After a two-year hiatus due to Covid, the 11th annual men’s Grange/Royal Canberra reciprocal visit and interclub challenge for The Coopers Cup occurred over 18th-20th November at The Grange Golf Club. Teams of twelve from each club battled against each other over 3 days of handicap match play consisting of foursomes on Day 1, four-ball better-ball on Day 2 and individual on the last day. This is the usual “Ryder Cup” format with a total of 24 points up for grabs. The weather was tough all weekend with strong, gusty wind and cold rain squalls.
The Royal Canberra team was Vice-Captain Russell Ingram, David McGilvary, Jack Libbis, Shane Radnell, Iain Davidson, Shane Harman, Tim Pickering, Mac Howell, Kerry Clarke, Dennis O’Connor, Bill Walker and Peter Crawford. The Grange team was Captain John Thomas, Vice-Captain Kym Linke, Bruno Battistella, David Lang, Rick Kinnear, Alan Martin, Malcolm Coleman, Grant Dawkins, Marty Ingham, Jack White, Geoff Casson, and Geoff Webber. Royal Canberra were the holders of the Coopers Cup and Vice-Captain Russell hand-carried the beautiful piece of silverware to The Grange for the contest.
The teams assembled at The Grange at midday on Friday for a sandwich lunch, foursomes pairings selection and the chance to meet new team members and catch up with our friends and sparring partners from earlier contests. After lunch the six foursomes matches got underway on the East course. As the results started to come in it was apparent that The Grange team was not capitalising on the home course advantage. At the end of the day The Grange was up 3½ to 2½ points and it was time to reflect on the performance over a gourmet barbecue and a few drinks.
On Day 2 there were six 4BBB matches and play was on the West course. The Grange team was hoping for a stronger performance. Royal Canberra must have got a rev-up from Vice-Captain Russell because they came to play and kept the pressure on. The result for the day was 3 matches each and, at the end of Day 2 the overall scores saw The Grange up 6½ to 5½ points – a dangerously slender lead!
Day 3 and, after a sleepless night, The Grange Captain assembled the team brains trust to discuss our selections to win the minimum 6 of 12 matches needed to regain the Coopers Cup. The Canberra team arrived with a quiet determination and were clearly focussed on humbling The Grange on their home course. The individual matches got underway on the East course and it was an arm wrestle. With 8 matches in, Royal Canberra had 5 wins and The Grange 3. The next 2 matches saw The Grange with a win and a half, so now it was 5½ to 4½ to Royal Canberra. Results from the last 2 matches came in – solid wins to Geoff Webber and Marty Ingham! The Grange won the day 6½ to 5½ and, overall, 13 to 11 to regain the Coopers Cup!
The presentation dinner on Sunday night got underway with The Grange President, Nicolle Rantanen-Reynolds, giving our visitors a warm welcome. An evening of sumptuous food, nice wine and much revelry followed. The Coleman-Howell trophy for the best individual performance was presented to Geoff Webber, who won all his matches by significant margins. During the evening The Grange – Royal Canberra Hall of Fame was established with the initial inductees being Mac Howell and Dennis O’Connor from Royal Canberra and, Malcolm Coleman and Allan Martin from The Grange. Of course, the highlight of the evening was the presentation of the Coopers Cup to The Grange Golf Club!
The Grange courses were in wonderful condition, and I thank our ha
rd-working green staff for that. Also, our hospitality staff did a splendid job keeping us supplied with food and beverage. I thank my Grange team mates for their efforts and support during the event and our friends from the Royal Canberra Golf Club for a wonderful weekend of golf. I particularly want to thank Royal Canberra Vice-Captain Russell Ingram for his warm company and friendship. We are looking forward to continuing our friendly battle in November, 2023.
John Thomas
Captain
The Grange Golf Club
