Lawn Bowls
22 January, 2026
Golf Bowls go down to local side again
Division One Golf Bowls White were beaten once again against a more consistent opposition on their own greens at the Golf Club last Saturday, in warm but pleasant conditions.
The ladder leaders proved why they have yet to lose a Saturday game and lead the Pennant field on 166 points, 11 wins, with second position going to the Golfers on 127 points. Golf have won eight of 11 played, and hold on to second spot by a narrow margin from Rupanyup and Beulah.
These four teams will be the final to play off at the end of the home and away competition, as the others are too far back to gain a spot. W1th three games to go, only a change in order is a possibility.
Golf were credited in winning two of the three rinks, against Warracknabeal, which is a good sign, but an overall loss of 13 shots across the board added just 4 points to the ladder score. Warrack gained 12 points on the day.
Warren Perris, Russell Miller, Gary Bellis and Barry Holland can thank their lucky stars, after dropping a seven on end 23, losing their lead from 21 to 15, found themselves behind by one shot with two ends to play. They did finish off the game with two singles to be one up 23 to 22.
Rocky Holland and Russell Miller were the standouts for Golf, whilst all four opposition players in Langman, Schultz, Barry and Shalders had consistent games. They are the best performed rink for Golf so far in the competition having eight wins, two draws and a loss.
Bruce Wilson played an important role as a third for skipper Mick Marchment, having to draw the shot on many occasions to cut back the scores, after Warracks leader and second in Michelle Powell and Noreen Belot continued to barrage the kitty with telling bowls in the head.
Both were a constant pain during the whole match, with Golf leader James Thomas having to dig deep towards the final few ends to finish off his game well. Terry Sanders also fought the game out to please the skipper, who also played some telling shots, and finish with a one shot win over the consistent Warrack skipper Rod Sinclair, 20 shots to 19 for the Golfers, and 12 ends won of 25 played, but only four ends of 12 won after lunch.
This rink has 8 wins 1 loss with 2 draws for the season.
Golf’s Graham Clayton lead well all day against opposition Shane Powell, with both having an input into the scores. Bill Russ and Booza Gunn battled hard, finding Edna and Peter Andersor at their best on the day, with Skipper Ron Baron also at his best.
Roger Perris had the pressure of close opposition bowls, with the final result 30 shots to 15 to the visitors. Golf had a bad home run, winning only three ends of 13 to play after the lunch break. This was a mediocre effort from the Golfers in this rink, as they have been on the winning end since round five, but find themselves with six wins and five losses, with three to play.
Golf Blue find another win
Golf Blue have another victory under their belt, having a four shot win over Hopetoun on the Golf Greens, making this their second win over that club this season, and the only two wins so far. Playing in the higher Division from last seasons Division Two victory, the competitive application of the members has shown out in many games this year.
John Barbetti, Wayne Gove, Brian Mcfarlane and leader Ian Bibby settled in well early against Thomas Huf, Shane·Maklin, Keith Robbins and David Watson, and after 9 ends had a significant lead 17 shots to 3, and atlunch after 13 ends, were 18 shots to 8 before the stomach onslaught.
There must have been something in the food, because like most times, the worm turned very sharply, finding themselves gasping for breath, managing to win only three ends of 12 to play, 5 shots, to a faultless Hopetoun 16 shots, being run over by two shots 23 to 25. They had an 11 ends win, but not enough to find a victory.
Judy Gove, Phil Gunn, Graeme Clarke and Graeme White were in trouble early with only four ends won at the sandwich break, 5 shots to 19 down.
Russell Huf, Winston Gould, Steve Mitchell and Greg Cox had the kitty on a string, until the Golfers finally found some line and length to come back at the visitors. Playing catch up bowls, they clawed back to be a mere four shots down at 18 to 22.
An umpire was called to determine the closest bowl on the 24th end, but the result was deemed as no score with one end to play. Hopetoun did finish the game with a win, 23 shots to 18, but a valiant effort by the golfers. 12 ends were won by Golf.
Jim Gibson was all smiles after his team had a good win over Mark Reid, Macabe Proposch, Danny McGee and Terry Landrigan 30 shots to 19, thus giving Golf the overall result to take the major points on the day.
Roy Liersch, Alison Fischer and Maurie Parsons, combined well to give Jim the confidence he needed to bowl well and have a big influence in the game. They won 14 ends on the day in their best of the season so far. Golf scored 71 shots to Hopetoun 67 in a top performance.
Round 12 tomorrow is forecast to be around 40 degrees as BOM has stated, so an early start or no games at all has been talked about.
Golf White will have an away game at Beulah, whilst Golf Blue travel to Murtoa to do battle. Hopefully they will be played as only three games are left before finals.
Midweek Pennant on Tuesday was a contest between the two local sides, with Warracknabeal showing their strength across the three rinks.
Golf were well beaten by the opposition's best players, but continue to gain the experience against the stronger teams. The more games played for our newer bowlers like Phil Gunn, Maree Walker, Sal McKenzie, Gaylene Clayton and Alison Fischer, will only benefit the club going forward, with a promising future ahead in the Pennant comp. Golf went down 86 shots to 50 shots, and sit on the ladder floor with 8 losses and two draws for the season.
Next week they travel to Beulah and will be hoping for a competitive effort against the third placed team, whilst the final pennant match before the finals will be Hopetoun at the golf bowls greens on February 3rd.
Although lacking in wins for the season, they have competed well on many occasions, and with self confidence by each individual will only increase their ability to do better.
Good bowling and good luck.
