The weather was dry but conditions still very muddy for the first Midweek Monthly Medal of the year. Tragedy befell the early clubhouse leader Mitch Cohen who posted 63 but then forgot to sign his card.

Brian Ransome took advantage to win with a solid 67 just a shot clear from Messrs. Rudkin, Ivors, Ryan and Curry.
Best gross on the day went to John Curry 76 whilst Cheryl flew the ladies’ flag with 70. Results…

Five birdies were recorded on 4th whilst it was almost drinks all round from Paul Grand on the 16th 2cm from the hole.

Ladies

It may have been a gloomy day overhead but down on the ground there were some good scores being recorded. With 3 temps still on Prince’s it was another non-qualifier or there would have been some serious handicap reductions.

Tenesi probably thought she’d get her 4th consecutive win with 40 points, but Kinga played her best round ever to score 41 points, finishing her round with a 5 on her 2nd ball having fired the first one out of bounds. The 3rd good card of the day was recorded by Cheryl on 38. Results…

In the accompanying Eclectic, today’s top 5 match the Eclectic’s top 5 with Tenesi swapping places with Kinga, leading by just 0.5. R2 Leader board…

Men

Best way to sum up today’s comp: 10 players today recorded 40 or more points. Mitch put in an excellent score of 41pts. Only 2 players bettered that result. Jay birdied 5 holes (with a chip-in birdie on the 18th), went out in 23pts (33 gross) and finished his round on 43pts (66 gross). Even Jay’s birdie barrage were no match for Pete N who went out in 25pts, walked off the 16th with 43pts (+1 gross). A few jitters set him up for a bogey – DB finish. Still enough to total 45pts. Three other players recorded 41pts. Countback rule pushes Lee out of the Top6 (playing 18 holes of golf on 2h of sleep may be the way forward Lee ..). Results…

Gunner birdied the 8th hole. His reward: 5 stableford points! Gregory came within inches of recording the first ace of 2020. The 4th hole took a real pounding today: 6 birdies were recorded on that hole. Finally a shout-out to El Capitan, Nigel G, who played his first round of golf after recouping from his surgery.

Winter Competition
Pete N (119), Jay (112), Mitch (111), Martin/Keith (107), Ollie G (106). R5 Leader board…

Prince’s Eclectic
tba

Mizzly grey conditions persisted after days of welcome sunshine. Contenders for the 4th Winter Comp round actually played completed 2 loops of 9 holes on Duke’s.

Rick K posted an early 43 points in the clubhouse which included two birdies in back nine 24 points and overall gross 73; well done indeed Rick. The chasing pack of Mitchell, Luke and Stephen had very respectable 39s with Richard N next 38 points. Results…

In the associated Midweek Winter Competition (best 3 rounds with at least 1 round on each course), the report confirms that Richard has consolidated his lead on 124 points, now 12 ahead of Mitchell with Paul B now 107. R5 Leader board…

Ladies

What a contrast in conditions today – glorious sun overhead and rock hard ground underneath for almost all the 10 holes. Today’s event for the ladies was a 4BBB partners decided within each game by throwing the 4 balls in the air – except the first game where we had a 2-ball.

2020 has started in a winning streak for Tenesi, recording her 3rd consecutive victory with a new partner this week. 3 points ahead of the next pairing, Tenesi and Val were runaway winners on 23 points. Whilst scoring was predominantly down to Tenesi (20 points including a blob), Val’s contribution was needed to secure their victory…. we just need a qualifier to be able to trim Tenesi’s handicap!!. Results…

Men

Upside of last night’s frost is that we didn’t bring half of the course back home. Downside was that some of the tee-boxes were really slippery for the early starters and that judging any approach into the greens became really tricky.
Damber takes the spoils (again) today. He was the best of a trio of players on 20pts. Keith missed out on 1st place after a DB on the 10th (and final) hole. Tony K decided to hand in only one scorecard. He started off in the best possible manner (birdie on the 1st hole). He kept up his steady golf for 7 holes. Unfortunately he then carded 2 no-scores on the 8th and 10th. Julian J took a bit of time to get used to the settings. A strong finish takes him into 4th. Patric, Peter Hg and Pete N also finished on 19pts. But the countback rule awards Top6 finishes to Patrick and the Men’s secretary. Results…

Ladies

Just 8 ladies played in this month’s scheduled team event, which conveniently meant two teams of 4 for the popular format of a Texas scramble. Despite having been told that this was a slow format for us to play, in the event there was much waiting on the tees, either disproving this point or showing that it was the men who were slow today!

