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News for 2014
30th December 2014We returned to Bird Hills for a 'Full Monty Breakfast' followed by 18 holes of Golf, weather was kind to us, cold and Frosty which was a stark contrast to last year's monsoon conditions. It did make approach shots interesting with bounces very unpredictable but water hazards were less of an issue for the majority as the ball bounced rather than sank! It was nice to see Bryan (Hip replacement) Carter out for a walk and acting as starter on the first, also to see Peter Carfrae back with three new discs in his neck. The operation has an added bonus as he is a little taller, the swing plane better and managed a great 34 points in his first outing of 18 holes since the Operation.
So some notes from around the course which mostly led to fines:
The first two groups out came to the 9th, which has water in front and an area of rubbish behind and so opted to lay up, first group then played over with ease, the second group however laid up well but both Prev and Ian used the water to bounce onto the green. Prev being the luckiest as his lob wedge shot came down from a great height but still managed to bounce.
Much discussion about the longest drive, how so many were past the marker - but being a skill prize there is a requirement for accuracy- it had to be in play and on the fairway
Paul Beard fined himself for not putting NP marker out, none of his group hit the green and it was only Frazer's memory that saw our captain walking back to the edge of the green waving the marker at the group behind, who incidentally all missed the green!!
Frazer fined for using an orange ball, Prev for using a yellow ball - thus two yellow balls in the group.
Dave Sturgeon on the first Tee asked our captain where he got the self-portrait model head cover made.
Hot Chocolate Macca x 2!
Kevin Harris for driving through the green whilst people were still putting & hitting John Thorp's ball.
Peter Carfrae for paring a Par 5 but using slopes of the bunker & ditch to keep the play straight.
Guests were not immune to fines, Bill suggesting a guest should not, got fined for the comment and then for his water shots. Dave Evans fined for not seeing the water even though he walked past two holes previous.
Our Captain fined himself but did not disclose why - something no doubt to do with the game of golf he played.
We had a yellow ball competition as usual, 3 groups lost the ball but the group of Chris T, Peter C and John T managed to keep the ball all the way round but did not beat all the groups who lost theirs, obviously a steady but poor round had managing a portly 52 points!
Individual scores were reasonable but 31 points was popular score as there was a group of 5 players on it.
To the results:
Yellow Ball competition won by Roy Bird, Derek Carter and Dave Sturgeon with 76 Points.
Longest Drive - Ian Turvill
Nearest the Pin - Alan Sutcliffe
Nearest the Pin in 2 shots - Frazer Webb
Nearest the Pin in 3 shots - Dave Evans
Strongest Man - Captain Beard with 24 Points
Winner Dave Sturgeon 38 Points (below in photo with Captain Beard
Roving reporter: Ian TurvillYou can see the full set of results on the
results page
12th December 2014We returned to Pine Ridge once again, weather was kind to us - a little cold for the majority although Darren Anderson must of thought it was summer playing in a Tee Shirt. I felt cold looking at him! Our captain was in full festive mood, Christmas hat was donned, harmonica in hand and bells on his trolley.
Unfortunately we followed a society of 4 balls, who obviously were struggling with their game and so a five hour round ensued, still made it sociable as we could have a chat with group in front and behind at almost every tee. The course had held up well considering the wet weather we had had and all greens were in play with a couple of temporary tee positions.
A yellow ball competition was held as normal at this event and 4 out of 6 groups returned them to the captain at the end. Group 1 lost it early doors and another on hole 16.
Only a couple of reports from the course:
Alan Sutcliffe got angry and performed the John Waghorn move - 'throwing of the Club'
Dave Shorter started as normal with scuffed first Tee short, unfortunately for him this was replayed most of the way round..
We welcomed Paul Beards Guest - Greg Pearce, whose first Tee shot was given the yellow ball - no pressure - hit it into the tree's - was this going to be a record and lose the yellow ball with the first shot - fortunately not and many shots later came out of the trees. His game did improve and we hope he enjoyed it enough to come out again.
