The course keeps drying out providing extra roll on the fairways. Although the greens seemed to be improving slightly it remains a challenge to hold the balls with your approaches.

A few players (Paul R., Roger R. & Kim) played good front 9’s but faltered on the way in. Saving energy for the back 9 proved to be the way to go today. The leaderboard was extremely tight. Four players ended with the same points total (37pts). Tenesi wins today’s comp based on the countback rule (her score over the last 6 holes proved to be the tie-breaker). The Mexican sun hasn’t affected Darren’s good form who has to settle for 2nd (keep that going during the Midweek KO comp please). Lee Marshall played consistent golf (19pts out and 18pts in) but a poor 18th hole knocked him back into 3rd. Ray was able to follow up an excellent front 9 (20pts) with a consistent 17pts on the way in to take 4th. Jayne M. and Kyojung Lee complete the Top6. Results…

CSS: 36 (Men & Ladies)

The course is starting to suffer from swirling winds and lack of rain over the last couple of weeks. Therefore Prince’s is starting to dry out quickly. Once the field were aware of today’s competition format the scoring proved to be decent. Ann Gardner is keeping up her excellent form (I pity the team that will face her in the Ladies Double C comp). A storming front 9 (score of 4up) combined with steady back 9 (2up) equals a score of 6up. More than enough to become today’s runaway winner . Ann’s playing handicap gets cut to 28. Well done! Adrian Hurley went out in one of the early groups and posted an excellent score of 3up. Henry L-B, still riding high after his win in Sunday’s Clapham Common comp finishes 3rd with a score of 2up. Alexander Kransnenkov, Seong Lim and Ted Holt (see Ted it wasn’t too difficult to keep up your score?) complete the Top6. Results…

CSS: 2Up (Men & Ladies)

The glorious weather seemed to inspire a reduced field. Birdies and eagles galore were the result. Nobody proved a match for Brian McMahon today. After a “slow” start Brian came alive on the back 9 to score 23pts. His total of 40pts earn him a well deserved victory. David Sandifer was even hotter on the back 9 (25pts !). His weaker outward 9 (total score 38pts) means that he has to settle for 2nd. The last member of today’s Top3, Martin Heinrich, came out all guns blazing (21pts) but softened inward. Based on countback Martin has to settle for 3rd. Paul Rockett (who eagled the 9th), Eelco Snijders and Barry Page complete the Top6. Results…

CSS: 37 pts (Men & Ladies)

Conditions to play golf were very good. However the field of 34 players (another big turnout – thank you all) struggled to master (!) the course. Only 3 players managed to shoot below their handicap today. The late starters faced some issues with an unpredictable water sprinkler on the 1st hole. Fresh from his NAPGC win (teamed with Brett) Mark Rosamond posted a 71 (Net) to become leader in the clubhouse. His score was matched by Richard Owen who went out early to prepare for Sunday’s Clapham Common Pairs match with Mike S. Not sure how an 18-hole medal round can prepare you for such a test. Shout-out to Joseph Shin who had a tap-in birdie on the 14th after he stiffed his wedge approach 2 feet away from the pin. Toby Hunt put in a steady round of 70 (Net). Jeremy Ryan finishes in the Top3 (again) thanks to his score of 70 (Net). The only player to master today’s course was Patrick Poletti. A storming score of 40 (out) was followed by steady back 9. His end score of 69 (Net) would’ve been better had it not been for an untidy 18th hole. Patrick’s playing handicap gets cut by 1.5 strokes and now stands at 18. Well done. Mark Rosamond, Richard Owen and Seong Lim complete the Top6. Results…

CSS: 71 (Men) & 73 (Ladies)

Conditions to play golf seemed very inviting: mild temperatures, freshly cut fairways/greens and no winter tees. Surprisingly scoring proved tricky today. No winter tees meant that the course played quite a bit longer for the men (playing the 17th from the original back tees again was an unwelcome surprise).

Danny Deprez recovered from celebrating carnival in Belgium and played very consistent golf. A score of 69 (Net) was good enough to become leader in the clubhouse. It didn’t prove good enough to win today. His score was bettered by two ladies. Habe Crocker continued her good form by going out +1 (36 gross). A “softer” back 9 meant a total score of 68 (Net). That score was matched by Joan Mulcahy, who recovered from an untidy outward 9. Joan’s superior back 9 (43 gross) elevates her into 1st place. Brian McMahon (69 Net), Stephen Mason (70 Net) and Tenesi Karakaneva (70 Net) complete the Top6. Results…

CSS: 71 (Men) & 73 (Ladies). Lots of handicap changes.

