FIPPA Newsletter - October 2006.

Welcome to this edition of the FIPPA Newsletter.

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Marie Hutchison, Australia, player and administrator.

Marie Hutchison - Australian womens record holder (46), World Interclub League record holder in pairs (with husband Charlie), President of PPACT(Pitch and Putt Australia) and Committee member of APPA (Australian Pitch and Putt Association), agreed to speak to FIPPA recently...
How did you first get involved in Pitch and Putt, Marie?
"I first began playing Pitch and Putt in 1993 at the Queanbeyan (N.S.W.) Pitch and Putt Course. Charlie, my husband, and I had heard that the course had opened so, being keen golfers, we went to see what pitch and putt was like as a game and became keen pitch and putters! Merv Britten, the owner was just commencing a Wednesday Ladies Competition and as I was then working fulltime, it was ideal to be able to play golf without it interfering too much with my work. I then persuaded Charlie to join the Mens’ Tuesday competition (though he didn’t take much persuading) and we entered two teams in the teams’ competition so we were fairly involved in pitch and putt at that time."

When asked what the highlight of her career has been, Marie reveals the friendly family competitiveness with sister in law Sandra, that underpins her career...
"The highlight of my career occurred in the last round of the Winter Cup at Chancellor Park Pitch and Putt Course on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. My sister-in-law, Sandra, another friend Lesley and I were grouped as the final three women to play. At the eighteenth tee, I hit a good shot onto the green about three metres from the pin, Sandra followed with one about one metre from the pin and Lesley’s shot was short of the green. The gallery next to the hole exploded with applause which grew even greater when Lesley putted her ball in for a birdie and Sandra and I followed with birdies as well. We were told we played a great finishing hole which eclipsed the mens!"

When quizzed on her personal career aspirations Marie replied, "My aspirations are to be more consistent with my game. The players that I would class as ‘great’ players can play consistently without much variation in the score or how they hit the ball although I suppose they have bad games as well as the rest of us. I have managed to maintain a fairly low handicap for quite a while but it gets frustrating when your handicap goes down then back up and so on. I hope to represent Australia at Pitch and Putt in the near future perhaps in Chile though Charlie and I are planning to play in Barcelona next year."
We asked Marie who she thought were the best players she had seen. "It is difficult to choose one ‘best’ player as several players are of a very high calibre. James Rogerson seems to sink every putt regardless of where it is on the green, Arthur Jelly has a good swing and is magic at chipping, Charlie is great at chipping and plays extremely well from tee to green. The best country’s team I have seen is the Irish Team that played at Queanbeyan Pitch and Putt several years ago but the best club team I have seen is Canberra International’s Champions’ League team in the World Interclub League ( not just because I am a part of it!)" And her favourite courses? "My favourite Pitch and Putt Course is Canberra International but that is really because it seems to suit my game. The best course is the other ACT course – Southern Cross Woden Pitch and Putt."
As one of the leading administrators of the game in Australia, FIPPA.NET, sought out Marie's views on what the future holds for Pitch and Putt in Australia.
"I think one of the major challenges in Pitch and Putt is to gain a wider acceptance by the golfing fraternity and hopefully in five year’s time this will have come about. We need more coverage by the local press and, possibly wishful thinking, television. Until the public realise that Pitch and Putt is a world class game and not a ‘mickey mouse’ one, then we will achieve nothing. Some ways may be to issue challenges to different golf clubs to compete against a team of players; to promote more corporate body games; have more guest days; publicise our events locally and interstate; publish the results of all events emphasising the world records, etc that are held by local players.

FIPPA.NET wishes Marie all the best in the FIPPA Seniors in Barcelona next March.

(with Eero Tarik)