The field enjoyed mainly decent conditions to finish their round. Although the late afternoon starters arguably faced the worst conditions (threats of rain and a wind that became stronger during the course of the afternoon).

The day’s winners were Elaine Elborn and Jon Curry. Their consistent round of golf sees them take 1st place with 45pts (22pts out and 23pts in). Well done to them! Ronnie Mitchell and Brett Colley matched Jon & Elaine on the front 9 with 22pts. But it looks like they missed their chance with a softer start on the back 9. That means that they finish 2nd (just 1pt behind the winners). Richard Owen and Chris Jones saw their strong outward 9 (22pts) offset by a softer return on the 16th. Their score of 43pts puts them in 3rd place. Peter Osgood and Henry L-B did deliver on their promise that they would score at least 40pts. But it was quite clear that they were expecting to finish at least on the podium with 42pts. Peter was so desperate to get a birdie on the last hole that he 1) took forever to line up the putt and 2) went flat on his belly (Google Camillo Villegas to you get the idea) to try and read the line of his putt (BTW: he did miss the birdie putt). Four other pairs managed to score 40pts but missed out on the Top3. Results…

Ladies

Report due soon. Results…

Men

Hard to believe that summer came to an official end this week. The field enjoyed some nice weather (minus the wind) for the September Monthly Medal round on Prince’s. As usual Greg Saunders went out (very) early. His net score of 68 (his score on the 7th hole will haunt him though) made him leader in the clubhouse. Nigel Ward overtook Greg with a net score of 66. His score was matched by Charlie Whiteman. But the countback rule means that Nigel edges out Charlie. Peter Harrington came in with the very last game. He managed to record a fantastic net score of 61 (85 gross). Peter’s handicap gets a massive 2.8 stroke cut and he now plays off 21. Looks like marking all these cards for handicap does improve your golf after all … If you take into consideration that his better half may have won today’s Ladies Better Ball comp (with an unconfirmed stableford score of 48pts!) it is safe to say that today represented a good day at the office for the Harrington household. Simon Malin (net 67) and Alan Cinnamond (net 67 – lowest gross score 73) complete the Top6. Well done to Rick Smith for his birdie on the 16th hole! Results…

CSS: 68

Keith Cassidy retains the lead in the Grand Medal Trophy (best 5 out of 8 scores):

1  Keith Cassidy  338
2  Nigel Ward  341
3  Toby Hunt  343
4= James Barker  347
4= Mike Shabani  347
4= Brian McMahon  347

The Autumn Mixed Foursomes was played on the Duke’s course, another fine day. The format for the Autumn event is medal and the winners were Susan Smith partnering Nick Rogers with a net 72.5. Runners up were Sheena Harrington with Tamas Ladacs who returned a net 74. For the Autumn event we also have the Stratford trophy for the best gross and on a countback the lowest gross winners were Sheena and Tamas.

The iffy weather didn’t inspire today’s field to great golf. David Vines was the only competitor shooting below his handicap. Only the Top6 managed to play their handicap (aka remain within the buffer zone). Two Birdies on the front 9 set David up for a good round of golf (39 strokes in & out). A net score of 68 is more than enough to win today’s comp. David’s handicap gets cut 0.8 strokes to 9.5. John Curry recovered from a slow front 9 and came back in 39 strokes. His score of 72 (81 gross) puts him in 2nd. Jon Cooper matched John C’s round but is pushed into 3rd by virtue of the countback rule. Ronnie Mitchell didn’t ace the 10th today. But she put up a valiant effort to topple Gina Jillett, the leader in the Midweek Anniversary Accumulator Competition after 3 rounds. In the end she came a bit short (see below) but 4th place today will serve as some sort of consolation. Eelco Snijders and Chris Phillips-Jones complete the Top6. Results…

CSS: 72 (Men) – 74 (Ladies)

Finally congratulations to Gina Jillett for winning the overall Midweek Anniversary Accumulator Competition. Her lead over Ronnie Mitchell was large enough that today’s sub par round didn’t dent her chances. Final standings are as follows:

1  Gina Jillett  211
2  Veronica Mitchell  213
3  Eelco Snijders  220
4  Jeremy Ryan  220
5  Richard Owen  223
6  Chris Phillips-Jones  224

Ladies

Most unusually, this month’s medal was played on Duke’s rather than Prince’s, but despite the definite autumnal conditions it didn’t seem to cause too many problems if we discount holes 12-14 where there were some rather large scores recorded!

At the 10th hole, Alison Chadwick was bemoaning the fact that she couldn’t get the ball off the tee but omitted to mention her 1-putt holes that can’t have all been on the back 8 holes. She romped home with a net 70 and is awarded a 1.2 cut to her handicap taking it to 21.2. The first game was the winners game, with Habe Crocker seemingly cutting her handicap every time she plays, in 2nd place with a net 72, she gets a 0.2 cut to 8.6. Results…

There was one additional noteworthy event today – a second hole-in-one for Veronica Mitchell at the 10th hole. It was, according to an eye-witness, a lovely shot which hit the green on the left side and ran up and across the green to fall into the hole.

Men

A relatively small field entered this greensomes competition, and this was reduced still further by the 5 games who were disqualified for not recording their actual handicaps on their cards.

Seeing them on the tee, Pete Harrison & Roger Rojas looked to be in trouble on the 11th (& indeed they didn’t score on this hole). Just shows how wrong you can be. In the first game, they led from start to finish, beating Richard Owen & Phil Flanagan on the back 9. Richard & Phil had 20 out & 18 back, with Pete & Roger doing the reverse, even with that blob on the 11th. It was tight at the top, with a further 3 pairs just one point back. Results…

I guess this is the closest we’ll get to links golf at RPGC (minus the sea of course). A big field (40 players) faced gusting winds and thick clouds. The self called “Dream Team” of Peter “Top Dog” Osgood, Habe “2017 Ladies Club Champion” Crocker and Darren ‘shank” Enthoven went out first. They probably enjoyed some of the better weather but couldn’t seize their opportunity. When the other early starters had finished their round the leading score was 3Down!

