The 2025 Pennant Season is underway, and we’ll be bringing you all the latest results from our Royal Adelaide Golf Club teams right here. Each week, we’ll recap the matches, highlight standout performances, and celebrate the efforts of our players as they compete across all divisions. Stay tuned for updates as our teams strive for success on the course!
Women’s A3 Round 2
Royal Adelaide 1 defeated by Mt Osmond 4 at Mt Osmond
Report courtesy of Di Faull.
The second round of A3 pennant saw Royal Adelaide play Mt Osmond at Mt Osmond. This was always going to be difficult against the top players from Mt Osmond and so it turned out to be with our team going down 1/4.
Sharon hit off first and sped to an early lead, going to 5 up then coming back to 3 up before winning 4/3.
Anne Arnfield did not have a good day and was never in front in her match going down 6/5, closely followed by Anne Ellis losing 7/6 to a player who didn’t miss a putt! This meant our 2 final players needed wins but both matches were tight with both Pauline and Juliet pitted against the very experienced top players from Mt Osmond.
Pauline played some brilliant golf and took the match to the 17th but a half on that hole saw the match finish with a 2/1 loss. Juliet couldn’t get in front with wins on holes just out of reach. This was especially cruel when dormy 3 her winning put just lipped out and the match was over 3/2.
Although disappointing the team played in the best spirit and a home game next Monday should see us back on the victory dais.
Women’s Cleek Round 3
Royal Adelaide 1 defeated by Kooyonga 4 at Mt Osmond
Report courtesy of Carolyn Astley.
Well, the team turned out at Mt Osmond in lovely sunshine this morning on the back of an inspirational LIV event over the weekend.
The aim was to try and make amends for last week but to no avail.
While congratulations go to the highlight win by Toffee Perkins 5/4, the rest of the team went down including;
Ali Coventry 4/3
Lu Jacka 6/5
Di Moore 4/2
Pam Hamilton 2 down
Thank you to the team for your valiant efforts and a special thankyou to caddies; Sophie Gosse, Carolyn Pigot, Di Tallis, Jenny Clark and Alex Maddern.
Next week’s fixture is against West lakes at Thaxted Park.
Simpson Cup Round 1
Royal Adelaide 6 defeated Thaxted Park 1 at Tea Tree Gully
Report courtesy of Rod Phillips and Paul Reader
RAGC’s Simpson Cup team started its 2025 campaign with a match against Thaxted Park at Tea Tree Gully. The switch to summer brought some different challenges for Pennant golf and we were confronted with very strong winds and bright sunshine for our 7 am tee time.
These conditions caused some grief for our number 7 player who was unable to find his drive into the glare on 5, despite it being just left of the fairway. Nathan recovered to establish a 2 up lead after 9 holes and after giving his opponent a quick lesson on the correct procedure for marking his ball went on to record a comfortable 4/3 win.
Michael Richardson #6 used his unique putting style with great aplomb to set up an early lead. Although his opponent fought back, Michael was never headed before winning 3 and 2.
Alex Pacifico (with caddie Dan Madigan) #5 was consistently 20-30 metres ahead of his opponent off the tee and eventually overpowered him with a 3 and 2 win.
Matt Lawson (with caddie Robert Lawson) #4 was glistening in the new uniform. His golf was similarly shiny as he ran out a 3 and 2 winner.
Billy Cawthorne (with caddie Tyron Davies) #3 had a few stumbles early and after falling behind after 4 holes, Billy called on his exemplary short game to not lose another hole before winning 4 and 3.
Will Arnold (with caddie Steve Misopapas) played at #2. Thaxted opted to sacrifice the number 1 match and put their best player at #2. Will was up early but his opponent holed several monster putts en route to a 4 and 2 victory.
Josh Grundel (with caddie Terry Thornton) #1 had a softer matchup and after jumping to a 3 up lead after 5, went missing for a period to find himself 1 down at the turn. Josh’s superior driving and solid iron play was too much for his opponent on the back 9 as ran out a comfortable 3 and 2 winner.
It was a good start to the season and we look forward to stepping up against some stronger teams in the weeks ahead. We have a week off for LIV and our next match is against Tea Tree Gully at The Vines at 8:40 AM Sunday 23 February.
Bonnar Cup Round 1
Royal Adelaide 5 1/2 defeated Glenelg 1 1/2 at Glenelg GC
Report courtesy of Ian Rice and Randall Faull
Our Bonnar Cup title defence started with a tough first up match – Glenelg at Glenelg. We all agreed that being in shorts at 6.35am in early February was much more preferable than last year’s June encounter at the same time.
After four holes, not much separated the two teams with us up in three matches, down in two and square in the other two.
Cam Cordon in the No. 7 match, started to gain the ascendancy from there and by the turn (after 8 holes given the 17 hole course) held a two hole lead. Cam pressed on from there and with his short game running hot he powered away to record a 5/4 win, giving us our first point for the year.
Hudson Haynes, at 6, in his Bonnar Cup debut found himself 3 down after 7 but rallied after that and found himself only 1 down after 11. A see saw match continued from there with Huddo never quite being able to get back on level playing terms and he ultimately lost the 17th and the match 2/1.
