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.

Round Norfolk summer golf round 18 at Swaffham

Mid Norfolk Hackers Trophy

After the final major last week, won by Andrew, the Tour returned to it's regular programme and headed to mid-Norfolk and very near to the scene of an unsolved mystery. Back in 1974, police were (and still are) baffled by the discovery of a headless corpse in a remote field at Cockley Cley, just a few hundred yards from where the Swaffham clubhouse is now located. Was it just coincidence that some 45 years later, six were expected to play in the RNSG Tour but only five arrived? Has anyone seen Greg, or at least part of him?

With a reduced field of five, the playing order was decided by Kevin's balls-in-the-air trick, resulting in Andrew (last week's British Open champion) and Vince heading off first. Immediately they decided not to talk to one another by hitting their tee shots right and left respectively; fortunately, their paths crossed again on the green and several more times thereafter. 

Andrew gets proceedings underway

Vince got off to the better start, scoring 13 points over the first 7 holes. This was despite him losing his ball on the 3rd tee, only to find it a few moments later cunningly hidden in his right hand! Andrew had lost a ball (properly) on the 2nd and struggled to only 10 points but disaster struck both of them on the 8th. A sudden squall caused them both to hit errant shots and blob the hole. Vince decided losing one ball into the gorse wasn't enough, so he hit his provisional further in to make sure. The following group had similar problems sending 5 balls from the tee with only two of them ever seen again. 1 point was scored across the 2 groups.

Vince showing his chipping from the rough skills (which he practices a lot) on the 4th

Vince made up for the disappointing 8th with a brilliant par (4 points) on the 9th to end the outward half with 17 points, leaving Andrew in his wake with just 11.

Meantime, Chris, Kevin and Bob were making the game of golf look easy. Pars on the first from Mr & Mrs F were ordinary when compared to Bob's opening birdie (4 points). To be fair, Chris and Bob had peaked at this point and despite some valiant efforts to recover to the giddy heights of the first, they ended the front nine on 15 and 13 respectively. 

Chris in trouble in the pit on the second

Kevin, on the other hand, was on a mission. With his brand new, laser-guided, state-of-the-art putter in his hand, he tore up the course for an opening 21 points, leading to him obviously thinking about how this immediately improved his position in the best front and back nines competition.

 

Kevin hits a good approach to the 5th

The back nine saw Andrew find some of the consistent play that won him the British Open last week but it was not enough to keep pace with an in-form Vince. Despite losing a ball on the 10th, he birdied the par-5 13th (5 points) and made brilliant pars on the par-5 15th (4 points) and par-3 16th (3 points) At this point, Vince remarked how much he liked the ball he was playing so, obviously, it came as no surprise that he hit his tee-shot from the 17th tee into the gorse, never to see said ball again. Andrew blobbed the last to complete his fall from grace and end the day on 25 points, but would Vince's total be enough?

 

Vince's second attempt at teeshot on the !0th

Kevin was still on fire, with a par at the 10th, but a blob on the 11th cooled him down and the next few holes were a little more frustrating. Chris found form and brilliant approach shots at 13 and 15 saw her add to her points tally. 

Chris chips on to the 11th from a precarious position

Bob, meanwhile, was playing his own version of this historic game. He scored 5 points between the 12th and 15th, but 4 of those came from a birdie on the 14th. Lost balls are one thing, but Andrew and Vince were concerned that Kevin and Chris had lost Bob as they approached the 15th green. Only a careful look through Andrew's viewfinder clarified that he was 127 yards behind having spent some time - in vain - in the bushes looking for his game.

 

Bob sinks his birdie putt on the 14th

The short par-3 16th was the location of this week's nearest-the-pin competition. As had been the case during his British Open win last week, Andrew had set the challenge from the first group but, once again, he was to be thwarted. Kevin's finely struck tee-shot pitch on the front of the green and rolled far enough to snatch the prize, However, this pleasure was dampened by his new putter letting him down and a 3-putt resulted. The fact that Chris and Bob went on to make pars just made the situation even less tolerable for Kevin.

