If you have information that you would like to publish here please contact the Editor.
A reduced field met with some pretty poor golfing conditions. The rain of the last couple of days had created a lot of casual water on the fairways and in the bunkers. Some of the greens were pretty soaked too (thankfully we didn't play on Duke's today).
Damian Hackett decided to finish 2017 on a bang. He went out on 16pts but really came alive on the back. An impressive 21pts on the last 9 holes sent him onto victory today. Mr Steady himself Brian McMahon closed on 36pts together with Toby Hunt and Martin Heinrich. Brian's 20pts on the back 9 earn him 2nd place. Martin in particular will regret the 18th hole where he probably let victory slip from his grasp. Paul Green and Kerry Sargeant complete the Top6. 1st lady today is Tenesi (33pts). Final shout-out goes to Lia who recovered from a miserable front 9 to net 20pts on her way in. Results...
CSS: 37pts (Men & Ladies). No handicap changes and just one DQ.
Still conditions with early mizzle allowed competitors to focus on their game. James Barker pulled a real cracker of a two under par 68 with 42 points to clinch the competition. His back nine 30 included three birdies for 22 points. Well done indeed James! Sushant Lall was 2nd with 41 points and Alan King had a great round but blobbed 18 for 40 in 3rd position. Jayne Maxwell led for the ladies with 38 points with Lesley Mason a point behind. Results...
James has an unassailable lead in the Wednesday Birdie Tree 2017 and is challenged to birdie 13 or 18 (either course). Results...
A big field braved arctic temperatures. Play was even delayed for 20 minutes because of the fog. The early starters also had to deal with frozen greens. The greens were defrosted when Oliver Maskell went out. So he barely had any excuses for using up 11 (!) putts on the first ... 3 holes.
Peter Osgood bounced and skated his way to the clubhouse lead with 36pts (just 16pts on the back 9). Taking a picture of the Christmas hamper (that actually belonged to Putney Park) was a classic case of hubris by the clubhouse leader. The challenge had to come from the late morning starters. The tandem of Heinrich and Karakaneva felt pretty comfortable in the icy conditions. Superior back 9's allowed both of them to push Peter Osgood off first place. Steve Cross scored 18pts on the back 9 to relegate Peter to his final spot of 5th. Alan King's tally of 35pts earned him 6th place. Today's winner came from the very last game. Anis Driaa was the only player to play better than his handicap. 37pts (19 out and 18 in) earn him victory today. The ladies didn't really enjoy today's conditions: the next lady is Jayne Maxwell in 10th place. 3rd lady is Lia back down in 22nd place. Results...
CSS: 35pts (Men & Ladies)
An impressive list of handicap changes. Please take note of your new handicaps.
Finally:
- Barry: the blue scorecard box belongs to Putney Park! Our scorecards go in the green box!
- Ray: it would be good to once in a while sign your scorecard
- There even was a player who left his scorecard in the green box without recording his score on the computer. I know you all want to do your Christmas shopping but it literally takes 2 minutes to record your score on the PC (unless you record the stableford points instead of your number of strokes, correct Joan? The stableford score did look quite impressive it has to be said).
Rain and forecasts of more discouraged many potential competitors, but the weather did not deteriorate as expected.
A sparkling 40 points earned Jeremy Thompson the midweek Champagne Chase fending off Kim Chaffart's 38 (still with some fizz on back nine 20 points) and David Vines' 36. Well done to Jeremy who is cut to 14. Results...
The event was postponed due to poor course conditions. See two photos taken from the club house. Photo 1... | Photo 2...
Mild conditions prevailed with an increasingly moderate breeze. Despite recent dry conditions, mowing machines seemed to have created some mud on fairways which will only be exacerbated with rain predicted from storm 'Caroline'.
Steady play was the order of the day for the December medal. Congratulations to Chris Philip-Jones for a fine 66 and a cut to 12. Tidy 67s from Jeremy Prescot and Brett Colley earned 2nd and 3rd positions. Results...
CSS: 67 (Men) - 69 (Ladies)
Ladies
After a drizzly start 3 teams of 3 enjoyed a mild day and a fun team competition of 'Pink Ball'. Players took it in turns to play the pink ball with points for that ball being doubled. The best ball of the other two players also contributed to the team score. The two best pink ball holes of the day were Jayne's birdie for 8 points on the 11th and Susan's birdie for 8 points on the 14th. The runaway winners were Sheena, Lia and Caroline S who didn't have a birdie but scored consistently well over all 18 holes. MVP of the day was Sheena who had 8 pars and an individual score that would have seen her handicap cut had we been playing a qualifier. The winning total was 115, second place 105 and third place 100. No pink balls were lost so the threatened points penalties were avoided. Results...
Men
The monthly medal competitions ended with a bang. The field (or at least a very big part of it) took full advantage of the milder weather and tore Prince's apart. The early starters had some trouble to get going. After the initial tee-shots there were no less than 8 players together on the 1st fairway! Neither of them could mount any real challenge.
On another note. If you want to know what it feels like to play golf: check Jon Cooper's scores on the 15th and 16th hole. Numbers speak for themselves (Kerry Sargeant made a valiant effort too on the 7th and 8th hole).
The late morning starters were on fire. Eric Lit had every reason to be happy with his score of 64 (77 gross). Unfortunately for him his score was bettered by the very next group. Oliver Maskell eagled the 14th on route to a 63 (76 gross). But the best was yet to come. Chris Lordan and Alex Kransnenkov were in the same game and pushed each other the whole way round. End result: 61 (70 gross) for Chris and 63 (79 gross) for Alexander. Phil Flanagan's excellent 64 earns him 4th spot. Habib Amir (79 Gross) completes the Top6. In the same process Alexander and Oliver earn ESRs of 0.5 strokes. Results...
CSS: 67
Golfing conditions remained pretty grim (I don't think I was the only one who couldn't grip my clubs "properly" at the start of the round). On top of that the fairways were fairly muddy. This was partly offset by a) (cold) winds helping (slightly) on the 5th, 9th and 12th and 14th hole and b) the men teeing off from the yellow tees (should've read the notice board Jay ...).
Chris Phillips-Jones was in a league of his own today: 3 birdies (2nd, 12th and 18th), points scored on all 18 holes and 23pts on the back 9 allowed him to finish on 42pts. CPJ's handicap gets cut by a very impressive 1.5 strokes. From now on his stroke allowance will be 13. Mark Andrews gave CPJ a serious run for his money. Unfortunately he scored no points on 2 holes. Still 40pts (21pts out and 19pts in) is a very good result. Mark's handicap drops to 17. Jack Evans started out slowly (16pts out) but came alive on the back 9 (21pts) to finish 3rd. Jon Cooper sprinted around the course (he was finishing his 3rd pint when the next games came in) to match Jack's score. Countback pushed him into 4th. Charlie Renton and Jeremy Ryan complete the Top6. Results...
CSS: 37pts (Men) - 36pts (Ladies)
Team event
Team Blue (alphabetically ranging from Mark Andrews to Peter Jagger - average stableford score 29) beat Team Red (CPJ to Cheryl Woodhouse - average stableford score 28.71). Winners of the team event will be contacted individually.
Ladies
Winter is definitely doing its best to hamper good scoring from the ladies, starting as we did today with frozen ground and ice on the greens. It was at least another beautiful sunny day overhead and we had some internal warming on the 7th tee as the ladies' committee, and more particularly Habe Crocker, supplied us with mulled wine and mince pies. Several scores improved from the 7th onwards!
It was nearly another QRO, but with 33 points, Sheena Harrington managed to play in her buffer zone and CSS went up 2 to 34 points. Susan Smith and Doreen Dolby both scored 30 points, with Susan taking 2nd spot with the better back 9. Results...
Men
The field didn't enjoy the best golfing conditions. The early starters faced some frozen greens (the 3rd to name just one) and icy temperatures. Starting late(r) clearly proved to be the better course of action. Darren Enthoven went out really early and set the pace with 33pts. How tough were the early morning conditions? When the first couple of games finished around 1.45pm Lee Marshall was the only player who had actually played to his handicap (36pts). CSS at that time was estimated to be 33! A whole list of players struggled to score double digits points (on either front or back 9). Damian Hackett finishes in the Top6 with just 33pts. Today's comp would've been reduction only had it not been for the late morning starters. Three of the 10.00 am starters Tony Kopczak, Alexander Krasnenkov and Stephen Mason managed to stay within their respective buffer zones and sneak into the Top6. The only player to play better than his handicap was Chris Lordan. His score of 37pts earns him victory and a handicap cut of 0.6 strokes. His new handicap now stands at 9. Well done. Results...
CSS: 34pts
Mild but very windy conditions prevailed with mud in places. A 'Waltzing' team competition was complemented by an individual non-qualifying competition. All players played from the men's par & SI for the team event but (due to the software) with ladies receiving 2 shots whilst the individual comp was as normal with no such shot allowance.
Due to the incidence of playing numbers Peter Osgood and Toby Hunt were selected at random to partner Jeremy Ryan & Paul House and Michael Choo & Peter Harrington respectively.
In the team event, two teams each had 79 points with Paul House, Jeremy Ryan and Peter Osgood winning on countback from Kim Chaffart, Alexander Krsnenkov and Tamas Ladacs. Team results...
Peter Osgood won the individual comp on countback from John Curry - both 39 points with three birdies - and John being level par at the turn. Results... | Analysis...
Winter Comp Rd 2 / Prince's Eclectic Rd 1
Ladies
The cold, crisp and sunny overhead conditions of the day did nothing to inspire the ladies unfortunately. There was a lot of good scoring on individual holes, which will help in the Eclectic, but not in the stableford event for today. Habe Crocker came alive on the back 9 to score 20 points and win the competition with a total of 34. Two points back was Elaine Elborn who looks to be back to form after her injury layoff. Results...
The positions are the same in the accompanying 1st round of the Eclectic. R1 Leader board...
Men
Eric Lit seemed to enjoy today's muddy conditions. A solid front 9 (20pts) was followed by an excellent birdie on the 10th. Looks like Eric got a bit carried away because he didn't finish the 11th hole. He recovered quite well to finish the back 9 with 19pts. A total score of 39pts earns him victory and a new handicap of 13. Gefeliciteerd! Kerry Sargeant had an even better front 9 (with birdies the 6th and the 8th). His 22pts on the way out are even more impressive since he didn't score a point on the 9th! 17pts on the back 9 prevented Kerry from overtaking Eric. Midweek transfer Chris Jones enjoyed an excellent round (38pts - 20pts on the way in) to finish 3rd. Oliver Maskell played consistent golf (19pts out & in - he even had 3 birdies) to finish 4th. Our secretary Peter Harrington and Michael Choo complete the Top6. Results...
Two factoids:
- no shortage of birdies today (Dennis Pellerin chipped in from off the
green on the 4th for his birdie)
- Also note that the last Putney Park game was able to pull 3 holes away
from the 1st RPGC game (the source is a highly unreliable though ...).
CSS: 37pts
Alan King retains the lead in the 2017/18 Winter Competition (76pts). Kerry Sargent moves into 2nd (73pts) and Eric is now 3rd (69pts). R2 Leader board...
In the associated Prince's Eclectic - report due soon. R1 Leader board...
A still late autumn day albeit with pestering gnats allowed players to focus their game. Play for the men moved to the yellow tees and first signs of inevitable winter mud appeared.
Eelco Snijders shrugged off any distractions and for the 2nd week running won with 41 points. Well done to Eelco who also had an ESR of one shot so now plays off 9. Chris Phillips-Jones came second on 40 with Richard Owen and John Curry following with 39. Results...
In the 2nd round of the associated Winter Competition Eelco on 82 points leads John and Darren Enthoven by 10. R2 Leader board...
Eelco is also one shot clear on 71.5 from John in the Duke's Eclectic. R1 Leader board...
Winter Comp Rd 1 / Dukes Eclectic Rd 1
Ladies
We thought last week was cold, until we stepped out today into the arctic winds. The one plus was the way the sunlight lit up the autumn leaves. Something certainly lit up Susan Smith, who having played 12 or so holes well in many recent weeks, finally managed it for 18, scoring a whopping 44 points to beat the rest of the small field by some 8 points. Reportedly, she didn't need her putter for the first few pars and continued to chip and putt well for the remainder of the round. In 2nd place was Habe on 36 points. CSS went to 37 points. Results...
In the accompanying 1st round of the Eclectic, the half-handicap allowance moved Habe into a 1/2 shot lead over Susan. R1 Leader board...
Men
A big field (45 players) didn't enjoy the best weather conditions. Rain the previous day made the fairways very muddy and the greens too receptive. Add to that icy temperatures and swirling winds and you'll agree that the best word to describe today's conditions is: Brutal.
All of the above brought the best and the worst of the field. Let's start with the worst. Only 7 (!) players managed to remain within their buffer zone. Peter Osgood took out his driver on the 2nd hole to have a shot at the green (wind was helping - so you could excuse his hubris). A full shoulder turn and complete weight transfer later he realised that his tee-shot ended just past ... the ladies tee (that's what you get when you study videos of Damian Hackett's swing for too long). Quite stunningly he managed to par the hole! Mike Shabani had a brain freeze and mixed up the greens of the 7th and 11th hole. To use the words of a long serving member: I have never in the x years at the club seen anybody go that far left.
On to the good. Kerry Sargeant and Alan Cinnamond used excellent ball striking control to score 34pts. Michele Prencipe was totally at ease in today's weather. His score of 39pts earns him 2nd spot and new handicap of 19. Auguri! While a lot of players struggled to score 26pts over 18h holes (yours truly included) Alan King reached that target after just 9 holes! A no-score on the 18th forced him to settle for "just" 16pts on the back 9. Alan gets a massive handicap cut of 2.4 strokes and will now play off 18. James Anslow and Gunnar Sundberg complete the Top6. Results...
