Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2015. Final round at Gorleston

The final Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2015 round was held at Gorleston on Wednesday. A good field of 5 turned up with new player Andrew making his tour debt late in the season. It was still mathematically possible for any of the five season long competitions to switch hands if some one could put in a particularly good score.

Golf pig had been counted and seemed to have more money in it than expected enabling £10 prizes to be on offer for competition winnners.

Using the traditional balls in the air system a group of 2 and 3 were selected.

Chris and Kevin went off first and both seemed to be hitting the ball well. Unfortunately Kevin didn't seem to realise which way the strong wind was blowing allowing it to help the ball out of bounds on 1 hole and into bushes on 2 others. He still managed to get 13 halfway pts but his 2 blobs had opened the door for Chris to snatch the lowest average blob trophy.

Kevin Teeing off on par 3 4th as wind blew it off course, again

Chris was having no such problems and had no difficulty reach 20 pts parring the last 3 out of 4 back 9 holes

Chris hitting the only teeshot to stay in bounds on the 3rd

Meanwhile in the group behind Bob had got off to a flying start with 3 pars in the first 4 holes and ended with a solid 18 pts.

Second group on the first green.
Where Bob and Andrew both opened with pars as John stomps off without one.

The 3rd hole seemed to cause the 2nd group problems as of 6 attempted tee shots only one ended up in play but no pts were scored. New boy Andrew also failed to score on the 8th hole restricting him to 15 pts at the turn.

Strolling down the 3rd fairway after collecting their balls from the out of bound area

John was still on a high after winning a cup at Bungay over the weekend and obviously hadn't recovered from the celebrations as 3 blobs and no pars left him on 12 pts.

It was all change on the back 9, except for John who managed 13 more pts for 25 and last place, as early leaders Bob and Chris fell away scoring only 12 and 11 pts respectively.

John chipping to 12th green for a point

Chris's only blob of the day on the long par 5 18th also handed the blobs trophy to Kevin by 0.04.

Chris 4th shot to 16th after she had got carried away with previous bunker shot hitting it a bit far

Andrew had a solid back 9 and got 16 pts to match Chris on 31 pts.

Andrews latest chip of several on the 12th during his only back 9 blob

Kevin managed to throw away his chance of glory by going into two bunkers on the last and failing to add to the 17 pts he had got on the way in, leaving him on a tie for 3rd place with Bob on 30pts getting 25p each to add to their prize money. However his birdie on the 14th secured the eclectic prize.

Kevin with good tee shot on 16th but went on to 3pt

After the round the scores were entered and the prizes for the season awarded

Average stableford pts Chris with 30.67 per rond
Most points in a round Chris with 42 pts at Bury St Edmunds
Eclectic off half average handicap Kevin on -17.0
Best front and back 9 in July, August, September was a tie betwen Bob and Kevin on 41 pts
Cup with lowest average blobs per round went to Kevin.

Kevin proudly showing off the lowest average blobs per round trophy
 after being presented it from himself

Special thanks to Ian and John for donating to the prize fund.

Course selection will take place early next year ready for the 2016 season which will start 1st April (ish)

Final leaderboard

	Kevin	John	Bob	Chris	Ian	John B	Prize
Prize money	£31.75	£7.75	£17.25	£25.75	£12.00	£4.25	£  98.75
Average Stableford points	30.05	27.87	28.28	30.67	29.50	29.33	£   10
Most Stableford points	41	33	37	42	39	32	£    10
Eclectic	-17.0	-10.3	-14.6	-13.5	-10.4	0.5	£    10
July, August & Sept Best Front & Back	41	37		41        39	32	34	£    10
Average Blobs per round	2.57	4.2	3.7	2.61	3.5	3.0	Cup
Number Rounds	21	15	18	18	8	3
Prize fund contribution	£   25.00	£    18.00	£  20.00	£    20.00	£    10.00	£    5.00

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2015. Round 20 at Ufford park

There were just two rounds left in the race to Gorleston as the players lined up at Ufford park. To add to the excitement there were double stableford points available to help boost players average stableford score for the season. This could make things interesting if Chris were to have a bad day, especially if Kevin had a good one.

Bob needed a good back 9 of 18 or more points to take the lead in the best front and back 9 in July, August and September comp and two birdies to take the lead in the eclectic.

Kevin needed birdies to defend his eclectic lead and John was making up the numbers.

So all was set for an exciting day.

Things started badly as the heavens opened on the first hole. John, Bob and Kevin seemed more worried about umbrellas and waterproofs than golf and all failed to score while Chris started with 3 pts which ended up being critical.

John slicing off on the first as it started to rain

Things got no better for Kevin as he struggled with his new putter and wet bunkers struggling up to 9 half way points. After going into a third bunker he declared they were gur for the rest of the round which then only helped the other players.