Kevin sticking with his no driver strategy

In the end, Bob's up and down round resulted in a total of 27, whilst Chris' excellent 17 points on the back half saw her reach 32 points and 3rd place. Kevin's back-nine 15 left him in 2nd place on 36 points, so it was a resurgent Vince who, despite 2 blobs on the back nine, scored 21 points and 38 overall. The group returned to the clubhouse for tea and cake but, alas, there was still no sign of Greg. The empty chair at the head of the table seemed Stephen King-esque in it's resemblance to that poor young lady's misfortune all those years ago! Sleep well, everyone!

Round Norfolk summer golf round 17 The Open at Felixstowe Ferry

The Open

It promised to be the hottest day ever but would the golf also be hot for the final major of the year. It was also hotting up at the top of the money list as Bob has not been able to extend his lead in recent weeks with others now starting to close in. The big £5 first prize today could alter things dramatically in either direction.

There were 7 tour members signed up for this prestigious event. Armed with water bottles and sun cream it was balls in the air to decide the two groupings before heading to the first tee. It was perfect links conditions hot, dry and windy so would be the ideal golfing test for the Open.

Greg got us underway, followed by Andrew both of which hit the fairway. However despite his recent successes by keeping his driver in the bag, Kevin opted to get it out but sliced into the rough before hitting his next into deep rough. After a search Greg found it. On the next he tried his 3 wood which he topped into the long grass just in front of the tee which again required a search and Greg found. So he tried his rescue on the next tee with the same result and Greg 3 lost ball credit finds in the bank which Kevin is yet to repay. From here things picked up for him a bit until he missed a very short putt on the 9th (more of the significance of this latter). However thanks to some excellent recovery work he somehow had 15 points at the turn.

When Greg wasn’t looking for Kevin’s balls he was playing well. He was obviously still struggling with his bad back and could regularly be found rolling around on the ground trying to loosen up. Apparently his physio thinks it is caused by the way he picks up his tee and ball, which we all know is strenuous work, he has been told to do some strengthening exercises using a heavy feather. His only blemish was when he lost a ball on the 3rd which he was upset about as no one repaid the lost ball credits they owed (who knew that this was a thing). He had 17 points at halfway.

Andrew had arrived today as the form player having scored 41 points yesterday and been cut to 13. He was certainly playing with confidence and only a couple of 3 putts on the par 3s restricted his score to 17 points as well.

In the group behind Robert started strongly with an opening par and was well placed with 8 points after 4 holes and a nice foundation. However inexplicably the wheels then came off as he only managed a further 7 points in the next 10 holes. Coming on to the 16th he was well out of the running for the title but there was still the matter of the nearest the pin, which was a rollover jackpot. On hearing this he rolled up his sleeves and hit his shot of the day to claim the £4  prize (stop press Golf Dinosaur Monster has just informed me it should have been £5 so Robert is owed a quid). He finished strongly nearly doubling his score over the last 4 holes to finish on 24 points.

Bob was having a typical Bob round mixing some fantastic shots with others putting him out of the hole. When on the back 9 he found his putting boots and really started scoring well. But with a round including 4 blobs he was going to struggle to be in the prizes finishing on 31.

Chris was having the opposite problem having left her normally strong putting game at home. It didn’t help when her opening drive went down the road leading to an opening blob. I have often wondered what would happen on the par 3 12th (where you have to hit in over the road) if you smash your ball into the net, well very kindly Chris found out by whacking he tee shot into it. If you want to know it drops straight down and you have to play 3 off the tee, which she did for her only other blob. Apart from that she missed a lot of little putts leading to a number of single point holes so again was never really in the running as she also finished on 31 points.