CSS: 34pts (I told you it was brutal out there).
The positions in the Winter Competition are the same as the results in Rd 1. R1 Leader board...
In the associated Duke's Eclectic - report due soon. R1 Leader board...
An autumnal nip in the air accentuated by a light wind greeted competitors for the first round of the midweek winter competition.
Scoring favoured early starters with Eelco Snijders claiming victory by 1 point on 41 from Secretary Peter Harrington who in turn was 3 ahead of Jon Cooper. Results...
CSS was unchanged from SSS at 37 points and Eelco and Peter had handicap cuts.
Concurrently with the Winter Comp are the two course eclectics (which tend to favour low handicaps since only 1/2 handicap counts). At this early stage for Prince's Eelco leads on 69.5 from Jon 72. R1 Leader board...
Ladies
With a number of the regulars away for the weekend, the first team event of the winter season was hotly contested by 3 teams of 3. To coincide with this event the temperatures had plummeted overnight and there was a good number of Uniqlo gilets on the course. The format was best score on a par 5, 2 on a par 4 and all 3 on a par 3. Scoring was not at its best, also reflected in the men's comp with the CSS going up, so it wasn't just the Ladies. The winners by six were Jayne Maxwell (who played to her handicap) and Alison Chadwick & Sheena Harrington who didn't but at times came good when needed. Results...
Men
Golfing conditions were OK except that the competitors could've done with a few more degrees Celsius/Fahrenheit. Darren Enthoven went out as one of the early starters. He played the front 9 the "despacito way" (43 gross). But he really came alive on the back 9 with a score of 34 (gross). His total score of 66 (77 gross) made him leader in the clubhouse. New member Chris Lordan put up an excellent challenge. He matched Darren's score: 42 out & 34 in. But bogeys on 16 and 18 prevented him from claiming his first win. Keith Cassidy was excellent tee to green. But his putter was ice cold today. A handful of missed birdie putts forced him into 3rd. Late starters Toby Hunt, Jim Fogarty and Alexander Krasnenkov complete the Top6. Results...
CSS: 68
If ever the competitors thought they had a bad day at the office:
- Remember that in 1976 Apple employee Ronald Wayne sold his 10% stake in the company for $800. His stake would now be worth $89.1 billion.
- Back in 2009 Lilly Allen refused to perform at a concert because the organisers wanted to pay her the equivalent of $200K in #Bitcoins. That would now be worth $1.4 billion.
Habe Crocker asserted her authority from the start being one under through 5 and just one over at the turn in her net 67 to clinch the medal. An excellent challenge from Alexender Krasnenkov net 69 followed which included two birdies and an unfortunate 7 at par 3 7th due to a lost ball. Kim Chaffert followed with a captain's innings of 73. Results...
The weather was amazing for November with a mere hint of a zephr but very difficult ball-finding conditions despite little or no mud. Habe and Alexender receive handicap reductions, the former to playing 7. CSS: 71 (Men) - 73 (Ladies)
Lissaman Cup
Honours Board
A sunny morning with a warm (ish) wind greeted competitors on the first Sunday after the clock changes for the last of the major club competitions of the year. As is usual, the restriction to 3 clubs and a putter makes decisions easy for some and provides challenges for others. Early starter, Danny Deprez set a net 69 to stay in the lead for much of the day, just keeping ahead on countback from Nick Rogers, but had to settle for 2nd place as Sheena Harrington recorded one better on 68. Results...
CSS: N/A
What a difference a week makes. Last Wednesday the weather was absolutely horrible. Today the field enjoyed fantastic golfing conditions.
The combination of a strokeplay competition and having just 3 clubs and a putter took a lot out of the competitors. Only two players managed to finish below 70. Brett Colley came out of the starting blocks all guns blazing (a fantastic score of 38 strokes gross). Unfortunately he ran a bit out of gas on the back 9 with a score of 43 strokes. His score 71 net (81 gross) puts him into 4th today. Kim Chaffart started with two pars but then couldn't par a single hole until the 10th. His back 9 lacked serious variation until a he recorded a 5 on the 17th and 18th holes. It still proved good enough to edge out Brett (based on the countback rule). Peter Osgood and Jon Cooper both went out in 40. Looks like the momentum really swung Peter's way thanks to birdies on the 12th and 17th hole (Jon bogeyed both holes ...). In the end Peter wins today's comp by the smallest margin possible. Tore Burman recovered remarkably from a horrible 9th hole to finish 5th. Caroline Dewar completes the Top6 and finishes as first lady. Final shout-outs go to Jeremy for recording the only 2 of the day (on the 4th) and Eric Lit for a very nice birdie on the 10th. Results...
CSS: N/A
Charity Cup
Honours Board
Golfing conditions were pretty nasty. Strong winds and very cool temperatures didn't inspire the field to any heroics. Damage limitation seemed to be the name of the name of the game. I don't know which shocked the field most: the part-time golfer/part-time Men's captain doing well in this exercise or him showing up in shorts.
The men's captain was a late addition to the starting field. But he handled the front 9 very well racking up 20pts. A no-score on the 17th hole prevented him from improving on an inward score of 17pts. 37pts was good enough to become leader in the club house. Only two players managed to do better. Jim Deissler's 18pts on the back 9 (total score 37pts) pushed Nick R back into 3rd based on the countback rule, Late starter Michele Prencipe breezed though the front 9 with 22pts. A steady back 9 (17pts) was enough to clinch victory today. Michele's handicap scende da 0.8 colpi e adesso solamente 20 supplementari colpi basteranno per giocare 18 buche (no use of Google Translate - so what I meant to say was: hcp cut by 0.8 strokes to 20 - in the same breath Cosmo L-M extends his Italian vocabulary beyond the word "seduto"). James Barker's 20pts on the back 9 vault him into 4th overall. Paul House and Danny Deprez mirrored each other's rounds to finish on 36pts and earn a spot in the Top6. 1st lady was Habe Crocker (sorry no prize/award for that today). Paul Brown was whining about the 16th hole ... again. At least he pared the hole today. God knows what mood he might have been in had he bogeyed the hole (as he usually does). Results...
CSS: 37pts (Men & Ladies)
Timing your tee-time was a good recipe for success today. The weather forecast scared off quite a few players. So a reduced field of 33 players battled it out for the 2017 Midweek Charity Cup.
Team Sweden was still riding high after their victory in the Men's pairs last Sunday. The rain didn't even bother Tore Burman. He posted an excellent score or 39pts. Tony Bergqvist matched Tore's score. But he arguably enjoyed better weather conditions. The team mates matched each other's scores on front and back 9 (21pts out and 18pts in). So only the countback over the last 6 holes was able to separate them. At first glance Oliver Maskell made the wrong call by moving his tee-time forward. Perhaps the tricky weather conditions made the youngster focus harder. A superb front 9 (21pts) was followed by a solid back 9 (19pts). But truth be told he had a bit of good fortune in retrieving his wayward tee shots on the 17th and 18th hole. Oliver's handicap gets cut to 13. Well done. Another 2pm starter Tamas missed his chance on the back 9 to finish higher than 4th. Cosmo LM put in a very decent round of golf to finish 5th on 37pts. Scoring better on the par 5's on the back 9 should be help him to cut his handicap further in the not too distant future. 1st lady today was Habe Crocker. Results...
CSS: 36pts (Men & Ladies)
JQ Robertson
Honours Board
A big field enjoyed fantastic golfing conditions: very mild temperatures, generous sunshine and some added zip to the greens due to the early morning dew. Only blemishes today were the fallen leaves on some of the fairways. They made it a lot trickier to retrieve wayward tee-shots. All in all scoring proved more difficult than expected.
Most of the men had little trouble racking up the points on the front 9. The player who was able to deliver a strong back 9 would be in with a good chance. The ladies on the other hand seemed to have the opposite problem. In general they were able to score very efficiently on the back 9 but didn't seem to have as much joy on the way out.
Shane McGillycuddy was able to match a good front 9 with an adequate score on the back 9. His score of 41pts could not be matched by any competitor. Shane's new handicap drops by two full strokes and now stands at 24. Keith Cassidy (39pts) came close but probably lost his chance on the 17th hole. 1st lady today was Habe Crocker, still riding high from her win in the Mixed Pairs Final. Her score of 20pts on the back 9 (total score 38pts) helped on her way to 3rd overall. Habe's handicap gets cut to 8. Brian McMahon's excellent score of 38pts is good for 4th today. Joan Mulcahy and Henry L-B complete the Top6. Also note that Caroline Stilwell scored an impressive 23pts (!) on the back 9. Results...
CSS: 36pts (Men & Ladies)
Top Dog: Peter Osgood saw off his closest rivals and can no longer be caught.
Autumn has definitely arrived at the Park. Thick clouds generated intermittent but short showers. Adjusting to the slower greens tested the competitors' patience too.
A lot of competitors scored well on the front 9. Julian James and Peter Osgood each totalled 21pts on the way out. Chris Jones, Chris Phillips-Jones, Eelco Snijders and Keith Cassidy managed to go out with 20pts. The back 9 proved a lot trickier for the field. Chris Jones and Eelco Snijders matched each other's scores on the back 9. The countback rule awards victory to Chris Jones. Avi Murphy scored an impressive 20pts on the back to finish as 1st lady in 3rd position. Eric Lit, Jon Rampuhl and Keith Cassidy complete the Top6. Results...
CSS: 36pts (Men & Ladies)
Just an FYI: Darren won the closest to the pin for the men on the 16th. His beautiful tee-shot landed within a couple of feet of the hole. Unfortunately only two players recorded a 2 on that hole and Darren wasn’t one of them.
Two players get a new handicap. Please note the result for Mike "Mister 58" Shabani. +1 on his competition handicap in just 3 days.
A final note from the Midweek Commitee: had it not been for 4 late no shows (I believe Jon Cooper is protecting his handicap for his upcoming pairs final vs Team Abba) we would've had the biggest turnout ever for a Midweek Comp. As Midweek Captain (and back-up handicap secretary) I would like to thank the Committee members for their work and dedication (special thanks to Richard Owen, Chris Jones, Cheryl Woodhouse and Paul Grand).
Ladies
The weather for the last ladies' medal of the year was glorious and encouraged some good scores - & some not so good! Fresh from her victory in the singles knock-out on Saturday, Val Riziotis continued in the same vein coming in with a net 66 to beat the rest of the field by three shots and earn herself a 0.9 cut to 15.7. As yesterday, Lia Donath was the runner-up. Results...
CSS remained at 69.
Men
Golfing conditions proved ok. And the field delivered. Prince's was ripped apart today (7 birdies on the 4th hole!). Lee Marshall kept up his good recent form. A score of 62 (72 gross) made him leader in the clubhouse. To his (and a lot of other people's) amazement this wasn't enough to claim victory today. Mike Shabani played the round of his life. Solid ball striking, more than a few good bounces and steady nerves allowed him to return an unbelievable score of 58 (72 gross). Par golf was the way to go. His score was made up of just (!) one birdie and 12 pars. Mike sees his handicap cut to 11. Well done. Lee Marshall's good form gets rewarded with an ESR: his new handicap now stands at 8. Julian James finished 3rd but probably missed a chance to finish higher on the last two holes. Tony Bergqvist's score of 65 (net) has a positive (4th place today) and a negative (one shot less to play with in his upcoming pairs final vs Team GB). Seong Lim (5th) and Nigel Gaymond (6th - but he also loses a shot on his handicap - a negative for the pairs final vs Team Sweden) complete the Top6. Results...
CSS: 67
Thanks to his heroics today Mike Shabani was able to overtake Keith Cassidy and win the Grand Medal Trophy (best 5 out of 8 scores):
1 Mike Shabani 331
2 Keith Cassidy 334
3 Toby Hunt 339
Competitors faced some nasty conditions today. Temperatures felt really cold because of the gusting winds. Because of those winds some holes played really long (I have never ever played the 15th hole with the wind in the back ...). The fact that the greens were more unpredictable than normal didn't help either.
All those factors didn't bother Jeremy Ryan one bit. A steady front 9 was followed up by a superb back 9. Birdies on the two par 3's set him on route to gross score of 37! Jeremy's final tally finishes at 64 (76 gross) - a whopping 7 strokes better than CSS. His new handicap drops to 10 (potentially setting himself up for an ESR over the last two months of the year). 2nd place goes to Jack Evans with an excellent score of 68 net. Jack's consistent round (44 out and 43 in - gross) earns him a new handicap of 18. 1st lady today is the back-up treasurer Lesley Mason with a score of 69 net. Kim Chaffart's decent front 9 was offset by a disappointing inward 9. Jay Barker used up 3/4 of his handicap on the front 9 but still managed to record a net 71. Early starter Darren Enthoven completes the Top6. Also note that none of the players in the 3-ball that went out at 2.00pm returned a score. Results...
CSS: 71 (Men) - 73 (Ladies)
In the final standings of the Midweek Grand Medal Trophy Jay Barker managed to hold onto 1st place. But thanks to his score of 64 today Jeremy Ryan finished just one stroke behind!
Silver Jubilee
Honours Board | Anniversary Cup
Golfing conditions proved tricky today. The rain of the last couple
of days negated any roll on the fairways. Greens had a bit more zip. So
good lag putting and short game control were required. Finally the wind
and the light showers required extra ball flight control. So it
shouldn't come as a big surprise that the single figure players did well
today.
