Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2016. Round 21 at Wensum Valley, Wensum course

Yesterday saw Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2016 round 21 take place at Wensum Valley on the Wensum course. It was a big day for the tour as total prize money for the year hit the £100 mark for the first time ever. Thus making it the richest such competition anywhere in the Norwich area, probably. As such 4 players had been attracted to compete for today's £2.50 first prize.

It was a very hot day and the Wensum is a very long course so it was always going to be a bit of a slog. David turned up just as we were about to tee off as he had been doing urgent painting on one of his adventure golf courses. This was clearly not an ideal way to start as he scored only one point on each of the first 4 holes before consolidating on the next few holes. He then announced that as he wasn't scoring well he would focus on the blobs contest and employ a blob avoidance management strategy. Inevitably this led to him recording his first blob on the next hole as he finished the front 9 on 12 points.

David putting up to the 3rd for a point

Bob had a solid start before exploding into action by birding holes 4 and 5 to be 3 under handicap after just 5 holes and suddenly back in contention in a number of this years competitions as well as a clear leader on the day. As long as he didn't get carried away, keep hitting balls into water & woods and score more than 1 point over the next 4 holes he would be in a very strong position. Sadly that's exactly what he did do and at half way found him languishing in 3rd place on 14 pts.

Bobs teeshot over the pond at the 5th for his 2nd birdie

Kevin was going along nicely when on the 8th tee he announced how well he had played this tricky hole in last years competition. Once again the golfing gods did not look kindly on this arrogant outburst so it was no surprise that his teeshot bounced down the river before putting his next ball into the green side pond. A 3  putt on the 9th restricted him to 16 points at halfway.

Kevin shanking his tee shot round the corner on the 4th

Meanwhile while all around everyone else was getting into difficult Ian was going steadily about his business before taking his opportunity with excellent pars on the tricky, water rich, 7th and 8th holes. Then out of the blue he shanked his approach on the very long 9th to scramble a point for his first slip up but despite this he still held a 3 point lead at the turn.

Nice chip on to the green from Ian at the second

David's blob avoidance management strategy on the back 9 seemed to work well although he didn't score many points he kept any more nil points off his card but still finished in last place on 26 pts.

David putting up towards a par on the short 12th

Ian started poorly on the back with just 1 point in the first 2 holes while both Kevin and Bob started more strongly. After 13 holes it was 22 for Bob, 23 Kevin and 24 Ian so all to play for.

However Bob was the first to crack and a few poor teeshots meant he only reached 30 pts to claim the 50p 3rd place prize. 

Bob stuck in bunker on 15th finishing off his challenge

Ian was next to faulted with double bogeys at 15 and 16 when he found the water hazard on each to finish on 32.

Ian looking hopefully for his ball in the pond at 15, he never found it

Kevin finished strongly with 2 pars in the last 3 holes and 34 points in total and took away the £2.50 first prize to lift his season earnings over the £30 mark.

Long putt from Kevin on 13th. David was new to snapping on course photos
 but Kevin confirmed that he was always happy to be taken from behind

There are just two weeks left but most competitions are still undecided, here is a summary going into the round at Sprowston next Wednesday.

Money list. Kevin's win increased has now unassailable lead and he will end the year top of the earnings chart for cash to spare. His tactic of playing more rounds than anyone else has proved to be a good one.

Average Stableford points. This is incredibility close with 4 players now separated by a third of a point averaging between 31.30 and 31.64 points and all with a chance of winning. Chris currently leads by 0.01 points from Mike but Ian and Kevin, also separated by 0.01, could still easily catch up with two high scoring rounds. Despite David's poor round today he could still snatch the prize by scoring  34 points or more in the final two rounds.

Eclectic (off half handicap). Bobs second birdie today extended his lead over Kevin to 1.4 with everyone else now out of the running.

Most Stableford points in a round. Kevin has led since mid June when his 40 pts won the US Open at Woodbridge but with good scoring conditions and some large fields it is certainly not a guaranteed winning score.

Average blobs per round. Chris's all round consistency means she leads by someway averaging only 2.07 blobs per round and it would take another tour record blob round for her to be caught by most players although David is now targeting this and will win if he avoids getting more than 5 blobs over the final two rounds.

