There was some confusion amongst players today when they found they had to sign in for the comp. before entering their scores, but most faithfully included the sweep even though they knew they wouldn’t be winning any (& it was deducted from those who didn’t but who usually enter).

Bit of a different day today compared to the constant rain and wind of Sunday and one that got better as the day wore on and was positively balmy once the sun broke through. Not that the early morning chill deterred Darren from posting his leading score of 43. A lead that remained unchallenged until nearly all the scores were in when Richard H matched him with his own 43. He probably thought a back 9 of 23 would be good enough to ensure a win should there be a tie, but unfortunately for him Darren went one better with 24. Results…

Both have been rewarded with ESRs of 1 shot each following a run of good scoring recently. CSS remained unchanged at 37 points from the white and red tees, and 38 from the yellows.

There were a number of additional challenges today for the President’s Prize with the winners as follows – some markers very close to the flag, not that all then made their putts:

• 2nd – Darren
• 4th – Mark R
• 9th (NTP in 3) – Ray E
  Did any of the ladies make the green in 3 today??
• 11th – Toby
• 14th (NTP in 2) – Peter Hg
• 16th – Graham S

Ladies

Last week it was a surprise to find CSS going up 1, and this week the same is true for it staying unchanged, but today was due to the ‘small field’ rule where there are fewer than 10 players in Categories 1-4. Well done to all those competing in conditions that everyone will be hoping isn’t all there is to look forward to over the next 6 months. Somewhat ironic that winter rules came into force just 4 days ago.

In the monthly medal competition, Katharina doubled her glass collection with a net 71 to win this monthly medal with Jane 1 shot back. Usually what happens is the Barton Bowl winner is the same as the overall comp winner. This year, with neither Katharina nor Jane in contention, the BB winner by 1 point is Ronnie from Susan with 33 points including a birdie on the 11th. Results…

Perhaps proving that the back 9 is generally easier than the front 9 on Prince’s, there were just 4 pars on the front 9 compared to 17 (including Ronnie’s birdie) on the back 9.

CSS remained at 69.

Men

Winter rules came in just in time for today’s outing. A reminder that it doesn’t take long for the Park to revert from its rock solid ground of summer to the soft and somewhat squelchy conditions of today.

The original field of 55, including the early players, was reduced to 27 as the weather deterred many to venture out (including all of the early gang).

Uli decided to keep it in the family today and not be beaten by his wife, Katharina, who was the winner in the Ladies’ medal. Unlike Katharina, though his net 62 gives him a cut of 1.5 to a new handicap of 15.6. Hers remains unchanged. In 2nd spot was Richard I on 64. Results…

Congrats to all of us who made it round today as the rain was permanent company for all accompanied at times by gusts of wind.

CSS remained unchanged at 67 and just one overall winner today partly as we have used the glasses not used during lockdown, but also due to the reduced number in the field.

In the best of five rounds from the eight for the Grand Medal Trophy Jay leads with a gross 332 (average of 66.4 which includes a net 75) from Aidan with a total of 334. R7 leader board…

Definitely a case of the early bird catching the sweep today. 5 of the 6 sweep winners had their scores in before noon (although had Val been in the sweep this wouldn’t be true) as well as keeping dry overhead, though guess there might have been some dew on the ground to start. Still the wind kept a lot of the rain away and what did fall was blown through pretty swiftly.

Taking the honours today was Joe with a net 65 and earning himself an ESR of an additional 0.5 cut to his handicap to go with it. His new handicap is 9.6. In 2nd spot and just one shot behind was Russell, with Jeremy in 3rd place on 67. First lady, Val was 2 further back on 69. Results…

CSS remained unchanged from SSS today.

With the Anniversary Accumulator cut to a 36 hole event due to Covid’s curtailment of fixtures, the winner on 136 is Ray who finished 2 shots ahead of George and Jeremy. Final leader board…

Ladies

It wasn’t exactly a lovely day for golf and hopefully everyone had sufficient warm clothing secreted away in their bags from last winter. We thought it was hard going in the wind for the Bontor yesterday but it was nothing in comparison with today and it was definitely colder.

Back to today. A front 9 of just 3 over par for Ronnie was too much for her mind to manage on the back 9 where she dropped 13 shots. In contrast Sheena’s was almost the reverse, dropping just 4 shots on the back 9 and managing to include a shank in it! At the end of the day both finished with the same gross scores recorded in the first round – two 86s for Sheena and two 88s for Ronnie, giving Sheena the Club Championship win by 4. Results… | Club Champion…

For the 4th year running, Ronnie wins the Handicap Cup (handicaps up to 19) with a score of 142, which is some going. Ali who was leading after the first round started off well enough, but struggled on a few holes but she did finish with a par to bring her back. Jane had the same score as Ali last week and with a bit of an up and down round, finished with a net 74 to be the runner-up just one shot behind Ronnie and one ahead of Sheena. Results…

