The Yarra courses Senior Amateur was played at LaTrobe this year.

Gavin Duncan from Heidelberg playing in his first senior event for 2 years won with a 72 on a countback from Eastern's Andrew Hansen who won on a countback last year.

Local Tony Markuzov playing in his first seniors event won the Nett with a nett 65 by 1 shot from another first timer, Jerry O'Gorman from Green Acres.

A very good field of 77 played the event with a good number of new players to the Seniors competition.

Michael Barltrop from Royal Auckland, NZ has won this year's Royal Melbourne Classic. Michael is a regular visitor to Australia to play in Seniors events and has played in all 3 of the Royal Melbourne Classics.

He started with the best round of the event, 73 to lead the field by 3 shots. A round 2 78 gave him a one shot lead going into round 3. His total was the same as the previous year when he led the field by 5 shots going into round 3.

This year Michael was equal leader with 9 holes to play but finished strongly for a fine 76 on the composite course to win the event by 7 shots - he was the only player in the field to break 80 each day.

Greg Rhodes from Coomealla finished second (81, 78, 75). Greg is a recent Senior and has performed well in the few Senior events he has played. When he manages to find time to play in more events he will no doubt be a force in Seniors golf in Vic and Nationally.

Gordon Claney (79, 81, 77)  finished third on a countback from newcomer Bernie Bickerton from Yarra Yarra (76, 76, 85) who played very well for the first 2 rounds to be just 1 shot off the pace.

Although Michael Barltrop also had the low Nett total the Nett event was won by Glenn Marr from Coomealla (225) by 3 shots over Bernie Bickerton. Local member and key person behind this event Alan Evans won the over 65 trophy (87, 74, 78).

Another very successful event and a capacity field with well over half the field from interstate or overseas.

The 2015 Keysborough Senior Amateur was a great start to the 2015 year. A particularly good field of 72 played in beautiful conditions on a course in absolutely immaculate condition with quite slick greens. The course was prepared for the forthcoming Pro-am and could not be bettered.

Royal Melbourne's Alan Evans won the event with a 75 by 1 shot from Huntingdale's Mick Asami on a countback from Woodland's Michael Doutch.

Newcomer Graeme Weller from Yarra Yarra had a fine 78 playing off 10 to win the Nett event by 3 shots from another first timer Michael Louey from 13th Beach.

It was a day for the newcomers, apart from veteran Alan Evans! Mick Asami playing in his second event appears to be making a run for this year's Bachli as he has performed creditably on the national Seniors scene, and Graeme Weller and Michael Louey both performed well especially given their first starts.

The field of 72 was very good compared to previous years' fields and the inclusion of quite a number of new faces augurs well for the 2015 Seniors Year.

Ian Frost from Bendigo won this year's Sorrento Senior Amateur with a great second round one under par 69 along with first round 79 to beat Donald Hendry from Rosanna (74,74) on a count-back. Overnight leader Barry Tippett (72,78) was a further 2 shots back.

The Nett event was won by Elroy Lim from Heritage (70,69) by 1 shot over Gordon Warren (74,66) from Devilbend on a countback from Peter Sherwen from The Kew.

Clif Mitchell from Kingston Heath had a great 76 with a handicap of 9 on the day to play 2 shots under his age of 78.

The event had another great field supported by the senior Teams event. Kew won the teams scratch event and Commonwealth won the teams Nett event.

On the Thursday evening The Sorrento Golf Club put on a dinner where the annual trophies were awarded for the Seniors competition for 2014, including the 2014 Bachli and Lulofs Trophies.

Runner up in the Bachli Ian Frost, winner of the Sorrento event, gave a gracious speech highlighting Gordon Claney's achievements for the year including his win in the Australian Seniors Championship at Mandurah WA this year. Gordon gave a well thought out comprehensive and entertaining speech which included his personal recollections of Doug Bachli and his early experiences at Sorrento Golf Club.

Another great Seniors event at Port Fairy and another clear victory to Gordon Claney from Kingston Heath with 2 par 72s to lead Mark Brasher from Kew (78, 73) by 7 shots. Gordon has finished a great year with his back to back Myne Classic wins, clearly winning the Bachli Trophy and also winning the Australian Senior Amateur Championship at Mandurah (WA) and representing Australia in Hong Kong.

