Round Norfolk summer golf round 22 at Stowmarket

The Stowmarket Saucer

The Tour returned to the very popular Stowmarket Golf Club this week, although it's popularity was somewhat masked by the small field of just five. Playing off the red tees, the ladies would be receiving 2 courtesy shots and about 450 yards but, despite this, everyone looked forward to a good day's golf on a warm day and a course in excellent condition.

After a very kind offer from the Golf Manager - who wondered whether we would like to go out as a 5-ball - we decided to avoid the wrath of the members and divide into the more traditional 2-ball / 3-ball format; this was despite the random throw of the balls seemed to indicate an untried 1-ball / 4-ball theory!

Kevin - who mentioned he was the current course record holder with 39 - and Jill got proceedings under way. All seemed to be going well until Kevin hit his second shot to the opening par-5 way left into the rough. On the suggestion of Jill, he took a provisional ball, only to hit that way right into the pond. Neither were seen again and the first blob of the day was recorded. On the par-3 second, Kevin's tee shot was thinned into the stream that fed the aforementioned pond. He rescued a point, but his dream of breaking his own course record was quickly disappearing. Valiantly, he battled on scoring on the rest of the front holes, even managing a couple of 3 pointers for an outward total of 14. 

Kevins drive on the 4th barely gets airborne on the way to a scrambled point

Jill's driving was less consistent than usual meaning pars were hard to come by; just four 2 pointers and 1 on the others left her struggling on 13 points.

 

Jill had a few bunker problems in the early holes taking a bit much sand on each occasion

The course was obviously there for the taking, and the second group of Chris, Vince and Andrew set off with purpose. With the group in front not appearing to be firing on all cylinders, the possibility of an easy win should have encouraged some great scores. Alas, it was not to be. Andrew could not get any consistency, nudging the ball around for just 11 points. 

Andrew looking concerned as to where this one may have gone

Likewise, Vince's usual inconsistency had left him and his only 3 pointer came on the par-3 ninth, helping to amass just 12 points. 

Vince in early trouble in the deep rough on the first

Chris, whose mind seemed elsewhere, was not in the form that saw her claim second place at Newmarket last week - on the golf course, not on the racetrack obviously! She scored just one point in the first 5 holes and a fifth blob, when she went out of bounds on the par-3 9th, left her with just 7 points on the outward holes. She did visit several bunkers reminding her of the last week of coastal walking.

 

One of the several bunkers

We are please to report that half-time oranges and self-critical team talks led to much better scores for everyone on the back nine. Kevin and Jill, unaware of the problems behind, were having a proper ding-dong. Pars - yes pars - were being scored and an exchange of birdies on the 15th (Kevin) and 16th (Jill) meant they had 32 points each standing on the 18th tee. 

Kevin fluffed most of his chips from the edge of the green with this one a rare exception as he is a camera tart.

Kevin played to the par-3 first but missed the green to the right. Jill was less right, leaving her ball on the fringe but pin-high. Unfortunately, Kevin's chip was not as good as he hoped and sailed over the green into the pond that was fed by the aforementioned stream; Jill's confirmation of ripples in the water was met by Kevin with more heartache as he watched her 2-putt for a par and 34 points.

 

Jills Bunker play as well as her game improved as the round went on

The group behind also found encouragement with the realisation that at least one of them should win a prize today. Andrew started with a blob on the 10th but 13 points on the next 6 holes gave him some encouragement. However, 1 point on the last 2 holes left him on just 25 points. 

Andrew had to time his prep whack routine and actual shot between the sprinkler cycle, sadly he got it wrong.

Chris only managed one more blob on the back nine and her only 3-pointer on the 17th saw her rally to 21 points in total. 

Chris fats her chip to the 18th before slamming in an angry long put for a point

Vince, on the other hand, was making a charge. Following his 3-pointer par on the ninth, he managed five more 3's for a very commendable 18 points, and 30 in total. This secured 3rd place and his tee-shot on the par-3 18th hole won the nearest the pin prize as well. 