Best combined front and back 9 in July, August and September. Ian has a two point lead with 41 points. But with Chris (21) and Bob (20) having good front 9's and Kevin (20), Mike(20) and Sandie(20) having good back 9s then they all remain in the hunt.

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2016. Round 20 at Cromer

Today saw Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2016 round 20 take place at Cromer. Despite it being one of the premier locations on tour, rival fixtures had reduced the entry to just 3. Even Golf Pig couldn't be arsed to turn up and had gone to one of the other events instead. It was everyone else's loss as it was an exciting day going down to the very last putt.

It was also great to see David make a return visit to the tour after many years away, from a time before records begun. He claimed he was now playing off 11 although enable to produce an up to date handicap certificate to prove it. After some consideration the committee reluctantly agreed he could still play. It was also his first time to Cromer golf course as he doesn't get out much.

The opening hole at Cromer is tricky as most first timers misjudge the rough and hazard on the left so it was good to see David also making this mistake losing his ball and gaining an opening blob. After that it was a mixed bag which contained 4 pars and 15 front 9 points.

David getting proceedings underway with an opening hole blob.

David also proved to be an excellent ball spotted sniffing out Bob and Kevin's wayward drives that often ended in the the thick rough. It took all Kevin's skill to hit the ball deep enough into the trees on the 5th hole for him to finally not be able to find one. Kevin was having an inconsistent front 9 as his wildness off the tee restricted his scoring opportunities. He did scramble well to get at least get one point on each hole but only 14 in all.

Good up and down from the bunker on the 2nd

Bob started very well with 5 points in the tricky opening two holes. As all golfers know you should never announce how pleased you to have played the two holes 'the best you can ever remember'. Inevitably Bob then failed to score on the next two holes. On the 4th he attempted to equal the most balls lost on one hole record but somehow managed to find his third ball in some deep rough. He finished the 9 in last place on 13 but only two off the lead.

Bob in the rough on the 3rd. A place he spent a lot of the afternoon

David had been given some extra advice by the pro when he bought his course map before the round. On the 10th they said make sure you don't go long and right so he took his 3 wood and went short and right instead, which was worse. However he still scrambled a point and, as a result of nothing worse than a bogey on the next few holes, found himself one shot in the lead coming on to 17.

David teeing off on light house hole where pro advice was don't hit long and straight,
but he did

Bob was still struggling with the long rough and as a result of 3 more blobs had just 19 points after 15 holes. It looked like his challenge on the average stableford points competition would be in tatters but he finished with 3 straight pars (including a great up and down on 17) to end on 28 and still in the hunt (just) for that plus a 50p prize for the day.

Bob escapes from bunker by the lighthouse

Kevinad finally got his game together and after a par on 10 and good drive on 11 was over confident as he decided to use his 3 wood, which he has been struggling with recently, for his next shot. This was a pivotal moment as duffed it into the deep rough for a blob. He clearly hadn't got over on the next hole as he blob that as well. After this things got better and he found himself just one point behind David as they stood on the 17th tee.

Kevin cant believe his put stayed out for a potential birdie on 13

Kevin's teeshot made the green but left a long putt while David had a 10 foot putt after a good shot in. Unbelievably Kevin made his birdie only for David to follow him. The imaginary crowd were going wild as the players went on to the 18th.

From the tee David went in the rough and only moved the ball a few yards with his next but a good 3rd and a couple of putts left Kevin needing to sink a 3 foot putt to tie the round with a par. When Mr and Mrs Pressure came knocking then Kevin wasn't at home as he sunk the putt and both players will collect their £1.75 joint winners prize when Golf Pig turns up again.

Next week the tour moves on to Wensum Valley and with only 3 rounds left this is turning into the closest competition ever. But how did today impact the leaderboards.

Money list. Kevin has now an unassailable lead and will end the year top of the earnings chart. His tactic of playing more rounds than anyone else has proved to be a good one.

Average Stableford points. This is incredibility close with 4 players separated by less than half a point averaging between 31.16 and 31.64 points and all with a chance of winning. Chris currently leads by 0.01 points from Mike but Ian and Kevin could still easily catch up with some high scoring rounds. Bob is probably just out of the running after today but you never know. David's 34 points mean another 3 good rounds could see him snatch the prize at the death.

