Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2018. Round 27 Grand Finale at Sheringham

The Race to Sheringham Grand Finale 2018

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2018 round 27, The Grand Finale, took place at Sheringham on Thursday. It was the first time in tour history that all tournaments have been completed in a year with none called off due to inclement weather or lack of interest. And there was certainly plenty of interest for the final event as 11 tour members had signed up.

Perfect conditions for the tour Finale at Sheringham

In reality the only competitions likely to change hands were the money list (if Bob could finish at least 2nd on the day) and the best 3 front and back 9's in July, August and September if Vince could get 20 points on the back 9. There was an outside chance of Vince stealing the eclectic from Kevin but he would need to par the 10th on the 22nd time of asking, so you never know (although I think we all do).

Therefore these 3 went off in the first group to battle it out. Kevin's main interest was to make sure Vince didn't get any birdies so was more concerned about giving Vince 'useful' swing tips and course management advice than thinking about his own game. He was, however, a little upset when deciding to play safe on the 3rd (to make sure he didn't lose his shiny red ball) only for it to end up on Sheringham beach. To make matters worse he then parred the hole using a more cavalier approach with his second ball. This summed up the round as some very good shots were mixed in with some right duffers as he scrambled 29 pts and out of today's prizes.

Kevin hits good tee shot on 4th before duffing next one a few yards

Bob never looked like he would be constructing the sort of round that would get him the prize money he needed as he also had a curates egg type of day. His putting was most bizarre as his attempts from over twenty foot either went in or just lipped out whereas his putts from 3 foot never looked likely to threaten the hole. He also finished on 29 with no prize money giving Vince the money list trophy.

Bob putting on 12th during a strange putting display

Kevin needn't have worried about Vince as it was a surprise that he had as many as 12 points at the end of the front 9.

One of many bunkers Vince made use of during the round

But then it was time for him to face his nemesis once more as he stood on the 10th tee. A reasonable drive left him with an outside chance of the elusive par but a mishit second followed by a poor chip meant the best he could do was a 6. Kevin helpful pointed out how he had parred the hole. Vince cheerfully responded by asking exactly where he would like the flag stick he inserted.

Vince deciding where to stick the flag after he failed to par the 10th (again)

Unfortunately things didn't improve and with 3 more blobs Vince limped in with 22 points and last place. He had however won the money list for 2018 but as he had to leave early was presented with his prize by our executive chairman (Golf Dinosaur monster) in the car park.

Vince receiving the 2018 money list trophy in a hastily arranged ceremony in the car park

As it turned out all the action was in the second group. Mike and David had been put together as Mike only needed to make up 16pts to snatch the average points comp. If David had 5 blobs he would open the door to others on that comp as well. Despite having his handicap recently reduced to 11 David was in no mood to let things slip and played a faultless blob free round. His tee to green game was excellent but he failed to hole any significant putts as he came in on 37 points with the blobs trophy in the bag. 

David never looked like letting anyone nick his blobs trophy
which he won for the second time in 3 years.

Mike would therefore need 53 points to win the points comp and he gave it his best shot. His putter was red hot as he sunk a number of impressive putts and had 20 points at halfway.

Mike in imperious form

The second half continued like the first and only a blob on 15 gave David a sniff of victory as he closed within a point. The gap remained the same over the final 3 holes as Mike won by a point with 38. (Although he wrote 39 down on his card but apparently you can't be DQed for poor adding up so kept his £5 winnings).

The second group finish up on the last

Sandie would have won the competition for the most inconsistent round of the day (if there was one, but there isn't) as she mixed blobs and 3 pointers in almost equal measures (6 and 7 respectively). A disappointing 3 blob run over the closing holes left her with just 25 points and out the running.

No one managed to take a photo of Sandie in action but I think she is the middle golfer in this view

The final member of the group, Jo, had a nice solid round although was disappointed not to be in the trophy mix after winning half of last year's competitions. It has only made her more determined to come back strongly next year (as long as she doesn't have to return to the West Suffolk as the mere mention of the word dandelion still makes her twitch). Despite fading towards the end of today's tournament her 30 points were still enough for the 3rd place £1 prize.

