Round Norfolk summer golf round 18 at Great Yarmouth and Caister

The Gold Cup at Great Yarmouth and Caister

Round Norfolk summer golf round 18 took place at Great Yarmouth and Caister on Tuesday. There was a small field of 5 with Kevin being the only player left from last weeks British Open at Cromer and kept up his consistency finishing in the same place.

Bob and Ian had to leave early so went off first. Bob had a very solid opening 9 scoring on every hole for a very tidy 18 points. 

Bob gets his round Underway

Ian was a little more erratic with 2 blobs and 3 pars in 5 holes but still leaving him on 17 points.

Followed by Ian

The ground was like concrete so anything slightly off line often had a gorsey outcome. Kevin set the tone when he pushed his safety first tee shot on the second and it trickled into the out of bounds. 

Kevin is fortunate to make edge of green on 4th with a low running rescue

This was much the same for all of his round with a few good pars (including a couple of birdie chances) more than made up for by his 7 blobs as his balls were eaten up by the gorse. His 23 points left him in charge of the wooden spoon (again).

Kevin's birdie putt lips out on the 12th

David wasn’t fairing much better as he also struggled to get to grips with the course on the front 9 and after losing a couple of balls only had 12 points, although that was all about to change.

DAvid Teeing off down the 4th

After some recent high scoring rounds away from the tour then Chris was the hot favourite coming into today and lived up to this billing with a birdie on the second. She continued to play solidly but after helping to look for Kevin’s ball on the race course (before it was found by the green) on the 7th hole she let her concentration slip as she blobed it. However her 16 pts at the turn kept her in the running.

Chris on the 3rd tee

This didn’t last long as she took 4 to get down from the edge of the 10th before she too started to find the gorse a little too often and only managed 10 points on the back 9 with her 26 total well short of the prizes.

Chris in a bit of trouble on 13.

Up front Ian and Bob were matching each other with no more than a point between them. When Bob hooked his tee shot off the 15th tee then Ian must have sensed an opening only for the ball to hit the race course railings and end back in the middle of the fairway, nothing new really as we have all got used to Bob's ball doing this sort of thing. They were tied after 16 holes and both felt they missed an opportunity after double bogeying the 17th before each getting two points on the last to both finish on 32 points. 

David isn’t leading the average competitions for nothing as he came to life on the back 9 with 5 pars and 19 points for a total of 31 but not quite enough to snatch another win.

David hits the green on 11 for the start of his charge

Next week we return to the parkland courses of Suffolk with a trip to Ufford Park. Sadly David isn’t playing in case anyone asks him for a free round of crazy  adventure golf.

Round Norfolk summer golf round 17 The British Open at Royal Cromer

The British Open

The Round Norfolk summer golf British Open took place at Royal Cromer on Wednesday. It was a glorious day for golf and ended in a high scoring points festival. Sadly due to rival tours, injury and other commitments then the original entry of 12 had been decimated to just 5.

The balls went in the air and the bionic knee twins (John and Robert who were sharing a buggy) were paired with Vince leaving Kevin and Mike to make up the second pairing. Foolishly Mike suggested that as the 3 ball with a buggy and electric trolley then they should go first. 

John soon set the tone for his round with opening pars followed by a birdie on the par 5 5th. Robert, who had not played with John before, mistakenly thought that John might be a bit of a bandit off 18. My how Kevin laughed when Robert suggested this in the club house after the round. His progress stalled on the reminder of the opening 9 but still finished on 18 points.

Robert was also playing solidly and had a blob free front 9 including a par on the signature 4th for 17 points at the turn.

As has become the norm Vince had another stomring front 9 including an outrageous 4 for 4 on the straightforward second hole. He again got to 20 points for the opening 9.

Despite the good scoring, buggy and electric trolley the opening group were making slow progress losing two holes on the group of 3  visitors from Hampshire up ahead. This gave Mike and Kevin plenty of time to think about every shot. To pass the time on the first tee Mike told a delightful story of how his grandfather was a caddie here in 1911. The story started to lose its charm when he also told the pro, several members on the course, the group of 3 visitors from Hampshire, most of the green keepers, random walkers on the coast path and several of the bar staff. Still it passed the time.

Kevin started strongly and decided to putt from anywhere near the edge of the green. This proved a good tactic as he got down in two on the first attempt for a par on the 2nd. However he failed on the next 6 attempts which held back his scoring, the only highlight was a birdie on the short 9th taking him back to top of the eclectic standings. He finished on 32 points just out the prizes.