Eclectic (off half handicap). Bob still leads Kevin by 0.4 and it would take a good run of birdies from other players to catch them. Kevin's birdie on 17 didn't help as he had already got a birdie there.

Most Stableford points in a round. Kevin has led since mid June when his 40 pts won the US Open at Woodbridge but with good scoring conditions and some large fields it is certainly not a guaranteed winning score.

Average blobs per round. Chris's all round consistency means she leads by someway averaging only 2.07 blobs per round and it would take another tour record blob round for her to be caught so it's hers to lose. Again David could snatch it after his 2 blob round today.

Best combined front and back 9 in July, August and September. Ian has a two point lead with 41 points. But with Chris (21) and Bob (20) having good front 9's and Kevin (20), Mike(20) and Sandie(20) having good back 9s then they all remain in the hunt.

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2016. Round 19 at Caister and Yarmouth

Wednesday saw Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2016 round 19 take place at Caister and Yarmouth. There a was a bumper entry of 6 who were split into two groups of 3 by the traditional balls in the air method. The course was very hard and dry so there was plenty of run on the course making it hard to judge distance.

It was good to see John once again return to the tour after some more time away tuning his game. He started in traditional fashion by losing his ball on the first before and an opening blob. This was followed by 3 successive pars putting him into an early lead, however he then heard that Sandie had broken his most blobs in a round record with 9 on her last outing at Barnham Broom two weeks ago. So with the aid of bunkers and gorse he set out to reclaim the record and managed to blob 4 of the next 5 holes. He was now well on the way to getting his record back ending the front 9 with 11 pts and 5 blobs.

John teeing off on first with an early blob

Mike was the current leader of both the highest average points comp and lowest blobs per round. Due to the high demand for his appearance at other events his agent has committed him to a busy September meaning he would only be making one more outing on tour this year. Therefore a good round today would put him in a very strong position as we enter the final month of the tour. However he had an inconsistent front 9 scoring only 14 points and throwing in a could of blobs for good measure. 

Mike teeing off on first

Chris has been the form player of late and today seemed to be no exception as she posted a birdie and 3 pars in 5 holes during the middle of the front 9. She was helped by the ludicrous 8th which was a 466 par 4 for men and 391 par 5 for women. To rub salt in the wound she hit her 2nd through the back. Mike and John were so disgusted that they refused to score a point on the hole. She finished on 19 pts putting the 40 point best round of the year under threat.

Chris getting her round underway

Meanwhile in the group behind Sandie started where she left off on her record breaking blob round by failing to score on the first. However things then picked up with 7 points in the next two holes. Her putting all round was very sharp as she sunk a number of long putts to scramble some points while also taking advantage of her opportunities. She finished the front 9 on a solid 17 pts.

Sandie teeing off on 2nd

Bob was on fire on the front 9 as he had 3 successive pars during the middle of the 9. With 18 points after 8 holes he was very well placed and when his approach on the 9th landed just off the green things were looking good. However he was struggling with the pace of the greens and 4 putts later his confidence on the greens was in pieces although he still had 19 pts and share of the lead.

Bobs long putt on 1st hole, which was the first of 3

Kevin was one of the few players finding the lightning quick greens to his liking as at last he had found some greens the same speed as his artificial one in his back garden. Thanks mainly to good putting he collected 18 points on the front 9 and was well placed for the remainder of the round.

Good approach to 4th green

The back 9 started well for Mike including a par on the toughest hole, number 11, however after that things fell away badly with 3 more no pointers and only 11 points to finish on a disappointing 25. This has given hope to the rest of the tour as he lost the lead in both comps he was leading. See end of post for competition summaries.

Mike struggles in bunker on way to a blob on short 14th

Chris also fell away recording only a single par and 14 points on the closing holes. However her 33 point total made her leader in the clubhouse.

John clearly only had Sandies blob record on his mind as he again found the hard ground and gorse bushes his ally on the opening holes helping move to 8 blobs after 14. However as he scored on the next two holes it meant he would have to blob out on the last two holes for the record. It took much skill but he managed to do it and set a new record of 10 no score holes. He actually played better than handicap on the other 8 for 17 pts.

