Weather was very variable today. Early morning showers made way for drier conditions for the 10.00AM starters. But thick clouds remained. The later afternoon starters faced some strong winds. Who enjoyed the better playing conditions is up for debate.

Henry L-B came out all guns blazing (35 strokes gross at the turn). He walked off the 12th hole on +1 (gross). On holes 13, 14 and 15 the lights literally went out. A gross score of 76 after 18 holes (net 66) was good enough to become leader in the clubhouse. Stephen Mason continues his love affair with Prince’s. An excellent front 9 (40 strokes) was followed by a softer inward 9 (43 strokes gross). Still a score of 83 (gross – 64 net) represents a good day at the office. Three late afternoon starters mounted a serious challenge. Oliver Maskell used up half of his handicap on the front 9. But he recovered with an excellent 39. A total score of 82 (gross – 67 net) is good enough for 5th. Jay followed Ollie’s example: slowly out of the gates (39 gross) and excellent on the way in (33 gross). He has to settle for 3rd (72 gross – 66 net). Kim Chaffart opened Double Bogey – Bogey. After the early wobble he steadied the ship (39 gross after 9 holes). Poor short game and a love-hate affair with the putter resulted in 38 on the back 9. Finally Ann Gardner completes the Top6. Results…

CSS: 67 (Men) – 69 (Ladies)

Ladies

Another amazing round from Habe Crocker sees her 7 shots ahead after the first round of the Club Championship – 2nd place Lia Donath will not be competing in the second round. Habe also receives an ESR reduction of 0.5, reducing her new handicap to 8.9. As might be expected with the hard ground conditions, the scoring was good for most, with a CSS of 68. Results…

In the associated Handicap Cup, Habe leads the way in the 0-18 division, with Jayne Maxwell and Sheena Harrington three shots behind. In the higher division, the Pembroke Cup, Cheryl Woodhouse with a net 69 is two shots ahead of in form Doreen Dolby, but a further two players are just one shot behind. Results…

CSS: 69

Men

A big field met today for Round 1 of Senior and Junior section of the 2017 RPGC Club Championship. The rain of the last couple of days took away some of the uncertainty of the last couple of weeks. Bounces off the fairways seemed less violent and a touch less unpredictable. The “new” greens (holes 7, 14-18) seemed a lot more receptive than usual.

The Senior Division saw two players come in with the same gross score: new member Simon Malin and defending champion Jay Barker carded scores of 76 (gross). Toby Hunt’s new putter was on fire (draining monster birdie putts. some excellent par saves and great lag putting). Combine that with some very crisp iron play and the end result is gross score of 75 and very well deserved 3rd place after Round 1. Henry L-B recovered from a sluggish front 9 to finish on 76 gross. Seong Lim finished birdie-birdie to cap off an excellent round of 76 gross. Simon and Toby both receive small handicap reductions (but no adjustments to their playing handicaps). Shout-out to Lee Marshall who played the back 9 in 32 strokes! As Niels Bohr would say: Predicting is difficult especially when it concerns the future. But you’d probably guestimate that if you want to be in with a shot at Round 2 next Sunday you would’ve had to register a score below 80 today. Results…

The final round of the Junior Division will be real tussle too. Mark Andrew carded an 85 gross, closely followed by Domink Leisi (who shot an 86 gross – 61 net!) and Mark Rosamond (86 gross). Tamas Ladacs, Barry Page and David Oddone are one stroke back on 87 . Dominik’s handicap gets cut by 2.4 strokes to 22.9. Liam Bridger deserves a word of praise since he managed to chip in for an eagle on the 9th. So all to play for in this division too. Results…

In the Handicap Trophy for the best net score Domink Leisi leds with 61 over Toby Hunt 63. Results…

CSS: 67 (net)

Heavy rain of Tuesday caused some casual water on fairways and in bunkers for Round 2 of the Midweek Anniversary Accumulator. Looks like competitors also needed some time to adjust to the speed of the greens.

