Ladies

Just a small group of eight contested the medal this month, a combination of the previous day’s invite and a Whitewebbs match. With a net 66, including a birdie at the first and a 9 on the seventh, it is likely that the winner would still have been Alison Chadwick even with a larger field. She finished some six shots ahead of Tenesi Karakaneva. Alison sees her handicap cut by 1.6 to 20.9. Results…

CSS remained at 69

Men

The field enjoyed some very nice weather. But scoring proved tricky for most of the field. Jay Barker started on the front and back 9 with a bogey. But he calmly offset those with birdies on 2 and 17 to finish on gross 68 net 63  to wrap up victory. Jay’s handicap moves back to 4. After 36 holes in one day he supposedly had enough of golf for a couple of days. Pretty sure he will be out on the course every day of the coming week. Cuneyt Sazer had a very strong front 9 (41 gross). A setback on the 13th prevented him from improving on a net score of 65 (85 gross). 2nd place is a well earned consolation. Despite a horrendous 10th hole Phil Flanagan used an excellent back 9 to finish 3rd on 66 (84 gross). Caleb Mills, Christer Larsson and Simon Malin (who b/c of the stableford adjustment sees his handicap drop back to 7 just ahead of his singles KO match) complete the Top6. Peter Osgood performed a minor miracle by losing the shanks that had been holding him back over the last couple of weeks. Too bad all the other parts of his game let him down this time. Results…

CSS: 67

The round was the third of 8 for the Grand Medal Trophy. R3 Leader board…

The chill on a late Spring day was accentuated by a persistent wind, providing a stern test on Duke’s but greens were even-paced. A good Wednesday turnout (47 + odd match) was in evidence with the winner emerging late from the afternoon pack. Congratulations to Dylan Merchant on 44 points with 23 and just six shots dropped on front 9. Five behind was early clubhouse leader Hassan Mouilah with Kim Chaffart and recent new members Oliver Khan and Stephen Haworth with decent 37s. Gina flew the ladies’ flag with 34 points. Results…

Dylan earns a handicap cut from 22 to 19 and leads the Founders Cup after 2 of 3 rounds on 79 points – 3 clear of Chris Jones, Hassan Mouilah and Oliver Khan. R2 Leader board…

Ladies
Honours Board

No one was expecting to play in the dry today so were pleasantly surprised to see blue skies and despite yesterday’s downpours the course had absorbed most of it. With the greens playing much faster than they had on Prince’s last week, it took a while to adjust.

Almost half of the field in the first round of the competition didn’t participate in today’s round including the leader. With only a few points separating the leading group there was all to play for in this round. Cheryl Woodhouse lost no time in staking her claim with three 3-pointers in the first 4 holes helping her to 20 on the front 9. At this point the golfing god switched allegiance to Veronica Mitchell who began her back 9 with a birdie 2, blobbed one hole and still managed 20 points to be both winner today and over the 2 rounds with 36 points today and 70 in total. Sheena Harrington had a consistent 17 out and back to take second place with 34 points today and 67 overall. Results…

Overall Committee Cup…

Men

The dream/hope of playaing the national final of the UKPCC at St Andrews was full on today. A big field enjoyed near perfect conditions to play golf. The course was still dry enough to offer an extra bounce/roll. Yesterday’s rain on the other hand made chipping/pitching less complicated. The effects of the rain were also noticeable on the greens which proved a lot less unpredictable than last week.

The pace today was set by 4 early starters. Lee Marshall’s golf was totally dialled in today. 33 strokes (gross) on the way out resulted in 25pts! A slight wobble on holes 13-15 were swiftly dealt with. 19pts on the way and a total score of 44pts (!) seem like a good day at the office. Lee’s handicap gets cut by a massive 1.6 strokes. His new (playing) handicap now stands at 8. Jon Cooper’s round was a mirror image of the winner’s. 23pts on the way in (2 birdies in a row on 16,17) and 19pts out earn him 2nd place. Roger Rojas rediscovered his touch on route to an excellent score of 40pts. Pete Harrison’s highlight of the day was a “tap-in” eagle on 17. 39pts (21pts in) allow him to hold off Cuneyt Sazer (who will regret the 18th hole though) based on the countback rule. Chris Lordan had a “birdie free” round but still finished on 38pts to complete the Top6. Ray Esin came out all guns blazing and ended the front 9 with 24pts. His sub-par back 9 prevented him from sneaking into the Top6. Results…

CSS: 36pts. Although the winning players’ scores were impressive only 13 out of 42 players remained within their buffer zone. 

