Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2017. Round 20 at Halesworth

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2017. Round 20 at Halesworth

Hurricane at Peacock Hollow

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2017 round 20, took place at Halesworth on Thursday. Tour rookie Greg came out for his third event of the year, which was just as well as this turned out to be the least well attended event of the year. Greg obviously saw his opportunity to move up the money list! John (Herring) and Bob made up the numbers. Sandie had been expected to play but she was snaffled by Danny in the clubhouse on Wednesday to play in a club friendly.

Bob struggling to master the art of taking a selfie. The other two seem to have got the hang of it!

Since no balls needed to be thrown in the air, the round got under way 5 minutes early. However, the smug smiles soon disappeared when it was realised that the group was following a women's invitational event made up of groups of 4 that were already starting to back up on each other.

The course looked in superb condition, especially the greens. Everyone teed off successfully. John delivered an elegant shot to the green and followed this with a two putt for a par. Bob missed the green but pitched in close to the pin and sank his putt for a par. Greg placed his second in a good position just off the green but 3 putted for a bogey.

After this Greg upped his game and parred the next two holes but after running just off the green with his tee shot on the par 3 4th, he took 4 shots to reach the hole and no points. A further two pars and 3 double bogeys meant that Greg, despite having the Tour's lowest handicap (9), ended up with 15 points at the half way stage.

Greg showing good form on the fairway.

John's first hole par turned out to be his only par of the front 9. His strategy of hitting his three wood off the tee seemed to be working as he struck some lovely drives. However, he failed to capitalise on some good positions and made the halfway stage with 14 points.

One of the famous Halesworth peacocks

Bob started well with two pars and then drove his tee shot on the 3rd out of bounds. He recovered to claim a point and went on to hit two further pars. Despite a no score on the 9th he finished the front 9 with a healthy 19 points.

Up until the 8th hole the play had been largely with the wind. However, it soon became apparent that all of the low stroke index holes were playing directly into the wind which definitely felt like a 2 to 3 club wind at times.

Greg started the back 9 strongly and over the next 5 holes gradually reduced Bob's lead. However, a no score on the 15th after a strong drive and a no score on the par 3 16th effectively ended his challenge and he finished with 30 points in total.

John continued the back 9 with mainly good drives but mixed fortune with his second shot and not many highlights (very unlike John) to finish with a total of 26 points.

John showing a clean pair of heels at the 16th

Bob started his back 9 strongly with two pars and then attempted to sabotage his round when he drove into the rough on the 12th and subsequently scored no points. However, despite a further blob later on he held his round together with some good recovery shots and putts to make a total of 36 to take first place.

Next week is the final major of the year, the US PGA, which has been rearranged at Swaffham on Wednesday 23rd Aug, with a bumper entry of 10.

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2017. Round 19 at Bury St Edmunds

The Sandcastle Invitational

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2017 round 19 took place at Bury St Edmunds on Thursday. Tour rookie, Greg, came out for his second event of the year and was joined by 9 hole specialist, John, who was making a reappearance now his favourite 'best three front nines and best three back nines in July, August and September (BTFNABTBNIJAAS)' competition was underway. As the current holder of the winter tour nine hole courses championship he has a proven record in this type of event.

Balls were up in the air but due to recent controversy it was recorded and scrutinised by RNSG tour officials to make sure the groupings had been fairly selected.

Balls in the air being correctly performed for once

Once the players had received the thumbs up from the officials and had their balls returned then everyone set off for the first tee.

Bob and Chris went first and Bob was soon up to his old tricks with his all or nothing golf resulting in 4 pars and 2 blobs on the front 9 where he finished with an impressive 19 pts.

Bob teeing off on the 4th and a blob followed

Chris was more consistent but with too much tree and bunker action restricted her to 15 pts. After binning her old putter after her last round on Monday she got to try her new one for the very first time on the opening hole which seemed a very confident approach to her short game. Apparently 'It's just a putter, what difference can it make?' As it turned out, not a lot.

