March 2010

Coming Up In This Month

Mens Winter League

The Mens Winter League should be concluded during March and weather permitting it will be. There will be two semi-finals and the final which will more than likely all take place during March. It is doubtful that the grounp stages will both be finished during February due to the amount of snow and the closures of the course so the semi-finals will not have started until February. Ben Hall and Ed Eley will be hoping that their Winter League title will have been successfully defended by the end of the month.
Mens Competitions
The new season gets firmly underway in March, with the Pat Murphy Knockout Qualifier being the first of the competitions to be played during March. This is to be played over the weekend of the 6th and 7th of March. The closing date for the Pat Murphy KO Qualifier is Thursday 4th March and players should have entered for their preferred day with payment on or before this date. Entering after this date, not selecting a day or not paying your entry fee will result in your card not being produced. For the new season players can now enter the competition on the Sunday and play the course on the Saturday without being disqualified. Players are reminded that they cannot play/practise on the course on the day they have entered the competition before they start their round. These rules apply for the whole season. From the Pat Murphy KO Qualifier, the defending champion (Asra) and the top 31 scores go into the knockout, which is one of the biggest trophies of the year. The Saturday after that (13th) sees the Dave Clarke Memorial Trophy being played, with a closing date of Thursday 11th March. The 1st Team vs 2nd Team match is scheduled for the Sunday (14th) and is due to start at roughly 9 AM. Saturday 20th March sees a Captains Competition take place with a closing date of Thursday 18th, while Sunday 21st sees the 'Sport Relief 9 Hole Charity Day' take place. More details will be provided on this nearer the time. The Lombard Qualifier is back this year and it is scheduled to take place over the weekend of Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th, with the winner going to play in an external event with the new teaching professional, John Butler. The closing date for this will be Thursday 25th.
Ladies
There are a number of Ladies competitions during March with the first a Ladies Charity Competition. This is to be played on Wednesday 3rd and Saturday 6th. The following week sees a Ladies Stableford take place and the dates for this Stableford are Wednesday 10th and Saturday 13th. There is a Ladies Charity Competition on Wednesday 17th before a Ladies Club Medal & EWGA on Wednesday 24th and Saturday 27th. The final competition of the month is the Easter Egg competition, and this is to be played on Wednesday 31st and also Saturday 3rd April.
Seniors
There are 2 Seniors matches during March with the first on Monday 15th at Home at 10 AM. This match is against Humberstone. The day after this sees a Seniors Captains Charity Competition (Tuesday 16th) with the second match of the month scheduled for Wednesday 24th against Stoke Albany. This match is away and is a 12:30 PM start. The Dave Bentley Knockout starts on Monday 29th March.
Juniors
The first Junior competition of the month is a Junior Monthly Medal on Saturday 6th while the following Saturday (13th) sees another round of the Junior Winter League. There is a Junior Monthly Stableford on Saturday 20th and more Junior Winter League on Saturday 27th.
Mixed
There is one Mixed match during March which is at Home to Humberstone on Sunday 28th and is due for a 12:00 PM start.
Social
There are 3 social days in the calender for March with the first on Friday 5th March. This is a Whist Drive which is due to start at 8 PM. Saturday 20th sees the Social Away-Day to Six Hills, and once again more information will be provided on this nearer the time. The final of the 3 social events is a Quiz & Supper Evening which takes place on Friday 26th and is scheduled for an 8 PM start.
Racing
There are 2 race days during March which are schedules for Tuesday 2nd and Friday 12th.