It was very close in the group behind with only 2 pts separating the players after 13 holes with Kevin holding a 1 point lead. However he then fell away badly as the race course acted like a magnet  to his ball as he went on it 3 times over the next few holes to finish on a disappointing 30 pts.

Kevin getting out of the bunker on 14th but straight into the gorse and no points

Bob couldn't really get going either putting his teeshot on the 11th on to the beach. His cry of fore probably didn't alert the holiday makers to the danger they were in. He did then manage to score on all of the last 5 holes to finish in the money on 31.

Bobs teeshot on 10 ended up on the race course

Suddenly Sandie came to he fore. She used a new tactic of giving a disappointing sigh or 'rubbish' comment after each shot only for it to end up a few foot from the flag. With 14 points (including a birdie on 16) in the last 5 holes for a total of 37 and, in the end, a comfortable win and her first prize money on tour.

Sandy chipping off the bank to the 13th green

Today's round really shock up the leaderboards so with just the 4 rounds in September to go here is a summary of each competition.

Money list. Kevin has an almost unassailable lead and only Bob can catch him if he wins all the last 4 rounds and Kevin finishes out of the prizes. His tactic of playing more rounds than anyone else has proved to be a good one.

Average Stableford points. This is incredibility close with 5 players averaging between 31 and 31.64 points and all with a chance of winning. Chris currently leads by 0.01 points from Mike but Ian, Bob and Kevin could still easily catch up with some high scoring rounds.

Eclectic (off half handicap). Bob leads Kevin by 0.4 and it would take a good run of birdies from other players to catch them.

Most Stableford points in a round. Kevin has led since mid June when his 40 pts won the US Open at Woodbridge but with good scoring conditions and some large fields it is certainly not a guaranteed winning score.

Average blobs per round. Chris's all round consistency means she leads by someway averaging only 2.07 blobs per round and it would take another tour record blob round for her to be caught so it's hers to lose.

Best combined front and back 9 in July, August and September. Ian has a two point lead with 41 points. But with Chris (21) and Bob (20) having good front 9's and Mike(20) and Sandie(20) having good back 9s then they remain in the hunt.

To add to the drama David 'Congo Rapids' Moore rejoins the tour, after several years away, for the final 4 rounds of the year so could still disrupt the current standings.

September looks like being the most exciting finish to Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp ever.

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2016. Round 18 at Ufford Park

A brilliant, cloudless blue sky greeted members of the Round Norfolk Golf Tour as they arrived at the Ufford Park Hotel for the latest round of the Race to Sheringham. 

John Herring had dropped out citing a date with his dentist. Kevin was cycling (or hoping to cycle) in Italy and everyone else not attending had made their apologies leaving just four taking part: Chris Fraser, Mike Hammond, Ian Bishop and Bob Spanner. The staff at golf reception managed to hide their disappointment well when the group claimed 2 free courtesy rounds and used 2 county cards to slash the cost of the round. 

Chris and Bob arrived first. Mike decided to take the long route to avoid traffic and Ian didn't really have a good excuse which meant they both missed out on a pre-round practise putt. As Mike never does this anyway it didn't make any difference.

 Chris quickly getting into her warm up routine.  

With Kevin out of the money this week, everyone was really excited at the prospect of getting closer to him on the leader board (really!).

Front 9

Mike (playing off 13) started very well (pars on the 1^st and 3^rd) before failing to score on the 4^th. He then came back strongly with a par and a bogey before fading slightly over the last 3 holes. His halfway score of 16 reflected the effect of only scoring on 7 of the first 9 holes.

Mike getting the round underway with a fine drive

Chris (playing off her new handicap of 16) started slowly (5 points over the first 4 holes), but 3 pars on the next 5 saw her finish the front nine holes strongly with 16 points. Her tendency to play on the adjacent fairway didn't seem to affect her ability to recover and sneak a par (Fraser family trait). 

Chris getting off to her usual tidy start.

                                                           

Mike and Chris heading off into the distance as they look for the red tee on the 9th hole (picture taken from the yellow tee!).

Ian (playing off his new handicap of 17) started solidly over the first 3 holes before also failing to score on the 4^th hole. He then struck back with 11 points over the next 5 holes (2 pars) leaving him with 17 points at the halfway stage.