Gina Jillett went out early and played an excellent front 9 (40 gross). Unfortunately her softer back 9 ended with a “snowman”. A net score of 69 made her leader in the clubhouse. Ted Holt played very consistent golf. A score 68 (net – 86 gross) is enough for victory today. Oliver Maskell matched Ted’s score (68 net – 84 gross) but the countback rule pushes him into 2nd. As a consolation Oliver sees his handicap reduced to 15. This will qualify him, a junior, for the Senior section of the upcoming Club Championship. Well done Oliver! Darren Enthoven, Brett Colley, Henry L-B looks (seems pars not birdies are the way to go HLB) complete the Top6. Seong Lim just misses out on the Top6 but he seemed to have little trouble playing to his new handicap. Results…

CSS: 70 (Men – 72 (Ladies).  The Top 3 all get new handicaps.

Gina Jillett (139 strokes) takes the provisional lead in the standings of the Midweek Accumulator competition (Ronnie Mitchell is second on 140).

Report due soon. Results…

Report due soon. Report…

Summer golf was back with a vengeance. A big field were met with glorious sunshine to face off in the July Monthly Medal. Judging the bounce on the fairways or the roll on the greens seems to have been tricky (the position on the 7th remained in a brutal position). Richard Owen wins today’s competition. A net score of 65 (77 Gross) was the result of a solid display of golf. Jay Barker recovered from a brutal NAPGC competition over the weekend. He equalled Richard’s score of 65 net but just missed out on the win because of the countback rule. Seong Lim, Jeremy Ryan and Chery Woodhouse all put up excellent scores. They together with new member Claire Babeau complete the Top6. Results…

CSS: 67 (Men) – 69 (Ladies)

Ladies

Today’s results perhaps reflect the challenges presented when although the ball runs further with the sun-hardened fairways, it can bounce off in many directions. Our ‘Steady Eddy’ otherwise known as Doreen Dolby tried to blow it on the 18th with a 9, but came through to take first place on a net 69 and with her 9 being cut back to 7, earned herself a one shot cut to her playing handicap. Caroline Stilwell was one shot behind in 2nd place. Results…

CSS: 69

Men

A reduced field met today on a course where fairways remain unpredictable. The greens on the other hand seemed to offer a bit more grip. The swirling wind was an added complication. Can the person who upset the greenkeeper make himself known? Whatever he did/said clearly had an effect on Ross. Some of today’s pin positions were very cruel. The pin on the 7th in particular left no margin whatsoever for error.

Mike Cullinane played solid on front and back 9. A score of 62 (75 Gross) means 1st place, a cocktail glass and a cut of 1.1 strokes on the handicap. Mike’s new handicap now stands at 12. Good luck to Eelco, Mike’s next opponent in the Singles Knock-Out. Barry Page as usual went out early and posted an excellent 64 (83 Gross). He was closely followed by Kerry who is keeping up his good recent form. Kerry’s score of 66 (75 Gross – today’s lowest gross score) was the result of an excellent back 9 (34 strokes) and softer front 9 (41 strokes). Toby Hunt (67 Net – 79 Gross), Tony Bryan (68 Net – 84 Gross) and Jim Fogarty (69 Net – 87 Gross) complete the Top6. Results…

Paul Brown lost the will to live after his pitch under the tree on the 9th went backwards! Truth be told his lie was pretty tough.

CSS: 67

It felt weird playing in sub-20 degrees and thick clouds. The rain of the previous days created casual water in some bunkers. Greens were more receptive than before but the fairways still provided some useful extra yards on the roll. Contrary to the Starter’s predictions all of the field enjoyed very similar conditions to complete their round.

Darren Enthoven changed his tactics from last Sunday: Pars were in and Birdies were out. 10 Pars and 8 Bogeys make for a fine round of golf. The round was balanced all the way through (20pts out and 19pts in). Keith Cassidy recovered from a slow start on the first 3 holes and still managed to end the outward 9 with 21pts! 17pts on the back 9 means Keith has to settle for 2nd today. Richard Hodgkinson played a very solid round of golf (18pts out & 19pts in) to claim 3rd place. Mike Shabani almost matched Keith’s front 9 with 20pts. But he possibly missed an opportunity to improve on his 4th place with a sub par performance on the 17th hole. New(er) members Tina Neessen (36pts) and Jack Evans (35pts) complete the Top6. Results…

Darren’s handicap gets cut 10. Very well done.