 

Vince was much improved over the back 9

The field retired to the bar for the prize ceremony and some well-earned - and generously sized - slices of cake. Congratulations to Jill on a deserved win today, keeping her with an outside chance of the overall championship. Next week it's Fynn Valley, when an even smaller field is expected ensuring everyone who plays should get a prize!

Round Norfolk summer golf round 21 at Newmarket

The Suffolk Stakes

Round Norfolk summer golf round 21 took place at Newmarket on Thursday. With rounds fast running out and nothing yet decided a strong field had entered today’s event hoping to enhance their position. However the original field of 10 had been cut to 8 after a series of bad backs had led to call offs from Bob and John H. With Greg and Robert also having back problems it appears that bad backs may be contagious and can probably be caught of toilet seats so be careful.

There was also much confusion at the start as we had been told that tee times were booked and county cards not accepted but the pro claimed no knowledge of our group (despite the booking being on their website) and was happy to accept our county cards. So with groups drawn, fees paid then on a bright and breezy sunny day the first group headed for the tee. Well the men did as Chris waited for her taxi to take her to her tee box. There was no muttering at all about the 650 yards difference or the two extra shots the ladies got as Andrew got things underway.

It was just a short bus ride from the mens to lady's first tee  on a perfect golfing day at Newmarket

Will was making his second reappearance since his last appearance on tour in 2013. On that occasion he had set the then record for most blobs in a round with 8. However he had since lost the record but was soon racking them up today with 2 in the first 3 holes and just one point. After such a solid display last week he explained he had gone for a lesson yesterday and had left his swing behind. He did improve to end end the back 9 on 10 points.

Wills second shot on the second to try and get past the ladies tee still some way away.

However things then fell apart at the start of the back 9 as his tee shots repeatedly headed for the trees, bushes and race course. With 5 blobs in the next 6 holes he had equalled his previous record of 8 blobs and could break the current record of 10 if he could blob the last 3. Kevin kindly informed him of the possibility at which point he got himself together to score on each of the last 3 holes. (However when comparing scorecards at the end of the round Chris had got so used to him not scoring she had put him down for blobs for the rest of the round). He finished with 17 points which also just scrapes on the lowest score stats as well in joint 3rd place. Let's hope he has no more lessons planned anytime soon.

WIll and group march back across the gallops to start the latest hunt for Wills ball, sadly unsuccessfully

Meanwhile Kevin and Andrew were having very similar front 9s as they both scored well despite some indifferent tee shots saved by some good up and downs. Kevin was first to fade with a couple of 1 pointers on holes 8 and 9 and 16 points.

Another teeshot finds the rough on the par 5 5th.

Andrew has a stronger finish on the front 9 and had a respectable 18 points at halfway.

Andrew hits a great teeshot over the gallops where Chris is waiting

However neither could compete with Chris who was on front 9 fire racking up the points. The highlight being sinking a long 20 foot putt for birdie on the 7th. To be fair if it hadn’t hit the flag smack in the middle it would have been off the green but a birdies a birdie. She had 21 points at this stage and the group assumed a clear lead on the day.

A good chip on the par 5 4th leads to another 3 points

This turned out to not be the case as Jo was also tearing up the course. She recorded 5 pars on the front 9 to also have 21 points.

Jo deciding just how many points to get on this hole, the 8th (she settled for just 2)

Money list leader Greg was playing his last round for a few weeks so was keen to extend his lead at the top. He had got held up in traffic on the way so had been relegated to the last group. As always he was playing solid golf and had 16 points at the turn but blobs on the tricky par 3 12th and final hole restricted him to 31 points and out of the prizes for the day.

Greg somehow made it through the trees to get two points on the 8th

Robert got off to a bad start as the only player today to blob the first but then, with his back stating to loosen up he popped in a few pars and 17 points at the turn. However on the speediest greens the tour have come across this year he started to become mesmerised by John’s hockey style putting stroke and found himself starting to mimic it. In the hands of an England over 75 hockey star this putting approach is fine but in the wrong hands it will cause havoc and can prove fatal as Robert proceeded to pick up just 3 points over 6 back 9 holes. A good up and down from a greenside bunker on 18 got him into double figures on the back 9 but his 27 total was well out of the prizes.

