Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2016. Round 23 Season climax at Sheringham

Tuesday saw Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2016 Round 23, season climax, take place at a windy Sheringham. There was a good turn out with the attraction of double prize money and with all the season long completions still up for grabs.

The groupings were decided and Kevin was first to the tee knowing a good round could still see him snatch the average stableford prize. However his drive was right of the heel and with the crowd trying their best not to snigger too loudly, he huffed and puffed off after it. A 20 foot putt secured an unexpected point but he found fairway bunkers on the next two holes which he struggled to get out of and had to confiscate the camera to stop each attempt being recorded. A Basil Fawlty style breakdown followed as he gave the bunker on the third a damn good thrashing and any chance of winning had gone. The rest of the 9 was played to handicap as he finished with 13 pts.

One of many attempts to exit the bunker on the second

John had flown in specially from his Spanish Villa for the day but was more used to sunny Mediterranean conditions than windy seaside UK courses and managed a mishit on each of the first 6 to only average a point a hole however things picked up over the next few holes to also end on 13 points. However his unusual calmness meant Kevin had opened up a big lead in today's effing and jeffing competition.

Johns teeshot on hole 6 finds the long rough just to the left of the tee

Meanwhile Chris had got into the zone as she ignored all the non golfing nonscence going on around her. If it hadn't been for bunker trouble on the second hole she would have had more than the 18 pts she did at halfway. Her driving was particularly impressive.

Chris getting up and down on 4th for 1st of run of 3 pars

In the group behind David's main focus was to avoid recording 5 blobs which would guarantee him the average blobs prize. He also needed just 32 points to claim the average stableford comp as well. When he opened proceedings with a tidy par it was looking good however with only 4 pts on the next 4 holes things weren't looking so great. His first blob came on the par 5 7th which he conjured up from nowhere after looking good after two shots. He struggled to 12 points at the turn.

Davids approach to the 1st

Jill was making a welcome return to the tour and hoped to put in a good showing. Sadly things didn't start well as she struggled to come to terms with the conditions and could only muster 8 points over the first 9.

Jill teeing off on 18

Bob also took a while to warm up and needed back to back pars on holes 5 (hardest on course, as he kept pointing out all evening) and 6 to account for over half his points on the way out as he too ended on 13 points.

Bob teeshot on to green at 11

Kevin's back 9 was much improved and with some better putting would he could have scored highly. However as a result his profanity count dropped and claimed  another14 points and 27 in all.

Kevin missing another putt this time on 12th

John decide to go for an all or nothing approach with pars and blobs being his scoring approach on the back 9 before he faded over the last 3 holes. As such his swearing count shot up and it was hard to separate him and Kevin for the profanity cup as he finished on a disappointing 24 points .

John in the bunker on 10

After an opening blob Jill started to find her game and her scoring picked up over the second half climaxing in an impressive closing par on 18. It left her tied with John on 24 points but out of the prizes.

Jill first to exit the bunker on 16 which proved popular with her group

Bob's back 9 continued much as the front with some good shots and bad ones. The 16th was particularly impressive as all three players managed to end up in the same bunker with some interesting pitch work. However Bob still managed two points there which proved vital as he piped Kevin by 1 point to claim the £2 second place prize with a score of 28.

Bob putting up on 12 on the way to a point

Davids focus remained on blob avoidance with only the bunker action on 16 costing him a blob as he easily avoided getting the 5 that would let Chris in. However his poor score of 26 meant Chris only needed 34 points to win the average points comp.

David putting on 12

This never looked in doubt as faultless play from tee to green saw the points mount up and with a bit tidier play round the greens could have seen Chris get a much higher score however the 37 points she did get not easily saw her win on the day but claim the average stableford points comp as well.

Chris putting for more points

So with the season over it just left golf pig to had out the prizes. Golf Pig allocated £15 prizes for each comp and was surprised that he still had £8.50 left so the auditors will be required. However it was agreed to donate this money to charity.

Cups and prizes

So here are the final competition winners which were spread over a number of the tour players.