Chris T was not having the best of days and whilst waiting at a hole proclaimed he would rather be at work!!
Captain Beard was very inventive with fines and I think everybody was caught for something. Paul Healy for beating Paul Beard's longest drive, Dave Woods 'Cossack' Boots, Frazer fined twice, once for a normal offence, the second for paying his first fine with shrapnel, yours truly for removing his hat on the 18th before he shook hands which unfortunately left his hair sticking up like a troll! And finally Dave Flavell lost control of his trolley which ended up on the putting green.
To the results:
Yellow Ball competition won by Simon, Macca and Prev with 78 Points.
Longest Drive - Paul Healy
Nearest the Pin in 3 shots - Paul Healy
Nearest the Pin in 2 shots - John Sweeney
Nearest the Pin - John Sweeney
Strongest Man - Tee Shot Shorter (Dave) with 20 Points
Winner Paul Healy 42 Points (below in photo with Captain Beard
Roving reporter: Ian TurvillYou can see the full set of results on the
results page
7th October 2014Lamborne once again was the venue for our Stroke Play Event. The weather looked threatening but apart from a couple of short periods remained dry. The thunder and lightning fortunately could be heard and seen but stayed far enough away.
As usual the course was in good condition but did suffer from the heavy rain storms the day before, with some large puddles on the fairways and the bunkers proved very mixed. The greens were very fast and the borrows subtle and I am sure, like some of my playing partners, saw borrows that were in the opposite direction to that which the ball took!!
After some last minute changes the order of play was adjusted to suit changes in requirements, the one positive was Captain Beard would not be driving a buggy so all trolleys were safe.
From the course:
Dave Sturgeon on the 2nd hit a sharp draw into the trees, a loud bang was heard and then a ball emerged to end up in the middle of the fairway.
Prev took a bunker shot, then taking evasive action managed to get out of the way of the returning ball.
Paul Risk's Tee shot hit the ladies marker and ended up further away from the hole than the original tee box.
The bunkers played a major part in several players games, yours truly found at least one per hole, sometimes more. In particular on the 9th pushed my drive to the right to the fairway bunker, next found a green side bunker only to thin the next shot only to hit the pin square on and drop on the green otherwise the opposite bunker was awaiting the ball. Alan Suttcliffe spent time playing in one bunker moving sand out of the bunker but alas not the ball!
Derek Carter became attached to one bunker rake as he was seen walking off carrying it. Obviously thought the next bunker would not have one.
Derek managed to 4 putt on one hole from just 3 feet away!
As usual at our stroke play event, the number of strokes per hole is limited to 10. This year the number 10's recorded on all cards was 10 (a bit of symmetry here), but mention has to go to Alan Wood who managed a run of five 10's on holes 5 to 9 as so was our 10's winner of this year.
A sample of the fines:
Bryan fined for forcing Captain to walk - changing order of play.
Dave Flavell for praising Bryan's shot on the 17th only then to watch it land in the bunker.
Ian T for not getting the trophy to Captains standard of shine.
Frazer for sounding like an outboard motor on one green - putt putt putt putt!!!
Alan Wood for not winning - captain had him in the draw!
To the results:
Nearest The Pin: Tony Browne
Nearest The Pin in 2 shots: Dave Sturgeon
Nearest The Pin in 3 shots: John Sweeney
Longest Drive: Chris Turvill
Strongest Man: Dave Flavell
3rd Place - Bryan Carter
2nd Place - Mark Turvill
1st Place - Dave Wood
Again the order of Merit went down to the final event, Frazer had an outside chance but the main contest was between Bryan Carter and Dave Wood. Both had low scores to be dropped but as long as Bryan came second or 1st Dave could not catch him. So the result came down to Mark Turvill, who did not realise it at the time, but by beating Bryan into 2nd place by 1 shot meant Bryan came second by 1 point to this year's winner Dave Wood - congratulations to him - first year with the society and he's walked away with almost all the silverware!
