Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2017. Round 14 at Cromer

The Crab Classic at Royal Cromer

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2017 round 14 took place at Cromer on Tuesday. The forecast was not good but a strong field (including the current 4 top earners on the money list) had their balls thrown up in the air and pairings were selected.

There was controversy before a ball had been hit when the Cromer starter accused Kevin of teeing up in front of the yellow markers. Not wanting to cause a fuss Kevin reluctantly moved his ball back two inches although video evidence later showed his ball had not infringed the rule, honest.

Video evidence clearly shows Kevin's ball is behind the line
 although he still re teed to keep everyone happy

Despite the obvious additional pressure Kevin still managed to keep his ball out of the dangerous water hazard by driving it across to the 18th fairway. As the wind got up Kevin surprisingly managed to keep his ball in play and with the help of some rare good putts got to 16 pts after 9.

Kevin escapes from bunker by third green

Playing partner Ian was not faring so well in the wind so after a couple of holes elected to keep his driver in the bag and hit irons off the tee. A tactic that meant he scored on most holes but with 5 of them only being for 1 pt he was restricted to 12 at the turn.

Driver wasn't seen again after Ian's drive on the second
as the wind tried to carry it out of bounds

It became apparent that this was still good as the group behind were struggling to tame the wind. Chris did manage a good par on the panoramic 4th but was struggling on a number of other holes.

Chris's drive on 4th leads to a par 

Bob had a typical all or nothing start with 3 blobs and 2 pars in his opening 9.

Bob thought he was Harry potter as he attempts to hit his ball through the tree on the third

Jill was the most steady although a lack of pars restricted her scoring. She did at least make it on to all the front 9 greens.

Jill also found the bank on the 3rd with a pine cone getting close to the hole than her ball with her chip.

Unusually none of the group scored a point on the short 8th and all finished on 11 at the turn.

As the inward 9 started the skies darkened and rain started to fall. However Kevin responded well and with the wind now in a more helpful direction he took his score to 24 pts after 13. At this point the heavens really opened but Kevin and Ian pushed on regardless. If only he had known that he already had enough points to win then Kevin could have gone to warm up in the clubhouse. As it was his game fell apart and he could only add 3 more points over the last 5 holes to finish on 27 but still more than enough to take the trophy.

As the rain fell heavily Kevin's round started to fall apart on the lighthouse hole

Ian put in a little surge parring 12 and 13 before he too was sunk by the weather and seemed to be deliberately hitting his ball into the ferns in order not to have to play any more of the hole, he finished with 23 at the end.

In the rain Ian hits up towards the 11th Green

The group behind were also starting to lose the will and when thunder and lighting went off they took to playing speed golf. By the time they reached the 17th they had had enough and walked off the course.

A miserable looking 3 were just too wet to finish today's event

Fortunately RNSG excellent rules cater for such a situation and rule 12.1.3 (which was not made up in the bar over tea and cake) clearly states that if rounds can not be completed due to severe weather (and not for other reasons like you are playing badly and decide to go home early) then the title will be decided by the scores on the last hole everyone completed. On this basis Kevin was first on 26, Jill Second on 23 and Chris 3rd on 22.

Hopefully the weather will be better next week when the tour moves to Sprowston. As it is the start to the second half of the season the best 3 front and 3 back 9's in July, August and September (or BTFATBNIJAS as it is more snappily know as) competition kicks off.

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2017. Round 13 at Great Yarmouth and Caister

The Gold Cup at Great Yarmouth and Caister

Thursday saw Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2017 round 13 take place at Great Yarmouth and Caister. With the recent heat wave over todays field of 4 were delayed for nearly an hour as the course was closed due to thunderstorms.

The delay obviously affected the players pre round routines as all they got off to a slow start with 6 points each after 4 holes.

Kevin was the first to crack as he failed to understand the impact the wind makes when you hit your ball high in the air as (only thanks to Bob's lost ball rules) he only managed a single point over the next two holes while the other 3 players were collecting pars and birdies. He surprised everyone, especially himself, by birding the monster par 4 8th to leave him still in the game with 15 pts at half way.