Latest News From Month

Mens Winter League

Defending Winter League Champions Ben Hall & Ed Eley are through to the final of their second consectutive winter league final after coming through a very tough match 2 & 1 against Jan Reading & Adam Jacques. It was a fantastic match which saw Ed Eley make 1 eagle, 3 birdies and 14 pars in what was a fantastic round. Adam Jacques did have an eagle of his own on the 3rd hole, and with a birdie on the 5th meant Jacques & Reading were 2 UP. Hall won the 7th with a 4 Nett 3 and then 8,9 and 10 were halved. The changing moment in the match came on the 11th where Jacques had stuck his second to 5 feet. Hall was 7 feet away. Eley had drove the right hand bunker and then proceeded to play a magical shot, holing out for a magnificant 2. Hall then made his second 4 Nett 3 of the match and both pairs then birdied 13 to leave the score at 1 UP. Hall, Eley and Jacques all missed chances on 14 and then Hall played a magical second shot on 15 from 240 yards to about 10 foot. The hole had already been conceded by the time he missed a chance for his eagle. The next 2 holes were halved to give Hall & Eley a 2 & 1 victory. The other final saw 2007-2008 champions Tidge Gharial & Richard Bonser beat Tim Rushin & Neil Whittenbury 4 & 3. The scoreline shows this could have been an easy match for Gharial & Bonser, but there were certain moments in the match which had they gone in the favour of Rushin & Whittenbury the result could easily have gone the other way. The date of the final is to be confirmed when the pairs have arranged a date with the Club Captain who will be refereeing the match.
Pat Murphy Qualifier
Last years Order Of Merit runner-up Steve Ablett has carried last years form through to this year as he won the Pat Murphy Qualifier to add to the second place the previous week in the Captains Charity Stableford. It was another terrific and very solid performance from Steve who shot a Gross 78 Nett 66 off his 12 handicap. Unfortunatley Steve has not been cut to 11 as the CSS came down, leaving him stranded on 11.6. Steve won the competition on count-back, with Ben Hall finishing in second place after a level par Gross 72 Nett 66 was not quite good enough. Both players had very good back 9's but it was Steve who just edged it. Ben was second on count-back as Tim Bingham also shot a Nett 66, his coming from a Gross 81 off his 15 handicap. Tim has now been cut down to 14 and Ben back down to 5. Ben's level par was the best gross over the two days. Kev Wood was 4th after his Gross 78 Nett 67 was 1 shot off the pace. Kev came 4th on count-back, beating Club Vice-Captain Dave Goodman, whose solid Gross 73 Nett 67 was good enough for only 5th, although it did get him cut back down to 5. Prakash Magdani and Richard Bonser were 6th and 7th respectively with Nett 70's, while there were 5 players who came in with Nett 71's. The Pat Murphy Qualifier is all about making sure you qualify for the KO, and 31 people plus the defending champion made sure of that.
Pat Murphy KO Information
Every year with the Pat Murphy there are always a couple of matches which stand out as good matches. This year there are 4 matches which stand out, with Tidge Gharial coming up against Jan Reading. This wil not be an easy match for either player, with Jan getting around 5 shots. One half of the Seniors Winter League Champions Brian Fletcher-Warrington comes up against secretary Richard Primrose in a match that will be very tough for the secretary. Dave Sewart will take on Dale Baker in a match that wil not be easy for the young Baker, coming up against the vast experience of Sewart, while Ed Eley comes up against a tough opponent in Roger Loach. This could be a fantastic match if Roger gets going, as with the shots he will be receiving from Eley he could well cause an upset. Elsewhere, Richard Bonser takes on Dave Leet while Tim Bingham comes up against last years Order Of Merit winner Scott Merrell. Merrell has got off to a very slow start this year as he did last year, but giving 6 shots to the in form Bingham will certainly not be an easy task. Steve Buckley will take on Mick Geddes in what could be a fantastic match if Mick can repeat the form he showed in the winter league. Steve has got off to a very good start this year and he will be looking to keep that form up. The first round matches must be played by Sunday 25th April.
Dave Clarke Memorial Trophy
The Dave Clarke Memorial Trophy was plyed on Saturday 13th March, and despite some inconsisten driving, Martyn Morton showed some short game magic to win the competition. It is Martyn's first full year back after a few years away from golf, and having been giving a handicap of 13 he might well fancy his chances to win few more competitions as the year goes on. Martyn shot Gross 80 Nett 67 and in winning the £45 voucher he also got himself cut down to 12. I am sure this handicap will continue to fall as the season goes on. Martyn has also taken an early lead in the Order Of Merit after this win, sitting at the top with 80 points, 5.75 points clear of Ben Hall in second place, and 10 points clear of Steve Ablett, Tim Bingham and Ed Eley who are all joint third. Ed Eley was second in the Dave Clarke after his Gross 73 Nett 70 was enough to earn him a £27 voucher. Ed beat Mick Geddes and Dave Sewart into second after both players shot Nett 71's. Mick's came with a Gross 88 while Sewart's was a Gross 78. Mick beat Dave on count-back to take the £18 voucher. Jan Reading came in 5th with a Nett 73, while Darren Peden and Steve Buckley both shot Nett 74's.