The Nett event was a close contest with Gary House from Sanctuary Lakes (74, 69) winning on countback from Kerry Boehm from Rossdale (74, 69) with 8 players just 1 shot back on 144.

There was also a women's event - Helen Pascoe from Bunninyong a clear winner in the Gross event, Julie Taylor from Anglesea the Nett and Roslyn Black  of Rutherglen the Stableford event.

Before play commenced Pat Giles said a few words in memory of John Beaumont from Mount Gambier SA. He played in this year's Qld Seniors Championship in July but is recently deceased after a sudden illness. He was a frequent player at the Port Fairy Seniors and was a popular and well performed senior player on the Victorian and Australian circuit. He had won the Qld Senior Amateur and represented Australia. A minutes silence was observed before play.

Port Fairy had a capacity field and the club turned on good weather (with the expected wind!) and great hospitality. The tournament dinner was terrific and well supported as was the presentation lunch. You will need to get the entries in early next year to ensure you make the field.

Andrew Hansen from Eastwood has won this years Melbourne Classic courtesy of a great opening round of one under par 70 at Spring Valley. Conditions were not easy in the wind and his opening round gave him a 7 shot buffer going into the second round at Woodlands.

He opened the second round poorly and perhaps gave some hope to his illustrious playing partners Gordon Claney, Ian Frost and Mark Brasher, but he steadied for a 79 to win the event by 5 shots. John Wheeler (80, 74) with the best round of day 2 beat Gordon Claney (77, 77) on a countback.

Although Andrew also had the best Nett score, Kingswood's Peter Bence won the Nett trophy with fine scores of Nett 73, 70 to beat Barry Thomson from Southern by 2 shots.

Another successful Melbourne Classic with good numbers and still a number (7) of new faces playing their first Senior event. Gordon Claney newly enlisted on to the SAG (Senior Advisory Group to Golf Victoria) officiated at the presentations - handing out trophies out rather than receiving them, for a change.

Gordon Claney wins again. Following his victory in the recent Australian Senior Amateur he has won the Victorian Senior Amateur at Rosebud with 3 good rounds of 73,73,74 to beat Greg Rhodes from Coomealla (74,74,72) after a two hole playoff. Stefan Albinski from Mona Vale NSW finished with the best round of the day matching his 71  from round 2 (80, 71, 71) to edge out early leader Gary Easte (71,  72, 79) for 3rd on a countback.

Greg birdied the 14th, 15th, 16th and then 18th to go 1 shot ahead of Gordon who was playing in the following group. Gordon knew he needed birdie to tie on the 18th and hit his second to less than 3 feet and birdied to tie. The sudden death playoff was to be played down the 18th until a result. There were high expectations for the playoff but the pressure of the situation took control. The first time the 18th was halved in bogies, the second time Gordon won with an up and down par to Greg's 3 putt bogey.

This victory not only consolidates Gordon's position at the top of the Bachli rankings but also consolidates his position atop of the National Senior rankings that he had just attained with his Aust. Senior Championship victory. This was only Greg Rhodes 3rd Bachli event and he is obviously going to be a force in any event he plays in.

The Nett event was won by Yarram's Ignatius Duivenvoorden (65, 68, 70) by 8 shots over Eddie Kloprogge from Ivanhoe (67, 65, 79) with another shot back to Brian Gray from Rossdale (74, 69, 69).

Weather conditions were better than in past years but the breeze was still strong enough to keep scores relatively high.

Ian Frost from Bendigo won the 2014 Northern Senior Amateur in rather difficult conditions with rounds of 73 and 81. Royal Melbourne's Alan Evans finished strongly with rounds of 79, 76 to be runner up by 1 shot. Ian has edged a little closer to the Bachli leader.

Brian Gray from Rossdale won the Nett event with Nett rounds of 70, 73 which was excellent golf in the conditions. He won by 2 shots over Commonwealth's Adrian Rossi (68, 77).

The final round of the Sandbelt events was played at Commonwealth today with Gordon Claney again victorious with a 74, 1 shot ahead of Darryl Hearsch from Manly (NSW) and a further shot back to Tony Hyde from Rossdale.

Darryl Hearsch won the Nett with a Nett 72 one shot ahead of Tony Hyde and 4 players another shot back on Nett 74 - Neil Barry from Eastern leading them on countback to win the runner up prize.

