Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2016. Round 5 at The Suffolk

Last year the Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2015 visited the Suffolk for the first time. Tour officials should have been concerned as it was only £10 a round which clearly meant the Suffolk couldn't afford to cut the fairways or greens as it was like playing every shot from the rough and putting on temporary greens. Therefore the Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp committee agreed it would not get a place on this years tour. However when the players turned up for today's event at Bury St Edmunds they were shocked to find the course full and an alternative was needed so the whole tour re located half a mile up the road to the Suffolk.

When they arrived it was discovered the course was under new management and they were spending a lot of money on it. However all the bunkers (which were just full of mud last year) were all out action and GUR and the greens were top dressed and very slow. Everyone agreed it will be a great course when it's finished.

As today's field of 4 lined up on the first tee it was no surprise that the new venue and rushed rearrangement had un nerved them as balls went flying into trees and ditches with only Kevin ending up with his original ball. For Kevin things got little better  on the next as his chips flew back and forth across the green ending in a blob and a club slamming incident. From here things picked up and with the help of some pars he ended with a respectable outward 17 pts.

Kevin 2 putting for a par on the 5th.

Ian did not settle down at all at the start with a few wild shots and a couple of mis hits meaning he had still not registered a point after 3 holes. He is not the first and won't be the last player who has done this on a tour round. However he came back exceptionally well being 3 under handicap over the next 6 ending with a respectable 15 pts.

Ian getting his round underway proper on the par 5 4th hole

Chris also had a poor start blobing the first hole but as the round went on her game got stronger and stronger. The only blot being a silly 3 putt on the 8th when rushing a short downhill putt before recovering with an excellent par on the 9th and tied the halfway lead on 17 pts as well.

2 pts for Chris on the 2nd as Ian sulks off after his second blob

Bob was the only player to not blob one of the first two holes and was leading on 4 pts at that stage. He more than made up for his lack of blobs by throwing in a regular no pointer throughout the rest of the round. After hitting his drive in the ditch a few yards in front of the tee he hit another drive before chipping short of the 9th green. Fortunately Kevin found his ball, with Bob clearly written on it, in the GUR bunker. Unfortunately this wasn't until the players were playing the 18th. It was agreed 2 hours to find a lost ball was a bit long and probably meant he couldn't now complete the hole.

Bob getting us underway at the 1st

Bob's form continued in this manor until the 17th where he hit an excellent teeshot on to the green to record his second par of the day but could only muster 24 pts overall and last place.

Bob playing from wrong side of a ditch on the 11th

Unfortunately Ian couldn't maintain his comeback and his round petered away. He eventually ended much as he started with two blobs and 26 pts. However he still won 50p keeping him near the top of the money list on the race to Sheringham (or somewhere else if it's a bit busy that day)

Ian hitting a reasonable tee shot towards the 12th green before a 3 putt started his bike 9 decline

Kevin was still playing well and with 3 successive pars was joint leader after 14 holes before fading over the last 4 holes to score a respectable 33 points.

Kevin in trouble on 18 where, much to everyone's disappointment,
only the ball and not him ended up in the ditch behind him

Chris needed a strong finish to win and didn't disappoint banging in 10 pts over the last 4 holes for an impressive 21 back 9 pts and 38 overall. Determined not to leave it short she gave her final putt on the 18th such a whack it would still be going now if it hadn't hit the back of the hole to then fly up in the air before bouncing behind the hole and spinning in for a well deserved par.

Chris has now taken the lead in the most points in a round comp and as Ian played his third round today he has qualified for several of the other prizes. It was also the first new course record of the season beating the magnificent 26 pts Kevin got here last year.

Please note some changes to the fixture list with Richmond park moving back a day to the Tuesday 24 th May, Thorpness replacing Dunston Hall on the 5th July and Bury St Edmunds replacing Caldecott Hall on August 2nd.

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2016. Round 4 at Stoke-by-Nayland Constable course

Wednesday saw Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2016 round 4 take place at Stoke-by-Nayland Constable course in the foot hills of the Himalayas. A bumper entry of 5 made it to the start although Bob got lost on the way to Tibet and only arrived in enough time to race to the toilet and then the first tee.

The Ladies (Chris and Jill) went off in the first group as the chaps (Kevin, Bob and Andrew) waited on the first tee in the second group. However there appeared to be a mistake as when the second group arrived at the start, to see the ladies tee off, there was no sign of them. Using powerful binoculars they were eventually spotted on a tee box on the other side of the lake half way down the first fairway but too far away to see how the first shots went.