Kevin was top money earner for the season which saw £112 of prize money handed out of which he collected £32.80

Chris won the average stableford points comp averaging 31.94, although 4 other players were all within a single average point

Bob won the eclectic with -15.8 as birdies seemed to dry up for everyone over the last month of the season.

Kevin had the highest scoring round with 40 points at Woodbridge when winning the US open which was a surprisingly low winning total.

David's blob avoidance strategy and tidy play round the greens meant he won this easily with only 5 blobs in his 4 rounds.

Ian won the best front and back 9 in July, August and September with 41 points. Sadly absent on the day Golf Pig was able to present his prize via satellite.

It only goes to thank everyone on tour for playing this year with a special thanks to Bob for his tee booking work. The tour will be back on in the first week of April 2017 with a venue voting system being introduced early in the new year. 

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2016. Round 22 at Sprowston

Today saw Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2016 round 21 take place at Sprowston. With only two rounds to go this was the last chance for players to position themselves for the grand finale of 'the race to Sheringham', which this year is to be held at Sheringham next week.

It was disappointing to find that 'average stableford points per round' leader Mike had had to withdraw from today but it gave the remaining 5 players a chance to catch up. 

After tuning up 2 minutes after his tee off time last week then it was good to see David had learned his lesson turning up two minutes before the tee off times this week. After much throwing of balls in the air and discussion it was agreed he would have to go in group two with Chris.

Kevin got proceedings underway with an opening par thanks to his drive bouncing back on to the fairway from a friendly oak tree. His teeshots did not improve after this as he kept duffing it into the trees but continued to scramble points on each hole. When he did hit good teeshots on 7 and 9 he follow up hitting the ball into the pond and bunker so it was to everyone's surprise that he finished the 9 on 17 points.

Fortunately Kevin putted well to make up for his woeful front 9 tee to green play

Ian's game looked equally ropy but the trees were not being so friendly to him as he battled with them on several holes. Unfortunately his usual rock solid putting was unable to come to his aid as he could only register 11 points to start with.

A rather miscued opening drive by Ian on the first which set the pattern for the day

Meanwhile Bob had turned up with his A game and was scoring freely so it was a surprise when he decided to send his teeshot on the 7th down Sprowston road and even more of a surprise that he didn't hear the squeal of brakes and a big pile up. However Bob recomposed himself to still get a point on the hole before parring the next two and ending in the lead on 20 points.

Bobs approach to the second hole 

In the group behind David and Chris's main focus was to avoid any blobs as they were the only two players who could now win this competition. There was obvious disappointment from Chris as David sunk an outrageous putt on the third to avoid an early no pointer. He then finished the 9 strongly with 3 pars and a birdie over the last 5 holes and 17 points.

Davids approach on 11

Chris was not doing so well as the trees on the long par 5 fourth gave her an early blob before a number of bunkers restricted her scoring opportunities on future holes leaving her on a disappointing 14 points.

Chris Teeshot on the third and a rare par

The back 9 started better for Ian with an early par but a blob on the short par 3 14th stalled further progress as he finished the round on 26 points and out of the running.

Ians tesehot on 10 landed near the ditch before an excellent chip and putt gave him a par

Kevin started a back 9 fight back and when Bob failed to score on the par 5 13th there was only a point between them. Then to add to the drama Bob 3 putted the next hole before losing his ball on the 15th allowing Chris and David to play through.

Kevins teeshot on 12th led to a par and the fight back was on

By this point Chris was well out of the running as her short game deserted her. Despite a couple of late pars she could only finish on 31 points and out the  running. However she had kept her blob cout to only one for the round.

Chris chipping up to flag for a par on 17

David was still going well and, mainly thanks to his ball refusing to go in the bunkers, and he avoided any blobs recording an excellent 36 points. There was now a nervous wait by the 18th green to see if Kevin or Bob could catch up.

David could only manage 1 point on 17 

He needn't have worried about Bob who had cracked under the pressure with a run of 5 points in 5 holes and even a par on the final hole meant he couldn't catch David as he finished on 35.

