Report by Marcus Kuys
Very early (5.30am) on Monday, 21st November, the Glenelg Golf Club High Performance Junior Squad trip to Victoria was just starting!! As the 12 of us Juniors boarded the Virgin Australia plane, we shared the GoPro around taking videos of each other as we were super excited about the week we had ahead.
On the trip with me was Aaron & Jack Buchanan, Josh Gumm, Harry Burner, Jake Rillotta, Jackson Kalz, Harry Edwards, Darcy Burns, Calvin Perks, Liam Kennewell and Jack Tanner with supervisors, Paul Grosvenor, David Brand, and coach Adrian Wickstein.
We landed in Melbourne all ready to rock and roll but had a long drive to get from the airport to Sorrento Golf Club. On the way to the golf course, we chatted and cranked the beats the whole way with a quick stop at KFC which was icing on the cake – but everyone had a feeling that, for eating junk food, we will be punished during the beach and fitness sessions we had coming up during the week.
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Before we teed up at Sorrento, we set down some base rules about prizes for best scores, etc.
At Sorrento, we only played a 13 hole comp because a storm rolled in with thunder and lightning. Taking out the game at Sorrento was shared with Darcy Burns and Jack Tanner. The course was really deceiving but awesome to play. All the hills and swales made it tough and a real test for us juniors.
After our round, we headed to our accommodation – at an amazing house in Dromana (visit Stayz booking site here) – where we were assigned bedrooms for the week – there were 9 bedrooms in total! We had a great cabana area for the juniors which was a real positive for us and saved the adults having to put up with us making noise at 1:00am! The house also had a pool which was very popular and also attached was a heated spa that was even more popular.
> DONATE TO THE GLENELG GOLF CLUB FOUNDATION HERE
The next morning everyone was rushing to get ready and packed to be in the car by 6:30am. The first round we played at The National was on the Moonah Course – this course was very tough due to the length considering we were playing off the blacks. This course was very deceiving because everything looked closer than it was. The wind was blowing like we were playing at St. Andrews in the British Open. It was an overcast, windy day but luckily the rain stayed away. I personally started this round very well being 1 under par through the 6th hole but then it went down-hill quickly!
The afternoon round we played on the Old Course. This course is very tough but most people found it slightly easier than the Moonah Course. This was because it was not as open and the holes weren’t as long because we played off the blue tees instead of the blacks. I really enjoyed this round because we had the legendary Paul Grosvenor in the group! As we reached the 7th hole, we all dropped our jaws – even though I didn’t get to see everyone’s expressions, I could imagine it in my head . A triangle shaped green overlooking the ocean with small scrub land surrounding the green. The only safe place was the green! We also happened to have a nearest the pin on this hole which Jack Tanner won hitting it to about 2 feet – I was stitched up because I had hit it to 4 foot! The Old Course brings out the fitness and mental side of you. If you didn’t give 100% for every hole you were punished – a true set scene for a golf course.
The National was nothing less than AMAZING!
Wednesday was the World Cup of Golf pro-am day and we all jumped in the car for an hour’s drive to Kingston Heath Golf Club. As we approached the gates, we could already see the pros playing in the pro-am and we looked forward to getting in their using the tickets provided to us by Schweppes Australia.
Like last year’s trip, all of us Juniors rushed over to the X-Golf simulator to have a go at the nearest the pin competition. The merchandise tent was also a major stop over for us all because we all wanted to get some type of memorabilia to take home which in my case was a hat which I got signed by Adam Scott and Rickie Fowler. As we wandered through the course, Adam Scott was being followed by half of our squad, while the other half was following Rickie Fowler and/or ‘the Barnrat’.
The highlight of the day was walking with the hilarious group which had Thomas Pieters as the pro but he was not the reason that it was funny! Dipper was a part of the pro-am group and Jake Rillotta even had the chance to be his caddy! Dipper was hilarious, as was Shane Crawford and Dermott Brereton!
Thursday we played The Open Course at Moonah Links – the weather was tough and the holes were long! The course is the hardest ranked in Australia with a scratch rating of 77. Mostly everyone struggled with a high proportion having less than 25 points- Even Wicky had 22 points! The star of the day was Liam Kennewell with 36 points.
That afternoon we had a short break before our gruelling fitness session on the beach started. Our session with Oliver Yourn (FitGolf) was a great experience and gives us something to think about when we get home and take care of our bodies, even when we are not playing golf (which is not very often!) We did a series of muscle and core work with long distance runs in between and death gruelling sand dune crawls and runs.
> DONATE TO THE GLENELG GOLF CLUB FOUNDATION HERE
Unfortunately, Friday was our last day and on our way to the World Cup to watch the second round of the tournament, we called into the Titleist/Footjoy warehouse and the group was given a guided tour of the facility – this was an awesome experience and we really learnt a lot about their brands and their professionalism.
At the World Cup, the Aussies played a lot better in this round compared to the first round. A very good round to watch was the New Zealanders shooting 8 under par! Everyone had a great time buying merchandise and seeing the pros in action.
Now in conclusion, myself and all other juniors know that we would not have had this opportunity without the help of all members and sponsors through the [intlink id=”2063″ type=”page”]Glenelg Golf Club Foundation[/intlink] and greatly do appreciate your ongoing support. We would greatly like to thank Dave, Pauly and Wicky for supervising the trip – they were great, very patient and we hope they had fun as well
This trip was a once in a lifetime opportunity and all of us juniors are forever grateful to the Club, and the [intlink id=”2063″ type=”page”]Glenelg Golf Club Foundation[/intlink] and its supporters, for allowing us to have this amazing experience and bonding session that we will never forget.
Special Thanks
- Stayz Website – 2 Drury Lane, Dromana (Bay Views From Drury Lane)
- Oliver Yourn & FitGolf
- The National Golf Club
- Sorrento Golf Club
- Moonah Links Golf Club
- Kingston Heath Golf Club
- Schweppes Australia
- Acushnet / Titleist / Footjoy
- Oakley
About the Glenelg Golf Club Foundation
Through the Glenelg Golf Club Foundation, we have identified junior golf as one of our key areas of importance.
As a result, the Club has focused on funding the ongoing development, training and promotion of junior golf with proceeds raised through the Foundation as a part of the Junior Golf & Elite Player Development project. This results in an outstanding, fully funded Junior Development Program at Glenelg Golf Club.
How you can help
Attending functions and events ensures the continued existence of the Glenelg Golf Club Foundation. The Glenelg Golf Club Foundation also enables members and supporters to make a special contribution to the future of the Club and become eligible to receive a tax deduction*. Any person wishing to support the foundation by way of a donation can contact the golf club for more details.
* Under taxation law, a deductible gift requires a donor to transfer money voluntarily without the donor or an associate of the donor receiving or being entitled to receive in return, any material advantage or compensation (apart from the tax saving). The Glenelg Golf Club projects are approved and conducted under the charter of the Australian Sports Foundation Ltd (ABN 27 008 613 858)
Online Donations
The following links take you to the Australian Sports Foundation website online donation pages for Glenelg Golf Club’s two projects.
Click here for more information on the Glenelg Golf Club Foundation.
Click here for more information on the Club’s Junior Development Program
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