If you look closely you can just see the Ladies group on their first tee

Despite this outrageous advantage Chris started badly failing to score on any of the first 3 holes. before playing the next 6 to handicap and 12 pts at the turn.

Chris Teeing off on par 5 7th on way to 2 pts

Jill was fairing no better as the relentless up and down and blind shots took it's toll. After a good couple of opening holes she recorded her first blob on the 3rd where both players ended up in he pond in front of the green. She also had 3 blobs on the front 9 and 10 pts.

Jill getting proceedings under way on the first

Meanwhile the second group teed off with everyone making it over the lake on the first and all secured 2 pts to get their rounds under way. From there Andrew (who had foolishly got cut again since his last round on tour) played solidly but struggled to get on the greens in regulation so ended with no pars and 12 pts at halfway.

Andrew teeing off over the lake on the 1st tee

Kevin was going along nicely but two bad tee shots (one of about 5 yards) led to 2 blobs and a disappointing 14 pts.

Kevin approach shot to 6th hole and 2pts

Bob had announced he was going to play a conservative game using his 3 wood to tee off on many occasions.However this strategy proved to be a good one as he took the half way lead on 17.

Bob's approach shot to the 2nd

Progress was slow so all players joined up again on the 10th hole, where it was agreed what a nice if rather hilly and long course it was.

Looking down the valley of the 7th hole

Chris and Jill started the back 9 more solidly playing to their handicaps for the first few holes but with Jill only parring her no shot holes she failed to get a 3 pointer all day and ended on 24 pts.

Jill Parring the 13th

Chris finally cracked when hitting her ball in to a pond on the 15th which she didn't know was there as it was over yet another hill that she couldn't get to the top of with her drive (whinge, whinge, whinge...) and a couple of late blobs left her on 25pts and out of the prizes.

Chris putting on 16

Andrew still couldn't buy a par at the start of the back 9 until eventually securing one on the 15th, and then like Buses, 3 came along at once catapulting him into 3rd place on 28 pts and adding 50p to his tour winnings for the year.

Andrew having a problem with a tree leading to a blob on the 11th

It was now left to Bob and Kevin to battle it out for the win but with Bob again scoring on every hole Kevin had his work cut out. However with a couple of pars and a birdie he caught him up on 30pts with two to play.

Geese asleep on 13th green knowing it was the safest place to be 

After Kevin sunk a short par putt on 17 it looked like they would be going down the last still tied until Bob inexplicitly missed a very short putt to give Kevin the lead.

Bob approach to 10th and 2 more pts

A wayward teeshot by Bob on the Par 3 last took the pressure off as Kevin secured his par and won the big £2.50 first prize with 36 points. Bob finished on 33 pts with an excellent blob free round

Kevin getting up and down on last to secure the win

Next week the tour moves on to Bury St Edmunds where Chris won the most points in a round (42) on last years tour.

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2016. Round 3 at Thetford

On a lovely spring afternoon, Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2016  round 3 took place at Thetford. The same four competitors who had lined up at Royal Norwich had signed up again for yesterday's round.

As Ian had won last time out he rightfully took the honour on the first tee which is a long par 3. Selecting his favourite rescue club he majestically drove the ball nearly 5 yards to the back of the ladies tee box before regaining his composure to scramble a point. After that he played some very solid golf to take the halfway lead on 19 pts.

Ian playing 3rd shot, chipping on to opening hole 

Kevin was also having a good front nine playing well off the tee before a number of poor second shoots let him down but he still had a tidy 18 pts over the opening 9 holes.

Kevin's first of 3 putts on 5th hole

Chris was having trouble getting to grips with the lightning quick greens and had a few putting problems but back to back pars on the two consecutive par 5's kept her in the hunt on 17.

Chris teeing off on 2nd hole

As has been the way in both the other two rounds this year Bob had 15 pts after 9. He was a bit erratic as the only player to record any blobs on the front 9 but he chipped in from well off the back of the 6th green for an outrageous birdie and chants of lucky bugger from the galleries. This did enable him to keep in touch with the leaders.

Bob putting on 2nd hole for 2pts

The back 9 couldn't have been more exciting as the scores narrowed and all 4 players were within a point or two of each other right up until the end.

Despite being on or by the green in regulation on the opening 3 holes of the back 9 Kevin was having real problems getting the ball in the hole. He managed to putt off the green on one hole and shank an easy chip into a greenside bunker on another so recorded only 2 pts. This caused a familiar Kevin melt down with much stomping, ground thumping and ending by giving his pitching wedge a damn good talking too. He recovered over the closing holes to finish on 30 pts.

