2009 NSW Golf Croquet Handicap

Croquet NSW is to be congratulated for its foresight in allowing Maitland Croquet Club to conduct both the Handicap Golf Doubles and Singles Championships over the week Monday 21st September, to Sunday 27th, and it is hoped that other clubs are given the opportunity to do likewise in the future. This decentralisation can give country players an opportunity to experience top state competition which at present often presents difficulties in the form of large expenses and travel difficulties.

CNSW received all entries and allocated entrants to seeded blocks based on handicap. Maitland club provided the venue and management of the event. Tournament manager, Peter Smith, was assisted by a team of workers who looked after players and referees, ensuring that both were in the right spot at the right time with all their needs.

Tournament referee, Bev Smith, and her assistant, Pam Gentle, did a magnificent job ensuring all doubles games were supervised and singles games controlled by trained referees who were regularly rested and supported.

The record number of entries (indicating the interest and enthusiasm which still exists for the prestigious state title events) resulted in 4 blocks of 8 pairs (64 players) in the doubles and 2 whopping blocks of 14 in the singles (28 players). Handicaps ranged from 2 to 12 and many changes took place in the singles. A notable change was Christine Pont’s progression to a 2. Watch out Alix, Chris is on a charge.

The tournament handicapper was kept busy adjusting handicaps in the doubles with many talented "new" players and some players with "long standing handicaps" in need of review.

As the tournaments progressed so did the standard. The experienced players were challenged time and again as skills and strategies were honed by the newer players.

Maitland’s difficult hoops lived up to their reputation and proved difficult for all players, although they were set to the "conditions of play" specifications. This had the effect of slowing play and this meant that late days were the norm (even necessitating play under lights to complete play for a number of days.) Another side effect of this was increased wear on the lawns which combined with the very gusty wind conditions to make running hoops an often frustrating undertaking.

A dust storm or two and very high winds followed by high temperatures and then chilling winds made for a variety of unusual conditions guaranteed to test anyone’s resolve.

Doubles...

Robyn Wallace, the new President of CNSW opened the tournament under beautiful clear skies at 8:00 am on Monday Morning. Conditions were idyllic. Little did we know what was in store for us all.

Trevor Black and his partner Noel Carmody (both from Maitland) played excellent croquet to take out the title. Trevor is a rising star in both golf and Association and I am sure we will see his name often in the future. Noel, at 80+ capped his long croquet career with this title, responding to an opportunity he would not normally have had. Well done!

Block A saw spirited competition leading to Maitland pair John Purnell and Alec Brown winning 6 of their 7 games to win the block, while John Compton (eager to retain the Handicap Doubles crown gained with Peter Smith in 08) and Alan Pearson narrowly defeated Taree’s Joe and Lyn Dimech on countback.

Brenda Wild and Ron Bell from the newly formed Mt. Sugarloaf club gained valuable experience in their 1st venture into this type of tournament and with their attitude and fighting spirit it certainly won’t be their last.

Block B witnessed the EDSACC duo of Dennis Shipp and Bruce Bennett victorious over Sutherland’s Ron and Ros Johnstone who also won 6 of their 7 games. A close tussle resulted in Barry Wells and his partner, Maitland club president Lynn Dooley narrowly pipping Margaret Pedemont and Joy Lavette for 3rd place.

Carol and Bernie have always supported Maitland club it was great to see them competing forcefully as ever. On behalf of Maitland club and all players, I extend our sympathies to Bernie for the loss to his family during the tournament .

Block C had Jim Hicks and Bob Doepel give a clinical demonstration of accurate and controlled croquet to remain unconquered. Ingrid and Jack Cohen displaced husband and wife team from EDSACC of Adolphe and Suzy Parfait for third spot.

This block was full of stories. Fantastic efforts were put in by all players and many hard-luck stories were witnessed. A great block played in true competitive spirit.