Jo flirting with the gorse bushes on 13.

The final group all agreed it had been a lovely day for golf and they had enjoyed each others company which as all golfers know probably means they didn't score very well, and they hadn't.

Due to a communication and logistical organisational cock up (heads will roll) Ian had found himself in the last group despite the need for an early leave and it didn't help matters when he blobbed 3 of the first 4 holes. He made a good recovery before 3 more blobs on the back 9 finished him off. However a par on the last meant he avoided last place (on count back) so it wasn't all bad news.

Ian was not at his best today but is sure to coming back fighting next season

Robert had started the season strongly back in April when he won the Masters at Hunstanton. He continued the good spell with his next couple of appearances before his knee op took him away from the action. A bit like Tiger Woods he seemed to be a better player with one knee and has been unable to recapture his pre op form. Unlike Tiger, hopefully it won't take him another 8 years to win on tour again although with only 26 points today it might. On the plus side he did record the only birdie of the day on the 8th.

Robert thought he had hit his ball so far that it was impossible to see it down the 14th

Tracey looked like it would be a typical round with 2 points on the first followed by a blob on the second but she then surprised everyone (especially herself) by not recording another blob for the rest of the round as she reached 28 pts.. Hopefully this new found consistency will transfer onto the winter tour.

Tracey manges a point on the tricky 5th to keep her blob free

The last player, and best performer in the group was Chris. She had a solid round but a few too many mistakes to push for the top prizes. However as she reached the final green she had a putt for a share of third place. As she waited patiently for the other players to complete their rounds she started to think what she might spend her potential 50p prize on. But as she stood over her ball the other players lost interest as they started shaking hands, hugging and kissing each other (and her). With  concentration shot to bits she missed the putt and her prizewinning dreams were shattered. She went on about the incident at pre presentation drinks, during prize giving and at the end of season fish and chip gala dinner (and in the car on the way home, over breakfast.......) and needs to get over it. 

Chris teeing off on the 6th

It has been another exciting and fabulous summer of golf so thank you to all tour members for playing and joining in. Plans are nearly complete for this years RNSG winter tour and next years summer tour looks like being even better with some new ideas to be tried out. In the meantime here is a summary of who won what.

Money list; Vince.

Highest average Stableford Points; David.

Most points in a round; Bob

Eclectic; Kevin

Lowest average blobs; David

Best 3 front and back 9's in July, August and September; Bob

Round Norfolk summer golf round 26 at Thetford

The South Norfolk Swindle at Thetford

Round Norfolk summer golf round 26 took place at Thetford on Tuesday. Due to injury and illness the field was reduced to 5 with the last chance for players to position themselves before the Grand Finale at Sheringham next week. At the bottom of this post is the exciting 'who can win what and how' feature which only Kevin can understand or is interested in.

Todays competitors all had something to play for.

• Could Bob make up the £2 lead Vince has on the money list. 
• Could Vince par the 10th hole (at the 21st time of asking). 
• Could Mike put pressure on David in the average points and blobs comp. 
• Could Kevin extend his lead at top eclectic with a birdie. 
• Oh, and could Chris shoot a gross 5 over to take lead in the most points in a round comp.

To cover the last one first, no she couldn't.

Mike was first off and played tidily but was having some putting issues including a 3 putt from about 10 foot on the 5th. In fact his 3rd putt was a good one from a couple of feet so imagine how bad putts one and two were. It was also good of Mike to remind us that he was a member here in the 1930's and tell us all about the old layout before the bypass was built. If anyone wants to hear about it too then i'm sure he will be sharing the same stories next year if you get to play with him. He had 15 pts at half way.

Good tee shot by Mike on 2nd

Kevin started well off the tee but had some trouble with his short game on the opening holes. This all changed on the short par 5 6th when two three woods and a chip set up a short putt and he had the desired birdie. He kindly only mentioned the birdie to Vince once, on each hole, up to the infamous 10th. He had a share of the lead on 16 after 9.