Mike Assender proved again that playing a medal round on Duke's is no
challenge for him. Consistent golf (38 out and back) result in a net
score of 67. More than enough for 1st place today. His solid golf gets
rewarded with a handicap cut of 0.8 strokes and an ESR of 0.5 Mike's new
exact handicap stands at 7.9. Very well done. James Barker finishes 2nd
with a net score of 68 (73 gross). The only blemish on his scorecard was
the double bogey on the 4th. 2nd place and a new handicap (exact
handicap 4.4) should make up for that. Dennis Pellerin had an excellent
day: a net score of 69 drops his handicap to 21. Roger Rojas came into
this round defending his lead in the
Anniversary Cup. Looks
like the pressure got to him a bit on the front 9 (+7 gross). But the
assurance that his closest followers (Peter Osgood and Tamas Ladacs)
couldn't mount any serious challenge helped steady the ship. An
excellent back 9 (highlighted by a pitch/chip-in from 50 yards for
birdie on the 14th) helps him into 4th place. Peter Osgood even went so
far as to walk from the 7th tee over to the 10th green to (hastily)
concede defeat to Roger. Liam Bridger and Henry L-B complete the Top6.
1st lady is Susan Smith with a net score of 73.
Results...
CSS: 71 (Men) - 73 (Ladies)
Final Standings Anniversary Cup
1 Roger Rojas 207
2 Tamas Ladacs 210
3 Peter Osgood 212
The field enjoyed mainly decent conditions to finish their round. Although the late afternoon starters arguably faced the worst conditions (threats of rain and a wind that became stronger during the course of the afternoon).
The day's winners were Elaine Elborn and Jon Curry. Their consistent round of golf sees them take 1st place with 45pts (22pts out and 23pts in). Well done to them! Ronnie Mitchell and Brett Colley matched Jon & Elaine on the front 9 with 22pts. But it looks like they missed their chance with a softer start on the back 9. That means that they finish 2nd (just 1pt behind the winners). Richard Owen and Chris Jones saw their strong outward 9 (22pts) offset by a softer return on the 16th. Their score of 43pts puts them in 3rd place. Peter Osgood and Henry L-B did deliver on their promise that they would score at least 40pts. But it was quite clear that they were expecting to finish at least on the podium with 42pts. Peter was so desperate to get a birdie on the last hole that he 1) took forever to line up the putt and 2) went flat on his belly (Google Camillo Villegas to you get the idea) to try and read the line of his putt (BTW: he did miss the birdie putt). Four other pairs managed to score 40pts but missed out on the Top3. Results...
Ladies
Report due soon. Results...
Men
Hard to believe that summer came to an official end this week. The field enjoyed some nice weather (minus the wind) for the September Monthly Medal round on Prince's. As usual Greg Saunders went out (very) early. His net score of 68 (his score on the 7th hole will haunt him though) made him leader in the clubhouse. Nigel Ward overtook Greg with a net score of 66. His score was matched by Charlie Whiteman. But the countback rule means that Nigel edges out Charlie. Peter Harrington came in with the very last game. He managed to record a fantastic net score of 61 (85 gross). Peter's handicap gets a massive 2.8 stroke cut and he now plays off 21. Looks like marking all these cards for handicap does improve your golf after all ... If you take into consideration that his better half may have won today's Ladies Better Ball comp (with an unconfirmed stableford score of 48pts!) it is safe to say that today represented a good day at the office for the Harrington household. Simon Malin (net 67) and Alan Cinnamond (net 67 - lowest gross score 73) complete the Top6. Well done to Rick Smith for his birdie on the 16th hole! Results...
CSS: 68
Keith Cassidy retains the lead in the Grand Medal Trophy (best 5 out of 8 scores):
1 Keith Cassidy 338
2 Nigel Ward 341
3 Toby Hunt 343
4= James Barker 347
4= Mike Shabani 347
4= Brian McMahon 347
The Autumn Mixed Foursomes was played on the Duke's course, another fine day. The format for the Autumn event is medal and the winners were Susan Smith partnering Nick Rogers with a net 72.5. Runners up were Sheena Harrington with Tamas Ladacs who returned a net 74. For the Autumn event we also have the Stratford trophy for the best gross and on a countback the lowest gross winners were Sheena and Tamas.
The iffy weather didn't inspire today's field to great golf. David Vines was the only competitor shooting below his handicap. Only the Top6 managed to play their handicap (aka remain within the buffer zone). Two Birdies on the front 9 set David up for a good round of golf (39 strokes in & out). A net score of 68 is more than enough to win today's comp. David's handicap gets cut 0.8 strokes to 9.5. John Curry recovered from a slow front 9 and came back in 39 strokes. His score of 72 (81 gross) puts him in 2nd. Jon Cooper matched John C's round but is pushed into 3rd by virtue of the countback rule. Ronnie Mitchell didn't ace the 10th today. But she put up a valiant effort to topple Gina Jillett, the leader in the Midweek Anniversary Accumulator Competition after 3 rounds. In the end she came a bit short (see below) but 4th place today will serve as some sort of consolation. Eelco Snijders and Chris Phillips-Jones complete the Top6. Results...
CSS: 72 (Men) - 74 (Ladies)
Finally congratulations to Gina Jillett for winning the overall Midweek Anniversary Accumulator Competition. Her lead over Ronnie Mitchell was large enough that today's sub par round didn't dent her chances. Final standings are as follows:
1 Gina Jillett 211
2 Veronica Mitchell 213
3 Eelco Snijders 220
4 Jeremy Ryan 220
5 Richard Owen 223
6 Chris Phillips-Jones 224
Ladies
Most unusually, this month's medal was played on Duke's rather than Prince's, but despite the definite autumnal conditions it didn't seem to cause too many problems if we discount holes 12-14 where there were some rather large scores recorded!
At the 10th hole, Alison Chadwick was bemoaning the fact that she couldn't get the ball off the tee but omitted to mention her 1-putt holes that can't have all been on the back 8 holes. She romped home with a net 70 and is awarded a 1.2 cut to her handicap taking it to 21.2. The first game was the winners game, with Habe Crocker seemingly cutting her handicap every time she plays, in 2nd place with a net 72, she gets a 0.2 cut to 8.6. Results...
There was one additional noteworthy event today - a second hole-in-one for Veronica Mitchell at the 10th hole. It was, according to an eye-witness, a lovely shot which hit the green on the left side and ran up and across the green to fall into the hole.
Men
A relatively small field entered this greensomes competition, and this was reduced still further by the 5 games who were disqualified for not recording their actual handicaps on their cards.
Seeing them on the tee, Pete Harrison & Roger Rojas looked to be in trouble on the 11th (& indeed they didn't score on this hole). Just shows how wrong you can be. In the first game, they led from start to finish, beating Richard Owen & Phil Flanagan on the back 9. Richard & Phil had 20 out & 18 back, with Pete & Roger doing the reverse, even with that blob on the 11th. It was tight at the top, with a further 3 pairs just one point back. Results...
I guess this is the closest we'll get to links golf at RPGC (minus the sea of course). A big field (40 players) faced gusting winds and thick clouds. The self called "Dream Team" of Peter "Top Dog" Osgood, Habe "2017 Ladies Club Champion" Crocker and Darren 'shank" Enthoven went out first. They probably enjoyed some of the better weather but couldn't seize their opportunity. When the other early starters had finished their round the leading score was 3Down!
The 10am starters did capitalize and started posting some decent scores. Tore Burman kept up his excellent form by recording a score of 2up. In the end he was beaten by Jeremy Ryan's excellent score of 4up. Jeremy's handicap gets cut by 0.6 strokes and his playing handicap now stands at 11. Well done. Chris Jones (1up) and Jon Cooper (AllSquare) were also among the 10am starters and claimed Top6 finishes. The afternoon starters arguably experienced the worst weather conditions. They faced the additional challenge of some serious rain showers on the front 9. Richard Owen (1up) and Jay Barker (AllSquare) did manage to finish in the Top6. Results...
CSS: 1UP (Men & Ladies)
It felt as if autumn had already descended on Richmond Park today. The field faced much cooler temperatures. swirling winds and threatening clouds. This week's rain made chipping & pitching a little less difficult but created some extra zip on the greens. A lot of new faces more than made up for a large number of usual suspects who were either at the Ladies Away Weekend or recovering from wild celebrations following RPGC's victory in the Hawtree Team Competition (congratulations to the team Captain, Nigel Gaymond, and his victorious team mates).
On to the order of the day. Scott Sparks signed up for his 1st competition since joining RPGC. He netted 21pts on the way out (a recurring theme today) and made his way back to the clubhouse with 18pts. 1st place and an immediate cut of 1.1 on his handicap represent a pretty good day at the office. Quite an ominous start to his tenure at RPGC. Mike Shabani shows he's ready for the return leg at Tricky Ricky next Saturday. A strong start (20pts) and a steady back 9 mean he beats Jim Fogarty back into 3rd based on the countback rule. Jim tore up the front 9 with 22pts! Despite some horrendous pitching and a cold putter the back-up handicap secretary Kim Chaffart was able to grasp 4th place from the clutches of Tony Berqvist (albeit thanks to the countback rule). Tony also netted 22pts on the front 9 (I told you scoring+20pts on the front 9 was the theme of the day). Nigel Ward's steady golf (18pts on the way out and the way in) lands him a spot in the Top6. Also note the large number of birdies on the different par 3's. Results...
CSS: 36pts (Men & Ladies)
Despite menacing clouds the weather remained dry. The light rain of the last couple of days took away some of the bounce on the fairways. The greens keep recovering from the maintenance works so they remained a touch unpredictable.
Darren has left his shanking days behind him (for now). A net score of 68 made him leader in the clubhouse. None of the 10am starters could better that score. Chris Jones came really close. But a "softer" back 9 drops him back just behind Darren. The afternoon starters put on a great show. Mike Assender went out in 37 (gross). Combined with a solid back 9 (40 gross) he totals a score of 67 net, 77 gross. Good enough for victory today and a new playing handicap of 9. James Barker (4th with the lowest gross score of 75) and Jack Evans 70(89 gross) were two other 2pm starters in the Top6. Jeremy Thompson completes the Top6. 1st Lady today is Veronica Mitchell.
Note for those who are in the running for the Midweek Grand Medal Trophy: your 3 best scores count for the Trophy. But you need at least one score on each course. The October Midweek Medal will also be held on Duke's (4th October to be precise). Looks like Jay has the lead in this Best-Of Series (total 198 - TBC) with Keith Cassidy 5 shots behind. Habe has about 8 shots to make up if she has her eyes set on 1st place. Lia Donath also has a chance but she has not recorded a score on Duke's yet for these series (her best scores on Prince's were a 63(!) and a 68). So the pressure is on. Results...
CSS: 71 (Men) - 73 (Ladies)
President's Putter
Honours Board
Another Top Dog Event and who decides to show up? Peter Osgood. Guess his awful display at the Midweek Captain Day last Wednesday was just an effort to fool the rest of the field. The Saffie racked up 23pts on the way out (equating to 35 strokes or level par). A strong birdie-par finish (coupled with a par on SI 1 hole) allowed him to edge past the early morning starter Barry Page (43pts vs 42).
For the number crunchers amongst you: around 1pm CSS stood at 38pts. When the whole field finished their round CSS had come down to 37. As a result Peter now plays off single figures. He also takes a massive lead in the Top Dog rankings. Barry Page's 2nd place sees his handicap reduced by 1.5 strokes. On top of that he receives an ESR so his exact handicap stands at 15.8. Well done to both players. Lee Marshall carded 4 birdies on his way to 42pts and 3rd place. Habe Crocker finished as 1st lady on 38pts. Ronnie Mitchell also finished on 38pts but the countback rule pushes her into 5th. Peter Harrison completes the Top6 (Keith as an FYI there is a special column on the scorecard titled Marker's score. You as a marker are supposed to write your scores in that column not in the Column of Player B ...). Results...
CSS: 37pts (Men & Ladies)
Results of the challenges:
- Nearest to the pin on the 7th
Men: The President (really?)
Ladies: looks like none of the ladies managed to hit the green from the tee. Check it out... - Nearest to the pin 10th
Men & Ladies: Darren Enthoven - Nearest to the pin 16th
Men: Paul Appleton (he did make his birdie putt. Just make sure you read the lines as well while caddying at St Andrews for Ronnie ...)
Ladies: Habe Crocker - Nearest to the pin on the 18th in 2
Men: Roger Rojas (BTW: he did miss the birdie putt)
Finding a spell of dry weather in order to complete today's round proved tricky. The 7am starters enjoyed the better conditions. The whole field also faced some slower greens as a result of the Glendale maintenance works. Given these challenges the quality of today's golf turned out to be very good.
Mike Shabani became leader in the clubhouse with an excellent score of 38pts. Consistent golf (19pts on the way out and 19pts on the way in) were a confirmation of his excellent recent form. Alison Chadwick and Kim Chaffart managed to better Mike's score by 1pt. Alison followed up an excellent start (19pts) with an even better inward 9 (the birdie on the 14th didn't hurt). Kim Chaffart matched the Lady Captain thanks to his 21pts on the way in. Based on the countback rule 2nd place goes to the Midweek Captain. Tore Burman tried a new warm-up routine, aka no warm-up at all. The results speak volumes: 19pts (out) and 22pts (in)! He managed to score at least 3pts on 5 holes on the back 9 (the par on the 10th earned him no less than 4pts!). His new handicap now stands at 21. If he keeps up this form into the Men's Pairs Final he (and Tony B.) have a real shot at victory in that competition too. Results...
CSS: 38pts (Men & Ladies)
Results of the challenges:
- Longest drive on the 5th
Ladies: Cheryl Woodhouse - Nearest to the pin on the 9th in 2
Men: Frazer Wilson - Nearest to the pin 11th
Ladies: Lia Donath
- Nearest to the pin 11th
Men: Jeremy Ryan
A big field enjoyed glorious weather. The extra roll and bounce on the fairways were welcome. But chipping onto the greens proved trickier than expected.
