W/E 6 March 2010

 

Tuesday this week saw the start of the Seniors Captain’s Challenge, a competition spread over three weeks involving a variety of formats.  Tradition has it that the Captain and Vice-Captain select their teams using the time honoured playground ritual of alternate choice.  Unfortunately the Captain was away enjoying a holiday in South Africa so the responsibility for selection had to be undertaken by Committee member Ted Leighton and Vice-Captain John Mason.

 

The format for this week was the Foursomes in which teams of two players alternate in striking the same ball.    Success relies on an arrangement whereby one’s partner has sufficient skill to get out of any difficult situations in which he may be left but he in turn does not leave you in any difficult situations at all.   Players for whom this arrangement was not fully understood may have occasionally looked towards the heavens for inspiration and have been rewarded with the sight of a red kite or two soaring majestically over the course.  The red kite’s voice is an insistent thin piping complaint which can sometimes be mistaken for the sound of a distressed partner.  Nevertheless on a splendid morning with clear blue sky and bright sunshine 52 members enjoyed the competition.  The Vice-Captain’s team got off to a promising start winning 9 games to the Captain’s 3 with one game halved.   Next week sees a return to the more familiar four ball competition and hopefully some improvement for the Captain’s team.

 

On Thursday 30 members took part in a 1-2-3 Stableford competition in which Ron Snape, Nick Carter and Kevin Whittle combined well to achieve the top score of 83 points.  Second place was taken by John Phipps, David Brailsford and Bill Ansell  with a total of 79 points.  The highlight of the morning was undoubtedly the unscheduled appearance of some horses and hounds from the Cottesmore Hunt on and around the fifteenth fairway.   However no harm was done and the only fox that members saw on the day was the mascot on the front of the bar in the clubhouse.

 

During the winter months the Winter League Knockout competition has been ongoing and the eight pairs that emerged from the leagues have been battling it out for a place in the final.   Alan Shuttleworth and Graham Cole are up against John Killin and David Wilson in one semi-final whilst in the other Frank Copsey had to withdraw following a pacemaker operation leaving his partner Keith Barratt to face Geoff Emery and Jonathan Walpole on his own.  Despite showing true Yorkshire grit and an occasional lapse into the vernacular Keith had eventually to concede defeat.

 

Those of you with more than a passing interest in the red kite may like to visit the website  www.redkites.co.uk   for more information.  In recent weeks three red kites have been seen over the course on many occasions.

 

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W/E 27 February 2010

 

On Tuesday 40 members braved some chilly weather conditions to take part in an individual Stableford competition.  It was also the last opportunity to enter a card for the long running Eclectic competition which started at the end of October last year.

 

In the Stableford competition Arthur Dethick was the clear winner in Division 1 with 40 points.   Ted Leighton took second place  with 37 points just beating Geoff Emery on countback.   In Division 2 Barry Maddock took first place with 34 points ahead of the ever spritely Jock Wallace on 33 points.

 

Division 1

 

.................................................1st ....Arthur Dethick .............40points

.................................................2nd....Ted Leighton.................37points on c/b

 

Division 2

.................................................1^st         Barry Maddock         .. 34 points

.................................................2^nd      Jock Wallace          ...   33 points

 

In the Eclectic competition the leading three who finished last week remained untroubled by the chasing pack with only Nick Carter able to gain ground and take fourth place.   Congratulations go to Bill Collins who achieved first place on countback over Geoff Osborne in what has proved to be a very keenly contested and enjoyable competition.  Our thanks go to Dave and Ann Roberts for running this competition so efficiently. The final net scores after handicap reduction are shown below.  Click here for full set of scores.

 

.......................................................1^st        Bill Collins                  57.0

.......................................................2^nd       Geoff Osborne           57.0 on c/b

.......................................................3^rd        David Wilson             58.0

.......................................................4^th        Nick Carter                59.5

 

On Thursday 30 members were rewarded  for their determination to play golf whatever the weather when around mid day the rain clouds lifted and the power of the sun became evident once again.   A best 2 from 3 Stableford was the format of the day with two groups vying for first place on 82 points.  The group comprised of Eamon Walsh, Robin Douglas and Nigel Coombs was eventually declared the winner on countback just one point ahead of Bob Goddard, Arthur Dethick and John Rudin.   Welcome back to John Downey who played a full round for the first time since his recent health problems.

