Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2015. USPGA at Woodbridge

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2015 USPGA took place at Woodbridge last Tuesday and turned out to be the most exciting event of the season as any of the 4 players could have won as the players tee'd off on the last hole.

Sadly due to sickness the field had been reduced to 4 and was nearly reduced to 3 as John H got stuck in traffic and nearly missed his allotted tee time. There was much grumbling about not being able to warm up as he stepped on to the tee only to hit the perfect tee shot. Ian, who had been warming up for about 45 minutes shanked his tee shot towards a gorse bush near the tee and then duffed a couple more before failing to score. Just shows how overrated warming up is.

John H teeing off on 1st

 Lack of warm may have been the reason that after his good start John H then struggled and only had 10 pts after 8 holes. However he was clearly warmed up by the 9th to birdie it and finish on 14 pts.

Kevin started solidly and was right on handicap with 12 pts after 6 until back to back blobs restrict him to 14 pts at halfway as well.

Kevin Teeing off on the 5th

After a slow start John B was also putting in a consistent 9 but a blob on the 6th restricted him to 14pts also. The second hole is called the Butts but he couldn't tame his name sake as his attempts to putt up the slope kept returning to his feet (hit it harder man!)

John B sinking a putt on the 3rd

Meanwhile Ian had decided to play all or nothing golf. He blobed 4 and parred 4 of the front 9 to have a one point lead on 15 at half way.

Ian's fairway bunker shot on 3rd 

With only one point between all four players the back 9 was set up for a ding dong battle. All the players were clearly up for it as there were only 3 more blobs between them.

More Bunker action this time featuring John B

The lead changed hand on virtually every hole and it took a birdie on the non stroke hole 13th from Kevin just to keep him in touch.

Kevin teeing off on back 9

With two holes to go Ian had 27 pts and the others 28 but John H then 3 putted from a few feet before driving his teeshot on the last into a nearby gorse bush and his chance of glory had gone.

John putting as Ian wills the ball away from the hole

Kevin also only got 1 pt on the 17th and with no shot on the 18th was out of the running. Despite an excellent par (including a shank into the rough) Kevin could only watch on as Ian (who had got back into joint lead by parring 17) and John B both secured 2 pts to share the tittle and become joint winners of the USPGA.

Ian teeing off on par 3 12th as John wills it into a gorse bush

It was not only an excellent game but Woodbridge was considered the nicest course we had played this year so another round in the Autumn needs to be arranged for those players that missed out.

The main change on leader boarder was Kevin's birdie stretching his eclectic lead back to two birdies.

The tour moves on to Eaton next week

Leader board

	Kevin	John	Bob	Chris	Ian	John B	Prize
Prize money	£26.50	£6.00	£15.50	£20.25	£12.00	£4.25	£  84.50
Average Stableford points	30.71	28.33	28.40	31.86	29.50	29.33	£    7.38
Most Stableford points	41	33	37	42	39	32	£    7.38
Eclectic	-16	-10.33	-14.7	-11.5	-10.4	0.5	£    7.38
July, August & Sept Best Front & Back	41	37		41        39	32	34	£    7.38
Average Blobs per round	2.4	3.8	3.9	2.5	3.5	3.0	Cup
Number Rounds	17	12	15	14	8	3
Prize fund contribution	£   21.00	£    15.00	£  17.00	£    16.00	£    10.00	£    5.00

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2015. Round 16 at Caister

 Wednesday saw Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2015 round 16 take place at Caister. A field of 4 lined up on a chilly summers day.

There was early controversy on the first as Kevin, John and Bob all hit their teeshots into the trouble on the left. John and Bob both found their balls in the heather but Kevin did not and took a penalty drop near a bush it might have gone into. Whereas John and Bob struggled to get out the heather and failed to score, Kevin was able to put his shot to the edge of the green and secure two points. There was much muttering re genouoros drop rules etc 

John's tee shot heading for the heather on the first.

John continued in inconsistent form with good and bad holes leading to 13 pts after 9. Bob got off to one of his typical slow starts and was lucky to have as many as 2 point afters 3 holes when John found his wayward teeshot in the long rough on the second and he scrambled two points. A good recovery on next few holes meant he had 15 pts at the turn.