A bogey-bogey start didn't upset Greg Saunders. He steadied the ship on route to 21pts on the front 9. Two birdies on the back 9 put him on course to another 21pts. A total of 42pts means Greg's handicap gets cut by a full stroke. On top of that he gets an ESR of 0.5 strokes. His new handicap stands at 9.8. A good day at the office for Greg. Tony Kopczak dropped only 5 shots on the front 9. As a result he racked up 23pts on the way out! Another 20pts on the back (with a no score on the 17th) allow him to push Greg into 2nd. Tony's handicap gets cut by 1.8 strokes. His new playing handicap stands at 18! 1st lady today is Tenesi who played a solid round of golf to finish with 38pts. Lia Donath's quest for 3rd place came undone with a no score on the 16th. Lee Marshall kept up his good form to finish 5th with 37pts. Paul Brown lost a chance to better his 6th place finish on his favourite hole (the 16th). Results...
A lot of 2's were recorded today. Alan Cinnamond and Lia Donath both birdied the 4th and 11th (Lia's birdie putt on the 11th nearly destroyed the back-end of the cup!). Habe Crocker went one better by recording an eagle on the 14th (she did record a no-score on the next hole though ...).
Finally a heartfelt shout-out to Vice-Captain Nigel Gaymond who recuperated from a medical emergency in no time to participate in today's comp.
CSS: 37pts (Men & Ladies)
Midweek Club Championship Rd 2
Ladies
All to play for at the start of the 2nd round of the Midweek Ladies Club Championship played on Duke's. Five players were in with a shout to win the title. Habe went out as an early starter and saw off all competition with an excellent round of 79 (Gross). The round was a model of consistency (+3 out and +3 in). Her combined score of 163 puts her 7 strokes clear of the rest of the field. Habe's handicap gets cut by 0.6 strokes to 8.8. Second place today goes to Liz Britton. A birdie on the 2nd and not a single dropped stroke on the Par 3's result in a score of 86 (Gross). Liz's total score ticked off at 170. Good enough for 2nd place over the two rounds. As a reward Liz's handicap gets a small cut to 14.1. Neither Gina Jillett nor Ronnie Mitchell were able to mount any serious challenge. Ladies Results...
CSS: 73
Men
Senior Division
Realistically three players had a chance at victory. Seong Lim had the
most ground to make up. His outward 9 was steady (39 gross). But he
couldn't kick into higher gear on the back 9 (41 gross). Henry L-B and
Joseph Shin virtually matched each other on the front 9: 36 (gross) for
Henry and 37 for Joseph. The back 9s were unsteady for both players.
Joseph stumbled trough holes 13 and 14. After untidy approach on the
18th things looked a bit bleak. Henry L-B will regret holes 12 through
16. Without any exaggeration one can say that these five holes cost him
the title. He managed to eagle the 17th (a feat copied by Tamas Ladacs).
But the damage was done. Congratulations to Joseph and commiserations to
Henry L-B.
Men Results...
Junior Division
1st Round leader John Ahad decided to forgo (!) today's round. Paul
Green, Mark Rosamond and Ted Holt were the main contenders. Paul Green
kept up his good recent form. A steady round of 88 (43 out and 45 in)
was good enough to see off his challengers. Mark Rosamond had a stronger
start (41 out) but a weaker back 9 killed off his chances. Ted Holt
never came within touching distance of Paul and Mark. 3rd place is his
reward.
Men Results...
Richmond Park Golf Club Open
Honours Board
The day after the Bontor for a lot of the participants. The field dealt with nice golfing conditions. Ed Henery, still high on his impressive singles win in the Bontor, posted a 71 net to become leader in the clubhouse. Cheryl Woodhouse decided to forgo the Bontor and focus on today's comp (says a lot about her priorities!). An impressive 66 net and victory today are her rewards. On top of that Cheryl gets a 1.8 stroke handicap cut. Her new playiing handicap now stands at 20. Looks like another ESR may also be on the cards. Three Men tried really hard but came up just short. Oliver Maskell played an excellent back 9 en route to a 68 net. The biggest threat to Cheryl's victory could/should've come from Richard Owen. Unfortunately Richard decided to get all of his bad shots out of the way on just 1 hole. As a small consolation Richard sees his handicap cut by 1.3 strokes to 11.3. Phil Flanagan kept up his good recent form by posting a 69 net. Brian McMahon 70 net completes the Top6. Where were the other ladies you ask? Looks like the Bontor took a lot out of them. Scroll down to position 14, 18, 20, 24 and below (no I'm not bitter). Mike Shabani couldn't believe his eyes today when he saw Susan Smith's form/score today! Results...
CSS: 71 (Men) - 73 (Ladies)
Pete Harrison won closest to the pin on the 7th and 10th (TBC). Oliver Maskell won closest to the pin in two on the 18th. A member from Putney Park won longest drive for the men on the 15th (TBC). Tenesi Karakavena won longest drive for the ladies on the 15th.
Midweek Club Championship Rd 1
Going out early didn't prove to be a very big success. Ronnie, Gina and Habe went out as early starters and struggled to play their handicaps. The best round of the day belonged to the returning Kate Emmanuel (80 gross). Unfortunately she didn't qualify for the Midweek Club Championship. Liz Britton matched Habe's score of 84 (gross) setting up an interesting duel at the 2nd round next week. Ladies Results... | Men Results...
CSS ended at 68. No handicap changes. Looks like the Ladies playing Saturday's Bontor complied very diligently with team orders.
Ladies
A small select group of ladies contested the August medal, a combination of holidays and other matches keeping many away. With the summer making a welcome return the winning score was a net 68 from recent joiner, Liz Britton with Jane Fraser one behind on 69. As half of the entrants were within their buffer zones, the CSS dropped one to 68. Results...
Men
Golfing conditions proved to be excellent today. A big field were met with a welcome rise in the temperatures and virtually no wind. The rain of the start of the week had made the greens fairly receptive. The par 3's suffered a real onslaught. No less than 8 birdies were recorded. Liam Bridger played excellent golf (39 out & 41 in). His score of 64 (80 gross) earns him 1st place today. On top of that Liam's handicap gets cut to 15. Well done! Julian James may have let victory slip through his hands on the 18th. His score of 65 (79 gross) is good enough to hold off Kim Chaffart based on the countback rule. Julian also gets rewarded with a new handicap (13). Kim did record the lowest gross score 76 (65 net). Phil Flanagan 66 (85 gross), Mike Shabani 66 (81 gross) and Keith Cassidy 67 (77 gross) complete the Top6. Normally victory should've gone to Keith. But a breach of Rule 4-4 cost him 4 Penalty Strokes! Results...
CSS: 67
Only five players braved the rain today. The rain became really heavy around 10.00 therefore preventing the majority of the field from going out. Gina went out in the 1st game. Her timing proved to be excellent. She enjoyed the "best" of the weather conditions on her route to a net score of 72. Richard Owen, Jon Rampuhl and David Vines finished some way behind Gina. Peter Osgood's lost all chances of winning when he lost his ball on the 3rd. Ironically he recovered his ball when he walked up the fairway of the 18th hole! Results...
CSS: 72 (Men) - 74 (Ladies).No handicap changes.
Gina is one the only players to have completed in all MW Accumulator rounds. Despite posting her weakest score so far she remains in charge. Below you will find a table after today's round. Still all to play for in the September round!
1 Gina Jillett 3 69 72 211
2 Veronica Mitchell 2 69 71 140
3 Henry Lindesay-Bethune 2 70 72 142
4 Keith Cassidy 2 71 72 143
5 Darren Enthoven 2 70 74 144
6 Jeremy Ryan 2 69 76 145
7 James Barker 2 71 75 146
8 Eelco Snijders 2 70 76 146
9 Ted Holt 2 68 79 147
10 Ann Gardner 2 64 83 147
Golden Jubilee
Honours Board
A big field enjoyed good golfing conditions. Perhaps the size of the field affected the speed of play today. Too often there seemed to be two-hole gaps between games.
Tamas Ladacs kept up his excellent form. Consistent golf on the front nine (40) and inward nine (42) give him a score of 66 (82 gross). Last year's winner, Henry L-B , looked to be on course of successfully defending his title. But he did a "Jordan Spieth" on the last hole. This left him no room to make up for his error. His score of 67 (77 gross) is still good enough for 2nd. Allan Cinnamond came in with the lowest gross score despite a "softer" front nine. Thanks to his 68 (75 gross) he finishes on the podium. 1st Lady today is Tenesi Karakaneva with an excellent 68 (88 gross). Jon Cooper 69 (79 gross) and Peter Osgood 70 (81 gross) complete the Top6. Shout-out to Peter Jagger for birdieing the 7th today. Results...
CSS: 71 (Men) - 73 (Ladies)
Today's winner Tamas keeps cutting his handicap: his new handicap now
stands at 14. (also setting him up nicely for an ESR ... ) Well done. A
long list of other players get new (playing) handicaps. Take note of
your new handicap.
Today's contenders for the medal would probably have welcomed last week's weather. Unfortunately the forecast was pretty much correct resulting in a third of the field walking off mid-round as the heavens opened. It didn't get to everyone with Paul House recording a net 64, four shots ahead of the next two and the only one to play below the SSS. Lia Donath piped John Curry to 2nd place on countback with Mike Jones one behind in 4th place. Results...
The weather affected results meant that CSS went up two to 69 for the men and 71 for the ladies rewarding both Paul and Lia with cuts to their playing handicaps.
35 stalwarts didn't let either the closure of half the roads around the park for Ride London, or a day and night of rain stop them from playing. Although summer seemed to have come to an end a couple of weeks ago, the softening of the ground is having its effect with CSS remaining at 37 points today and only the top 4 beating it.
In 1st place is recent joiner Simon Malin on 42 points who sees his handicap cut to 6.8 as a result. Three behind on 39 is Keith Cassidy with Martin Heinrich and Matt Campbell following on 38, all of whom receive cuts to their handicaps. Results...
Cooler temperatures, rain showers and swirling winds - aka the British Summer - made life tricky for the field today. Looks like the late afternoon starters might have enjoyed the better of the weather. 10 am starters endured the worst conditions.
Gina Jillett was one of the early birds and became leader in the clubhouse with an excellent score of 41pts (20pts out + 21pts in). Tamas Ladacs started very well (22pts out) but had to "settle" for 19pts on the way in. Both Gina and Tamas were matched by the freshly crowned Men's Club Champion, Jay Barker. The countback rule (over the last 6 holes) awards victory to Jay. Jay, Gina and Tamas all receive substantial handicap cuts. Jay drops to 4.6, Gina's new handicap stands at 14 and Tamas now plays off a more "realistic" handicap of 16. Joseph Shin played an excellent round of golf (37pts) to finish 5th. Kim Chaffart (38pts - with a missed tap-in of less than a foot (!) on the 10th & no-scores on the 11th and 17th) and Mike Shabani (35pts) complete the Top6. Results...
CSS: 36pts (Men & Ladies)
Club Championships Rd 2
Honours Boards
Ladies
With the weather having decided that summer is over, the second round was played in considerably different conditions from the first and it resulted is some big changes in both the handicap trophies of the Club Championship.
Despite not on her usual consistent form, Habe extended her first round cushion of seven shots by one, to take the Club Championship with a gross 166 from Jayne Maxwell on 174. R2 Results... | Overall Results...
It was however all change in both handicap divisions with the winners producing their best golf and obviously favouring slightly soggy conditions. In the Handicap Cup group, Veronica Mitchell came from nine shots back to beat the rest by 11 shots and take the trophy with a net 141. Runner-up, as in the gross, was Jayne Maxwell, five shots behind. Results...
Scoring in the first round of the Pembroke Cup was closer, but Tenesi overtook a three shot deficit to record a net 70 and take the cup with a total score of 142. In second place, seven shots back was Joan Mulcahy on 149. Results...
Men
Cooler temperatures, thick clouds and an occasional spot of rain for today's round of golf. British summer was definitely back with a vengeance at RPGC as the setting for the Club Championship.
In the Senior Division the chase for Jay was open. Simon probably had the best shot at putting some pressure on the defending champion. Jay was able to pull away slightly on the front 9. A "Spieth' moment on the 14th hole might have briefly opened the door for the competition. But a birdie on the 17th sealed the deal. A score of 74 (gross) added to a score of 74 (gross) in round 1 puts Jay's winning score on 148. Simon Malin finishes 2nd with a score of 155. Shout out to Mike Assender for an excellent 2nd round (77 gross, 65 net) and Oliver Maskell for his eagle on the 3rd. Results...
In the final round of the Junior Division Mark Andrews went out to defend a slim lead of one shot. It turned into a day-long tussle. Looks like all was decided on the 12th hole. Barry Page managed to better Mark Andrews' score by just a couple of shots on that particular hole. 89 (gross) today for Barry combined with an 87 (gross) from last week puts Barry two shots clear to win the Junior Division. Liam Bridger posted the best 2nd round (86 gross). Results...
In the Handicap Trophy for the best net score Lee Marshall won with 135 on countback from Toby Hunt. Results...
The net (sweep) for the day was won by <tba>. Results...
Weather was very variable today. Early morning showers made way for drier conditions for the 10.00AM starters. But thick clouds remained. The later afternoon starters faced some strong winds. Who enjoyed the better playing conditions is up for debate.
Henry L-B came out all guns blazing (35 strokes gross at the turn). He walked off the 12th hole on +1 (gross). On holes 13, 14 and 15 the lights literally went out. A gross score of 76 after 18 holes (net 66) was good enough to become leader in the clubhouse. Stephen Mason continues his love affair with Prince's. An excellent front 9 (40 strokes) was followed by a softer inward 9 (43 strokes gross). Still a score of 83 (gross - 64 net) represents a good day at the office. Three late afternoon starters mounted a serious challenge. Oliver Maskell used up half of his handicap on the front 9. But he recovered with an excellent 39. A total score of 82 (gross - 67 net) is good enough for 5th. Jay followed Ollie's example: slowly out of the gates (39 gross) and excellent on the way in (33 gross). He has to settle for 3rd (72 gross - 66 net). Kim Chaffart opened Double Bogey - Bogey. After the early wobble he steadied the ship (39 gross after 9 holes). Poor short game and a love-hate affair with the putter resulted in 38 on the back 9. Finally Ann Gardner completes the Top6. Results...