Bob stuck in trees on long par 4 11th but he still manged a 5 for 3 points

Over the same 5 holes Kevin had 12 points so as he stood on the last tee only needed to avoid getting his first blob of the day to win. Unfortunately a drive into the trees, a sliced approach, a chip into tree branches and a final 3 putt meant that he couldn't achieve his point and the top prize was shared.

Kevin missing the putt he needed for a win

The scores from today have been entered into a super computer and the golf boffins have been pouring over the printouts to work out what is required for people to win a competition at next weeks grand final. So here is what they say.

Average Stableford points. This is incredibility close with 4 players still in the running so hopefully you can follow this. 
David will win if he gets 31 points (Unless Chris gets 38 when he will need 32)
If he gets less than 31 then Chris will win if she gets 33 points (unless Kevin gets at least 35 or 2 points more than Chris).
If she doesn't get 33 points then Kevin will win if he gets 34
If none of them reach these points then Mike will win

Eclectic (off half handicap). Only Bob and Kevin in the running but Kevin needs to birdie two more unbirdied holes than Bob.

Most Stableford points in a round. Kevin has led since mid June when his 40 pts won the US Open at Woodbridge but with a potential 8 players signed up for the last round then this could still be beaten.

Average blobs per round. David has been targeting this comp since joining the tour and has only had 3 blobs in his 3 rounds to date. He will need to have 5 blobs and Chris only one for him not to win this trophy.

Best combined front and back 9 in July, August and September. Ian still has a two point lead with 41 points. But with Chris (21) and Bob (20) having good front 9's and Kevin (20) and Sandie(20) having good back 9s then they all remain in the hunt.

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2016. Round 21 at Wensum Valley, Wensum course

Yesterday saw Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2016 round 21 take place at Wensum Valley on the Wensum course. It was a big day for the tour as total prize money for the year hit the £100 mark for the first time ever. Thus making it the richest such competition anywhere in the Norwich area, probably. As such 4 players had been attracted to compete for today's £2.50 first prize.

It was a very hot day and the Wensum is a very long course so it was always going to be a bit of a slog. David turned up just as we were about to tee off as he had been doing urgent painting on one of his adventure golf courses. This was clearly not an ideal way to start as he scored only one point on each of the first 4 holes before consolidating on the next few holes. He then announced that as he wasn't scoring well he would focus on the blobs contest and employ a blob avoidance management strategy. Inevitably this led to him recording his first blob on the next hole as he finished the front 9 on 12 points.

David putting up to the 3rd for a point

Bob had a solid start before exploding into action by birding holes 4 and 5 to be 3 under handicap after just 5 holes and suddenly back in contention in a number of this years competitions as well as a clear leader on the day. As long as he didn't get carried away, keep hitting balls into water & woods and score more than 1 point over the next 4 holes he would be in a very strong position. Sadly that's exactly what he did do and at half way found him languishing in 3rd place on 14 pts.

Bobs teeshot over the pond at the 5th for his 2nd birdie

Kevin was going along nicely when on the 8th tee he announced how well he had played this tricky hole in last years competition. Once again the golfing gods did not look kindly on this arrogant outburst so it was no surprise that his teeshot bounced down the river before putting his next ball into the green side pond. A 3  putt on the 9th restricted him to 16 points at halfway.

Kevin shanking his tee shot round the corner on the 4th

Meanwhile while all around everyone else was getting into difficult Ian was going steadily about his business before taking his opportunity with excellent pars on the tricky, water rich, 7th and 8th holes. Then out of the blue he shanked his approach on the very long 9th to scramble a point for his first slip up but despite this he still held a 3 point lead at the turn.

Nice chip on to the green from Ian at the second

David's blob avoidance management strategy on the back 9 seemed to work well although he didn't score many points he kept any more nil points off his card but still finished in last place on 26 pts.

David putting up towards a par on the short 12th

Ian started poorly on the back with just 1 point in the first 2 holes while both Kevin and Bob started more strongly. After 13 holes it was 22 for Bob, 23 Kevin and 24 Ian so all to play for.

However Bob was the first to crack and a few poor teeshots meant he only reached 30 pts to claim the 50p 3rd place prize. 

Bob stuck in bunker on 15th finishing off his challenge

Ian was next to faulted with double bogeys at 15 and 16 when he found the water hazard on each to finish on 32.

