It was a cold start but welcome sunshine soon arrived. Much recent rain and worm-casts combined to make conditions muddy for the 45 competitors.

Early starter Brett Colley won the first winter midweek medal with a very commendable 66, all the more remarkable since Brett started with 8 at the first and came in for back 9 dropping just 4 shots. Val Riziotis and Igor Peliugaev battled for 2nd 67 which Val won on countback. Val had a remarkable back 9 – 8 better than front including birdie at 16. Results…

Hassan returned lowest gross of the day – 75 but gets .1 back on handicap. Reflecting overall conditions, CSS remained at SSS.

Ladies

For some unknown reason the ladies had their highest turnout for years – 21 players plus 2 putting cards in for handicap. It remains to be seen if this was a one time phenomenon since the scores were not the most encouraging and there won’t be pizza and chips every week.

Indeed only one person made it look easy with a 4 shot cushion back to 2nd place and the only one to play below the SSS. Jess Dunton-Rose continues her good run of form and with a net 66 was the runaway winner. In doing so, she earned herself her second ESR of the year and her handicap drops by 3 to 31. Results…

After golf the ladies finally got together for the presentation of the autumn meeting prizes and the monthly medal glasses for the year to October. As mentioned, pizza and chips were also provided and happily devoured by all.

Men

The muddy conditions couldn’t keep Richmond Park golfers away. A big field (45 players – the ladies comp enjoyed a big turnout too …) showed up today. All-in-all conditions proved tough for most of the field (see CSS below). From good to bad here are the bullet points of today’s comp:

The Very Good:
When you go -1 gross on any course deserves some serious praise. Jay eagled the 9th to go -1 on the front 9. He then held it together on the back 9 to win today’s comp with a Net Score of 62 (67 gross). Gregory going 63 net and chopping 2.2 strokes of his handicap. Pete Harrison sliding down to Cat1 with a Net 64. Results…

The Good:
Jan Wilken, Robin Thomas and HLB playing solid golf on their way to spots 4,5 and 6. No less than 5 birdies on the 16th.

The Unexpected:
Paul Brown recording a birdie on the 16th hole.

The Ugly:
Only 9 of the 45 players remained in their buffer. Some players not signing their scorecards.

The Very Ugly:
Kim Chaffart recording a 10 on the 12th hole. Looks like he used up his few good shots in the Men’s Pairs Final.

CSS: 68 (yes you read correctly …)

A chilly easterly wind persisted but it remained dry; dry enough for mud to be of just the wrong consistency – clinging to trolleys.

With 3 temporary greens, the stableford sweep competition was a non-qualifier for handicapping. I think Glendale had hired some special air-pumping equipment for those 3 greens but don’t take my word for it.

Fresh from a 44 point win on same course on Sunday (and a 3.2 handicap reduction), Robin Thomas’ rich vein of form continued, winning on 38 points from valiant 37s from Richard Norden and Rick Kimber. Class 5 handicapper Hassan (2 birdies) nipped Kamil on countback – both 36s as with Seymour Laird and Henry Lindesay-Bethune (3 birdies). Leading lady was Sheena 32. Results..

Yesterday’s rain made the fairways really muddy. Add to that cooler temperatures and thicker air and you have 3 essential ingredients for winter golf. The greens were uber receptive (a euphemism …) The 12th green was borderline usable. And as is often the case in these wet conditions the greenkeepers had to install a temporary green on the 11th hole. The additional dew slowed the greens down even more.

The early morning starters didn’t enjoy the best conditions. But Mitch Cohen kept up his good recent form to become leader in the clubhouse with a respectable 34pts. New member Damper seemed to enjoy the mud golf: 21pts in and out put him in firm command. But late starter Robin Thomas managed to better that score by 2pts. Robin and Damper both get healthy handicap cuts (down to 20 and 19 respectively). 3rd place goes Gregory with 39pts. Returning boy Lee Marshall (37pts), Richard Owen and Kerry Sargeant complete the Top6. The ladies didn’t enjoy the muddy conditions. The first lady today only clocks in at place 17. Results..

CSS: 36pts (Men & Ladies)

Looks some (much needed) drier weather is heading our way next week.

Conditions were fairly benign but little roll and having just 3 clubs and putter tempered performance. Oliver Khan emerged the winner of the coveted Harrington Trophy with 37 points. He was chased by early starters Rick Kimber 36 and Mitch Cohen 34. Results..

The ‘best scores analysis’ report reveals the few birdies scored. However, the ray of brilliance on the day was provided by Paul Brown with a 90 yard pitch-in at 17 for eagle – and he clambers aboard the Eagle Tree report. Analysis..

With the restriction in the number of clubs allowed, the competition was of course a non-qualifier for handicapping.

Here is the report for the 2019 edition of the Lissaman Cup, aka 3 clubs and a putter. Jay’s round started in the worst possible manner. His 3 iron snapped in two after 3 holes, so he had to complete the rest of the round with just a mid iron and a wedge. Things improved slightly at the 19th hole when he recovered the putter cover he thought he’d lost.