Block D was a sharp tussle between eventual winners Trevor and Noel against Mosman’s Lesley and John Fransen. Both teams lost only one game and were closely followed by Christine Pont and Max Wiltshire in 3rd place.

This block provided a learning experience for at least 3 teams and their spirited play showed that they had not lost heart, even in the face of defeat. Congratulations to Greg Freeman in particular for acquitting himself so well after playing for only such a short time.

Quarter Finals.. .. As if the long days and difficult conditions were not enough, 3 of the 4 games in the Quarter finals went to 3 and the weary competitors eventually made their way home on Tuesday night only to meet at East Maitland Bowling Club for a Tournament Dinner. Luckily this was a low-key event and everyone went home early for a well deserved rest.

Semi Finals... Wednesday morning witnessed John and Alan fall victim to Trevor and Noel in 2 games (very close finish in the last) while Ron and Ros battled for over 5 hours to dispatch Jim and Bob to the play-off for third outright.

Finals.. All was set for a great tussle after lunch on Wednesday. The long semi and some illness niggles took the edge off Ron’s game and he and Ros succumbed to the aggressive and accurate play of the local pairing of "Dad" and "The Boy". Both teams had their chances, however sensible use of extra turns and thoughtful play, together with the required amount of skill and luck were the deciding factors. To say Noel and Trevor were delighted with their win would be an understatement.

Ron and Ros played their accurate strategic game almost to perfection, however Ros’ usually impeccable roqueting and Ron’s hoop running sometimes were just off target and in a final of this nature that spells problems.

On lawn 1, a play-off for third place saw Alan Pearson and John Compton take Jim Hicks and Bob Doepel to 3 very testing games for a narrow win. Jim narrowly missed moving his handicap to 2 however I am sure that in a very short time he will achieve this goal.

Maitland provided a sizeable crowd to watch the semis and finals and it was a pleasure to see both teams greeted by an enthusiastic and knowledgeable audience at the completion of play.

The competition and spirit of play during all stages of the event was first class and a credit to all involved. Good sportsmanship was the order of the day and many tricks and strategies were exchanged in sharing sessions between players.

The tournament handicapper was so impressed that 8 handicaps were adjusted to ensure that players were not advantaged excessively.

Thanks again to all the helpers who worked behind the scenes to enable the event to function so well. Lunches supplied by the local workshop group Mai-Wel were tasty and filling. Morning teas and nibblies were appreciated by all and the daily raffles added some entertainment to the day’s grind. The club environment and facilities were excellent however, if we had really done our bit properly, the weather would have been better. .... Thankfully it didn’t rain.

Singles...

Two blocks of fourteen anxious players faced the starter at 8 0’clock on Thursday morning. Popular local mayor, Peter Blackmore wished everyone good fortune, posed with players and officials for the mandatory photos and got play underway in a most convivial manner. Two and a half days of grueling block play lay ahead before the quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals would conclude the event.

Although both blocks had been selected to mirror each other, results were very different. Those interested in statistics, especially the percentage of wins going to the higher numeric handicapped player would find a confusing contrast between the two blocks. (especially if sorted by point differences)

Block A
Point difference in handicap		2	3	4	5	6	7
% of games won by high handicap player	H	41	48	46	73	0	67
% of games won by low handicap player	L	59	52	54	27	100	33
Block B
Point difference in handicap		2	3	4	5	6	7
% of games won by high handicap player	H	72	71	54	75	17	50
% of games won by low handicap player	L	28	29	46	25	83	50

As with the doubles, the difficult hoops and testing winds combined with the tight schedule to make the days became very long. Lights had to be used regularly to enable play to be completed..

Block A (blue block from the colour-keyed scoring process) had handicaps from 10 to 2 and looked impossible to pick a winner from, almost until the very end.