Ian looking hopefully for his ball in the pond at 15, he never found it

Kevin finished strongly with 2 pars in the last 3 holes and 34 points in total and took away the £2.50 first prize to lift his season earnings over the £30 mark.

Long putt from Kevin on 13th. David was new to snapping on course photos
 but Kevin confirmed that he was always happy to be taken from behind

There are just two weeks left but most competitions are still undecided, here is a summary going into the round at Sprowston next Wednesday.

Money list. Kevin's win increased has now unassailable lead and he will end the year top of the earnings chart for cash to spare. His tactic of playing more rounds than anyone else has proved to be a good one.

Average Stableford points. This is incredibility close with 4 players now separated by a third of a point averaging between 31.30 and 31.64 points and all with a chance of winning. Chris currently leads by 0.01 points from Mike but Ian and Kevin, also separated by 0.01, could still easily catch up with two high scoring rounds. Despite David's poor round today he could still snatch the prize by scoring  34 points or more in the final two rounds.

Eclectic (off half handicap). Bobs second birdie today extended his lead over Kevin to 1.4 with everyone else now out of the running.

Most Stableford points in a round. Kevin has led since mid June when his 40 pts won the US Open at Woodbridge but with good scoring conditions and some large fields it is certainly not a guaranteed winning score.

Average blobs per round. Chris's all round consistency means she leads by someway averaging only 2.07 blobs per round and it would take another tour record blob round for her to be caught by most players although David is now targeting this and will win if he avoids getting more than 5 blobs over the final two rounds.

Best combined front and back 9 in July, August and September. Ian has a two point lead with 41 points. But with Chris (21) and Bob (20) having good front 9's and Kevin (20), Mike(20) and Sandie(20) having good back 9s then they all remain in the hunt.

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2016. Round 20 at Cromer

Today saw Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2016 round 20 take place at Cromer. Despite it being one of the premier locations on tour, rival fixtures had reduced the entry to just 3. Even Golf Pig couldn't be arsed to turn up and had gone to one of the other events instead. It was everyone else's loss as it was an exciting day going down to the very last putt.

It was also great to see David make a return visit to the tour after many years away, from a time before records begun. He claimed he was now playing off 11 although enable to produce an up to date handicap certificate to prove it. After some consideration the committee reluctantly agreed he could still play. It was also his first time to Cromer golf course as he doesn't get out much.

The opening hole at Cromer is tricky as most first timers misjudge the rough and hazard on the left so it was good to see David also making this mistake losing his ball and gaining an opening blob. After that it was a mixed bag which contained 4 pars and 15 front 9 points.

David getting proceedings underway with an opening hole blob.

David also proved to be an excellent ball spotted sniffing out Bob and Kevin's wayward drives that often ended in the the thick rough. It took all Kevin's skill to hit the ball deep enough into the trees on the 5th hole for him to finally not be able to find one. Kevin was having an inconsistent front 9 as his wildness off the tee restricted his scoring opportunities. He did scramble well to get at least get one point on each hole but only 14 in all.

Good up and down from the bunker on the 2nd

Bob started very well with 5 points in the tricky opening two holes. As all golfers know you should never announce how pleased you to have played the two holes 'the best you can ever remember'. Inevitably Bob then failed to score on the next two holes. On the 4th he attempted to equal the most balls lost on one hole record but somehow managed to find his third ball in some deep rough. He finished the 9 in last place on 13 but only two off the lead.

Bob in the rough on the 3rd. A place he spent a lot of the afternoon

David had been given some extra advice by the pro when he bought his course map before the round. On the 10th they said make sure you don't go long and right so he took his 3 wood and went short and right instead, which was worse. However he still scrambled a point and, as a result of nothing worse than a bogey on the next few holes, found himself one shot in the lead coming on to 17.

David teeing off on light house hole where pro advice was don't hit long and straight,
but he did

Bob was still struggling with the long rough and as a result of 3 more blobs had just 19 points after 15 holes. It looked like his challenge on the average stableford points competition would be in tatters but he finished with 3 straight pars (including a great up and down on 17) to end on 28 and still in the hunt (just) for that plus a 50p prize for the day.

