Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2017. Round 4 and 5 at Stoke By Naylands

The Artist Trophy at Stoke-by-Naylands

It was a day of firsts on the RNSG tour last Thursday as events moved down to the Suffolk Essex border for the inaugural double header event at Stoke by Naylands. Day 1 was on the more challenging Constable course which had attracted a strong field of 6 golfers. As the players lined up on the first tee there was the traditional outcry that the men's tee was one side of the lake and the Women's the other. Not surprisingly John and Kevin's opening drive went way left (away from the water but out of position) whereas final group member Sandie hit hers safely down the fairway.

With the use of a large telephoto lens the ladies first tee can just be spotted from the Mens

Sandie went on to par the hole but there was not much else for her to write home about as she struggled on the greens gaining only 12 points at half way.

Sandie's drive on the second was the start of a poor run on the front 9

Kevin was playing well off the tee but got stuck in a bunker on the second fairway (never to get out) and hooked a ball oob on the 5th to restrict a potential good 9 to 13 pts.

Kevin about to thin his chip back into the reeds

John was also driving the ball well but struggled with the pace of the greens leaving nearly every chip and putt short. This meant that, despite no blobs, he only had 14 at halfway but should have had more.

John's opening drive across the water on the first

While the golf was the main focus in the front group the one behind kept getting distracted from the matter in hand and not surprisingly their golf suffered.

An unnecessary non golf related selfie putting group once again brining group two's attitude into question

Chris had her new lob wedge to try out and it got many outings but a mistake littered front 9 left her with only 8 points.

Chris probably using her new lob wedge off the tee

Bob and Mike were also struggling to score well although Bob did register the only 3 pointer with a par on the 5th. This was despite letting his trolley roll away and crash while he was putting. He had 13 at the turn.

Bob' tee shot on the first

Mike was having a sloppy round too managing to put his ball in ta he pond in front of the 3rd green after an excellent drive. He entered the second 9 on only 12 pts.

Mike's second and more successful attempt to clear the pond on the third hole

In the group ahead Sandie was still struggling to hole out after a lot of good opportunities. At one point having 7 consecutive 1 point holes. She eventually got the hang of the greens and with a tidy finish had 26 pts but out the prizes.

Good bunker shot on 13 but followed up with 3 putts

Kevin and John had at last got their games together and it became more of a match play comp as the lead between them kept swapping. 

Kevin getting out of the bunker by the 10th.

Both had opportunities to take control on the 16th but turned birdie opportunities into 5's. Coming to the last they were both on the same points and when John hit the green fringe and Kevin the trees it looked all over. However luck was on Kevin's side as the ball bounced off a tree just short of the green and both secured 2 pts to be tidied in the lead with 31pts.

Long bunker shot on 11.

Chris was now playing a bit better but putting the ball in the water on 13 and messing up round the green on 17 restricted her to 22 points and today's wooden spoon. 

Bob was on a Bob charge with a birdie on 13 putting him back in contention. Then for some reason Mike inexplicably announced he had recently found he could not stand on one leg with his eye's shut (why you would ever need to do this is still unclear) but Chris and Mike spent sometime trying while Bob tried to concentrate on golf. This seemed to put him off as he fell away (golf wise not through standing on one leg) finishing on 29 pts.

Bob struggling in trees on 15 as Mike and Chris hopped down the fairway ahead

Mike was having a much better 9 and inspired by his yoga charged up the leaderboard with 2 back 9 birdies. A par on the last would win it for him but like Kevin he hit the trees and although his ball also bounced out his round winning putt never looked like going in.

Mike failing to hole the putt that would have won him the round

It was the first time in tour history that there had been a three way tie but each player pocket £1.33 to add to their earnings on this years money list. 

For day 2 the Gainsburgh course was played. John had gone back to Norwich which left 5 players competing for the prize.  However there was a further shock when Bob called an early morning press conference to announce his withdrawal due to a reoccurrence of his recurring 'injury' which anyone who has played golf with him in the last year will know every detail of.

With just one group of four left it was off to the first tee where the RNSG executive made it clear that both feet needed to be on the ground during any extended period of eye closing so as not to put other players off.

Things didn't start well on the first with duffed shots and visits to the bunkers meaning only two points were scored between the four players. Sandie suffered a blob here and followed up with another on the next. However from then on she found her game and made the most of her two front 9 two shot holes scoring 7 points across them shooting her up to 17 pts at half way.