Despite the weird putting follow through Kevin sinks his putt on the 5th

Vince was having an indifferent round with some poor shots mixed in with some really dreadful ones. He did demonstrate his ability to shape the ball both ways although not necessarily corresponding to the shape of the course and spent much of  his time in the woods. Things improved over the last 3 holes on the front 9 to finish on 14 points.

Vince hitting out of some brambles on the 5th

However it was his nemesis, the 10th hole, next. It is a tricky par 5 dogleg which requires a good driver down the left side so it was a bit of a surprise that he choose to hit his tee shot 50 yards along the ground.

Vince putting off the 10th tee

Two shots later he was in the woods before a good whack over a gorse bush left him in chipping range.

Vince hits out of woods for his 4th shot on the 10th

Kevin almost had to eat his words as his chip bounced over the hole but another par opportunity had gone. The disappointment was clear as normal service was resumed with visits to the woods on the next two holes. He finished the round on 26 points and out the prizes so if Bob was to win he would top the money list.

In the group behind Bob was up for the challenge with 8 points in the first 3 holes. However then the wheels unexpectedly fell off as Bob kept hitting his second shots into bunkers and only picked up 6 more points on the front 9 to have 14.

Bobs tee shot on 3rd

Things got worse on the back 9. His tee shots were good but Bob prefers hitting off weeds and putting on slow bumpy greens so the beautiful true and fast greens here were not to his liking. He managed just 11 more points and finished in last place on 25 points. So it's as you were at top money list.

Bob looks nervously at his most recent tee shot work

Chris also started well and was on handicap after 7 but a couple of double bogeys stalled her progress. She had a share of the lead on 16 at the turn.

Chris driving on the front 9

Up ahead Kevin had his game face off as he parred 6 of the next 7 holes to put himself into a strong position although an untidy finish left him with 35 points. He didn't mind as it was only the birdie he really cared about which he mentioned a few more times before the round was out.

Kevin on his way to another par on 13 despite some idiot photo bombing the picture

Mike wasn't giving up the chase and was just two points behind with 2 to play. When Kevin hit his drive into the woods and his tee shot was in position A1 he must have felt he was going to at least draw level, but Kevin then scrambled his bogey where as Mikes putting problems returned as he 3 putted for a blob and it was all over as he finished on 32 points.

Great up and down from bunker on 11

Chris was also having a good back 9 and was still in the hunt. She hadn't had a blob all day but 5 doubles meant she was just off the pace. However with 32 points after 17 a single point on the last would be enough for second place. She made hard work of it by getting down in 2 with an excellent long putt from the back of the green.

Chris putting for birdie on 13th, she missed

It had been another exciting day of golf on a very windy day but how does that leave things going into the grand finale next week.

To answer here is the who can win what and how feature you have been waiting for.

Money list. Vince is £2 ahead of Bob with no one else in touch. Vince will win unless Bob wins next week. If Bob is second and Vince out the prizes then they will be tied. In which case the player with most 2018 wins wins. They have both had 6 wins but Bob has had 5 second places to Vinces 3 so will win in this scenario.

Eclectic. Kevin is in the lead. Vince needs to make up two shots so a par on the 10th (ha, ha, ha) and a birdie or two birdies are needed. Tracey needs 3 birdies and Bob 4 to win.

Average Points. David has a big lead with only Mike that can possibly catch him but he needs to score about 16 more points than David manages next week.

Average Blobs. Again David has a big lead but if he was to make 5 blobs he would be in a tie with Greg. Greg would win as he would have had the least blobs on his last round. If David had 5 blobs and Mike no blobs then Mike would beat both David and Greg on blob countback.

Best 3 front and back 9's in July, August and September. Bob has a two point lead over Vince. If Vince gets 19 points on the back 9 at Sheringham it would be a tie. However Bob would win on count back from his 20 points at West Suffolk so Vince needs 20 points on back 9 to win. As an outsider Kevin would win with 20 points on front 9 and 21 on back.

