Ladies

Hopes were high after the early morning showers gave way to blue skies, but sadly were dashed as a heavy cloudburst got everyone just after midday after which the temperature dropped considerably. It seemed to have no ill effect on the scores, as the course was running on the really hard ground after no recent rain.

With Jayne & Susan scoring 45 points off their 14 and 18 shots respectively, we assumed the winning score would be higher with other competitors getting more shots. In the event it was only Cheryl & Caroline and Jess & Tenesi who could beat them, Cheryl & Caroline with the same score, but the better back 9. However, all were put in the shade by the magnificent score of 51 points for Jess & Tenesi. They dovetailed perfectly predominantly scoring 3 or 4 points per hole to win the Autumn Meeting Better Ball. Results…

Men
Honours Board

Overnight rain made the greens fairly receptive. Most of the field enjoyed dry conditions. But around 1.10pm the floodgates opened. But it has to be said that the field “weathered” the conditions well (see below).

Strong off his victory in last week’s Burgess Cup Martin Heinrich tore up the front 9 in 39 strokes. A clear case of sandbagging on the 14th (an 8 on that hole really Martin?) couldn’t prevent him from winning the September monthly medal. His net score of 64 translates into an 1.2 handicap cut down to 15. And just like last week the Slovak onslaught didn’t stop there since his better half (golfing wise) won today’s ladies comp. Mark Bean had an excellent front 9 (37 strokes). But an untidy 18th hole forces him into 2nd place. An unbelievable back 9 (34 gross) sends Carmelo into 3rd. Three birdies and an eagle (14th) earn Evgeny 4th place. Goed gedaan (my Russian doesn’t reach that far). Igor and Petrov Harrington complete the Top6. Results…

CSS: 66 (23/44 in the buffer)

In the Grand Medal Trophy Toby Hunt leads (334) over Pete Needham (343) Richard Owen (343), Brian McMahon (346) and Mike Shabani (347) with one round to play. R7 Leader board…

Competitors were greeted by a perfect autumn day with just a light wind and wall to wall sunshine. The ground remained hard flattering many drives but sometimes cruel bounce.

In this the last of 4 anniversary accumulators, early starter and leader in the clubhouse Kamil Naidoo held on to win with an excellent net 66 (just 1 over par on back 9) from Kim Chaffart’s well-crafted 67. Tamas Ladacs seemed to have it in the bag with a one over par on front 9 but fell back to 3rd place on 68. Results…

CSS was 1 under SSS reflecting the good conditions.

Kim Chaffart held on to win the Midweek Anniversary Accumulator with 210, one clear from Dylan Merchant and two ahead of Jeremy Ryan and Adrian Wells. Final Leader board….

Ladies

The prospect of a medal round on Duke’s kept a lot of competitors home. Seven brave (or foolish) players enjoyed nice weather and massive rolls on the fairways. Four of the 7 competitors managed to remain in their buffer.

Tenesi’s consistent golf (44 out & 43 in) earns her 1st place today. Best of the rest today was Susan Smith with a net 76. The “black mamba” aka Cheryl Woodhouse closes out the Top3. LC Debs had a bit of trouble adjusting to her new handicap but put up a respectable score (truth be told her score on the 18th wrecked her card). Finally Jayne Maxwell had to take 3 shots to clear the ditch on the 12th hole. Results…

CSS: 72

Men
Honours Board

Indian summer at the park today resulted in some big b & r (Bounce & Roll) on the fairways. Clubbing down and letting the course take the ball onto the greens seemed a pretty good choice.

There are 2 ways to play this Greensomes competition: go for the birdies or play steady. The teams that came 1st and 3rd chose the latter. The team that came 2nd and 4th chose the former.

Bandits/robbers Habib/Martin didn’t record a single birdie on the day. The only blemishes on their card were 1-pointers on the 14th and the 15th. But apart from that the numbers speak for themselves: 24pts out and 21pts in. By doing so Martin retains the Burgess Cup. It proved to be a Slovak onslaught: Tenesi managed to win today’s ladies monthly medal. Pete/Tony on the other hand didn’t hold back. 3 birdies translate into 22pts on the front 9 and 21pts on the back. Countback rule puts them into 2nd place. Igor and Kim let themselves down on the greens: they had birdie chances on not less than 11 (!) holes but managed to only take advantage on the 17th … Mike and Liam had a more volatile round with 4 birdies but their score on the 18th hole prevented them from finishing higher. Results…

The remnants of hurricane ‘Dorian’ were limited to blustery wind and a mere hint of dampness in the air but steady warmth.

Sporting a new technique, Ann Gardner swept to victory being an incredible 8up in the bogey format competition. Ann’s round was strongest over the last 7 holes where she did not lose one hole. Close on Ann’s heels however was Mitch Cohen 7up in a sub 80 (77 gross) round with further excellent rounds from Richard Owen and Seymour Laird (5up). Results…

CSS was 2 up – one over SSS 1up. With net differentials of -6 and -5, a marker has been set in Ann and Mitch’s handicap records such that within the next 10 comps a further net differential of -4 or better will see an Exceptional Scoring Reduction.