Kevin teeshot on 13 which luckily hit a tree keeping it out of the woods

As others faded Bob went on a famous Bob charge and was joint leader with Ian and Chris as he walked off the 16th green, However he then cracked under the pressure adding only 1 more point and 29 pts wasn't enough to enable him to add to his winnings for the year.

Bob's approach 4th shot to 14th, after tree issues, leading to a 6
but two points as it was somehow stroke index 2

It looked like Ian was going to win until 2 unexpected blobs in the middle of the round, including one when Chris refused to concede a short putt which he missed. An excellent par on 17 put him back in the lead and he finished on 32 pts.

Ian admiring his drive down 15 which only led to a single point

Chris was having the best back 9 and was always within a point of the lead. Despite it being so close no one complained (much) when the other 3 players put there tee shots into the enormous bunker protecting the 150 yard 16th, only to find the ladies tee 50 yards closer and Chris flicking her ball on to the green. Nor did anyone mind (much) that the last hole was a 464 monster par 4 or a teenie weenie 426 par 5 off the ladies tee.  Chris took it in her stride catching up the points needed to tie with Ian on 32 pts.

Chris tee shot to par 3 11th and 2 pts

With all players still able to win as they came down the last it was a very exciting day of golf.

Things getting tense on the 18th faiway

The excitement moves on to a new tour venue next week at Stoke by Naylands on the Constable course where 10 holes involve water, so plenty of balls are likely to be needed.

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2016. Round 2 at Royal Norwich

Tuesday saw Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2016 round 2 take place in damp conditions at Royal Norwich. A decent field of four lined up on the first tee hoping to improve on the very low scores achieved at last weeks opening event at Hunstanton. It was good to see Ian making his first appearance on this years tour and pop his £5 subs into a very happy golf pig.

Kevin was first on the tee and full of confidence for what he expected to be an excellent round. A sliced  tee shot, shanked chip and poor putt later led to a no point start. Things didn't improve over the next few holes and after a 3 putt, 4 putt and 3 putt run at the end of the back 9 he lost the plot kicking his ball off the green and sulking off in the rough as he looked for where it had gone as it fly further then any drive had that day.

Kevin hitting a rare good tee shot on the 7th before at start of his 3 putt, 4 putt, 3 putt run

Chris started promisingly parring the first hole before also developing putting problems taking 23 on the front 9 but avoiding any blobs. She proudly pointed out she had taken more putts than Kevin without throwing any clubs or kicking any balls, which some thought was her loss.

Chris's second shot on the 2nd at the start of a run of five 1 point holes

Bob too started with a struggle and just 4 points from 4 holes. He too joined in the temper tantrums with an uncharacteristic outburst after duffing a tee shot into the bushes on the third but he recovered well to have 15 points after 9 with the help of points on his shot hole.

Bob missing a 2 point putt on the first

Ian was going along nicely ignoring the sulking and stomping going on all around him with 3 pars in the first 5 and posting 19 first half points.

Ian's good approach shot to the 5th leading to another 3 pts

For Chris the back 9 was much the same as the front as she scored on every hole but it took her to the 18th to finally get her second parr of the day and 28 pts.

Chris's second shot to the 18th and her second parr of the day

Kevin finally came to the party on the 14th with a run of 3 pars and a birdie putting him back in the game until another 3 putt and blob on 18 left him on 30 pts but with the 50p third place prize tucked into his back pock..

Kevin's approach to 16th during his mini good run of holes

After starting the back 9 with back to back blobs Bob started one of his legendary Bob charges as he made the most of his shot hole (again) with a 4 pointer plus another par meant he was only one point behind Ian with 3 to play.

Bob Teeing off on 17th when he thought he had gone in the bunker only to find he couldn't hit it that far

Ian kept his cool matching Bob shot for shot until they came down the 18th.

Ian (minus the top of his head) hitting it into the trees on 14 but still getting his 2pts

By this time Bobs yardage gadget had died so he foolishly asked Ian for the distance of his approach shot to the green. It is not altogether clear on what the yardage Ian gave actually represented but Bob claimed to have hit the right club perfectly only to find himself in the green side bunker short of the green. After much muttering both players then scrambled a point with Ian therefore coming out on top 34 points to 33. Bob will be making sure his yardage gadget is fully charged in future. 

Despite not adding to her winnings Chris still leads the Money list on the race to Sheringham.
The tour now moves on to Thetford next week to see if players can close the gap further.

Competition leader boards will now be shown on the side of the blog plus the honours board for previous years winners. Course records and other interesting facts will also appear shortly.