Robert looks on in horror as his game starts to unwind

John was having what is commonly described as a mare as he struggled with his game, especially the super fast greens, and only had 9 points on the front 9. When he had recorded 6 blobs and 11 points after 13 he looked like he could be joining Will on the stats tables but then he changed his ball to a brightly coloured football type one and it transformed his game as he picked up 13 points in 5 holes including a birdie. He was the only person to get on the nearest the pin green and thus claimed today’s £3 prize, which he plans to spend on more football type balls.

John gets stuck in long grass on the way to another blob

Back in the first group Chris was still going well with 7 points in the first 3 holes but then suddenly appeared to lose momentum as a poor drive followed by two duffs into bunkers led to a blob which was followed up with 2 1 pointers after visiting some trees and the race course in the next two holes. With no more pars her round rather petered out on 35 points but would it be enough for the win.

Chris gets out of this bunker well before hitting her next shot into another one for her only blob of the day.

Kevin was charging up the leaderboard and had a short 1 foot putt on the 14th for a 3rd par in a row only to stab it past the hole for a 5. On the next he once again had a similar putt for his par which he again missed before missing an even shorter putt on the way back. Rather than his traditional club throwing approach he whacked his ball away (baseball style) and made excellent contact as it sailed on to the gallops. While the rest of the players putted out he had to spend a few minutes searching for his ball before sheepishly returning to the 16th tee. He did then finish strongly including sinking a tricky 8 foot downhill putt on the final hole for 34 points. Not enough to win but possibly a prize.

Kevin plays a nice chip on to the 10th at the start of his back 9 charge, if only he could putt from a foot

Andrew was also on a charge and with a par on the 15th, by cunningly taking only 2 putts instead of 4, had caught Chris up. However he then had a couple of bad holes but still had a par putt on the last to tie with her. Sadly it slipped by as he joined Kevin in 3rd place and a share of the 50p prize.

Andrew hits possibly the longest drive seen on tour (wind behind downhill) the best part of 300 yards on the 15th before Greg repeated the trick in the next group (although he ended up with just two points as he chipped over the back)

This just left Jo to see if she could keep it going and claim 1st prize. As she registered her 8th par of the day it was in the bag and she could afford a disappointing 3 point finish over the last 3 holes to claim the day with 39 points and the course record (with 37).

Jo makes her 8th par of the day on the 15th

It had been another exciting day of golf and Chris and Jo have got themselves in with a chance on the money list. With no Greg and a smaller field at Stowmarket next week it could be all change at the top again. 

Round Norfolk Summer Golf – Round 20 at Caldecott Hall

The Walt Disney Classic

9 hardy folk turned up at Caldecott Hall for the latest tour round and completion of the sought after Yarmouth Triples Series, which had unfortunately narrowly missed out on £million funding when Rolex opted to sponsor their European Tour series instead.

Previously described as a marmite course there were mixed emotions about the Caldecott course to come. Clearly the green staff were in the “summers nearly over mode” as manicuring left a lot to be desired, indeed grass on the tee of the 4^th hole would have been a nice feature. The greens were true but slow running at about 3.5 on the imaginary stimp-meter. 

For a change competitors did not have to battle through packed spectator areas to get to the first tee. Indeed as it turned out with no wildlife spotted all round even the animals had opted to give this one a miss. Cleary they had seen the weather forecast.

With Kevin, John and Bob all turning up in identical shirts and trouser combos it was too embarrassing to send them all out together. Kevin, John and Ian went off first starting and finishing like greyhounds. They may be fast but would that pay dividends in scoring terms?

Vince, Tim and Bob set off next, ignoring advice both to get a wiggle on because of the forecast rain and to take note of the worldwide Golf Tour agreement to speed up play. Would their DeChambeau type diligence help them accumulate more points? 

