Ladies

An interesting day underfoot! With frozen fairways and greens, the balls skittered around for the first few holes, before the temperature rose enough to revert to the more usual squelchy conditions. As a result scoring was variable amongst the ladies.

Jayne Maxwell played her usual steady game, finishing with a birdie on the 18th to win the day’s competition with 34 points. Sheena Harrington and Val Riziotis were three behind on 31 points. With scoring at this level, CSS increased by two to 75 and 34 points. Results…

After 3 rounds of the Eclectic Sheena has maintained her lead of three shots from Val, but Jayne is now also three shots back. R3 Leader board…

Men

A frozen clubhouse pond and hard frosty conditions greeted competitors as an additional challenge. The going was good to muddy and soft in places.

Ed Henery emerged the winner in spite of some short putting with a highly commendable 39 points. Two behind was Mike Shabani, first nine 23 points but three blobs on the back, and 3rd Danny Deprez 36. Results…

In the associated Winter Competition, Ed and Danny share the overall lead on 112, four ahead of James Barker and Martin Heinrich. R5 Leader board…

With the last round of the Duke’s Eclectic to be played Ed and Mike share the lead on 68.5. R3 Leader board…

Ladies

Luckily for us the weathermen got it wrong and although it was a predominantly grey and cold day, it remained dry. This didn’t really help most of the ladies, and change in SSS certainly didn’t! With the CSS going up by two to 71, Jayne Maxwell, today’s winner played within her buffer zone to cause the rest of the group to get 0.1 back. Jayne won by three points with 34 from Val Riziotis in second place. Results…

After 2 rounds of the Eclectic, positions are switched, with Val leading the way by one shot from Jayne. Six ladies have now registered a score for this eclectic, but these two have a cushion of eight shots on the chasing group. R2 Leader board…

Men

Cold conditions limited length of ball flight and conditions were decidedly muddy on a number of holes. This proved little obstacle to the in-form James Barker who clinched victory with 41 points, two ahead of Charles Ajani and Paul Brown and a further point ahead of Danny Deprez. The handicap committee applied a recommended Exceptional Scoring Reduction to James who is now 5.5 playing 6. Well done indeed James! Results…

James is now tied with Martin Heinrich half way through the associated Winter Competition and just one ahead of Danny Deprez. R4 Leader board…

In the Prince’s Eclectic Ed Henery leads by 2.5 from James on 66.5. R2 Leader board…

Ladies

A good turn out for the ladies on a day of tricky winter golf conditions saw scoring to be a challenge. As a result it was another reduction only round. The winner on the day was Gina Jillett on 30 points, followed by Val Riziotis and Jayne Maxwell on 25 points. Results…

In the Eclectic, Sheena Harrington, despite playing only 12 holes, still leads the way after two rounds, by three shots from Val Riziotis. Five ladies have now posted a score for each hole. R2 Leader board…

Men

A cold start and finish interspersed with welcome sunshine. Muddy throughout and just the right degree of moisture to foul up trolley wheels. Despite these conditions, James Barker rose as cream to the top to win on 35 points, just one ahead of Jon Cooper and one further ahead of Cuneyt Sazer. CSS dropped (stableford) to SSS 36-2 =34 and James again earned a .2 handicap reduction to 7.6. Results…

Reflecting his dominance, James leads the Duke’s Eclectic after 2 of 4 rounds by no less than five from Mike Shabani. R2 Leader board…

After three rounds of the Winter Competition Martin Heinrich is the current leader on 102, two clear of Ed Henery. R3 Leader board…

Ladies

Only 3 ladies turned up for the January team event, which made the team arrangements a little tricky. As a consequence, each played their own ball, but no cards were exchanged, It was a challenging day with little visibility at the start, and alternative icy or muddy conditions on the greens. Doreen, Sheena and Tenesi had some good and some not so good holes, but had it been a qualifier, it would have been reduction only! Onwards and upwards for the next 51 weeks of 2015. Results…

Men

A chilly start with early fog and patchy frost set the scene for competitors. Most found it challenging to score well but the one notable exception was James Barker who went out in level par and returned a net 63. James wins the Millennium Jug and earns a handicap reduction to 7.8 – well done indeed. Nigel Ward and Mike Shabani took 2nd and 3rd places with a count back separating their 71s. Results…

Play was ‘Strings’ whereby players played off scratch (stableford) but with string equal to their handicap in yards and free to move ball using cuts of their string.