 

Congratulations go to past captain Kevin Whittle who reached his 70^th birthday this week and was presented with the ‘Jack Hunt Cane’ by Mike Frankish.   It is a tradition within the Seniors that anyone reaching 70 years of age who publicly offers to buy a drink for all fellow competitors on the day is presented with the cane to keep safe until the next recipient comes of age. Pictures on Members Snippets.

 

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W/E 20 February 2010

 

On Tuesday 45 members again defied the elements to take part in an individual Stableford and put the finishing touches to their Eclectic scorecard.

 

In the Stableford competition Keith Barratt topped Division 1 with an excellent total of 43 points two points clear of John Rudin in second place.   In Division 2 Nick Nicolle performed well for the third week running but yet again had to be content with second place this time behind Michael Platt.

Division 1

1^st        Keith Barratt          43 points

2^nd       John Rudin             41 points

 

Division 2

........................................................1^st          Michael Platt          38 points

........................................................2^nd  ....Nick Nicolle      ..... 34 points on c/b

 

 

In the Eclectic competition having completed their ten rounds Bill Collins, Geoff Osborne and David Wilson look well placed to take the honours.   However there are still a number of players with one round to play who could still cause an upset.  Rip Kirby has shown good form in recent weeks and has enough bogeys left on his card to overhaul the leaders if things go according to plan next week.

 

On Thursday only 13 stalwarts turned out to play in the fog and snow.  An individual Stableford was the format of the day with the best performance belonging to Rip Kirby on 35 points followed by Ron Snape on 31 points.

 

Also on Thursday a dozen Seniors travelled north to escape the bad weather and take advantage of a special deal arranged by Arthur Dethick with Mick at Boston West.   Frank Copsey and John Rudin took first place with the best combined score of 64 points although Kevin Whittle had the best individual  score of 35 points.

 

The tale of the week belongs to John Phipps who was poised to make a putt on the 18^th green for a long sought after par for his Eclectic card when he was visibly unnerved by the sudden appearance of a young but rather large bull mastiff.   Acting Seniors Captain John Mason was consulted but declined a request to make a ruling in John’s favour.

 

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W/E 13 February 2010

 

On Tuesday in fairly chilly conditions 44 members showed up for the individual Stableford and the opportunity to make a late surge in the Eclectic competition.

 

In the Stableford competition two old sparring partners Bob Goddard and Frank Copsey both scored a creditable 39 points in Division 1, Bob getting first place on countback.   In Division 2 Nick Nicolle performed well for the second week running but had to be content with second place behind Geoff Osborne.

 

Division 1

1^st  Bob Goddard             39 points on c/b

2^nd  Frank Copsey            39 points on c/b

 

Division 2

1^st        Geoff Osborne           39 points

2^nd       Nick Nicolle                36 points

 

 

In the Eclectic competition Bill Collins and Geoff Osborne are now joint leaders on 57.0 points, a full three points ahead of third place David Wilson.  Within the chasing pack Nick Carter, Kevin Whittle and Frank Copsey perhaps pose the greatest threat having two rounds to play compared with only one for the rest.  

 

On Thursday with weather more suited to the Winter Olympics only 17 brave souls contested the best 3-2-1 Stableford competition.  The best performance of the day belonged to Ron Snape, Nick Carter and Bob Goddard with a combined score of 81 points.  Second place was taken by David Rippin, Nigel Coombs and Nick Nicolle with 80 points.

 

In celebration of his ‘On the Tee’ slot this week Frank Copsey demonstrated that he can still play a bit when his third shot, some 180 yards from the pin on the par 5 eighth hole, bounced on the green and disappeared down the hole for an Eagle picking up three shots for his eclectic.

 

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