Our Golf Groups
Our main Golf For Fun Group plays on Tuesday and Friday mornings at Yarrambat Golf Club. The leader of the group is Alan Clayton.
In addition, in some terms, we have golf workshops for beginners led by Abe Kelabora.
Apr 092024
Mar 202024
Our 6th Golf Workshops for the Beginners was successfully concluded with a real game of golf at Yarrambat Park Golf Course on 20th March. A total of 10 students went through the training program, the maximum enrolment we can take. To assist the new golfers to play a 9-hole game, they had the support of three mentors from our Golf for Fun group, namely Chris Steed, Kay Bichard and Michael Bull. So, three groups of players with their mentors teed off at 12.20 pm, playing the actual game of golf using the Ambrose scoring system. This system enables the game to move faster so, consequently, all groups were able to finish the game on time, and were at the Club House, Hole No. 19, just after 3pm. Everyone was happy to have played a real game of golf and, since then, some have joined the Yarrambat Golf Course as members whilst others have joined our Golf for Fun group.
Dec 082023
The words are from Abe Kelabora and the photos are from Brenda Hilson.
On Friday, 8th December, the group played its last game for the year. It was hot, windy, and dry, but so what? Golfers are always there with their mates playing the game religiously, never mind the weather. Some 32 players participated, divided into 8 groups. Rather than Stroke as usual, the Ambrose scoring system was used to speed up the game. Under this system, each group was to submit only one scorecard at the end of the game. The winning group was able to score 35 out of a 9-hole game, which was a first on this golf course for the seniors. At the 19th hole, everyone sat with their mates, some with their partners, to share a lunch with beer and coffee, while sharing the stories of the year, including the best shots, the worse episodes, and those who are no longer in the team. In the meantime, the captain, Alan Clayton, dutifully gave out the prizes. As Brenda says “Thank you so much Alan Clayton for your efforts through the year. You are a patient man!“
Apr 252023
On Anzac Day (25th April), our U3A Golf group had a ‘farm experience’ thanks to the hospitality of members Lindsay and Glenda. Situated in Arthurs Creek in a scenic setting, everyone involved thoroughly enjoyed themselves, with a shared BBQ and each other’s company. A ‘hay ride’ finished the day well. U3A is definitely a social forum and not just participation in regular classes. A big thank you to our hosts for inviting us to their picturesque property.
Mar 152023
This was the 5th time that this course has been run. As always, it concluded with a real game of golf on 15th March, where the participants were mentored by two members of our Golf for Fun Group, namely Ian Millman and Mike Bull. The play at Yarrambat Park Golf Course started at 12.30pm and took nearly three hours to complete. At the Hole No. 19, at the Club House, everyone was happy and relaxed. Since then, some of them have joined the Golf for Fun Group in order to play the game more regularly.
Dec 162022
On 16th December, our Golf Group had their final game for the year. 32 players started at 9.30 am and completed just after midday. Afterwards, the players plus some of their partners met at Plenty Views Restaurant in Plenty for lunch. The group’s leader, Alan Clayton, presented prizes for the winners of the various sections of the game: the Longest Drives, Nearest to the Pins, the Team which won the game for the day, etc. As well as Alan, part of the credit for a very successful year of golf should go to our Handicapper, Mike Payne.
Jul 272022
July really was freezing cold. So, the idea came to have a Christmas in July party to inject some joy into this otherwise a gloomy winter atmosphere. That is what some graduates from our Golf Workshops for the Beginners and their partners did on Wednesday, 27th July, at the Bistro, Yarrambat Park Golf Course. A total of 10 people turned up. The Party was opened with a welcome from our instructor, Abe Kelabora, then everyone cracked open the bon bons and put their hats on. Surprisingly, the weather was good, sunny and no rain. So, from inside the bistro, some people could not help watching how the games were being played at 18th hole outside.
Jun 082022
On 8th June, the last session of our Golf Workshop for the Beginners was held at Yarrambat Park Golf Course. This was the first real golf game to conclude the six weeks of workshops. The game started at 1pm, and took three hours to complete.
