has been determination, where the players have held back all challenges at home and more impressively have taken the fight to their opponents in away matches.

The tone was sent in the first round at Bonnie Doon, where Penrith lost 4.5 matches to 2.5 but four of those contests were decided on the final hole. Two weeks later at The Australian, Penrith again took four matches to the final hole in a 5.5 to 1.5 loss, and it was clear the team were up for the fight.

If there was one moment emblematic of this it came when Dale Hughes took on The Australian’s 16-year-old wunderkind Jeffery Guan at Penrith. Guan, who this year was runner-up in both the NSW and Australian amateur championships, came to the last hole 1up before Hughes holed a four-metre birdie putt to salvage a half and secure a crucial drawn homestand for Penrith. At the end, Guan and Hughes had both fired six-under-par 66s in one of the games of the season.

Penrith answered the challenge and much of the credit must go to manager Ian Gallagher, who in 2015 took over a Major Pennant program in the doldrums and the club languishing in Division Four. Gallagher bolstered the playing list and brought an enthusiasm to his squad which had immediate effect.

The players have bought in and formed a cohesive unit, and Gallagher’s sometimes radical selections have been part of the secret sauce that has fuelled Penrith’s rise. After winning the 2015 Division Four title, Penrith moved up to Division Three, where they made the 2017 final, and last year the Division Two final to earn inclusion in Division One. The team were also semi-finalists in 2016 (Division Three) and 2018 (Division Two).

Next year, Gallagher is expected to have a stronger playing list at his disposal with the development of young talent and with some high-calibre golfers joining the club.

FANS HAVE THEIR FUN

Penrith’s caddies and supporters have played an important role in the club’s Major Pennant success and had their fun in the process. As is often seen in sport, rituals emerge and the caddies and supporters have a couple they insist they cannot neglect. One is that that caddies MUST enjoy a matchday beer before the game. Nobody is suggesting it rivals the All Blacks’ haka but for the caddies it’s crucial to the warm-up.

Far more left-field is the home game presence of a box of Wagon Wheels, courtesy of steadfast supporters Steve Anderson and Peter Willis, who camp behind the 11^th green and present a Wagon Wheel to the Penrith player who gets nearest the pin. What is curious is that only one player wins a Wagon Wheel but the box is empty at the end of the day. We’ll let Steve and Peter explain.

IMAGE GALLERY

Image Gallery photos captured by Noel Rowsell.

Top Gun Championship

Posted on March 10, 2021

The qualifying for the 2021 Top Gun Championship concludes on Saturday 20 March 21. That means there is just 7 qualifying rounds available for those players hoping to secure a spot. Please see [Current Qualifiers] for the current list of qualifiers – again there was no movement in the top 19 or reserves over the last week. For those that still have an eye on a spot see [here] for the full list so you can see what you need to do. Those players on 136 with later qualifying scores may be starting to get a little more comfortable and the reserves on 136 need to better their score by 1 to sneak in there. For those qualifiers please remember the Calcutta is on Saturday evening 27 March 21 commencing at 6.30 pm with the final on the Sunday 28 March 21. Please ensure you get your cards stamped before each qualifying round – don’t be disappointed with a good score and an unstamped card.

Gadd stuns Open field with record run

Posted on March 9, 2021

Jeff Gadd produced a performance for the ages when he fired an incredible nine-under-par 63 to claim the Penrith Open on Saturday.

In his march to victory, Gadd equalled the five decades old course record set by former club professional Graeme Abbott. Gadd carded 11 birdies as he won by eight shots from his son, Josh, who played in the same group and became a cheerleader as his dad tore the course apart.

Starting from the 10th hole, Gadd senior went immediately into action, birdieing his opening hole and parring the difficult 11th before two more birdies at the 12th and 13th completed a dream start.

After pars on the 14th and 15th holes, Gadd went into overdrive with birdies on 16, 17 and 18 to make the turn in six-under-par 30 and then birdied the 1st, 3rd and 4th holes to be nine under through 12 holes. A bogey at the 5th was followed by birdies at the 6th and 7th as Gadd charged to 10 under par.

A closing bogey on the long par-four 9th, Penrith’s hardest hole, did nothing to diminish an incredible round of golf.

Josh Gadd made four birdies in his one-under-par 71, which in any other circumstance would have been a round to celebrate on the challenging Penrith layout under championship conditions.

Jeff and Josh now have the distinction of both having won the Penrith Golf Club championship and Penrith Open.

To add further context to Gadd’s record round, and the specialness of it, is the fact that many of Australia’s best professional and amateur golfers over half a century had failed to match Abbott’s mark. The club has hosted the Australian Senior PGA Championship, NSW Open and NSW PGA, so the list of challengers is a long one indeed. Many of the club’s long-serving members would approve of Abbott’s mark being equalled rather than broken, given the wonderful legacy of service Abbott left with the club.

As a NSW Vardon event, the Penrith Open attracted a quality field of more than 220 players and visiting players certainly made their presence felt. In equal third with par round 72s were Jonah Metuangaro (Twin Creeks) and Brock Egan (Lithgow), and on 73 there was the quintet of Shane Fitzpatrick (Massey Park), Cameron Glenday (The Lakes), John Fearnley (Dunheved), Michael Williams (Randwick) and David Limbach (Springwood).