Alexis Junin, at 5, was weaving his usual short game mastery and never found himself down in the match. An incredible up and down on the par 3 11th, saw him retain his 1 up lead which he held until the 16th. He rallied again to win 17 and then holding a 1 up lead, played smart golf down the last to half the hole in pars and thus win his match 1up.
Meanwhile Anthony Olsen, playing at 1 at his old stomping ground, found himself down early but a magnificent birdie out of a divot off the fairway on the 8th hole kickstarted a run of 6 straight winning holes that saw him wrap his match up 6/4. A dominant performance at No. 1.
So with 3 points already in the bag, things were looking good. James Norcock, at 4, didn’t have a great start and although he steadied he was still two down at the turn. He slowly started to claw his way back and an amazing up and down out of a bunker from 195m on the 13th, saw his opponent flounder and by the 14th, Norcks was 1up. He held the lead until 17 when his opponent won that sending the match down 18 all square. A pair of pars saw the match halved.
Henry Perks, at 3, was locked in a battle early on, halving holes with birdies but by turn he held a two hole lead. His opponent got that back to square by the 14th, but solid golf by Henry down the stretch saw him regain his one hole lead and maintain that down the 18th, and he won 1up giving us the win overall.
Jono Cherry was back to his old tricks and showing that SIM golf is just as effective as the real thing he found himself 3 up after 4 and 4 up at the turn. HIs opponent then reeled off a couple of birdies and Jono found himself only 1 up after 13. He had a chance to close out the match on 17 but probably the less said about that the better, so down 18 he headed holding a one shot advantage. Halving the hole in par saw him win his match 1 up and give us a first up 5½ – 1½ win. Such a good result to start with was just what the doctor ordered and hopefully showed that last year’s triumph was the beginning of a good run by RAGC in Bonnar Cup. A week off for LIV and then we play Thaxted Park at home.
Women’s A3 Round 1
Royal Adelaide 1 defeated by The Grange 4 at Highercombe
Report courtesy of Janice Fletcher
A downgraded weather forecast saw the Women’s A3 team and their support crews somewhat surprisingly make their way up to Highercombe for the first match of the season. Unfortunately, the fairways have not been watered over summer as their course has run out of water. This led to particularly challenging conditions where bounces were unpredictable and good play was generally not rewarded. Despite being in the foothills the weather was still warm, reaching 34 degrees.
Although the final score was 1 match to 4, the individual matches were closely contested.
Sharon Honnor playing at 5, with the very experienced Stephen Copley on her bag got off to a flying start, weathered a strong comeback from her opponent to close out the match 2/1. Our top player Pauline Morrison with caddy Didy McLaurin fought back after being 6 down after 8 holes to lose 4/3. Anne Ellis, ably caddied by Malcolm Morrison, played well but lost 2/1 after a particularly unrewarding day on the course. The tenacious Ros Brebner had the assistance of novice caddy Malcolm Brebner but lost a very close tussle with her opponent, losing 1 down. The same fate befell Anne Anfield with her caddy Louisa Zerella (who was very glad that she was not called on as reserve ). I was really proud of the way our girls faced the conditions and a large contingent of the Grange Pike team with spirit and determination.
Women’s Cleek Round 2
(Round 1 cancelled due to heat)
Royal Adelaide 1 defeated by Thaxted Park 4 at Blackwood
After the cancellation of the first round of Cleek hopes were high heading into round 2 with the match against Thaxted Park at Blackwood.
Unfortunately the match didn’t go Royal Adelaide’s with the team suffering a 4-1 loss.
Congratulations to Di Moore who won her match 1up. The team looks forward to the round 3 match against Kooyonga at Mt Osmond.
Junior Sharp Cup Round 1
Royal Adelaide 3 defeated Glenelg 2 at Glenelg GC
Report courtesy of Peter Maddern
A lot new about the 2025 Sharp Cup pennant season that kicked off this weekend. For starters, the comp has been brought forward to a month where heat (rather than flood) warnings must be observed and (with Blackwood and The Vines contesting for the first time) it has been extended by two rounds. Not so new was playing at the novelty Glenelg circuit; this time a 17-hole layout and having players banked up around the course.
Also not new was seeing some of our best players back at the top of the order. The Big Dawg, Lewis Antell, now acquiring an almost imperious gait, returned from last winter’s wrist injury to toss the coin. After recovering from self-inflicted and separate breaks of his arm and toe, the Kamikaze Kid, Billy White, also had his name once more gracing the team sheet.
They were joined by three new talents, Jordan Cranwell (ex. Thaxted Park) who would get us away, Seth Tymko (ex. Grange) and Angus Norcock, the son of a club champion.
Things got off to a bright start with Lewis placing his wedge to four feet on the 1st, Angus to three feet off the tee on 4 and Jordan similarly to four feet on 3. Momentum was on our side only to find, when we got to the kiosk, groups were banked up. Fortunately, some came prepared for just such an eventuality with two of our juniors breaking open their homework, the others took to completing jigsaws. Given the wait, they also then had time to swap.
