Early rain may have reduced the size of the field. But the day turned out blustery with sunny spells and spits and spots.

Stephen Haworth and Chris Phillips-Jones had excellent 65s with countback last 9 deciding the November Medal for Stephen. Mike Jones. Hassan Mouilah and late contender Dylan Merchant took positions 3 to 5 again decided on countback. Hassan took honours for lowest gross = 74. Results…

Cheryl Woodhouse led for the ladies with 73 whilst CSS was unchanged from SSS @ 67 Men and 69 Ladies.

Ladies

There was an excellent turn-out for the first team event of Winter and we took that opportunity to play the Autumn 4BBB which was abandoned in September due to shocking weather.

Nine pairs took to the field with varying fortunes and two teams came in on 43 points. By virtue of a better back 9, Fiona and Alison edged out Ronnie and Cheryl. Some of the ladies enjoyed a tipple of mulled wine on the 13th tee provided by Gina and Alison.

After the games we enjoyed sweet potato fries and prizes were handed out for the Autumn Medal and today’s competition. Thanks to Susan for buying the prizes. The much anticipated “Swap Shop” also took place with shoes, waterproofs, books, tees, clubs, balls, mittens all changing hands.

Men

Conditions were calm and mild. Some exceptional scoring on Prince’s resulted. Early clubhouse leader shot a seemingly unbeatable 62 but Gunnar won the November Medal on last 9 countback. Jonathan Scriven had a very commendable 63 to take 3rd slot from Peter Needham 64. Oliver Maskell started 3353 and returned the lowest gross71 net 65. Results…

CSS remained at SSS 67 with Gunnar cut two playing shots.

Early competitors would have been out with the frost still on the ground, but the 10.00 crowd enjoyed a lovely sunny day albeit with a wind that was decidedly chilly in the shade.

An early clubhouse leader, Bruno Clerckx posted a 37, retaining his lead for most of the day but slipped to 3rd place after a 39 and a 38 from Sheena Harrington and Rocky Marshall respectively. Five players were contesting 4th place on 36 points, with Mick Abrams having the best back 9. Results…

CSS remained at 36 points.

The Beast from the East was back with a vengeance today. Conditions were pretty miserable: cool temperatures, strong winds, rain showers and hail towards 3pm. So scoring proved to be tricky.

VC Nigel Gaymond was still on a high from his recent visit to Beantown and the positive results from his beloved Patriots (aka Deflategate cheaters) and Red Sox (on the clinch to winning the MLB World Series). He followed up a strong front 9 (20pts) with a decent back 9. Margin of victory would/could’ve been bigger had it not been for a 7 on the last hole. 36pts earn him a 0.3 cut on his handicap down to 12. Captain Nick was +1 gross after 6 holes en route to 21pts on the way out. Pressure clearly got to him from then. The back 9 was steady until he decided to copy his VC by carding a 7 on the 18th. Based on the countback rule the Men’s Captain has to settle for 2nd. Nigel Ward confirms his good form with 36pts that earn him 3rd place. 1st lady today (and 4th overall) was Cheryl Woodhouse who keeps racking up the good results. Jim Fogarty and Jon Cooper complete the Top6. Results…

CSS: 36pts

The final of the Barton Bowl was also played today and the winner on 34 points was Habe Crocker, with Tina Neeson in second place on 33. Over the course of the Summer the ladies can pick a day to challenge the Lady Captain. And then, at the end of the year, the top 8 ladies who have fared the best against the Lady Captain on their chosen day compete in a play off for the Barton Bowl. Well done Habe.

Pleasant autumnal conditions prevailed with mild temperatures and sunshine. In a similar vein to the 3 clubs and putter comp played on Sunday, the winner emerged from a late game – Tamas shooting a splendid 63 dropping only 5 shots on the back nine.

Alan King again tapped into a rich recent vein of form with a glorious 65 and improver Jeremy Prescot a very commendable 67. Best lady was Sheena Harrington (last year’s Lissaman Cup 3 clubs & putter winner). Results…

The field enjoyed some nice weather. The course proved to be in ok condition. Was it me or were the greens really slow? Some players made some excellent club choices. Luke Baker set the early mark with an excellent 64 net. The Ladies’ handicap secretary went one better and recorded a very tidy 63 net. Where was that kind of form in the Autumn Mixed Foursomes? Brian McMahon had an interesting 40 (gross) on the way out. He managed to follow that up with a remarkable 35 (gross) on the back 9. A score of 62 net (75 gross) would’ve put him into contention in any regular medal comp. But one of the later morning starters Jennifer Wood snatched victory from Brian with an unbelievable 60 net! Her score would even have been better had she had not recorded an 8 on the 17th. Pity for some of you that today’s comp was a non-qualifier. Top10 was equally split between men and women. Results…