Jill was hoping to be the first player to complete the RNSG career grand slam. She was clearly nervous getting off to a slow start but with her normal solid game clicking back in place she soon had things under control. However after going into a bunker on the 9th she thinned her bunker shot almost into the road for a blob and 15 points at halfway. Her back 9 also started slowly but 14 points over the closing 6 holes gave her a win in the group on 32 points but would it be enough.

Kevin also had 15 at halfway but that short missed putt on the 9th had clearly got to him as he missed another short one on the 10th and 3 putted the 12th after being the only one with a tee shot on the green. It looked like he was out of the running until a birdie on the 13th got him back in contention. However missing more short putts on 16 and 17 meant he too finished on 31 points and 4 lost ball credits in debt to Greg..

The real battle was between Andrew and Greg who were matching each other shot for shot. However you need some luck to win a major and Andrew got his bit when he thinned a chip from the edge of the 12th green which got beautifully slowed down by the long grass as it trickled up to the hole and toppled in. Even the members sitting out side the club house could be heard muttering “outrageous”.

However Greg had his luck too as his drive on the 14th skimmed the top of a gorse bush before taking a big kick into the middle of the fairway, while Andrews pushed drive missed the bush but was never seen again and he ended with a blob.

This gave Greg a 2 point lead but it was all to change again on the 16th where Greg’s pulled tee shot lead to a blob while Andrew managed a par to once again take the lead.

Coming on to the 18 th he had a two point lead and when Greg’s birdie putt stopped right on the edge of the hole it was all over as Andrew made his par for 37 points (a new course record) against Greg’s 35. Well done to Andrew for taking home the imaginary claret jug and his first major.

Next week we return to Norfolk and back to parkland at Swaffham. All this seasons competitions remain tight and hard to call with several players in contention for each one, so it really is all to play for.

Round Norfolk summer golf round 16 at Rookery Park

Victor Vince is Back in the Groove at a Birdie Packed Rook-less Park

 

As the British Open got underway 5 hopefuls headed towards Rookery Park for the latest RSNG summer tour event. With a 60% female presence, the ladies were getting 2 extra shots on the SSS adjustment added to their handicaps. All kittens and recipes, 4-packs of lager and Sporting Life editions were left at home in this gender free event. Without a Frazer or Spanner in sight Greg was in the chair to get things underway, but with traffic jams en route there was no ball draw as Sandie and Jo were late arriving. Greg, Jill and Vince went first followed by Sandie and Jo just behind.

 

The weather was mizzly but warm, making a light covering of moisture on a bone dry surface tricky to master. Sadly with the stands having been shipped over to Portrush and the crowds watching golf on TV there was another disappointing spectator audience of zero to support this event, although rather irritatingly greenkeepers did their best to noisily follow the groups and fulfil that golfing prediction of a good walk spoiled. Zero was a popular number as it was the amount of rooks spotted at Rookery Park. Strangely the golf pro was not up for rebating green fees for that blatant piece of mis-selling.

 

In group 1 Greg stormed away with a fairway and green hit in regulation but missed the 4 foot birdie putt. Decentish play continued on much of the first 5 holes for Greg until rumblings of a bad back re-surfaced limiting his swing. Unable to even put the ball down on the tee Greg gave it up as a bad job after 7 holes and retired hurt. His goose was cooked, his race was run and the larger body shaped lady had sung. With 3 back interruptions in 3 months it looks like more detailed medical opinions are needed.

 

Meantime back with those playing all 18, there was a friendly approach to the game with Jill, Sandie and Vincento all getting 12 points, and Jo on 15 points. Jill managed a birdie on a par 5, Vince had his normal collection of good scores and blobs. Jo was the most consistent with no blobs at all, and it has to be said a very neatly marked card that was handed in. The Tour has not yet awarded a handwriting prize but that’s one for consideration for sure.

 

On the 9th hole the 2 x 2 balls came together as a 4 ball to complete the round as Greg miserably slunk off home for 48 hours of ceiling watching.