Sandie teeshot on short 13th was first hole she scored on in the round

Chris was having a similar day to yesterday as she wasted a number of good drives with poor approach shots and tentative putting with only 12 front 9 points to show.

Chris getting out of one of many bunkers she found during the round

Mike was having similar issues finding the greens hard to read which he pointed out to his fellow players at the end of every hole as another putt broke the wrong way. He also could only manage 12 pts.

Mike And Chris looking for their balls after poor second shots on the second hole.
Fortunately both were found.

Kevin also started in the same way as he failed to capitalise on good work to the edge of the greens as clumsy play restricted his scoring. After thinning an easy chip on the second he went produced a cataclysmic display of huffing, puffing, effing and jeffing before sheepishly scoring 2 points which was as good as the other 3 put together. There was further controversy on the 6th as Kevin used his special 'curved lines between whit posts' to claim his ball had not gone out of bounds. It turned out to be a waste of time as he recorded a blob there anyway.  His round then turned with a long birdie putt on the 8th bringing him back in contention on 17 pts.

Kevin chipping over a pond onto the 4th green

The back 9 quickly developed into two games of match play as Chris and Mike battled for third place whilst Sandie and Kevin competed for the main prize.

It was looking good for Chris when Mike managed to go out of bounds twice on the same hole for his only blob of the day. Mike had to have a little moment to himself before returning to play the next hole. . However Chris failed to fully capitalise as she decided to see how many different bunkers she could go in over the remaining holes so they were all square standing on the last tee.

Chris in bunker shock

Both hit poor tee shots but Mike's recovery was better and he claimed the extra point need to take the 50p third place prize.

Shot of the day as mike chipped from under the tree and over the bunker to hit the pin,
 although he missed the putt because he hadn't got the feel of the greens blah, blah, yawn yawn etc etc

The battled between Sandie and Kevin was of much higher quality with each player scoring well and with two holes to play they were both on level handicap with 32 points. Sadly Sandie had some bunker trouble on 17 giving Kevin a 1 point lead coming to the last.

Pressure from the cameraman led to a fluffed chip

Kevin found the greenside bunker on the last but Sandie could only equal his 2 points as he was declared todays champion with 36 pts. The first time this year anyone has managed to play to handicap.

Kevin needed to get two points after going in the bunker on the last (although photo is from the 11th)

It was agreed the first RNSG tour trip was a great success and the tour executive could already be heard discussing the arrangements for a repeat visit next year.

Next week the tour returns to the more familiar setting of Costessey where the players are already lining up to moan about how rubbish the new holes and course layout is, unless of course they play well when it will be great.

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2017. Round 3 at Wensum Course Wensum Valley

The Outer Norwich Cup at Wensum Valley

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2017 Round 3, The Outer Norwich Cup, took place on the Wensum Course at Wensum Valley on Tuesday. After last weeks rather dull affair at Diss there was no end of excitement and drama on this occassion.

The drama started with the shock announcement that current tour earnings leader, Jill, had pulled out due to a niggling back injury. Before the news of this had sunk it then there was another bombshell when tour veteran, Bob, had to withdraw as he needed to give his son a lift to London.

This meant the field was now down to five including three rookies (Jane, Robert and Jo) making their debut's on tour.

Last weeks tour winner, Chris, got things underway but after a tidy start reached the water filled section of the course depositing many balls into the ponds and rivers to have 4 successive blobs and only 7 points at halfway.

Another water hazard means another blob

Playing partner Jo was performing solidly but the strong wind and length of the holes meant it was hard to register any pars but she still had a respectable 13 pts at the turn.

Jo's opening teeshot on the round Norfolk golf tour

In the second group Kevin and Roberts were pleased to see the yellow tees were mainly on the ladies tee boxes which offered some defence (for them) against the strong winds.

Despite a number of good tee and approach shots, Jane was finding the greens a bit too bibbly bobbly taking rather too many putts and recording only 9 pts over the opening holes.

Janes shot over the water at the 6th after an aggressive drive put her in a good position,
and an excellent par

Roberts had got off to a good start with some very aggressive (or foolish) play paid off as he drove his ball to the waters edge on more than one occasion. However back to back blobs on holes 8 and 9 restricted him to 13 pts and a share of second place.

Robert's approach shot to the 1st and his first point of the day

Kevin decided to hit everything left, for no obvious tactical reason, giving him a number of interesting shots but his putting kept him in each hole and was the only blob free player on the front 9 taking the lead on 16 pts.

