EVE. Wednesday 6 th Midweek Medal - Stableford + 9 Holer. Wednesday 13 th Texas Scramble. Wednesday 20 th Stableford and 9 Hole Stableford

Transcription

1 J a n u a r y A NEW YEAR..NEW HOPES AND BEST WISHES TO YOU ALL I don t know about you but I managed to put on 4 pounds over the holiday period and it s getting rather difficult to shift it these days! We have a very small family so had a quiet Christmas sharing our time between two 90 year old mothers! By the time you read this it will be New Year and I hope you celebrated it in style. It s a time for reflection and on that note I am glad to report that there was fine crowd of us at the funeral of Bob Howes just before Christmas. He was a spirited giant of a man and will be missed by all who had the pleasure of his company over the years. The greenkeepers are still being kept busy, trimming grass that SHOULD have stopped growing ages ago and we are all keeping our fingers crossed that the course remains open which will allow us to at least have a chance of shifting those extra pounds! Wednesday 2 nd December Midweek Medal Stableford - 35 seniors and one non senior for this one. Unless I m mistaken it was a first singles win for John Hibbert with a very tidy 39 points. Close on his heels and now probably back in the US was Frank Pullen with another classy 37 but only on countback from Ian Bradley who is showing some form at the moment. EVE Wednesday 6 th Midweek Medal - Stableford + 9 Holer Wednesday 13 th Texas Scramble Wednesday 20 th Stableford and 9 Hole Stableford Wednesday 27 th Greensomes Wednesday 21 st - E/S Stableford and Match vs The Rayleigh Club (h) The nine holer was again well attended with 24 players and the cream really rose to the top for this one, namely James Nolan with 17 points. A trio on 16 points was led by Ted Staples followed by Norman Ives and Rob Davies who was making a rare appearance. Wednesday 9 th December Presentation Day with 9 hole competition. The day started with the unveiling of a bench dedicated to our good friend Alan Hemple which sits after the 18 th hole, our hearts go out to Eileen. Our annual prize giving and a good attendance for the meal in the Rosewood Suite. All went well APART from the small detail of who won on the day! Unfortunately because I was taking photos, I couldn t take the results as well, and somewhere along the line they have been lost, for which I am sorry to all those who did win. The day was well organised by Bill Thorpe and you could almost see the weight of responsibility lift from his shoulders once we sat down, or just maybe it was the wine! Wednesday 16 th December By popular request the scheduled competition was changed to a waltz due to course conditions, true golfing democracy! continued on page 3 Wednesday 28 th 4 Ball Stableford - Best 2 & 3 THANKS FROM PAST CAPTAIN BOB Gentlemen - thank you so much for your generous contributions at the end of my year, that enabled me to be presented with an Apple Watch. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this gadget, it not only tells the time (essential for a watch!) - but also allows messages, s, makes and answers phone calls and a variety of other tasks that can be programmed - including a GPS that enables my Golfshot application to be used please feel free to ask for a demonstration!! I am so very pleased with it and thank you all again for your kind generosity. I will think of my year as Captain every time I look at it. Kind regards. Bob Braine

2 WEDNESDAY SENIORS RESULTS SUMMARY 2 nd December - Midweek Medal - Stableford 1 st John Hibbert - 39 Pts 2 nd Frank Pullen - 37 Pts C/B 3 rd Ian Bradley - 37 Pts C/B 9 Hole - Manor - Stableford 1 st James Nolan - 17 Pts 2 nd Ted Staples - 16 Pts C/B 3 rd Norman Ives - 16 Pts C/B 16 th December - Waltz 1 st Tony Lovell, Ken Benson and Bernie Lees - 75 Pts 2 nd Alex Ullmer and Bill Thorpe - 73 Pts 3 rd Paul Welton, Chris Clarke and Ian Bradley - 70 Pts 23 rd December - Texas Scramble 1 st John Hibbert, Ray Humphreys and Ian Bradley - net nd Richard Glasby, Peter Cook and Bernie Lees - net rd Bob Braine, Barry Sanders and Vic Muggeridge - net th December - Texas Scramble 1 st John Sheff and Tony Lovell - 44 Pts 2 nd Richard Glasby and Mike Freeston - 43 Pts 3 rd Tony Collings and Derek Kerstein - 42 Pts C/B