 

Vince had just returned from a couple of weeks in the Arctic and with endless sun boosting his melanin levels to an all timehigh, he had clearly de-frosted posting a devastating run of 12 points in 3 holes, including a birdie 2 for 5, a 4 for 4 and a paltry six for 3. With the risk of securing at least 3 more rounds of significant verbal abuse for having too many shotsVince decided to ease back and protect the handicap with 8 points in the next 7 holes to finish on 20 points for the 9 and 32 points overall.

 

Jill produced the kind of form we are used to – steady, solid and 17 points towards the best front and back 9 holechallenge, to get to 29 in total.

 

Jo stumbled early on in the back 9 with a couple of blobs but a strong 9 points in 3 holes finish including her own birdie saw her repeat the 15 point score for 30 overall.

 

Sandie who had played well but struggled on the greens on the first 9 put together her best back 9 of the season. Quick off the blocks with 9 points in 3 holes including a birdie 2, :Sanders” had 18 points after 8 holes, …. And 18 after 9 too. That made 30 points for Sandie.

 

So with every one getting a birdie and with the newly introduced SSS adjustment law coming into play and giving the ladies 2 extra points it made the outcome amazingly close.Vince had 32 + 0 (£2.50), Sandie and Jo 28 + 2 each in a tie for the imaginery silver medal (.75p).  Jill with 27 + 2 had 29 points just a smidgeon behind (0p).

STOP PRESS: Sadly there were 2 mistakes in terms of points allocated on the cards. Jill wrongly gave herself  5 for 1 on a ladies par 5 so should have had 2 points and a total of 30. While Sandie had a 6 for 2 on a par 4 with only 1 shot so should have been 1 point for total 29. Therefore Jill and Sandie swap places. 

 

No photos this week due to injured photographer issues. Apologies.

 

So we head further south to warmer climes and to the beach next week to Felixstowe. A good turnout is shaping up, have fun.

Round Norfolk summer golf round 15 at Bury St Edmunds

The Sunshine Salver

Round Norfolk summer golf round 14 took place at Bury St Edmunds on Wednesday. With the potential of the odd spot of rain then today’s field had been reduced to just 6 but as it turned out it was fine and sunny all day. There had been after a number of late withdrawals due to illness, work and housework pressure. It was a welcome return for 4 players as Chris and Kevin (cycle trip), Greg (holiday) and Sandie (not had a better offer) we’re back in the line up. Jo and Bob were the only players left from last week's trip to Barnham Broom where they had added £1 to this weeks nearest the pin jackpot rollover. 

With groups drawn it was off to the first tee. There was early drama when Chris dropped her ball, marker, pencil and teess down the toilet (hopefully just before) a last minute wee.

Chris's golf bits and bobs going down the pan

Bob was put in charge of making sure Chris and Kevin didn’t get distracted with any romantic interludes during the round as the first group set off. Kevin had decided to adopt the ‘only user the driver in emergencies’ strategy that had gained him a surprise victory on his last appearance. Despite missing hitting most of his 3 wood tee shots he didn’t put himself out of any holes so thanks to some good approach work and solid putting had the halfway lead on 19 pts.

Kevin tees off on the first as Chris shows absolutely no interest

Chris and Bob were matching each other after both opened up with a Par on the first hole and there was never more than a couple of points between them. However Bob kept hitting his approach shots into the bunkers and had a run of 5 1 pointers in 7 holes to finish on 15 points.

Bob in another bunker, this time by the 7th green

Chris was struggling to finish holes off and had 4 1 pointers on the front 9 to be one point better off on 16.

Chris tees off down the 5th

In the group behind Greg was put in charge of looking after the ladies to make sure the focus was on the golf and not chatting about knitting and kittens etc. The responsibility combined with no one to be outraged with on the long march to many of the red tee boxes obviously affected his game as he only managed 6 pts in first 5 holes before recovering to 14 at halfway.