In the Pembroke Cup for those with playing handicaps of 20 and above, Cheryl held a four shot lead after the first round and extended this by 8 shots in the 2nd round to finish on 149 just 12 shots ahead of Doreen on 161. Results…

With just three playing to par or better and no one else in their buffer zones, CSS went up one rewarding Ronnie with a 1.2 cut and a playing handicap reduction of 2 shots. Sheena receives a .9 cut to 13.1 and Jane escapes a playing handicap cut with a .3 reduction. Results…

Men

Conditions continued to be chilly accentuated by strong gusty winds. Scoring was subdued with 9 NRs but CSS remained at SSS. No birdies or ‘Twos’ were recorded. Definitions of OOB becoming ragged. Results…

Credit then to the new Club Champion Ant with a second round 79 for overall 151. He was followed in the senior division by Armi 155 overall and three 156s from Aidan, Jay and Pete. Results…

In the Junior Division Barry P shot 94 to win with overall 181 from Peter G 182 and John A 185. Results…

Inspired by leading the men on Saturday to a convincing 12-4 victory over the ladies in the Bontor Trophy, Cpt Kim held the Handicap Trophy aloft with overall net 133 from Ant 136 and Patrick M (excellent rnd 2 69) 137. Results…

Winners:  The Men 12-4

Hope that by now all of you are back home and all warmed up. The 2020 edition of the Bontor will probably be remembered because of a) the cold weather and b) the decisive score line. The field would be forgiven for mistaking the Park for a links course in Scotland. Temperatures really dropped from 2 weeks ago. And the swirling and gusting winds created an additional chill factor. One would assume that the winds would have less effect on the ladies’ style of play. But the recent rains took away most of the roll that the field have grown used to. Softer fringes made approaches into the greens more predictable too.

Onto the order of the day:

Target: 8.0 points for the Ladies to retain – 8.5 points for the Men to win

The LC and MC had a good tussle. The softer conditions enabled the MC to get a few crucial up & downs. A monster putt by the LC on the 16th extended the match. But a par on the 17th sealed a win for the MC.

Jay controlled most of his match vs Gina. During 15 holes the balance was clearly in his favour. But winning 3 consecutive holes earned G a rather unexpected 0.5 point. Ladies v Men 0.5 – 1.5

In the second pair of matches both men jumped out onto early leads. Pete was even 3Up after 3 holes. Sheena staged a brave fight back. But in the end Pete H was a just a little better to take his match 2&1. Nick briefly lost the lead around the turn. But he rediscovered his composure and sealed a 2Up win. Ladies v Men 0.5 – 3.5

The first full blue point (Ladies’ colours today) came after Ronnie took Peter O to the cleaners (4&2 win). Richard halted any momentum swing by defeating Val in an impressive 4&3 win. Ladies v Men 1.5 – 4.5

Paul B had a score to settle. And the golfing gods answered his prayers. A nail biting win on the 18th hole put another red point on the scoreboard. Mike played a solid round of golf for a comfortable 4&3 win over Ali. Ladies v Men 1.5 – 6.5

Nigel had to chase the score line the whole time. Last year’s MC staged a valiant comeback. But in pure match-play style he lost his match on the last hole to Susan’s 7. Richard I kept the red score line going with a welcome 3&2 win over Joan. Ladies v Men 2.5 – 7.5

Kinga took down Patrick M with a 1Up win. Fiona and Colm settled for one the few halves today. Ladies vs Men 4.0 – 8.0

In past editions the sting used to be in the tail end of the schedule. Not so today. The men managed to win the 4 last games by comfortable margins (Pete G 4&2 over Anne, John A 5&4 over Ann G, Seymour 5&4 vs Avi and finally Paul G 3&2 vs Julie).

Final score: Ladies – Men 4-12.

On behalf of the LC and MC thank you for braving the foul weather.

The new overall overall score: Men 56 – Ladies 23 – Draw 3

Ladies

Three of today’s contingent are unfortunately unable to play in the 2nd round as they will be at the final of the Mary Forster (last winter’s) competition. A decision they may now be regretting, except they are set up to play well there.

In the scratch competition Lia, Jayne and Sheena are all tied on 86 with Sheena the only one playing next week. But with 3 ladies just 2 shots further back on 88 things are all pretty close. Results…

The split for the 2 handicap trophies is at 19 this year. In the Handicap Cup, it is similarly close at the top with 3 tied on net 69s, Alison, Lia & Jane. Cheryl is out on her own by one shot in the Pembroke Cup again on a net 69. Results…

The good scoring reflects the playing conditions of the day with the ball running forever at times, although not always in the required direction. With rain forecast during the week and falling temperatures, next week could be a completely different experience!

Men

A mere zephyr and warm autumnal sunshine prevailed; indeed some said they heard the wind more than felt it.

