Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2015. Round 9 at Wensum Valley, Wensum course

Wednesday saw Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2015 round 9 take place at Wensum Valley. A 6th player (John B) had joined the tour meaning a bumper field of 5 lined up to Tee off.

However before the round started there was early controversy. Over half the field had never played the Wesum course but those wiser players who had suggested that the round should be changed to the Valley course which was shorter. After much debate it was accepted that we should stick with plan A and continue to the Wensum course as planned.

Groupings were decided in the traditional balls in the air approach which meant the two John's (wiser players) went off first with much muttering and grumbling about the length of the course.

John B teeing off on massive par 4 1st

However both players got off to solid starts with John B scoring on every front 9 hole to end the first half with a respectable 16 points. Meanwhile John H was also scoring well until blobs on the watery 7th and 8th slowed his progress with 12 front 9 pts. However the group behind enjoyed the reassuring effing and jeffing that drifted across the course while he was playing them.

John H tee shot on 1st

In the group behind Bob got off to his usual slow start blobing the opening hole for the 3rd time this year and failing to par it for the 9th time. However he soon picked up and 3 pars which had him on 16pts after 9.

Bobs teeshot on tricky par 5 6th leading to a par and 3 points

Chris was playing solid if not spectacular golf and once again scored on every hole in the opening half moving on to 17 pts with ease.

Chris tee shot over pond on to green at 5th for a 3pt par

Surprisingly Kevin had found his A game which hadn't been seen in public for a very long time. In fact after 8 holes he was only 1 over par for the course. He then made the school boy error of telling everyone that he was only 1 over par for the course and went on to score only 2 pts in the next 3 holes. Still he had an impressive 22 pts after 9 and a 5 pt lead.

Kevin making par on 4th

The second 9 did not go so well for John B who found the extra 600 back 9 yards a struggle and managed to add only 8 more points for a total of 24 and out of the prizes.

John H faired better with 16 pts, unfortunately blobs on the 10th and 18th limited his progress. He was still happy to claim 30 pts in the bar after the round. Sadly 12 front 9 and 16 back 9 points only actually add up to 28 but nice try and no cigar.

The prizes were going to be sorted in the second group where Kevin's 5 point lead was soon gone as after 13 holes he had 27 pts as did Chris with Bob on 26 and 5 to play.

On the short 12th all 3 approach shots surrounded the pin and all players left with 3 pts (although Kevin made it clear he had to birdie it for his 3 pts)

All 3 approach shots surrounding flag on short 12th

 Once again Bob was first to crack and blobbed 3 of the last 5 for 30 pts and 50p added to his winnings for the season.

Bob approach to 12th leading to 3pts.

A blob from Chris on the 14th and a slow finish left her on 34 pts and £1.

Chris second shot to monster 10th hole for 2 pts

Kevin finished the strongest and ended on 37 pts for a rare sub handicap round and the £2.50 first prize.

Kevin's approach out of the rough on the par 5 16th and a 3 pt par

Chris still leads in 3 competitions but is unavailable for the next two fixtures so it could be all change. Next week the tour moves on to Richmond park

Kevin John Bob Chris Ian John B Prize  Prize money £9.25 £2.00 £9.75 £12.25 £6.75 £0.00  £  40.00 Average Stableford points 29.11 27.17 27.44 33.00 29.20 24.00  £    6.50 Most Stableford points 37 33 33 42 39 24  £    6.50 Eclectic -13 -4.5 -6.8 -9.5 -4.5 20.5  £    6.50                 July, August & Sept Best Front & Back              £    6.50                 Average Blobs per round 2.3 3.8 4.2 2.5 3.6 3.0 Cup Number Rounds 9 6 9 8 5 1   Prize fund contribution  £   10.00  £    6.00  £  10.00  £    8.00  £    6.00  £    1.00

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2015. Round 8 at Bury St Edmunds

With a forecast of sunshine and showers 4 players turned up for round 8 of the Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2015 at Bury St Edmunds. Slightly taken back by the £35 green fee their were not only some rumblings of thunder but rumblings of value. Fortunately the course was excellent and everyone agreed it had been worth it.

Players sheltering from one of many heavy showers

Kevin, Bob and John all had very solid if not spectacular front 9's and suffered only one blob between them. As a result they each came to the half way point on 15pts and all to play for.