With a strong wind blowing the buzz around the media tent was that 30 points would be a good score today and as the wind got up the second group off certainly thought this would be the case. But surprisingly they all got off to a good start and each had 7 points after 4 holes.

Sadly John was first to start to suffer as 5 successive 1 point holes held him back to 12 points at the turn. However it was good to hear the return of muttering and effing and jeffing round the fairways and greens again, something the RNSG fans have been missing as John has been playing in Europe for much of the year.

John missing a birdie chance before giving himself a good (but unprintable) talking too

Greg was playing well tee to green but couldn't hole out any of those testing 4 foot putts that get your round going and he slipped down the leaderboard with 13 pts.

Greg exiting the bunker on the 6th fairway

Kevin had started the round duffing his ball 3 times down the first fairway so it was a surprise to everyone (especially himself) when he suddenly got going being helped by his putter that sunk several good ones. He shared the lead at halfway with Bob on 19 pts.

Kevin can't believe what a hash he made of this birdie putt on the second.

Chris started the back 9 slowly but then got going with 4 pars in 5 holes to get her score to 31 pts. At the start of the day this looked like being a good score but it would take Kevin and Bob to blow up for her to win, although history tells us this could easily happen.

Chris tees off on 18 but could only manage a single point

Meanwhile Greg was on a charge with 4 pars to start the back 9. By the time he got to the 18th tee he had 30 pts and a par would overtake Chris's score. Unfortunately his tee shot found the fairway bunker and after taking two to get out his chances were over as he finished on 30 points.

2 putts from Greg leads to a par on the 11th

John had a very similar back 9 to his front not making the most of his chances. He did get very excited on the 16th when he announced he had finally hit a straight drive, although it didn't last to the final two holes. However his attempt to win the BTFNABTBNIJAAS competition had not start well as he finished in last place on 26pts.

Bunker action from John on the 10th

In the front group Bob was playing solidly but then putted in from off the green for a birdie on the 14th. Everyone, especially Kevin, were very upset to find out later that it was a hole he had already birdied this year so didn't improve his eclectic (shame). However it was the hole that made all the difference as Kevin found the trees with his second on the same hole and could only get a single point.

Bobs second on 18 when after his ball had bounced out off a tree (yet again)

Bob went on to get 37 pts and Kevin 35 to finish first and second but the big £2.50 first prize sent Bob back to the top of the money list.

Final group stoking the putts that none of them made on the last hole

It's looking particularly close in all of the RNSG competitions and with just 8 rounds left to play there is no clear favourite in any of them.

Next week is the final major of the year the US PGA at Purdis Heath where it is rumoured that there could be a record entry! Golf Pig can't wait.

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2017. Round 18 at Stowmarket

The Stowmarket Saucer at Stowmarket

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2017 round 18 took place at Stowmarket on Tuesday.  It was a day that saw much change in the leaderboards and a new favourite appear for many of this years competitions.

The day once again started with controversy as it appeared that the balls in the air were rigged in order to produce the groupings. The RNSG take this sort of thing very seriously so the audit and corruption committee plan to urgently investigate and hope to report back sometime in 2023.

Kevin and Bob had not played Stowmarket before but fortunately were paired with Mike who had played it on a society day in about 1987 so was able to offer advice although none of it turned out to be true. Mike got things underway but although he played well tee to green he failed to get the hang of the greens and threw away many points on and around the putting surface. He had only 11 halfway points.

Mike finding his ball in the same bush all 3 players went in,
after Mike claimed he remembered the best line for the hole

Bob was finally back from injury but his enforced lay off meant he started of rustily and failed to make a par on the first 9 holes to record 12 pts.

Bob playing approach to 3rd hole

Kevin was having a bunker round going in several during the day but fortunately he had bought his hot putter this week and a number of single putts kept his round going with 16 pts at the turn.