For everyone else there is always the most points in a round which Bob is leading on with 43 points so good luck with that.

Hope to see as many of you as possible at Sheringham next Thursday

Round Norfolk summer golf round 25 at West Suffolk

The West Suffolk Weedpatch Shield

Round Norfolk summer golf round 25 took place at West Suffolk golf centre on Wednesday. It turned out to be a day of records. With 6 players turning up the first record was set as it was only £7 each to play, the cheapest green fee to date. However at that price the expectation of a well kempt course were low with those expectations not only met but exceeded as we found the fairways were a blanket of weeds and greens had been cored with the world's largest coring machine.

After groups were selected Vince got things underway as Kevin helpfully reminded him he needed to try and par the 10th hole (on the 20th time of asking) to take back the eclectic lead. The thought of the 10th obviously affected him as he played much better after that hole. Despite it being a short course off the yellows Vince failed to score well ending the 9 on 13 points.

Vince gets the tournament underway

Jo's last round had been on the highly manicured fairways at Valderrama so the shock of having to play her fairway shots off the top of dandelions seemed too much as she struggled with 4 blobs in the first 6 holes to have only 9 points at halfway.

Jo struggled hitting off the 'fairways'

Chris has never been able to tell a weed from a plant (and is currently banned from weeding in her garden after 'weeding' a freshly planted bed of petunias) so seemed quite happy with the conditions and easily racked up 18 points on the front 9.

Yes that is a tee-box Chris is on

In the second group Kevin was keen to show off his shiny new 'wooden' clubs although the short length of the course meant his driver had limited opportunities. On the par 5 3rd he decided to give it a try but topped the ball 10 yards into a nearby ditch. The driver was immediately sent back to the bag for the rest of the round so it could think about what it had done. With just 6 points after the first 5 holes it was to everyone's surprise when he then parred the next 5 holes to put him back on handicap.

Kevin successfully leaves the a bunker, as did the ball

However some dodgy fairway wood work led to just 1 point (and a lost bright red ball) over the next 3 holes to eventually finish on 30 pts.

Kevin Tees off on the 13th just before losing his red ball with his next shot

Sandie was going along nicely although like all the players sometimes had difficulty hitting the ball off the weeds. Her only blob came on the 9th when she put her ball into a dried up water hazard.

Sandie chips on to the 2nd

As she was searching for her ball Vince had reached his nemesis, the 10th hole. His teeshot was a beautifully shaped slice that headed straight into the same dried up hazard Sandie was in and his chance of a par was gone (shame).

Vinces ball after his drive on the 10th

Bob likes to tell everyone how he practices chipping in his back garden. Well it's clear he isn't much of a gardener as his lawn must be a weed bed because he absolutely loved today's conditions. He just couldn't stop scoring points and racked up 23 on the front 9.

Bob managed to par this hole despite nearly driving into a hedge

History tells us that if Bob has an outstanding front 9 the wheels will soon be coming off but after a par and birdie on the 10th and 11th he had 30 pts and was 8 under handicap. Although he did drop 1 shot over the closing holes he did finish with a new tour record of 43 points. It also put him in the lead for most points in a round and best 3 front and back 9's. His third win in a row meant he closed the gap to just £2 pounds at top of the money list, which now won't be decided until the final round at Sheringham. All of a sudden it looks like Vince may not win the majority of this years comps after all, although Bob might.

Bob chips on the green for more points

Meanwhile Vince recovered well from the disappointment of the 10th coming in on 17 points for 30 in all and a share of 3rd place.

Vince tries to hit ball over trees on short 6th but doesn't and gets a blob

Chris blew her chances with a run of just 3 points in the middle 5 holes as the condition of the course finally wore her down. Her 29 pts meant she missed out of the prizes and out of the running to win the money list.

Chris putting up ridge on 16th

Jo improved slightly on the back 9 but her 23 points means she won't be cleaning up on the RNSG prizes as she had done last year.