Kevin admiring a rare good shot

Bob faired little better but managed to get to 10 pts.

Bob missing a short putt

John recovered from his opening hole blob with 8 pts from the next 4 holes before a run of 4 successive nil points meant he suddenly found himself last at halfway.

Meanwhile Chris was making solid progress and apart from failing to score at the short dog leg 8th, as did everyone else where 8 tee shots were needed to get 3 balls into play, scored well for a big lead at halfway with 15.

Chris teeing off in heavy rain on 2nd

The golf improved on the back 9 with both Kevin and Bob having good runs to get back into contention before throwing it away over the last few holes. But both finished with 15 on the back 9 so 24 and 25 points respectivly.

After his 5 front nine blobs John was on fire with 4 pars and 4 bogeys for 20 pts and snatching 2nd place with 28.

Chris continued with solid if not spectacular golf for another 15 and 30 pts overall gave her her 5th outright win of the year.

A rare duff from Chris trying to reach 14th Green

With just Gorleston left to play the situation is as follows:
No changes can happen on the money list order
Kevin has to get 14 more points than Chris to overtake her on average stableford points
43 pts are needed to win most pts in a round, currently led by Chris
If Kevin doesn't improve his eclectic then Bob needs two new birdies and Chris three (or two plus par the 10th) to take the lead
On best front and back 9 in July, August and September. Kevin needs 21 pts on front 9, Bob 18 pts on back 9, John 21 pts on front 9 and Chris 21 pts on back 9 to win.
Kevin can afford to get 1 more blob than Chris to win lowest average blobs per round

Hope that all makes sense.

Current leader board

	Kevin	John	Bob	Chris	Ian	John B	Prize
Prize money	£31.50	£7.75	£17.00	£24.00	£12.00	£4.25	£  96.50
Average Stableford points	31.25	30.07	29.65	32.41	29.50	29.33	£    7.38
Most Stableford points	41	33	37	42	39	32	£    7.38
Eclectic	-16.025	-10.3	-14.6	-13.5	-10.4	0.5	£    7.38
July, August & Sept Best Front & Back	41	37		41        39	32	34	£    7.38
Average Blobs per round	2.6	4.1	3.7	2.7	3.5	3.0	Cup
Number Rounds	20	14	17	17	8	3
Prize fund contribution	£   24.00	£    17.00	£  19.00	£    19.00	£    10.00	£    5.00

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2015. Round 19 at The Suffolk

It was another new venue for Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2015 when Round 19 was held at The Suffolk nr Bury st Edmunds. Suspicion should have been raised as it was only £10 on a Tuesday and the course was virtually empty.

The small field of 3 were very confused on the first tee as there was no sign of a green. Two shots later things were no clearer and there was much debate if the green was the one over the ditch on the right or up on the hill on the left. Luckily we chose the correct one (over the ditch) but it didn't help Chris or John who failed to open their account whilst Kevin managed a surprising par.

John had clearly decided on and even hole only strategy as it wasn't until the 9th that he registered a point on an odd numbered hole, albeit a 3 pointer. He therefore only had 11 firts half points.

John teeing off on first but as it was an odd number hole he didnt manage a point

Chris was also struggling with her length as the lush fairways, which would have past as light rough on most courses, restricted the distance of any shots. Despite two pars she only managed 13 pts.

Chris approach shot on the third

Kevin was fairing only slightly better but with the help of a few scrambled points was the early leader on 15.

Kevin admiring his approach shot that actual landed on the green

No one scored a point on the 10th hole and with only 2 pts from 4 holes Kevin soon lost the lead as it all got very close.

John teeing off from the worlds narrowest tee box  and straight into the ditch

However with John and Chris blobing hole 16, stroke index 1, there was only 1 point separating the field, which remained the case coming down the last.

Chris putting during the exciting run in

For once the set up was against the lady player as on a par 5 she only had a 9 yrd advantage, a slightly duffed tee shot put Chris out of contention with a blob.

Kevin was on the green in 4 and John in the so called greenside bunker in 3. Sadly for John the green keepers had forgotten to put sand into most of the bunkers so even though John did well to get it out he was only able to get a point while Kevin stole the round with a 2 pointer.

Kevin Teeing off on the tight 14th. 

This means Kevin now has an unassailable lead at the top of the money list (possibly as he has played the most rounds) but the other comps are still up for grabs especially as it is double points in the last two rounds (ufford park and Gorlestone) in the race to Gorlestone,

Next week it is off to the races as another new tour course (Newmarket) hosts the competition.

