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)

Finding a spell of dry weather in order to complete today’s round proved tricky. The 7am starters enjoyed the better conditions. The whole field also faced some slower greens as a result of the Glendale maintenance works. Given these challenges the quality of today’s golf turned out to be very good.

Mike Shabani became leader in the clubhouse with an excellent score of 38pts. Consistent golf (19pts on the way out and 19pts on the way in) were a confirmation of his excellent recent form. Alison Chadwick and Kim Chaffart managed to better Mike’s score by 1pt. Alison followed up an excellent start (19pts) with an even better inward 9 (the birdie on the 14th didn’t hurt). Kim Chaffart matched the Lady Captain thanks to his 21pts on the way in. Based on the countback rule 2nd place goes to the Midweek Captain. Tore Burman tried a new warm-up routine, aka no warm-up at all. The results speak volumes: 19pts (out) and 22pts (in)! He managed to score at least 3pts on 5 holes on the back 9 (the par on the 10th earned him no less than 4pts!). His new handicap now stands at 21. If he keeps up this form into the Men’s Pairs Final he (and Tony B.) have a real shot at victory in that competition too. Results…

CSS: 38pts (Men & Ladies)

Results of the challenges:

• Longest drive on the 5th
  Ladies: Cheryl Woodhouse
• Nearest to the pin on the 9th in 2
  Men: Frazer Wilson
• Nearest to the pin 11th
  Ladies: Lia Donath

• Nearest to the pin 11th
  Men: Jeremy Ryan

A big field enjoyed glorious weather. The extra roll and bounce on the fairways were welcome. But chipping onto the greens proved trickier than expected.

A bogey-bogey start didn’t upset Greg Saunders. He steadied the ship on route to 21pts on the front 9. Two birdies on the back 9 put him on course to another 21pts. A total of 42pts means Greg’s handicap gets cut by a full stroke. On top of that he gets an ESR of 0.5 strokes. His new handicap stands at 9.8. A good day at the office for Greg. Tony Kopczak dropped only 5 shots on the front 9. As a result he racked up 23pts on the way out! Another 20pts on the back (with a no score on the 17th) allow him to push Greg into 2nd. Tony’s handicap gets cut by 1.8 strokes. His new playing handicap stands at 18! 1st lady today is Tenesi who played a solid round of golf to finish with 38pts. Lia Donath’s quest for 3rd place came undone with a no score on the 16th. Lee Marshall kept up his good form to finish 5th with 37pts. Paul Brown lost a chance to better his 6th place finish on his favourite hole (the 16th). Results…

A lot of 2’s were recorded today. Alan Cinnamond and Lia Donath both birdied the 4th and 11th (Lia’s birdie putt on the 11th nearly destroyed the back-end of the cup!). Habe Crocker went one better by recording an eagle on the 14th (she did record a no-score on the next hole though …).

Finally a heartfelt shout-out to Vice-Captain Nigel Gaymond who recuperated from a medical emergency in no time to participate in today’s comp.

CSS: 37pts (Men & Ladies)

Ladies

All to play for at the start of the 2nd round of the Midweek Ladies Club Championship played on Duke’s. Five players were in with a shout to win the title. Habe went out as an early starter and saw off all competition with an excellent round of 79 (Gross). The round was a model of consistency (+3 out and +3 in). Her combined score of 163 puts her 7 strokes clear of the rest of the field. Habe’s handicap gets cut by 0.6 strokes to 8.8. Second place today goes to Liz Britton. A birdie on the 2nd and not a single dropped stroke on the Par 3’s result in a score of 86 (Gross). Liz’s total score ticked off at 170. Good enough for 2nd place over the two rounds. As a reward Liz’s handicap gets a small cut to 14.1. Neither Gina Jillett nor Ronnie Mitchell were able to mount any serious challenge. Ladies Results…

CSS: 73

Men

Senior Division
Realistically three players had a chance at victory. Seong Lim had the most ground to make up. His outward 9 was steady (39 gross). But he couldn’t kick into higher gear on the back 9 (41 gross). Henry L-B and Joseph Shin virtually matched each other on the front 9: 36 (gross) for Henry and 37 for Joseph. The back 9s were unsteady for both players. Joseph stumbled trough holes 13 and 14. After untidy approach on the 18th things looked a bit bleak. Henry L-B will regret holes 12 through 16. Without any exaggeration one can say that these five holes cost him the title. He managed to eagle the 17th (a feat copied by Tamas Ladacs). But the damage was done. Congratulations to Joseph and commiserations to Henry L-B. Men Results…

Junior Division
1st Round leader John Ahad decided to forgo (!) today’s round. Paul Green, Mark Rosamond and Ted Holt were the main contenders. Paul Green kept up his good recent form. A steady round of 88 (43 out and 45 in) was good enough to see off his challengers. Mark Rosamond had a stronger start (41 out) but a weaker back 9 killed off his chances. Ted Holt never came within touching distance of Paul and Mark. 3rd place is his reward. Men Results…

The day after the Bontor for a lot of the participants. The field dealt with nice golfing conditions. Ed Henery, still high on his impressive singles win in the Bontor, posted a 71 net to become leader in the clubhouse. Cheryl Woodhouse decided to forgo the Bontor and focus on today’s comp (says a lot about her priorities!). An impressive 66 net and victory today are her rewards. On top of that Cheryl gets a 1.8 stroke handicap cut. Her new playiing handicap now stands at 20. Looks like another ESR may also be on the cards. Three Men tried really hard but came up just short. Oliver Maskell played an excellent back 9 en route to a 68 net. The biggest threat to Cheryl’s victory could/should’ve come from Richard Owen. Unfortunately Richard decided to get all of his bad shots out of the way on just 1 hole. As a small consolation Richard sees his handicap cut by 1.3 strokes to 11.3. Phil Flanagan kept up his good recent form by posting a 69 net. Brian McMahon 70 net completes the Top6. Where were the other ladies you ask? Looks like the Bontor took a lot out of them. Scroll down to position 14, 18, 20, 24 and below (no I’m not bitter). Mike Shabani couldn’t believe his eyes today when he saw Susan Smith’s form/score today! Results…

CSS: 71 (Men) – 73 (Ladies)

Pete Harrison won closest to the pin on the 7th and 10th (TBC). Oliver Maskell won closest to the pin in two on the 18th. A member from Putney Park won longest drive for the men on the 15th (TBC). Tenesi Karakavena  won longest drive for the ladies on the 15th.