The photo shows Captain beard presenting the trophy to Dave. Well done Dave.
Roving reporter: Ian TurvillYou can see the full set of results on the
results pageThis seasons final Order Of Merit can be seen
here
1st September 2014A damp Leatherhead provided the location for our September event with our lowest number of attendees of the year, only 16 players managing to escape work or family duty. The weather was wet at the start but after around 5 or 6 holes it did at least stop raining, the course was very quiet - perhaps the members had seen the local weather forecast.
Some notes from the course:
Dave '28 points' Shorter continues with his phobia of the first Tee shot at Bunkers events finding the ditch to the left. I can vouch for him having played two courses recently where his first Tee shot was straight down the middle.
Alan Sutcliffe had a rush of blood deciding to try and play out of the ditch on the 8th. After two attempts he realised his mistake and picked up.
Paul Healy was a very supportive golfer complimenting Bryan on his shots, or was he taking the mick as the shots invariably ended up in a bunker!
Mark T went for the longest drive on the 4th only to pull his ball towards the water. It didn't reach the water though, instead it found a resting place in the reeds some 300mm above the water.
Our Captain did not have quite the same game as last time but did drive on one hole so far it went under the buggy being driven by the group in front - only comment to make was the group in front where playing a hole 180 degrees to that of Mr Beard!
Paul Healy on the 15th hit his approach shot to a foot.
Frazer double hit whilst chipping on the Par 5 16th, he also managed to double hit whilst putting having touched his ball at address. (Editor: he then sank the 15 foot putt!) He also managed to hit Two Pins, the only two he did not make was a birdie on a Par 3!
Frazer had blobbed the hardest hole by hitting a chip shot into the bunker. He collected his ball only to knock it back into the bunker with his trolley.
Our first group had an individual competition on the 10th, who could drive past the ladies tee - there wasn't a winner!!
John Thorp had the woodland friends today. On one particular occasion, he hit a sharp pull with his drive. Having given up even thinking about looking for the ball walked up the centre of the fairway only to find it, some 25 yards from the tree. Opposite to this, Matt T drove low with a fade on the 16th and managed to pass through the bank of trees on to the practice area.
Derek Carter went past the golf course twice before asking for directions - gave up with his Sat Nav, he then proceeded to wear his wet top inside out.
Ian asked Bryan if Uncle Derek had paid online - seeing the comment above - answers on a post card!!
Some of the above did get fined together with other mister meaner's that el captain spotted.
Tony Peters pink jumper and brown trousers would not be accepted by the captains wife so was fined.
Ian cleaned the Trophy before the event but not to the required standard!!
Frazer and Alan doing a 'Waggers Club throwing' interpretation cost them.
To the results:
Nearest The Pin: Darren Anderson
Nearest The Pin in 2 shots: Darren Anderson
Nearest The Pin in 3 shots: Colin Turvill
Longest Drive: Matt Turvill
Strongest Man with 20 Points - Alan 'The Ditch' Sutcliffe
3rd Place - Colin Turvill - 34 Points
2nd Place - Bryan 'The Bridesmaid' Carter - 36 Points
1st Place - Daren Anderson with 41 Points
The photo shows Captain beard presenting the trophy to Darren. Well done Darren.
Roving reporter: Ian TurvillYou can see the full set of results on the
results pageThe current Order Of Merit can be seen
here
6th August 2014This year we went to Winters Hill GC in Cookham, our first time to the course. The greens were very true and the course in good condition considering the dry weather we have had over the recent month or so. The course was set up well and somebody was going to score well as long as they could cope with the sloping fairways.
Christopher Turvill joined the 100 club, a select few who have appeared at a 100 bunkers event.
New shirts were on display with some wearing them. Bright colours with our Logo, lets hope everybody gets at least one and proudly wears them at future events.
