Written by Brad Bone

The format:       

18 holes stroke and players are only allowed to carry a maximum of 5 clubs, one of which must be a putter.

The man:            

As a young boy, like so many others in the area, L. K (Lance) Baynton began his golfing journey as a caddy on the Kingston Beach Golf Links 9-hole course.

He would also work on the course in the school holidays. As to pull the
mower, one of his tasks was to fetch the horse from the “Horse Paddock”, which is now the dam to the left of the 1st green.

Lance had the honour of caddying for Mr Robert Nettlefold and later recalled how Mr Nettlefold told him that he was no longer required as a caddy. Lance was concerned that he had done something to upset Mr Nettlefold until he received a call from the man himself, inviting Lance to become a junior member of the
club.

A valued member of the dominant KBGC Pennant Team of the era, the biggest thrill for Lance was winning the 1952 Tasmanian Open. Held at KBGC, Lance won a 3-way playoff, eventually defeating John Toogood on the 6th hole.

From his playing days until his passing, Lance was easy to spot on the course and around the clubhouse. It would be unthinkable to see the left-hander playing without his Flat-Cap on and his sweater tucked into his trousers. Around the clubhouse, the cap was ever present, also, a double-breasted sports coat, silk cravat and a highly polished Brogue shoe.

The event:         

Lance believed that a good player should be able to shoot a par round with only 5 clubs. And if nothing else, a player would learn to hit a variety of shots with the same club.

The memories:

As a young boy himself, our own Tony Lorkin remembers caddying for Lance. Tony recalls being on the 3rd hole and Lance asking a young Tony to fetch him a new ball from his bag. Tony retrieved the new ball and proceeded to unwrap the tissue paper from a brand new Penfold ball. Tony remembers thinking to himself at the time “I hope that I will be wealthy enough one day to do that”.

As for me, I was fortunate to spend a lot of time with Lance, albeit, in the later years of his life. Lance approached me, perhaps because we shared the same dexterity, to talk about my swing and golf in general. I would listen intently to his stories and his theories on golf and the swing, many of which I have shared with other players over the years.

What followed was a friendship that I still cherish to this day.

Lance and I may have been a few generations apart in age, however, we both shared the same love for the game. There was no tiptoeing with Lance, and he would give advice when and where he thought it was needed. I was always happy to listen and implement his suggestions but never shy to dispute his instructions if I didn’t agree, something that I think he respected.

Even at his older age, Lance still had a sharp eye when it came to the golf swing. When I was practicing, he would often be sitting on the bench outside the clubhouse. He would slowly make his way out to the practice fairway, shooting stick in hand, and ask me why I had changed a certain part of my swing or mention something “different” that I was doing since the last time we spoke.

Lance was a wonderful man, golfer and friend and will continue to be sorely missed.

The advice:        

If you can match or beat your regular score with only 5 clubs, I suggest that you suppress that information from your significant other. If you go home bragging about it, you will undoubtedly be asked “why do you have to spend all that money on a bag of clubs when 5 will do the same job”. Before you know it, you will lose the majority of your pocket money.

Good luck to you all, choose your clubs wisely, play well and enjoy the event.

World No.1s, Lavender and Gole Return to Kingston Beach to Defend

So good to see the Tasmanian Senior Golf Amateur Champs being played down at Kingston Beach Golf again this year.  Defending Champ and current Australian Amateur Champ, James Lavender from Victoria is coming down again to take on the locals and a host of other interstaters.  Lavender is the number 1 ranked amateur IN THE WORLD and plays off a handicap of +1.0.  He’ll be be tough to beat.

The ‘Tassie Senior’ has been dominated by locals in recent years and a host of locals will be keen to take back the trophy for our island state.  Local member, Dave Pretyman has form after his win in the recent Summer Cup while two-time champ, Shayne Walker from Launceston will also fancy his chances.  Pretyman, especially, has unfinished business.  Last year he lead after a couple of rounds before Lavender shot 67 in the final round to take the trophy across the strait.

In the Women’s, defending champ Nadene Gole is back.  Like Lavender, Gole becameWorld No.1 Ranked Amateur in March last year.  Strong challenges are expected to come from Gemma Dooley and Bridget Hill.  Tammy Hall is tipped to be the strongest Tasmanian representative with Susan Frith (Royal Hobart) and Viv Mcroberts (Kingston Beach) leading the other local chances. The Champs are played over 54 holes.  First round tees off on Wednesday 31st January.  Come and support the locals and see some of the best senior amateurs from across the country in action.

Browns River Cottage restoration update

The restoration plan is to keep the cottage to very much how it stands today but to rebuild a couple of the more dominant features of yesteryear.

Apart from the mandatory electrical and plumbing works needed to bring the cottage up to standard, the restoration list includes the following:

  • Rebuild the verandah with double French doors to the left of the original chimney that leads into the lounge room as you look at the cottage from the eastern side. (This was an original feature when the cottage was first used as the club’s first clubhouse back in 1922).
  • Rebuild the chimney and fireplace to the main bedroom on the southern side of the cottage as you see it from the men’s fifth tee. (This is where the blue plastic protection cover is at the moment).
  • Rebuild the verandah roof on the Browns River side at the back of the cottage. An existing concrete footprint remains indicating where the original verandah was.
  • The only slightly significant change inside is to remove the majority of the wall separating the kitchen from the dining lounge area and frame the opening with large pieces of recycled timber (at least 200mm square, larger if possible) hopefully salvaged from an old bridge or wharf or similar. (If anyone knows where timber like this can be sourced please contact the club).

We have the remnants of a good quality replaced kitchen (kindly donated by our treasurer) which can hopefully be modified and refitted. We will remove the hot water service from the kitchen and relocate it to provide more cupboard/bench space.

Over the past months we have salvaged old weather boards from other vintage buildings to replace existing rotting boards on the cottage exterior. These were kindly sanded ready for reuse by Peter Males and Vinny Sorrentino in early March.

We have located some replacement exterior windows the same as existing windows, some of which are beyond repair.

Golfers will shortly notice that the cottage wall facing the fourth green will be renovated and painted to give everyone an idea of how the cottage will look when it’s completed.

About the same time golfers will see a newly erected stand as they walk from the fourth green to the fifth tees. The stand will explain what the club intends to do with the cottage and will point people to the fund raising website.

The cottage grounds will be defined by a newly built fence and the garden and lawn/grass areas leading down to the river will be cleaned up and revitalised.

Cottage Fundraiser

Restoration of the Browns River Cottage in our centenary year

Over $4,600 already donated!

With the help of many volunteers, the Club has begun work on restoring the old cottage on the river bank behind the fourth green. You can read more about the history of this building and make a donation by clicking here. The restoration effort will allow the cottage to once again be used for accommodation. 
We aim to raise $20,000 by July to get a good roll on with the work, and have once again partnered with the Australian Sports Foundation to raise funds for this worthwhile project. The Australian Sports Foundation (ASF) is the only deductible gift recipient for sport in Australia. This means that donations of $2 or more are tax deductible. Shortly after making your donation, you’ll receive an official receipt from the ASF that you can use in your income tax return. Would you make a contribution to help us achieve this? A donation of any amount would help us get there.
If you don’t want a tax deduction, you can of course donate direct via the office. 
Cash isn’t the only thing that will help us with this project. We welcome donations of labour and materials, or donations in kind from trades and suppliers. Contact Tony Lorkin on 0412 715 222 if you’d like to help this way.
Donors will receive a complimentary round of golf at the Club, and donations exceeding $200 in value have the option of being acknowledged on the plaque that will be placed outside the cottage. 

Course care

Repairing divots

Repairing pitch marks

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