Morning sunshine prevailed for the early holes, although the cold temperatures and areas of standing water on parts of the fairways and surrounds on the Princes course made it a typical winter round at Richmond Park. The clouds rolled in around midday but everyone completed their rounds in the dry.

Richard Owen had ‘one of those rounds’ (total 42 points) especially on the greens on the front 9, which was completed with 1 birdie and 6 pars for 23 points. The back 9 was more routine (19 points), with just 4 pars.

2nd and 3rd places, both with 40 points, were Richard Norden and Peppe Monterosso respectively. Richard had a great back 9 (23 points) and it was only the blob on the 9th that held him back from winning overall. Peppe had a steady 19 points out and 21 points in with 6 pars overall – a good result for someone who hasn’t played for several weeks.

Brian Ransom (39 points) was 4th with a very steady round which included 6 pars and a birdie on the 3rd hole – shame about the blob on the 1st hole.

Sweep payout (£7, £4, £3) to the top 3.

A shortened round of Winter golf for the field today. Luckily the rain held off a bit start of the week. Add that to the reduced (very) low temperatures and the field played a course with substantially less standing water. But the mud was ever present and the greens were tricky (bumpy and slow).

Allan Cobb recorded decent score going out (15pts – that result was matched by 4 other players – curiously most of them were also early starters). He then continued his strong performance by recording the best score on the back 9 (17pts). So quite logically he wins today’s competition. Richard Norden and Angus finished 2pts behind Allan. Countback rule awards 2nd place to Richard (the birdie on the 16th didn’t hurt). Notwithstanding 2 birdies Angus has to settle for 3rd. Julian had a solid round (15 + 14) to take 4th place. 5th place goes to Brian. The women didn’t quite enjoy today’s conditions. 1st woman today was Cheryl in 12th place.

The first competition of 2022 took place in mild but very muddy conditions; late in the round there were spits and spots of rain and the Handicap Secretary’s umbrella bust in a zephr! 4 holes were out of play but some signed in for and entered General Play Scores to qualify for handicap.

Colm put in another convincing score to win by a mile, 34 points.

There were five 29s, separated on countback: Pat Dalton, Duncan, Kerry, Sean O’S and Joe G.

Colm and Julie dominated the scoring analysis stats attached.

Six won sweep .

Meanwhile, on Prince’s James Anslow shot gross 72 with first ESR of the year and a hcap cut from 15 to 12.

Happy New Year!

A healthy field of 21 players enjoyed the warmest Christmas Eve temperatures on record in England and there were even short periods of sunshine. As expected, conditions were muddy on the 14 holes available for play, however the grass could be seen growing on the fairways.

Colm put in another unbeatable round (35 points), 20 points on the front 7, 15 points on the back 7, 3 birdies and no blobs. In 2nd place was Sean O’Sullivan (31 points), with 16 points from 6 holes in the front 7 and 15 points on the back 7. Uli came in 3rd with 29 points, a very steady round finished off with an unlikely chip-in on the last and a successful first outing for his new driver. Purse pay out to top 3 (£10, £7, £4 respectively).

Finally, well done to everyone who entered holes 8 – 11 as “Did Not Play” – there were only two who entered NR instead, so Colm and Seema please note for next time.

Playing conditions were not very welcoming. But standing water, lots of mud and the occasional showers didn’t scare off 43 players. The absence of roll on the fairways and limited carry were more than compensated by the forward tees.

Jim Deissler was steady as a rock today: 22pts on front and back 9. A well deserved win. Kevin was gaming a new putter and it worked its magic. Any putt within 6 feet was drained. 21pts on the way in and out allowed him to finish in 2nd place. Brian finished 3rd 1pt behind KP. Richard S had an excellent front 9. 20pts on the way in allowed him to match Brian. But the countback rule breaks the tie in favour of Brian. Jeremy P also recorded 41pts. But his 19pts on the way in send him into 5th place. Julian recorded the best overall score on the back 9 to take 6th (FYI: Roger had the best overall score on the front 9 – also 23pts).

Mild, overcast weather conditions prevailed with wet ground underfoot.

Good scores were posted by Thierry (39), Chris Rudkin (37) and the ever-consistent Julian James (36). The small sweep pot goes to the top 2.

Winter golf made a comeback with a vengeance. Icy temperatures turned the park into a golfers’ version of the Disney movie Frozen. The greens were tricky: judging the speed was challenging. But the lack of carry was offset by the extra bounce on the fairways.

The men’s Secretary is currently the in form player at the club. The H&H combo proved too much for the rest of the field. 22pts out was an excellent start (Owen/Prescot and Woodhouse/Wildman association bettered that score with 23pts each). But they then managed to rack up 25pts on the way in. Just enough to see off the nearest challengers (thank you countback rule). Second place goes to the pairing of Mike Jones and Roger Rojas. Especially Mike seemed to enjoy the winter golf. He drained just about any putt from more than 10 feet. Their 25pts on the back 9 compensated for a more volatile front 9.

As indicated above Woodhouse, Wildman and associates (does have the ring of a law firm in the city don’t you think?) decided to start strong but wavered a little on the back 9. 44pts is still good enough for 3rd place. Best score on the back 9 goes to Susan and Gregory.

Fog at Richmond Park delayed start until 10ish with any entrants having returned home.
Nearby weather station in East Sheen was unaffected by fog but at bottom of main results the wind increase measured 11ish would have cleared the fog at RP and allowed temperature to rise.

The winning combination was Nick Rogers and Gina 48 points separated only by back 9 countback from Justin and Sheena.Third place in this last Sunday comp before Christmas were Mike Shabani and Nigel Ward.

Most Improved Golfer Since 01 January 2021

A small field dealt with mild temperatures but muddy fairways (let’s hope the aeration work by the greenkeepers will work their magic).

Chris Jones’ round was solid on the front 9 (17pts) but downright outstanding on the back 9 (25pts). He needed this tally to stay ahead of Julian who had a very balanced round of golf (20 + 21pts). FYI: both players birdied the 16th hole. 3rd place goes to the in form player of the moment: the men’s secretary Peter. His strong back 9 ( (22pts) allowed him better Jeremy (“only” 20pts on the back 9). Richard Owen let loose on the back 9 (22pts) to claim 5th place. Sheena is the first lady (thanks in part to a very strong front 9 – an honour shared with Andrew Watson). Final note: Peter Goodall recorded an eagle on the 9th.

Very mild conditions prevailed with temp over 13C and soil warming up per results report.

The Harrington and Ivors households will be celebrating Christmas with bespoke hampers – Peter just on top after countback. Both superb 43s. James Deissler shot 42 for 3rd with Paddy Stone and Richard Hanna 41s. All will get Xmas prizesand sweep.

Kevin Prendergast shot the only Eagle 2 at par 4 15th – well done Kevin!
Best woman Sheena 37.