Bob escapes from bunker by the lighthouse

Kevinad finally got his game together and after a par on 10 and good drive on 11 was over confident as he decided to use his 3 wood, which he has been struggling with recently, for his next shot. This was a pivotal moment as duffed it into the deep rough for a blob. He clearly hadn't got over on the next hole as he blob that as well. After this things got better and he found himself just one point behind David as they stood on the 17th tee.

Kevin cant believe his put stayed out for a potential birdie on 13

Kevin's teeshot made the green but left a long putt while David had a 10 foot putt after a good shot in. Unbelievably Kevin made his birdie only for David to follow him. The imaginary crowd were going wild as the players went on to the 18th.

From the tee David went in the rough and only moved the ball a few yards with his next but a good 3rd and a couple of putts left Kevin needing to sink a 3 foot putt to tie the round with a par. When Mr and Mrs Pressure came knocking then Kevin wasn't at home as he sunk the putt and both players will collect their £1.75 joint winners prize when Golf Pig turns up again.

Next week the tour moves on to Wensum Valley and with only 3 rounds left this is turning into the closest competition ever. But how did today impact the leaderboards.

Money list. Kevin has now an unassailable lead and will end the year top of the earnings chart. His tactic of playing more rounds than anyone else has proved to be a good one.

Average Stableford points. This is incredibility close with 4 players separated by less than half a point averaging between 31.16 and 31.64 points and all with a chance of winning. Chris currently leads by 0.01 points from Mike but Ian and Kevin could still easily catch up with some high scoring rounds. Bob is probably just out of the running after today but you never know. David's 34 points mean another 3 good rounds could see him snatch the prize at the death.

Eclectic (off half handicap). Bob still leads Kevin by 0.4 and it would take a good run of birdies from other players to catch them. Kevin's birdie on 17 didn't help as he had already got a birdie there.

Most Stableford points in a round. Kevin has led since mid June when his 40 pts won the US Open at Woodbridge but with good scoring conditions and some large fields it is certainly not a guaranteed winning score.

Average blobs per round. Chris's all round consistency means she leads by someway averaging only 2.07 blobs per round and it would take another tour record blob round for her to be caught so it's hers to lose. Again David could snatch it after his 2 blob round today.

Best combined front and back 9 in July, August and September. Ian has a two point lead with 41 points. But with Chris (21) and Bob (20) having good front 9's and Kevin (20), Mike(20) and Sandie(20) having good back 9s then they all remain in the hunt.

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2016. Round 19 at Caister and Yarmouth

Wednesday saw Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2016 round 19 take place at Caister and Yarmouth. There a was a bumper entry of 6 who were split into two groups of 3 by the traditional balls in the air method. The course was very hard and dry so there was plenty of run on the course making it hard to judge distance.

It was good to see John once again return to the tour after some more time away tuning his game. He started in traditional fashion by losing his ball on the first before and an opening blob. This was followed by 3 successive pars putting him into an early lead, however he then heard that Sandie had broken his most blobs in a round record with 9 on her last outing at Barnham Broom two weeks ago. So with the aid of bunkers and gorse he set out to reclaim the record and managed to blob 4 of the next 5 holes. He was now well on the way to getting his record back ending the front 9 with 11 pts and 5 blobs.

John teeing off on first with an early blob

Mike was the current leader of both the highest average points comp and lowest blobs per round. Due to the high demand for his appearance at other events his agent has committed him to a busy September meaning he would only be making one more outing on tour this year. Therefore a good round today would put him in a very strong position as we enter the final month of the tour. However he had an inconsistent front 9 scoring only 14 points and throwing in a could of blobs for good measure. 

Mike teeing off on first

Chris has been the form player of late and today seemed to be no exception as she posted a birdie and 3 pars in 5 holes during the middle of the front 9. She was helped by the ludicrous 8th which was a 466 par 4 for men and 391 par 5 for women. To rub salt in the wound she hit her 2nd through the back. Mike and John were so disgusted that they refused to score a point on the hole. She finished on 19 pts putting the 40 point best round of the year under threat.

