The field enjoyed another day of summer conditions (next week is forecast to get even warmer). Luckily the Captains’ challenges didn’t involve any poems (PDH should be more careful for the Fake News rumours). And to the joy of the majority of the field the English national football team qualified for the KO stages of the 2018 World Cup.

(Very) early starter Pete Harrison to use his own words “managed to put together a good score for the 1st time in a while” to become leader in the clubhouse with a net 69. He did fear that the score would not be good enough to win the comp today. Vice-Captain Nigel Gaymond stole Captain Nick’s thunder by bettering Pete H’s score. His net score of 68 held off challenges of President Tim Meyer (net 68 – Out in +2 gross!) and Ladies handicap secretary Sheena Harrington (net 70). The best was yet to come. Hawtree deadline is approaching so that can only mean one thing: Joan Mulcahy is edging closer to top form. A stunning net 65 means victory is hers. Tony Bergqvist came really close. But a double-hit (rumours even has it that the double hit happened on a putt) means that he couldn’t better his net 66. Results..

On to the admin. CSS: 71 (Men) / 73 (Ladies). An impressive list of handicap changes. Please note that Nigel also receives an ESR. His new handicap now stands at 12 (Where was that form when the Hawtree team needed it?).

Captain’s Day Challenges:

• Ronnie’s algorithms enabled her to correctly predict Ali/Nick’s scores. Or was it more down to the fact that she put in 6-8 wagers (law of large numbers is that an algorithm too?)? I even believe that Lee Marshall had originally predicted the correct scores but he changed his mind allowing for Ronnie to pounce.
• Nearest to the Pin for the Ladies

  – on the 7th was won by Joan Mulcahy
  – on the 10th was won by Val Ritzotis
  – on the 16th no GIR
  – on the 8th in 2 was won by Joan Mulcahy

• Nearest to the Pin for the Men

  – on the 7th was won by Nigel Gaymond
  – on the 10th was won by Paul Cook
  – on the 16th Alan King
  – on the 11th in 2 was won by Nigel Gaymond

• Best dressed supporter kit has to go to Liam Bridger.

Huge thanks to the player who generously went the extra mile in his charity donations.

By virtue of his second place Tony becomes the new Top Dog Trophy leader ahead of Richard Owen and Toby Hunt. R3 Leader board…

A cloudy muggy start gave way to sunny periods. Perhaps having knowledge of a period of drought, a greenkeeper could be seen manually giving additional watering to some greens with a hose. Variable bounces and tough thick rough continued to be Prince’s main defences.

Very early starter Mark Rosamund posted an unbeatable personal best 44 points. Mark was mildly disappointed to score only two points at 17 & 18 (!). Well done Mark, who also earned an additional Exceptional Scoring Reduction to play off 16.3 from 16.8. Toby Hunt shot a fantastic 42 with 23 on the back 9 to pip Kim who retuned a captain’s innings of 41. Anne Holding-Parsons was leading lady with 37 points. Results…

CSS was elevated to 38 points from SSS 37 reflecting the relatively favourable scoring conditions.

It was drinks all round with new member Bruno Clerckx acing the second. Well done and cheers to Bruno. Recent holes in one are depicted in this report.

The field must have thought they were on a links course today (except for the sea). The course was still very dry. Tee shots that were just about off line could easily roll into the “bermuda” grass. Greens remained in pretty good condition. But rolling the ball onto the greens arguably remained the better approach. The gusting winds made club selection tricky.

Going out early seemed a pretty good idea. Oliver Maskell scored an excellent 41pts. Unfortunately his two birdies were offset by a five on the 16th (Where’s Paul Brown when you need him?). A couple of games later the lead changed. Scott Sparks continued his excellent run of form by bettering Oliver’s score by one. 21pts on front and back are an outstanding result. His lead was only held for 30min. Richard Owen matched Scott Sparks’ score. But the countback rule awards victory to Richard. Paul House (39pts) and Davide Oddono (38pts) led the late morning charge but came up a bit short. 1st lady today is Jayne Maxwell with 38pts. Drive of the day has to go to Habe Crocker whose drive on the 3rd ended a few yards short of the Valley of Sin. I won’t tell you how the hole finished. Results…

CSS: 37pts (Men & Ladies). Both Oliver and Scott earn ESR’s. Scott now plays off 17 and Oliver’s new handicap stands at 8.

Toby and Richard lead the Top Dog thanks to their respective victories in the first two rounds. On to Captain’s Day next week. R2 Leader board…

Breezy but bright and dry conditions prevailed but with punishing rough.

Scott Sparks rose to the challenge with 67 – three ahead of leading Lady Ann Gardner. Third was Michael Choo 71 with Eddy Holt and Sheena Harrington 72s. Results…

CSS remained at SSS and Scott earned a two-shot playing reduction to 19. Well done Scott!

Round 1 of Midweek Accumulator naturally reflects the result. R1 Leader board…

Today’s competiton had the collection of craziest golf sequences you can imagine: chip-ins, holing out your iron for an eagle, recording 4 birdies on the back 9. We also recorded an insane number of No Returns: 17 competitors did not manage the conditions that well. Sadly we also had to record 3 DQ’s.

Roger Rojas had a rather volatile front 9: 2 double bogeys, 2 bogeys, 1 birdie and 4 pars equalled a score of 40 gross on the way out. 10 and 11 didn’t fare any better (2 consecutive bogeys). Roger steadied himself remarkably and went on an absolute tear: 3 birdies in a row on 13,14 and 15 (I was even told that they were tap-in birdies), 2 pars on 16&17 and another birdie on 18 meant that he finished the back 9 on 34 strokes gross. His score of 65 (74 gross) is more than enough to win today’s comp. Roger also earns an ESR and his new competition handicap now stands at 7. A rather good day at the office wouldn’t you say?