John teeing off on first for solid 2 pts

Bob bunker shot on 1st for two points

Meanwhile Chris was playing a different game as she racked up big points on every hole, the highlight being a birdie 2 on the short par 3 9th. With much muttering about handicaps, extra shots and just how far forward the ladies tee's where she had a massive 24 pts after 9.

Kevin pulled teeshot on 6th for 1 pt

The second half went much the same as the first. However Chris had a little wobble getting 3 1 pointers in first 4 holes. However normal service was soon resumed scoring 13 pts in the final 5 holes to score a massive 42 pts in all. Which was a new course record and most points in a round this year.

Chris teeing off at start of back 9

The competition for the renmaining prizes was very tight with the lead constantly changing and points being scored on every hole. After 16 holes Kevin had 26 pts, Bob 27pts and John 29 pts. So with no shot difference left it was any ones 2nd place (£1) and two holes to play.

Bob chipping to the green 

However Bob was first to crack and had back to back blobs to move out of contention. Kevin continued solid golf, if not at his best, and managed to have a blob free round to finish with 30pts. However John made an excellent par on the 17th for 32pts and had also not had a blob up to this point. However with the big £1 second place in the bag and the rain starting to fall he lost interest on the last to record his only blob of the day.

John teeing off on par 3 15th and a scambled point

After this round Chris has now got a big lead in 3 of the competitions with Kevin leading the other two. However the season is still young and moves to Wensum Valley (the first time on the tour) next week.
Leader board

	Kevin	John	Bob	Chris	Ian	Prize
Prize money	£6.75	£2.00	£9.25	£11.25	£6.75	£  36.00
Average Stapleford points	28.13	27.00	27.13	32.86	29.20	£    6.25
Most Stapleford points	33	33	33	42	39	£    6.25
Eclectic	-12	-3.5	-5.8	-8.5	-4.5	£    6.25
July, August & Sept Best Front & Back						£    6.25
Average Blobs per round	2.5	3.8	4.1	2.7	3.6	Cup
Number Rounds	8	5	8	7	5
Prize fund contribution	£     9.00	£    5.00	£    9.00	£    7.00	£    6.00

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2015. Round 7 at Halesworth

Tuesday saw round 7 of Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2015 take place at Halesworth in Suffolk.

It was an ideal day for golf in terms of both the weather and emptiness of the course although as the round progressed the wind increased in strength causing problems towards the end.

Bob started solidly and all looked good until back to back blobs on holes 5 and 6 put the brakes on and he returned 14 points at halfway.

Bob and John prowling their putts on the par 3 second

John was playing consistently scoring on 8 of the 9 holes but 3 double bogeys also restricted him to 14 pts.

Johns tee shot on par 5 3rd that although was the shortest and widest still went on to par the hole.

Kevin was the most erratic with 3 pars and a birdie mixed in with a couple of doubles and blobs for 16 pts.

Kevin birdie putt on 5th, he missed

Chris was once again the most consistent and only the pond on the 8th stopped her scoring on every hole but she still finished with 18 pts going into the back 9.

Chris teeshot on the opening hole leading to two pts

With only 4 pts between the players the £2.50 first prize could go to anyone. If it had been a par 3 course it would have probably been to John as he pared both the back 9 par 3's but sadly only managed another 4 points on the longer holes to finish a drift on 24 pts.

John making a good par on the 16th.
Camera man had waited for 4 holes to get picture of John putting
as he didn't make it to the green on the previous 3.

It was now a 3 way battle and after 14 holes Kevin and Chris had 26 pts and Bob 25 but the pressure then got to Bob who only managed 2 points in the last 4 holes to claim third place and 50p prize money.

Bob teeshot on 10th leading to 3pts

For the second round running Kevin and Chris were now competing for the main prize and with the score 31 all with one to play it looked like it could again end as a tie.

Chris provisional drive on par 3 11th which ended up in the pond

However when Chris didn't notice the pond by the fairway and laid up into it the match was all but over as Kevin get the two points he needed for his first win of the year.

