It was another very wet Friday and only the hardiest came out to play.

When the cards were ‘recovered’ from the Green Box on Sunday morning, there were very definite signs that they had only just dried out. There seemed to have been some remarkable scoring, most remarkable was Alex’s 5 points birdie on the SI1 14th, presumably a pitch in from distance. Adrian’s birdie (4 points) on the SI4 4th must have been a similar type of shot, although perhaps a chip rather than a pitch (?) and he also par’d the 14th.

Alex’s 34 points total earns him the £6 sweep money, beating Adrian’s 32 points and respectable 30 points scores by Charles and Richard.

Theme of the day had to be the number 1:

– there were 30 and 1 entrants

– the winning score (gross) was +1

– for the 1st time in donkeys’ years Ali entered the sweep. And the gamble/choice paid off (see below)

– and last but (certainly) not least: Ed Robinson aced the 2nd hole (guess drinks are on offer next week)

Believe the saying is that you can tell a good golfer apart from the way he rebounds from a bad result. Richard B had a sub-par day last Sunday. But he improved dramatically by posting the winning score of +1 gross. -2 gross on the front 9 (2 birdies and 7 pars if you are interested in details). The start and the end of the back 9 were solid (all pars). The only blemishes of the day were 3 consecutive bogeys on 12,13 & 14. Still a very decent day at the office. Another early starter Paul G(iles) came (distant) second with solid score of 67 (Net). He was matched by first lady Susan. But the countback rule sides with Paul. Ali broke par today with a solid score of 68 (Net). Peter G and Ian are the last to play better than their handicaps.

There were quite a few reminders of the wet winter months. Looks like we will need a few more weeks of dry weather to do away with the casual water and mud. Luckily the winds were not too severe. Scoring in general was pretty decent.

Senior Division
Will recorded an excellent score of of 37 gross (+2). He even upped the ante on the back 9 by coming home in level par. A score of 70 gross (62 Net) make the clear winner today. Pete Malla was a very deserving second with a Net score of 64. Kevin finished 3rd. But it must feel a day of what could’ve been (6 shots lost to par over the last 4 holes). Amid, Jay and Mark are the last ones in the Sr Div to break par.

Junior Division
It also took a Net 62 to win the Junior Division. Paul used an excellent front 9 (+4 gross) to set up today’s win. He had a few nerves on the back 9. But all in all he kept his composure to seal the win. At first glance Gunnar is distant second today. But a closer look of his scorecard learns that victory slipped through his fingers on the last 3 holes. Duncan had a solid round to finish 3rd. The only blemish on his round was a snowman on the 9th hole. Much and Sean both recorded 67’s to claim 4th and 5th in this division. Shout-out to Edd Hall for ducking in time to prevent being hit by a wayward tee-shot coming from the 13th tee (player’s identity is known but not will be named).

10 hardy souls braved the heavy rain on the Prince’s course and submitted respectable scores.

Top of the pile was Peter Goodall (37 points), closely followed by Pralab on 36 points, Richard Norden on 35points and Alex Braun on 34 points. Sweep pay-out to 1st and 2nd (£7 & £3).

To use an understatement: that was tough! The predicted continuous rain didn’t materialise. But instead the field got treated to heavy showers that came and went in a flash. By the time you put on your rain gear the clouds opened and the sun appeared. The 40mph gusts of wind did sign present. On top of that they were quite swirling too

The field just recovered from the headwind on the 14th hole. Surely the wind must have come from the left on the 15th hole. It was quite a shock to see that hole playing … into the wind. Holes 5,12 and 14 all played into the wind.  So it comes as no surprise that those 3 holes played as the most difficult holes of the day.

All these were very mitigating circumstances for today’s scoring. Just 1 player beat the course: Alan King. His solid front 9 (2Up) was followed by more subdued back 9 (Level). Alex took his time to find his groove. He was 2 Down on the way out. But a better back 9 (2Up) allows him to beat yours truly on countback. Jay was best of the rest. Wouldn’t be a surprise if PCC will be adjusted. [Ed..it +3!]

A chilly start butte warm sun came out and players slowly took off the odd layer of clothing with temps nudging 18C for Easter.

Silvia B off HI 6 ( last year’s women’s champion) shot a superb 38 points (20 on back 9) to win the Easter plate from Nick R and consistent Pete Mall 36s, Much, Toby and Nigel W followed with 35s.

Alan K had magic front 9 – 21 points whilst men’s champion Richard B shot the only ‘Two’.

A slightly chilly start turned into a lovely warm Spring day, with players progressively ‘stripping off’ during their rounds. The course was packed with ‘weekend golfers’ and Glendale finally had their new Halfway House open for business.

Scoring conditions proved difficult for most of the field, with not much run on the course, due to yesterday’s heavy rain, and small fairways reducing the benefit of ‘pick and place’. Also, for the men, playing off the white tees made the course considerably longer.

Our winner, John Ahad (36 points), coped best with 16 out and 20 points in, finishing strongly with 3 pars and blobs on the 8th and 12th. Sam Williams (35 points) was second playing a very steady round, 20 points out and 15 in, with just one blob on the 10th. Uli was third (33 points), 17 out and 16 points in – could have challenged more strongly but for 2 blobs in the last 5 holes. It was good to have the men’s and women’s club champions, Richard Back and Sylvia Bortoli, playing with us – both had 2 birdies.

Sweep payout to the top 3 (£13, £8, £4)

If you keep in mind that last year’s winning score was 61 (FYI: that score was posted by the Women’s Captain) we could state that this year’s scoring was a bit underwhelming (makes me think of Rosamund Pike who said that it is strange that people are either over- or underwhelmed but never whelmed …). Or as the MC said: the course record on Princes is safe …

Pete Needham posted an excellent front 9 (39 gross). He was seriously rattled on the 10tth (an ugly 7). But he recovered remarkably with a birdie on the next hole. That enabled him to record a score of 38 (gross) on the back 9. Good enough for a score of 78 (gross – 64 Nett). 3 people finish 1 shot back on 65 (Nett). Richard had the best back 9 of those 3. Toby took advantage of Cuneyt’s mishaps on the 13th to take 4th. Peter F finishes 5th. Last year’s winner put up a valiant defence of her title by claiming 6th. Lots of birdies on the 4th hole (that hole played as SI 18 today). Jay managed to record 4 birdies today. Finally Richard B eagled the 9th.