There were two holes where the afternoon turned. On the par 3, 11th, Cranwell watched and waited on the green while his opponent ground his way in for a four before he holed out for a birdie from eight metres. Jordan was probably least perturbed by the intermission, leading by four then and, with inflicting this body blow, heading off to win by four an hour later.
Seth Tymko may have been beaten badly a few times across the afternoon but kept fighting back. Wickedly out of position, 20 metres shy right of this green and on a dusty lie, after clearing away leaves and sticks but leaving a pine cone to keep up the degree of difficulty on his back lift, Tymko flicked a wedge to two feet. Miraculous! Until Angus Norcock turned up eight minutes later.
In the right trap where many players camped off the tee, Norcock mucked up his first exit attempt and barely survived his second before draining a 12 metre putt from just off the carpet. His opponent, hitherto expecting to have two putts from 12 feet for the win, three putted and Angas walked off with a smile as wide as a Naracoorte cave.
Then the real fun came on the 17th. Seth had clattered his putt from the swale into the flag forcing his opponent to two putt to win from 15 metres. Having failed that same contract just the hole before, hope for a halved match continued to spring eternal, but it was not to be.
With father and former club captain, James, now on the bag – and the tie still in the balance – Angus Norcock clapped his second, an all or nothing 3 wood, to five feet on this most taxing hole. He had been up most of the day but now confronted the 17th square. This monstrous blow was enough to break his opponent, indeed into nearly as many pieces as one of the aforementioned jigsaws, and Angus went to the clubhouse soon after a 2 up winner.
Club members will know the perils of straying off into the wrong part of a golf course. Just ask Terry ‘Quick’ Zander about his encounter with the black hole now formed on the 9th. Accordingly, with the Kamikaze Kid paired against a guy named Danger, watching this contest from a big distance appeared like the only safe thing to do. Early on, drone vision suggested Billy’s approach was to deal with Danger by quickly leaving him behind; he zeroed in and was 5 up when he was forced to turn to his homework.
But come the 17th and things had tightened considerably. I didn’t record White’s opponent’s first name but, at this juncture, Clear and Present would have been appropriate. It wasn’t pretty but Billy’s clutch chip and putt for a bogey now on the second last was sufficient to see off Danger; the Kamikaze Kid had won 2-1 and, best of all, nobody had got hurt. As the RA team drove out of the gates facing the airport, a Qantas flight took off to the left no doubt with baggage missing but we turned right and with equal lack of doubt about the two points secured. After the LIV nonsense, the real contest resumes at home in a fortnight.
Junior Division 2 Round 1
Royal Adelaide 2 defeated by Glenelg 3 at Glenelg GC
Report courtesy of Di Faull
The Royal Adelaide Golf Club Div 2 team of Jisung Park, Mason Holden, Josh Antell, Sam Timson, Kate Cao, and reserve Adele Wang played the first round of the 2025 Pennant season on a modified 17-hole course at Glenelg Golf Club on Sunday 9 February. Playing the home team on a 17-hole course and starting on the 10th, was never going to be easy and so it came to be.
As we played in 4s Adele and the Glenelg reserve also got to play a match although it did not contribute to the team scores. Adele played as if this match was critical and despite being down early took it to the final hole, showing great determination in her first match for RAGC.
Kate played in this first group of 4, giving 6 shots to her opponent who took every advantage of strokes given and local knowledge to have Kate 4 down after 9 holes. Unable to recover and with her opponent finishing birdie, scrub, par, par she went down 5/4.
Sam and Josh were next out. Sam had never played Glenelg before and unfortunately this did result in some shots ending in poor positions. He was 2 down after 9 holes then, under great pressure, he squared the 1st and won the 2nd to be 1 downplaying the par 3 third. He squared this but lost the tricky 19th hole and then holes 4 and 5 to go down 4/2.
Josh started well with a par on the 10th but his lead was soon cut short and the match went between the two players with no real advantage to either. Josh was 1 up after 9 holes and 2 up after the 1st but came back to square after the 19th. He squared the 4th and 5th but lost the 6th so was 1 down going up the last hole, the 7th, a beautiful par here finished the match square.
Mason and Jisung were the last players off. Mason didn’t start well losing the first hole and was 1 down after the 13th. He then got into his rhythm and won 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 so was 4 up after 9 holes. He briefly went to 5 up and it looked like the match was all but over, however his opponent had other ideas and pushed him to the 15th before he won 3/2.
Jisung came out all guns blazing as did his opponent. The match swung between them for the first 9 holes with neither managing a decisive lead. Jisung was 1 down after 9 holes and brought the match back to square on the 3rd. They both parred the 19th but Jisung lost the 4th (despite driving through the green) as he had to give his opponent a shot on that hole. He got back to square after the 5th and that is how the match continued, all squared.
Final result RAGC lost 3/2, although we lost overall the squared matches could have gone either way and it was probably local knowledge that was a deciding factor. Thank you as always to the caddies and the parents and a big thank you to the other team members who came to support Div 2 and Sharp Cup teams.
