Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp. Round 12 Caldercott Hall

The latest event in the round Norfolk golf tour summer competition took place today at Caldercott Hall. A small field of three turned up for today's round. All players got off to good starts and after 5 holes were all playing to handicap or better. 

Then Suddernly from nowhere the wheels came off Bob's golfing vehicle and he got only one more point on the front 9 including a run of 3 successive blobs each of which also cost him a ball (with Bob written on it). Bob was getting concerned his golf ball marker pen would soon run dry. He finished the front 9 with 12 pts.

Ian also had an unexpected golfing hic up when he also blobed the last two holes (costing two more balls and also 3 lost on the front 9). However despite his handicap being reduced further to 24 he still had enough shots to get 15 front 9 points.

Kevin continued steadily over the front 9 using the same ball for all 9 holes. The only blip was when he took 45 minutes to find his ball on the par 5 7th before insisting on finishing the hole despite his playing partners waiting to tee off on the next. In the end he took too many shots for a point but at least kept the same ball.

The back 9 started badly for Bob as he caught a bunker with his drive on the short 10th and followed up with several putts for no points. There was not much improvement as several more balls (with Bob written on) were left around the course. The only highlight was a par 3 3 on the short 17th. He could only manage 11 more points and finished last with 23 pts.

Kevin and Ian only had a point between them with 4 to play but 2 successive blobs finished Kevin's chances despite a par par finish. He finished with 28 pts which was a slight improvement on his average this year. 

Ian had a steady back 9 and although he was not at his best still got another 15 pts to finish with 30 pts and strengthen his position in the competitions.

With Ian away for next few rounds and Bob starting to falter Chris could still come up on the rails to win the average stableford pts. Bob needs to take the opportunity to make sure he picks up the OOM pts to seal that comp.

Current standings

	Kevin	John	Bob	Chris	Sean	Ian		Prize fund
Average pts	26.70	27.40	31.67	30.67	20	32.67		£12.50
Most pts	36	34	37	37	20	39		£12.50
Eclectic	-7.5	-12.5	-15.5	-5.5	28	-11		£12.50
Order Merit	8	11	23	8	0	21		£12.50
Aug & Sept best front & back 9	36	29	37	35		40		£25
Average blobs	4.2	4.3	3.5	3.0	6	2.7		cup
Number rounds	10	10	12	6	1	9

Round Norfolk Golf Summer Comp. Round 11. Royal Norwich

Round Norfolk Golf Summer Comp round 11 took place at Royal Norwich on Tuesday. With only a few rounds to go most competitions seem to be a 2 way fight between Bob and Ian but there could still be some surprises.

The field today finally settled on 4 players who teed off under sunny skies. Chris was trying out her brand new clubs for the second day having had driver issues the day before. However she started with three solid 2 point holes before the driver once again packed up and she struggled to get to 11 points at halfway.

Chris duffying her new driver on the 2nd hole

Ian also got off to an uncharacteristic shaky start with only 7 pts from the first 6 holes but he more than doubled this over the next 3 to have 15 pts on the front 9.

Ian's Tee shot on the first leading to a blob.

Meanwhile Bob was also having problems with his driver with tee shots disappearing into several of the wooded areas on the course as he only averaged 1 pt per hole for the first 8. This would have been worse if a two point penalty had been handed out for playing Chris's ball on the 3rd with Chris then playing Bob's ball. However they had such sad faces the other players couldn't bring themselves to enforce the penalty and John 'rulesworth' Herring wasn't there to act as referee.
Then from no where Bob birdied the 9th hole to end with 12 pts at the turn.

Bob sheepishly playing the correct ball on the 3rd after originally playing Chris's ball

For once Kevin had not only got off to a decent start but maintained it over the front 9 ending it in the lead with 17 pts.

Kevin's not exactly text book drive

The back 9 proved better for everyone but the round split into two matches. Chris and Bob were fighting for the final OOM point and were both on 25 pts coming down the last. However with Bob losing his drive in the trees and Chris playing a solid hole she was the final winner by two points with 27.