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2016. Round 1 The Masters at Hunstanton

Tuesday saw this years Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2016 kick off with the first major of the year, The Masters at Hunstanton. Hunstanton was making it's début on the tour and the ground staff had obviously been working hard as the course was in excellent nick. They were clearly keen to keep their place on next years tour.

Looking down 18th at Hunstanton

The Masters had attracted a bumper field of 6 chasing the huge £5 first prize that would see the winner head straight to the top of this year's money list in the race to Sheringham.

Golf Pig was also pleased to see such a large field as he was stuffed full of entry fees.

With groupings selected it was left to Andrew to kick the tour. Despite mutterings about how he would have had a shot on this hole last week blah blah yawn yawn etc he hit a stunning drive down the first leading to a fine birdie (for 3 points). However the next 5 holes (mainly with the wind) proved a little more difficult for him adding just 4 more points.

Andrews Tee Shot down the first

Tour Debutant Jill had the opposite experience registering a blob on the 1st before parring the next two holes to get her round back on track and had a solid 9 points after 6 holes.

Jill's first ever shot on the Round Norfolk golf summer tour

John was having a mixed start complaining that they had made the holes too long and like Andrew had 7 points from 6 holes.

John teeing off to a green a very very long way a way

With both Andrew and Jill in the bunker on the 7th John didn't want to miss out but instead of putting his ball in the sand he tried to let his buggy to roll in instead but just missed.

Pars on 7 and 8 gave Andrew 15 half way points with Jill on 13 and John on 10.

Meanwhile in the group behind Kevin had got off to a flyer with back to back opening pars and the early on the course lead. Sadly that was the end of any good play from him and it may have been wise to call it a day at that point to save both his mental state and the course from getting a damn good thrashing. He hacked his way to 12 points at the turn.

Kevin missing a birdie putt on 2nd which was his highlight of the day

Bob was fairing a lot better and despite blobbing the 1st and 9th he was looking solid and shared the halfway lead on 15 pts.

Bob teeing off on the second.

Chris was having the most up and down round with a number of duffs mixed it with some excellent shots including chipping in from 50 yards for a cheeky birdie on the par 5 (for ladies only!) 5th, to also join the leaders on 15 pts.

Chris about to play a chip shit like the one she got her birdie with

Like the first group the 7th provided bunker fun with all 3 balls, but no trolleys finding the sand.

All 3 ball and Bob in the sand at the 7th

The back 9 proved a lot tougher as most of the holes were into the wind. Sadly due to lack of phone battery no photos got taken on the back 9 so you will just have to imagine what it was like.

Although hard to believe Kevin's game deteriorated even further on the back 9 with blobs on all the odd numbered holes. Only a monster off the green putt on the last enabled him to scrape up to 20 pts and last place.

Jill was also struggling on the odd number holes with 3 blobs and with only 5 pts on the last seven holes she too ended on 23pts and out of the prizes.

John was the only player to have a better back 9 with 6 consecutive bogeys (12pts) giving a much tidier look to his card before registering only a single point after that and 23 pts. He felt he would have got a lot more points if the course had been the right length for him.

It was looking good for Bob as he was still up with the leaders until the blind par 3 14th. Here his tee shot found a bunker from which he hit what he thought was an excellent bunker shot. Coming down the hill he questioned why Kevin and Chris were putting to a different flag from the one he had been aiming for on the 4th green. The mistake affected him badly as it led to 3 successive nil points and his challenge slipped away finishing on 24 points and 3rd place..

Andrew managed a good par at the 13th to take the lead but then only got 5 more points finishing with 27 pts and the club house lead. (It would have been 30 pts before he was cutt at the weekend zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz)

Chris had been picking up points on most holes and coming on to the par 3 16th she hit a nice 6 iron and with a few useful bounces it rolled up to the hole where she sunk the putt for her second birdie and 27 points. This meant only one more point was needed to win. However a lost ball on the 17th (apparently the fairway was in the wrong place) and a duffed rescue on the 18th meant a tricky 4 foot putt had to be successfully sunk for the win.

So Chris is this years Masters champion and gets her name added to the honours board.

The tour now moves on to Royal Norwich where Chris will hope to keep her winning start going.

The Blog will be updated with competition leader boards etc once Kevin starts to do better.

2016 rules

Here are the rules for this summers tour

Entry fee is £5.00 at start of season or once you have played in 3 rounds, plus £1 per round. There will be 4 majors where entry is £2, entry fee is also £2 for final round at the climax of the race to Sheringham.