Bob lucky to find wayward teeshot on second hole

After his controvsual start Kevin played a solid front 9 only spoiled by a badly positioned gorse bush on the 4th and an unexpected shank on the 9th for 17 pts at halfway.

Good approach on 3rd leading to a par

Chris was showing no signs of nerves after having 3 cut from her handicap to 19 hitting the ball sweetly and racking up 21 pts on the front 9 scoring 2 or 3 pts on every hole.

Good approach chip on the difficult par 4 (or not so difficult par 5) 4th hole for 2 pts

The back 9 proved to be a more exciting contest than the front 9 suggested as a couple of 1 pts from Chris, par and birdie from Bob and lots of solid 2 pts from Kevin meant after 12 holes only 2 pts seperated the top 3. Unfortunately John didn't join the party. His back 9 was either very good or very bad and he added another 13 pts for 26 overall and out the prizes.

John deciding to lay up with his second on par 5 13 hitting the ball nearly 10 yards

After birding the 12th to get back into contention Bob cracked and got only 3 points over the next 5 holes to finish in 3rd on 28 pts.

Bobs successful birdie putt

This left just Kevin and Chris to battle it out and they were level on 32 pts with two to play. But with no shot on the 17th Kevin managed only a single point and fell behind.

Kevin second on par 5 15th leading to a par

However Chris finished with a strong par, par for 38 pts leaving Kevin in second on 35.

The comp takes a break next week before a field of 5 line up at Woodbridge for the US PGA.

The eclectic completion hotted up with Bob now just 0.3 behind Kevin
Leader board

	Kevin	John	Bob	Chris	Ian	John B	Prize
Prize money	£25.50	£6.00	£15.50	£20.25	£8.25	£0.50	£  76.00
Average Stableford points	30.69	28.27	28.40	31.86	29.14	28.00	£    6.75
Most Stableford points	41	33	37	42	39	31	£    6.75
Eclectic	-15	-9.4	-14.7	-11.5	-7.5	6.5	£    6.75
July, August & Sept Best Front & Back	41	37		41        39		31	£    6.75
Average Blobs per round	2.4	3.9	3.9	2.5	3.3	3.5	Cup
Number Rounds	16	11	15	14	7	2
Prize fund contribution	£   19.00	£    13.00	£  17.00	£    16.00	£    6.00	£    3.00

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2015. Round 15 at Barnham Broom Valley

Tuesday saw Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2015 round 15 take place at Barnham Broom Valley course which not only had the most inconsistent golf of the year but real controversy that Bob was still moaning about the next day (and two days after that).

An entry of 4 had turned up on the first tee to see Kevin hit the perfect tee shot; long with just the right amount of left to right to take out the corner. Unfortunately he then clattered a tree, miss hit an iron and three putted to stomp off with no points. His front 9 continued very much in the same way with a mix of very good and very bad shots leading to just 13 pts.

Kevin hitting a good tee shot on 6th leading to a par

Chris was struggling as well and not striking the ball as cleanly as usual, she only managed 14 pts at this stage.

Sliced teeshot off the 5th and another scamble for a point

John was doing better scoring solidly and hitting the pin with his tee shot to par 3 4th for a deserved birdie. However 2 front 9 blobs resticted him to 16 pts.

Slightly pushed tee shot on second but still got 2 pts

Meanwhile Bob was on fire and was only 1 over the course after 7 holes and 21pts. The highlight being a birdie on the 5th. He finished with an incredible 24 halfway points.

A miss hit teeshot off the first but good play from there led to a par

However golf is a game of two halves and Bob very much ran out of steam on the back 9 with 3 blobs and only 11 (later adjusted to 13) more points to post 35 pts (later adjusted to 37). However on the short 16th after the blind teeshots Bob played an excellent chip over a tree and bunker onto the green leaving a good birdie chance. Kevin was too busy looking for his ball to see the shot. However it soon transpired that Bob had played Kevin's ball and the precedent had been set previously that this was a two shot penalty and when Bob did find his ball a few feet away he couldn't repeat the shot and got a blob. (the next day Bob was still whinging about how it was Kevins fault for looking in the wrong place and then was about to play the wrong ball in a comp at Bawburgh before Kevin stopped him getting another penalty, will he ever learn?) (Then on Saturday Bob produced a file of further evidence showing in a previous round this year John H had played the wrong ball and was not penalised. To stop legal action being taken the tournament committee agreed to give him his 2 pts on the 16th back. Hopefully bringing the matter to a close).