The 10am starters did capitalize and started posting some decent scores. Tore Burman kept up his excellent form by recording a score of 2up. In the end he was beaten by Jeremy Ryan’s excellent score of 4up. Jeremy’s handicap gets cut by 0.6 strokes and his playing handicap now stands at 11. Well done. Chris Jones (1up) and Jon Cooper (AllSquare) were also among the 10am starters and claimed Top6 finishes. The afternoon starters arguably experienced the worst weather conditions. They faced the additional challenge of some serious rain showers on the front 9. Richard Owen (1up) and Jay Barker (AllSquare) did manage to finish in the Top6. Results…

CSS: 1UP (Men & Ladies)

It felt as if autumn had already descended on Richmond Park today. The field faced much cooler temperatures. swirling winds and threatening clouds. This week’s rain made chipping & pitching a little less difficult but created some extra zip on the greens. A lot of new faces more than made up for a large number of usual suspects who were either at the Ladies Away Weekend or recovering from wild celebrations following RPGC’s victory in the Hawtree Team Competition (congratulations to the team Captain, Nigel Gaymond, and his victorious team mates).

On to the order of the day. Scott Sparks signed up for his 1st competition since joining RPGC. He netted 21pts on the way out (a recurring theme today) and made his way back to the clubhouse with 18pts. 1st place and an immediate cut of 1.1 on his handicap represent a pretty good day at the office. Quite an ominous start to his tenure at RPGC. Mike Shabani shows he’s ready for the return leg at Tricky Ricky next Saturday. A strong start (20pts) and a steady back 9 mean he beats Jim Fogarty back into 3rd based on the countback rule. Jim tore up the front 9 with 22pts! Despite some horrendous pitching and a cold putter the back-up handicap secretary Kim Chaffart was able to grasp 4th place from the clutches of Tony Berqvist (albeit thanks to the countback rule). Tony also netted 22pts on the front 9 (I told you scoring+20pts on the front 9 was the theme of the day). Nigel Ward’s steady golf (18pts on the way out and the way in) lands him a spot in the Top6. Also note the large number of birdies on the different par 3’s. Results…

CSS: 36pts (Men & Ladies)

Despite menacing clouds the weather remained dry. The light rain of the last couple of days took away some of the bounce on the fairways. The greens keep recovering from the maintenance works so they remained a touch unpredictable.

Darren has left his shanking days behind him (for now). A net score of 68 made him leader in the clubhouse. None of the 10am starters could better that score. Chris Jones came really close. But a “softer” back 9 drops him back just behind Darren. The afternoon starters put on a great show. Mike Assender went out in 37 (gross). Combined with a solid back 9 (40 gross) he totals a score of 67 net, 77 gross. Good enough for victory today and a new playing handicap of 9. James Barker (4th with the lowest gross score of 75) and Jack Evans 70(89 gross) were two other 2pm starters in the Top6. Jeremy Thompson completes the Top6. 1st Lady today is Veronica Mitchell.

Note for those who are in the running for the Midweek Grand Medal Trophy: your 3 best scores count for the Trophy. But you need at least one score on each course. The October Midweek Medal will also be held on Duke’s (4th October to be precise). Looks like Jay has the lead in this Best-Of Series (total 198 – TBC) with Keith Cassidy 5 shots behind. Habe has about 8 shots to make up if she has her eyes set on 1st place. Lia Donath also has a chance but she has not recorded a score on Duke’s yet for these series (her best scores on Prince’s were a 63(!) and a 68). So the pressure is on. Results…

CSS: 71 (Men) – 73 (Ladies)

Another Top Dog Event and who decides to show up? Peter Osgood. Guess his awful display at the Midweek Captain Day last Wednesday was just an effort to fool the rest of the field. The Saffie racked up 23pts on the way out (equating to 35 strokes or level par). A strong birdie-par finish (coupled with a par on SI 1 hole) allowed him to edge past the early morning starter Barry Page (43pts vs 42).

For the number crunchers amongst you: around 1pm CSS stood at 38pts. When the whole field finished their round CSS had come down to 37. As a result Peter now plays off single figures. He also takes a massive lead in the Top Dog rankings. Barry Page’s 2nd place sees his handicap reduced by 1.5 strokes. On top of that he receives an ESR so his exact handicap stands at 15.8. Well done to both players. Lee Marshall carded 4 birdies on his way to 42pts and 3rd place. Habe Crocker finished as 1st lady on 38pts. Ronnie Mitchell also finished on 38pts but the countback rule pushes her into 5th. Peter Harrison completes the Top6 (Keith as an FYI there is a special column on the scorecard titled Marker’s score. You as a marker are supposed to write your scores in that column not in the Column of Player B …). Results…

CSS: 37pts (Men & Ladies)

Results of the challenges:

• Nearest to the pin on the 7th
  Men: The President (really?)
  Ladies: looks like none of the ladies managed to hit the green from the tee. Check it out…
• Nearest to the pin 10th
  Men & Ladies: Darren Enthoven
• Nearest to the pin 16th
  Men: Paul Appleton (he did make his birdie putt. Just make sure you read the lines as well while caddying at St Andrews for Ronnie …)
  Ladies: Habe Crocker
• Nearest to the pin on the 18th in 2
  Men: Roger Rojas (BTW: he did miss the birdie putt)