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.