Organiser Jon Cooper won by a country mile incorporating 5 birdies for 40 points. Second using his full 9 yards was James Barker 34 and 3rd Richard Owen with 31.

An immaculately struck shot from Susan Smith ripped onto the 10th green within 2 feet and Susan used 2ft of string to deem the ball holed – a ‘hole in one’. Results…

Good scoring was to be expected from the popular format of American Greensomes. Ground conditions were drier than of recent weeks and Ed Henery and Jon Cooper took advantage to win on 43 points, one ahead of Liam Bridger & Mike Shabani with James Barker & Toby Hunt taking 3rd position with 40. Play was off the ladies card for pars & SI. Results…

Early frost made the greens hard but it soon melted and the wind got up. Muddy conditions didn’t help matters and scoring reflected the playing difficulties. It was a reduction only round.

Nigel Gaymond emerged the winner of the hamper on count-back from Murali Reddy – both 33 points. Charlie Whiteman and Danny Deprez were one further behind and best lady was Gina Jillett with 31 points. Incorporation of latest SSSs awarded by England Golf meant that there was no gender handicap allowance. Results…

Ladies

Ten ladies gathered for Lia Donath’s, the new lady captain, drive-in and to see if they’d won the sweep as to where her shot would go! Following which a team event was the order of the day and results could hardly have been closer with just one point between them.

The winning team of Tenesi Karakaneva, Deborah Potter and Cheryl Woodhouse with their secret partner, Fiona Coombe scored 75 points, just one ahead of the other two teams. Results…

With the temperature having taken a sudden plummet towards the end of the round, the prize of thermal socks was well appreciated!

Men

Intermittent showers associated with a dying cold front gave way to clearer, drier conditions and a drop in temperature. Final games felt the chill in their hands.

It proved difficult to score well and many competitors lost balls and NRd despite only just being in rough. CSS was elevated to 2 over SSS @ 69. The top of the leaderboard featured 3 scores in the 60s with Julian James the medal winner on 66, James Barker 2nd 68 and Jim Deissler 69. But for a ‘loosener’ 8 at the first, Julian returned a very tidy card. Results…

The Handicap Secretary assures all that the ‘Leaderboard’
touchscreen PC will display scores as competitors complete their rounds this coming Sunday.

A momentous day in RPGC history as we entered our own results into the computer provided by Glendale down at the Park – no errors were found when the handicap secretary (ladies’) checked them over. 

As has become a bit of a tradition, the ladies’ provided mulled wine and mince pies for all players

Ladies

After a dismal start, weather-wise rather than golf, the last day of November turned out mild and sunny. Unfortunately the same could not be said of the state of most of the ladies’ golf! The best lady of the day, and winner of the champagne, was Fiona Coombe on 32 points. The runner-up was Jayne Maxwell on 28 and on count-back, Sheena Harrington beat Susan Smith into 3rd place. As a consequence, it was a reduction only round. Results…

Men

Early conditions were grey and chilly but conditions ameliorated with some welcome sunshine. Ground conditions were very muddy in places and accurate crisp striking was needed.

Overall, stableford scoring was low with the round being declared a reduction-only one with CSS being raised +3 from SSS. Murali Reddy was the worthy winner playing consistent golf returning 36 points. James Barker was runner-up 3 points behind Results…

It was almost literally captain v secretary today! For once the forecasters were correct, and it rained from before we started to well after the finish. Out of 35 on the bookings sheet, 19 entered the competition and 9 completed the full 18 holes.

Putting was a lottery with the ball sometimes skimming across the green or alternatively going nowhere until the draw of the water pulled the ball into the hole – until the new greens that is, where you needed to remember how to judge a putt!

Under such conditions, it seems harsh to call it a competition and scores were such that no one was near their buffer zone and hence it was a reduction only round. But with flooded greens it would otherwise have been a non-qualifier.

Paul Brown has obviously been heeding the encouraging words he sends out to the rest of us and was the clear winner on the day with 32 points from Peter Harrington on 27, but a toss of the coin meant that the top of the alphabet belonged to the Captain and Paul’s scoring ensured that the Captain beat the Secretary. Results…

In view of the conditions, a fairer result is that 9 RPGC players beat he weather to complete 18 holes!