CSS: 67 (Men) - 69 (Ladies)
Club Championships Rd 1
Honours Boards
Ladies
Another amazing round from Habe Crocker sees her 7 shots ahead after the first round of the Club Championship - 2nd place Lia Donath will not be competing in the second round. Habe also receives an ESR reduction of 0.5, reducing her new handicap to 8.9. As might be expected with the hard ground conditions, the scoring was good for most, with a CSS of 68. Results...
In the associated Handicap Cup, Habe leads the way in the 0-18 division, with Jayne Maxwell and Sheena Harrington three shots behind. In the higher division, the Pembroke Cup, Cheryl Woodhouse with a net 69 is two shots ahead of in form Doreen Dolby, but a further two players are just one shot behind. Results...
CSS: 69
Men
A big field met today for Round 1 of Senior and Junior section of the 2017 RPGC Club Championship. The rain of the last couple of days took away some of the uncertainty of the last couple of weeks. Bounces off the fairways seemed less violent and a touch less unpredictable. The "new" greens (holes 7, 14-18) seemed a lot more receptive than usual.
The Senior Division saw two players come in with the same gross score: new member Simon Malin and defending champion Jay Barker carded scores of 76 (gross). Toby Hunt's new putter was on fire (draining monster birdie putts. some excellent par saves and great lag putting). Combine that with some very crisp iron play and the end result is gross score of 75 and very well deserved 3rd place after Round 1. Henry L-B recovered from a sluggish front 9 to finish on 76 gross. Seong Lim finished birdie-birdie to cap off an excellent round of 76 gross. Simon and Toby both receive small handicap reductions (but no adjustments to their playing handicaps). Shout-out to Lee Marshall who played the back 9 in 32 strokes! As Niels Bohr would say: Predicting is difficult especially when it concerns the future. But you'd probably guestimate that if you want to be in with a shot at Round 2 next Sunday you would've had to register a score below 80 today. Results...
The final round of the Junior Division will be real tussle too. Mark Andrew carded an 85 gross, closely followed by Domink Leisi (who shot an 86 gross - 61 net!) and Mark Rosamond (86 gross). Tamas Ladacs, Barry Page and David Oddone are one stroke back on 87 . Dominik's handicap gets cut by 2.4 strokes to 22.9. Liam Bridger deserves a word of praise since he managed to chip in for an eagle on the 9th. So all to play for in this division too. Results...
In the Handicap Trophy for the best net score Domink Leisi leds with 61 over Toby Hunt 63. Results...
CSS: 67 (net)
Heavy rain of Tuesday caused some casual water on fairways and in bunkers for Round 2 of the Midweek Anniversary Accumulator. Looks like competitors also needed some time to adjust to the speed of the greens.
Gina Jillett went out early and played an excellent front 9 (40 gross). Unfortunately her softer back 9 ended with a "snowman". A net score of 69 made her leader in the clubhouse. Ted Holt played very consistent golf. A score 68 (net - 86 gross) is enough for victory today. Oliver Maskell matched Ted's score (68 net - 84 gross) but the countback rule pushes him into 2nd. As a consolation Oliver sees his handicap reduced to 15. This will qualify him, a junior, for the Senior section of the upcoming Club Championship. Well done Oliver! Darren Enthoven, Brett Colley, Henry L-B looks (seems pars not birdies are the way to go HLB) complete the Top6. Seong Lim just misses out on the Top6 but he seemed to have little trouble playing to his new handicap. Results...
CSS: 70 (Men - 72 (Ladies). The Top 3 all get new handicaps.
Gina Jillett (139 strokes) takes the provisional lead in the standings of the Midweek Accumulator competition (Ronnie Mitchell is second on 140).
Summer golf was back with a vengeance. A big field were met with glorious sunshine to face off in the July Monthly Medal. Judging the bounce on the fairways or the roll on the greens seems to have been tricky (the position on the 7th remained in a brutal position). Richard Owen wins today's competition. A net score of 65 (77 Gross) was the result of a solid display of golf. Jay Barker recovered from a brutal NAPGC competition over the weekend. He equalled Richard's score of 65 net but just missed out on the win because of the countback rule. Seong Lim, Jeremy Ryan and Chery Woodhouse all put up excellent scores. They together with new member Claire Babeau complete the Top6. Results...
CSS: 67 (Men) - 69 (Ladies)
Ladies
Today's results perhaps reflect the challenges presented when although the ball runs further with the sun-hardened fairways, it can bounce off in many directions. Our 'Steady Eddy' otherwise known as Doreen Dolby tried to blow it on the 18th with a 9, but came through to take first place on a net 69 and with her 9 being cut back to 7, earned herself a one shot cut to her playing handicap. Caroline Stilwell was one shot behind in 2nd place. Results...
CSS: 69
Men
A reduced field met today on a course where fairways remain unpredictable. The greens on the other hand seemed to offer a bit more grip. The swirling wind was an added complication. Can the person who upset the greenkeeper make himself known? Whatever he did/said clearly had an effect on Ross. Some of today's pin positions were very cruel. The pin on the 7th in particular left no margin whatsoever for error.
Mike Cullinane played solid on front and back 9. A score of 62 (75 Gross) means 1st place, a cocktail glass and a cut of 1.1 strokes on the handicap. Mike's new handicap now stands at 12. Good luck to Eelco, Mike's next opponent in the Singles Knock-Out. Barry Page as usual went out early and posted an excellent 64 (83 Gross). He was closely followed by Kerry who is keeping up his good recent form. Kerry's score of 66 (75 Gross - today's lowest gross score) was the result of an excellent back 9 (34 strokes) and softer front 9 (41 strokes). Toby Hunt (67 Net - 79 Gross), Tony Bryan (68 Net - 84 Gross) and Jim Fogarty (69 Net - 87 Gross) complete the Top6. Results...
Paul Brown lost the will to live after his pitch under the tree on the 9th went backwards! Truth be told his lie was pretty tough.
CSS: 67
It felt weird playing in sub-20 degrees and thick clouds. The rain of the previous days created casual water in some bunkers. Greens were more receptive than before but the fairways still provided some useful extra yards on the roll. Contrary to the Starter's predictions all of the field enjoyed very similar conditions to complete their round.
Darren Enthoven changed his tactics from last Sunday: Pars were in and Birdies were out. 10 Pars and 8 Bogeys make for a fine round of golf. The round was balanced all the way through (20pts out and 19pts in). Keith Cassidy recovered from a slow start on the first 3 holes and still managed to end the outward 9 with 21pts! 17pts on the back 9 means Keith has to settle for 2nd today. Richard Hodgkinson played a very solid round of golf (18pts out & 19pts in) to claim 3rd place. Mike Shabani almost matched Keith's front 9 with 20pts. But he possibly missed an opportunity to improve on his 4th place with a sub par performance on the 17th hole. New(er) members Tina Neessen (36pts) and Jack Evans (35pts) complete the Top6. Results...
Darren's handicap gets cut 10. Very well done.
CSS: 36pts (Men & Ladies)
Captains' Day
Honours Boards:
Men |
Ladies
Milder weather attracted one of the biggest fields (ever) for an RPGC competition. No less than 20 games went out to enjoy softer conditions (thanks to the light overnight rain) and swirling winds.
There was no match for Peter Osgood today. Par golf was his way to master the course. One sole birdie (on SI 18) and 11 pars were the key to his success. Word has it that he could barely keep it together and he topped and stumbled his way trough the back 9. All in all a very good day at the office. Peter's handicap gets a massive cut: 1.4 strokes for finishing 7 strokes below CSS and an ESR of 0.5 strokes. His new exact handicap now stands at 9.9 (10c). Very well done.
First lady Jane Fraser started slowly (45 gross) but absolutely came alive on the back 9 (41 gross) to finish with 86 gross (67 net) to finish second. Jane's new handicap is 17. The Captains' honour was saved by Men's Vice-Captain Nigel Gaymond. An excellent round of 83 gross (67 net) puts him in 3rd (based on the countback rule). Seong Lim's nice round of 78 gross (67 net) earns him 4th place. Birdie machine Darren Enthoven (4 birdies allow him to finish with 79 Gross (67 net) has to settle for 5th. He let a potential win slip away on the 18th!. Habe Crocker completes the Top6. Results..
Some other prizes were up for grabs:
- The team comp (stableford aggregate score based on best score on the par 5's, 2 best scores on par 4's and best 3 scores on par 3's) was won by 1pt by the team of Toby Hunt, John Curry, Doreen Dolby and Valerie Parker. Valerie's 4 on the 17th (equalling 5pts) certainly helped their cause.
- The picture quiz was won with a perfect score by the team of Pete Harrison, Eric Lit, Henry L-B and Kim Chaffart. The Sky Sports golf team can all start fearing for their job!
- Nearest to the Pin for the Ladies on the 10th was won by Lia Donath
- Nearest to the Pin for the Men on the 16th was won by Pete Harrison
- Closest to the half circle - sorry I mean red line - on the 9th was won by Cheryl Woodhouse and Paul Brown respectively. Word has it that Paul Brown topped his ball barely past the ladies tee. But his ball came to a standstill near the straightest part of the circle/line.
- Peter Osgood wasn't very bullish on the captains' chances today. He totally low-balled the projected scores of the two captains to win the over/under sweepstakes. Thank goodness that a total disrespect of the captains is no reason to DQ a player.
Massive thanks to the captains and their respective vice captains for the organisation of a very entertaining day.
CSS: 71 (Men) & 73 (Ladies). There were again a multitude of handicap changes. Please take note of your new handicaps!
After three rounds for the Men's Top Dog Trophy Peter Osgood leads with one win and a second place. Roger Rojas and Tony Bergqvist share second place with one win apiece. There are four more rounds and the match play results to count. R3 Leader board...
Scorching temperatures keep complicating playing conditions: extra roll on drives or approaches are cancelled out by greens that are less and less receptive.
Early starters enjoyed "cooler" temperatures. Veronica Mitchell followed up a good front 9 (19pts) with an excellent back 9 (20pts) to win today's comp. Keith Cassidy & Tamas Ladacs also netted 20pts on the back 9. Mike A. joined the early starters. His round was the exact mirror image of Veronica's round (20pts out and 19pts in). So the countback rule pushes him into 2nd. The Mason family had a good day at the Park. Stephen M. played solid golf (19pts out and 18pts in). Lesley on the other hand needed 9 holes to get used to the hot temperatures. But she caught fire on the back 9. Her score of 21pts is the best performance on the homeward stretch today. Keith Cassidy and Paul House complete the Top6. Results...
CSS: 38pts (Men & Ladies)
Shaw Cup
Honours Board
61 players braved very warm weather, bouncy fairways and greens that are starting to dry up fast. Roger Rojas continues his excellent form. 20pts out and 22pts in earn him a second handicap cut in one week. On top of that Roger receives an ESR. His new handicap stands at 7. Deborah Potter did put her card in the correct box and managed to beat Roger's score by 1pt. 24pts out and a steady 19pts in earn Deborah 1) the victory today and 2) a handicap cut of two strokes. Her new handicap stands at 26. Well done to both! Lee Marshall went out at the warmest moment of the day. His score of 41pts matched the score of early starter Danny Deprez and Martin Heinrich. 3rd place goes to Lee based on his stronger back nine. Lia Donath's "struggles" on the last four holes prevented her from finishing higher than 6th. One of the highlights of the day must be Habe Crocker's front nine: she managed to go out in 36 strokes (gross) earning her 25pts (!). Results..
CSS: 38 (Men & Ladies). There were a multitude of handicap changes. Please take note of your new handicaps!
Another big turnout today. The course has been drying up pretty quickly over the last couple of days. Extra roll on the fairways is cancelled out by some unpredictable bounces. Greens are firming up but remain receptive.
Ronnie Mitchell posted a 69 (Net) to become leader in the clubhouse. The late morning starters seemed to make the most of the conditions. Ann Gardner played excellent golf to finish with a 64 (Net - 93 Gross). Needless to say that this score has put her out of reach of the whole field. May be time to start paying Sweep Money don't you think Ann?
Today's winner sees her handicap cut by 2.8 strokes. On top of that Ann receives an ESR of 0.5 strokes. Her new handicap now stands at 23.5. Paul House played very good golf (3 birdies were probably the highlight - he will regret the double bogey on the 10th hole). But his 66 (Net - 79 Gross) is "only" good enough for second today. Jeremy Ryan, took 3rd place with a score of 69 (Net - 81 Gross). FYI: the whole Top3 teed off late in the morning. Based on the countback rule Jeremy manages to hold off Ronnie, Eelco Snijders (you guessed it he also teed off at 10.00AM) and Gina Jillett. The afternoon starters were not able to mount any kind of challenge. Results...
CSS: 71 (Men) - 73 (Ladies)
Diamond Jubilee
Honours Board
The field, without last year's winner Lia Donath, enjoyed good conditions to play golf. It must be said that the swirling winds caught most of the competitors off guard. Rumours have it that players from the 8.24 tee time (Peter O. & Mark Rosamond) issued some very bold predictions on certain message boards about their scores today (transcripts available on request). Sometimes it is better to let your clubs do the talking ...
Greg Saunders certainly did that. A gross score of 78 (66 Net) enabled him to see off the challenge of two other players. Val Riziotis played very good golf (86 Gross - 66 Net). Her "softer" back 9 forces her into 2nd today. Val's new handicap now stands at 16. Roger Rojas went out in 33 (Gross) but hobbled through the tough middle stretch of the back 9. His score of 76 (Gross - 66 Net) and "weaker" back 9 puts him into 3rd.
