Junior Club members

2010:

Junior Club Championships October 3rd and 10th.

This year's Junior Club Championship was a close battle between last year's Champion, Chris Wright, and Handicap winner David Drentin. David went into the Club Championship with a handicap 7 strokes less than Chris, but only held a 3 stroke lead after the first round.

The second and final round was a close battle from beggining to end with momentum swinging back and forth throughout the match. With David leading by 1 stroke with 3 holes to play he gained the decisive break on the 16th hole. David went on to win the Junior Club Chamionship by 2 strokes.

Another of the club's juniors, Nick Sheedy, was overseas for the first week of the Junior Club Championship. His score of nett 60 in the second round was the lowest nett score for any golfer in any week of the Club Championship. He would have proved a worthy rival to both David and Chris.

Nick was in a strong position to win the D grade nett trophy, but was pipped by Chris Wright who had a sensational last round.

Congratulations to David, Chris and Nick for their great performances in the Club Championship.

2009:

Junior Club Championships October 4th and 11th.

Congratulations to our new Junior Club Champion Chris Wright. Congrats also go to David Drentin (Handicap winner). The winners prizes will be presented at Presentation Night on November 21st.

Junior Pennant - Round 6 - March 1st

A good turn out with 7 players available for the match against Riverside. Miles Walsh getting the job as caddie, while Ricky Baldasso played his first game returning from injury. Alex Walsh was also returning after missing 3 weeks.

On a cold and blustery day the boys struggled to find the fairways on a tight Riverside course. After 9 holes things looked a little grim with only Alex Walsh ahead 2 up, while Ricky Baldasso was square. Alex Moro, dormie through 10 holes, was first to concede 7 and 6, while Sam Ward having a rare bad day lost his match 5 and 4. Daniel Baldasso fought back from 5 down early to be 2 down with 6 to play. His opponent then shot consecutive birdies to all but seal the match. Alex Walsh again went to the last hole unable to halve his match. It was better news for Ricky Baldasso winning 2 and 1, while David Drentin had a good win in the emergency match.

Riverside were able to celebrate with Centenary Park defeating Craigieburn to put Riverside into the final. For our boys we can only look to next year.

Royal Park at Riverside (Ess) - Riverside (Ess) wins 4-1

Alex Walsh on the 17th tee at Riverside (Ess) which he went on to birdie.

Junior Pennant - Round 5 - February 22nd

Unfortunately injuries forced us to forfeit our round 5 clash against Centenary Park. Both Alex Walsh and Ricky Baldasso should recover in time for our round 6 clash at Riverside.

Royal Park at Centenary Park - Centenary Park win 5-0

Junior Pennant - Round 4 - February 15th

Royal Park were due to host Craigieburn in round 4 of the Junior Pennant. Unfortunately injuries and unavailability forced us to forfeit the round.

Royal Park v Craigieburn - Craigieburn win 5-0

Junior Pennant - Round 3 - February 8th

The Junior Pennant Team were at home again in round 3, this time hosting Riverside (Essendon). Unfortunately through injuries and unavailability we were only able to field 3 players, meaning we needed to win all 3 matches.

Sam Ward again lead from the front in a hard fought match. The match was square through 8 holes, Sam Ward -1 to the course and his opponent +1. Sam was able to maintain his form, wearing down his opponent to win 4 and 3. An honourable mention to David Drentin and Chris Wright who fought hard against players with much lower handicaps, unable to make the important putts on the day.

Royal Park v Riverside (Essendon) - Riverside (Essendon) win 4-1

Junior Pennant - Round 2 - February 1st

In round 2 of the Junior Pennant Royal Park hosted Centenary Park. There was one change to the team with Chris Wright coming into the team for Alex Moro. Our boys aimed to use their local knowledge to get the upperhand on the visitors.

Daniel Baldasso and Miles Walsh fell behind in their games, but Sam Ward, Alex Walsh and David Drentin were all 2-up after 9 holes. Things quickly changed in the second nine with all 3 games squared up by the end of the 12th hole.