Some course antics:
Frazer birdied the hardest whole on the course but blobbed the easiest!
Chris T chipped in for birdie on the 10th and his other birdie was holed using the putter from off the green - who needs to hit greens in regulation!
Frazer chipped in for a birdie on the 17th.
John Sweeney's putter was on fire, sinking putts from both on and off the green. This was needed as his driver was a little wayward at times.
Our captain managed to putt out of a bunker!
Yours truly on the 18th hole managed to hit the nearest the pin marker with a putt even though it was at least a foot outside the putting line.
Our pro on the first, drove, and then half a sand wedge leaving an easy par but managed a bogey - makes us amateurs feel so much better.
Fines again proved popular, the captain taking a lot of abuse - justified - but those people then suffered even more fines!
Dave Flavell was fined for heading towards the wrong Winters Hill
Colin was fined for an additional golf aid - a leg brace to support his failing knee - better wear long trousers next time!
John Thorp on the first tee called 'Fore Left' when the ball actually went right!
Alan Sutcliffe wore a pink top which was a requirement for the last event and so got fined
Mark T was viewing the green from a distance and eyed up the red flag when suddenly it moved. It was Uncle Ian in one of the new bunkers shirts - shows how much weight he has lost or Marks eyes need testing.
Frazer managed to shank a shot towards his playing partner Mark T who managed a dance - just like a girl.
Yours truly on the short Par 3 - crowned green - tee shot was all over the pin only to find it had run off the side and down the slope, next shot up and onto the green to the other side and roll off the edge, third shot similar - decided to pick up and walk to next tee. Frazer following on in the group after Ian, did exactly the same, shot for shot!
To the results:
Nearest The Pin: Chris Turvill
Nearest The Pin in 2 shots: Chris Hebdon
Nearest The Pin in 3 shots: John Thorp
Longest Drive: Chris Turvill
Strongest Man with a credible 27 Points - Michael Prevost (
Editor: That could be the highest lowest score in our history!)
3rd Place: Highest Guest John Sweeney
2nd Place: Dave Sturgeon
Winner: Captain Beard with an amazing 46 Points, every high handicapper has his day and is now looking at a 5 stroke cut!
Editor: Amazingly 46 points only puts Captain Blackbeard joint 2nd in the all time highest score, with Mark Turvill still toping it with 48 points, although he maintains it was actually 49 points :-)
The photo shows our Vice Captain presenting the trophy to Mr Beard. Oh sorry, no it doesn't, we seem to have had a Pancho Villa lookalike slip in instead!
Roving reporter: Ian TurvillYou can see the full set of results on the
results pageThe current Order Of Merit can be seen
here
11th July 2014Badgemore Park once again hosted our all-day event. 27 holes of golf on a near perfect day - a short blast of rain in the afternoon did not dampen people's spirits.
30 intrepid golfers started and finished the day some walking all 27 holes others buggied the whole day or the afternoon only. Others pushed trolleys, some had electric and a few carried. One person however, proudly using the most expensive present his wife had brought him, proudly pushed his trolley around in the morning - started ok in the afternoon - well the first hole actually when calamity struck - not 10 yards of the tee - he was partnered by Paul Beard and Dave Flavell who were in a buggy. Dave's Tee shot went a little sideward into the thick bush, much looking found no trace (golden ball - more later), driver Beard jumped back into said buggy and drove - being short (not just eyes) and only just being able to see through the steering wheel, he missed Macca's pride and joy - or actually he didn't. In fact he drove straight over his trolley and clubs. Clubs survived but alas the trolley was destined for the bin - how would Macca explain this to his wife? AGM note: Driving checks to be conducted?
As usual the captain's day tradition of wearing predominantly white or pink shirts stood firm, all players abided although the captains pink was a little bit suspect. Clothing though did bring about some fines - Nigel Warren for the mixture of colours to go with his 'Rat Pack' hat, Matt T for his no socks and flip flops in the smart casual evening attire and Mark T for his Superman socks. John Thorp even got fined for wearing a Tie, tied short as he said it made him look taller!?