If you wanted to improve your chances to win today you had to tee-off in the 8.40 game. Winner Greg Saunders was part of that game. As was Kerry Sargeant. An excellent score of 77 (Gross - 67 Net) earns Kerry a well deserved 4th place. Habib Amir's 5th place (83 Gross - 68 Net) earns him an ESR. His new handicap now stands at 12! FYI: Habib won the MIP award last year. Does today's result mean the race for that award is already over? Peter Osgood (82 Gross - 70 Net) completes the Top6. Decent score for Peter but quite a bit off the lofty expectations he set himself (see start of this report). Results...
CSS: 72 (Men) - 74 (Ladies)
There were an impressive list of handicap changes. Please take note of your new handicaps!
Conditions proved to be very tricky today. Casual water in the bunkers and pretty strong winds were the most glaring complications. Playing your handicap proved to the shortest way into the Top6. Henry L-B went out early and posted a recommendable 78 (Gross - 68 Net) to become leader in the clubhouse. Jon Ramphul was also one of the early starters and he posted a decent score of 92 (Gross - 69 Nett). Chris Jones wins today's comp. He posted a score of 87 (Gross - 68 Net). But he pushes Henry L-B into second thanks to the countback rule. That bogey on the 18th didn't help HLB! Keith Cassidy (79 Gross - 69 Net), Peter "Volvik" Osgood (82 Gross - 70 Net) and Mark Rosamond (89 Gross - 71 Net) complete the Top6. 1st Lady is Gina in 7th. Results...
CSS: 68 (Men) - 70 (Ladies)
Ladies
There may only have been 9 in contention for the medal, but they certainly put up a good show with most inside their handicap buffers. Beating the rest of the field by 4 shots, Habe and Cheryl both shot 66s with Habe piping Cheryl on the back 9 and continuing the downward trajectory of her handicap to 10.8. Cheryl however, loses a shot off hers to play off 21. Results...
CSS: 68
Men
A big field enjoyed excellent golfing conditions. As a result scoring proved to be very good. 25% of the field shot below their handicap. There was no match for Habib today. A steady front 9 (42 gross) was followed up an excellent back 9 (34 gross). A total of 76 (gross) equates to a 59 Net! Sweep money, a cocktail glass, a new handicap of 15 (handicap cut of 2.1 strokes today) sums up a good day at the office. Mark Andrews played his best round ever. 84 gross (64 Net) would've won a Medal comp on a normal day. Today he'll have to settle for 2nd. David Sandifer is keeping up his excellent form. 86 strokes (65 Net) is enough for 3rd. Paul Rockett (76 gross - 65 Net), Kim Chaffart (78 gross - 66 Net) and Keith Cassidy (76 gross - 66 Net) complete the Top6. Results...
CSS: 66
A field of 31 competitors were met with excellent golfing conditions. It resulted in some excellent results. John Ahad was one the early starters and set the course alight. A steady start (21pts) was followed up by 24pts (!) on the back 9. A total score of 45pts for John means 1) 1st place in today's comp 2) a cut of 2.7 strokes on his handicap (new competition handicap of 16) and 3) setting himself up for an Exceptional Scoring Reduction down the road. Other notable performances from the early starters include 43pts by Parkash Arora, 38pts by Gina Jillett and 38pts by Hassan Mouilah. The only serious challenge to John came from two afternoon starters. Kim Chaffart rediscovered a touch of good form to total 43pts (I presume the new TM Spider putter remains in the bag ...). Keith Cassidy came closest: an excellent round of golf gets rewarded with 44pts. Costly bogeys on the 14th (make that a double bogey on this hole) and 18th killed off his challenge. Keith has also set himself up for an ESR in the near term future. Results...
CSS: 36 pts (Men & Ladies)
A reduced field were met with warm weather, drying fairways & greens. Lia Donath is keeping up her impressive form. 21pts on the front and 18pts on the way in are enough to claim victory today. David Sandifer played a steady front 9 and then caught fire by birdieing the 10th and 11th hole. A sub-par result on the 16th meant he had to "settle" for 20pts. His total score of 38pts is good enough for 2nd. His playing partner Dominik Leisi mirrored that result (20pts out & 18pts in). The countback rule relegates Dominik into 3rd place. The 3rd player with a score of 38pts, Lee Marshall, torched the front 9 (score of level par gross equals 24pts !). A wayward back 9 resulted in "only" 14pts and 4th place. Sheena Harrington - still on a high from her blistering performance yesterday with Nigel Gaymond in the Hawtree - netted 21pts on the way in. 37pts and a strong back 9 allowed her to push Paul House and Rick Smith back into 6th and 7th respectively. Results...
CSS: 37pts (Men & Ladies)
Glorious weather inspired a packed field to some excellent golf during the third and final round of the Midweek Founders Cup. Seven (!) players scored 40pts or better today. Congratulations to the whole field (except for the few players who were a no show w/o informing the starters).
Habe Crocker benefited from the cooler conditions and played excellent golf (again). Three birdies propelled her to a score of 41pts (20pts out & 21pts in). Mike Jones also went out amongst the early starters and equalled Habe's score. A "softer" back 9 prevented him from overtaking Habe/becoming leader in the clubhouse. Ann Gardner, Paul House and John Ahad all scored 40pts. Ann Gardner managed to rack up 26pts (!) on the back 9. The level of play was kept up by the afternoon starters. Mike Shabani played a very strong back 9 (22pts) which allowed him to push Habe back into 3rd (thanks to the countback rule). But the day belonged to Jay Barker. Here's a summary of his round: 4 birdies overall, level par going out and level par coming back home. End result: a score of 42pts. Very impressive. Results...
Report due soon to inform the winner of the Midweek Founders Cup.
CSS: 38pts (Men & Ladies)
Bogey Sweep / Committee Cup Rd 2
Ladies
Honours Board
The recent rain had definitely softened the course a bit which seemed to help a good number today and CSS went to 38 points. Veronica Mitchell put up a good chase on the 1st round leaders and emerged the winner on the day from Joan Mulcahy, who did not compete last week. They were both on 38. Results...
However, Alison Chadwick's lead of 7 points could not be caught and with her 34 points, she is the Committee Cup winner but Veronica's 38 combined with her first round score of 36 was enough to take runner-up position. Final results...
Men
The rain of the last few days created casual water on a few places. But apart from the bunkers and some greens the course was pretty receptive.
Nowadays the motto at the club seems to be: if you finish near/ahead of Jon Cooper you stand a pretty good chance of winning a comp. Jon posted an excellent score of 6up. But he stumbled on the last hole to leave the door open for two other players. David Sandifer recovered from double bogeys on the first two holes to finish the front 9 on 5up (41 gross!). He cooled off on the back 9 and probably lost the comp on the 18th hole. His final score of 7up is good enough for 2nd place. Mark Rosamond's round was the mirror image of David's. A steady front 9 was followed by tremendous back 9 resulting in a score of 7up. The better inward 9 allows Mark to win today's comp based on countback. Patrick Poletti, Darren Enthoven and Toby Hunt complete the Top6. Five of the players finishing in the Top6 receive new handicaps. Jon Cooper is even setting himself for a another Exceptional Scoring Reduction in a matter of weeks (he is playing Wednesday's comp ...). Shot of the day goes to Tony Berqvist who saved par on the 14th by rolling his ball from outside of the left greenside bunker to within inches of the flag with his putter (!). Results...
CSS: 2up
An initial field of more than 40 saw a couple of last minute withdrawals. In the end a total of 37 players went out for the 2nd round of the Midweek Founders Cup. Today's comp was all about timing your tee time in order to dodge the rain showers. If you remember the start sheet you will realize that today's Top 5 all went out in the early groups. Coincidence?
Paul Green is on fire since the away day at Bletchingley. Or maybe the rain just brings out the best in him (remember that he won a monthly medal last year in the pouring rain). Solid golf all around (21pts out & 23pts in) earns him a well deserved victory. Jon Cooper was level par gross on the front 9 (earning 24pts) and wavered a little on the back (20pts). That "weaker" back 9 means that Jon has to settle for 2nd based on the countback rule. Guess it's time to change the e-mail address again Jon? The 3-putt handle doesn't seem very adequate anymore. On top of that Jon gets an ESR and his new handicap now stands at 10. Gina Jillet posted an excellent score of 41pts to finish 3rd overall and 1st lady. Her handicap now drops to 16 (not sure if that's a positive for the upcoming Pairs comps ...) Henry L-B had a storming back 9 (23pts) that vaults him into 4th overall. He also receives an ESR and a new playing handicap of 10. Julian Tatum and Mike Shabani (the sole late starter to make the honours list) complete the Top6. Results...
CSS: 36pts (Men & Ladies)
Summer Cup / Committee Cup Rd 1
Ladies
A stunning round of 43 points saw Lady Captain, Alison Chadwick romp
into a four point lead after the first round of the Committee Cup. Her
new clubs combined with lessons and playing at least twice a week have
paid off big time. With a small field of 9, CSS remained at 3 points,
rewarding Alison with a 2.8 cut to her handicap to 21.9. Val Riziotis is
lying 2nd with 39 points, but retains a playing handicap of 18. With 36
points, Veronica Mitchell is probably the only other contender with a
chance of catching the front runners next week.
Results...
Men
The field saw very little of the forecast light rain/showers. The course is (at last) getting the water it badly needed. Finally the greens are starting to speed up nicely.
Peter Osgood recovered very well from his Midweek trashing in the Midweek NAPGC comp. He came out firing on all cylinders and played level par gross on the front 9 (24pts). Sloppy play on the two Par 5's on the back 9 meant he had to settle for only 16pts in. The only man capable of beating this score was a man with a strong back 9 and first name starting with P. Peter Harrison played steady golf on the front 9 but came alive on the back 9 (23pts). Enough to claim 1st place. Damian Hackett had the best back 9 (24pts) but blew his chance of winning by inadvertently foregoing 1pt on the very first hole of his round. Keith Cassidy, Lee Marshall and Toby Hunt complete the Top6. Results...
CSS: 36pts
The glorious weather seemed to inspire the ladies today (the 2 additional strokes they receive don't hurt either). Lia Donath went out as one of the early starters and put together a superb round of 84 gross to take a well deserved win. Furthermore Lia's handicap gets a healthy cut. Another early starter, Habe Crocker, matched Lia's score. But an uneven performance on the 14th hole pushes her back into 2nd place based on the countback rule. Eric Lit came out firing on all cylinders. But the moment someone shouted Excelsior to him his round fell apart. Since Keith no longer brings Stella along with him he seems to be able to focus on golf again. His round was quite volatile though: 4 birdies in one round deserve some serious praise. But two triple bogeys and one double bogey ruined any chance/hope of winning today's comp. Jay Barker put in today's lowest gross round. Jeremy Ryan and Jon Cooper complete the Top6. Results...
Two final notes:
- For the second competition in 3 days a female member recorded a double digit score on a hole ...
- The prize of the tackiest golf shoes go to a South-African whose first name start with P ... (pictures available on request)
CSS: 67 (Men) - 69 (Ladies).
Ladies
Everyone was duped by the forecast which promised much and failed to deliver until the round was well and truly over. How much of an effect this had on the scores is debatable but as with the men, the CSS remained at SSS on 69.
Winner by two shots and seeing her handicap reduced to 21.9 was Cheryl Woodhouse with a net 67. Lia Donath was 2nd with a 69. Most of the field chose to play the Lady Captain in the Barton Bowl, but with her finishing in 3rd place it was not a good idea. Results...
Men
The field were met with ominous clouds at the start of the competition. The sun only broke through when all of the field had completed their round.
Scoring proved pretty tricky. Mark Rosamond backed up his bold predictions by opening with a birdie 3. He kept at it for the rest of the round and recorded score of 65 (Net - 84 Gross). That proved enough to replace Peter Harrison as leader in the clubhouse. Peter's score of 66 (Net - 74 Gross) was the result of an excellent front 9. But he will regret the 14th and 15th holes. The late morning starters were led by Dave Faure (67 Net - 84 Gross) and John Ahad (68 Net - 87 Gross). No other players came close to threatening Mark's 1st place. Barry Page and Lee Eden complete the Top6. So the cocktail glass and sweep money go to Mark. Results...
Congratz to the other players who qualify for the NAPGC Final at Woodhall. A couple of the players birdied the 4th today. FYI: someone recorded a double digit score on that hole today ....
CSS: 67
It almost felt like fall on the course today: dropping temperatures, thick clouds, threats of rain and a wind that became stronger as the day went on (the 12th was reachable in 2 for the afternoon starters).
The early starters took full advantage of the better weather conditions. Brett Colley rediscovered his form. A consistent round (no birdies, 13 pars) results in a score of 41pts (21pts out & 20pts in). Jon Cooper decided he needed some extra practice and joined the early starters. His round was a bit more volatile: 3 birdies were offset by 3 double bogeys. In the end a score of 40pts is an excellent reward for a "practice round". John Ahad played consistent golf to post a nice score of 38pts. The late morning starters Paul Graham Cook and Darren Enthoven, who recovered from his disappointing result in the Men's Pairs Knock-Out, posted decent scores of 37pts. Usual suspect Habe Crocker, had no problem playing to her new handicap. 36pts is enough for her to finish in the Top6. Peter Osgood showed today how quickly he can go from hero to zero in this game. An unbelievable left-handed (!) recovery put him in a position to walk away with a bogey on the 7th. He finished the hole with a ... 3-putt. Jack Evans in his 1st competition as a new member showed Peter how it is done. His birdie 2 gets him a mention in this competition report. Results...
Thanks to the furious start of the early starters CSS initially went up to 37pts. The "sub-par" results of the late morning and afternoon starters brought CSS back down to 36pts.
Conditions to play remained fairly clement: still lots of roll on the fairway and improving greens. The only added complication today was a swirling wind that became stronger during the course of the day.