Mike had a dreadfull start with 2 blobs and a double bogey in first 4 holes. He managed a birdie on the 3rd which kept him interested on 13 points at the turn. But from nowhere he charged in over the closing 9 holes with 4 pars and a virtual birdie (only spoiled by his missing first ball off the tee). He suddenly found himself on 34 points and a share of 3rd place.

The second 9 got underway with Robert still distracted by the size of his groups handicaps and a couple of double bogeys on the opening par 5s (both the others got 4 points each on the second one) took him out the running for the virtual claret jug as he finished on 34. However his blob free round has him snapping at the heels of David in both the average points and blobs comp although neither have yet played the minimum 6 rounds to qualify.

As Kevin an Mike enjoyed a picnic on the 12 tee they were bemused by events unfolding on the fairway as Vince tacked back and forth across the fairway delaying their attempts to tee off. Surprisingly Vince then single putted for 2 points. Blobs on the 13th and short 16th held back his monster score but an outrageous 4 for 4 on the straightforward 18th boosted his total to 37 and a new course record. So used to winning each week he was already preparing his winners speech as they walked off the green.

He was therefore surprised to find that a John had been scoring highly over the back 9 getting another 21 points and the actual new course record of 39, smashing Bobs 35 points from 2014. It was Johns first major and his £5 prize has shot him up the money list. As it was a surprise to him that he had won he was ill prepared for victory so Vince was still allowed to make the winners speech over tea and cake.

Next week the tour stays at the seaside for a proper linksie challenge at Caister and Yarmouth

Round Norfolk summer golf round 16 at Bury St Edmunds

The Sunshine Invitational

Round Norfolk summer golf round 16 took place at Bury St Edmunds on Thursday. It was an all male affair with a small field of four. It was good to welcome back John H who has been playing on the European tour.

He hadn't lost any of his usual form since he has been away with 4 blobs in the first 7 holes. This led to some fruity language and a few clubs being thumped and thrown. However 5 points in the last couple of holes got his front 9 score into double figures with 11 points.

Johns opening drive ends up in the trees on the way to an opening blob

Having John back took the pressure of Kevin who was able to keep calm without the added pressure of being chief club abuser. After starting with a tidy par he was unable to make much progress with a series of bogeys. This included an embarrassing air shot when his club got stuck in the branches of a tree on his back swing. His 14 points kept him in the running.

Kevin manages to hit the ball despite a white butterfly fluttering past

Bob was playing off his shiny new handicap of 17. Kevin kindly reminded him, frequently, that he wouldn't be getting a shot on the short par 3 9th. His mind game tactics backfired when Bob sunk his putt from the edge of the green for a birdie to give him 16 pts at halfway.

Bob gets out of a bunker as the players all went in several

Vince was in top front 9 form again and after an opening hole blob went on to score 2 or 3 points on the next 8 holes for 20 points before we approached the trickier back 9. He is already looking a strong contender on the best front and back 9 competition, at least on the front part.

Vince hits out of the trees on the 3rd

Although he had a few wobbles on the back 9 and no 3 pointers, Vince had done enough and his total of 34 was clear of the field. His win has also put him well clear at the top of the money list but the fat lady hasn't sung yet.

The competition for the minor places was much more exciting as John came with a strong run and no more blobs whereas Bob started to fall away as he surprisingly abandoned his 5 wood strategy and opted for the driver again.

John putting for birdie on 11th (he missed)

Kevin was also going along nicely and after a birdie on the short par 5 14th even had a sniff at a win. However a only 2 points over the next 3 holes put pay to that.

Kevin putting for birdie on 14 (he made it)

With one hole to play Bob was on 26, John 27 and Kevin 28. No one gave an inch as first Kevin got his par for second place, then Bob holed a slippery 10 footer for his par leaving John a testing 6 foot putt to secure the 50p third place prize. As he struck the ball it was always heading for the middle of the cup and for once his swearing and club throwing were in celebration.

After another excitings days golf (except from Vince) the tour moves on to Cromer for the British Open where the £5 first prize could really shake up the money list.

Round Norfolk summer golf round 15 at Wensum Valley

Outer Norwich Cup

Round Norfolk summer golf round 15 took place at the Valley course at Wensum Valley on Tuesday. After the recent small turnouts then this round attracted a bumper field of 9 to play. Conditions were exceptionally dry rewarding players prepared to thin their ball along the ground rather than bother to hit it in the air.

The groupings were picked in the traditional way then, with so many players entered RNSG chief executive, Golf Dinosaur Monster, was on hand to make sure all entry fees were collected before kick off.