On course reports included:
Frazer hitting his only sliced tee-shot of the day, bouncing of the top of a tree and landing next to Prevo (who was in the group ahead) as he was about to play out of a bunker. Frazer was duly fined for missing Prevo!
Ian T & Derek Carter tee'd off on the first into the trees, they playing partner Les drove into the bush and opted to take three of the Tee and still won the hole!
John Thorp went to play of the Reds on the 9th until Frazer suggested the yellows were the Tee of the Day.
Dave Shorter and Derek Carter obviously have woodland friends as both on separate holes (18th and 16th) snap hooked the ball into the trees only for it to reappear in the centre of the fairway, golden ball too!
In the morning, we once again had two holes where each player had to use the Hickory shafted clubs. Everyone please feel sorry for Risky - our only leftie who had to adapt to right hand for these. Only two people managed to reach the green on the Par 3 4th, Ian T winning nearest the pin and then for longest drive on the 7th, Tony Browne managed a very credible drive - probably longer than his shot in the afternoon to win this prize. One notable shot was by our Pro - Chris Hebdon who managed to shank his shot - and to think he grew up playing with this style of club!
In the afternoon, Captain Beard introduced the 'Golden Ball' competition, and gave each team a logoed 'Bunkers Golden Ball'. As mentioned above, his team managed to lose the ball on the first hole (glimpse of their completed, but empty scorecard below), others lost their balls later in the round, Prev on the 16th. Some people were desperate not to lose the ball so they hunted through thick brambles to rescue it - Paul Healy's arms bear the testimony. One group smugly returned the yellow ball to my group with the statement - by the way it was out of bounds!
Now over to the results, firstly the morning 9 hole team event. This event ended up with joint winners as a number of teams could not be seperated on countback, but a word of warning to all in the future, this is not the way to complete a card!!:

The joint wining teams were:
Dave Wood, Darren Anderson and John Thorp
Chris Turvill, Dave Flavell and Paul Beard
Kevin Harris, Paul Healy and Tony Browne
And the Hickory club skill prizes were:
Longest Drive: Tony Browne
Nearest The Pin: Ian Turvill
For the afternoon we'll start off with the team event, with the aforementioned team of Paul Beard, Dave Flavell and Paul Donlevy loosing their golden ball on the first tee shot, but the winners were the team of Bryan Carter, Kevin Harris, Dave Sturgeon and Phil Hopkinson.
And finally to the main event of the day, the singles stableford, with the following winners:
Winner: Paul Healy
Longest Drive: John Thorp
Nearest The Pin: Colin Turvill
Nearest The Pin in 2 shots: Dave Sturgeon
Nearest The Pin in 3 shots: Ian Turvill
Top Guest: Phil Hopkinson
The photo shows our Captain presenting the trophy to 1st-time winner Paul Healy. Congratulations Paul.
Roving reporter: Ian TurvillYou can see the full set of results on the
results pageThe current Order Of Merit can be seen
here
4th June 2014The Drift hosted this year's June event with the weather set to drown us according to the forecast, the course once again looking great having been set up, as last year for a regional event a few days earlier.
Well the weather forecast was slightly wrong with only a short down pour of less than a hole duration.
Before the golf, we must wish Peter Carfrae 'Get Well Soon' following his operation to get the feeling back in his upper arm. Apparently the arm is now painful which is a good sign !!
The course as usual takes its toll on some of the players, trees always attracting the ball. Last year there were 67 blobs on the cards with only 15 players - how did we do this year with 27 players out? Only 83 so on average an improvement!
Some reports from around the course:
Dave Flavell on the first hole completed the 'Dambusters' shot
Dave Shorter continues his phobia on the first hole only just got off the Tee
Captain Beard used many lives with his woodland friends popping the ball out onto the fairway
Chris T was heard muttering about not picking up a club again - really? It was more like trying to find one that worked!