Christine Pont only dropped one game during the block play (actually she only lost 3 games altogether before the Finals Match, which considering the opposition and the handicaps of some of the players, shows what a talent this woman is) while Bob Doepel pushed very hard and only dropped 2. Roger Evans went through the pain barrier of dropping a handicap point from 6 to 5, while "Jumpin Joe" Dimech finished one point behind Stephen Thornton and Ron Johnstone who tied on nine wins. Christine also dropped from 3 to 2 and Bob Doepel dropped from 4 to a more realistic 3. Congratulations to you all.

With 13 games to play and such a spread of handicaps, it was possible for players to change handicaps a couple of times and indeed that did happen with one player gaining 2 more strokes and another in Block B gaining one and then fighting back to recover his previous h/c. Very interesting stuff.

Block B (pink block) was a very different kettle of fish. Jim Hicks showed great determination to win the block, dropping only two games while John Fransen settled down and lost 3 games for second spot. One game worse off was Max Wiltshire for third whilest one game further away was Bill Haines and Ros Johnstone. Ros was relegated to 5th on Nett points however.

Peter Freer from Canberra was growing in strength as the competition progressed and looks like making a good transition to Golf. His assistance to the organisers was greatly appreciated as was the refereeing talents of many of the players who were able to relieve many of the full time refs for a well earned "spell".

Unfortunately most of the handicap changes in this block moved players into larger figures. Bill Haines was clever enough to fight back though and finish on the same h/c he started on. Great determination Bill.

The standard of play in this block seemed more even than Block A however an analysis of the results showed that 42% of games won in block A went to 7/5 or 7/6 whereas only 37% did likewise in Block B.

Ros Johnstone consistently had close games with only two easy results.

Jim Hicks played very consistently also and was a model of precision, especially in his clearance shots. Stop shots to perfection.

Quarter Finals... The top 4 place getters from each block progressed to the quarter finals and showed what masochists they all were with each match going to 3 games.

Chris dispatched a determined Bill Haines who very nearly upset her march to victory as the last 2 games went 7/6,7/6 to Chris. Extremely close and exciting play by both players.

Max dominated Bob who appeared to have a slump in form, just at the wrong time. Maybe Max was able to come to grips with his favourite hate... Maitland’s hoops.

Jim continued on his winning way, although Ros made another determined effort to foil his plans in winning the second game and making the North Coast star work hard.

John Fransen had a lively game with Stephen Thornton, however experienced referee Margaret Thompson calmed the waters and ensured that serenity and the latest rulings prevailed. Stephen, who had settled into good form and consistent play over the tournament, eventually succumbed to John with his determination and accuracy making the deciding difference.

Semi Finals... 9:00 Sunday morning and the atmosphere was charged . Christine, still elated over her handicap advancement, was anxious to progress but was worried about playing her partner, Max, in the event that they both went through to the finals. John was keen to stake a claim in Golf Croquet as was Jim Hicks who also saw the opportunity to progress to a 2 h/c. Conditions were fine and clear, however the breeze was due to freshen and the hoops were still grinning defiantly.

Once again each match went to 3.

John started strongly against Chris, however, true to her nature she fought bakh tenaciously to take her semi 6-7, 7-6, 7-5.

Setting up for the dreaded final match, Max and Jim had a sea-sawing battle ending 3-7,7-3, 7-6. It appears Max was able to "turn the wick up" at the right time.

Finals.. The play-off for third place became an interesting battle between Jim and John.

Jim appeared to have finished the 7 days fresher than John and was able to prevail 7/6, 7/3. A great tussle, by two very talented players,which was appreciated by the crowd gathered to watch.

Max charged into battle and was able to overwhelm Christine in a very determined display of accurate placement and HOOP RUNNING (Max those hoops may not really be as bad as you say after all).

Both players had experienced a great tournament and certainly deserved their appearance in the final match which was played with no quarter asked yet in good spirit. A credit to sportsmanship and croquet in particular.

The crowd of onlookers were most appreciative of the fine display these two players put on and were most enthusiastic in their applause and praise when the final score of 7/3, 7/5 was reached. At last.....

An early day to end a great week of croquet.

Pete Smith