Ian starting his round with a tidy drive up the fairway.

Bob (playing off his new handicap of 19) started badly, hooking his first tee shot into the trees. However some good recovery work saw him sink a 6 foot putt to start with 2 points. 

Bob teeing off on the first and successfully finding the trees. There's a surprise.

His driving picked up after this and by the end of the 7^th he had collected 16 points. However, after listening to Chris explain how lots of the ladies were nervous of playing over the water at the 8^th, Bob proceeded to put his drive in the water and ended up not scoring. A good bogey on the 9^th saw him finish the front nine with 18 points, just hanging on to the lead.

Body language!! The 4 ball in front are not really making an effort to buck up and move on.

Back 9

Mike started like he meant business, making 2 pars on the first 3 holes before hitting the buffers when he put his tee shot out of bounds on the short 13^th (why did I use my driver!!). Despite making a par on the next hole, he seemed to lose his momentum, hitting double bogeys on the next 3 holes. A good par on the par 5 18^th saw him finish with 33 points.

Ian started the back 9 strongly and 2 pars in the first 5 holes saw him make 11 points. However, his tee shot into the water at the short 15^th saw him collect only 5 points over the last 4 holes. Ian also finished with 33 points!

Ian, playing nicely off the fairway somewhere on the back 9!

Chris also started the back 9 strongly with 2 pars on the first 3 holes. However, she then failed to score for the first time in her round on the next 2 holes. A strong finish saw her collect 9 points over the last 4 holes, also finishing with 33 points!!

Chris trying to get her shot away before the sprinkler gets her!

Like the others, Bob started strongly but kept it going for longer scoring an outrageous par on the 14th after topping his tee shot. He  followed this with a strategically played birdie around the water on the 15th which meant he collected 19 points over the first 7 holes. At this point the possibility of beating Kevin’s 40 point season high score seemed to hit home and he managed only 1 more point on the last 2 holes, finishing with 38 points.

No-one seemed to know how the £4 ‘pig’ money should be distributed so that was left for Kevin to sort out.

Everyone reflected on how well the course had played with a lot less tree action than previous weeks and isn't it strange how often the scorer wins!

Anyway, Kevin's gamble to miss this round doesn't seem to have affected his lead at the top of the prize money table. 

Next week the tour heads off to Caister and Yarmouth with a good turnout likely. 

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2016. Round 17 at Barnham Broom Valley course

Wednesday saw Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2016 round 17 take place at Barnham Broom Valley course. The day started with controversy when the 5 players balls were sent into the air but no clear groupings emerged. After much discussion and video playbacks the officials ruled that a rethrow would be required which this time was successful. Bob and Ian were placed in the first group and headed off to the opening tee.

Ian getting the competition underway on the first

Ian started with a solid teeshot before the hole petered out ending in a point. The excitement of playing his first round off a new handicap of 17 seemed to be effecting his play as a couple of blobs and a single par restricted him to 14 pts on the front 9.

Bob was confused on the first hole as he appeared to think it was a par 12 only to discover his 12 shots didn't qualify him for any points. He soon put this disappointment behind him as he followed up with a birdie and par. The birdie took him to the top of the eclectic leader board. Progress then slowed and a blob on number 8, when he found the river kept him to 16 pts at half way and a 3 way share of the lead.

Bobs approach to hole 6

Meanwhile there was more pre round drama in the group behind when on the way to the first tee Mike rammed his trolley into the back of Sandies leg causing both a yelp and some skin breakage. Sandie was making a welcome return to the tour but may have been affected by the trolley incident as she failed to score over the first two holes. She seemed to have recovered her composure over the next three holes before spotting that Mike had marched on ahead of her as she prepared for her shot. Spotting her chance for revenge she smacked her ball at Mike but only managed to hit his bag. However this was a start of 3 more blobs and only 9 points at half way.

Sandie putting for a point on 2nd hole, she missed

As usual Mike had started strongly before surprisingly slipping up with a few mishits and 3 successive one point holes put him on 16 pts.

Mikes approach to the 1st leading to a par

Kevin had been playing poorly recently and seemed most interested in winning today's most balls in the water comp going on the 2nd and 7th however some good recovery play kept him up with the leaders on 16 as well. 