It appears from the scores also that the front nine played easier than the back nine.
A highlight of some of the fines, this time administered by the mysterious Judge Beard:
Ian and John Sweeny fined for jumper on the course and shirt after golf
Chris Hebdon - our pro for not beating Bryan and Bryan for beating the Pro!!
Risky for talking himself into the water on the 10th
Golf being a sociable game was not shown by the group of Dave, Darren and Paul Beard as they waited until the 14th hole to walk down the fairway together.
Lastly, a fine administered by vice-Captain Shorter to Captain Beard - for not wearing team shirt - bands around the shirts although this may of emphasised Pauls shape a bit! Alan got fined for a comment along those lines even with the shirt he had on.
To the Results:
Winner: Bryan Carter with a score of 42 playing off 10 - that's 4 over gross!!!
Runner Up: Captain Beard with 38 points
Longest Drive: Chris Turvill
Nearest The Pin: Dave Evans
Nearest The Pin in 2 shots: Chris Hebdon
Nearest The Pin in 3 shots: Michael Prevost
Top Guest: Chris Hebdon
The photo shows our Captain Beard (sure I saw his twin brother in a funny wig earlier!) presenting the 1st prize to no-longer-the-bridesmaid Bryan Carter. Well done for a superb round of 4 over gross Bryan!
Roving reporter: Ian TurvillYou can see the full set of results on the
results pageThe current Order Of Merit can be seen
here
15th May 2014The weather was perfect for golf; Pine Ridge was, as usual in good condition (although the bunkers did have a mixture of sand) and once again proved to be a high scoring course for the society with the winner exceeding 40 points. The weather brought out a number of wintered white legs being exposed to the sun with a number of members donning shorts. A notable event for Michael Prevost, this being his 100th outing for the Society. Alan Sutcliffe having completed 3 matches as a guest has now joined the society.
On the course reports:
Darren, short of the green after his second shot on the short 7th chipped in for a birdie.
Alan Sutcliffe was seen running across to the far side of the 7th Fairway whilst playing the 8th and still managed to get two points for the hole.
Paul Risk liked the first Tee so much he played from it again whilst playing the 9th.
Frazer drove a ball into the tree's and with the loud clunk watched the ball ricochet to another tree and then to his horror head back towards him!! Fortunately he still managed to get past the ladies Tee.
Prev liked the bunkers so much he stayed a while to play; several shots later he reappeared- 4 on the 6th was one occasion, 3 on another and others that he did not like to elaborate on.
Darren on the Nearest the Pin in 2 hole contemplated what to do, blast one and then chip and run but risk trees etc. or play for position and then wedge it to the green. Eventually taking the 2nd option played into the trees but with suitable rebound found a path to the green where a low punch shot between trees ended up being nearest the pin. So a mixture of the two contemplations paid off!
Fines are proving very popular and start the moment you set foot in the club house. Our vice-captain, Dave Shorter, still has his school teacher instincts with note book in hand mentioned the number of lines on the page, eagle eyed noted yours truly struggling to open a sweet with his coffee and promptly ended up with fine number 1 of the day.
A sample of other fines were:
Alan Sutcliffe losing his car keys only to find them in his bag.
The team of Risky, Darren and Ian were fined for Darren's wayward shot on the 17th landing close to the 18th Tee - Captain was there and the lack of 'Fore' cost them.
Derek Carter was fined for not wearing shorts to match his group.
Chris was fined for putting his club in Wags bag who was then also fined for having too many clubs in his bag!!
Risky shook hands with his team mates on the 18th with his Hat On.
Dave was fair though and fined himself for an unreported incident at East Berks. He was shedding clothes whilst driving out of the course.
The high scoring at Pine Ridge continued and Macca put together a very good round and a mammoth 43 Points - well played.
