Dear All

The combination of a dry period of weather and a breakdown of the Glendale irrigation system has brought about declining playing conditions with lots of run on the fairways, but some unkind bounces, and hard, crusty and "brown" greens which were not receptive at all and much faster than usual. It seems that recent rain and attention to the greens is going to produce better conditions going forward. It seems that we are also in the midst of cramming in our spring bank holidays into a relatively short space of time which necessitates a fair number of sweeps on some of the weekends.

KNOCKOUTS
The knockouts have now commenced and I am pleased to see such a vibrant turnout for these match play events. Your Club Captain has ensured he is able to focus on his many responsibilities by getting bounced from both the singles and the pairs competitions in summary fashion. He managed to congratulate the opposition through gritted teeth despite the blow to his competitive ego!! Congrats to Luke Baker and Cuneyt Sazer/Peter Harrington for putting me out of my misery! I hope that everyone does make a sincere effort to ensure that they complete their matches by the deadlines designated for each round.

MIDWEEK COMPETITIONS
The past weeks have seen wins for Luis Jesus Suarez (Masters Bowl), Tom Cook (Priory Bowl), a Midweek Sweep (Jeannie Chung), the Midweek May Medal (Oliver Khan and Paul Green (Founders Cup). We have been very pleased to see a continuing growth in the midweek participation which now has a loyal following and several new participants, as recent work retirements have kicked in!

WEEKEND COMPETITIONS
The recent weekends have seen quite a few sweeps which have seen wins for Shaun DuPreez, Brian McMahon and Jan Wilken. Jan and Shaun are examples of the continuing international nature of of our membership and it was another recent international recruit, Evgeny van der Geest, who will be the recipient of one of our four Jubilee trophies (Platinum). On the Ladies side, Sheena Harrington was the winner of the Committee Cup.

SPRING MIXED
In the first of our more social Saturday events, the Spring Mixed saw 12 randomly chosen mixed pairs playing under an American Greensomes format in very windy conditions brought about by the approach of Storm Hannah. When the draw was made and before play commenced, a number of people commented that the pairing of Keith Cassidy and Jayne Maxwell looked very good indeed on paper and thus it proved as they were ultimately victorious with 38 points in a hard-fought competition where only seven points separated the top 11 of the 12 pairs.

CLUB MATCHES
Our participation in the Surrey Fives this year was a pretty truncated affair as our B team followed the early previous demise of our A team against Roehampton at home by falling at the first hurdle away to Cuddington 3-2. There were hard fought victories for Chris Lordan (3 extra holes) and James Anslow who came back from 4 down at one point to win 2 up on the 18th. Richard Owen and your Captain were soundly beaten, though Richard did have the solace of a hole-in-one, while Bruno Clerckx lost in a close match after a see-saw encounter.

On the NAPGC front, our men's Clapham Common team took on Thorney Park in the first round of the regionals and came out victorious 214-208. There were solid performances all round from the team, with particular mention of a couple of the away pairings; Pete Harrison and Tamas Ladacs with 40 points and Bruno Clerckx and Henry Lindesay-Bethune with 39 points. Our next opponents will be Hoebridge towards the end of the month.

In the mixed Hawtree event, RPGC has enjoyed three straight final appearances over the past three years, including the national title in 2017. This year's editions have got off to a great start on the road with the A team beating a tough Mitcham team in a high scoring affair at Mitcham 151-148 while the B team returned victorious from Hoebridge by six points in a relatively low scoring affair in tough conditions. Some great scoring in the Mitcham match from Sheena Harrington and your Captain with 43 points and Jayne Maxwell and Pete Harrison with 42 points.

In the Toprock, both pairs safely negotiated the first round, one by a walkover and the other via a comfortable 5&3 result. The news was not as great for our team in the Siemens competition where we were soundly defeated by a strong Bird Hills team.

UPCOMING CLUB MATCHES AND EVENTS

• NAPGC 4BallBetterBall RPGC v Birchwood (H) May 11th
  
• UKPCC Qualifier - Summer Cup (Men) and Committee Cup (Women) May 12th
• The International: UK v Rest of the World match May 18th
• NAPGC Qualifier - Men's and Women's Monthly May Medal May 19th
• Clapham Common RPGC v Hoebridge May 25th
• NAPGC Bourne-Vanneck Qualifier at Bird Hills June 1st
• Ladies Invite June 8th
• Hawtree RPGC A v Southsea (H) June 16th
• Hawtree RPGC B v Huntswood C (H) TBA

NAPGC SENIORS CHAMPIONSHIP
On Wednesday June 12 the NAPGC will hold its Seniors Championship for Ladies and Men at West Middlesex Golf Club. Entrants have to have reached the age of 55 by the day of the tournament. There is also a prize for the best over 70 player. A number of people from RPGC have played in this the past couple of years and have thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It has been decided that RPGC members will have to fund their own entry this year for this particular tournament. The cost is certainly not prohibitive and a bargain for what is a very nice track and a chance to play in tournament with peers from across the country. It is 23.00 pounds which includes entry and the green fee. If two people want to pair up to enter the combined pairs element (best combined Stableford score) it is an extra 5.00 pounds per pair. More information, including the form for entering and the rules can be found at the link below. I will be entering once again and hope to see many of you there. Please let me know if you are aiming to play and want to partner up with someone. The last date for entries is May 30th.

FOR MEN
https://www.napgc.org.uk/events/event/mens-senior-championships-2019/ 

FOR LADIES
https://www.napgc.org.uk/events/event/ladies-senior-championships-2019/

Hit them straight!

Nigel Gaymond (El Capitan)
9 May 2019