Darryl who played all the Sandbelt events was most complimentary of the Victorian organisation of these Senior events. The events were a great success with many interstate visitors and capacity fields and the weather was at worst reasonable for all events. Gordon Claney with 4 victories and a runners up prize was the star of the series.

Steven Wallace from The National took out this year's Metropolitan Plate with a 76 to beat 3 players on 78 - runner up Gordon Claney from Kingston Heath on countback from Ian Donaldson from Yerring Meadows and Andrew Hansen from Eastern. Steven played with Gordon Claney and last start winner Barry Tippett but was obviously not daunted by the company - he was most complementary on the presentation of the course.

The Nett event was a close affair with local John Noy winning on a countback over runner up Eddie Kloprogge from Ivanhoe, Barry Miles - Sanctuary Cove and James Flanagan - Port Arlington.

Barry Tippett from 13th Beach won this year's Royal Melbourne Senior Amateur on a countback with a 76 over Glenelg's John Keogh, with a further 5 players just one shot back on 77. John Keogh also had the best Nett score (69) but the Nett event was taken out by Adam Charleston from Lonsdale with a Nett 71 ahead of Alan Cole from Queens Park with a 72 on countback over Brighton's Ian Henry.

The perfect weather conditions were conducive to good scoring although the speed and firmness of Royal Melbournes' greens put up some defence.

Players wore black ribbons in memory of Yarra Yarra's Ray Barned who passed away on Wednesday.

Gordon Claney won the Victoria Senior Amateur with a 75 on a count-back over Michael Doutch from Woodlands. This is Gordon's third victory in the 3 days of the Sandbelt events thus far.

Ignatius Duivenvoorden from Yarram won the Nett event with a fine Nett 69 ahead of Qlder Barry Clarke from Twin Waters with a 71.

The conditions were a little better than the past few days, and also the past few Victoria events and the Nett scores in particular reflected this. Gordon was very complimentary on the condition of the course and the updated layout.

Gordon Claney won the second Sandbelt event on his home course with a 76 ahead of 4 players on 77 - John Banting from Royal Perth, Michael Doutch from Woodlands, Tony Hyde from Rossdale and another local and last year's winner Alex Cairncross.

The Nett event was won by William Riddle from Howlong with a Nett 70 over Larry Vennell from Southern with a 71.

The weather was again not bad - a light breeze and a bit cool and overcast but next to no rain. The course was in good condition for this time of year and the hospitality of the club for the full field after the round was first class.

The first round of the Sandbelt events was played at Yarra Yarra. Given that rain was expected the weather was not all that bad, but the course played tough. The greens were running at 12 and scores were high with the DSR at 75.

Gordon Claney from Kingston Heath was again victorious with a 77 (and 40 putts!) to lead 4 others on 80 - Larry Maxwell - Heathcote, Glen Marr - Coomealla, David Mallett - The Sands and local Michael Jackson. The Nett event was won by Gary Morley from Muswellbrook with a Nett 72 by 2 shots over Ian Henry from Brighton.

The event had a good field of 89 players, many of who were interstate visitors or first time players. Most players stayed for the presentations.

The event trophy is named the Ray Barned Senior Amateur in honor of Ray Barned, a 50 year and Life member of Yarra Yarra. He usually attends the trophy presentations but currently has major health issues and is in respite care. Pat Giles gave an informative speech on Ray's background in Golf and his personal qualities - Ray is a past Club Champion and Pennant player at Yarra Yarra, he was on the VGA Council from 1994 to 2004 and was highly respected. He is a true Gentleman. The thoughts of all players were extended to the Barned family.

Ian Frost from Bendigo has won the Coomealla Seniors with fine scores of 77, 72,71 by 4 shots from local Greg Rhodes (78, 73, 73). This gave Ian the lead in the Bachli over Gordon Claney which looks like being a good contest to the end of the year.

Ignatius Duivenvoorden from Yarram won the Nett (70, 74, 68) by 2 shots over Trafalgar's John Hoare (79, 67, 68). Ignatius and John are the leaders in the Lulofs Trophy rankings.

Guy Krall the defending champion won his second Tocumwal Seniors with a geat first round 70 followed by a 79 to beat Ian Frost from Bendigo and first timer 70 year old Colin Wearne from Box Hill by 3 shots.