Kevins teeshot on 5

As the back 9 started any comeback from Ian soon disappeared as he only got 3 points in the first 4 holes and despite a solid finish it wasn't going to be his day as he finished out of the money with 27 pts.

Bob was being a bit inconsistent on the back 9 with 2 blobs and 4 pars as he came down the last and found him facing a short down hill putt for another par which he sadly fluffed to finish on 32 pts.

Sandie was now focusing on setting a new tour record of most blobs in one round, currently standing at 7, and she left nothing to chance by securing 4 more blobs and a new record of 9 for the round. On the 9 holes she could be bothered to score points on she managed 20.

Sandie on the way to a record breaking number of blobs

Mike started the back 9 badly when he tried to hit his second shot on the 10th hole through a tree trunk just in front of him with the ball bouncing away never to be seen again and letting Kevin into a 2 point lead.

Great shot from Mike onto the green and the long 11th leading to a par

The gap remained until on the par 5 13th  Kevin once again found the river from the tee. His second ball was in a bunker after 5 shots only, for the second week running, Kevin holed the bunker shot for 2 pts. Mike played the hole properly for a 2 pt par but the injustice of it all impacted his game and he fell away to finish on 29 and 3rd place.

Kevin made sure the most balls in the river prize was his with a 4th entry on 17 but again scrambled a point meaning he needed a par on the last for an unexpected win. He soon found himself with the same downhill putt as Bob but this time it was a successful effort for a win as he stretched his lead at top of the earnings list.

Kevin chips close on 15 to secure his par

Next week it is off to Ufford Park where even more water can be found. Will anyone be able to go in on more than 4 occasions, will anyone hit it further into the woods than Bob has done this year and can anyone get 10 blobs in a round. All this plus chances to close the gaps in the season competitions will make it a fascinating day.

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2016. Round 16 at Kings Lynn

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2016 round 16 took place at Kings Lynn yesterday.  A field of 4 had entered all of which wanted to add to their seasons earnings as the road to Sheringham heads towards its climax. After a few weeks away from the tour Chris made a welcome return with her handicap having recently been cut by two.

In a Carbon copy of the US PGA at Purdis Heath Ian charged into an early lead with 4 pars in the opening 6 holes before In-explicitly getting into trouble off the tee on seven and failing to score on the next two holes, ending the 9 on 18 pts.

Another par for Ian early on the opening holes

Kevin was still struggling off the tee but was scrambling well to stay in touch before a run of 5 1 pts in 6 holes restricted him to 14 pts.

Kevin putting up short on the 4th

Whereas Kevin's driving may have been a little wonky, as he skirted the edge of the woods on several occassions, then Bob was taking no risks in his mission to win, who can hit the ball furthest into the trees, for the second week running as he buried his opening drive (and then several more) into the woods however when he did keep it on the fairway he scored well and had a respectable 15 at the turn.

Bobs opening drive on the first was straight into the left hand woods never to be seen again

Chris's reduced handicap didn't seem to be impacting her as she got off to a flying start including back to back birdies on 5 and 6. Her putter was red hot and she had a clear half way lead on 21 pts.

Good approach to awkward second green

As he saw today's title slip away Ian decided his best chance for glory was to make sure he retained his, who can go in the most bunkers, title with a magnificent display going in bunkers on virtually every back 9 hole and on the 17th even managed a fairway and green side double. This tactic restricted his points total to 34 and left Kevin and Bob a chance to catch up.

Oh look, Ian's in the bunker on 11.
 (note the same one Kevin was to hole out from moments later)

Chris started the back 9 as she played on the front with two more pars. It looked like this years current 'most points in a round' comp of 40 pts would be shattered until a poor teeshot on the easy par 3 12th bounced off a tree into a small pond followed by another blob on the next as well, which stalled her progress. However with 36 points after 17 holes she could not be caught so decided to put in two entries to the 'who can hit the ball furthest into the woods' comp which were good, as they were never seen again, but the judges felt the consistency Bob had shown hitting into the woods made him the winner.

Another good tee shot on 10 led to a par

Bob fell away at the start of the back 9, including back to back blobs on 13 and 14, before a birdie on 15 put him back in the hunt for 2nd place. However only 5 pts over the final 3 holes left him just outside the money on 30 pts.

