Colts Travel to Pacific Dunes Cup for
First Eric Apperly Shield Team Selection Trail
With the Eric Applery Shield competition only 4 months away and looking for revenge on last year’s loss to Toukley, on Sunday 7th August a full bus load of 13 keen colts travelled to the Pacific Dunes Cup at Medowie to test their skills against their ‘tiger” tees.
Well the tiger tees won hands down! The best score on the day was 72 winning the Cup the next best 79 with only one player in the field breaking their handicap.
“A tough day at the office” as they say. Our best Wyong colt player on the day was Ben Glachan with an 80. The colts are keen to go back, now that they know the course, for some revenge!
It appears a renewed interest in this age category ( 18 - 23yrs) will see more teams enter the 2012 Eric Apperly Central Coast Division. Last year we had only 3 clubs enter the competition, so we will look forward to more competition golf for our colts this year.
A flow on from our Junior development program shows this age group continue with their golf and if the first selection trail is any indication, it looks good for our club to enter two teams in the competition this year. Internal competitiveness will drive two very competitive teams and I look forward to the next trail match at Charlestown on Sunday 20th August.
The colts squad is; Alex Pitty, Ben Glachan, Ethan Forsyth, Guy Masters, Brent White, Corey Dowling, Adam Barnes, Ben Ward, Justin McPhan, Dean Smith, Wayne Newton, Josh Boushfield, with Juniors more than eligible on their ability to make the colts teams Zac Churcher & Brent Dowling & Will Allison.
Thank you to our sponsors & Club support in making more opportunities for more golf trips away of this nature a possibility.
Tony Newcombe – Director/ Colts Team Manager
------------------------------------------------------
Wyong Colts Round Up (18 – 23yrs)
After a such a great year in 2010 with our colts making the quarter finals of the Eric Apperly Sydney competition we had a disappointing 2011 qualifying time this year with an early defeat by Toukley who ended up making the final of the competition. On paper we had the better team, but as golf can get you, the play on the day did not go to the lower Wyong handicap players. Toukley were unfortunately defeated in the final 4/1 by the Australian GC , but a great effort for their young team.
Qualifying rounds in November for the 2012 competition is now on the agenda to make amends and to look to ways of providing more competition for this age group of our members (under 24yrs). This year only three Central Coast Clubs provided teams to compete in the qualifying rounds. That left us with only one match after Gosford were defeated by Toukley and then they forfeited their match against us as Toukley had two wins to proceed into the Country Qualify game & then Sydney competition.
While we acknowledge the Central Coast Regional Golf Association importance to support the local clubs in this age group most clubs have struggled over the past years to field teams and the competition is very limited. We need to expand the competition for our 18 – 23yrs players and investigations into the Newcastle/Hunter Region interests to expand the country qualifying number of teams or even the opportunity to enter our Wyong Colts directly into the Sydney Competition is a suggestion.
Our colts now include the likes of Alex Pitty, Dean Garner, Ben Ward, Corey Dowling, Ben Glachan, Ethan Forsyth, Guy Masters, Jamie Carr & with the addition of new apprentice green keeper Brent White and even the possible return of Brad Newcombe, now working at Pacific Dunes – Medowie after completing his university/PGAIGI management degree we have the make up to compete at a Sydney level. We just need to the colt competitions to maintain their interests in golf.
Part of the Wyong Colt Development Program will be to attend junior tournaments where a colts division is held but these too are limited. The first of these will be to Belmont on 1 May where we hope our Colts will join in on the fun of the bus trips with the juniors. Bus trips to some Vardon events will be organised and where we can get the lads off the soccer fields, a leave pass from the girlfriends and away from the race tracks/ casinos we will have some success come Eric Apperly time in November.
Sponsorship again in 2011 from Central Coast Granite (Jim & Mitch Cunnington), Newcastle Hunter Youth Development Trust ( thank you Robyn Murray) plus the continued club’s support for youth development will provide the avenues to guide our Colts through 2011 and onto a better team result – Regards and thanks to our members for their continued support of our colts development !
Tony Newcombe – Director/Colts Manager