David Drentin was unable to hold on, going down 2 and 1. Alex Walsh missed good opportunites to go ahead on the 16th and 17th, before losing 1 down. Sam Ward fell one behind with 3 to play, but went on to win the 15th, 16th and 17th, winning his match 2 and 1.

Royal Park v Centenary Park - Centenary Park win 4-1

Junior Pennant - Round 1 - January 25th

The Junior Pennant kicked off on Sunday 25th January with Royal Park travelling to Craigieburn.  Before the first ball was driven there was a setback with Ricky Baldasso injuring himself in a skateboarding incident.  Still, we went into the first round confident we could perform well.

David Drentin in his first Pennant match performed very well as emergency easily defeating his opponent.  Captain Alex Walsh won his match, as did Sam Ward, defeating Craigieburn captain Joe Anau 4 and 3.  Daniel Baldasso was unlucky losing his match 5 and 4 with his opponent 1 under thru 14 holes.  The other two games went down to the wire with Miles Walsh and Alex Moro both succumbing in the closing holes.

Royal Park at Craigieburn - Craigieburn win 3-2

October 2008:

Sam Ward becomes Junior Club Champion on the 12th of October and goes on to win the Senior Club Championship on the 26th of October. Sam's efforts are recognised by the media in an article by the Herald Sun.

2008 Club Champion Sam Ward's Herald Sun article

February and March 2008:

VGL Junior Pennant 6th round (2/3/08)
Royal Park vs Centenary Park - Royal Park wins 3-1

VGL Junior Pennant 5th round (24/2/08)
Royal Park vs Riverside/Ess - Riverside/Ess wins 3.5-1.5

VGL Junior Pennant 4th round (17/2/08)
Craigieburn vs Royal Park - Craigieburn wins 4-1

VGL Junior Pennant 3rd round (10/2/08)
Centenary Park vs Royal Park - Centenary Park wins 5-0

VGL Junior Pennant 2nd round (3/2/08)
Riverside/Ess  vs Royal Park - Riverside/Ess wins 3-2

VGL Junior Pennant 1st round (27/1/08)
Royal Park vs Craigieburn - Craigieburn wins 4-1

September 2007:

Junior Tournament at Royal Park
10 juniors played in the Club's 9 hole Junior tournament during the September school holidays. Winning the event (handicap) was Club member Mark Baldasso with 31 nett and visitor Dylan Francis won the Calloway event with 39 nett. Thanks go to Michael Lawn, Royal Park Golf Course professional, for his assistance on the day and the Victorian Golf Foundation for sponsoring the event.

August 2007:

Daniel Baldasso played in a Qualifying Round at Northern Golf Club on 7/8/07 for the Victorian Primary School Golf Competition run by the VGA.  40 children competed on the day.  Daniel won the boys competition and so now he progresses to the Regional Final on 21/8/07 at Werribee. 

July 2007:

Juniors play at Hidden Valley
Six of our juniors played at Hidden Valley on Sunday July 15th.. Mark, Ricky and Daniel Baldasso, Alex and Miles Walsh and Roger Paul (and three other friends) impressed the Club members with their professional approach and were congratulated by the Director of Golf at the Club. It is good to see our keen juniors getting involved at other Clubs during the school holidays.

Junior Tournament at Royal Park
11 juniors played in the Club's 9 hole Junior tournament during the July school holidays. Winning the event (handicap) was Club member Sam Ward with 31 nett and visitor David Vadori won the Calloway event with 36 nett. Thanks go to Michael Lawn, Royal Park Golf Course professional, for his assistance on the day and the Victorian Golf Foundation for sponsoring the event. The Club will be holding another Junior tournament in the next school holidays in September.

February/March 2007:

VGL Junior Pennant Final - Division 1
Mt. Martha Golf Course (18/3/07)
Royal Park vs Craigieburn - Craigieburn wins 3-2
In a closely fought final, our young team went down to a team much older than themselves and who had a great deal of pennant and finals experience.
The Club is very proud that our Juniors made the Pennant finals in their first atttempt at Pennant golf and know that next year will be very exciting for them all. Many are already looking forward to participating in Senior Handicap Pennant starting on April 1st.