1st Team Vs 2nd Team Match
The annual 1st team vs 2nd team match took plce on Sunday 14th March and in the end it was the first team who came through as winners, winning by 23 shots. The first team won by 206 points to 183. The format was a 4 Ball Better Ball Stableford, and each team has 5 pairs. Steve Ablett continued his recent fantastic form as he and Ben Hall got 46 points between them, which included two fantastic shots into the 4th. From roughly 210 yards Ablett decided he would put it a foot away from the flag for an easy 4 points. Ben then put it to about 3 foot from a similiar distance, but it was for nothing as Steve had the 4 pointer in the bag. They worked well very well together as a pair, with Hall coming good on the few bad holes Ablett had. If Steve can continue this form throughout the year he will certainly be knocking very hard on the door of the first team. The second best pair were Ed Eley and James Whitehead who also had a fantastic 44 points, with Whitehead playing a fantastic round of golf. Ed and James shot 68 Gross between them which would normally be good enough to win a better ball had it not been for the brilliance of Ablett. Ed was ill, but still managed a fantastic birdie to go with the birdie Whitehead made on the second, meaning those two 4 pointers were a massive boost. Martyn Morton & Tim Rushin were third on 42 points, and from the sounds of things they had Morton's putter to thank for that. Although his driving is now all over the place he still has the fantastic touch around the greens he always had, and he showed that again with a terrific putting display. Dave Goodman and Dale Baker got 41 points, as did Tidge Gharial and Dave Sewart, with help from a brilliant birdie from Gharial on the 7th. Full scores can be found by going into the Scratch Team or 2nd Team pages, and then clicking on the 'Scratch Team vs 2nd Team' button which can be found under the tables in those various pages.
Mens Winter League Final
Tidge Gharial & Richard Bonser won the winter league for the second time in 3 years when they beat defending champions Ben Hall & Ed Eley in the final on Saturday 20th March. The final promised to be a tough match for both pairs, with both pairs having played some very good golf to get to this stage. In the end only Gharial turned up and it turned out to be an easy win. Gharial & Bonser went 2 UP after 2 before Hall birdied the third to get the score back to 1. Gharial parred 4 and then birdied 5 to get the score to 3, and after a 4 Nett 3 on the 7th the score was 4 UP. Hall & Eley then won 9, lost 10 and won 11 thanks to an Eley birdie to be standing on the 12th tee 3 Down, but Gharial hit a fantastic second shot onto the front of the green. Two putts later and he had made 4 Nett 3 to win the hole, despite Hall coming very close to chipping in for 4. Eley made his second birdie of the day on 13 to get the score back to 3, and Bonser missed a chance to put the score to DORMIE 4 when he three putted 14 from a tricky position. Bonser came good for his partner on the 15th, making a solid 5 Nett 4 to win the match very comfortably 4 & 3. ITwas a bad performance from Hall & Eley and they will be very disapointed to put in by far their worst performance of the campaign. Bonser will also be looking to play some better golf as the season progresses, but Gharial was very solid and on the day there is no doubt that the best team won. Congratulations to Tidge and Rich who have won the first gold letter of the season. Thank you to Club Captain John Goodman who came out to referee the match.
Captains Stableford
Ray Clark hit some form to win his first competition of the year when he won the Captains Stableford played on Saturday 20th March. Ray shot a a very solid 41 points, which even included a blob. As a result Ray takes the £36 voucher for first prize and valuable Order of Merit Points. Ray has also been cut down to 20 in the process. Kev Wood continued his fine start to the season to jump to the top of the Order of Merit with 40 points, which saw him finish 2nd on count-back ahead of Asra. Kev has not lost a shot but Asra has been cut down to 13. Barry Swift was 4th with 38 points while Dave Sewart came in 5th place with his 37 points. Peter Hurst was the only other plyer to play to his handicap, and his 36 points were good enough for 6th place.
Lombard Qualifier
Brian Orgill won the Lombard Qualifier on count-back with a Gross 82 Nett 70 over the weekend of Sat 27th and Sun 28th March. It was a solid round from Brian on a weekend where scoring was very difficult due to the weather conditions. Tim Bingham was second with a Gross 84 for his 70, while Peter Hurst was third with a Gross 86. As a result fo another very solid round Tim Bingham goes to the top of the Order of Merit, and is 25 points clear of second placed Martyn Morton. President Dave Leet was 4th in the Lombard with a Gross 84 Nett 71, beating Dave Sawbridge (Gross 86), Dave Sewart (Gross 78), and Martyn Morton (Gross 83) on count-back. Dave Sewart has gone third in the Order of Merit and sits just 1 and a half points behind Morton as we approach the end of March. Roger Loach, Steve Ablett, Barry Swift and Mick Geddes all shot level to their handicaps, while there were an additional 5 players on Nett 73.