Results:
Winner: Paul Donlevy - 43 Points
2nd: Darren Anderson - 41 Points
Strongest Man: John Waghorn - 22 Points
Skill Prizes:
Longest Drive (7th): Frazer Webb
Nearest The Pin in 2 shots (16th): Darren Anderson
Nearest The Pin (17th): Bryan Carter
Nearest The Pin in 3 shots (9th): Bryan Carter
The photo shows our Vice Captain Dave Shorter presenting the 1st prize to winner "Heraclio Bernal".
Google it!!! Well done Macca.
Roving reporter: Ian TurvillYou can see the full set of results on the
results pageThe current Order Of Merit can be seen
here
9th May 2014Well we finally made it to East Berks. After being cancelled in March due to the horrendous winter weather we had, the course has finally recovered, and although a little soft in a few places, was in superb condition. Shame we can't play it in May every year! Although dry, it was a bit deja vu in the fact that we were experiencing high winds just like during the winter months - as you'll see by the scores, the wind did have an effect on some people.
No roving reporter unfortunately for this event, so notable newsworthy events courtesy of the Captain's fines!:
Dave Sturgeon for the worst example ever of how to fill in a scorecard!
Les Wheeler for setting the initial longest drive mark and then walking off the hole with a 7!
John Thorp for wandering aimlessly on the 5th hole whilst the first group were waiting.
Peter Carfrae for hitting his own buggy that he'd been too lazy to move out of the way - the ball went miles sideways!
Dave Wood, Bryan Carter and quite a few others for parking violation - ie. parking in the members car park!
John Waghorn and Dave Shorter for being very grumpy on th 18th green.
Darren Anderson for giving us all lessons on how not to get out of Bunkers - apparently he used up almost his whole handicap just getting out of the various bunkers he put himself into.
Les Wheeler (again! - expensive day) - for being wide left on the 15th and whispering "Fore" so quietly only the worms heard!
John Thorp (again!) on the 1st tee for parking his buggy a lot further away from the tee than he managed to his his tee shot. Thus meaning a long walk to and from his buggy to get a club for the 2nd shot.
Dave Flavell 1st tee airshot.
Dave Sturgeon receiving a retrospective fine backdated to the last event when it was found out he had to break into his own van!
Michael Prevost for wearing a golfing aid - his wrist was strapped up! Obviously worked though!
Dave Shorter for forgetting that he had the cards for his group and not giving them out!
Paul Warren for trying to be nice to the captain so he avoided a fine!
Results:
1st: Frazer Webb - 35 Points
2nd: Tony Farmer (guest) - 33 Points
3rd: Paul Warren (guest) - 31 Points
4th: Michael Prevost - 31 Points
5th: Bryan carter - 29 Points
Strongest Man: Dave Flavell & John Thorp
Skill Prizes:
Nearest The Pin (16th): Les Wheeler
Nearest The Pin in 2 shots (2nd): Dave Wood
Nearest The Pin in 3 shots (11th): Darren Anderson
Longest Drive (15th): Paul Risk
You can see the full set of results on the
results pageThe current Order Of Merit can be seen
here
22nd April 2014Mill Ride hosted our April event for 2014 with a record number of attendee's matching our last event. 27 names on the list, 4 guests, unfortunately Alan Wood did not materialise, John Waghorn booked the wrong day off and John Thorp sustained a back injury but turned up to support, so eventual playing numbers dropped to 24. Welcome to new members, Dave Wood, Derek Carter and Les Wheeler.
The course once again showed itself to be tough and long again with no one making handicap.
A couple of notable events from the course:
On hole 7, Macca's (Paul Donlevy) putt lipped out on the hole covering the complete 360 degrees but it remained above ground. Both Ian and Wozza looked amazed as Macca said something that my typing skills could not reproduce! Wozza subsequently explained the rules (which he had done several times already) and just before Macca went to pick the ball up it dropped!! All within the 10 seconds allowed.