At the Hole No.19, in the cafe, everyone recalled their experiences during the game. A few had lost their balls in the lakes and others had to shoot some balls from bunkers. But everyone agreed that it had been fun.
Overall, the workshops were successful and some can now play golf with some degree of confidence.
Mar 162022
On 16th March, the last session of our Golf Workshop for Beginners was held at Yarrambat Park Golf Course. This was the first real golf game to conclude the 6 weeks of workshops. Just about everyone participated, together with three mentors from our Golf for Fun Group.
After a light lunch at the bistro and a briefing, the players were divided into three teams, each led by a mentor. The game took around 2½ hours.
At the ‘hole no.19’, outside the cafe, everyone recalled their experiences during the game. A few had lost their balls in the lakes and others had had some troubles shooting the balls from bunkers, but everyone had had fun. They can now all play golf with some degree of confidence, hopefully leading to a long and enjoyable journey of playing golf in the years to come.
Jan 202022
On 20th January, 12 of our golfers and their partners went to the Corowa Golf and Country Club in NSW, just across the border from Victoria, to escape from Melbourne, to rest and to play golf.
Corowa is a major golf course built on the banks of the Murray River. There are 27 holes, making it one of the bigger golf courses in Australia. They have a licensed restaurant, bars, cafes, games rooms and (of course) TAB. We were housed in some flats located next to club house, along the river banks. It was nice to listen to the birds singing their different tunes in the morning.
3 groups of 4 players played on the Friday, comprising two groups of male players and one group of female players. We teed off at 9am and finished in the early afternoon. The weather was excellent: high 20s, sunny, no rain and no wind.
The 19th hole took the form of a BBQ on Friday evening. Sausages and steaks were cooked and consumed together with salads, breads, and variety of sauces. Drinks were flowing. The mood was relaxed. Then the presentation of prizes was made. So, suitable prizes were awarded to male’s longest drive, female’s longest drive, male NTPs (‘nearest to the pins’), the lowest overall score and the highest overall score. The entertainment was provided by Mike Ormerod with his trumpet and jokes were cracked by various people.
On the whole, Corowa was great. It has set the pattern and, because the packages provided by this golf club are generous, we might well all come here again each year.
Finally, thanks Alan (Clayton) and his wife, Gail, for organising this program. Thanks also to Martin (Winfield) and Jean (Kelabora) for cooking the BBQ; and to everyone else who contributed to making this escape a memorable experience.
Jul 102021
These workshops were successfully completed on Wednesday, 5th May, 2021. The last session was an actual 9-hole game at Yarrambat Park Golf Course. A total of 7 students completed the program, but only 6 attended the final session.
| So, around midday on 5th May, 6 students turned up at Yarrambat Park Golf Course to sign up, and then off to the driving range to warm up. Just before 1 pm, the group lined up at the tee box of hole No. 1. | 
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| There were two teams: the first team of four players under Abe Kelabora, and the second team of three under Gail Clayton. The first to hit the ball was Abe. He was followed by Susan Palmer who carefully addressed the ball at the red markers for the ladies. |  |
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Susan then hit the ball and sent it away to the middle of the fairway. The others in the first group then followed. Within minutes, this group was on its way to their second shots. The second group of players then followed, carefully playing the game and negotiating their way, according to the rules. Each player was asked to score themselves. |
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It took just less than three hours for the two groups of players to complete the game. They were so happy to arrive at the Club House, at hole No.19, with plenty of smiles. The atmosphere around the table was happy, relaxed, and contented, supplemented by refreshments from the cafe. The feeling was that: “eh, we finally made it – we have successfully played a golf game.” As they say, the rest is history. |
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Aug 012019
Congratulations to John Jamieson for a hole in one achieved on Friday, 2nd August, 2019 on the fifth hole par three at Yarrambat Golf Club. It was a great shot with a five wood witnessed by his playing partners, Alan Clayton and Chris Steed. Not only did John achieve his hole in one, he finished his round of nine holes with a four over par net 40.