Kevin gets up and down for a par on the 3rd

In the group behind Chris was struggling with toothache again and was unable to score well. After a slow start of 3 pts in the first 4 holes, she was more solid over the next ones and got up to 13.

Chris in Bunker on 2nd hole and 1 point

Both Jo and Robert were regular players at Stowmarket and it showed as Robert started with and opening par. Only a blob on the tricky 245 yard par 3 restricted his score to 15pts at halfway.

Roberts teeshot on 4th leading to his only front 9 blob

Meanwhile Jo had gone points crazy scoring 2 or 3 points on every opening hole and demonstrating that golf is an easy game if you avoid trees and sand. She had 21 points which was not only good for the best 3 front and back 9's competition but had her well placed to take the lead in the most points in a round comp as well.

Boring straight drive from Jo

Mike continued in much the same way as the front 9 although he felt he had been unlucky when his ball hit a 'fir cone' as he chipped out from under some big oak trees. It seemed unlikely seeing as oak trees only produce acorns but nevertheless his playing partners pretended to agree he had been very unfortunate (there, there). It wasn't until the 15th hole he finally got a 3 pointer but by then it was too late as he finished on 26 pts.

Mike driving off on 14 shortly after Kevin had driven his into the trees (again)

This was not the worst of the day as Robert attempted to set the most blobs in 9 holes recorded. He started well with 3 in the first 5 holes but could only manage one more in the final holes and couldn't break the current record of  5, that has done been on 3 previous occasions. It did restrict him to 25 points and a share of last place.

Robert putting for a final point on the 18th

Last weeks Open winner, Chris, also struggled and it wasn't until the 17th that she managed her only 3 point hole of the round. Sadly she followed it up with a blob and also had 25 pts at the end.

Jo and Chris trying to see where the mens tee was from the ladies.
Unfortunately it is not possible to see that far with the naked eye

Bob looked like he might also finish with a share of last place as he had 21 pts after 16 holes but on the 17th he finally hit a straight drive which led to a par par finish and 27 pts which got him the 3rd place 50p prize and confidence is now high for better things next week.

Bob playing out the rough, again

Kevin was having a lot of luck as he escaped from out the trees on several occasions to somehow muster 5 pars and 19 pts on the back 9. His 35 points was a good score but would it be enough to beat Jo.

Kevin once again finds a bunker, this time on the 11th

It didn't look that way as she started the back 9 the way she finished the first and was 4 under her handicap after 14. But after a dropped shot on 15 she found herself behind a hedge on the 16th and it looked like the wheels might be about to fall off. However she calmly selected a wedge before unexpectedly smashed the ball right through the hedge cleverly taking off just the right amount of pace to put the ball back on the green. With the danger averted she went on to reach 38 points.

Jo holing her winning putt

Not only did Jo win the £2.50 first prize but her score also took her to the top of the most points in a round list, while her blob free round means she tops that comp too (subject to playing the minimum 6 qualifying rounds).

Kevin's £1.00 second place takes him back to the top of the money list but with another big Field expected a Bury St Edmunds next week the leaderboards could all soon change again.   

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2017. Round 17 The Open at Kings lynn

The Open At Kings Lynn

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2017 round 17, The Open, took place at Kings Lynn on Thursday. It was a very select group who turned up for the most prestigious round of this years tour and they each knew a win today would catapult them to the top of the money list as current leader, Bob, was still getting his newly prepared plumbing full tested before rejoining the tour, hopefully next week.

The weather forecast was not good as it started to rain on the first tee. Brollies went straight up as Jill tee'd off and unusually didn't find the fairway. It was an uncharacteristic untidy opening but with at least one good shot on each hole she picked up points on all of the front 9 to have 13.

Jill tees off in the rain although it never got worse than a drizzle

It only took until the third hole for Kevin to throw his first club of the day after a bad lie in the bunker led to a blob. The combination of ending up in a divot and his bag blowing over as he was about to hit it out, caused another huff and puff as he only had 4 pts from the first 4 holes. However a couple of good pars at least got him to a respectable 15 pts at halfway.