3 26 players braved the soggy conditions in 2 s and 3 s but the team of Tony Lovell, Ken Benson and Bernie Lees were victorious with a cracking 75 points. The duo of Alex Ullmer and Bill Thorpe were 2 nd with the help (this will wind them up!) of the par man with 73 and three further back were Paul Welton, Chris Clarke and Ian Bradley with 70. Wednesday 23rd December Texas Scramble - A beautifully sunny day greeted the organised amongst us who d managed to get their shopping/jobs done and dusted. Not strictly true in my case as we don t do the present thing but my wife did surprise me by going from no tree last year to 3 trees this year WHY????? Again, a lovely day and some lovely scores! In form John Hibbert, ably abetted by Ray Humphreys (did I spell it right Ray?) and Ian Bradley, were the victors with a brilliant 61.6 net. Richard Glasby, Peter Cook and Bernie Lees (again) were second on 62.9 and 0.1 further back were Bob Braine, Barry Sanders and Victor Muggeridge on 63. A lovely atmosphere in the clubhouse after the golf which is what it s all about for me, good camaraderie all round. Wednesday 30th December Betterball Pairs - A very windy day with heavy rain forecast for the last few holes, which we managed to miss somehow. I played with the winners of this one and I have to say, I ve seen Tony Lovell play better but John Sheff was a revelation! Wherever there were two shots given he either got par or birdie so the points really racked up. Their score of 44 points was however, only one better than Richard Glasby and Mike Freeston. Derek Kerstein and Tony Collings were third with 42 on countback and although Tony was the driving force, Derek played his part and it was nice to see him take some wine, well done fella. On a lighter note - GOLF TRUISMS Golf balls are like eggs. They're white. They're sold by the dozen...and a week later you have to buy more. A pro-shop gets its name from the fact that you have to have the income of a professional golfer to buy anything in there. It's amazing how a golfer who never helps out around the house will replace his divots, repair his ball marks, and rake his sand traps. When you stop to think about it, did you ever notice that it's a lot easier to get up at 6:00 a.m. to play golf than at 10:00 to mow the grass? Golf is by far the ultimate love / hate relationship. Sometimes it seems as though your cup runneth and moveth over. A good drive on the 18th hole has stopped many a golfer from giving up the game. Water hazards are no walk in the park for fish, turtles or frogs either. Golf is the perfect thing to do on Sunday because you always end up praying a lot. A good golf partner is one who's always slightly worse than you. If there's a storm rolling in, you'll be having the game of your life. If your opponent has trouble remembering whether he shot a six or a seven,he probably shot an eight.

4 DECEMBER WINNERS Midweek Medal Winner - John Hibbert- singing! Texas Scramble winners - Ray Humphreys, John Hibbert and Ian Bradley Betterball Pairs winners - John Sheff and Tony Lovell

5 Presentation Day in pictures

6

7

8

9

10

11 PRO TIPS with Paul Barham This month we look at - Putting Hi guys Hope you all had a great Christmas and I wish you a happy 2016! In this month s article I would like to talk about possibly the most important part of golf and that is putting. At the end of our round we talk about our long drives but very rarely about good putts we have holed, about 20 years ago I was called 'one putt' because it was the strongest part of my game, at the time I didn t like that title but now as I have got older and my putting is not as good I would love that back! When I ask my pupils how many putts they average a round very few people can answer. I would say most amateur golfers have 36 putts at least in 18 holes. The tour professionals will average approx 30 with the best putters may get as low as 28. When I looked at the statistics most good putters had 6 to 7 one putts per round, not all of them are for birdies but they chip and 1 putt numerous times. When I speak and watch good putters they all have a few things in common: 1. Great at getting the pace 2. Hole over 50% of putts under 8 feet. 3. Always hit their short putts firm. 4. Never worry about return putt. The good putters I have played with always look very relaxed at address with their arms hanging freely, the ball is always slightly nearer the left heel at address with their hands slightly forward of the ball, the back stroke is never too long but always very smooth with the followthrough being of equal length. The most important think they all do is to keep their head still throughout the stroke. Remember guys you don t have to be strong to be a great putter but you need good basics so your stroke repeats, and a lot of practice to get the confidence that you are never going to miss! Good luck and let me know if you need me to look at your basics. See you soon! Paul To book lessons or for more information contact Paul Barham Mobile: paulbarham09@gmail.com