A good approach putt from Kevin on the 4th.

Unfortunately Jane's back nine didn't start well as she visited the trees off the tee for two more blobs. However things picked up on the 12th after sinking a long putt which incredibly was the first birdie registered on this years tour. With points scored on all the remaining holes she finished her tour debut on 20 pts. Jane then foolishly counted her putts up and proudly announced she had taken 44 of them today, which is a lot.

Got chip by Jane to 10th but won't mention what happened on the green

Chris's back 9 was much improved and only a couple of visits to the tree's on 17 stopped her having the best 9 of the day as she finished on 22 pts but out of the prizes.

Chris putting on 17th but sadly not good enough and only blob on back nine

Jo continued in much the same way as the front 9 scoring on every hole but again struggling to turn any holes into 3 points. A surprising 4 putt on the 12th was her best opportunity. However with 25 pts she claimed 50p winnings to put herself onto this seasons money list.

Jo's approach to the long 17th ending with another point

It was clear the big prize was going to be fought out between Kevin and Robert and had nothing to do with the location of the tees but the high quality of their golf (and if you believe that...).

Out of the blue Kevin's putter deserted him as he took 10 putts over 3 early back 9 holes allowing Robert to take a 1 point lead as they walked off the 13th green.

Robert continued to play well scoring on every back 9 hole were as Kevin only had 6 pts after 7 of them. Despite a par on 17 Kevin remained 2 pts down as he stood on the par 5 18th tee.

Robert taps in for 2 pts on 11

Fortune was on Kevin's side as a good drive and 3wood left him on the edge of the green whereas Roberts excellent drive had found him in a bit of a rut in the rough meaning he needed 4 to get to the greenside. A good putt from Kevin secured his 4 point birdie before Robert fought off Mr Pressure to also get down in 2 and the round was tied on 29 pts.

Robert holds his nerve to sink putt to share the title

It had been another exciting finish with only Golf Pig upset as with yet another shared prize meaning that he didn't have enough 5p's to hand out.

Next week the tour has it's first ever double header as event's move into Suffolk and the two courses at Stoke by Naylands.

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2017. Round 2 at Diss

The South Norfolk Classic at Diss

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2017 Round 2, The South Norfolk Classic, took place at Diss on Tuesday. After the excitement of last weeks opening Major then today was a much lower key affair.

With her first Major under her belt Jill was the bookies favourite to take the prize today and extend her lead at the top of the money list on the race to Sheringham. However she got off to a surprisingly sluggish start recording 3 blobs over the opening 9 holes and only 11 at halfway.

Jill's opening tee shot ends in the greenside bunker

Bob also got off to a slow start and also had 3 blobs and 11 points as he struggled to get any rhythm in his game. He did win the 'how many balls can I hit in the river' prize as both a drive and provisional went in on the 6th.

Bob does well to get out bunker on first

Chris and Kevin had both been cut a shot since last week's round so were clearly in good form but once again Kevin forgot the importance of hitting his drive on to the fairway so spent much time in the rough and trees. Fortunately his scrambling skills were good as he managed to get to 14 points after 9.

Kevin Scrambles another point on the 4th with good approach putt

Chris was justifying her handicap cut as she played excellent tee to green golf. She was even showing off by deliberately leaving approach putts 6 feet short before then sinking the next one. Her progress was only halted with a blob on the 5th when her ball ended up in the nettles. She still had 17 pts.

Chris puts in her short putt for a par on 3

Things started to hot up on the back 9 as Chris let the other players back in after getting only 4pts over the next 4 holes and Kevin caught her at the top of the leader board as they left the 13th Green.

Another good approach from Chris on 9

Bob had also made a charge and was in the hunt but his driver then deserted him as he only managed 5 pts over the last 5 to finish in last place on 24 pts. With no winnings yet this season hopefully he will get on the earnings board next week.

A good drive from Bob on 11 leading to a par on 11 but his charge up the leader board soon fell away

Chris obviously gave herself a good talking to as normal service was resumed with 3 pars on the final 5 and an easy win on 34 pts. The £2.50 first prize moved her to 3rd place on the money list.

Jill came with a late charge with 4 successive pars putting her back in the hunt for second place. But the pressure was clearly too much as she miscued her drive on the last and couldn't recover ending with a blob to finish on 28 pts.

