Creswick Golf Club awards first life member under Forest Resort banner

STEPPING out on the balcony of the Forest Resort reception lounge, Rod Cartledge proudly describes the lay of the golf course.Directly in front is the first tee where golfers step out on the picturesque landscape before winding up into the hills along bubbling creeks and back down sweeping slopes.Out of everywhere Cartledge has taken his game, there was something special about this course."This course is as good as anywhere,'' Cartledge said."I love the challenge of it."I'm gradually working out the clubs I need for each hole but there's one I can't get there with my driver, so it'll probably never be a hole-in-one for me.''When Cartledge was captain and president of Creswick Golf Club he would join each new member for their first round at the club.The gesture, he said, was to encourage all members to make the most of their time at the club.While Cartledge, 70, no longer plays the first round with members, he still often chats with guest golfers at the club to see if they enjoyed their stay.It was little surprise for most, when the club ambassador became the first life member of the Creswick Golf Club under its new banner at Forest Resort."The honour is a bit of a feather in my cap,'' Cartledge said."Being rewarded with life membership, I am very thankful to Forest Resort that it saw it fit to recognise me.''Cartledge is keen to bring lapsed Creswick members back to the club who were lost in the transfer.New management at Forest Resort has recognised the advantages of having Creswick foundation members, like Cartledge, about the club.All former Creswick Golf Club members can join Forest Resort at their old Creswick membership fees.Cartledge guaranteed after they played the course once they would be hooked.He mastered the former Creswick course with six holes-in-one - each on a different hole.Cartledge declared himself a lucky golfer but interestingly, his son Andrew also made two holes-in-one on the old course - both holes where Cartledge did not achieve the feat.At Creswick Golf Club, Cartledge notched up an impressive club record: two Lister Plates; two Monteith Foursomes; two RACV shields; and, medallist of the year honours.He also captained Creswick to its first Ballarat and District Golf Association division one pennant.In 39 years as a Creswick golfer, the only accolade Cartledge did not achieve was a club championship.He did play off for one though, against Gary Merriman.Cartledge's best handicap was six, which he said under the old system deemed him a "good golfer''.His handicap now, "is not as strong as 30 years ago''.Cartledge is well-versed in the intricacies of golf handicapping.He was the club handicapper for 11 years, from 1979 to 1990.Back then Cartledge would leave the course with about 120 cards every night to carefully inscribe in his records and calculate new handicaps.Once the handicapping system was switched to computers, Cartledge decided it was time for a new handicapper to take the reigns.Cartledge, a self-confessed "footy fanatic'' and "mad Collingwood supporter", took up golf after retiring from the Creswick Football Club as a player and coach.His highlight at the Wickers was coaching three under-18 premierships in the three seasons he was at the helm.Working with juniors in sport was something Cartledge enjoyed.It was while his son Andrew climbed golfing ranks, that Cartledge became more involved in golf politics off the greens.He was already a member of the Creswick executive committee, an honour in which Cartledge served two terms as club president and two three-year stints as club captain.This led to 12 years on the BDGA executive committee, representing Creswick, in which he also spent two years as president and became heavily involved in country week and Ballarat district junior programs.His son Andrew first represented Ballarat as a 13-year-old.Andrew has won nine BDGA titles, including seven junior titles, and represented Victoria from the age of 15 to 21 before turning professional.Cartledge looks forward to Andrew joining him at Forest Resort later this month, when his son moves back to Ballarat to work and live. Promoting his club has always been a high priority for Cartledge, who used his role as club captain to tour regional clubs across the state to encourage friendlies.Most Saturdays, he is found on the Forest Resort course, which he hoped would grow into a community golf hub once more.