Bobs tee shot to the par 3 12th.

Kevin put an end to his long run of single points when he holed his bunker shot at 11 for a birdie. This seemed to spur him on as he was only player to score on all back 9 holes but some untidy play over the last 3 holes restricted him to 32 points and 3rd place as Ian's final hole par meant he collected the second place pound.

Kevin cant believe his teeshot on 13 has bounced back off a tree and not in the woods.
 Bob then showed him the proper way by burring his ball deep in the woods never to be seen again. To prove it wasn't a fluke as he repeated the trick with his second shot with his second ball on the hole.

There were no changes on the competition leader boards so it's on to round 17 at Barnham Broom next week where a bumper entrance is expected. Mike returns to see if he can keep his lead at the top of the average stableford points and lowest blobs tables.

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2016. Round 15 at Bury St Edmunds

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2016 round 15 took place at an overcast and drizzly Bury St Edmunds on Tuesday. After the excitement of back to back majors it was back to a normal comp this week but despite this a high class field, featuring 4 of the top 5 money earners this year, had elected to play.

Mike got things under way with a solid par on the opening hole. He then had a wobble over the next two holes getting only one point. It looked like the tours most consistent player, and leader of the average stableford points comp, might eventually be about to crack but normal service was soon resumed with some excellent play finishing with a birdie on the 9th and 19 pts at half way. There was some controversy when, on the 6th hole, he placed his ball behind Ian's marker, which was 3 foot closer than his, but his eagle eyed playing partners were having none of it and stopped him before he tried to sneak in the putt, nice try though.

Mikes opening drive leading to a par on the 1st

Ian had another flying start with 10 pts from the opening 4 holes as he shot into the lead before, in-explicitly, muffing up the next 3 holes for a single point. A 3 putt on the 9th didn't help matters as he returned 15 pts and was far from happy.

Ian's birdie putt on the second, he missed

Bob and Kevin were having their own game of 'who could hit the balls into the trees the most often. However despite this they still managed to scramble points on every front 9 hole.

Kevin about to slice another ball into the trees on the 5th

However Bobs putting was much the better as Kevin missed a number of short putts leaving him trailing on 13 pts (and in the trees 6 times) to Bobs 17pts (and in the trees 7 times).

Bob hitting out of the trees on the third hole

Kevin's driving didn't improve much on the back 9 going into the trees on the first 3 holes before somehow rescuing 2 pts on each. A silly blob on 16, with a short chip into the bunker, and a couple more missed little putts stopped him from getting back in the hunt but his 17 points on the back 9 meant his 30 pts overall was in line with his season average.

Kevin missing a par putt after good recovery out of the trees on 14

Ian again starts strongly with 17 points in the first 7 holes and shot into a two point lead. He then missed a short putt on 17 before getting stuck in long grass under trees on 18. He clearly hadn't had the tree practice of both Kevin and Bob as he failed to get the ball back in play and failed to register a point. He finished on 33 pts but would it be enough.

Ians approach chip to the 12th

Bob was still duffing the ball off the tee allow not into as much trouble as the front 9 as he continued to score points on most holes. On the last he had a short putt for 2 pts which Kevin insisted he took. Bob, not realising it was a par 5 missed the putt before hitting the ball away in frustration thinking he had failed to score. Unfortunately for Kevin, Bob claimed Mike had conceded him the putt and claimed his point for 3rd place and the 50p prize. 

Bob driving the ball into the left hand trees on the 11th

Mike had been going about his business solidly but uncharacteristic blobs on 12 and 16, where his reliable fairway wood let him down, meant he had fallen from the lead. However the fat lady had not yet sung and with Ian's poor finish the door was still open as its never over until it's over etc etc. So he only needed a bogey on the last to claim first prize. But he did better than that with a tasty par and 35 points overall to take the £2.50 purse.

Mike on the 11th tee, unfortunately he still had to finish the 10th hole first

So Mike keeps his lead at the top of the average stableford points table, while Kevin still leads the money list although with nothing to show for today's effort the other players are closing in.

Next week the tour heads north to Kings Lynn, where in form player Chris returns to the fold.