Greg got things underway with a typically smooth drive to start with a par on the way to a solid 18 Pts at halfway. This included a birdie on the short par 4 7th but sadly this is the 3rd time he has birdied the 7th this year so didn’t improve his eclectic (shame).

Bob has missed the last two rounds as he played on the US tour. However it was if he had never been away as he blobbed 3 of the first 4 holes including a 200 yard tee shot that never left the ground. Things didn’t improve much on the back 9 and with 6 blobs in the round he did well to get 23 pts.

Final group member Jo was playing off her new handicap of 15 for the first time. However before she started it was pointed out that there must had been a printing error on the ladies card as it showed 7 par 5s compared to the 3 on the men’s card. Jo had a solid opening 9 but despite the 4 par 5 holes her lack of pars restricted her to 14 pts. The round seemed to be slipping away until 4 pars over the closing holes elevated her score to 30 pts or as we shall find out later was it really only 27?

It was in group 2 where all the action was and the battle for first place was fought out. It wasn’t to involve Kevin who had come with a safety first approach of keeping his driver in the bag as his opening safe shot went straight in the bunker. His round stalled on the 4th as he 4 putted with his first effort going downhill past the flag and 10 foot off the green (so strictly speaking a 3 putt). His chances were finally extinguished when finding water twice on the back 9 for 28 pts.

However Robert (returning to the tour after a long lay off since winning the Masters on the opening round) was on fire as he hit a series of excellent tee and approach shots to rack up 11 pts in the first four holes. He then demonstrated a very poor mental attitude by saying he needed to get the points early as he would need them later. Not surprisingly he needed them on the next hole as he found a green side bunker and then cacked about trying to get it into the hole for a blob. He soon steadied the ship for 19 pts at halfway.

Vince also got off to a flyer parring the opening 3 holes although fortunately he didn’t get two shots on any. Then, despite seeing Kevin putt off the green on the 4th he managed to do the same but from a third the distance for a 3/4 putt and blob. It didn’t seem to put him off as 2 more pars and with his enormous handicap kicking in he got to 21 points at the turn. As today saw the start of the best 3 front and back 9s in July, August and September comp it has already put him in a strong position.

The final grouping of Ian, Tracey and David were never really at the races. For once Tracey decided to play 2 solid 9’s rather than the one good and one bad approach she normally adopts as she cut her blob count down to 2 for the round. Her 30 pt total (16 and 14) keeping her just out of the prizes.

David had an almost mirror image of Tracey’s score. He is known for his excellent putting but possibly took it to extremes with some putts from 70 yards down the fairway. His 30 pt total (14 and 16) keeping him just out of the prizes but still at the top of 3 of the leaderboards.

Ian hadn’t played on the tour for a few weeks and found today a bit of a struggle. Like Bob he recorded 6 blobs and 23 pts for a share of last place.

So it left Greg, Robert and Vince to battle it out. Greg looked like he might get his first win of the season as he started the back 9 strongly before successive blobs on the water rich 13th and 14th took him out of contention as he finished in 3rd and 31pts to once again be the bridesmaid.

Vince looked invincible (pardon the pun) as he had 31 pts after 13 holes. Including a par on the 13th, a hole he had failed to do better than a double bogey on all season putting him clear at the top of the eclectic. Kevin decided it was a good time to remind Vince that he currently held the course record at 37 pts and with 5 holes to play Vince only need 7 more points to beat it. By expertly reminding him of this at key moments over the closing holes Vince fell apart and could only manage 4 more points for 35 in total. He did break one record as he searched for his ball about 200 yards further on from where it was found by the group behind.

This just left Robert to see if he could reel Vince in but when he found the water 3 times in 4 holes his challenge was over as he ended in second place on 33pts.

There was just time for Ballgate as Robert found one of Jo’s balls on the fairway to the left of the 18th. When Jo was presented it in the bar afterwards she realised that her ball and the provisional were marked in the same way (a school girl error) and now wasn’t sure if she had played the right one so her score was reduced to 27. However that evening she wrote to RNSG chief executive, GDM, saying further evidence had come to light and she believed she had played the right ball. Her written appeal and evindece were immediately sent to the court for sports arbitration which ruled in her favour and the 3 points were returned making absolutely no difference to the result but restoring harmony in the Barnard household.

With Vince and David leading 3 competitions each the tour heads South to Bury st Edmunds (where it always rains) to see if anyone can start making inroads into their leads.