Bob trying to clear river on 11th but failed on struggled to get his point

John was again playing solidly but the odd mistake left him with 15 more points and 33 overall.

John taking a break 

Kevin started well parring the opening 3 back 9 holes and adding 3 more pars for 19 pts and 32 in total, just enough to secure the £1 second place prize.

Kevin's approach to 14th leading to a par

Chris also picked up her game and parred the last 3 for 18 pts and 32 overall as well to share the 50p 3rd place prize.

After playing the hole round the back of the pond she still secured 2 pts on the 11th

It was noted that Kevin, Chris and Bob all managed 21 pts from their 7 best holes and very few points from the other 11.

The main change on the leader board is that Bob has closed the gap on the eclectic and is just two birdies behind Kevin. He also has equalled Kevin on 41 pts for best front and back 9 in July, August and September and with a half decent back 9 would take the lead.

Tour moves on to the links of Caister next week.

Leader board

	Kevin	John	Bob	Chris	Ian	John B	Prize
Prize money	£24.50	£6.00	£15.00	£17.75	£8.25	£0.50	£  72.00
Average Stableford points	30.40	28.50	28.43	31.38	29.14	28.00	£    6.75
Most Stableford points	41	33	37	42	39	31	£    6.75
Eclectic	-15	-9.4	-13.7	-9.5	-7.5	6.5	£    6.75
July, August & Sept Best Front & Back	41	37		41        32		31	£    6.75
Average Blobs per round	2.5	3.9	3.9	2.6	3.3	3.5	Cup
Number Rounds	15	10	14	13	7	2
Prize fund contribution	£   18.00	£    12.00	£  16.00	£    15.00	£    6.00	£    3.00

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2015. British Open at Thorpeness

Wednesday saw Round Norfolk Summer golf British Open take place at Thorpeness. A bumper field of 6 had entered to chase the big £5 first prize. The drama started early in the car park as the worry of thorn bushes scratching cars meant much re parking before John B was finally happy with the arrangement.

Back at the golf the first group set off up the opening hole and it wasn't long before Chris had found the first gorse bush of the day. A penalty drop meant she struggled for a point and her front 9 continued with her scrambling points in order to get to 14.

Chris Putting 

Jim, who has apparently eagled the 3rd hole here, was making his tour debt and opened with a solid par on the first. However after this he started to struggled and four 1 pointers and a blob meant he only had 13 pts at halfway.

Jim approach to first

New tour bandit Kevin, started well with a par and birdie on the opening two holes of a very consistent first half not dropping a point against handicap to finish on 20 pts.

Kevin making birdie putt on 2nd

Meanwhile the second group were involved in more strange antics as John B's bright gold shirt attracts huge mutant flies from Sizewell and to avoid being eaten he took it off to putt on the first green semi naked. He eventually turned his shirt inside out to expose less attractive (to the flies) white material but more attractive than no shirt. He went on to play pretty well to be in second place with 16 pts at halfway.

John about to remove gold shirt on the first

It was a slow start for the group who took to the par 3 7th before playing a hole which didn't require looking for a ball they didn't have to look. John H managed to blob first 3 holes but save his first outburst to the 4th where he picked up his first points. Two further blobs meant he only had 10 pts. He claimed this was because his sat nav watch showing different reading to everybody elses.

One of many ball hunts this time on the 4th, but where's Bob?
(answer:behind th tree)

Bob started with too many 1 pointers but pars on 8 and 9 dragged him up to 15 pts going into the front 9.

As the second half got underway Jim had still not found his A game and continued to struggle adding only 10 more points to finish last on 23 pts. 

Jim Eyeing up a putt before missing it

Despite his recovery on 8 and 9 Bobs did not manage to stage a Bob charge and fell away with only 11 more points and out of the prizes with 26 pts. His most dramatic moment came just after 16th (where he and John B managed to loose 4 balls off the tee) before a car tried to reverse into him as he crossed the road.

Bob in trouble 

John B continued to play solidly and despite a couple of blobs collected 15 points for 31 in total. 

John about to lose a ball on the 16th.

