The Doidge Cup was first played for in 1947 and tomorrow it will be

contested for the 64th time.

Originally presented to the club by Don Doidge, himself a single figure marker, the ritual has been passed down through the generations with Don’s son John and then John’s son Stephen continuing to support the event through the sponsorship of

trophies.

John, who was lucky enough to win the Cup named in honour of his family twice, in 1966 with Stan Kelly and 16 years later with great mate Ted Campbell, said he is thrilled the Doidge Cup remains a highly regarded event on the local golfing calendar.

“A lot of current golfers may not know, but the cup was originally a greyhound trophy,” Doidge said.

“A dog dad owned called Humula won the District Dog of the Year and he donated the trophy to the golf club and it has been played for as a fourball event ever since.

“Back in the day it was played on the last day of the golf season and was

followed by a smoko which was always a great night.”

History has it that the best score ever recorded in the par event is +17 by Noel Cunich and Jeremy Levett in 1980.

“They finished 17 up and I’m sure they had a putt for a plus on the last as well but had to settle for a square,” Doidge said.

In more recent times Brent Lange and Ron Rosengreen have produced the best score with an excellent +16 in 2003, when Rosengreen shot the lights out on his way to an even par 71, while it is generally accepted that a figure around +14 or +15 is needed to add your name to the list.

As for the biggest margins Rod Delahunty and Albert Koch had a

massive six-shot buffer when they won the Cup in 1996 having shot +15 for the day, while Wayne Loiterton and Geoff Manwaring’s winning total of +14 in 1999 represented a combined score of six-under 65.

Proving how difficult it is to win the Doidge Cup no pairing has won the trophy twice in more than two decades, with John Brooker and Don Caldwell’s success in 1988 coming 12 years after they won for the first time, while Bob Bell and Don Pollard have two titles to their credit in 1983 and 1985.

It is expected the past four winning pairs, Stan and Steve Buttriss (2007), Gerry Bassingthwaighte and Geoff Byrne (2008), Daryl O’Keefe and David Harris (2009) and Bob and Rod Hearne (2010) will be back again tomorrow trying to add their own chapter to the history books.

There are plenty of tee times

available for tomorrow’s staging with players asked to call into or ring the pro-shop today to secure a place in the field.