John Hoare from Trafalgar continued his good form winning the Nett with rounds of Nett 72, 68 by 3 shots from five players - Kerry Bayly from Kooringal on countback over Guy Krall, Trevor Pattinson, Brian Gray and Barry Webb. John also won the Nett in his previous event at Heathcote on Sunday, and has won 3 of his last 4 starts so is in rare form.

Helen Pascoe from Buninyong won yet another event quite convincingly with 2 rounds of 81 and local Bobette Wilkinson won the Nett with Nett rounds of 70, 84.

Douglas O'Keefe from Golf Victoria worked on his last Seniors event at Tocumwal. He is moving to other responsibilities with Juniors at Golf Vic but has been a very popular and helpful worker on the Seniors events and the Senior players showed their appreciation.

It was the second year for the Tocumwal event with an improved attendance and was again very well reviewed by the players. The courses were in good condition especially considering recent rains, the weather was good and the hospitality and organisation by the club terrific.

Ian Frost from Bendigo won the Shepparton Seniors with solid rounds of 74 & 75 heading John Ciezki from Buninyong and Cobram's Ross Percy by 6 shots. Rossdale's Kerry Boehm won the Nett (Nett 75, 70) by 2 shots over John Ciezki with local Vin Edwards and Ross Percy a further two shots back.

Helen Pascoe (81,85) from Buninyong won the women's Gross event and Glenda Kelly won the Nett trophy with Nett scores of 82 & 85. Helen actually had the best Nett and Gross score each day and that followed her win the day before at the Heathcote Seniors.

Day one was tough with much rain and most tees off the blocks. The weather day two was fine and the tees were more friendly resulting in a daily scratch rating 2 less than day one. A good field of 89 players turned up to the popular event despite the club house and proshop being closed due to renovation caused by a recent fire. The club did a great job in the presentation of the course and the hospitality including the provision of many prizes.

Ray Walker from Chirnside Park won the Heathcote Seniors with a one over par 72 by 2 shots over Yarra Yarra's Guy Krall. The weather was good and although the course received a significant deluge a few days early was in good condition but playing long.

John Hoare from Trafalgar won the Nett with a fine Nett 68 by 2 shots over Yarram's Ignatius Duivenvoorden.

The women's gross was won by Buninyong's Heather Pascoe with a fine 78 and the Nett was taken out by local Carol Stuart with a Nett 78.

Ken O'Brien from Rossdale (72,79) has taken out the inaugural Gippsland Senior Amateur by 2 shots ahead of Cobram's Ross Percy (74,79). Ken is having a good year with his second win elevating him  to 4th in the overall Bachli standings.

The event was played over the weekend, one of only 3 events scheduled on a weekend, at Leongatha GC followed by a round at Warragul GC.

Brian Spalding (78,67) from Kooringal won the Nett on countback over Keith Wallace from The Heritage. Brian's 73 off the stick was the days best score ahead of Keith Wallace & Greg Welsh with 75.

The Women's Gross event was won by Heather Harley (87,90) from Kooringal, and Elizabeth Alston from Winchelsea (81,76) won the Nett.

Gordon Claney from Kingston Heath has had another convincing Seniors win at Cobram Barooga. With scores of 76, 72, 77 he was 5 shots in front of fast finishing, and last year's winner, Ray Walker from Chirnside Park (81, 79, 72), with first round leader Alan Bullas from Commonwealth and Rosanna's Robert London 1 shot further back.

The Nett event was won by Robert London from Rosanna with Nett scores of 75, 73, 73 off his handicap of 4 just 1 shot ahead of Bendigo's Stan Davis on countback from local Geoff Hall.

The Womens scratch was taken out by Nola Crothers from Phillip Island with 263 and the Stableford by Maggie Robinson from Berwick Montuna with 98 points.

This was the 10th year of the Cobram Barooga Seniors and a commemorative bottle of wine was provided to all players. The extended clubhouse was open and hosted the presentation dinner and the club was extremely generous with many daily prizes, divisional prizes and ball runs. A large field of 123 players competed in the main event as well as good fields for the Women, and the Men's stableford event.  The event attracts players from far afield and many are loyal regulars who play very few other seniors events. It also attract a good number of newcomers.

The event was a resounding success and is going from strength to strength.  It all went like clockwork, the course was in good condition, the weather was good, and a great time had by all.