Current leader board

	Kevin	John	Bob	Chris	Ian	John B	Prize
Prize money	£31.50	£6.75	£16.50	£21.50	£12.00	£4.25	£  92.50
Average Stableford points	30.37	28.08	28.38	30.69	29.50	29.33	£    7.38
Most Stableford points	41	33	37	42	39	32	£    7.38
Eclectic	-16	-10.3	-14.6	-12.5	-10.4	0.5	£    7.38
July, August & Sept Best Front & Back	41	37		41        39	32	34	£    7.38
Average Blobs per round	2.4	4.0	3.8	2.8	3.5	3.0	Cup
Number Rounds	19	13	16	16	8	3
Prize fund contribution	£   23.00	£    16.00	£  18.00	£    18.00	£    10.00	£    5.00

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2015. Round 18 at Caldecott Hall

Wednesday Saw round 18 of Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2015 take place at Caldecott Hall. After the summer break a disappointing field of only 3 turned up on the first tee.

All the players got off to a slow start and it wasn't until the 6th hole that a par was registered by any players, Bob. He had a little purple patch of 10 pts in 4 holes to end the nine with 16.

Bob's 2nd shot on the 1st

Kevin was struggling round the very poor greens but thanks to keeping the ball in play got up to 13 pts on the front.

Kevin tee shot on 8th leading to his first par

Chris was also finding it tough off her new 18 handicap and 2 blobs on 8 and 9 meant she only had 10 pts at half way.

Chris approaching 2nd green to scamble a point

Chris's game didn't improve much on the back 9 until she eventually got her only par of the day on the 18th to finish 3rd with 20 pts.

Chris putting on 13th for another 1 pointer

Kevin improved at the start of the back 9 and 8 pts off the first 4 holes meant he went into the lead as Bob fell away.

Kevin holing out for 2pts on 16th

However things reversed over the next 3 holes to see Bob take a two point lead with two to play.

Bob tee shot on par 5 14th and was only player to get a point on the hole

Bob then threw it away on the short par 3 17th when he put his teeshot into the nearby gorse bush. A par par finish from Kevin meant he got the necessary scores to scrape home by a point.

With Chris now playing off 18 her average stableford points have started to reduce and could still be caught as it is double stableford pts in the last two rounds. However before that the tour moves to the Suffolk next week.

Leader board

	Kevin	John	Bob	Chris	Ian	John B	Prize
Prize money	£29.00	£6.00	£16.50	£20.75	£12.00	£4.25	£  88.50
Average Stableford points	30.61	28.33	28.38	31.07	29.50	29.33	£    7.63
Most Stableford points	41	33	37	42	39	32	£    7.63
Eclectic	-16	-10.33	-14.6	-11.5	-10.4	0.5	£    7.63
July, August & Sept Best Front & Back	41	37		41        39	32	34	£    7.63
Average Blobs per round	2.3	3.8	3.8	2.6	3.5	3.0	Cup
Number Rounds	18	12	16	14	8	3
Prize fund contribution	£   22.00	£    15.00	£  18.00	£    17.00	£    10.00	£    5.00

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2015. USPGA at Woodbridge

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2015 USPGA took place at Woodbridge last Tuesday and turned out to be the most exciting event of the season as any of the 4 players could have won as the players tee'd off on the last hole.

Sadly due to sickness the field had been reduced to 4 and was nearly reduced to 3 as John H got stuck in traffic and nearly missed his allotted tee time. There was much grumbling about not being able to warm up as he stepped on to the tee only to hit the perfect tee shot. Ian, who had been warming up for about 45 minutes shanked his tee shot towards a gorse bush near the tee and then duffed a couple more before failing to score. Just shows how overrated warming up is.

John H teeing off on 1st

 Lack of warm may have been the reason that after his good start John H then struggled and only had 10 pts after 8 holes. However he was clearly warmed up by the 9th to birdie it and finish on 14 pts.

Kevin started solidly and was right on handicap with 12 pts after 6 until back to back blobs restrict him to 14 pts at halfway as well.

Kevin Teeing off on the 5th

After a slow start John B was also putting in a consistent 9 but a blob on the 6th restricted him to 14pts also. The second hole is called the Butts but he couldn't tame his name sake as his attempts to putt up the slope kept returning to his feet (hit it harder man!)

John B sinking a putt on the 3rd

Meanwhile Ian had decided to play all or nothing golf. He blobed 4 and parred 4 of the front 9 to have a one point lead on 15 at half way.

Ian's fairway bunker shot on 3rd 

With only one point between all four players the back 9 was set up for a ding dong battle. All the players were clearly up for it as there were only 3 more blobs between them.

More Bunker action this time featuring John B

The lead changed hand on virtually every hole and it took a birdie on the non stroke hole 13th from Kevin just to keep him in touch.