The front 9 seemed there for the taking: an impressive number of players scored at least 20pts on their way out. Barry Page netted a massive 23pts. Lia Donath and Jim Fogarty both scored 22pts. Brian McMahon, Tim Meyer and Jayne Maxwell "settled" for 21pts. The effects of the swirling winds growing stronger were visible on the back 9. Henry L-B, was freed of the "intimidating presence of Habe, Peter & Mike" and scored a very impressive 21pts on the back 9. Jon Cooper, Deborah Potter and Habib handled the tricky conditions on the back 9 well by scoring 20pts. Barry P. ended birdie-par on the back 9. That brought his inward score to 19pts. A total score of 42pts is enough for Barry to push Henry back into 2nd place. Henry's strong back 9 allow him to hold off Brian McMahon (41pts) based on the countback rule. Jon Cooper. Caroline Stilwell and Lia Donath complete the Top6. Results...
A few other bits:
- Roger: the blue box belongs to Putney Park Golf. The RPGC cards go in the green box ...
- If you need a custom fitting for the correct loft on your driver get in touch with Kerry. It seemed to do the trick or he just passed his vicious hook off the tee to poor Richard O. today.
- Pete H. managed to score 25% of his points on the back 9 on 1 hole (birdieing the 14th does help)
CSS: 37pts (Men & Ladies)
The field were met with a noticeable drop in temperatures and strong winds. Looks like the course is finally getting the irrigation it badly needs. Greens are slowly recovering from last week's works (they should be in nice shape in a couple of weeks).
The early starters probably enjoyed the better of the weather and put in some decent scores. Habe Crocker is keeping up her excellent form and posted a very respectable score of 2up. Richard Owen seems to be gearing up nicely for his upcoming Knock-Out matches and became leader in the clubhouse with an excellent score of 3up. Amongst the late starters Keith Cassidy braved ominous clouds and birdied the 1st hole. He kept at it for the rest of the round and matched Habe's score of 2up. Jeremy Prescot played all or nothing on the back 9. He either won or lost the hole against the course. Scores 3up over the last 9 holes and 4up over the last 6 holes allow him to beat Richard Owen based on countback. Well done. Kim Chaffart and Mike Jones complete the Top6. Results...
CSS: 2up (Men & Ladies). There are no changes in any competition handicaps.
Ladies
With conditions underfoot more reminiscent of mid-summer run than April mud on the fairways, the state of the greens were slightly easier to deal with, and it was probably those that hadn't been treated that caused more problems. There was some good scoring from the field of 10 and with 3 of the field beating the SSS, it is no surprise that the CSS went down one to 68.
Habe Crocker continues her good form to record a net 67, but she was piped into 2nd place by Sheena Harrington who came in with a 66. Both players receive playing handicap cuts. Caroline Stilwell was the third lady to beat SSS with a net 68. Special mention to Cheryl Woodhouse who kept within her buffer zone despite recording a 10 on one hole. Results...
Men
The effects of the works that Glendale carried out this week were still visible. Greens were slow and unpredictable on the front 9 but sped noticeably on most of the holes on the back 9.
A lot of the players who played Saturrday's Greensomes seemed to struggle today. Nigel Ward put on a show. A net 64 (gross 79) would be good enough on any day to win a Medal comp. Today however he was only able to hold off Damian Hackett based on the countback rule. So the prize money and cocktail glass are yours Nigel. Damian will have nightmares about the 15th hole (just don't blame your 8 on the players who you let play through on that hole!). Jim Fogarty's solid round of 66 puts him in 3rd place. Kim Chaffart, Keith Cassidy and Brian McMahon complete the Top6. Roger Rojas thought he was playing a links course today and tried to use his 3-iron off the tee on most of the holes. The results speak for themselves. On a final note: if you need any advice on how to play flop shots please get in touch with Kerry Sargeant. Results...
Nigel Ward's handicap gets cut to 14. Damian Hackett gets a healthy cut completed with an Exceptional Scoring Reduction of one stroke. His new handicap now stands at 10. Well done to both of them.
CSS: 67
Spring Mixed competitors faced a nippy start to their round on Saturday but finished in glorious sunshine. The format, American Greensomes allowed the teams 3/8ths of their combined handicaps with the ladies receiving an extra shot.
Strong pairings meant that there was only 7 points difference between 1st and last place. Mike Shabani and Lia Donath proved that dressing in team colours really does intimidate opponents and drive performance, achieving top spot with an excellent 41 points. Deborah Potter and Peter Osgood, winners of last years mixed knockouts worked out who was the stronger in that pairing when Deborah and her partner Nick Rogers beat Peter and Joan Mulcahy to second place.
Thanks to the club for providing food and refreshments for the day.
Maintenance work by Glendale meant that the course was inundated with temporary greens. As a result today's comp became a Non-Qualifier.
Tim Vaughn-Spencer rebounded from a tough loss in the JH Taylor comp to post an excellent score of 67 (Net - 73 gross). God knows what his score would've been if his driving hadn't been sub-par today. Gunnar Sundberg came out firing on the front 9: eagle on 2 and birdie on 3 vaulted him to a gross 38 on the front 9. He faded a little on the way in. A few wayward holes mean that Gunnar has to settle for 2nd today based on the countback rule. Alexander Krasnenkov played steady golf (2 birdies didn't hurt) to finish 3rd with a 69 Net. Sure you want to order those new clubs Alex? Peter Osgood, Dominik Leisi and Jay Barker complete the Top6. Henry L-B's round was excellent except 2 holes which cost him a place in the Top6 if not more. Results...
CSS: n/a
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)
The winner of the overall Ladies competition and the Lockie Trophy is Susan Smith. Report...
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)
Spring Stableford Rd2 / Better Ball
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
Weather conditions were excellent to play golf: the field were met with mild temperatures, sun and drying fairways. Scoring proved very good (again).
Henry L-B played a very consistent round (19pts out & 20pts in) to set the early pace. Richard Owen was able to recuperate his ball on the fairway of the 15th after someone had mistakenly used his ball (that's what happens if you mix up the fairways of the 7th and the 15th Richard). Remarkably Richard stuck to it and came home with a very impressive 22pts on the back 9 (total 38pts). Mike Jones also had a very good back 9 (20pts) to score 38pts. Darren and Jeremy had less (!) impressive back 9's and therefore were beaten into 5th and 6th based on countback. Shout-out to Ann Gardner who had very good round but 37pts was not enough to get into the Top6 today. Henry's plea to Kim Chaffart to take it easy had the reverse effect. Kim recovered from a poor start and a no score on the 16th to better Henry's score by 1pts and take today's win. Results...
CSS: 37pts (Men & Ladies)
Ladies
Eleven competitors in today's Ladies Monthly Medal. Congrats to Deborah Potter on her victory. Her consistent round of golf gets rewarded with a nice handicap cut. Her new playing handicap is 28. Well done!
Congrats also to Habe for remembering to sign her card today and more importantly for her birdie on the 16th. Results...
CSS: 70
Men
Another week, another comp and another ace at RPGC. Congrats to Tony Berqvist for acing the 4th today. He joins Richard Owen and Chris Jones who have scored aces this year.
Weather didn't turn out as bad as forecast. That seemed to inspire the field to some really good scoring. Some stats: in order to finish in the Top6 today you had to shoot 65 (Net) and there were 10 (!) Two's recorded today (amongst them 2 eagles on the 14th and the 18th). Playing your handicap was not enough today to be in contention.
There's 2 ways to shoot a 63 (Net): Julian James choose the Seve/Arnold Palmer way with birdies, eagle, bogeys and double bogeys. Paul Brown on the other hand emulated Nick Faldo at Muirfield: not a single birdie today. The Paul Brown/Nick Faldo way prevailed. Paul Brown beat Julian based on countback. As a reward Paul receives the prize money, a cocktail glass and a new playing handicap of 11. Early starters Mike, Ray, Roger and Richard Owen complete the Top6. Results...
CSS: 66 (Net)
Congratulations to Chris Jones for acing the 7th hole today! Ignoring the ominous weather forecast proved to be an excellent choice for a brief moment. Peter Osgood nearly aced the 16th hole to cap off an eventful day (as a consolation he did birdie the hole).
On to the normal order of the day. The early morning starters probably faced the worse weather conditions. Brett Colley & Peter Osgood both scored net 72. Jeremy Ryan played a very consistent round to take the lead in the clubhouse with 82 strokes (net 68). Although the greens were not his best friend today Tamas finished with a 86 (net 69) just one stroke behind Jeremy. Late starters Jay & Keith knew what they were up against and delivered. Keith finished on 79 (net 67) to become today's runner-up. Jay wins the comp & the RPGC cocktail glass thanks to a blistering 72 (net 66). Toby Hunt & Stephen Mason complete the Top6. Results...
CSS: 69 (Men) & 73 (Ladies)
Spring Stableford Rd1 / Medal Meeting
Ladies
A mere 6 brave and hardy ladies took to the course in the rain, however it wasn't long before the sun came out no doubt making those who cried off regret their decision. Not that conditions underfoot were great and the wind shortened many a shot such that CSS went to 34 points.
Winner with 32 points was Val Riziotis who had a storming 19 points o the front 9, but couldn't capitalise on it. Sheena Harrington was 3 points behind in 2nd place. Results...
Men
Notwithstanding the ominous weather forecast a reduced field went out for the 1st leg of the Men's Spring Stableford Round. Mud, rain and strong winds met the field. Conditions gradually improved over the course of the morning. The later starters therefore arguably had the better playing conditions.
Tony Kopczak had a stellar score of 40pts (20 out & in) to win today's comp. Richard Owen finished 2nd with an excellent score of 38pts (21pts out & 17 in) in the trickier conditions. Paul Brown seems liberated since giving up the Men's Captaincy. Another solid round (37pts) gives him a Top3 finish. Roger Rojas, Jon Cooper and Paul Green complete the Top6. Results...
CSS: 36pts
The field were met with muddy fairways and receptive greens for today's Midweek Inaugural Trophy. One player in particular seemed to appreciate today's conditions. Ted Holt blew everybody away with a fantastic score of 44pts. I guess if you start your round with birdies on the first 2 holes you know you'll have a good day at the office. As a result Ted's handicap gets cut by 2.1 strokes and now stands at 17. Well done! Early leaders in the clubhouse John Ahad (38pts) and Paul Green (37pts) finish on the podium. Chris Jones (36pts), Habe Crocker (36pts) and Gunnar Sundberg (35pts) complete the Top 6. Results...
CSS: 37pts (Men & Ladies)
Winter Comp Rd 8 / Princes Eclectic Rd 4
Ladies
As the winter season drew to an end with the last of the eclectics, the ladies' scores indicated a new spring in their step for the coming season. For the first time in many weeks, most of the scores were in the 30s rather than 20s. Hopefully this is down to good play rather than just that conditions underfoot were reasonably dry and the strong winds during the week had abated until the last few holes. Taking first place was Sheena Harrington on 36 from Cheryl Woodhouse and Valerie Parker who both scored 34 points. CSS remained at 37 points. Results...
Unlike the Duke's eclectic, the Prince's Eclectic had a different leader after each round and despite Jayne Maxwell dropping some 7 shots in this round. The winner was Val Riziotis, who had played in only one previous round, but had picked up on one of the holes so did not figure on the leaderboard until today where she beat Jayne on countback. Final leader board...
Men
Before we go to the report we have congratulate Richard Owen for acing the 11th today. So in the future whenever Richard claims his ball will end up short take that with a grain of salt.
On to the normal order of the day. Effects of yesterday's rain were clearly visible today (thank god we didn't play Duke's). Muddy fairways, receptive greens and a wind that became very strong towards end of play were some of today's challenges.
The day belonged to the early starters. Darren Enthoven put in glorious back 9 (25pts - total score 41pts) to win today's comp. Kyong Lee played consistent golf (21pts out + 19pts in) to finish second. Same can be said for Mike Shabani (20pts + 19pts) who completes the Top 3 (BTW: all three of them were early starters ...). John Cooper (38pts) notches up another high finish. Caleb Mills also netted 38pts. The last 2 and the above mentioned Richard "Ace" Owen round out the Top 6. Results...
CSS: 38pts
Report due soon for the Winter Competition. Final leader board...
In the Prince's Eclectic - report due soon. Final Leader board...
The field were met with thick clouds, strong winds and one temporary green for today's monthly medal. All in all scoring proved very decent (again).
Paul Rockett went out all guns blazing and closed the front 9 on 37 (gross). He then cruised through the back 9 on 40 strokes to finish on 77 strokes (65 net) to win today's comp. Stephen Mason put a valiant effort but a few erratic putts halted his challenge and he had to settle for 2nd on 68 net. Richard Owen had a very consistent round of 69 net to finish 3rd. The best of the rest finshed on 70 net. Peter Osgood came alive on the back 9 (39 gross) to hold off Jeremy Ryan and Adam Turner and finish 4th all on 70 net. Results...
CSS: 69 (Men) - 73 (Ladies). Paul Rockett receives a cocktail glass and an ESR. His new handicap now stands at 10.
Winter Comp Rd 7 / Dukes Eclectic Rd 4
Ladies
What a change a week makes, relatively mild and dry underfoot, but the lack of run on the ball kept scoring low, but in a fairly close cluster for the 10 competitors.
Valerie Parker looked on course to win possibly her first competition, but committed that horrible sin of failing to sign her card, thus handing the win to Susan Smith. Both scored 33 points. Results...
CSS dropped two to 34 points.
Susan also wins the Duke's Eclectic having lead from start to finish. Jane Fraser made a gallant effort to catch her, finishing one shot behind. Final leader board...
Men
Playing conditions (milder temperatures, softer greens and only one temporary green) allowed for some excellent scoring today. The 17th hole in particular seemed there for the taking.