Jay Barker threw everything and even the kitchen sink at Roger. But although he birded the 13th with a chip-in from 25 yards he came up a bit short. A 67 (71 gross) is “only” good enough for second today. First lady today was the leading candidate amongst insiders for the ladies MIP: Fiona Coombe. Her excellent back 9 gets rewarded with a net score of 69 and 3rd place. Keith Cassidy holed out his approach on 15 for an eagle 2. But his rollercoaster back 9 prevent him from finishing higher than 4th. Aidan Hurley and Maureen Slade complete the Top6. Results…

CSS: 71 (Men)/73 (Ladies)

Finally on to the Anniversary Trophy standings: Jay Barker (136), Keith Cassidy (139), Ray Esin (143), Roger Rojas (145). R2 Leader board…

Conditions were noticeably fresher than Sunday but warm sunshine prevailed in ideal conditions with good greens but punishing rough.

Just the sound of airplanes distracted Michael Choo’s otherwise immaculate putting in a glorious 65 to win the June Medal – with just 2 shots dropped on the back 9 amidst 4 ‘Threes’ starting with birdie at 10. Michael was pursued by the very early clubhouse leader Gina Jillet 66 with Oliver Khan and Rajinder Sehmi returning 67s. Results…

CSS remained at SSS.

There was no change of leader in round 4 of the Wednesday Grand Medal – Jay Barker 285, 9 clear of Jeremy Ryan and Chris Jones two further back. Cheryl Woodhouse leads for the women 4th on 301. R4 Leader board…

Ladies

A small field entered this month’s medal as there were several knock-out matches also taking place. After the rain in the week, there were still a number of places where relief was required from the conditions underfoot, but the ball was still running – mainly once it got on the greens. The highlight of the round was probably that four of the six competitors parred the notoriously tricky 17th. Sheena Harrington made her annual good round of golf coming in with a net 67 to take 1st place. In 2nd & 3rd were recent new recruits, Jen Wood and Cathy Staveley. Results…

However, scoring was such and with a small field, that the CSS went up to 70, giving Sheena a 0.9 cut to 15.4

Men

Summer conditions all around for today’s competition. An explosive growth of the rough punished any tee-shot that bounced/rolled off the fairways (this probably explains why 20% of the field completed an N/R). Most of the pin positions didn’t seem too cruel. Final note to mention that the greens really suffered from the dry weather.

Oliver Maskell’s aggressive style of play paid dividends. Four birdies sent him on his way to an impressive 63 (73 gross) to become leader in the clubhouse. His lead didn’t last long. Louis Oroval recorded three 7’s (on the 9th, the 17th and the 18th) but mastered the other 15 holes to perfection (I assume the the stress was building quite badly on the last 2 holes). A 60 (90 gross) means victory is his today. Louis’ handicap gets a whopping cut of three strokes and his new playing handicap is now 27. Oliver Maskell’s handicap drops to single figures for the 1st time (on the other hand I don’t think his partner in the mixed pairs will be too impressed). Toby Hunt, James Barker (who chipped in for an eagle from a really bad lie on the 9th), Ray Esin and Charlie Whiteman complete the Top6. Results…

CSS: 67. Only 12 of the 35 players remained in their buffer zone.

The round was the fourth of 8 rounds for the Grand Medal Trophy. Jon Cooper retains his lead over Ray Esin. R4 Leader board…

Kim Chaffert played a captain’s innings to win the midweek sweep with 39 points. Mike Jones made a valiant effort on back 9 with 21 points but Kim’s score was good enough to beat Oliver Kahn and Chris Phillips-/Jones’ 38s. Alison led the women’s challenge on 34. Results…

CSS remained at SSS 37 points. Chris, Oliver and Mike earn handicap reductions.

A (very) small field braved the near apocalyptic weather forecast by the BBC (#FakeNews to use the words of The Donald) to compete in today’s sweep. The 24 competitors were rewarded with beautiful golfing conditions. After a few rain drops the initial clouds made way and the sun decided to stick around for the rest of the day. The overnight rain created a lot of casual water in the bunkers and on the 16th green. The ditch between the 3rd and 18th actually filled up with water creating a “real” water hazard. Also the greens were very receptive. Finally the fairways still offered a nice bounce and roll.

Today nobody was a match for Keith Cassidy. Two opening birdies set him on his way to 23pts on the front 9 (34 strokes gross). After a birdie on 17 the prospect of a level par round was on the cards. But an untidy 5 on the last hole translated to “only” 21pts on the way in. Keith finished on 44pts (72 strokes gross). His playing handicap now stands at 8! Well done! The best of the rest (5pts behind the winner) were leader in the clubhouse Caleb Mills (who had an excellent back 9) and Kim Chaffart (who couldn’t hit a green in regulation and whose putter totally abandoned him on a tap-in on the 10th and short putt on the 13th). Paul Neuhardt, Ray Esin and James Anslow complete the Top6. First lady today is new member Jennifer Wood. Results…

CSS: 36pts (Men & Ladies)

A cool and persistent wind eventually abated to give Spring sunshine. Generally, rough had thickened but course and greens in good condition.

The winner of round 3 of the Founders’ up was settled with countback separating Steve Tyrell, Martin Smith and Jeremy Ryan – all 38s, Jeremy Prescott and Jay Barker were next with commendable 36s. Anne Holding-Parsons flew the ladies’ flag on countback 35 from Gina Jillet. Results…

The Founders’ Cup was won by Dylan Merchant 79 from Chris Jones. Hassan Mouilah and Oliver Khan with 76s. Final Leader board…