Kevin Having just missed a long birdie try on 5

Chris was having a bad time with toothache after having a tooth out the day before. This didn't seem to be impacting her golf though, as she started with 2 pars and then played very solidly by cleverly avoiding hitting the ball in to the trees, which was the tactic her playing partners had adopted. She stormed into a big lead with 19 points at the turn.

Chris hitting her shot from the fairway an area of the course rarely seen by the rest of the group

Chris continued to play well and when she had 4 successive pars and 34 points after 16 holes it looked like she would not only break her own course record of 36 pts but beat the highest score on tour this year of 37pts. It was therefore a bit of a surprise when she double bogeyed the last two holes for a 36 point total. It was plenty enough to win the Open and the RNSG virtual claret jug was hers. Chris now also tops the money list.

Chris putting on 12 well on her way to the virtual claret jug

Jill and Kevin were having their own competition for second place and after Kevin went in the trees, again, on the 10th Jill pulled level. In fact Kevin had to chip out of tress 11 times during the round leading to some high quality effing and jeffing. His highlight was to chip in for a birdie on the 11th which lead to him telling his playing partners (many, many times) how he had also holed his bunker shot for a birdie on the same hole last year.

One of many chip outs from the trees, this time on 10

Jill had also decided that playing off the fairway was for wimps and that trees and bunkers were more fun. However she only blobbed one hole all day so as they came to the last both her and Kevin had 27 points.

The figure in the distance is Jill teeing off on 11.
 The photo has been taken from the men's tee with the world's most powerful telescopic lens 

Remarkably they both hit reasonable tee shots before, unsurprisingly, Kevin sent his second shot into the trees near the green. However all the tree practice came good as he chipped out through a gap to about 4 foot. When Jill's third shot landed the wrong side of the slope on the green then Kevin just need to sink his putt for second place which hed did. His £2.00 prize meant he is just 30p behind Chris on the money list. 

Next week a big field is expected as the tour goes to Stowmarket for the first time in it's history.

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2017. Round 16 at Ufford Park

The Flying Beasties Cup at Ufford Park

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2017 round 16 took place at Ufford Park on Wednesday. With this years tour now well past the halfway mark several tour players had chosen to take a break this week so there was only a small entry of 3 playing today. It would mean that all players would be adding to this year's earnings and put some pressure on to Bob who currently leads the money list. He was absent today after hopefully having had his plumbing fixed.

It was also the second chance to get a good back or front 9 in the best 3 front and back 9's in July, August and September (BTFABNIJAAS) competition.

As the only player off the yellow tees today Kevin got proceedings underway and was looking solid with five 5's over the first 5 holes but then fell apart with 3 successive blobs as he kept putting his drives into the trees. A nice par on the 9th bought back a little respectability and 12 pts at this point.

Kevin 2 putting on the 4th for another 5

Jill had also started solidly over the first 4 holes but could only pick up a single point in the next 4 holes as for once her excellent short game deserted her and she only had 10 pts at the turn.

Jills opening teeshot 

Chris was at least scoring on most holes but often with only single points and she too struggled up to 12 pts at the turn.

Despite going in the pond on the 2nd Chris still managed to secure a point

The back 9 started very differently as all 3 players found the green on the short 10th. Kevin hit the best approach putt going 18 inches past as the other two mishit their shots. However when Chris sunk an outrageous 15 footer and Jill a good 6 foot one everyone knew Kevin had no chance of making his short putt. As he shanked it wide there was much giggling from his playing partners as he stomped off the green.

However those who laugh last laugh longest and despite Jill paring the next hole she couldn't maintain the momentum and could only scrape together another 7 pts on the last 7 holes and last place on 23 pts.

Jill escaping from the bunker on 13 shortly before Kevin made his birdie putt 

Chris continued to play solidly, scoring on each hole, but struggling to score big points with only one 3 pointer all day. This restricted her to 29 pts overall but after Kevin's putting wobbles would it be enough.