VGL Junior Pennant 6th round (4/3/07)
Royal Park vs Centenary Park - Royal Park wins 5-0

VGL Junior Pennant 5th round (25/2/07)
Royal Park vs Riverside/Ess - Royal Park wins 3-2

VGL Junior Pennant 4th round (18/2/07)
Craigieburn vs Royal Park - Craigieburn wins 4-1

VGL Junior Pennant 3rd round (11/2/07)
Centenary Park vs Royal Park - Royal Park wins 3-2

VGL Junior Pennant 2nd round (4/2/07)
Riverside/Ess  vs Royal Park - Riverside/Ess wins 3-2

VGL Junior Pennant 1st round (28/1/07)
Royal Park vs Craigieburn - Craigieburn wins 3-2

During the holidays the Baldasso boys participated in the following events:
The boys all played in the VGA iPRIMUS Junior Summer Competitions in January.
Ricky and Daniel both won their respective age groups in a 9 hole event at Riverside, as well as Ricky and Mark winning 18 hole events in their age groups at Melton Valley, which made them all qualify for the state finals. Daniel then went on to win the 9 hole under 13 final at La Trobe in very challenging conditions (it was the January day that it poured rain all morning).
Daniel also competed at the VGA Waverley Pitch and Putt competition where he was the Under 12 nett winner.
The boys also competed at Junior events at Torquay Sands, Patterson River and Kingston Heath. No winnings for them at those events, but great experience playing at these clubs.

Daniel Baldasso at the Latrobe Golf Club

Daniel at the Vic Open at Woodlands

Last week Daniel and Ricky helped out at the Vic Open at Woodlands carrying the leader boards on Friday and Saturday. Daniel spent Friday chatting to Peter Senior. On Saturday Ricky mingled with Collins and Leishman, who both ended the competition equal second after the final round. Daniel carried the board for the leaders on Saturday, with a large crowd following the group. Kim Felton from that group, ended up the leader going into the last day of play, and then went on to win the Vic Open on Sunday. The boys enjoyed the experience of watching the professionals from such a close proximity as well as chatting with them.

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Ricky Baldasso at the Vic Open at Woodlands

January 2007:
12/1 ~ Gary Chappell, Junior Development Manager, sends back photos from his holidays in Qld.

Above: Gary, with his new headphones.

Right: Gary proudly wearing the Royal Park Golf Club shirt.

November 2006:
19/11 ~ The Baldasso boys enjoyed the VGL Junior championship event at Dorset on Sunday 19th November. About 30 juniors competed on the day, quite a few were boys that Mark and Ricky met at the VGL golf camp in September.
Results:
Mark nett 71 (86 gross) which he wasn't too happy with, as it included 2 out of bounds & hitting someone else's ball on the green, 6 penalty shots in total
Ricky nett 70 (83 gross)
Daniel nett 65 (85 gross)
The winner on the day was Kody Deretic from Jubilee off a 10 handicap, who got a gross score of 69, nett 59. Par on the course is 69.
Daniel just missed out on getting a minor prize, which were awarded to those with scores of up to 64 nett (he got 65 nett). (Thanks, Jolanta for this information)

19/11 ~ Gary Chappell is happy to take Juniors to Eagle Ridge Golf Course for the cost of $30 per junior. A maximum of 3 juniors can be taken on Saturdays. If any junior is interested, please contact Gary on 0430 556 952.

12/11 ~ Victorian Golf League Junior pennant dates for 2007: first game Sunday 28th January 2007 and six rounds are played. Last game (6th round) is Sunday 4th March. The Junior Pennant Final is held on Sunday 18th March 2007. The Club syllabus will show all games and locations for 2007 in the next few weeks. See VGL website for further details.