Kevins Drive on the 4th where the wind helped him for the only time in the round
blowing ball back from the race course.

Jill was again the most consistent player scoring on each of the front 9 holes although she had done well to scramble a point on a couple of them. She drove the green on the par 4 6th for an excellent birdie and had 17 pts at the turn.

Jill lays up (not deliberately) in front of the stream on the 3rd

With just one point after the first two holes Chris looked like she had again been impacted by her ongoing toothache issue but she then got her A game out to bash in 17 pts over the rest of the 9 and 18 in all.

Chris's opening drive was the only one to find the fairway
but sadly it took her 5 more shots to get it in the hole. 

Bob had started the day with a blob but again recovered well also recording a birdie at the 6th after his drive went through the green. He also had 18 pts.

Thanks to excellent use of Bob's lost ball rules
and his ridiculous handicap Bob managed to secure a point on the 2nd hole

As the players turned the wind seemed to get up and make conditions even harder. However you wouldn't have thought this as Kevin put an excellent run of 4 holes together to move from last to first on the leader board. When he foolishly announced this his round collapsed with 3 blobs in the last 5 holes. If it hadn't been for the GUR rule on the race course he would have blobbed the other two as well but thanks to this he scored 5 more dubious points and 29 in all. It was enough to sneak the 50p 3rd place prize.

Kevin's last good shot of the day as he drove off the 13th tee.

After 10 holes Kevin helpfully pointed out to Jill that she once again was having a blob free round. After a comment like this there was only one outcome possible as Jill decided to hit her next few drives (and reloads) into gorse bushes getting only 2 pts over the next 5 holes. Despite a strong finish (and Kevin's generous use of the GUR rule) she could only get to 28 pts and out of the prizes.

Jills teeshot on the 11th heading straight for the gorse never to be seen again

Unexplicitly Chris's game also deserted her as she blobbed 3 of the next 5 holes. However she played the last hole expertly to secure the 3 pts required for 2nd place with 30 pts.

Chris claimed to be put off by the cameramans pose when taking the photo between his legs.
She missed the putt

Bob continued his excellent recent form with a storming finish and 13 pts over the last 5 holes as he sensibly mishit all his shots in order to keep them straight as they bounced for miles down the rock hard fairways. He won by a long way with 36 pts. He moved further clear at the top of the 2017 money list as well as returning to the top of the Eclectic leaderboard.

Bob managed a bunker save on the 12th.

Next week the tour stays at the seaside with a trip North to Royal Cromer.

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2017. Round 12 The US Open at Gorleston

The US Open at Gorleston

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2017 Round 12, The US Open took place at Gorleston on Thursday. On hearing the news that the US Open was coming the course had let the long rough grow up high to mirror the other US Open taking place at the sametime. Unfortunately unlike in America the players on RNSG tour were unable to convince them to cut it down before play got underway.

A disappointing entry of only five had turned out for the second major of the year. The winner would probably take the lead in the 2017 money list so there was much to play for. Kevin got us underway and managed to hit a number of good drives over the front 9. However he missed 5 putts from under 6 foot which when added to the ball he drove on to the beach on the 5th rather restricted his scoring. However on the 9th he did manage to chip in for an outrageous birdie and a resectable 15 pts.

Kevin missing his putt on the 3rd

Jill was obviously afraid of the long grass as, after her opening drive, she started to hunt for her ball in it despite it being safely on the edge of the fairway. Ironically she was the only player who failed to go in it all day. Some solid front 9 play saw her score on every hole but with no 3 pointers she had 16 pts.

Jills 2nd shot on the 1st had been delayed as she hunted for her ball in the rough?

Bob was very good when he kept his drives on the fairway. He knew he still had 3 holes he needed to par to improve his front 9 eclectic so had excitedly told tour officials he had parred 5 outward holes. My how he is going to laugh when he finds the ones he didn't were the 3 missing eclectic pars. He still held the halfway lead on 17 though.