Chris's teeshot to the pivotal 10th hole

The answer was an emphatic NO, as Kevin went points crazy playing the last 10 holes in 3 over the course. He was able to laugh for a very long time at the end (and did) as his 33 pts got him the big £2.50 prize and his 21 pts on the back 9 in a good position in the BTFABNIJAAS competition.

Kevin looks concerned that his ball was heading for the bunker on the 12th but fortunately came up short

Next week the tour really hots up with the third major of the season, The British Open, at Kings Lynn where the big £5.00 first prize could really shake things up at the top of the money list.

Finally RNSG rules state that to win the average pts or blobs competitions you have to play in a quarter of the rounds of the player who plays the most rounds. As the most anyone can now play is 24 rounds then this is now reduced to 6 rounds minimum to qualify.

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2017. Round 15 at Sprowston Manor

North Norwich Open at Sprowston Manor

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2017 round 15 took place at Sprowston Manor on Wednesday. Four tour members had signed up, each with a different objective for the day. 

Conditions looked perfect with hard fairways, fast greens and little wind so the course appeared ready to be taken apart.

Mike, got things underway and looked pretty solid over the front 9. Only a clumsy tee shot on the 3rd, which led to his only blob of the nine, kept his front 9 over handicap with 16 pts. 

Mike Chipping up from behind 4th green for excellent up and down and 2pts

Kevin was looking in similar form but after two good early putts his putter deserted him as he failed to hole anything else from more than a couple of feet. This restricted him to 14 pts with lots of muttering.

Kevin misses birdie putt on 5th (mutter, mutter, whine, whine, whinge, whinge etc)

Jo was making only her second appearance of the season but was determined to lift herself off the bottom of the money list by adding to her 50p winnings to date. It was therefore strange to see her playing a game of 'how many bunkers can I go in'. After finding several she announced she would start to aim at the bunkers as due to some twisted logic it apparently meant she was less likely to go in them that way. Unsurprisingly this approach made little difference as the sand continued to be found. It transpired that Jo was a very good bunker player (maybe this was a regular tactic) as she got out of each one with ease while racking up 18 half way pts.

Not a putting exercise but Jo trying to putt through the line of balls on the 5th

Call the fire brigade as Bob was on fire over the opening holes. With solid approach work and a red hot putter he raced to 20 pts after 8 holes and it looked like he would be not only winning today but set a new high points score for the season. But as we all know golf is a funny game and after hitting his drive into tree on the 9th then the fire brigade was dismissed and a breakdown truck called instead as the wheels fell off, big time.

Bob ripping the course up in his new sunglasses. But things were about to change

The second 9 kicked off with birdie controversy. Kevin had been enjoying his halfway cheese sandwich as he headed to the 10th green ready to miss a short par putt. On returning to his trolley he found his roll had been stolen by a greedy crow. With his finely balanced nutrition plan now in tatters in was no surprise that Kevin failed to fight back and finished last with 29 points.

Straight after Crowgate Kevin did manage a good teeshot on 12t but with another 3 putts his game fell away

After his first bad drive then Bob started to struggle off the tee but he still scrambled some points so found himself in the lead on 33 pts with one to play.

Bob in bunker leading to the first of 3 closing blobs 

Jo continued her sand based strategy but kept scoring well and with a good par on the 17th, when spookily the other 3 players went in the bunkers, she was 2 behind on 31 pts coming down the last.

Jo continuing to demonstrate her bunker skills

Mike had also come to the party and a run of 5 pars in 7 holes left him 1 shot behind Bob as he stood on the 18th tee.