Kevin teeing off on back 9

With two holes to go Ian had 27 pts and the others 28 but John H then 3 putted from a few feet before driving his teeshot on the last into a nearby gorse bush and his chance of glory had gone.

John putting as Ian wills the ball away from the hole

Kevin also only got 1 pt on the 17th and with no shot on the 18th was out of the running. Despite an excellent par (including a shank into the rough) Kevin could only watch on as Ian (who had got back into joint lead by parring 17) and John B both secured 2 pts to share the tittle and become joint winners of the USPGA.

Ian teeing off on par 3 12th as John wills it into a gorse bush

It was not only an excellent game but Woodbridge was considered the nicest course we had played this year so another round in the Autumn needs to be arranged for those players that missed out.

The main change on leader boarder was Kevin's birdie stretching his eclectic lead back to two birdies.

The tour moves on to Eaton next week

Leader board

	Kevin	John	Bob	Chris	Ian	John B	Prize
Prize money	£26.50	£6.00	£15.50	£20.25	£12.00	£4.25	£  84.50
Average Stableford points	30.71	28.33	28.40	31.86	29.50	29.33	£    7.38
Most Stableford points	41	33	37	42	39	32	£    7.38
Eclectic	-16	-10.33	-14.7	-11.5	-10.4	0.5	£    7.38
July, August & Sept Best Front & Back	41	37		41        39	32	34	£    7.38
Average Blobs per round	2.4	3.8	3.9	2.5	3.5	3.0	Cup
Number Rounds	17	12	15	14	8	3
Prize fund contribution	£   21.00	£    15.00	£  17.00	£    16.00	£    10.00	£    5.00

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2015. Round 16 at Caister

 Wednesday saw Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2015 round 16 take place at Caister. A field of 4 lined up on a chilly summers day.

There was early controversy on the first as Kevin, John and Bob all hit their teeshots into the trouble on the left. John and Bob both found their balls in the heather but Kevin did not and took a penalty drop near a bush it might have gone into. Whereas John and Bob struggled to get out the heather and failed to score, Kevin was able to put his shot to the edge of the green and secure two points. There was much muttering re genouoros drop rules etc 

John's tee shot heading for the heather on the first.

John continued in inconsistent form with good and bad holes leading to 13 pts after 9. Bob got off to one of his typical slow starts and was lucky to have as many as 2 point afters 3 holes when John found his wayward teeshot in the long rough on the second and he scrambled two points. A good recovery on next few holes meant he had 15 pts at the turn.

Bob lucky to find wayward teeshot on second hole

After his controvsual start Kevin played a solid front 9 only spoiled by a badly positioned gorse bush on the 4th and an unexpected shank on the 9th for 17 pts at halfway.

Good approach on 3rd leading to a par

Chris was showing no signs of nerves after having 3 cut from her handicap to 19 hitting the ball sweetly and racking up 21 pts on the front 9 scoring 2 or 3 pts on every hole.

Good approach chip on the difficult par 4 (or not so difficult par 5) 4th hole for 2 pts

The back 9 proved to be a more exciting contest than the front 9 suggested as a couple of 1 pts from Chris, par and birdie from Bob and lots of solid 2 pts from Kevin meant after 12 holes only 2 pts seperated the top 3. Unfortunately John didn't join the party. His back 9 was either very good or very bad and he added another 13 pts for 26 overall and out the prizes.

John deciding to lay up with his second on par 5 13 hitting the ball nearly 10 yards

After birding the 12th to get back into contention Bob cracked and got only 3 points over the next 5 holes to finish in 3rd on 28 pts.

Bobs successful birdie putt

This left just Kevin and Chris to battle it out and they were level on 32 pts with two to play. But with no shot on the 17th Kevin managed only a single point and fell behind.

Kevin second on par 5 15th leading to a par

However Chris finished with a strong par, par for 38 pts leaving Kevin in second on 35.

The comp takes a break next week before a field of 5 line up at Woodbridge for the US PGA.

The eclectic completion hotted up with Bob now just 0.3 behind Kevin
Leader board

	Kevin	John	Bob	Chris	Ian	John B	Prize
Prize money	£25.50	£6.00	£15.50	£20.25	£8.25	£0.50	£  76.00
Average Stableford points	30.69	28.27	28.40	31.86	29.14	28.00	£    6.75
Most Stableford points	41	33	37	42	39	31	£    6.75
Eclectic	-15	-9.4	-14.7	-11.5	-7.5	6.5	£    6.75
July, August & Sept Best Front & Back	41	37		41        39		31	£    6.75
Average Blobs per round	2.4	3.9	3.9	2.5	3.3	3.5	Cup
Number Rounds	16	11	15	14	7	2
Prize fund contribution	£   19.00	£    13.00	£  17.00	£    16.00	£    6.00	£    3.00