From nowhere John found his Best golf with 5 pars and 2 bogeys giving him 19 points setting a grand finish. Great drive on 17th needed a gap wedge onto the green, great contact - ball straight into front bunker three shots to get out - blob. 18th great tee shot great rescue to the back of the green - 3 putted from 8 ft so got 21 on back 9 (useful in best front and back nine in July/August/Sept comp) and a disappointing 31 pts overall.

Chris was to starting to play well and an excellent and solid back 9 got her 18 more points to sneak second place on 32.

Chris in bunker on 8th

Runaway leader Kevin continued in good form and despite taking two in the 10th hole bunker got another 21 points for a total of 41 and the British open title to go with the U.S. Open title he won last month.

Hitting out of fairway bunker on to 11th green

Tour moves on to the Valley next week with all players competing in at least one of the competitions.

Scores

	Kevin	John	Bob	Chris	Ian	John B	Prize
Prize money	£24.25	£5.00	£12.50	£17.50	£8.25	£0.50	£  68.00
Average Stableford points	30.29	28.00	27.77	31.33	29.14	28.00	£    6.50
Most Stableford points	41	33	33	42	39	31	£    6.50
Eclectic	-15	-8.5	-11.7	-9.5	-7.5	6.5	£    6.50
July, August & Sept Best Front & Back	41	31		32        32		31	£    6.50
Average Blobs per round	2.4	4.0	4.0	2.7	3.3	3.5	Cup
Number Rounds	14	9	13	12	7	2
Prize fund contribution	£   17.00	£    11.00	£  15.00	£    14.00	£    6.00	£    3.00

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2015. Round 13 at Sprowston manor

Tuesday saw Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2015 round 13 at Sprowston Manor. A disappointing field of 3 turned out with a weather forecast suggesting a day of heavy rain. However the rain mainly stayed away so conditions looked good for golf. The practice putting green suggested that the greens could be fast and this certainly turned out to be the case with none of the players getting to grips with them.

Chris had a very disappointing opening 9 scoring only 6 pts. This was partly due to having a bad headache before the drugs kicked in.

Teeshot on long par 5 5th but finished pointless

Bob was soon into his stride with a 4 pt birdie on the short par 5 second. Sadly for his eclectic he had already birdied the 2nd hole this year. He let things slip at the end of the nine with four successive 1 pointers and 13 points at halfway.

1st of 4 putts on par 4 1st hole

Kevin was scambling well and visiting many bunkers to score on 8 of the first 9 and a halfway lead on 16pts.

Kevin Successfully getting out bunker on second hole for a par. One of many bunkers the players went in

On the back nine Chris's game started to come back and despite her losing interest she picked up 15 pts for 21 overall and the 50p 3rd place prize.

After dufffing teeshot a good recovery chip to par 3 10th

Meanwhile as Kevin scored erratically Bob started to close the gap.

After wide teeshot Bob laid up on long par 4 11th.
This proved a wise plan as both Chris and Kevin hit their shots into the greenside pond.rushes

Coming down the par 5 last Kevin had a 2 pt lead only to cart his drive into a lateral water hazard and had to take a drop. Bob saw his chance and after a poor drive hit two good shots to be on the green in 3 with Kevin 20 yards short of green in 4. However when Mr pressure came knocking Kevin was not at home as he chipped to within a couple of feet. Despite Bob making his par Kevin sunk the putt for a one point win.

Kevin Birdie putt on par 5 13th. He missed it and then missed the one for par as well

No changes in the eclectic but Chris has given the tour players a bit of hope on closing the average stableford points gap.

The tour moves on to the British open at Thorpeness where a bumper field of 6 is expected.

Scores

	Kevin	John	Bob	Chris	Ian	John B	Prize
Prize money	£19.25	£4.50	£12.50	£15.50	£8.25	£0.00	£  60.00
Average Stableford points	29.46	27.63	27.92	31.27	29.14	24.00	£    5.75
Most Stableford points	37	33	33	42	39	24	£    5.75
Eclectic	-14	-7.5	-10.7	-9.5	-7.5	20.5	£    5.75
July, August & Sept Best Front & Back	31			30        21			£    5.75
Average Blobs per round	2.6	3.8	4.0	2.8	3.3	3.0	Cup
Number Rounds	13	8	12	11	7	1
Prize fund contribution	£   15.00	£    9.00	£  13.00	£    12.00	£    6.00	£    1.00