After a par par start Bobs drive on the 3rd hardly made it off  the tee resulting in a blob

Chris was having a similar sort of all or nothing round with pars and blobs and 14 pts.

Chris teeing off on 4 for her first of 6 blobs today

Sandie was enjoying the fun of hunting for balls in knee high rough but this restricted her scoring to only 8 on the front 9.

Sandie cleared the rough with her drive on the 5th

However her game picked up on the back 9 with a very tidy 16 pts but this still couldn't get her away from the wooden spoon position.

Sandies approach to 14

Chris's pre round visit to dentist had a abit out of sorts and she never got back in contention on the back 9 although a par, par finish got her up to 27 pts.

A long putt for Chris lead to a Par

Kevin started the back 9 well but found the long rough 3 times in the last 4 holes and limped in in 3rd place with 28 pts.

Kevin carting his drive into the trees on 13

Jill continued to play well and it was only a rushed putt on 17 that stooped her having a blob free round. However would her 32 point total be enough.

Good bunker shot on the 11th enabled a scrambled point

No, as Bob stormed home with another 18 pts and 35 overall to become US Open champion. It has been an excellent June for Bob who has come from nowhere to lead the seasons money list.

Even the bunkers couldn't stop Bobs charge to victory

Next week it is back to the seaside for a proper linksie test at Caister.

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2017. Round 11 Caldecott Hall

The Election Challenge at Caldecott Hall

Thursday 8th June (remember that date) saw round 11 of the Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp take place at Caldecott Hall. Holidays, sickness and better offers conspired to limit the participants to three - Chris, Jill and Bob. 

Everyone turned up 45 minutes early, including Chris unencumbered by her other half. The pro shop suggested teeing off straight away which put paid to any pre-match shopping.

Early Risers

Bob teed off first by virtue of his gender and despite Jill trying to put him off by talking about what she hadn't been wearing under her Trilby Tour caddy outfit, he just managed to keep his ball out of the trees and ended up on the downslope of a grassy mound. He discovered this was a common feature of the course.

Female action on first tee
'Can you make out the red tee - hang on a minute let me get my telescope out'

The girls then set off to find the ladies tees which was just visible in the distance. Now that he had to write the Blog, Bob found himself starting to adopt a Kevin view of the world.

The first three holes saw Jill off to a strong start with 6 points, followed by Chris with 5 and Bob, exhibiting his usual slow start, scoring on every hole but only making 3 points.

Chris in full flow on the 2nd Tee

Jill then hit a sticky patch, Bob rallied and Chris hung in so that by the halfway stage Jill and Bob were level on 14 with Chris one behind on 13. All to play for.

Jill hitting a nice shot on the 4th but losing her ball in the bushes to the right of the hole. 

The back 9 started well with Chris and Jill making good pars on the high plateau 10th green for 3 points. Chris just failing with a birdie chance. Bob played out well from the rough greenside to scramble a 5 and 2 points.

The 11th saw Bob attempt to deploy his course management skills, using a recovery club to tee off. Unfortunately, the intention was well founded but the execution was poor and he ended up losing the ball and deploying 'Bob rules' for a penalty. Further mishaps followed and he scored no points.

Chris started well but put her 3rd shot into the gorse when aiming for the green and ended up not scoring. This left Jill to open up a gap at the top with a solid 6 and 2 points.

Jill starting to find her rhythm

The short par 3 12th saw Bob scramble a ridiculous long putt par 3 after unintentionally laying up on his tee shot 120 yards from the hole. The girls both only managed a point!!

After this, Jill found a consistent run of form scoring 2 points on each of the next 5 holes. Chris was either very good (2 pars) or poor (blob and 2 double bogeys). Bob similarly hit a par, 2 single bogeys and 2 blobs. On the 16th Jill managed to find Bob's ball twice but he was still unable to score any points.