The field were met with freshly cut fairways and greens that are drying quickly thanks to those ever present swirling winds (no sun today unfortunately). Watering the course/the greens wouldn’t hurt (trying hard not to mention the “R” word).

Conditions clearly were no problem for the field. CSS increased with 2pts. 38pts were needed to play to your handicap. These are the days that make a midweek captain proud (guess that’s what I have to cling to if my own round is awful). Good to see Alison’s game getting into the grove. Just keep this form going for the Mixed KO’s please.

Tamas Ladacs put together a great round of 43pts (24pts out & 19pts in) to set the early pace. His playing partners Eelco Snijders (41pts) and Ray Esin (40pts) also put up great numbers but couldn’t match Tamas. Crushing the front 9 clearly was the theme of the day (23pts – Ann Gardner, 21pts – Darren, Paul Cook, Cheryl, Jeremy Ryan).
Only a few players were able to master the back 9. Keith’s eagle on the 14th enabled him to score 20pts on the way in. MIke Jones and Jeremy Ryan netted 22pts on the back 9. Jeremy’s consistent play helped him to 1) match Tamas’ score and 2) take the day’s win based on countback. As a consolation Tamas’ handicap gets a healthy cut. Jeremy on the other hand sees his handicap drop to 12. Well played everybody. Results…

CSS: 38pts (Men & Ladies)

A big field for the 1st of this year’s Top Dog events.

Tony Berqvist played 17 very good holes. A net score of 63 and a position as leader in the clubhouse was the result. Peter Osgood had 3 birdies to put him on route to a score of 65 net. Pete Davis played solid golf and ended on a score of 65 net but is beaten by Peter on the basis of countback. Anis Driaa and Mike Cullinane both finish on 66. What about the ladies you ask? Only one lady finished in the Top 10 today. Congrats to Habe Crocker who put together a marvellous round of 61 to become today’s Top Dog. It could’ve been a totally different story if Tony had kept it together on the 18th… Habe’s handicap drops down to 14. Tony now plays off 12. Results…

CSS: 67 (Men) & 69 (Ladies). Lots of handicap changes. Please take note of your new handicap.

17 players braved foul weather for today’s Midweek Sweep. Seems like the weather got the better of most of the field. Only 3 of today’s players remained inside their buffer zone. Shaun Dupreez will probably thank Peter Osgood for dragging him out to the course today. He was in a league of his own: 22pts out & in equal a well earned victory. The best of the rest were Tore and Jeremy. All other 14 players unfortunately finished outside of their buffer zone and earn a +0.1 on their handicap. Shaun’s handicap gets a massive 2.7 reduction and his new handicap now stands at 19. Results…

CSS: 36pts (Men), 35pts (Ladies)

Ladies

The rare opportunity for both a non-qualifier and pairs competition brought several ladies out of hibernation for the 4BBB. Having already won the singles stableford, Val Riziotis made it a matching pair with her partner, Cheryl Woodhouse, scoring 40 points. These two made it look easy and it was 2nd place that was a close run with Doreen Dolby and last week’s medal winner, Deborah Potter, taking it on the back 9 from Veronica Mitchell & Susan Smith on 36 points.

As is traditional, the ladies gathered for some chips & dips as prizes for both legs of the Spring Meeting, along with outstanding eclectics and medals were awarded. With the weather severely reducing the field in a number of weeks, those who simply turned up or were out of the prizes were rewarded with chocolate eggs from the lady captain. Results…

Men

Tricky conditions for Round 2 of the Spring Stableford. The wind that became stronger during the course of the day caused a lot of trouble. The 15th almost played like a Par 5 today (the 17th on the contrary was there for the taking). Steadying yourself over the back 9 proved to be very good recipe for success.

Lee Marshall went out as one of the first starters and absolutely nailed it today. 20pts out and a glorious 22pts in made him a runaway winner today. As a result Lee’s handicap gets cut by 1.8 strokes. On top of that his recent form gets rewarded with a additional 0.5 cut. So Lee’s new handicap stands at 12! Very well done. Julian James confirmed his excellent form by finishing second today with 38pts. Despite numerous obvious breaches of etiquette rules Richard Owen posted a very balanced round of 37pts to finish 3rd. Peter Osgood’s excellent front 9 was followed by a steady back 9 to take 4th place. Shout out to Keith Cassidy whose excellent back 9 (21pts) allowed him to finish 5th. Paul Green completes the Top6. Results…

Over the 2 rounds Richard Owen finishes with 75pts to overtake 1st Rd leader Tony Kopczak and win the Spring Stableford. Results…

CSS for the day: 36pts