In the Division 1 it was very early starter Ant T out of the blocks to take the lead from Lee 73 and 3 on74 – Pete H, ‘mid-weeker’ Jeremy R and Jay. Results…

In the Division 2 Rhys leads 85 from Peter G 86, Barry 87, Tony K 88, Mark R and James D 90. Results…

CSS was unchanged from SSS with only Ant being cut to 7.

In the Handicap Trophy (and sweep) results Ant won on 64 from 4 on 66 Lee, Jeremy, Sean and Kim) with Gregory 67. Results…

Of the ‘Twos’, 5 were recorded on the ‘simple’ SI 18 16th!

The top 2 places today were book ended by the start and end of the day. Mike J leading from the front in the first game posted an unassailable score until Richard H finishing some three hours later also recorded a 65. Unfortunately for him Luke, who was chasing the setting sun, pipped him on the back 9 to take 2nd spot moving Richard down to 3rd. Results…

Brett having played with Mike assured us there were some good scores waiting out on the course, but in the event only a third of the field played to net par or better, thus CSS remained unchanged at 71 off the Whites, 69 from Yellow and 74 for the Red.

Luke’s result today earned him an ESR of an additional 0.5 cut to his handicap.

For those still unsure as to why their handicap looks wrong in the results. Men off the Whites get 2 shots and Ladies 5 shots when the yellow tees are used.

There was another eagle to add to the list today as Tamas on his return to golf after a couple of months layoff through injury recorded a 2 on the 9th.

In the associated Grand Medal, Mike share 1st spot with Veronica after 5 rounds on 352. 8 shots behind is Seymour. R5 leader board…

Ladies

It was a perfect and sunny day for the Ladies Autumn 4BBB. A great turnout with 10 pairs and everyone smiling.

Third place on 40 points were Gina and Katharina, second place on countback were Cheryl and Sheena, with Jayne and Lia winning on 41 points for first prize.

Prior to restrictions re-starting we managed our Autumn meeting get-together with the awarding of prizes for both this event and the medal round while enjoying pizza, chips and drinks socially distanced in the sunshine. Also presented were the May to September monthly medals. Results…

Men

The course again felt more like a links than a parkland course. The bounce and roll were still considerable but also unpredictable. Best duo today were Bennie and Mark. +1 gross on the front 9 resulted in 22pts. They even upped the ante on the back 9 by collecting 23pts. 45pts is great result. Close second were Gregory and Adrian. Their front 9 was ok. But their last 9 holes were fantastic (26pts). 44pts is good enough for 2nd today. Alvaro and Richard played a steady round to record 43pts (21+22) and 3rd place. Uli and Julian played a solid back 9 (22pts) to take 4th. Results…

Only two 2’s were recorded today. CSS: N/A. Today’s comp was Non-Qualifier so no handicap changes to report.

Hope that the Top4 didn’t use up all their good shots today and that the rest saved some good shots for the 1st round of the Club Championship next Sunday.

In spite of the unforgiving and unrewarding bogey format, 71% of Category 1-4 players were with their SSS buffer zone and CSS was reduced by one (raised to 2 up whites and reds, 3 up for yellow).

Exceptional scores have been recorded over the last few weeks. New member Peter G won setting the pace with 8up with countback over Roger. Teddy and Nick R 7ups; Diego and Charlie completed first 6 with six up. Results…

Front 9 honours: Peter G 5 up. Back 9 honours: Roger, Mark R, Diego and Darren all 5 up. Tatiana was Queen of the par 5s being 3up on them.

Especially well done Nick and Roger – Nick earns an ESR of-1 so now plays off 9 (8.5).

A note on the name of today’s Cup. Fred Hawtree designed the original courses. Details…

Ladies

Rumour has it that there had been a bit of greening up at the Park which can be no bad thing. Good to see the ladies who will be playing in the Toprock Ladies’ Greensomes are showing good form (Val & Ali) with Val’s return to golf now complete I think, with 2 birdies on the back 9.

These two recorded net 68s with Val having the better back 9 – no surprise there with the birdies, to take 2nd place. But taking today’s medal is Jane with a net 67. Her recent results have definitely shown a good run of form, so congrats Jane on taking the September medal. Results…

Men

Scoring today was decent to use an understatement: 30/53 players were in the buffer today. Today I will let the numbers do the talking:

• a winning score of 59 net
• 2 players recorded 5 birdies today: Pete Hs (he even had a streak where he birdied 9, 10, 11 and 12) and Kerry (although he probably let victory slip through his paws on the last 2 holes) accomplished this amazing feat.
• You needed to shoot 62 net in order to make it into the Top6
• Oliver M went out in 35 gross (there wasn’t a single 5 on his card). As a result he makes it into Cat1.

CSS: 66 (What a surprise). Results…

In the Grand Medal Trophy after 6 rounds tbc. R6 leader board…