The handicap division was taken out by Penrith’s Adrian Corbett with a nett 66. Like a good stayer, Corbett came with a late burst to rein in the field and claim the victory spoils. Completing the podium positions were Mark Hatton and Bob Higgins, also Penrith members, on nett 67.

Change to Greens Shed GUR

Posted on March 5, 2021

Following feedback from members, effective immediately, the Golf Committee has agreed to consolidate the compulsory GUR area to the left of the 6th fairway next to the Green Keepers shed and the GUR of the Green Keepers shed into one area.

This is now one area of Compulsory GUR. This area will be marked with white pegs with a green top and can be seen in the photo below.

Relief MUST be taken at the nearest point of complete relief in the general area, no nearer the hole and complete relief from the area. The drop zone has been removed.

Top Gun

Posted on March 3, 2021

Now just 11 qualifying rounds to go. It is interesting to see very little movement on the leaderboard over the past week – in fact only 1 significant movement in the top 100. Please see [Here] for the current list of qualifiers. Those players on 136 are starting to look a little more comfortable. Watch for some good scores over next 2 weeks!!!

Please ensure you get your cards stamped before each qualifying round.

Turner Reigns Supreme

Posted on March 2, 2021

Dale Turner completed a barnstorming run through the 2021 Penrith Golf Club Match Play Championships with an emphatic victory over Gordon McCall in Saturday’s 36-hole final.

Turner led from the first hole and was never headed as he outgunned McCall 6&5 with a superb display.

The Championship proved a victory lap for Penrith’s experienced golfers, represented by 47-year-old Turner and 55-year-old McCall.

Five members of the club’s heralded Major Pennant squad who qualified for the match play rounds were expected to dominate but after the first-round contests, four of them – qualifying medalist Craig Montgomery, second seed Alex Platts, third seed Josh Roberts and fifth seed Michael Organ – had been sent packing. And when McCall took out Chris Lawler in the semi-finals, the job was complete

In the final, Turner won the first two holes before McCall settled into the contest and reduced the margin to one hole when he birdied the par-5 sixth, where his third shot from 150 metres rattled the flagstick and stopped within tap-in distance.

Turner took control of the match when he won holes 9, 10, 11 and 12 to establish a 5-up lead and answered every McCall challenge on his march to victory. Indicative of this was when Turner birdied the 24^th hole to match McCall, applied more pressure with a birdie on the next hole and denied McCall by holing a 5m par putt on the 26^th.

McCall showed his fighting qualities by holing a 6m putt on the 29^th hole to extend the contest and did it again with a 3m putt on the 30^th.

The end came at the 31^st, where Turner calmly two-putted from the fringe to claim victory.

Throughout the final, and indeed the entire Championships, Turner showcased his allround game. He was long off the tee and his great iron play set up a swag of birdies, many of which he converted with superb putting.

The A Reserve, B Grade and C Grade finals, played over 18 holes, saw enthralling contests.

In A Reserve, Anthony Swinfield sprinted from the blocks to lead Chris Withers 3up through five holes before Withers, who eliminated top seed Jade McCoy in the semi-finals, fought his way back to level the contest at the 13^th. Swinfield regained the upper hand by winning the 16^th hole.

Withers holed a great putt from seven metres on the 17^th hole to take the match up the last but Swinfield calmly holed a testing downhill putt from two metres to claim the title.

In B Grade, Blake Phelps defeated Andrew Walker at the last, avenging the 19^th hole semi-final defeat Walker inflicted on Blake’s father, Craig.

The finalists went to the final hole square and it was Phelps who prevailed after a great second shot over trees from the practice fairway set up an easy par for the win.

Mitch Davis was the only top seed to claim a title when he defeated Craig White 4&3 in the C Grade final.

Davis was an unstoppable force throughout the Championships, also defeating Daniel Fenech 2&1 in the first round and Nathan Walker 7&6 in the semi-finals.

The Match Play Championships attracted 118 entries for the qualifying medal. There were no walkover contests and credit must go to the players for this, and also for the spirit in which all matches were played.

Thanks also to the greens staff, who presented the course in immaculate condition despite inclement weather making their job a difficult one.

Roadworks & Access to Club

Posted on February 26, 2021

There will be a 56-hour closure of Glenmore Parkway and Wentworth Road this weekend from 8pm Friday 26 February to 5am Monday 1 March.

Club entry access will remain ‘left in’ and ‘left out’ during the weekend, EXCEPT from 8pm Saturday to 1am Sunday when there will be VMS signage directing traffic down Glenmore Parkway to U-turn and come back around the service path.

Top Gun Leaderboard

Posted on February 24, 2021

With just 15 qualifying rounds the qualifiers for the 2021 Top Gun Championship will soon be finalised. Please see Current Qualifiers for the current list of qualifiers. For those that still have aspirations of qualifying look here for the full list so you can see what you need to do. Those players on 136 with later qualifying scores are starting to get nervous so get a few more cards in. Please ensure you get your cards stamped before each qualifying round.