Good up and down from Jill on short 12th and a par.

Kevin's driver finally turned up with a series of good drives over the closing holes. Unfortunately this corresponded with his approach play knocking off early (had probably gone to the bar with Bob's drives) and he only scrambled a few more points. After two in a bunker he somehow got a point on the last which was enough to share second place with Jill.

Excellent approach on 10th after a lost ball penalty (using Bob's rules)  and after sinking the putt still ended with a Boggy 

Next week there is a big field expected at Wensum Valley potentially including 3 rookies making their tour debut. Golf pig is very excited with the potential windfall.

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2017. Round 1 The Masters at Hunstanton

The Masters at Hunstanton

As tradition dictates then this season's Round Norfolk Golf tour kicked off at Hunstanton with the Masters. The first major had attracted a bumper field of 6 chasing the huge £5 first prize that would see the winner head straight to the top of this year's money list in the race to Sheringham.

Golf Pig was also pleased to see such a large field as he was stuffed full of entry fees.

As defending champion Chris got to tee off first and get the season underway. A good drive plus monster putt saw her first 3 points of the year on the board, after 3 more points on the second as well her round then started to fall away as she finished the front 9 with 14 pts.

Defending champion Chris getting proceedings underway

Bob was feeling a bit poorly after attending last night's previous master champions dinner, with Chris, and suspected foul play. He also started with a par but soon tired to only register 13 at the turn.

One of two good drives from Bob today on the first, he waited until the 18th for the second one

The final player in the group was John B. Apparently he hadn't hit a bad drive for at least 6 months but the excitement of getting his first free captains courtesy round was too much as he failed to reach the fairway with his drive and the first blob of the year was registered. However he soon turned things round and got an impressive 17 pts on the following front 9 holes.

John B misfiring on the first

Kevin was a nervous player as a win today would make him the first player to complete the career grand slam. A solid par settled the nerves but a couple of bad drives restricted his scoring to 16 at halfway.

Kevin just stayed in bounds on the 5th to scramble a couple of points

David was making his debut in a major but he played like a majors veteran as he produced some excellent golf to have the halfway lead on 19.

One of many bunker shots David had during his excellent start

Jill was hoping for a better start to this year's tour after not performing well in the corresponding tournament last year. An opening pair of blobs didn't bode well but she hung on with 13 pts over the remaining holes.

Jill willing her putt in but to no avail

As the players entered the back nine there was a big change in weather conditions as the warm sun turned to a cold and strong wind. Fortunately the wind was helping for most of the way in but it wasn't to John's liking as he started to fade with 3 blobs in the last 5 holes and 28 at the end.

Front group in the zone

Bob was still struggling and with seven1 pointers only added 10 more points for a total of 23. His suggestion, to the fair and independent rules committee, that he put forward in the club house after the round was quickly rejected as he wanted a player's worst 2-3 rounds not to count in the tours competitions. I wonder why?

Chris had a strong back 9 and despite missing a few good chances accumulated 17 more points and 31 in total to be leader on the bench behind the 18th green.

The real action was in the second group where the scores and leadership kept chopping and changing.
Kevin was first to fall as 3 double bogeys on hols 15 through 17 put him out of contention. However a final par on 18 also put him on 31 pts to finish with a share of 3rd place and his first 50p earnings of the year.

Kevin managed to avoid water hazard on 10 but still lead to his only blob today

Jill and David came down the last tied on 31 pts and when Jill's drive went in the fairway bunker and then two shots later in the greenside one it looked all over before an excellent sand save gave her the one point needed to take the lead.

Jills fairway bunker shot on 18 just got the ball out

Meanwhile David's drive had gone down a hole in the rough which appeared to be animal made so thanks to a fortunate free drop he also managed to scramble a point and finish on 32.

David in trouble on 17 let Jill back in to the game

The fair and independent rules committee held an emergency meeting (with himself) and ruled that if a major was tied countback would be used to decide the winner although the prize money would still be shared (this was then retrospectively applied to the 2015 US PGA which had also been tied with John B now shown as the outright winner, which cheered him up).

Jill wanted to know where her green jacket was and she was pointed in the direction of the local charity shop. Chris and Bob are already looking forward to seeing what she plans to serve up at next years previous masters champions dinner although Bob will probably be bringing his own sandwiches.

After what was one of the most exciting opening events on record, it looks like being an exciting season as the tour moves on to Diss next week