VERY hot conditions failed to deter 268 enthusiastic golfers from turning out in Murray Downs Golf Club’s reciprocal tournament at the weekend.
Players from clubs with reciprocal rights at Murray Downs — including from Tea Tree Gully and Barmera in South Australia, Box Hill in Melbourne and Geelong and Ballarat in regional Victoria, as well as northern Victorian clubs such as Yarrawonga and Mildura — converged on Swan Hill for the teams event held Saturday and yesterday.
Murray Downs club pro Mark Bowd said most had been willing to tackle the course in the very hot conditions, with measures taken to ensure the players’ wellbeing.
“Numbers have been good, obviously conditions are on the extreme side,” he said.
“To their credit everyone has played, we only really had three cancellations [yesterday morning] for people due to play in the afternoon.
“Everyone going out there has seemed to enjoy the weekend.”
Measures taken to help players beat the heat included having shelters, sprinklers and plenty of water available on-course.
“We had a couple of sprinklers going around just to help players cool off. Obviously we have to be careful with the water side of it, but just a little one can help cool the body temperature down a bit,” Bowd said.
“We also put some shelters up on a few holes and ran a drinks cart with plenty of water.”
Despite the testing conditions, Bowd said the visitors again enjoyed the Murray Downs course.
“For those playing in the afternoon it’s been pretty testing, but they’ve really enjoyed the golf course and love the format of the event,” he said.
Bowd said morning rounds were completed before the worst heat of the day.
The format saw teams of four entered with two rounds played in a morning and an afternoon over the two-day event. The best three stableford scores count each day over the two days.
A golf package at Murray Downs was on the line for visiting teams, while local entrants were playing for a similar prize on offer at Yarrawonga.