CSS: 36pts (Men & Ladies)

Milder weather attracted one of the biggest fields (ever) for an RPGC competition. No less than 20 games went out to enjoy softer conditions (thanks to the light overnight rain) and swirling winds.

There was no match for Peter Osgood today. Par golf was his way to master the course. One sole birdie (on SI 18) and 11 pars were the key to his success. Word has it that he could barely keep it together and he topped and stumbled his way trough the back 9. All in all a very good day at the office. Peter’s handicap gets a massive cut: 1.4 strokes for finishing 7 strokes below CSS and an ESR of 0.5 strokes. His new exact handicap now stands at 9.9 (10c). Very well done.

First lady Jane Fraser started slowly (45 gross) but absolutely came alive on the back 9 (41 gross) to finish with 86 gross (67 net) to finish second. Jane’s new handicap is 17. The Captains’ honour was saved by Men’s Vice-Captain Nigel Gaymond. An excellent round of 83 gross (67 net) puts him in 3rd (based on the countback rule). Seong Lim’s nice round of 78 gross (67 net) earns him 4th place. Birdie machine Darren Enthoven (4 birdies allow him to finish with 79 Gross (67 net) has to settle for 5th. He let a potential win slip away on the 18th!. Habe Crocker completes the Top6. Results..

Some other prizes were up for grabs:

• The team comp (stableford aggregate score based on best score on the par 5’s, 2 best scores on par 4’s and best 3 scores on par 3’s) was won by 1pt by the team of Toby Hunt, John Curry, Doreen Dolby and Valerie Parker. Valerie’s 4 on the 17th (equalling 5pts) certainly helped their cause.
• The picture quiz was won with a perfect score by the team of Pete Harrison, Eric Lit, Henry L-B and Kim Chaffart. The Sky Sports golf team can all start fearing for their job!
• Nearest to the Pin for the Ladies on the 10th was won by Lia Donath
• Nearest to the Pin for the Men on the 16th was won by Pete Harrison
• Closest to the half circle – sorry I mean red line – on the 9th was won by Cheryl Woodhouse and Paul Brown respectively. Word has it that Paul Brown topped his ball barely past the ladies tee. But his ball came to a standstill near the straightest part of the circle/line.
• Peter Osgood wasn’t very bullish on the captains’ chances today. He totally low-balled the projected scores of the two captains to win the over/under sweepstakes. Thank goodness that a total disrespect of the captains is no reason to DQ a player.

Massive thanks to the captains and their respective vice captains for the organisation of a very entertaining day.

CSS: 71 (Men) & 73 (Ladies). There were again a multitude of handicap changes. Please take note of your new handicaps!

After three rounds for the Men’s Top Dog Trophy Peter Osgood leads with one win and a second place.  Roger Rojas and Tony Bergqvist share second place with one win apiece. There are four more rounds and the match play results to count. R3 Leader board…

Scorching temperatures keep complicating playing conditions: extra roll on drives or approaches are cancelled out by greens that are less and less receptive.

Early starters enjoyed “cooler” temperatures. Veronica Mitchell followed up a good front 9 (19pts) with an excellent back 9 (20pts) to win today’s comp. Keith Cassidy & Tamas Ladacs also netted 20pts on the back 9. Mike A. joined the early starters. His round was the exact mirror image of Veronica’s round (20pts out and 19pts in). So the countback rule pushes him into 2nd. The Mason family had a good day at the Park. Stephen M. played solid golf (19pts out and 18pts in). Lesley on the other hand needed 9 holes to get used to the hot temperatures. But she caught fire on the back 9. Her score of 21pts is the best performance on the homeward stretch today. Keith Cassidy and Paul House complete the Top6. Results…

CSS: 38pts (Men & Ladies)