Final note: Lord give strength to the person who has to partner Peter Osgood in the mixed pairs (poor Deborah), men’s pairs (poor Tammy), Hawtree/Ladies Invite (SOS Cheryl), Clapham Common (Wait a second … That’s me. Thanks Nigel …)

Conditions remained favourable for round 1 of the Founders’ Cup although for those straying into the semi-rough a lost ball was a possibility. Playing to the top of their game were the winner Chris Jones and Habe Crocker. Well done to Chris who triumphed on a countback back nine 24 points dropping only four shots. Even paced John Rivers was 2nd with 42 whilst new member Oliver Kahn returned 39 points but no card and so DQ. Results…

This is the first of three rounds of the Founders Cup. R1 Leader board…

There’s a saying that goes that Golf is nothing else but a good walk spoiled. I think that saying describes the feeling of the vast majority of the field. Astonishingly the summer conditions at the Park proved to be a massive obstacle. The extra carry & roll on the fairways proved to be of very little use. Arguably the faster greens caught a lot of competitors off guard too. Finally the pin position on the 7th green was pure evil. To resume: 34pts was enough to finish in the Top6 today.

Davide Oddone coped very well with today’s conditions. Consistent golf (20pts & 21pts in – with a no score on the 15th!) allows him to see off a resurgent Steve Cross. The latter scored points on each hole (22pts out) but he arguably let victory slip away with a double-bogey on the 16th. Both Davide and Steve get healthy handicap cuts. Davide’s new handicap stands at 19 and Steve will from now play off 22. Paul House was on fire on the front 9. An eagle on the 9th vaulted him to 23pts on the way out. 16pts (with just 2pts on the last 2 holes) prevented him finishing higher than 3rd. Paul also gets a new competition handicap (11). Jonathan Scriven (36pts), Charlie Whiteman (35pts) and James Anslow (34pts) complete the Top6. Results…

It was quite an eventful day for Ray (again). He managed to ace the 2nd, scoring 8 stableford points on the first two holes! First lady was Tenesi.

CSS: 36pts (Men & Ladies)

Finally it is with regret that we had to say goodbye to Eric Lit who was forced to return to Holland (to be precise the return was not Brexit related). Here are a few words from Eric:

“It is with great sadness that I have to say goodbye to you all. I have to go back to Rotterdam. It was a great pleasure to meet you all and i had a lot of fun playing golf with you. You take care of yourselves and keep ’em straight :-)”

Atrocious conditions of rain and wind prevailed for morning competitors. This takes nothing from the superb gross 72 crafted by Jay Barker who whipped the field by 4. Well done Jay! Commendable 71s were returned by Hassan Mouilah and Cheryl Woodhouse flew the ladies’ flag with 73. Results…

Jay ventures further into Category 1 territory being cut to 4.2 and incidentally also leads the Wednesday Grand Medal Trophy on 209 from Toby Hunt by three. R3 Leader board…

Ladies
Honours Board

What a difference a week makes. So it was back to thermals and woolly hats in the cold wind that seemed to get worse through the day. No doubt that with double the entry for this year’s 36-hole competition, most were hoping to retain their shorts of last week.

Despite the conditions overhead, the course was in good condition and scoring was generally better than for many a week. Leading the 1st round is Fiona Coombe with 36 points, which included a 5-pointer for a birdie 2 on the 10th, Veronica Mitchell is lying 2nd with 34 and there are another 3 ladies just 1 point further back. Results…

CSS remained at 36

Men

It seemed like the Beast from the East had made an unwelcome return to the Park. Cool temperatures and a gusting wind that became stronger as the day went on made life pretty miserable. Most of the field failed to take advantage of a course which is improving at an interesting pace.