Tim gets in the zone on the first

Greg (who was still alive after all  - check out the previous blog), Chris and welcome returner Will brought up the rear. Could they keep it together in the face of NHS type waiting times between shots? With Chris getting 850 yards of teeing benefit AND 2 extra shots could any one stop her recent run of good form? And how often could Greg mention that point before getting whacked by Chris?!

On the first Ian, making only his second appearance of the year, hit a magnificent tee shot which promised much. However as we know in golf a good first shot or a good first hole is a bad omen and thus it proved. A couple of blobs, including the first saw Ian get to 13 points at the turn. After 2 good rounds already this week that was disappointing and we expect a quick bounce back in the weeks ahead from this wily veteran.

 

Ian's fine teeshot down the first with his shiny new driver

John, who in case any of you had forgotten has represented England at old boys hockey, was a little off his best with 15 points. That was a shame as this was a big day for John. Being his 6^th event of the year he joins the Big Boys leaderboard and was hoping for a rise up the rankings.

 

John demonstrating some hockey drills as he attempts a putt on the second

Kevin was not himself. A stunning 20 points, no blobs, and hitting it straighter than Michael Gove’s loyalty to his friends, looked like this was to be his day.

 

Kevin's birdie attempt on the 4th is on its way but comes up just short

It was all happening in Group 2. Bob enjoyed some great golf, alas that was being played by Tim and Vince. Bob had 11 points, including a negative yardage shot after hitting a tree and having to duck as the ball shot back past him. Tim had a nice birdie on the 3^rd to help him to 19 points. Vince did his normal routine – 6 x 3 pointers and a couple of less good holes saw him to 21 points. Wow. The Mexican Bandit was back in the mix for sure.

 

Vince on his way to one of many 3 pointers 

In Group 3, Greg found the Mickey Mouse element of the Walt Disney classic to be both good and bad. A woeful first tee shot undeservedly dribbled 200 yards down the fairway, just passed Chris’ tee box in fact (seriously!). Then a well hit iron to the green went into the childrens sandy play area. A “bunker” with a cavern under the lip. Not nice.  The ball needed to take on the trajectory of a North Korean missile and not even Seve would have got that out. On his next hole Greg dragged right into the bushes but made a save from 70 yards to keep the blobs away. Good short game play outweighed mixed driving as Greg scrambled to 19 points. 

 

Greg teeing off while still dry

That was only just ahead of Welcome Back Will with 16 points and Chris with 17, a points haul that didn’t fully reflect some good all round form from todays best-dressed attendee. Will’s iron only approach to golf saw an impressive start back to golf. Recently retired we hope to see more of Will soon, and no doubt Mrs Will will appreciate skilled use of the iron too.

Best dressed golfer, Will, decides to take an iron for this long approach shot

At half way as the rain started to descend the scores on the doors were close:

1.      Vince 21 points

2.      Kevin 20 points

3.      Tim and Greg 19 points

As the back 9 got underway the old Kevin was back with a rapid implosion including 8 penalty shots on 9 holes. Researchers are suggesting that to be potentially record breaking although most thought Kevin had been far worse in times past. With goose well and truly cooked a meagre 12 points took the Tournament Director out of the running with a 32 point finish.

 

Rather flattering photo of worst dressed man Kevin just keeping the ball out of the woods on 14

Ian improved with a par par par finish to add 15 to his earlier 13 and a lowly 28 point haul. It wasn’t that exciting so the blogger will leave it there. The less said the better. We all know those days far too well.

 

Ian duffs his chip to the 10th into the trees for a disappointing blob

John (who by the way has represented England Seniors at hockey) had a very creditable 19 points to get to 34 points overall. Just out of the prizes.

 

Is it golf or is it hockey?

Meantime back in the middle group, Greg had firmly handed the bad back baton over to Bob who badly struggled. In the end Bob took some illegal drug assistance to bag 8 points in 3 holes. Just as well as he only had 13 in the back 9 for a wooden spoon 24 points. Never nice to play with a bad back though Bob so well done for sticking at it.