CSS: N/A

Some other highlights:

• Paul Brown finally tamed his ladyboy, aka the 16th hole (a ladyboy in golf is a hole that looks easy but is not exactly what it seems)
• Tamas’ tee-shot on the 11th looked like Kate Moss, aka a bit thin. But just like OJ Simpson he got away with it by holing his chip from the rough (his tee-shot landed next to the big log in the rough). Quite remarkably on the previous hole he had hit 2 tee-shots OB!
• Mike Shabani and Liam Bridger were the Brothers-in-Law of the day: they showed up but they know they shouldn’t have come (they did play their Men’s pairs KO final earlier this morning- and rumour has it they won …)

In the Men’s Top Dog Trophy, after winning the Men’s pairs KO comp last year Tony Bergqvist added another trophy by winning the 2018 Top Dog. Final leader board…

A good charitable collection of £173 today for MacMillan.

Those playing at the two ends of the day probably enjoyed the better weather, as the majority played 18 holes in the wet, but at least it was light drizzle most of the time.

Early player Henry Lindesay-Bethune posted a 38 to take the lead, holding off a challenge from a probably very soggy Kim Chaffart (no waterproofs, no brolly), but to no avail with Alan King showing a return to form to win the Charity Cup with 42 points. Proving that a good night’s sleep is not required before 18 holes, late starters Charlie Renton and Dylan Merchant both recorded 40 points and Charlie’s consistent 20 out & back gave him 2nd place. Results…

Despite these good scores, the rest of us kept the CSS to 36 points for both men & ladies – but quite a few handicap changes. Dylan gets an ESR of an additional 0.5 of a cut for his consistent play.

Thick clouds, rain showers and cooler temperatures didn’t scare off 15 brave souls. Bruno Clerckx comes alive in rainy conditions. An excellent front 9 (21pts) set the tone. A few wobbles on the back didn’t put him off. 38pts is still more than enough to win today’s comp. Leader in the clubhouse Roger Rojas came alive on the back 9 with two birdies. Tamas Ladacs kept up his good form to finish 3rd (35pts). Results…

CSS: 37pts

Glorious sunny and warm conditions set the scene for the Midweek President’s prize. Three ladies were atop the leader board early on with 38 points – Alison Chadwick, Doreen Dolby and Joan Mulcahy. But a couple of afternoon rounds proved superior with Tamas Ladacs emerging the winner on 41 and Jon Cooper 2nd with 39. Results…

With 51% of the field within buffer zone of 37 points, CSS was elevated to38.

Results of the challenges:

• Men
  Longest drive on the 5th Hassan Mouilah (320 yds)
  NTP in 2 on the 13th: Nobody on the green
• Ladies
  NTP in 3 on the 6th: Habe Crocker
  NTP in 2 on the 16h: Doreen Dolby

Ladies

A chill start to the day soon burnt off for another sunny autumn day after the rain of yesterday and with the ground still baked after the summer, the run on the ball continues to flatter – long may it continue.

The last ladies’ medal round of 2018 attracted a good turnout and for many, scoring was good. Habe Crocker posted an early 66, recording a gross score of 74 and a very balanced round of 37 for each nine. However the last game included Cheryl Woodhouse, who is having an autumnal resurgence in form. Having recorded a winning 66 midweek, she posted another one today and with a back nine that was eight shots better than the front, takes the honours again. Results…

With CSS reduced by one to 68, Cheryl clings on to a playing handicap of 22 with a reduction to 21.5

Men

Yesterday’s rain had clear effects on the course: softer fairways (which are still struggling to recover from the July/August heat wave) and slower greens were some of today’s challenges. Roger Rojas posted a net 69 to become leader in the clubhouse. Gradually better scores started flowing in. Tony Bergqvist and Tamas Ladacs had their moments in order to record net 67s. A quattuor of players recorded net 65s. Countback places Henry in 4th, Carl in 3rd and Richard Owen in 2nd. Jon Cooper’s excellent back nine (except for the 12th hole) kills two birds with one stone: he wins the October monthly medal and wins the 2018 Grand Medal Trophy. Results… | Final Leader board…

CSS: 67