The Cheltenham Recreation Club, tucked along The Crescent in Cheltenham, has quietly become one of the more unlikely drawcards for players making the drive in from the Hills and Hawkesbury districts. The club sits at 60–74 The Crescent — and as of its most recent championship season, it produced a string of local winners that the wider district probably doesn’t know about yet.
Susan Parry, who drives in from Glenorie, took out the Division 3 Championship. Deb Lawton from West Pennant Hills came in as runner-up, though the season arguably belonged to the Lawton household as a whole: Deb’s husband Rob finished runner-up in both the Handicap Singles and the Fay Rampling Competition, then also collected the Doreen Dyce Good Member Award. That’s a lot of trophies for one postcode.
Bruce Kelshaw from The Gables won the Fay Rampling outright. Warren Whyte of Castle Hill, paired with Ann Woods, won the John Goodman Shield. David Capple of Dural took out the Select Your Own Partner event alongside club president Janelle Wood.
One thread running through the season’s results: former golfers. Deb and Rob Lawton both came from golf, as did Sue Plaister from Pennant Hills, who collected the Bronze Award for Most Improved Newcomer. The club notes this isn’t unusual — ex-golfers tend to pick up croquet faster than most.
The club also runs morning and afternoon social games, hosts Molly’s Pavilion Café for breakfast and lunch, and is home to the only Real Tennis court in New South Wales. More at thecheltenhamclub.com.au.