Bob demonstrating how not to use a recovery club

By the time the 18th hole was reached, Jill was in an unassailable position with 30 points. Chris and Bob were tied on 26 points and fighting it out for the wooden spoon.

For those of you who have played Caldecott Hall you will remember that the red tee is about 115 yards ahead of the yellow tee and avoids a screen of trees making the mens tee shot a tad tricky with out of bounds on the right.

If you squint you can just see the yellow tee on the 18th from the back of the red tee!

Well, despite some trepidation, Bob managed to hit his best tee shot of the day and avoided all the hazards, landing his ball 150 yards from the pin in the middle of the fairway. Chris responded with a long drive ahead of Bob and Jill quietly went about her business and did what she had done for most of the game and hit the fairway 130 yards from the pin.

Bob played his second shot just wide of the green and chipped on and putted out for a 5. Chris played her next shot into a fairway bunker, played out but left herself a long putt and ended up with a 7. Deep joy for Bob.

Meanwhile Jill ignored all of this tension and pitched in 3 feet from the pin and sank her putt to finish with a birdie and 4 points! Well done.

The final results were Jill 34, Bob 28 and Chris 25 (post match scoring revealed an error in Bob's scoring of Chris).

Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and the course which was in good shape. The weather was a bit windy at times but the rain held off. It was agreed that Caldecott Hall deserved to continue to be included in future Round Norfolk Golf Tours.

Next week sees the Tour move on to Gorleston which will be the venue for this year's US Open and normal service should be resumed with the blog.

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2017. Round 10 at Eaton

The Posh Goblet at Eaton

Wednesday saw Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2017 round 10 take place at Eaton. Despite the green fee being reduced to zero there was a disappointing turn out of 6 for the Posh Goblet.

Due to the late arrival of the official balls in the air monitor then a deputy had to be appointed to decide the groupings resulting in a group of OAPs heading to the first tee. As it turned out on the day experience won over the youthful enthusiasm of the the second group.

Confusion on first tee as old blokes tried to remember what they had to do

Mike got things underway with the opening drive and proceeded with a very solid 9 holes and 17 pts.

Mikes opening drive

Ian had been the man in form recently but his front 9 yo-yoed between feast and famine. The highlight being when he hit the pin with his tee shot on the second. Unfortunately 3 blob holes didn't help but he still managed 15 pts from the other 6 holes.

Bob started slowly with just 4 points from first 4 holes before getting into gear and finishing the 9 on 16.

The group behind was more subdued with Chris finding it difficult to get her game going bookending her first half with a pair of blobs and only 12 points.

Chris's second shot to the 4th, sadly followed by 3 putts

Sandie wasn't fairing much better and  3 blobs kept her down to 13.

Sandie failed to get up and down from bunker on 1st and ended with a blob

Kevin was not helping team morale as he carved every drive into the trees, with much huffing and puffing, before somehow scrambling points on virtually every hole. There was an audible gasp from his playing partners when he announced he had 16 pts which was not the sort of score associated with this amount of whinging.

Kevin about to have a moan after a poor chip

His back 9 continued in much the same way as it took to the 18th before a drive actually landed on the fairway. His total of 31 pts would not be good enough for a prize today.

Good bunker shot from side of 11th before missing the makeable putt

Chris was still not scoring well wasting a shot on most holes with a run of 5 single points on the back 9. She could only manage 25 in total.

Good putt on 10th leading to 2 pts

The same was true for Sandie who added 3 more blobs and only 24 points.

Sandies teeshot to 11th.

The old blokes up ahead were doing much better with both Ian and Mike getting 17 more points and totals of 32 and 34 respectively.

However Bob was now on fire and had the course tamed. He rolled in an impressive 21 points which gave him 37 in all. This not only got him the £2.50 first prize but the highest score by anyone on tour this year and a new course record for Eaton to boot.

June looks like being a quieter month on tour as availability is poor despite the prospect of the US Open being played at Royal Cromer in a fortnights time.