Round Norfolk Golf Tour: 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.