Jo chips out of a bunker

Sandie had an excellent back 9 as she got to grips with the greens and had a blob free back 9 of 19 pts and into second place.

Sandie putting on the 10th

It was an interesting experience which everyone but Bob is likely to quickly forget as the tour returns to a favourite venue at Thetford next week.

Round Norfolk summer golf round 24 at Newmarket

The Suffolk Stakes

Round Norfolk summer golf round 24 took place at Newmarket on Thursday. It was Newmarkets first time hosting an RNSG event and they gave the 4 players who turned up a warm welcome as they bid to stay on the rota for next year. Despite the weather forecast showing that a dull damp day was in store it turned out to be a fabulous warm sunny one with the players quickly regretting their clothing choices.

Kevin was first out the stalls and off to a flyer with 10 points after 4 holes and despite getting stuck in a fairway bunker for most of the 5th he went on to take the halfway lead on 19 pts.

Kevin started strongly 

John 'did I mention I got a hole in one' Butler was next off but quickly fell off the pace as he had some short putting issues resulting in 6 1 pointers on the front 9 and only 10 points in total.

John trys to hit through a gap in the trees. After some leaf action it did pop out.

Chris and Bob were settling into the pack ready for a sprint to the line later on. Unfortunately Chris did have a stumble on the 8th. After playing golf pinball in the trees she eventually hit her ball into the long rough near to where John went. John marched up to his ball and hit a glorious shot over the trees on to the green. When Chris approached her ball she realised it wasn't hers so accused John of playing the wrong ball. Gutted, John played that one instead but this time crashed it into the trees and slumped off after it. Meanwhile Chris placed a new ball in the rough from where John had hit her ball and played her shot. (Hope you are keeping up).

When they eventually got to the green they discovered that John had played his ball correctly after all and the other one had coincidentally been the same type so it was in fact Chris who had played the wrong ball and her original ball was still missing in action. By the time everyone had worked out how many shots and penalties had been taken Kevin and Bob had lost the will to live (like anyone reading this probably) but in conclusion we gave Chris a blob and John 1 point and moved on.

Chris a long way off on the ladies first tee, which was the case on a number of holes on the course

Bob spent a lot of the round in bunkers but despite some bunker tips from John managed to get out of each one very nicely. Both Chris and Bob had 17 points at half way.

When of many bunkers Bob exited today

John continued on the back 9 in much the same as the front. He didn't manage a par all day but only had one blob (less than all the other players) and out of the prizes. He is however well placed in the average blobs competition.

Another attempt to chip out of the trees, which was a bit too successful
 as it found the rough on the other side of the fairway

Chris, Bob and Kevin were soon bunched up and after 14 holes all had 27 points.

Kevin was first to pull away and had a 2 point lead with two to play. With the bit between his teeth he was favourite to win but then blew up and only got 1 point in the final two holes to finish on 34.

Kevin misses a birdie opportunity on the par 3 12th

Chris was a faller on the 17th getting a blob. However she remounted to have a 6 foot putt on the 18th which would have put her in a photo finish on 34 points but unfortunately she missed to finish on 33 pts (shame).

Chris putting on 13th for birdie (she missed)

Meanwhile Bob had come up on the rails collecting 5 points on the final two holes to finish on 36 and a clear winner.

Bob drives across the gallops whilst John admires the views

With only 3 rounds left things are tightening up in this years RNSG trophies..

The average competitions are David's to lose but he is due to play two more times this year and a slip up could still let in a number of players.
Bobs 2nd win in a row means he is now only £4.25 behind Vince on the money list with £10 still to be played for. Chris is the only other player that can catch Vince.
Bob and Kevin are also closing in on Vince in the best front and back 9's comp but some good rounds could let in some more players.
With Kevin's handicap returning to 13 he retains less than a shots lead over Vince, with Tracey still in the running too.

Next week the tour moves to the West Suffolk which is another first time course for the RNSG tour.