THE Broken Hill Golf Club has been buzzing the past fortnight, with this year’s veterans’ championship being held over two action-packed rounds.
The 36-hole championship final round was held on Monday, featuring 40 players from across the country.
Michael Wheatley was crowned champion on 72 points, John Dickinson was runner-up on 71 points, and Trevor Henderson third on 70 points.
To play in the veterans’ championship players must be aged 55 or over.
The competition began with a small group of men playing together and now includes players from all over the country.
“I’ve always been up and down, and a very inconsistent golfer, but this time I managed to string two relatively good games together, which gave me the championship,” Wheatley said.
Having played golf for 14 years, Wheatley said he found exercise, competition and social value in the sport.
“Golf gets in your blood,” he said.
“Once you’ve played golf and become committed, you’d rather be out there than anywhere else.
“To me, the best thing about golf is that wherever you play golf, you instantly have a connection with the people at that club.
“Golf is everything. It’s competitive, but you’re only competing against yourself, and it’s social.
“It’s a group where someone can talk about a personal problem they might be having, and get the opinion of a person that’s not in their close-knit community, so it helps in that respect too.”