Jon Cooper went out in the first group and helped by an eagle on the 17th he became the early leader in the clubhouse. Peter Osgood put in a valiant effort but his 38pts were just not good enough to challenge Jon.
The challenge by the later starters were led in first instance by Nigel & Nigel. Nigel Gaymond's 37pts confirm his good recent form. Nigel Ward had an excellent front 9 and his eagle on the 17th vaulted him temporarily past Jon on 40pts.
Two players were active in the previous days Overseas Comp and whatever they practiced sure worked today. Paul Brown played a very consistent round (20pts out & in) to finish second today (based on countback). Damian Hackett came out firing (22pts out) and consolidated on the back to seal the win with 42pts. Results...
CSS: 37pts
Report due soon for the Winter Competition. R7 Leader board...
In the Duke's Eclectic - report due soon. Final Leader board...
The field were met with excellent golf weather (although the timing of the greenkeepers probably didn't help the late morning starters). All in all scoring proved to be very decent (again).
Mark Rosamond went out early and posted an impressive 39pts to take the lead in the clubhouse. Two other early starters ended pretty close. John Ahad notched up 38pts and Paul Concannon netted 37pts. The late late morning starters were the only ones able to challenge the leaders. Jeremy Ryan played consistent golf to score 40pts and win today's comp. Dave Faure put together an excellent round and finished only 1pt back of Jeremy on 39pts. Tamas managed to birdie 2 of the Par 3's. This enabled him to finish sixth with 37pts. Results...
CSS: 38pts (Men + Ladies). Jeremy and Dave get rewarded with new handicaps.
Brett Colley narrowly sees off Ray Esin to win the Midweek Winter Competition. Final Leader board...
The Midweek Winter Comp final standings
1) Brett Colley 117pts
2) Ray Esin 115pts
3) Henry L-B 113pts
Brett's subpar round allowed Tamas to squeeze by him and win the
Midweek Prince's Eclectic.
Final Leader board...
1) Tamas Ladacs 58 Net
2) Brett Colley 59 Net
3) James Barker 61 Net
Winter Comp Rd 6 / Princes Eclectic Rd 3
Ladies
A cold overcast day didn't inspire most of the ladies and the small field of 11 dropped to 9 through the 18 holes. Val Riziotis, defying the rest scored 35 points and ran out the winner by 4 points from Jayne Maxwell. Results...
The Prince's Eclectic is a considerably tighter competition than the one on Duke's and the lead has changed after each round with Joan Mulcahy taking pole after 3 rounds. R3 Leader board...
Men
A smaller field of 35 players braved the mud, cooler temperatures and wind for the 6th Round of the Winter Competition. The result sheet speaks for itself. There was no match for Jay today. He scored 25pts (!) on the front 9. And then coasted through the back 9 with 18pts. Jay's new handicap now stands at 5! Very impressive. Nigel Gaymond came alive on the back 9 (21pts) to take 2nd with a total of 37pts. Henry L-B followed Nigel's example and came back with an impressive 22pts to finish 3rd (total 35pts). David Sandifer also netted 35pts but was beaten back into 4th based on the countback. Mark Rosamond and Nigel Ward complete the Top 6. Results...
CSS: 71
The course was still suffering from the rain of the last couple of days. Muddy fairways and 3 temporary greens were part of the challenges. Because of the number of temporary greens the committee was forced to declare today's competition a Non-Qualifier.
Usual suspect Brett Colley was leader in the clubhouse with 36pts. The day belonged to Raymond Esin who was a model of consistency over 18 holes. 20pts out combined with 21pts in vaulted him to victory. Outgoing midweek captain Richard Owen netted 36pts and beat 4 players (Brett Colley, Jeremy Ryan, Adam Turner and Henry L-B) by virtue of countback to finish 3rd. Results...
Special mention goes to Ladies Captain Alison Chadwick who holed out a hybrid on the Par 5 12th to birdie the hole (and score 5pts !)
CSS: n/a.
In the midweek Winter Competition report due soon. R7 Leader board...
Incoming midweek captain Kim Chaffart wins the Midweek Duke's Eclectic with a net score of 62, holding off Brett Colley (net 64) and Tamas Ladacs (net 65). Final Leader board...
Ladies
Report due soon. Results...
Men
Wind, muddy fairways, slower greens made the course play pretty long today. One temporary green on the 11th hole created an additional challenge.
Honours to the early starters. Eric Lit had a brilliant round with three birdies and posted a net 67 to become leader in the clubhouse. Caleb Mills carded a very nice net 69 to finish second. Jay's eagle on the 11th put him on route to a net 70 to take 3rd. Sunny Lall, Keith Cassidy and Peter Osgood all posted net 72 to complete the Top 6. The late starters were not able to mount a serious challenge. Henry L-B came close. But his wayward back 9 prevented him from finishing higher. Results...
CSS: 71
The rain of the past days had a serious impact on the course yesterday. Casual water, no roll on the fairways and softer (slower but holding) greens were some of the challenges for the field. But it has to be said that the players were up for it. Scoring turned out be excellent.
Henry L-B and Brett Colley were among the early starters and posted a score of 38pts to become leaders in the clubhouse. But the late(r) starters were on fire. Paul House posted an excellent score of 40pts (20pts out and 20pts in) to vault into first place. Paul Rockett's outward 9 score of 22pts and a hot putter on the back 9 helpded him leap over Paul H. with 41pts. Darren Enthoven matched Paul R's score of 41pts but by virtue of a better back 9 victory belongs to Darren. Keith Cassidy (and Stella) finishes 4th to complete the Top 6. Results...
CSS: 37pts
In the midweek Winter Competition report due soon. R6 Leader board...
Report due soon for the Prince's Eclectic. R3 Leader board...
Annual subscriptions are due on 1st February. The rate remains unchanged at £50, with Senior members paying £25 (65 and over on 1st February).
Please check this recent Committee Notice for details and payment options.
The AGM was held at the clubhouse after the morning round with the usual officer reports and discussions.
For easy reference click for the Secretary's Report for 2016 and the newly installed 2017 Committee.
Winter Comp Rd 5 / Princes Eclectic Rd 2
Ladies
With dire weather forecast, the field was down to 6, who enjoyed a virtually dry round. Conditions were very different from last Sunday and the greens seemed very slow in comparison. Perhaps not having experienced such a contrast helped the runaway winner, Cheryl Woodhouse who shot 39 points, some seven ahead of Alison Chadwick. Results...
CSS was 36 points, giving Cheryl a cut of 1.2 in handicap.
In the accompanying Eclectic, Sheena Harrington is 0.5 ahead of Cheryl and Joan Mulcahy. However, at this stage there are still only 5 ladies with a score recorded for every hole - there is still all to play for. R3 Leader board...
Men
The cloudy weather inspired a lot of players to some very good golf today. Maybe the greens were a bit more predictable and just a bit slower than the previous days. Lots of birdies were the result.
Top honours go to Mark Rosamond who posted an excellent score of 42pts. Barry Page proved he can score in icy conditions and softer weather by finishing second on 41pts. Tony K. (39pts), Henry L-B (39pts), Paul Concannon (39pts) and Roger Rojas (38pts) complete the Top 6. Results...
CSS ended at 37pts.
Report due soon for the Winter Competition. R5 Leader board...
In the Prince's Eclectic - report due soon. R2 Leader board...
Conditions were pretty similar to last Sunday. Predicting the bounce of the balls on fairways/greens proved near impossible. Avoiding the bunkers also proved very useful. Splashing out of the sand traps was very tricky. On top of that the early starters had to face some fog.
In light of all the above the Committee decided to make today's comp a Non-Qualifier.
Early starters Ray Esin and Paul Concannon (both on 34pts) were the leaders in the clubhouse. In the end they were narrowly beaten Kim Chaffart truly and Paul House (both on 35pts). Kim just edged Paul on countback to win the comp. Jay Barker and Richard Owen completed the Top 6. Results...
In the midweek Winter Competition report due soon. R5 Leader board...
Report due soon for the Duke's Eclectic. R3 Leader board...
Winter Comp Rd 4 / Dukes Eclectic Rd 3
Ladies
A beautiful winter's day, but the frozen ground produced some interesting results - making winners out of otherwise bad shots and trouble from some good ones. Needless to say some fared better than others and scores were pretty varied. The winning score of 33 points was shared between Sheena Harrington & Jane Fraser, with Sheena taking it on the back 9. Results...
In the associated Eclectic, Susan's lead after 3 rounds has not been diminished, remaining 3.5 shots ahead of Jayne Maxwell. No change from the previous round. R3 Leader board...
Men
The day clearly belonged to the later starters. Only Jay seemed to be able to handle the tricky conditions amongst the early birds. 34pts was good enough for the lead in the clubhouse. But as highlighted honours to the 10.00AM starters. Paul Concannon posted a stunning 42pts. Unfortunately that still didn't prove enough to win the day's comp. Barry Page netted 24pts on the front 9 and then cruised to victory with 21pts on his way in. Sunny, Roger and Phil complete the Top 6. Results...
Report due soon for the Winter Competition. R4 Leader board...
In the Duke's Eclectic - report due soon. R3 Leader board...
Winter golf came back with a vengeance today. The field were met with frosty greens and fairways. Paul Concannon looked like the best skater for a long time by posting a thumping 38pts. He was closely followed by one of the other early morning starters. Brett Colley kept up his excellent form and notched up 37pts. But the day belonged to Ray Esin: 21pts out and 18pts in (no score on the 16th hole prevented him from scoring even more points !) vaulted him into 1st place. Ted Holt beat Mike Jones and Jay Barker on countback (all scored 36pts) to finish 4th. Results...
CSS finished at 37pts. Ray is the only player getting a handicap cut.
In the midweek Winter Competition report due soon. R4 Leader board...
Report due soon for the Prince's Eclectic. R2 Leader board...
Ladies
The weather forecast had already seen off several from the booking sheet, and in the event a mere 5 stalwarts turned out. With the men's section equally sparse, there was no one behind to complain about the speed of play when just one friendly group set out as a 5-ball and one single team. As the greens got soggier along with gloves, the lure of the clubhouse and a hot cup of something was sufficient to call things to a halt after 9-holes. Results...
Men
15 die hards braved some foul weather to compete in the Monthly Medal.
All things considered scoring turned out pretty decent. Paul Green posted a remarkable score of 64 Net to claim 1st place. Paul Rockett and Lee Marshall both posted 68 Net to complete the Top 3. Results...
CSS ended at 67. Paul Green’s playing handicap now stands at 22.
Conditions proved tricky for most of the field today. That didn’t prevent a couple of decent scores.
Brett Colly continued his impressive form by posting a score of 41pts. The charge of the late morning starters was led by Jay Barker. But his valiant effort fell apart on the 18th hole and managed to “only” post 38pts. Mark Rosamond finished 3rd. Kim Chaffart beat Chris Phillips-Jones and Ted Holt on countback to finish 3rd. Results...
CSS: 37pts (Men) - 36pts (Ladies).
In the Duke's Eclectic - report due soon. R2 Leader board...
Report due soon for the overall Winter Competition. R3 Leader board...
Winter Comp Rd 3 / Dukes Eclectic Rd 2
Ladies
The lack of run on the ball seemed to have caught up with the ladies and most struggled with the conditions. CSS went down 2 to 34 points, attained only by the winner of the day, Susan Smith, thus assuring that everyone except her and second place Deborah Potter, on 31 points, received 0.1 back on their handicap. Results...
In the associated Eclectic Susan leads the way after two rounds. R2 Leader board...
Men
A mild if dreary Sunday lay in wait for everyone, with the Park finally showing signs of typical winter play. But a good number didn't let a spot of weather interfere with their game. Sharing 40 points, Keith Cassidy pipped Pete Harrison for 1st place, with Sunny Lall and Jim Fogarty two points behind in 3rd & 4th place respectively. Results...
Pete and Sunny are continuing their great run of form, and the consistent play of Keith & Jim has seen them all get a handicap cut after today with the CSS remaining at 36 points.
In the associated Winter Competition - report due soon. R3 Leader board...
Pete is one shot ahead of Liam Bridger and Keith after two rounds in the Duke's Eclectic. R2 Leader board...
A field of 18 competitors took to the course this afternoon. Apart from a scare around 12PM the weather held up pretty well. Scoring proved pretty decent as well.
Mark Roasamond was leader in the clubhouse with a net 68. A good putting display helped Ted Holt take over the lead with a net 65. But the sting proved to be in the tail. Jay Barker made a valiant effort but came up one short (net 66 - he will regret the Par 3 16th - I still can't believe that hole is SI 18!). But in the end Keith Cassidy edged Ted on countback (Keith's back 9 of 34 gross did help ...) to win today's comp. Rajinder Sehmi and Kim Chaffart completed the Top 6. Results...
CSS finshed at 67. Keith and Jay both earn handicap cuts.
Weather conditions proved to be far better than forecast (shame on the people on the initial start sheet who didn’t turn up...). That didn't mean that the course was there for the taking. Scoring proved to be a bit of a challenge for a reduced field of players. Lee Marshall was the exception by posting a thumping score of 42pts (21pts out & 21 in). 2nd by some distance was Toby Hunt with 34pts. John Ahad edged out Anis Driaa to finish 3rd. Richard Owen and Tony Kopczak complete the Top 6. Results...
CSS ended at 34pts (Men's and Lady).
Lee Marshall is rewarded with sizeable cut in his handicap and now plays of 14. Well done!
| Upcoming Events | |
|---|---|
| 2017 | Fixture List |
- Bookings (Quick Link)
- Handicaps: All Members
- Trees (Men):
Twos... |Pars... |Birdies... |Eagles... |Ones... - Trees (Men Midweek):
Birdies... |Eagles... - Trees (Ladies):
Birdies... - Honours Boards
- Committee Notices