There was almost nine COVID-forced months between competition for the Charlestown Golf Club member, who played at the NSW Open in March and didn't resume until back-to-back hits in Victoria over the last few weeks.

So having spent much of the year in Warners Bay with family, Dodt now has his immediate sights set on the Australian PGA Championship in Brisbane (January 13-16) and the Asian Tour's Singapore Open (January 20-23).

"I saw her [daughter Azalea] first steps. I heard her first words. And in a normal year I wouldn't have seen any of that so I'm pretty grateful," Dodt said.

"But on the flip side I can't wait to play tournament golf again because I've really missed it."

Dodt was eliminated from the Gippsland Super 6 after the first lot of match play on December 19, having been ranked second following three stroke rounds (63, 67, 67).

One week earlier he lined up in the Victorian PGA, won by fellow Novocastrian Blake Windred, but withdrew at the midway point because of injury.

"I wanted to get two tournaments under my belt before the Aussie PGA in January just to see where my game was at," Dodt said.

"Obviously the first one I only played two rounds, but my game was pretty good and last week I had a really solid three rounds of stroke. I only made two bogeys.

"I've got a couple of little things to work on between now and then, but having all that time off and working on things at home just shows I'm on the right path."

Dodt says the injury, a suspected shoulder strain, now feels "back to normal" and "thankfully only lasted a week".

It forced him to reassess how to manage Warragul Country Club

"I was 50-50 when I walked the course on Tuesday [in between tournaments]," the 35-year-old said.

"On the Wednesday I played nine holes and it still hurt a bit, especially my driver.

"The course wasn't that long so I could kind of manage two irons and a lot of wedges into greens, that was the game plan for Thursday.

"It turned out alright because I shot 63, which was unexpected. As the week went on it just started getting better and I was able to hit more drivers."

Dodt pulled out of The Jack at Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley last week. He will continue practicing this week before heading north to Royal Queensland Golf Club in the new year. The Asian Tour is Dodt's main focus for 2022.

* JYE Pickin was the leading amateur at the Sandbelt Invitational, which wrapped up in Melbourne on Thursday. He finished one over the card (284), four shots clear of his nearest rival.

* BRIJ Ingrey took out the junior section of The Jack last week with two even par rounds of 71.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: