Round Norfolk summer golf round 23 at Eaton

The Posh Goblet at Eaton

Round Norfolk summer golf round 23 took place at Eaton on Tuesday with a small group of five. Vince Ballester was taking part and hoping to improve his position at the top of the Money List and Eclectic competitions. Tour rookie Tim Sims was making his debut and John Butler was continuing his comeback following a long injury layoff. Some good scoring was achieved and a Tour first - but more of that later!

The ritual ball throwing paired Mike Hammond and Tim Sims in the first group with John Butler, Vince Ballester and Bob Spanner in the other.

Tim, playing off a 9 handicap, was first away and immediately blocked himself out on the right of the fairway. Some tree ping pong ensued resulting in his fourth shot ending up in a similar spot to his second. An unfortunate early blob, but undeterred, he fought back with 6 pars in the next 8 holes and finished the front nine on 18 points. Impressive play.

Tim hitting off the first tee

Mike had a familiar slow start making only 4 points from the first 4 holes but unusually for him, he was slow to improve and finished the first 9 holes with 12 points. 

Mike on the first tee

Meanwhile, in the second group, John, playing on his home course, was explaining to Vince and Bob how to play the first hole. Amazingly, everyone, including John, followed this advice. John proceeded to make a par and 3 points and Bob and Vince made 6's and 2 points. John continued to score on every hole but had some bad luck with his putting (that's what he said!) failing to make any more pars and finishing the front nine with 16 points. 

Vince started well but only scored 4 points over the middle 4 holes and then finished strongly on the last 3 holes to finish the front 9 with 15 points. His driving was a bit inconsistent but he scrambled well to stay in contention.

Bob decided to leave his driver in his bag and used his 5 wood off the tee to good effect. With 16 points after 8 holes, he was going well when he managed to make a mess of the par 3 9th and scored no points.

So at the halfway stage, it was all to play for with tour rookie Tim leading the way on 18 points.

The second group admiring their shot grouping on the 6th hole

Mike was much improved on the back 9 making 2 pars and a birdie but a blob on the 17th meant he scored 17 points, finishing with a total of 29 points.

Tim continued his good form over the next 3 holes and was on 25 points and still in the lead after 12 holes. However, a couple of double bogeys and a blob on the 18th left him with 15 points (despite making 5 pars) and a total of 33 points and a share of third place.

Meanwhile, things were hotting up in the second group. John made a good par on the 10th and Vince missed a short putt on the same hole (yes Kevin he was thinking about his eclectic score) but still scored 5 for 3 points!! After the 11th hole John, Vince and Bob were tied on 21 points. John then made a blob on the 12th but undeterred he hit a magnificent tee shot on the short par 3 13th. He was clearly disappointed when he reached the green and couldn't find his ball. But he shouldn't have worried as it was nestling in the hole! John had hit a tour first 'Hole in One'.

Where's my ball?

It's only gone in the hole!!!!!!!!!

Just to prove it

Bob's tee shot was not too shabby either and buoyed by John's success he sunk a 10-yard putt from off the green for a birdie (unfortunately this didn't improve his eclectic score).

Bob not quite as excited as John.

Vince had a good chance for a par but by the time all the photos had been taken he had lost concentration (and interest) and ended up with a 5.

All three players continued to score well and with one hole to play, Bob was 3 ahead of John and 1 ahead of Vince. However, the 18th was a 2 shot hole for Vince.

John hit a great tee shot and was on the green in 3 only to 3 putt for 1 point finishing with 17 points and tied in third place with Tim with 33 points.

Vince pulled his tee shot but recovered well to get close to the green in 4 only to duff his chip shot and end up not scoring. He finished with 34 points in second place.

Bob managed to reach the green in 3 and two good putts saw him finish his back 9 with 21 points and a total of 37 and first place. His best score of the season and equalling the course record set by himself in 2017.

So Vince has strengthened his position at the top of the 'Best Front and Back 9' comp as well as maintaining a good lead at the top of the Money List.

Next week the tour moves on to Newmarket.

Round Norfolk summer golf round 22 at Stowmarket

The Stowmarket Saucer at Stowmarket

Round Norfolk summer golf round 22 took place at Stowmarket on Thursday. None of the contenders for average blobs or points were playing today so it was all about the eclectic and best front and back 9's.

There were 8 players having their balls chucked today and it was particularly good to see John B back on tour after a season of injury.

The first group was led off by Kevin who was soon grumbling after hitting what he thought was a good opening tee shot into a hidden bunker. After complaining about 'typical bad luck' he had to eat his words as he had nothing but good fortune for the rest of the round. His key moment came when he hit his second shot on the 5th (see photo) to six foot and made the birdie to potentially go top of the eclectic leaderboard. This helped him to 20 points at half way and a big improvement to his best 9's score.

Kevin hits 7 iron to 6 foot for a birdie

Bob was next off and started well with a very tidy 10 pts over the first 5 holes before inexplicitly messing up with 4 blobs in the next 5 holes. From here he decided to see how many bunkers he could go in, which turned out to be a lot as he managed to enter at least one (and sometimes two) on  every hole on the back 9. His 25 points were well short of the golf prizes but he did win the best sandcastle award.

Bob gets his round underway

Chris was excited to be playing off a lower handicap than Kevin for the first time but took time to adapt as she had a few early challenges and could only manage 3 pts over the first 4 holes.  However she then pulled up her proverbial socks with a string of pars and got to halfway on 15 pts.

Chris trying to get out of bunker on the 9th

The final member of the group, Tracey, was determined to score on more holes than the 9 or 10 she normally manages and certainly did on the front 9 ending on 16 pts. Her back 9 only added another 12 points but at least she had completed 15 holes. However by parring the 9th and 13th she removed her final two eclectic missing pars and put herself into 3rd place on the eclectic only 0.03 behind second place.

Tracey hitting to the par 3 2nd

In the group behind the players were shocked to find the Vince's handicap had gone up (yes you read that right, UP) to 28. To add salt to the wound he got a 6 for 3 points on the opening hole which was the one he got his extra shot on, he continued in this way to get his score up to 16 at the turn. After going in another bunker on the 6th he surprisingly suggested that there weren't enough bunkers on the course.

John B felt there was plenty of sand as on 4 occasions his ball ended in some never to escape. It wasn't until the 4th hole that he registered his first points but in the end his return to the tour ended in a disappointing 23 points and today's wooden spoon. Still he had provided a money off voucher for everyone's green fees so not altogether a wasted trip.

John on his way to 2 points on the 10th

Jill had a slow start on the front 9 and couldn't get any momentum with just 11 points. This all changed when a birdie on the 10th set her on a run of 15 points in the next 6 holes before falling away at the end to finish on 29 points and out the prizes.

Jills approach shot on the 10th ends with a birdie

Sandie had her game face on today and made sure she scored on every hole. Her back 9 was particularly impressive until a double bogey on the 18th left her on 19pts and 34 in total but she would be in the prizes.

Sandie chips over bunker on first as Vince prepares to exit his first of many sandy visits

Meanwhile upfront Kevin was still going well and foolishly started to think about the possibility of the best score of the season, at which point his putting got tentative and drives got wider. He had a few bits of luck finding gaps in the trees and managed another 19 pts for 39 in total and a comfortable win. It was also a course record beating Jo's 38 from 2017 (which many remember for the "through the hedge" shot on the 16th).

Kevin just misses birdie on the 11th

Chris was having a strong back 9 and a par on the last would give her a share of second place but a mishit drive into the bunker ended in a blob with 32 points and 3rd place.

Chris hits out of the rough as her fans look on

The only thing left of interest was to see if Vince could finally par a 10th hole on the 18th attempt and retake the lead in the eclectic. Sadly on this occasion it was not to be (shame) and he finally relinquished his lead in this comp.

Vince on his way to not parring the 10th (again)

Next week the tour moves back to Norwich at Eaton where Vince has his first change to seal the moneylist prize if he was to win.

Round Norfolk summer golf round 21 at Sprowston Manor.

North Norwich Open at Sprowston Manor

The smallest turnout of the season consisted of Ian, Vince and Bob. Ian was sporting his brand new 12.5 handicap having hit a net 66 in the previous day’s men’s medal at Bawburgh. Bob was sporting his new beard (that’s what he called it) and Vince was concentrating on maintaining his lead at the top of the money list. 

As there were no women playing, the tee locations were not a topic of conversation. 

The course looked in good condition. The sun was shining but a strong wind suggested challenges ahead.

                                          Impressive grouping on the first hole.

Ian started proceedings with a majestic drive into the middle of the fairway avoiding all the trees. His second shot made the green and then, unfortunately, he three-putted. A massive drive on the second saw him with a short iron to the green. Unfortunately, he managed to clear the green and lose his ball. After this disappointment, he started the comeback recording 3 pars in the next 5 holes. Two double bogeys however on holes 8 and 9 (two of his no shot holes) left Ian with 16 points at the halfway stage. 

                                                   Ian getting things underway.

Bob started by hitting his drive well but pulled it to the left. However, some good tree action left his ball in the middle of the fairway!! His subsequent shot was short of the green but a good chip and putt gave him a par 4. A 30-foot putt on the second also resulted in a par and a single bogey at the next meant Bob had taken an early lead. However, a misplaced second shot on the par 5 4th led to a blob and his momentum had gone. A succession of bunker visits then resulted in two double bogeys and a blob before he was able to recover with a par on the 9th. Bob hit the halfway stage with 15 points. 

                       Bob hitting the fairway on the 1st via a tree (there's a surprise!).

Vince set about his business quietly, electing to use his 3 wood and despite blocking himself out on the 1st and finding the trees on the second, he still managed to keep his score ticking over nicely. With only one blob on his card and two pars, he found himself in the lead after the 9th hole with 19 points. 

                                            Vince showing some dainty footwork. 

The match was won and lost over the next 4 holes. Ian got within 1 point of Vince and then hit a 7 on the par 5 13th. After that he only managed 1 more par and 5 points in all over the last 5 holes finishing with 27 points. 

Bob didn’t fare any better getting within 2 points of Vince after the first two holes of the back nine but then only scoring 9 points on the next 7 holes. His only consolation was getting 2 points on the 18th to finish level with Ian on 27 points. 

Meanwhile, Vince was made of sterner stuff. After getting only 1 point on holes 10 and 11 he ignored the knowing looks from Bob and Ian and proceeded to score 18 points on the last 7 holes and win by a country mile. Well done. A new course record for Sprowston. (We didn’t mention his handicap once). 

Next week the Tour moves on to Stowmarket. 

Vince remains on top of the money list as well as the Eclectic and ‘Best Front and Back Nine’ competitions. With only 6 more matches to be played, it’s looking like Vince and David are set to clean up all the trophies this year. However, Kevin and Tracey could still have something to say about the Eclectic and Robert could still win the average points with a couple of strong rounds. 

Round Norfolk summer golf round 20. The USPGA at Kings Lynn

US PGA

Round Norfolk summer golf round 20, The USPGA, took place at Kings Lynn on Wednesday. After last weeks high scoring points fiesta at Ufford Park today was a bit of a damp squib with point scoring at a premium.

It was the first rainy round on tour this year and it seemed to have a big impact on points scoring. Ballester and Moore had obviously realised the conditions would be tricky so opted to stay away in order to protect their leads in the various RNSG competitions.

With Tracey needing to leave early and Robert and Jo in a buggy there was only one place left in the first grouping with the balls in the air selecting Jill to be that player.

It was only Jills 3rd round on tour this year and the other two hadn't gone that well so it was like she had never been away as her opening tee shot ended up in the trees for a first hole blob. However things soon improved as she reached halfway with 13 pts and on course to produce her best 2018 RNSG round.

Robert was hoping to make up ground on David in the average blobs and points comp and when he started with 9 points on the opening 4 holes then things were looking good. It is a well known golfing fact that if things are going well never change anything, especially your clothing, so what on earth must he have been thinking when he decided to put on his waterproofs! This basic school boy error lead to him racking up 6 blobs over the remaining 14 holes thus falling well down the average blobs leaderboard. He did manage 27 points which was good enough for 3rd place and leaves him still in with a chance on the average points comp.

Robert in trouble on the 5th after putting on his waterproofs

Tracey was having an unusual round for her. Her normal modus operandi is to have 9 or so very good holes in a row at some point in the round surrounded by 9 or so very bad ones. However today she spread her good and bad holes out evenly across the round with only 4 blobs in her 24 points.

The unmistakable swing of Tracey on the first

Final member of the group Jo, was by far the most consistent player of anyone today as standing on the 14th tee she was yet to have a blob and joint leader on the course. She then realised what fun she was missing out on so to make up for lost time failed to score any points on the next 4 holes and finished on 24 points and out the prizes.

Jo in bunker action

Kevin got group 2 underway and was hoping to do well after having a lesson the day before in order to help straighten out his sliced tee shots. Going for a 3 rescue safety strategy he didn't slice his opening shot but hooked it nearly on to the main road (that was a waste of money then). After a second blob on the next hole, things got better until he unnecessarily reached for his driver on the 9th to hit a trademark slice into the woods. 5 shots and several trees later the ball was still in there. So he abandoned the ball and had a sandwich instead.

Kevin hits a surprisingly straight tee shot to the 5th for a par

Still in the running with 4 to play aback to back blobs left him on 26 points in 4th place.

As the rain did not stop throughout the round it was not ideal conditions for sun loving John H. He was not helped as he struggled to get out of a soggy bunker on the first.

John struggles in bunker on the first

As the air turned blue he continued to struggle with only 3 points after 6 holes. This total was doubled on the 7th as it looked like he was getting back on track. But after hitting a good teeshot on the 9th he saw it bounce to the left and said 'if that goes in the bunker i'm going home'. It did and as a man of his word he abandoned the round.

Chris's last visit to Kings Lynn not gone well in ladies county championship as after 36 holes of medal she found herself 49 shots off the lead (although she knew where she had thrown the 49 shots away). Things didn't start well today either with only 3 points from first 4 holes. She had just got going only to start the back 9 with just 2 points from first 4 before again recovering but 23 pts were not enough to be in contention.

Chris takes two to get out this bunker

Bob played well over first 6 holes with 13 points but then started to join the others in the trees. However he was scrambling well and still in a good position on 16th tee as Kevin told him he had won but his sneaky minds game had worked as Bob duffed his teeshot along ground into the nearby ferns as he managed just 2 points over the last 3 holes for 28 in total.

Bob hits a good rescue on the 13th

Up ahead Jill had been having a decent back 9 and the 5 for 1 she got on the 18th also meant she finished on 28 points for a share of first place.

Jill putting for crucial point on the last

As it was the US PGA there can only be one overall winner and for the second time Jill won a major on countback.

Next week a small field returns to Norwich when the tour hits Sprowston Manor. 

Round Norfolk summer golf round 19 at Ufford Park

The Hot and Humid Cup

Round Norfolk summer golf round 19  took place at Ufford Park on Thursday. It was a record entry of 11 making it difficult to throw the balls in the air and once landed even more difficult to establish what the groupings were.

However once decided John H, Vince and Tracey were sent off to the first tee. The less said about Vince's round the better as 4 successive blobs at the end of the back 9 had him on 7 points and he finished in last place on 20. As he is not playing in the final major at Kings Lynn next week his lead at top of money list could be cut further.

Although several photos of Vince were taken 'playing golf'
it didn't feel right to use any of them

It was another typical Tracey round as she was on handicap after 8 holes with 16 points before once again deciding she had played enough golf for the day getting only 6 more points in the last 10 holes (3 of which came on the 15th!). Her 22 points were a long way short of the prizes.

Traceys shot to 15th green and 3 of the 6 points she got in last 10 holes

John was going along nicely building on his win at the British Open but inexplicably he then had 3 blobs in a row on holes 6-8. His back 9 was then the best of the day with 19 pts and 32 in total but would those 3 blobs come back to haunt him.

John shows am interesting follow through

The second and third groupings were much closer with all 8 players in with a chance at various stages during the round. In group 2 Robert had his game face on as he aimed to extend his lead at the top of the average points competition. He started with 4 opening pars and then made a miraculous recovery on the monster par 5 6th to get down in 6 after playing his 5th from nearly 200 yards away. 

Robert driving from the 2nd tee (on to 17th Fairway) during his high scoring part of the round

However with 15 pts after 6 holes he then foolishly stated that he couldn't believe how well he was scoring and promptly stopped scoring well. His next 12 holes only yielded anoth 16 pts and 31 pts and two blobs not only left him off the podium but lost him his lead on the average blobs and points comps.

Robert, on the low scoring part of the round, decides to go for the green with a driver on the 15th
 but the ball was never seen again. Jo was appalled

The group were put off several times by other very noisey groups of golfers (non from RNSG I hasten to add) and I could also write a blog on their behalf having heard a number of the holes described, but I will concentrate on our action instead.

Bob ticked over nicely but never quite got into the lead as his 3 blobs held him back. He did get a birdie on the 9th but already had one on that hole so didn't improve eclectic (shame). He ended on 30 pts.

Bob blobs on 3rd as for once a tree didn't help him

Jo started with a birdie on the 1st before putting her ball into the water hazzard twice on the 2nd. However she kept her score ticking over and after a par on the short par 3 16th found herself leading her group. She reached the par 5 18th in 3 and despite 3 putting was leader on the 18th green.

Jo teeing off on the par 3 3rd

Kevin was also having a tidy round but couldn't get to grips with the slow greens leaving several putts tantalisingly short. As he reached the 15th tee he was still in contention but after taking a safety first approach all day and having just watched Robert fail to hit the green he inexplicably decided to take his driver in an all or nothing strategy. For once it paid off as from nowhere his Sunday best drive popped in for a visit as he hit the green and birdied the hole. Sadly he already had one on that hole so didn't improve eclectic (shame). 

Kevin Tees off on long par 5 6th.

After a lucky par on 17 (his chip stopped by the flagpole) and bouncing off a tree to middle of the 18th fairway he found himself needing a 3 foot putt to tie the lead which he duly made.

Kevin's 2nd shot on 14th clears the water as he over clubs but keeps his ball dry

The last group was also a ding dong battle. Chris had a couple of blobs midway through the front 9 that kept her off the pace as she finished on 29 pts. But her birdie on 13 (4th of the season) brought her back into contention for the eclectic trophy.

Chris tee shot on 16th

Sandie was also ticking over nicely with 17 pts on the front 9 but two blobs on the back kept her out of the prizes with 30 pts.

Sandie putting on 2nd

Greg was also going well with 17 on the opening 9 and kept it going on the back 9 until he decided not to go for the green on the 15th (did I mention Kevin did and made it?) before plonking his next in the water for a blob. However with a birdie on the next he had 30 pts with two to play.

Greg drives off on tricky 8th leading to a par

Unfortunately he could only gain a point on each of the last two holes to once again finish in the low 30's (32) and out the running.

Greg foolishly lays up on the 15th

This just left Mike who, like Robert, set off like a house on fire with 16 points after 7 holes. A birdie on the 10th, although he already had one on that hole so didn't improve eclectic (shame), put him into a big lead but from here he started to fade.

Mike tees off on 9th

 As he stood on the 18th tee he had 33 pts and only need a point for a win which he somehow failed to achieve as the round ended in a 3 way tie for only the 3rd time ever on the RNSG summer tour.

Next week sees the final major of the year (US PGA) take place at Kings Lynn for what promises to be another exciting day.