11/11 ~ Gary Chappell (Junior Development Manager) took 3 of our juniors to Eagle Ridge (where Gary is a member), to let Sam Ward, Ricky Baldasso and Alex Walsh have a go at one of Australia's best courses. "They thoroughly enjoyed themselves the whole day. We teed off at 11.00am and played the full 18 holes. They were eager to get down there and as soon as we had finished, they were eager to sit down and rest their legs! One hole that stood out was the par 3 6th. Sand up to the green and Sam was the lucky one to end up in the bunker. Alex made par on the 9th (par 5) and Ricky also had a great round. It was a great day by all accounts and I enjoyed taking them down there". Gary Chappell, Junior Development Manager.

10/11 ~ The newsletter presents its second edition of the Junior Page which includes all the results from the past few weeks and an interview with Alex Walsh.
Nickname :- Walshie or Big Al. Age 16. Lives where :- Kensington. School :- St.Kevins. Ambition in golf :- To become a scratch golfer. AFL team supported :- Bulldogs. Favourite sportsman :- Scott West. [ 100% for that answer.] Favourite golfer :- Stuart Appleby. Shots hit at VGL camp :- 2728 Favourite golf club :- Pitching wedge. Shot best remembered :- 9th.hole. Second shot. High 8 iron over the big tree & stopped on the green. Favourite driver :- The Connex train driver on the way home from school. From the November Club newsletter.

October 2006:
15/10 ~ Junior Championship winner was Mark Baldasso. Handicap Championship winner was Ricky Baldasso.

8/10 ~ A special mention for Oliver Briggs (ineligible for 9 hole event) winning the 1st round of the 9 hole Club Championship with 26.5 nett and 40 gross, beating the pants off people between 4 and 7 times his age.

September 2006:
25/9 ~ The Club co-sponsored 4 junior members (Mark and Rick Baldasso and Alex and Miles Walsh) to go along to the VGL Junior Camp at Mirboo North. Here is a report from the boys on how they enjoyed the experience. (Thank you so much, Jolanta Baldasso, for this great round up of their time away)

22/9 ~ Congratulations to Daniel and Mark Baldasso for their wins in the Green Acres Junior Tournament.. Daniel won best under 13 with 31 stableford points and Mark won best 15-16 years with 34 stableford points. Well done.

12/9 ~ Oliver qualified through the local district schools event in August. On Friday last week, he competed at Spring Valley in the regional finals. The first 6 of this event go through to the state finals. He came a very respectable 11th out of about 65 competitors shooting 43 on a modified (shortened) 9 hole event. No cigar this time but a keen eye to the future with 2 years still to go in Primary. He and his playing partners were at one stage discussing the merits of failing a year at school so they can stay down at have another crack at the title when their a year older !
Dad enjoyed a day off work to be caddy. My job was to push the buggy up hill as he was happy to have the buggy pull him down hill. I've also learn't it's the caddy's job to rake bunkers, keep scores, clean the sticks and polish shoes after each round! From an email from Oliver' Brigg's father, Don.

2/9 ~ The Miles Walsh Interview. Miles is 16 and attends St Kevin’s, his address is home, his joke, not mine. He barracks for Geelong & his favourite sportsman is Paul Chapman & favourite golfer is Stuart Appelby. The Driver is his choice of clubs & a shot he remembers is a second Shot 9 iron onto the green on our 9th hole. Since joining Royal Park his new hobby is winning the attendance voucher [3 in a row]. From the September 2006 Club newsletter - thanks Tony!

August 2006:
18/8 ~ The Newsletter, always up to date, has decided to introduce / interview some of our juniors. The first player to get the treatment is Oliver Briggs aged 10 & our Youngest player. He lives at home [still] & barracks for the Brisbane Lions. No nickname ?? The 8 iron is his favourite club & the shot he will always remember is out of a bunker into the hole on the 4th. Oliver’s favourite golfer is Barry Coley & when asked did he like his driver, he said, “Yes, Mum is terrific.” From the August 2006 Club newsletter - thanks Tony!

Past Junior highlights:

The Junior Pennant team won its third VGL Pennant Premiership in a row, the 2003 year in Division 1 and the two previous years in Division 2.