In each round there will be a £2.50 first prize, £1 second Prize and 50p third prize (double for the majors and finale) 

Any money not shared in prizes on the day and still in Golf Pig will be split over the following 5 comps at the end of the season

1.       Highest Average stableford points per round (Total stableford points/number rounds played)
2.       Most stableford points in any round.
3.       Eclectic (best score on each hole 1-18 against it’s par, over all the course you play. Minus half your average handicap to give an overall score against par)
4.       Best front and back 9 in July, August, September (the total stableford points of your best front 9 and best back 9 in the final 3 months)

5.     Lowest average Blobs per round (number of holes you score no points/number rounds played)

Like the race to Dubai the last two rounds will have double stableford points to give people a chance to catch up in the average points comp (but not for other comps).

Minimum of 3 players for round to count in the competitions.

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2015. Final round at Gorleston

The final Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2015 round was held at Gorleston on Wednesday. A good field of 5 turned up with new player Andrew making his tour debt late in the season. It was still mathematically possible for any of the five season long competitions to switch hands if some one could put in a particularly good score.

Golf pig had been counted and seemed to have more money in it than expected enabling £10 prizes to be on offer for competition winnners.

Using the traditional balls in the air system a group of 2 and 3 were selected.

Chris and Kevin went off first and both seemed to be hitting the ball well. Unfortunately Kevin didn't seem to realise which way the strong wind was blowing allowing it to help the ball out of bounds on 1 hole and into bushes on 2 others. He still managed to get 13 halfway pts but his 2 blobs had opened the door for Chris to snatch the lowest average blob trophy.

Kevin Teeing off on par 3 4th as wind blew it off course, again

Chris was having no such problems and had no difficulty reach 20 pts parring the last 3 out of 4 back 9 holes

Chris hitting the only teeshot to stay in bounds on the 3rd

Meanwhile in the group behind Bob had got off to a flying start with 3 pars in the first 4 holes and ended with a solid 18 pts.

Second group on the first green.
Where Bob and Andrew both opened with pars as John stomps off without one.

The 3rd hole seemed to cause the 2nd group problems as of 6 attempted tee shots only one ended up in play but no pts were scored. New boy Andrew also failed to score on the 8th hole restricting him to 15 pts at the turn.

Strolling down the 3rd fairway after collecting their balls from the out of bound area

John was still on a high after winning a cup at Bungay over the weekend and obviously hadn't recovered from the celebrations as 3 blobs and no pars left him on 12 pts.

It was all change on the back 9, except for John who managed 13 more pts for 25 and last place, as early leaders Bob and Chris fell away scoring only 12 and 11 pts respectively.

John chipping to 12th green for a point

Chris's only blob of the day on the long par 5 18th also handed the blobs trophy to Kevin by 0.04.

Chris 4th shot to 16th after she had got carried away with previous bunker shot hitting it a bit far

Andrew had a solid back 9 and got 16 pts to match Chris on 31 pts.

Andrews latest chip of several on the 12th during his only back 9 blob

Kevin managed to throw away his chance of glory by going into two bunkers on the last and failing to add to the 17 pts he had got on the way in, leaving him on a tie for 3rd place with Bob on 30pts getting 25p each to add to their prize money. However his birdie on the 14th secured the eclectic prize.

Kevin with good tee shot on 16th but went on to 3pt

After the round the scores were entered and the prizes for the season awarded

Average stableford pts Chris with 30.67 per rond
Most points in a round Chris with 42 pts at Bury St Edmunds
Eclectic off half average handicap Kevin on -17.0
Best front and back 9 in July, August, September was a tie betwen Bob and Kevin on 41 pts
Cup with lowest average blobs per round went to Kevin.

Kevin proudly showing off the lowest average blobs per round trophy
 after being presented it from himself

Special thanks to Ian and John for donating to the prize fund.

Course selection will take place early next year ready for the 2016 season which will start 1st April (ish)

Final leaderboard

	Kevin	John	Bob	Chris	Ian	John B	Prize
Prize money	£31.75	£7.75	£17.25	£25.75	£12.00	£4.25	£  98.75
Average Stableford points	30.05	27.87	28.28	30.67	29.50	29.33	£   10
Most Stableford points	41	33	37	42	39	32	£    10
Eclectic	-17.0	-10.3	-14.6	-13.5	-10.4	0.5	£    10
July, August & Sept Best Front & Back	41	37		41        39	32	34	£    10
Average Blobs per round	2.57	4.2	3.7	2.61	3.5	3.0	Cup
Number Rounds	21	15	18	18	8	3
Prize fund contribution	£   25.00	£    18.00	£  20.00	£    20.00	£    10.00	£    5.00