Mikes tee shot on 10 puts him in trouble but a 30 foot putt then saves the day for an unlikely par

In was all to play for (unless you were Kevin), but a wild teeshot from Bob followed by hitting his 3rd shot out of bounds meant he failed to score. Mike too was having some difficulty in the trees but both him and Jo found themselves on the green with a putt to win it. Neither holed it so all 3 players ended on 33pts and had to split the prize pot 3 ways to earn £1.33 each. Jo's objective had been met as she moved from bottom to 7th on the money list.

Bob remains on top of the money list but with an enforced hospital break coming up there is a chance for someone to close the gap at Ufford Park next week. The RNSG tour wishes Bob a speedy recovery and tour members are already eagerly awaiting plumbing updates on his return.

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2017. Round 14 at Cromer

The Crab Classic at Royal Cromer

Round Norfolk Golf Tour summer comp 2017 round 14 took place at Cromer on Tuesday. The forecast was not good but a strong field (including the current 4 top earners on the money list) had their balls thrown up in the air and pairings were selected.

There was controversy before a ball had been hit when the Cromer starter accused Kevin of teeing up in front of the yellow markers. Not wanting to cause a fuss Kevin reluctantly moved his ball back two inches although video evidence later showed his ball had not infringed the rule, honest.

Video evidence clearly shows Kevin's ball is behind the line
 although he still re teed to keep everyone happy

Despite the obvious additional pressure Kevin still managed to keep his ball out of the dangerous water hazard by driving it across to the 18th fairway. As the wind got up Kevin surprisingly managed to keep his ball in play and with the help of some rare good putts got to 16 pts after 9.

Kevin escapes from bunker by third green

Playing partner Ian was not faring so well in the wind so after a couple of holes elected to keep his driver in the bag and hit irons off the tee. A tactic that meant he scored on most holes but with 5 of them only being for 1 pt he was restricted to 12 at the turn.

Driver wasn't seen again after Ian's drive on the second
as the wind tried to carry it out of bounds

It became apparent that this was still good as the group behind were struggling to tame the wind. Chris did manage a good par on the panoramic 4th but was struggling on a number of other holes.

Chris's drive on 4th leads to a par 

Bob had a typical all or nothing start with 3 blobs and 2 pars in his opening 9.

Bob thought he was Harry potter as he attempts to hit his ball through the tree on the third

Jill was the most steady although a lack of pars restricted her scoring. She did at least make it on to all the front 9 greens.

Jill also found the bank on the 3rd with a pine cone getting close to the hole than her ball with her chip.

Unusually none of the group scored a point on the short 8th and all finished on 11 at the turn.

As the inward 9 started the skies darkened and rain started to fall. However Kevin responded well and with the wind now in a more helpful direction he took his score to 24 pts after 13. At this point the heavens really opened but Kevin and Ian pushed on regardless. If only he had known that he already had enough points to win then Kevin could have gone to warm up in the clubhouse. As it was his game fell apart and he could only add 3 more points over the last 5 holes to finish on 27 but still more than enough to take the trophy.

As the rain fell heavily Kevin's round started to fall apart on the lighthouse hole

Ian put in a little surge parring 12 and 13 before he too was sunk by the weather and seemed to be deliberately hitting his ball into the ferns in order not to have to play any more of the hole, he finished with 23 at the end.

In the rain Ian hits up towards the 11th Green

The group behind were also starting to lose the will and when thunder and lighting went off they took to playing speed golf. By the time they reached the 17th they had had enough and walked off the course.

A miserable looking 3 were just too wet to finish today's event

Fortunately RNSG excellent rules cater for such a situation and rule 12.1.3 (which was not made up in the bar over tea and cake) clearly states that if rounds can not be completed due to severe weather (and not for other reasons like you are playing badly and decide to go home early) then the title will be decided by the scores on the last hole everyone completed. On this basis Kevin was first on 26, Jill Second on 23 and Chris 3rd on 22.

Hopefully the weather will be better next week when the tour moves to Sprowston. As it is the start to the second half of the season the best 3 front and 3 back 9's in July, August and September (or BTFATBNIJAS as it is more snappily know as) competition kicks off.