Kevin's miss hit low drive on 14th for a scambled point

Things are getting tighter at top of leader board although thanks to his two birdies Kevin has opened up a bit of a lead in the eclectic. Bob's 50p winnings maintains his place at the top of the money list. Chris is the only player averaging over 30pts a round

Next round is at Bury St Edmunds where the course record is currently 37 held by Bob from 2012.
Leader board

	Kevin	John	Bob	Chris	Ian	Prize
Prize money	£6.25	£1.00	£9.25	£8.75	£6.75	£  32.00
Average Stapleford points	27.86	25.75	27.14	31.33	29.20	£    6.25
Most Stapleford points	33	33	33	40	39	£    6.25
Eclectic	-11	-1.5	-5.7	-5.5	-4.5	£    6.25
July, August & Sept Best Front & Back						£    6.25
Average Blobs per round	2.9	4.5	4.3	3.2	3.6	Cup
Number Rounds	7	4	7	6	5
Prize fund contribution	£     8.00	£    4.00	£    8.00	£    6.00	£    6.00

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2015. Round 6 at Barnham Broom Hill

Tuesday saw Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2015 round 6 take place on the Hill course at Barnham Broom. After the rain of last week at Costessey park the field were treated to gale force winds to buffer them about instead.

It was a bumper field of 5 so golf pig was pleased that his coffers would be growing nicely once again.

Chris, John and Kevin went out in the first group. Despite the wind and light rain Kevin started strongly with 11 points from the opening 5 holes. However as the rain stopped the wind speed increased and he struggled over the next 4 holes with only 4 more points and 15 in all after 9.

Kevin Teeing off on 3rd being blown over by the wind

John was distracted over the early holes as he started to wrestle with his bag and trolley to get them set up correctly for the conditions. When he did eventually turn his attention to the game he picked up a couple of pars and 14 mid way points.

Good second shot by John over the river at the 5th hole.
Sadly the 3rd, 4th and 5th shots weren't so good

Chris was also struggling with her golf attire and also started slowly. However a par 5 for 4 pts on the 9th hole shot her into the lead on 16 pts.

Chris tee shot at first that unfortunately only just cleared the path

Meanwhile in the group behind neither Bob or Ian seemed to have adapted well to the windy conditions and racked up 8 blobs between them in the outward half. This gave Bob 10 pts and only a par 5 on the 9th got Ian up to 8 pts.

Ian on the 1st on the way to first of several nil points

With the wind increasing things did not improve on the back 9. John lost his way (and a couple of balls) as he could only add another 8 pts to finish on 22.

John par putt on 11th, he missed

Ian improved somewhat and repeated his trick of paring the last hole of the 9 to record 22 pts as well.

Ian chipping to 16th green on the way to a blob

Bob also improved and was more consistent in adding another 13 pts for 23 in all and 3rd place.

Bob's chip on to 18th green to secue the points needed for 2nd place

Chris had the game in the bag after 16 holes with 26 pts she had two more than Kevin who would also be giving her a shot on the straight forward last two holes. However at this point Kevin was accused of playing phsycoligical mind games by telling her she had already won.

Chris wrestling with her bag, again.

To prove the point that she hadn't won Chris appeared to deliberately shank her tee shot over a nearby hedge for a blob meaning only 1 point now separated them on the last. After slicing his teeshot on to the 1st fairway Kevin somehow scrambled a par leaving Chris to fully make her point by duffing her second shot and getting only 1 pt to only tie the competition. This left her with the moral high ground to be able to moan about unsporting behaviour.

The overall outcome of the round was to tighten up the championship standings leaving all competitions open to everyone. Next week its off to Halesworth where hopefully there will be some better weather. Not surprisingly the Hill course record was not threatened and remains jointly held by Bob and Kevin on 35 pts. Halesworth record stands at a massive 42 points by Ian last year so good luck beating that.

Leader board

	Kevin	John	Bob	Chris	Ian	Prize
Prize money	£3.75	£1.00	£8.75	£7.75	£6.75	£  28.00
Average Stapleford points	27.00	26.33	27.17	31.40	29.20	£    6.25
Most Stapleford points	27	33	33	40	39	£    6.25
Eclectic	-7	0.5	-5.7	-5.5	-4.5	£    6.25
July, August & Sept Best Front & Back						£    6.25
Average Blobs per round	3.0	4.7	4.3	3.2	3.6	Cup
Number Rounds	6	3	6	5	5
Prize fund contribution	£     7.00	£    3.00	£    7.00	£    5.00	£    6.00