Mark Turvill hit Derek Carter's trolley
Peter Carfrae - known as OAP - One Arm Pete, did not lose a ball.
Paul Risk lost 3 balls on the 18th, Paul Beard felt he had lost enough and did not fine him.
Frazer Webb hit a tree and the ball ended up further away from the hole.
Chris Turvill played his 3rd shot on the Par 5 10th from the 9th Tee but managed still to par the hole.
John Thorp after the meal needed a quick puff, struggled to get out of the dining room door, after a couple of kicks realised the latch at the bottom needed lifting!
Our captain spotted various "mister meaner's" resulting in fines, samples below:
Mark Turvill was found to have too many clubs in his bag - the extra were two chocolate club biscuits!
With the amount of water on the course it was no surprise that a Dambuster Shot was reported, Dave Flavell on hole 3 obliged.
Risky beat Colin Turvill on count back with a back nine high score of 5!!
Dave Flavell, Colin and Darren Anderson shook hands on the 18th - with Hats On!
Tony Browne littered the course with balls.
Results:
1st: Dave Wood - 33 Points (on count back) - winning his first ever event as a member!
2nd: Frazer Webb - 33 Points
Best Guest: Tony Farmer - 26 Points
Strongest Man: Tony Browne
Skill Prizes:
Nearest The Pin (11th): Tony Farmer
Nearest The Pin in 2 shots (7th): Dave Sturgeon
Nearest The Pin in 3 shots (18th): Mark Turvill
Longest Drive (16th): Bryan Carter
The photo shows Captain Paul Beard presenting the 1st prize to winner Dave Wood. Well done Dave.
Roving reporter: Ian TurvillYou can see the full set of results on the
results pageThe current Order Of Merit can be seen
here
28th March 2014Burnham Beeches Golf Course hosted our first event of the 2014 season following the cancellation of East Berks due to the very wet winter we have had. The society saw a leap in numbers with 7 guests leading to a society record of 27 attending. Let's hope this is the start that continues through the season.
Not only the first event of the year but the first event for our new Captain - Paul (I can't control my trolley) Beard. He introduced the society to fines for on course "mister minas" so beware - there are no fines for snitchers!!
This was also the 'Day Before' event for Matthew Turvill. The day before his wedding!! How did he get away leaving his fiancee to finish the final changes!! We wish him and his bride the best for the future.
The course was in good condition and the greens exceptionally quick and true for the time of year. The weather threatened at the beginning but it turned out fine.
Not much on course comments, so we must of all played without incident? Just a couple of notes:
Paul Risk struggled to get of the first Tee - Literally as the ball did not move far from his Tee but did manage to pass the ladies Tee - Just!! Good start to the season Paul.
Dave Flavell, onto what was an exceptional round, on the 13th just cleared the ladies Tee with his Tee shot but recovered onto the green with his second.
Michael Prevost managed to hit the ball backwards - a shot worthy of fine for sure.
Peter Carfrae managed to play the 11th in such a way that he never used the green but still managed a four.
Dave Flavell has transformed his game over the winter; the practice on his cruise obviously has paid dividends. From last year's 21st place here he lost the 2 and came in 1st. A first and well deserved win - well done Dave. 24 points on front nine followed by 6 points on first 6 on the back nine, but a strong 7 on last three.
Tony Boon was strongest man - a guest who I hope will not be put off coming again.
Results were:
1st Place - Dave Flavell
2nd - Our perennial bride - Bryan Carter 35 points
Nearest the Pin in 2 (1st Hole) - Paul Donlevy, AKA Macca
Nearest the Pin (3rd Hole) - Bryan Carter
Nearest Pin in 3 (16th Hole) - Bryan Carter
Longest Drive (18th Hole) - Paul Healy
The photo shows our new Captain Paul Beard presenting the 1st prize to winner Dave Flavell. Well done Dave.
Roving reporter: Ian TurvillYou can see the full set of results on the
results pageThe current Order Of Merit can be seen
here