Perseverance with the rain was manifest with a small but quality field of 7. 57 % scored within buffer zone resulting in an elevated CSS of 38 points/reduced 66 shots. Mark Rosamund shot a blinding 38 points (19 out 19 in) to win 3 clear from Henry Lindesay-Bethune. Results…

Grey sunless and still early spring conditions proved ideal for golf. Following his recent midweek win, Toby Hunt was crowned the winner of the Coronation Cup with a glorious 65 narrowly beating Tony Bergqvist and leading lady Habe Crocker 66s and five following with 67s. James Barker claimed best gross 76. Results…

A good turnout of 60 produced CSS = SSS with ladies in receipt of 2 shots (difference in the SSSs).

An authoritative bark from Toby from the top of the men’s Top Dog Trophy (first event 2018) with 12 points echoed a new handicap of 12 having nudged 14 earlier in the year. Well done Toby! R1 leader board… 

Just 3 days ago both courses were unplayable per this view. Today the sun shone and it was a pleasant Spring day. It was a double first for Toby who won the first midweek grand medal round with a 66 and the best gross of the day 80. He was chased by Chris Phillips-Jones 67 and Richard Hodgkinson and Jeremy Prescott 69s. A jet-lagged Kim returned a respectable late 75. Results…

This view illustrates the weather conditions that caused the cancellation of the day’s competition.

A mild but at times blustery day greeted competitors hinting that Spring is surely just round the corner.

Ted Holt emerged the winner with 38 points ahead of Raymond Esin 37 and John Curry & Paul Grand 36s. Results…

Ted hit a perfect shot on 2 for an ace! And after 4 holes had 14 points in the bag. Well done indeed Ted. It was drinks all round (at least for late morning players) at the nineteenth.

This was the last round of the midweek Winter Competition confirming the 1-2-3 as before – Eeelco Snidjers 114, Peter Harrington 113 and Jonathan Rivers 112. Final leader board… 

Brett Colley won the Prince’s Eclectic on 64 with Henry Lindesay-Bethune 2nd on countback 64.5 from Chris Phillips-Jones. Final leader board…

Ladies

Despite the hint of spring to come with the sun making an unexpected showing for a few holes, the ladies made heavy going of their first medal round of the year. The small field of 9 did not cover themselves in glory, with only 2 managing less than 50 shots on the front 9. Things weren’t a whole lot better on the back 9, with the result that it was a QRO and the CSS went to 72. Winning with a net 77 and winning by one shot was Tenesi Karakaneva, by dint of a better back 9, Sheena Harrington took the second slot from the three on 78. Results…

Men

Early Spring conditions prevailed with mud in places but otherwise good for scoring opportunities. Jon Cooper shot an exceptional 62 to win the March Medal and by all accounts still left a shot or two on the course. Well done Jon! Second placed Jay Barker shot 66 and lowest gross 71 and beat Mike Shabani on countback. Paul House and Toby Hunt had 67s. Results…

The round doubled as first of 8 for the Grand Medal Trophy. R1 Leader board…

A shout-out to Kerry Sargeant for 2 ‘Twos’ and for recording the year’s first eagle – unusually at the fifth. Eagle tree…

Following the previous week’s snow, conditions were good for early Spring. Rain plagued the early starters whilst later competitors suffered an unexpected hail shower.

Henry Lindesay-Bethune started as he ended with a birdie and scored an outstanding 43 points to win the Midweek Inaugural Trophy (with a ‘blob’). Lesser mortals were led in 2nd place with a fine 40 from John Curry and workmanlike 39s from Jeremy Ryan and Paul Grand. Results…

CSS remained at SSS with 6 handicap changes including a 1.2 cut for Henry to 7.0.

Ladies

As the weather appeared to continue to deteriorate as the week drew to a close, a few names disappeared from the booking sheet. The start sheet of 8 ladies soon dropped to 6 and by Sunday morning to just 4 players. Those ‘hardy’ few found a course free from all but a few pockets of snow, little wind, and positively balmy temperatures compared with those we played in for the last few weeks.

Since all four would have been winners with the prize allocation for the Spring Meeting, the competition was abandoned and a 4-ball better ball match ensued. Habe & Lia played Doreen & Sheena in a close game that was halved on the 18th. A very fair result celebrated with drinks and biscuits all round.

Men

There were no doubt many at home, regretting their decision to pull out of the opportunity to win this 36 hole competition! Not that many would have believed golf would be possible after the snow that was still falling on Friday. After the temperature finally rose above freezing, the snow had all but gone and conditions underfoot were surprisingly good.

So it was a small field of 28 who entered the first leg of the first of the new 2018 season competitions. Giving the rest something to chase, Alan King takes a 3 point cushion into the second round. His winning score of 41 points, which included 2 blobs and 3 birdies, sees him rewarded with a 1.2 cut to his handicap. Paul House continues his recent run of form to lie in 2nd place on 38, with a 0.2 cut and there are a further 3 players one shot further back. Results…

CSS went to 37 points.