Anthony Hart competes in the 2023 Vic Inclusive Championship

Anthony Hart recently competed in the 2023 Vic Inclusive Championship at the 13th Beach Golf Club, Victoria on Saturday 11th & Sunday 12th February. Read below to see how he went.

The Event

The Victorian Inclusive & Australian Wheelchair Golf Championship was held at the Creek Course, 13th Beach Golf Club, Victoria Australia. Being part of the VIC Open it attracted more competitors than ever with 47 players, 22 more than last year’s event which was a huge boost in participation. The event run by Golf Australia’s Christian Hamilton and Henry Paye was impeccably run. Playing in a National event within a professional competition is a ‘big thing’ for amateur golfers, Christian and Henry calmed participants nerves, welcomed caddies, and made the event non-threatening and truly inclusive.

Course Notes

GENERAL
We played the Creek Course both days. Round #1 With no wind and mild temperatures played relatively easy. Round #2 was a different kettle of fish with 40 kms winds making the fairways tough and greens fast.

ROUGH
Setup for the Pro’s, the rough one metre off the fairway was unplayable. You normally say putt for ‘dough’, drive for show – at 13th Beach it was the reverse.

GREENSIDE
Approach shots were tricky with swales greenside if you missed the green. If you hit the centre of the greens they were predictable and easy to read. Greens were very fast on the Sunday with the 50 km winds blowing. Bunkers had consistent sand and were well manicured

Result

How Matt & I went….

Matthew Roberts, a close mate & Glenelg Member I reckon did well. Having him there sliced 4 or 5 shots off my round. Matt was like Iceman in Top Gun. After a bad first hole I started whinging, cursing myself on the drive to the next tee. Matt put a stop to this behaviour immediately. From hole #2 onward their was no point cursing about what I’d just done, it put me in a positive mindset. Putting – he called most puts the right way, half the time I didn’t listen. Day #2 I did & the putts started to drop & his ‘lay-up’ tactics saw me improve.

Me, My Scores

Day #1

29 points, 13th position. We got to the course way to early, we were nervous. After a solid front nine I was scoring great with 4 holes to play was square to my handicap. Then realising how good I was playing, I over thought it and lost 2 balls finishing 7 down.

Day #2

35 points, 6th overall. After a late night with friends in Torquay sharing stories about old times – I left reminding myself that golf wasn’t that serious. My approach was better on day #2 and I scored well in tough windy conditions. With the wind, I shortened my swing, slowed it all down and just ‘stayed in play’. I finished with 35 points.

All Roads Lead to Glenelg

We borrowed the Glenelg branded golf bag, used branded tees, wore a Glenelg Hat wore a branded golf shirt. The golf bag stood out both days as it hogged prime real estate on the practice fairway, and was photographed over the two rounds, with me trying to do justice in the Glenelg branded clothing.

Written by Anthony Hart.