There was just one ‘Two’ recorded – Jan Wilken at the par 4 14th. Illustrating the sometimes cruel nature of bogey, a par would have won the hole for Jan. but well done indeed. A glance at the attached Wednesday Eagle tree reveals this to be 2nd eagle at the hole this year.

Even though quite a few regulars were missing the turnout today was fairly decent. Golfing conditions were decent apart from an autumn chill for the early starters.

Tom Cook recorded 22pts on the way out and held it together on the back 9 (21pts). 43pts is an outstanding score and makes Tom the clear winner today. Tom’s handicap drops a massive three strokes: two strokes because of today’s win and an ESR of one. A new handicap of 23 is a just reward. Early bird Scott Sparks takes 2nd thanks to an excellent score of 41pts. 23pts on the way in (an eagle on the 14th doesn’t hurt) take Mark B to 3rd place and a new handicap of 14. John Ahad comes 4th but he will probably want the 18th hole back. El Capitan had a very nice score of 21pts on the front 9. But a no-score on the 16th prevents him from finishing higher than 5th. Mike Shabani tore the front 9 apart with 22pts. The back was more volatile so he has to settle for 6th. Jane Fraser is 1st lady in 8th. No less than 9 players recorded at least 21pts on front or back 9. Paul Brown even parred the 16th hole. And finally Kim Chaffart managed to par the 6th after losing his tee-shot and holing out from 100yds. Results…

CSS: 38pts (Men and Ladies – 17/37 in the buffer)

Overnight rain softened the ground and indeed the first lying water of autumn was spotted early on 18th Duke’s fairway. Very breezy conditions prevailed providing challenge for 44 competitors in the September Midweek Medal.

All credit then to Brian Ransom who shot 67 to win from Pralab Barua and Kamil Naidoo 69s. Striking good form for the ladies was Alison Chadwick 73. Results…

CSS remained at SSS.

This was the 7th of 8 medal rounds for the Midweek Grand Medal Trophy. So with just one round left Brian has 351, two ahead of Mark Rosamund and six from Kim Chaffart. R7 Leader board….

Ladies Captain Deborah recorded 23pts on the front 9. Solid 8 holes (translating into 18pts) on the back 9 enabled her to seal the win today. A 7 on the 18th was her only blemish/no-score for the day. The LC’s handicap loses two strokes down to 23! Better start making some space in your home for this trophy (and another trophy that the ladies won back in August ….). The day belonged to the ladies. Because 2nd place went to last year’s LC. Alison Chadwick’s round was the mirror image of Deborah’s round: a blob to start, 17pts out and 23pts on the way in. Good for second place and a new handicap of 19 (Ronnie was hoping for a much larger cut …). Charlie Whiteman saved the men’s honour by snatching 3rd place with 40pts. Christer Larsson and Jan Wilken both recorded scores of 39pts. Christer takes 4th place thanks to a better back 9. Both men do get healthy handicap cuts. Tina Neessen closes out the Top6. Results…

The President’s challenges:

• Ladies:
  Nearest the pin in 3 on the 6th: Cheryl Woodhouse
  Nearest the pin in 3 on the 15th: Jane Fraser
• Men:
  Nearest to the pin 7th: Sean Thomas
  Nearest to the pin in 2 on the 18th: Kim Chaffart
• Men & Ladies:
  Nearest the pin 10th: Alan King

CSS: 36pts (23/53 in the buffer).

After 6 rounds of the Men’s Top Dog Trophy Chris Lordan retains his lead ahead of Ned Shanklyn and Charlie Whiteman. R6 Leader board…

42 turned out on a cooler day for the Midweek Captain’s Day.

Tore Burman convinced as winner on 43 points from Toby Hunt 41 and Sheena playing well again 40. Chris Jones earned 4th place 38.There were no fewer than 11 ‘Twos’ and many birdies – some back-to-back eg Toby 3rd & 4th (4 overall), Sheena 2nd & 3rd (3 overall). Results…

Overall CSS remained at 37 points, all 4 above having handicap cuts (Tore by 2).

Midweek Captain John Ahad posed some challenges:

• Putting – 6 on 27 putts

  – Alastair Whyte winner on countback
  – Brett Colley
  – Julian James
  – Toby Hunt
  – Sheen Harrington
  – Hassain Mouilah

• Nearest to the Pin

  – Men 2nd Tore Burman
  – Men in 2 15th Richard Smith
  – Ladies 16th -not awarded
  – Ladies in 2 14th Veronica Mitchell

What a joy it was to play Prince’s in timely fashion with little, if any, waiting on any hole on a glorious sunny day. It also meant that everyone could see the amazing finish of the Test match. The Bank Holiday had kept many away from the course with only 33 playing.

Mark Bean, returning to golf after several years away and playing his first round since regaining his handicap earned himself an immediate 1.5 cut with 42 points to beat Nick Rogers and Peter Harrington, both two back on 40 points. One point further back was first lady of the day, Veronica Mitchell. Results…

CSS remained at 37 points and all of the above receive cuts to their playing handicaps.