Men’s Golf Blog
Here we are, the final blog before I pass on the Captaincy to Paul on 16th October. After the previous golfing marathon of matches and so on, things have been a little less hectic. Not for the chaps who were still in the 2021 Fourball Betterball, however, who were impressively dedicated in completing their quarter-final matches by the play-by date.
Our 2021 semi-finalists are:
Adam Musikant and Ben Walmsley vs. Mike Kappler and Jonny Perkins
Craig De Silva and Andy Nowell vs. Stuart Loggie and Greg Waunford-Brown
The remaining rounds of the 2020 Fourball Betterball have progressed through the summer and the finalists are:
Craig De Silva and Andy Nowell vs. Stuart Loggie and Greg Waunford-Brown
Well done to all players for progressing this far, and best wishes in your upcoming matches.
The Club Roll-up on 18th September was won by Michael Lever with an excellent 46 points, none of which were scored at the 3rd hole, and after which he played the remaining fifteen holes in level par gross! Congratulations to Michael who has worked very hard on his game and improved his handicap index from 18.5 in mid-May down to 12.1 today. Christian Schniewind took second place with 40 points with Ben Angood in third place on countback with 39.
On Saturday last, twelve good men from Roehampton Club set off for Royal Mid-Surrey (RMS) to contest the Whale Challenge Cup, held by ourselves since 2018, the last time this match took place. Mr A.G. Whale was our Club Captain in 1948 and was also closely associated with Royal Mid Surrey at the time, and he provided a fine silver cup for us to compete for annually.
We felt sure we had a strong team, on paper it looked better than RMS, but clearly they had a similar view of their strengths and they regained the Cup with an impressive 5-1 victory, ouch! Keith Atkins was our outstanding player on the day with a 78 gross (!) in achieving our teams only win, ably supported by Graham Terry. I had a great partner in Andrew Linford and but for a couple of 3-4 footers that didn’t drop, we might have prevailed. Two other matches could have gone either way but while nobody played badly on the day, it was rather analogous to the Ryder Cup, with the RMS guys being just too good on the day, with some seemingly playing 5-6 shots better than handicap. Their team Captain, an RMS Past Captain and a great chap absolutely steeped in all matters relating to the Club over many years, must have motivational powers that I can only dream of.
The matches were played in great spirit, and we enjoyed fine hospitality throughout the day. We’ll just have to work hard to regain the Cup when we host them at Roehampton Club next year and reciprocate the generosity and welcome, we experienced from a great neighbouring Club. Watch out for match dates in the Club calendar next year, make sure you add yourself to the Men’s Friendly squad, and indicate your availability if you are interested in being selected to play. Our other annual match is with The Richmond, and incoming Captain Paul is trying to get a another one set up with The Berkshire. These inter-club matches are great fun and highly recommended, don’t overlook them.
Then on to Sunday, and the Captain and Pro Challengers event, a Fourball Betterball Stableford, with 24 players. Thank you to the splendid chaps that are Rob Savage and Andrew Linford for stepping in as honorary challengers for the day. I may have set another unwanted record for the shortest drive ever in the forward direction at the 2nd hole, where I struck my ball with such an infinitesimally glancing blow that it caused the ball to simply fall forward off the tee peg. I then sliced and mishit my fairway wood over to the rear of the 1st green! Imagine my surprise, several minutes later, when I single putted for a 6; it wouldn’t work out like that in the Spring Meeting of course …
But, more importantly, our event winners were 4BBB specialists, Past-Captains Stuart Loggie and Greg Waunford-Brown, with a fine score of 45 points. Dave and Dan Birn took 2nd place on countback with 43 points ahead of John Randel and Frank de Freitas. The series of matches with the professionals, 12 in 2020 and 13 in 2021, were truly the highlight of the Captaincy. So, make sure you sign up in 2022 to challenge Paul and our excellent team of professionals led by Head Professional Ricky Pharo. It has been such a privilege to play alongside them and to hope in vain to absorb some of their skills!
Also, in case he happens to read this, I’d like to congratulate Will Hancock and his wife on the recent birth of their second daughter, Ivy Rose (I hope I’ve got that right!) I played three times with Will this year, he’s a very talented coach and golfer, and just brilliant to be with on the golf course.
The challengers event was also Roger Perry’s last one at Roehampton Club before relocating to Scotland and we thank him for his contribution to the Men’s Golf Committee over the past four years. Thanks also to Paul Gordon-Brown, who has decided to stand down from the Committee, for his contribution in the past three years. I’m pleased to report that nominations have been received for the three Committee vacancies (as it happens, Paul becomes ex-officio as he assumes the Captaincy), and the new members are Bob Mitchell, Justin Thesiger, and Martyn Ryan. Welcome on-board chaps!
Sign-up for the Men’s Winter Foursomes will open shortly and you must be a Full Playing Member to be eligible for entry. Note additionally that you must have submitted at least three qualifying scores in the 12-month period before the competition opening date, whether from competition or general play. In an effort to gain more time between play-by dates, the first-round matches are all being played on one weekend, 6th and 7th November, with allocated morning tee times. This is in line with similar plans for the Ladies Winter Knockouts. If testing this arrangement out proves successful, it could also be used to ease congestion in next year’s Fourball Betterball Knockout. Despite a dire track record, apart from a third place in the Arthur Clarke Foursomes one year with Duncan Christie-Miller, I actually love foursomes golf; perhaps this could be my winter!
I always consider that winter starts in November, but fear not, there is the Men’s Golf Dinner (click here for more information) to look forward to on Friday 19th November with guest speaker John Inverdale, who I’m sure will have a good story or two to tell. I also imagine that he’ll offer some views on the Autumn International matches played before the dinner and those due to be played that weekend. His speaker’s fee goes to his local rugby club, by the way, which I really like.
We’ll present some trophies too, of course, make a fuss about deserving winners, and award some ‘shots of the year’, for which I feel I’m in contention following my adventures on the 2nd last weekend!
Finally, I’d like to thank all members for extending tremendous goodwill, encouragement and friendship to me over the past 2 years. It really has been a wonderful experience, despite the pandemic, and I’ve made many new friends across all the golf sections. I’m looking forward to Paul’s drive-in and supporting him in having a great year as Captain. If I may, I’d like to finish with these words from a song; “Raise with me a parting glass, good night, and joy be with you all”