ROSEWOOD Golf Club president Jamie Soppa joked that a Christmas break watching cricket instead of playing in the heat has helped his game.
However, he’s enjoying being back out on the greens at Rosewood’s player friendly 18-hole course.
It hasn’t taken long in 2024 for popular events to return and challenges to deal with as club supporters prepare to celebrate a 70th anniversary.
In his second year as club president, Soppa is thrilled the club is planning a special function to recognise its milestone.
He said long-serving members enjoyed what the club did delivering a two-day event to mark its 60th anniversary.
“A lot of people have been through the bad times . . . and they stick around, and they’re the ones you want,” Soppa said.
“I think we are bigger now than what we were then.”
A nine-hole course was opened in 1954 before being expanded to 18 holes in 1991.
While the latest celebration plans for an “Anniversary Ball” are to be finalised, Soppa was pleased to see the Rosewood sporting organisation still going strong.
Another milestone is the club having attracted more than 300 members.
The club’s annual championships are set down for five Saturdays in May.
Before that, two months of Saturday match play had already attracted a healthy number of 38 men’s players in two Divisions, and a group of ladies wanting to enjoy the format.
“It’s got bigger and bigger,’’ Soppa said of the competition where two players challenge each other around the course hoping to qualify for finals.
“[The appeal is] you’re not playing against yourself. You’ve got an opponent you’ve got to beat.”
Photo: LYLE RADFORD
Soppa (pictured) also enjoys hosting social days for other regional sporting clubs like St Helens – a group of soccer mates he used to play with.
Soppa was returned as Rosewood club president at the latest AGM, supported by vice-president Ken Parker, secretary Jannelle Browning and treasurer Don Butterfield.
Jason Smith was appointed new club captain with Dave Walkom as his assistant.
Kym Hurley was selected as ladies captain.
But while membership numbers are up, Rosewood club officials are keen to see the greens restored to peak condition.
Like a number of clubs in South East Queensland, Rosewood has been impacted by high humidity in recent months.
Soppa said 17 of the 18 greens at the Karrabin-Rosewood Road venue had been affected in some way by fungus, leaving the surfaces “not as green as they are supposed to be.”
“Mother Nature has beat us a bit,” he said.
Soppa said the club has hybrid grass similar to what has been established at the Royal Queensland Golf Club, the state’s premier venue.
However, major treatments and re-fertilising has been required after recent rain to remove patches of brown grass due to heat during the day and high humidity at night.
“We need the dry to dry the fungus out,” he said.
Soppa was confident the recent treatment would counter the fungus threat.
“Everything is going to come good,” he said.
Photo: LYLE RADFORD
While that issue is being resolved, Soppa said the club was buying new machinery, including mowers, and had applied with Council to erect a new shed to house buggies.
New concrete paths and an upgraded driveway are also planned, fittingly in the 70th year.
“You want it looking good,’’ he said of the Rosewood venue.
Unlike many golf clubs, Rosewood also has two toilets around the course – on the 3rd and 14th holes.
Soppa praised the work ethic of his “front door” staff and dependable volunteers for continuing to make golfers welcome and maintain the condition of the venue.
“They are a big part of why we are a success,” Soppa said.
As the club celebrates its 70th year, Soppa said high on the wish list was a new clubhouse that would further enhance a valuable sporting hub in the Rosewood community.