Chris teeing off and getting a point on the long par 3 12th.

Bobs approach to the hardest hole on the course, par 4 13th,  were he got a 5 and 3 points

Meanwhile Kevin and Ian were both going along nicely. With 3 to play Kevin was 2 points clear but tragically got his only blob of the day on the 16th while a par from Ian took him into a one point lead. Roles were reversed on the par 5 17 with a blob from Ian and Par for Kevin. Kevin also pared the last to give him a comfortable 3 point win in the end with 36 pts. This was the first time he had played to his handicap in two years on the round Norfolk tour.

Ian putting out on the par 4 11th for a 5 for 3 points.

Kevin putting out on the par 4 13th stroke index 1 for a 5 for 2 points

 A reduced field of 3 will be at the next round at Caldecott Hall next Wednesday.
Current standings

	Kevin	John	Bob	Chris	Sean	Ian		Prize fund
Average pts	26.11	27.40	32.45	30.67	20	33.00		£11.25
Most pts	36	34	37	37	20	39		£11.25
Eclectic	-7.5	-12.5	-15.5	-5.5	28	-11		£11.25
Order Merit	6	11	22	8	0	18		£11.25
Aug & Sept best front & back 9	36	29	37	35		40		£25
Average blobs	4.2	4.3	3.3	3.0	6	2.5		cup
Number rounds	9	10	11	6	1	8

Round Norfolk Golf Summer Comp. Round 10. Thetford

Wednesday saw Round Norfolk Golf Summer Comp round 10 take place at Thetford. Due to an urgent Pilates class Chris and Kevin set off in the first group followed by Ian, Bob and John.

Bob putting practice. He missed them all

They got off to a fast start not only with scoring but pace of the game. Kevin started unusually well with 4 straight pars while Chris parred four of the first 6. Kevin's 3 putt troubles then returned and thanks to this and a visit into the woods his front 9 stalled ending on 17 pts. 

Kevin returning from 5th tee with putter which he had mistakenly taken to drive off with

Chris's scoring had also slowed down but she still had 19 pts at half way.

Chris on way to a blob on 5th hole

Meanwhile Ian had got off to a flyer getting 4 pts on each of the first two holes. In fact the 2nd hole proved a winner for all 5 players as they all secured a par on it. Ian's front 9 continued well and he finished with a massive 20 pts. Adding this to the 20 pts he got on the back 9 at Bawburgh already puts him in a strong position, with 40 pts, for the best front and back 9 in August and September (including 1st October) comp.

With points flying in Bob and John also started well with 18 and 17 pts. This meant at the half way stage all 5 players were seperated by just 3 points and it looked like an exciting finish was in store.

However things soon started to fall apart in the leading group as a series of poor drives and hitting a few too many trees saw Kevin get only 12 back 9 points and Chris only 8.

Kevin heading for yet another 3 putt

The same problems were also affecting John and Ian who only mustered a further 9 and 12 pts respectively.

Chris approach shot leading to some rare back 9 points

At this point Bob claimed he used his powers of concentration to get into his golfing bubble. Ignoring the chaos all around him he kept his focusing scoring 19 pts on the back 9 and becoming the clear winner for the day. His 3 OOM pts stretching his lead in that comp..

Sadly at the end of the round John, like Tiger Woods (but not in a golfing way) announced he would have to take a break from the game to fully regain his fitness. The tour hopes to see him back very soon.

Next round moves on to Royal Norwich on Tuesday with hopefully a new player joining.
Current standings

	Kevin	John	Bob	Chris	Sean	Ian		Prize fund
Average pts	24.88	27.40	33.10	31.4	20	33.00		£10.25
Most pts	31	34	37	37	20	39		£10.25
Eclectic	-5.5	-12.5	-14.5	-5.5	28	-10		£10.25
Order Merit	3	11	22	8	0	16		£10.25
Aug & Sept best front & back 9	30	29	37	26		40		£25
Average blobs	4.6	4.3	3.1	2.6	6	2.4		cup
Number rounds	8	10	10	5	1	7