Chris getting her round underway

Meanwhile in the group behind Sandie started where she left off on her record breaking blob round by failing to score on the first. However things then picked up with 7 points in the next two holes. Her putting all round was very sharp as she sunk a number of long putts to scramble some points while also taking advantage of her opportunities. She finished the front 9 on a solid 17 pts.

Sandie teeing off on 2nd

Bob was on fire on the front 9 as he had 3 successive pars during the middle of the 9. With 18 points after 8 holes he was very well placed and when his approach on the 9th landed just off the green things were looking good. However he was struggling with the pace of the greens and 4 putts later his confidence on the greens was in pieces although he still had 19 pts and share of the lead.

Bobs long putt on 1st hole, which was the first of 3

Kevin was one of the few players finding the lightning quick greens to his liking as at last he had found some greens the same speed as his artificial one in his back garden. Thanks mainly to good putting he collected 18 points on the front 9 and was well placed for the remainder of the round.

Good approach to 4th green

The back 9 started well for Mike including a par on the toughest hole, number 11, however after that things fell away badly with 3 more no pointers and only 11 points to finish on a disappointing 25. This has given hope to the rest of the tour as he lost the lead in both comps he was leading. See end of post for competition summaries.

Mike struggles in bunker on way to a blob on short 14th

Chris also fell away recording only a single par and 14 points on the closing holes. However her 33 point total made her leader in the clubhouse.

John clearly only had Sandies blob record on his mind as he again found the hard ground and gorse bushes his ally on the opening holes helping move to 8 blobs after 14. However as he scored on the next two holes it meant he would have to blob out on the last two holes for the record. It took much skill but he managed to do it and set a new record of 10 no score holes. He actually played better than handicap on the other 8 for 17 pts.

It was very close in the group behind with only 2 pts separating the players after 13 holes with Kevin holding a 1 point lead. However he then fell away badly as the race course acted like a magnet  to his ball as he went on it 3 times over the next few holes to finish on a disappointing 30 pts.

Kevin getting out of the bunker on 14th but straight into the gorse and no points

Bob couldn't really get going either putting his teeshot on the 11th on to the beach. His cry of fore probably didn't alert the holiday makers to the danger they were in. He did then manage to score on all of the last 5 holes to finish in the money on 31.

Bobs teeshot on 10 ended up on the race course

Suddenly Sandie came to he fore. She used a new tactic of giving a disappointing sigh or 'rubbish' comment after each shot only for it to end up a few foot from the flag. With 14 points (including a birdie on 16) in the last 5 holes for a total of 37 and, in the end, a comfortable win and her first prize money on tour.

Sandy chipping off the bank to the 13th green

Today's round really shock up the leaderboards so with just the 4 rounds in September to go here is a summary of each competition.

Money list. Kevin has an almost unassailable lead and only Bob can catch him if he wins all the last 4 rounds and Kevin finishes out of the prizes. His tactic of playing more rounds than anyone else has proved to be a good one.

Average Stableford points. This is incredibility close with 5 players averaging between 31 and 31.64 points and all with a chance of winning. Chris currently leads by 0.01 points from Mike but Ian, Bob and Kevin could still easily catch up with some high scoring rounds.

Eclectic (off half handicap). Bob leads Kevin by 0.4 and it would take a good run of birdies from other players to catch them.

Most Stableford points in a round. Kevin has led since mid June when his 40 pts won the US Open at Woodbridge but with good scoring conditions and some large fields it is certainly not a guaranteed winning score.

Average blobs per round. Chris's all round consistency means she leads by someway averaging only 2.07 blobs per round and it would take another tour record blob round for her to be caught so it's hers to lose.

Best combined front and back 9 in July, August and September. Ian has a two point lead with 41 points. But with Chris (21) and Bob (20) having good front 9's and Mike(20) and Sandie(20) having good back 9s then they remain in the hunt.

To add to the drama David 'Congo Rapids' Moore rejoins the tour, after several years away, for the final 4 rounds of the year so could still disrupt the current standings.

September looks like being the most exciting finish to Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp ever.