The lone exceptions being Tore Burman – although these conditions must feel like a Scandinavian spring to him – and Chris Lordan. Tore played a solid front 9 (2Up) but faded away on the back 9 to finish at 1Up and take 2nd place. Chris Lordan reeled off 3 birdies in a row (5,6,7) to finish 4Up on the front 9. He played a steady back 9 until the 17th and 18th hole (which he both lost). A score of 4Up makes him the clear winner. Chris’ new playing handicap now stands at 6. Luis Oroval was level on front and back 9 to finish 3rd. Leaders in the clubhouse Jon Cooper and Scott Sparks (who went out in a score of 3Up!) were the only other players to not lose to the course. Nathan Street (1 Down) completes the Top6. Peter Osgood to use his own words died on the back 9 (don’t worry: he’s come back from the dead). Paul Brown’s putter apparently was still as hot as during yesterday’s victory in the Clapham Common. Too bad about the rest of his game. Results…

CSS: All Square. Just two handicap changes.

Typical April conditions prevailed with a persistent wind. This was the last competition with preferred lies for the season.

Mark Rosamund stamped his authority on the field early in the day with 42 points to win the midweek sweep comp, 3 clear from Messrs. Colley and Curry. Gina Jillet was best placed lady 35 points. Results…

CSS: 67 Men, 69 Ladies. Mark earns a two playing shot handicap reduction.

Ladies

Unlike the men, many of whom made it look easy, this was not the general consensus of opinion from the ladies, nor did the scores reflect that. With a small field of 7 and no one reaching the SSS, CSS remained at 69.

Susan Smith emerged as the winner on net 70, with Cheryl Woodhouse two further back on 72. These results were reached in quite different ways. After the first hole, Susan had a storming few holes before a complete blip on the 9th. Cheryl, on the other hand, was riding her birthday luck, with balls bouncing out of the trees back onto the fairway until she’d used up the luck on the 18th. Results…

Men

Conditions were very receptive today. Extra carry and roll on the fairways and some additional grip on the greens thanks to last night’s rain. If you were able to adapt to the speed of the greens you were in for a good score. Even though the level of play proved to be excellent a lot of the players will feel like they’ve let one slip away. Quite a few scorecards show players blowing up on one or more holes (that includes yours truly).

Ray Esin continues his incredible run of form. Holes 9 & 10 proved to be the only blemishes on his card. Net 59 (78 gross) made him leader in the clubhouse. Such was the level of play that Ray only managed to hold on to victory thanks to the countback rule. James Shine played a very consistent round of golf to match Ray’s score. His birdie on 18 earns him a well deserved runner-up position. Vice-Captain Nigel Gaymond seems to have rediscovered some form (just ahead of the Hawtree). An impressive 62 lands him into the Top3. Seong Lim posted the lowest gross score of 71 (62 net). Mike Shabani (net 63) and Sazer Cuneyt (net 64) complete the Top 6. A net score of 68 today would only get you into position 16-19. Results…

CSS: 66 (net). Ray leads an impressive list of players with new handicaps. He also earns an ESR of one stroke. His new handicap now stands at 16.

The round was the second of 8 for the Grand Medal Trophy. R2 Leader board…

A big field were greeted by some beautiful spring/summer weather. The course on the other hand is still recovering. A few days of sunshine have dramatically changed the look of the Duke’s course. No traces of mud or standing water. Greens hardening at a surprising pace: carrying the ball to the pin was not the correct strategy. And putting still remained tricky.

The Top3 today were among the early starters: arguably the conditions were a better at that time of the day. Jonathan Rivers was on fire on the front 9 (5Up). The back 9 proved a bit trickier. But a final score 4Up is more than enough to hold off a reborn Elaine Elborn. Elaine’s back 9 (3Up) was excellent. David Vines (3Up) was equally impressive on the back 9. In the end 2nd place goes to the Irish fury thanks to the countback rule. Dylan Merchant (1Up) was the only one of the afternoon starters to put up a decent score (1Up). Ann Gardner and Jeremy Ryan complete the Top6. Results…

CSS: 1Up (Men & Ladies). Jonathan and Elaine earn nice handicap improvements.