 

No photos of Bob in action today so here's on from the archives

As the rain tumbled heavily Tim blew a solid effort with late blobs on 16 and 17. Tim had 17 points on the back 9 for 36 points overall. Decent stuff again for the regular podium finisher.

With 3 further 3 point holes Vince had reached the maximum number of 3 pointers for a tour member in a round (9) if they ever want to be invited back, so threw in a few bad ones to make his score and handicap look reasonable. 38 points was indeed a good effort. Vince is now taking a break from the tour driving his camper van up to the far reaches of the Highlands and Islands. At least today was good practice in holding people behind up!

Bringing up the rear, and rising above the muttering about the front group being in the warm and dry with a coffee and cake, Will came through a mini stumble to post 15 points and 31 points (only one blob) overall. That’s a great start back on tour, and politely missing out on the prize money first time up too, which was well received by fellow players.

 

Will decides to take an iron from the tee

Chris kept plugging away as she does. She too found her Mickey Mouse moment when a well struck second to the heart of the 13^th took a trampoline bounce into the forest never to be found again. Despite that Chris added another 17 points to get to 34 points overall and took the disappointment of not sharing the 50 pence prize for 3^rd place that she deserved well.

 

Chris with her game face on as she looks to beat her ball into submission

Greg stormed into the back 9 sensing possibilities of a good round. A chip on the 10^th ramming in off the flag for a birdie and a lip out birdie par on the next taking him to 3 under was an early move ahead of the field. A run of 6 x 2 pointers was then interrupted at the nearest the pin hole the 17^th. Greg not only snuck a foot inside Vince’s shot but also nailed the putt for the 3^rd birdie of the day.

In torrential rain Greg had a 6 footer par putt on the last for 41 points to join Kevin and Andrew on the best points of the season round. Alas a horse-shoe lipper meant it wasn’t to be. 40 points was still a new course record though, Greg’s first ever, and Chris the previous record holder handed over the mantle with her normal good grace (not that she even knew she held that record).

 

Greg in torrential rain

Overall that left Greg first on 40 points (no blobs), with Mexican Vince second on 38 and Steady Eddie Tim 3^rd on 36 points. (Note on reviewing the cards Tim only had 35 points as he had been awarded 3 points for a par on a hole he got no shot, although this didn't affect the prizes)

It also meant Greg now holds the newly created Yarmouth Triple Crown (Yarmouth and Caister, Gorleston, and Caldecott) and nudges a whole 16 pence ahead of Barren Patch Bob in the overall order of merit.

Next up Newmarket – place your bets on next weeks winner.

Round Norfolk summer golf round 19 at Woodbridge

The Woodland Trophy

You may remember that there was some concern after the Swaffham tournament as to the whereabouts of Greg. I can now report that Greg’s head has been found and fortunately it is still attached to his body. He probably isn't playing for next few rounds but is looking forward to returning to the tour later this month at Stowmarket. 

With that mystery solved then Round Norfolk summer golf round 19 could take place, this time at Woodbridge on Tuesday. Always a popular venue as nearly half the tour had signed up for the round. Golf Dinosaur Monster had even made a new set of name labels for today’s two group draw.

As we enter the final third of the season there is much to be decided. With Bobs run of good form ending then it is now very tight at the top of the money list so would it close up further today. By use of his unfeasibly large handicap could Vince knock Bob off top of eclectic and could anyone improve their best front and back 9 rankings, all will be revealed. 

With groups sorted it was off to the first tee where Kevin got proceedings underway.  He soon found himself in bunker trouble on the first which set the tone for the day as many of the bunkers seemed mistakenly to have been filled with concrete and not sand. Although he got out of this one, by shanking it sideways this was not the case later in the round. After a tidy opening he had 16 points after 8 but then his bunker problems started as he failed to escape from 3 over the next 5 holes to add only 4 more points with 20 after 13 holes.

Kevin hits a good drive down the 6th

John H was certainly showing the benefits of playing most of the season on the round Spain summer golf tour as he made a rare appearance back on these shores. He opened with 2 pars with his only blemish being hitting 2 consecutive balls into the woods on the 5th.   Disappointingly there was little of his trademark effing and jeffing as he had 19 points at the turn.