Greg beginning to get his game back together on the 5th

Sadly he fell away again on the back 9 with 3 blobs over the last few holes. His round was summed up on the last when after hitting a tree he ended up 100 yards further away from the hole than he had started. He ended with the wooden spoon and only 27 points that dented his average points comp challenge although he still hols a slender lead.

After starting with an opening blob Sandie then put in a solid run but with no 3 pointers also had 14 at halfway. 

Sandie in trouble on the first

It wasn’t the case on the back 9 where Sandie lived up to her name spending much time in the bunkers. Greg suggested that she could consider adding a deck chair to her bag to make full use of the facility. However on the non sandpit holes she was doing much better with several 3 pointers and, after unfortunately rolling off the back of the nearest the pin green, going on to make her birdie. On a high scoring day her 31 points was still some way short of the prizes.

Sandie in another bunker, by the 18th green

Jo had had a convincing win at Barnham Broom last week and was clearly keen to make the most of her good form as she built a good foundation with 19 points and a share of the lead at the turn. The highlight being a birdie on the par 5 4th.

Jo was in the bunker while her ball stayed out, very confusing

In the group ahead all the players got off to good back 9 starts. Kevin parred the first 4 holes (2 after driving into fairway bunkers) while Bob birdied the 13th. It was a hole he had birdied before so it didn’t help his eclectic(shame). On the following hole he had the only blob of any player in the group and this cost him as Chris pulled into the lead as he finished on 32 points.

Bob makes his birdie on the 13th.

On the 17th hole Chris remembered the SSS rule now used on tour and after consulting the score card claimed a courtesy shot for the day. Despite this and 10 points over the closing 4 holes she could only get to 35 points and third place.

Chris gets out the bunker on the 10th (there seem to be a lot of bunker photos today!)

It was now between the halfway leaders, Kevin and Jo to see who would come out on top. After taking the nearest the pin prize Jo finished strongly with 11 points in the last 4 holes for a 39 point total.

Jo finishes with a par on the last, but would it be enough

However Kevin was riding his luck as his no driver strategy was paying off with only Pars or bogeys on his back 9. As he stood over a short downhill put on the last he had a chance to equal the course record and take the lead in the best round of the year comp. But he bottled it to finish on 41 pts and his second win in a row.

Kevin hits the green from the fairway bunker on 11 for one of 6 back 9 pars

He now shares the lead with Andrew on 41 points for best round of the year. Executive chairman, Golf Dinosaur Monster confirmed that in the event of a tie then the players second best round will be used to decide the winner. This is currently Kevin with a 38 at Cromer.

Next week is a first for the RNSG tour as neither Bob or Kevin will be playing at Rookery park so Greg has kindly “volunteered"  to run the day. As the tour is a dictatorship and not a democracy then Greg’s ruling is final.

Things are certainly starting to hot up at the top of the leaderboards although Jo and Kevin have put down strong markers in the opening scrimmages of the best 3 front and back 9s in July, August and September (plus October this year).

The Barnham Broom Valley Vase. Round 14

The 14th round of the 2019 Round Norfolk Summer Golf Tour took place at Barnham Broom on Tuesday 2nd July. As a result of several withdrawals, the line-up was reduced to three – Jo, Robert and Bob. On the plus side, organising the groups was a lot quicker than normal.

Some discussion took place about the possibility of Jo receiving extra shots but after a lot of head scratching it was decided to refer it to Golf Dinosaur afterwards – leaving the possibility of a VAR like review affecting the outcome of the match.

Despite the low turnout, every effort had been made to prepare the course and limit its use by other golfers. It felt like we had the course to ourselves and the group wondered what it would be like to have your own golf course. Then some of the group realised that they did have their own golf course!

Expectations were high for an enjoyable round of golf. After 20 minutes of demanding stretches and practise shots (actually coffee in the Sports Bar), play got under way.

