Men’s Golf Blog
I begin with another Hole-in-One alert! Many congratulations indeed to John Cardwell who achieved his ace on the 14th on Tuesday of last week. But there are more congratulations required, with another ace scored on the Friday, on the 7th, by Ralph Evers, very well-done sir! And we almost had a ‘grand slam’ of holes-in-one by last weekend but sadly Past- Captain Martin Abbott’s fine shot to the 17th rebounded off the pin, to 2 feet, so near yet …
On Saturday 17th April we played the Centenary Putter, with a record 120 competitors, and commendably, no absentees on the timesheet. This proved to be a stern test of golf, with tough pin positions and fast greens that became even more challenging as the day progressed, being dried out by the cool easterly air stream. Our man of the day was Justin Colver, scoring a neat 69 nett to be the outright winner, very well played indeed Justin. Well done to all prize-winners in Divisions 1 to 3, and congratulations also to our Junior Captain; Charlie Bowen-Rayner, on recording 2’s at the 5th and 13th on the day, on his way to 3rd place overall.
I did manage to avoid a dreaded 4 putt on the day, preferring instead to spread out the pain by 3 putting holes 11 and 12, and just for good measure, the 13th. Taking 3 shots to get up and down from 10 paces on the 14th also felt like a 3 putt! I did hear of one Member enduring a 5 putt and know that it could happen to any of us … Playing the course with the wind opposite to the prevailing wind caused difficulty to a lot of the players, with a number of 9s recorded on the 15th and also some big scores noted on the 17th and 18th. Holes 8, 11, and 18 were ranked as equal hardest on the day; golf can be so humbling …
So, having suffered and been humbled, and hopefully having forgotten about it by recalling a decent putt you sank or hole you played, please remember to sign up for the Spring Meeting on 15th+/16th May, from 7am this Saturday, 1st May for more of the same, or better, there’s always hope!
Sign-up is open until midnight on Sunday 2nd May for the 2021 Four Ball Better Ball knockout, via the Intelligent Golf website. To be eligible to enter, both players must be Seven Day Members with Full Playing golf rights. The maximum Individual Handicap Index allowed is 22.3 for a course handicap of 23. Those with a Handicap Index higher than 22.3 may enter but MUST use a course handicap of 23. To date 52 teams have entered, a great competition, don’t miss out!
Finally, the usual, please make more effort to locate and repair pitch marks on the greens.