Johns approach to the 3rd

Jill was playing her normal solid game but found 3 pointers hard to come by so a blob on the 9th restricted her to 14 points at that stage. She was making her first appearance at Woodbridge ever so considering the number of blind shots managed to keep things going well with a blob free back 9 and a 31 point total buton a high scoring day kept her just out the running.

Jills approach to the 2nd

Vince had clearly not warmed up before the round so came up with the idea of playing a provisional on most of the front 9 holes as he tried out a number of different swings none of which proved that effective.He ended the front 9 on just 9 points. Now warmed up the back 9 was much improved as he scored on every hole but even with 19 further points his 28 total still left him in joint last place.

Vinces 2nd attempt at an approach shot on the 10th

In the group behind both Chris and Bob got off to flyers with 8 points from the first 3 holes but then Bob got into an inconsistent phase with a number of poor drives into bunkers, trees and bushes. From here he either blobbed or parred the hole with 5 and 4 of them respectively. He also finished in joint last place with 28 points once again failing to add to his season winnings, but could any of the challengers take advantage today. Vince certainly didn’t in the eclectic once again failing to par any of the 5 holes he still needs to despite now having had 10 attempts at each of the 1st, 5th, 8th, 14th and 17th. Im sure no one will remind him of this as he stands on each of those tees next week (and until the end of the season).

Bob in heather trouble

Chris, on the other hand was able to consolidate on her good start, she did blob the 6th after taking two to get out the bunker but made up for it by birdieing the 9th to be one off the lead at halfway on 18.

Chris about to hit teeshot to birdie the 9th

In between updating his playing partners on his England very old persons hockey team appearances John B was playing very solidly. Although he did put his ball in the water on the second for his only blob of the day as he finished the front 9 on 16 points and well in the running.

Another solid drive by John on the front 9

Andrew was still finding it hard to cope with the pressure of being a major winner. All the media attention was clearly getting to him as he got off to a shocker with back to back blobs. However when he did complete a hole he was scoring big with 3 pars and a birdie over the next few holes. In fact coming on to the 11th tee he was back in contention with 16 points. And then disaster struck. After John had hit his ball into trouble Andrew hit a cracking drive down the 11th fairway. Bob then innocently asked why we were now playing off   the whites tees leading to a reload from the yellows and 2 shot penalty for the two culprits. This proved a turning point as Andrews attempt was never seen again whereas John went on to claim a point with his second ball.

Andrew in bunker trouble

John B continued to rack up the points scoring 19 on the back 9 and 35 in total but would£ it be enough.

John tees off down 13

Up ahead Kevin had got his game face on and decided to risk using the driver. Much to everyone’s surprise both times the ball remained on the fairway as he got his total up to 30 points after 17. With a blind shot to the 18th green Jill told him to aim for the big post at the back of the green. Which he did putting in with in a couple of feet but he failed to get up and down from there to finish on 32 points.

Kevins magic new putter showing in was possible to putt round the hole

John H had started to fade over the closing holes and also had 30 points after 17. However his approach shot landed on the green before sinking an outrageous 20 foot put for a birdie, 34 points and the 25p 3rd prize.

John can't bear to look to see where he chipped the ball but it did go on the green

With chaos all around her could Chris keep her cool to claim the win. Well she did better than that with no blobs and a couple of pars giving her a final total of 37 points. She also snuffled the nearest the pin prize from under Andrews and Bobs noses. The round moved her up the best front and back 9s leaderboard into 2nd place.

A great approach shot on the last left this little tap in for the win
(lets not mention some early bunker action meant it was for a 5)

Despite coming last it was a good day for Bob as no one closed the gap on the money list or eclectic. It was also a good day for Greg with challengers falling further away in the averages comps. Kevin was also happy as he still leads the best score and best front and back 9 comps.

Next week it’s off to the marmite course of Caldecott Hall where big points have been scored in the past so the race to Sheringham should hot up some more.