2013

MAITLAND MAKE AMENDS

The Maitland B Grade team suffered the pain of a loss in the 2012 final, for an agonising 12 months. On Sunday 7 April, at Cypress Lakes, they overcome that "monkey" and turned the tables on Paterson, who were responsible for inflicting the painful defeat in 2012 and won the Pogonoski Cup for the B grade pennant. The teams did not meet in the round robin series, as the round in which they were to meet was one of two washed out.

In the final, this year Maitland fielded 4 players from the 2012 final, whilst Paterson had 3. This set the scene for a tough final, which was played on the testing Cypress Lakes layout. Thanks to Cypress for the use of the course to host the final.

The number threes led the way out with Glen Davies & Mark Jackson (Patto) taking on Wayne "cranky" Clements and Steve Wilson (Maitland). The first six nervous holes were halved, until the deadlock was broken with a birdie on the 7th to Steve, when he knocked the flag out with his approach shot finishing 15cms from the hole and was conceded the putt.

A bogey 5 on the 9th, by Clemmo was sufficient to win the hole and for the Maitland side to turn 1 up. Holes 10 & 11 were halved with pars, and Clemmo struck again with a par on the par 3 12th to move to 2up. Paterson struck straight back and won the 13th with a brilliant birdie to Mark Jackson.

The next two holes were halved and the match came to a conclusion on the 16th where both Steve & Wayne, made regulation pars to move to 3 up with only two holes remaining.

Meanwhile behind them Dean Lauder & Graeme Valentine (Paterson) were battling it out against Brent Matthews and Mick McDonnell. Maitland made a par on the 1st courtesy of Brent to jump to an early lead but surrendered it on the second, when Dean made par. The Maitland boys made a concerted move on holes 4 through 6 to jump to a comfortable 3 up lead, with pars on all holes by Mick on 4 and Brent on 5 & 6.

Dean hit back with a birdie on the short par 4 7th to reduce the lead to 2 up. A par on the 9th by Brent saw the 3 up lead re-established at the turn. Mick chimed in with a par on the 10th to increase the lead to 4 up and the sides traded shots over the next four holes, for no result (all halved). Brent delivered the "coup de grace" on the par 3 15th, with a 40 foot par putt, to win their match 5 & 3.

Bringing up the rear were the number ones which saw the formidable combination of Wayne Stedman & Roy Bishop up against the confident Maitland pairing of Brad "the Elf" Ehlefeldt and big Bazza Vercoe. Mention must be made of Roy, who had discharged himself from Maitland Hospital, with a minor heart condition, to play in the final.

The Maitland team jumped out of the boxes to a 3 up lead after 3, with three pars in concussion, two to Baz and one to Brad. The fourth was halved with bogeys, then Roy hit a purple patch through holes 5 to 8, to level up the score. In that space of holes he parred the 5th & followed it up with a barrage of birdies, on the remainder of those holes.

This rattled the Maitland pair, but to their credit they did not capitulate and fought back with a par by Barry on the 9th to turn 1 up. He then continued with a birdie 3 on the 10th, to go 2 up. Brad then made his captains contribution with a par & bogey to win 11 and halve 12, to place them in a commanding position, of 3 up.

Wayne held them on the 13th when he chipped in for a bogey 5. Sadly this was to no avail as a win by the Maitland pair on the par 5 14th hole put the side 4holes to the good and in the position of dormie.  The anti climax came on the 15th when the hole was halved with bogeys and ended the match 4/3.

Maitland had won all three matches for a convincing win and provide the Maitland club with 4 pennants for the year.

SERIES RESULTS

PATTO TAKE 2012 POGONOSKI CUP

In a gripping final, the minor premiers, Royal Paterson overcame a fighting Maitland side, two matches to one.

At the half way mark it was all tied up with one game apiece and the third all square. As the golf moved into the back nine the Paterson number 3's Greg Scott & Owen O'Brien were 3 down with 6 to play against Brad Ehlefeldt and Brent Matthews who looked to be in control. Greg had other ideas and rattled off two consecutive birdies to bring the lead back to one after the 15th. The Maitland pair extended the lead to two on 16, but gave it back on the par 3 17th. Holding on to their slender lead Maitland captain Brad Elf, rolled in a delicate 15 foot putt from the back of the 18th green to secure a one game lead.

The next crunch game was the number two's, in Dean Lauder (captain) and Graeme Valentine for Paterson and the big hitting Maitland combination of Aaron Morris and Wayne Clements. The Paterson team were 2 down after 6 holes, but managed to drag them back to square after 9 holes. Throughout the back nine the game see sawed, the Paterson boys managing to be one up with 2 to play. On 17 Wayne Clements had the opportunity to tie it up buy his birdie putt slid agonisingly by the hole. Up the last both sides played nervous golf, managing to halve the hole with bogey fives, to square the games up at one all.

The number ones, Roy Bishop & Wayne Stedman for Paterson were always in control, maintaining a handy lead to be 4 up after the 12th hole. The Maitland boys Rod Butler and Mick McDonnell  were not about to give in and won two holes to be back to 2 down after the 16th. The difficult par 3 17th was halved with pars, giving the Paterson team the game and the Pogonoski Cup for 2012.

Once again the Paterson "unofficial clubhouse" The Paterson Tavern will be rocking with celebrations for the second week in a row, after the C Grade win last week.

VINTAGE VICTORIOUS IN 2011

In a courageous contest the B grade final for the Pogonoski Cup went down to the final putt on the 18th hole to decide the 2011 victors.