George Taylor started slowly (45 gross). But 6 pars, bogeys on 11, 12 and 16 on the back result into a score of 36. No less than four players recorded scores of 67 net. George’s stellar back 9 make him today’s winner. Robin Thomas also had a strong back nine. His effort came up just short and he had to settle for 2nd place. 1st lady of the day, JDR, takes 3rd. Keith’s consistent round (+4 on front and back) give him the lowest overall gross and 4th place. Conditions today must have reminded Liam of a rugby pitch . That may be an explanation for his good score off 71 net and 5th place. Kilmorey Gardens completes the Top6. As FYI: Pete Harrison birdied the two par 3’s on the front 9. Results…

CSS: N/A

Top Dog: We have a tie between George Taylor and Chris Lordan. R7 leader board…

Showery conditions morphed to sunny intervals and some greens proved soggy.

But Sheena Harrington stamped her authority on the field of 40 from the beginning to win the Charity Cup. A birdie at the first was followed by two pars for 10 point after three holes. 22 on the front 9 with a ‘blobless’ back nine 17 gave a margin of one from Mark Rosamund 38 with 37s from Hassan Mouilah and Alexander Krasnonkov. Hassan had a purple patch from the 13th with four pars, an eagle at 17 and a birdie. Results..

CSS remained at SSS 36 points with Sheena and Hussan trimmed a shot.

Autumn has definitely arrived at the park. “Thick air” and winds that became stronger during the course of the day significantly reduced carry. If you add the total absence of roll on the fairways you can clearly state that the course played long today. Although the rain wasn’t as apocalyptic as feared the players would certainly have preferred a bit more sun.

So much for the Met Office part. How did the players fare in these conditions? Excellent for the Top4, Ok for most (cf. CSS) and miserable for a few. Kerry carved the front 9 up like a Victoria Sponge. He went out in -2 gross. That awarded him a whopping 24pts. 3 straight bogeys at the start of the back 9 must have created a few doubts. But two pars on 17 and 18 earn him 17pts on the way in. For the statisticians amongst you: Kerry was +3 on the par 3’s. Kerry’s handicap gets a massive cut down to 7. Richard Inglis, strong off his victory with Lia in the Mixed Pairs KO, started slowly on the front 9. But a couple of nice 3-pointers on the back set him on route to 21pts and a total score of 40pts. Richard also gets an ESR. His handicap now stands at 15. Patrick Murphy remained really Zen despite the weather conditions and was the best of 2 players on 39pts. Mark Laverty, Evgeny (who birdied the 14th!) and Kamil edge out George Taylor and Kim Chaffart to complete the Top6. Kamil would’ve finished sole 5th had he not missed a tap-in eagle putt on the 17th. 1st lady today was Tenesi in 24th position. Sheena won the battle of the Harringtons (thanks to the countback rule). Results…

CSS: 36pts (Men & Ladies – 16/50 in the buffer)

The autumnal nip in the air was accentuated by a strong wind but it remained dry for the Midweek President’s prize.

Two exceptional scores of 41 pts were returned by Tore Burman and Kim Chaffart with countback on last 9 giving Tore the advantage from ‘the Birthday Boy’. Kim shot level par on the front 9 whilst Tore earned an ESR with 2nd net differential of -4 or better since Captain’s day in August. Both have handicap reductions. Richard Owen’s recent good form continued with 38 points with 6 on CSS=SSS 37 points including leading lady Roslyn Williams. Results…

The President’s challenges:

• Ladies:
  Nearest the pin in 3 on the 5th: Roslyn Williams
  Nearest the pin on the 16th: Sheena Harrington
• Men:
  Nearest to the pin 6th: Tore Burman
  Longest drive on the 12th: Tamas Ladacs

Ladies
Honours Board

It was both monthly medal and Barton Bowl finals today, Sunday 6 October.   It was a lean field of 6 which started out but with lots of potential.

Alison Chadwick was first with 74, a close win over second place Veronica Mitchell with 75 and Tenesi Karakaneva also on 75 was third on count back.     Just 1 point between 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Results…

There were also 3 ladies competing for the Barton Bowl which Alison also wins, congratulations on a well-deserved double-win today with quite a few pars.   

It is the top 8 ladies who have scored higher than the Lady Captain on selected dates over the last few months who play in the Barton Bowl Final.

It turned out to be dry, sunny, warm day and fast round with enough time between shots to enjoy the lovely views and colours across the park if a little damp underfoot in places and puddles in some bunkers which contributed to the downfall of the Lady Captain!

No increases to any players handicaps due to the conditions.

Men
Honours Board

Heavy overnight showers flooded the 2nd green thus forcing the competition committee to abandon the competition (again). As last week the competition became reduction only.

Jay Barker seems to thrive in these conditions. 37 out and 34 in translate into a net score of 66. Well done Jay. Think the Met Office calls for drier weather towards the end of next week. Blame the weather if your scoring experiences a little dip. The best of the rest was a group of four players with scores of 69. Countback places Sean at the top of that pack. Sean O’Sullivan closes out the Top 6 with a net 70. Results…

CSS = SSS = 67

The Grand Medal Trophy goes to Toby Hunt with a score of 334. Final leader board…