Eighteen UHVGA members (six ladies and 12 men) travelled the severely drought-affected Bylong Valley Way, where, upon arrival, they were made welcome with a delicious morning tea of fresh scones, jam and cream.

The Henbury team, consisting of 29 players (seven ladies and 22 men), was considered red hot favourites on their home course to run down the 29-point margin in favour of UHVGA after round one, which was held last February at Muswellbrook. 

The poor old Henbury course was the driest we have ever seen, suffering terribly from the ongoing drought and it is feared without rain very soon, many areas of their usual beautiful fairways may be lost.

Numerous strong friendships have been formed in this biannual event, now in its fifth year.

The challenge, a friendly stableford competition, got under way and during the calm, warm conditions, the scoring from both camps was even hotter in an attempt to amass enough points to earn naming rights on the beautiful shield, kindly donated by Henbury’s president George Boyton and captain Barry Mason.

At the completion of the 18 holes, the host club treated everyone to a delicious baked lunch and friendly yarns. 

Anticipation and excitement was building as the top 10 scores for both sides were tallied, and the best for Henbury were: W. Dixon 41, H. Schroeder 39, Gr McGrath 37, J. Hadley 37, E. Mills 37, Glen McGrath 36, Sue Mason 36, T. Healey 35, Marlene Riley 35 and B. Babbage 35 for 368 points, plus 345 points from round one, making a grand total of 713.

Best for UHVGA were Buzz Pascoe 41, Christine Noonan 38, Nellie Holz 38, Rod Auld 34, Peter Vereyken 34, Max Holz 34, B. Thorley 33, G. Boles 33, Valmai Pascoe 32 and D. Thorley 31 for 348 points, plus 374 from round one, amassing a grand total of 722.

During his presentation speech, Mason expressed his hope that this friendly competition continues well into the future. 

He was saddened to declare that Henbury had lost the competition by a mere nine points and the UHVGA had won the prestigious Challenge Trophy for 2017.

And, in true sportsmanship, he presented the prized trophy to UHVGA captain Max Holz, who proudly accepted it for and on behalf of all Upper Hunter Veteran golf members.

Holz sincerely thanked Mason and all involved for the successful event, including the caterers, bar staff and the caretakers of the Henbury course.

In particular, he expressed appreciation to the band of UHVGA players who travelled to Kandos and competed so well to bring the trophy home to the Upper Hunter for 2017.