Group selfie taken by someone not used to taking selfies!! Robert's obviously done this before but Bob and Joe seem to have forgotten all of Golf Dinosaur's media training.

Robert started on the par 5 first hole with a strong drive but missed the fairway to the right. After an unsuccessful search he was forced to take a drop and despite a good shot into the green was not able to score. Bob started well and was on the green for three, just missed a birdie putt and sank the return for a par. Jo was through the green in 4 shots and got down to secure a 6 for two points. First blood to Bob.

Bob at the 1st starting his back-swing (or in the middle of his down-swing?) - answers on a postcard.

The next two holes offered plenty of water jeopardy which was avoided by everyone. However, Jo was the only one to make a par (on the 3^rd) which helped ease her into the lead.

Jo sending her 2nd shot on the 2nd hole over the water and on to the fringe of the green.

Meanwhile, Robert was quietly getting himself back into contention after a poor start and a magnificent tee shot on the long par 3 4th set him up for a narrow birdie miss and a tap in par. Bob hit a poor tee shot and ended up with a 5. Jo, despite landing in the hazard, still got onto the green and down for a 5 and 1 point to maintain her slender lead.

3 balls on the 4th green - Robert's (on the left) there in 1 and the other two there in 3

The next 5 holes looked like it could be the turning point in the game as everyone struggled to play to their handicaps. Both Robert and Bob had two blobs but Jo managed to score on every hole.

At the halfway stage the scores were:

Jo – 16      Robert – 12      Bob - 11  

Jo and Bob started the back 9 well, managing to hit the narrow fairway of the par 5 10th, and both comfortably scored 2 points. Robert on the other hand pushed his drive just into the rough on the right and then zig-zagged his way up to the green but ran out of shots. 

Robert trying to thread the needle on the 10th.

The par 4 11^th (the 2^nd hardest hole) saw Jo sink a long putt for par and then go on to recover from a green side bunker on the 12^th to make 5 and extend her lead. Bob dug out a 5 on the 11^th after a poor tee shot but failed to score on the 12^th after hitting a superb tee shot (that’s golf!). Robert only managed a point from a good position on the 11^th but recovered well on the 12^th from two poor shots to make a 5 and move into second place with Bob.

Jo rushing back from her pit stop on the 12th.

Robert looking like he's got too many clubs to choose from but actually managing two trolleys at once (while Jo ambles back from her pit stop) and proving that the age of chivalry is not dead.

After 12 holes the scores were:

Jo – 23      Robert – 15       Bob - 15

For the next 4 holes, Robert and Bob went toe to toe in pursuit of second place. By the start of the 17^th, Bob was leading by 1 point. At this point, Robert got careless off the tee and failed to score on the next two holes. Bob managed to score on both holes, finishing in what must be the lowest second place score ever (verification required by statto!).

Meanwhile, Jo was sailing serenely on, finishing with a par on the 18^th, and showing the boys how to play golf. The course record (held by the author) could have been at risk if a few more putts had dropped instead of slipping just by. Her only blemish came on the 16^th, just after Robert whispered to Bob that she hadn't had a blob!

The final scores were: 

Jo – 34      Bob – 25      Robert - 21

No-one made the green on the nearest the pin, although Jo was just inches off the green. So a huge sum of £1(?) will be carried forward to next week at Bury St Edmunds.

Footnote:

It turns out that the Bawburgh Ladies are playing Barnham Broom in a League match very soon so Jo was keen to play this round to check out the state of the course. Taking a leaf out of the USA soccer team play-book, she took the opportunity to sneak into the ladies changing room afterwards to look at who would be playing. That’s when it all unravelled as she bumped in to the Barnham Broom Ladies captain and tried to convince her she was looking for the toilet!!  Just make sure you win Jo.

Fun Fact:

It turns out that Robert’s nickname is ‘Bear’, so be careful next time you give him a hug!