This week’s winning team has a great similarity to last week’s with Deb deciding she had more chance of winning in that team, she and Julie joined up with Alison & Tenesi to beat the others by three points on 43 with three birdies and just one double-bogey. Results…

Men

Overnight rain forced the greenkeeper to maintain 3 temporary greens. The mud and winds that grew stronger over the course of the day created additional complications. Richard H played the round of his life: 42 (out) and 41 (in) for a 21 handicapper is a tremendous result. (Un)Fortunately his handicap won’t change today. Anthony triumphantly walked into the clubhouse claiming a net score of 61. Turns out his maths could do with a bit of an upgrade. Tom C’s maths were up to par and he is keeping up his excellent form. A net score of 64 takes him into 2nd place today. Kim birdied one of the temp greens (3rd). The latter part of the front 9 was underwhelming. But some clutch par saving puts set up for a respectable net score of 65 (that score could’ve even been better if birdie puts on 15, 17 and 18 had not shaved past the edge of the cup). Damber makes it into the Top6 – again. Sean T and Brian M complete the Top6. Richard O had a round of extremes today: he recorded two 2’s but he also recorded 2 snowmen. Results…

CSS: N/A

32 competitors played a midweek first – the two loops of 9 holes on Duke’s. Pace of play was good, in marked contrast to Sunday. Conditions were muddier with recent Monday rain and mud was just the wrong consistency – sticking to trolleys.

New member Bennie shot the lights out with a gross 73 (5 over par) and 48 points and 3 birdies. Well done indeed!! Richard N again had a stunning round with 42 points and impressive front nine of 24 points to finish second. Paul B continued to recover from not playing for a few weeks with 40. Results…

The competition was non-qualifying for handicapping but counted towards the 2019/20 Midweek Winter Competition. After 3 rounds the leader is Richard N 115 with Paul B chasing 107. R3 Leader board…

Ladies

In view of the latest configuration of the two 9s on Duke’s, the ladies opted for another team event on the first Sunday of 2020. With 10 playing, the format was the best two scores for the 3-balls and the best and 3rd best scores for the 4-ball. In the end, there was no contest with the team of Alison, Doreen and Tenesi romping away to a 14 point win. They’ve obviously cracked the mud and club to use with no run on the ball whereas the rest of us need more practice!!

Men

40 players came out to play two loops of an improvised/shortened Duke’s course. It was Luke vs the rest today. He went level par gross on his 1st loop. That resulted in 25pts (!). His 2nd loop was marred by a 7 on his 16th hole (the 9th on Duke’s). But 18pts on the second loop was more than enough to make him today’s runaway winner. Sunny’s better 2nd loop allowed him to take 2nd place from Tom C. Jay went +3 gross to claim 38pts and 4th place. Pete N and Paul Gn both had 37pts and close out the Top6. Results…

Cold weather conditions sometimes force players into “weird” club choice. A player who birdied the 8th today (Duke’s 10th hole) hit a really long club into the green. Rumour has it it was his driver. Thank goodness he made the birdie putt.

CSS: N/A

Winter Competition
Ollie G 106, Pete N 106, Mike S 102, Adrian 100. R3 Leader board…

Duke’s Eclectic
Not played today

14 competitors showed up for the first competition of 2020. Conditions continued to be very muddy (slushy in places) despite relief from rain for a number of days. Three temporary greens so a non-qualifier for handicapping.

Kamil and Kerry were the early clubhouse leaders on 37 points until Adrian posted 41 to win with 22 on back 9 and birdie at 18. Results…

Kerry’s round showed much promise – out in 23 points, 4 birdies and one under par. With one more birdie on the back 9 Kerry is the 2020 Wednesday Birdie Tree leader. MW birdie tree…