The Vintage Club, after winning a play off the previous week to secure the second place in the final, came up trumps with a nail biting 2 - 1 win over Branxton. 2011 was the first year The Vintage had entered a B Grade side.

The first match out was Lethal Leathley and Shane Walsh for the Vintage up against Branxton captain Kyle Mounser & Lee Heuston. Throughout the match the Vintage side held the advantage, with Leathley doing most of the damage. However it was his partner Shane who sank a crunch putt on the 17th green for a par when they held a two up advantage, and starting to look shaky. His putt halved the Branxton's boys par and gave the Vintage a one match lead.

Meanwhile the number 3 pairings of Evan Gledhill and Glen Batty, for the Vintage came up against a red hot pairing of Steve Eccles and Gary Anderson, who annihilated them 5 and 4. This win squared the matches at one all, and it was down to the number two pairings to decide the victor.

Tim Ledgerwood & Paul Fitzsimmons (Vintage) were dormie over Darren Gilroy and Phil Carter , after the 15th. The Branxton boys weren't about to give up and clawed back two holes to send the match up the last.

The match became a two man battle, between Tim & Phil, after Darren sent his drive over the fence and Paul scrambled for a six on the hole.

Both Tim & Phil reached the fringe (pin high) of the green in regulation. Tim was first away but lagged his putt some 2 metres short. Phil, who was as cool as a cucumber throughout the round, casually putted to tap in distance, leaving Tim in the unenviable position of having to make his putt to avoid proceeding to the 19th. After studying the putt from all angles he stroked it towards the hole and caught the left edge to drop in for the win, and the Cup. His happy team mates surged onto the green in Ryder Cup fashion to congratulate him.

2010 POGONOSKI CUP FINAL - B GRADE

In the final of the B grade pennant, played at Maitland in early fog, the two combatants Singleton and The Oaks lined up again after meeting in the final round of the series, the week before.

The Oaks were able to repeat the dose,  winning 2/1, to reign supreme as holders of the Pogonoski Cup for the next 12 months.

At the halfway mark The Oaks held a slender advantage. Singleton was 1 up in the first and The Oaks 1 up in the third, whilst The Oaks held a 3 up lead in the second match.

The number two Oaks pairing of team Captain Jeremy Holden partnered by Graham Groizard, went on to win 2/1 over Mick Williams and Paul Goddard, to provide the Oaks an early lead for The Cup.

Meanwhile in the first match out on the course, Michael Ervin and evergreen Paul Smith fought back from an early 3 hole deficit to only be one down after nine. In a seesawing match over the back nine it was all square with the last hole to go. Michael Ervin hit the 18th green in regulation, whilst his opposition Brad Ingram and Wayne Chandler played "army" golf, and could only muster a bogey. Mick calmly two putted to win the hole, the match  and the Cup.

Bringing up the rear the number ones were also involved in a close tussle, unaware of the result. When news filtered though of The Oaks win, Rick Janssen & Brad Gardiner were 1 up after 17 holes against Mark Bewes and Adam Jackson. With the result in the bag, the Oaks players graciously called off the final hole providing Singleton with a win.

The two teams adjourned to the clubhouse to toast the win and drown their sorrows.

B GRADE PENNANT RESULTS 2009

2009 POGONOSKI CUP FINAL 

Persistent heavy rain preceding the scheduled final, caused the venue to be transferred from The Oaks to Singleton to enable the final to go ahead.

On arrival at Singleton the players found new water features on the course to contend with. Luckily they were casual water.

The two teams vying for the Pogonoski Cup, Maitland and Kurri, both finished on 14 points and were at full strength for the final.

At the half way mark Kurri held a one match advantage thanks to Wayne Rushton & John Goodwin who had stormed to a 5 up lead over Brent Mathews and Mark Forbes, The remaining matches were one apiece.

Brent & Mark managed to drag two holes back, early in the back nine but eventually succumbed 4 & 3.

Playing at No. 3, Martin Kelly & Rod Butler (Maitland) clicked on the back nine  to take their match against John Breskon & the evergreen Kev Coleman, 3 & 2, squaring the matches one each.

The No. 2 teams were still on the course in the deciding match. Steady golf by Tony Ellicott & his partner Eugene Ridolfi edged ahead of their opponents Gav Wolfe & Mark Hodson to claim victory at the 16^th hole and the Pogonoski Cup for 2009.

B Grade Pennant Results 2008

POGONOSKI CUP FINAL 2008

The small Paterson Club took out their second Pennant for the year when the B Grade side followed in the footsteps of their C Grade team in winning the 2008 Pogonoski Cup in the final against Maitland at Kurri on Sunday 6 April.

This was the first B grade title for the B grade team, who have been led in all their campaigns by stalwart Roy Bishop.

The final was a tense affair with both teams recording a win apiece in first two matches. Playing at number 3 Gavin Wolfe & Mark Hodgson (Maitland) were untroubled to defeat Wayne Stedman 3 /2, with Roy Bishop & Dean Lauder squaring the ledger with a 2/1 victory over Greg Riches and Steve Yates.

This made for a thrilling finish with the number ones deciding the final.

Coming to the last hole the Paterson players Brad Hicks & Darren Presland (Paterson) were one up over Phil Johns & Bill Srbinovski. It came down to the final putt where Phil Johns lipped out for a birdie which would have taken the match into sudden death.

Paterson retained their advantage and won the Pogonoski Cup for the first time.