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SENIORS - May 2016
The list of Seniors section club matches (dates, venues, timings) arranged for 2016 and update reports on Seniors matches and fixtures are shown below.
Seniors section matches 2016
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SENIOR MOMENTS – May 2106
CONVINCING VICTORY FOR WEST WILTS GC SENIORS AGAINST BRAMSHAW GC SENIORS
West Wilts GC Seniors were in fighting mood when they played Bramshaw GC at home on 5th May following a string of recent defeats. The course was in tiptop condition as the teams of 12 greeted each other on the 1st tee in almost ideal playing conditions.
Peter Walton, WWGCS Captain, left nothing to chance and led from the front as he recorded a 6&5 victory over his opposition. Other notable performances were from Dave Thackaberry, last year’s Captain, who won 7&5, and Dave Johnson, partnered by Steve Adams, who romped home with a creditable 4&3 victory.
The overall match result was a 4½ to 1½ convincing win for West Wilts Seniors which was the best performance so far this season; let’s hope for more of the same next Wednesday in the home game against North Wilts GC.
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SENIOR MOMENTS - DECEMBER 2015
Gentlemen, as Christmas is almost upon us I thought it would be a good time to keep you all up to date on what has been happening in the Seniors section of our Golf Club.
First of all congratulations to Ian Park with 43pts for winning the Turkey Trot, second place with 41pts on count back was Ken Aylott, third was Bill Powell also with 41pts. Fourth place was secured on count back with 39pts by Reg Monger, and fifth was John Walpole with 39pts. Guys, I hope you have spent the meat vouchers, so you can enjoy a festive Christmas.
On Monday 7th December we played the third Seniors Winter Stapleford competition with Dave Turner winning with 41pts, second was Bill Pope with 39pts, third on count back was Dave Johnson with 39pts and fourth with 38pts was Alan Watts. Congratulations to you all – the good news for us all is that Dave Turner's handicap has now been cut to 17.
Our senior roll-ups on Monday, Wednesday and Friday continue to be very well supported with great competitions, some of the winners over the last few weeks have been - Ian Marshall, Ivan Gower, Kevin O’Mahony and (yes of course!) Dave Turner.
On Friday 11th December over 35 seniors and their wives enjoyed our Christmas lunch; the food and wine was first class, many thanks to Sandra and her team and our committee members for organizing a very enjoyable occasion.
Gentlemen just a quick note on housekeeping. When on the course can you please make sure that on the putting green we repair our pitch marks, after playing out of the bunkers please rake the sand and on the fairways please replace our divots, this will help to keep our course in its current fantastic condition.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
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SENIOR MOMENTS – SEPTEMBER 2015
September saw a final month of frenetic activity in the Seniors’ Section, as we begin to slowly wind down for the autumn and winter months.
The Section was involved with ten significant events during the month, some of which were extremely successful, in terms of results, and some were a bit of a damp squib at the end of a long season! Most importantly our activities showed that the Section is in rude health and I think it is true to say that everyone who took part in these ten events thoroughly enjoyed the experience, whatever the final result! You can’t win all the time – as much as you would like to!
The Section was due to take part in the final seven of our Friendly matches during September but sadly our away match against Bath had to be cancelled, due to some very inclement weather. In the other six matches we won away against Wells and halved our match away at Wellow. Sadly all the remaining four matches ended up as a loss at home to Salisbury and South Wilts, away to Hamptworth and both home and away to Cumberwell Park. We will have to wait until next season to try and gain our revenge! One very significant feature of our friendly matches this season is that our Section has been represented by 57 of its members, out of a membership of currently 95. This is surely a reflection of how much these matches are enjoyed.
The final round of our Brian Burns Competition took place at the beginning of the month and two players, Derek Pike and Bill Powell, emerged triumphant with 37 points. Unfortunately for Bill, Derek was more triumphant as he was awarded first place on count back! Having now played all 6 rounds of this year’s Brian Burns event we were able to discover who had emerged with the best four scores. Unbelievably, this also ended as a tie with both Steve Adams and John Barnes achieving a total of 136 points. After a Stableford play off, John Barnes will be awarded the Memorial Tankard despite a very creditable performance by Steve.
Another Competition that took place during the month was the Seniors’ 38th Anniversary Competition. Almost true to form now, 2 players tied on a gross score of 84 but, with a net score of 68, Jack Winter will be the recipient of the Phillips Salver. This was a significant victory for Jack as his nearest challenger could only manage a net score of 72. There is also, of course, an award for the best gross score but, as Jack and Roger Lee both scored 84, it has been decided that the only fair result is that they will share the prize.
Perhaps with a hint of bias, the best has been left until last and that was my Captain’s Away Day, which this year was held at the Cotswold Edge Golf Club. There was a magnificent turn out from the Section with 39 players taking part on the day, with both individual and team trophies on offer. The weather was a little mixed and the course had clearly suffered from the recent rains but the feedback received has been that the day was very much enjoyed by all who attended. Of the prizes that were up for winning, 17 of the 39 people who attended managed to win something to bring home! The most significant of these are John Walpole (winner Low H\C event), Peter Connolly (winner High H\C event), Dave Howden, Dave Turner and Peter Connolly (winners of the Team event), Jack Winter and John Walpole (prizes for nearest the pin) and Mike Savage, Jack Winter, Dave Morgan and Dave Howden (prizes for 2s scores). Prize winners of second and third places are too numerous to mention here! There was also a Mystery Prize introduced for the first time this year and the Captain’s choice was to select the best score on 4 mystery holes. Again there was a clear winner and Peter Connolly was able to add to his tally of other prizes!
What a month!
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SENIOR MOMENTS – AUGUST 2015
The majority of activity for the Seniors’ Section this month has taken place away from the Club since we played 4 of our 5 matches away from home. Nevertheless, the scales tipped marginally in our favour as we won 3 of the matches and only lost 2.
Our losses were away to Mendip and North Wilts but we won convincingly away against Sherborne and Ashley Wood and at home against High Post. Most notably, Dave Johnson and Bob Davies recorded an excellent 8 and 6 win over their High Post opponents, whilst Jack Winter and John Walpole achieved a similar 7 and 6 win in the same match.
The Brian Burns No 5 event, which took place at the beginning of the month, was extremely well supported with 27 players taking part. Dave Turner emerged victorious with 40 points and Colin Hart came second on count back from Richard Triggol, both with 39 points. All three of them saw a reduction in their handicap with Colin now down to 19.2 and Dave at 17.6.
Sadly, the Monthly Medal event, which was due to have been played on 24 August, had to be cancelled due to the inclement weather. 7 hardy Seniors turned out to play anyway and began a normal Roll Up event but quickly retreated to the warmth and dryness of the Clubhouse!
The Section has 7 matches to play in September so there will be plenty of opportunity to sign in. In addition, the Section will celebrate its 38th Anniversary with a Medal event on Monday, 21 September, closely followed by our Captain’s Away Day at Cotswold Edge on Thursday, 24 September. Please sign in for all events on our Notice Board as soon as possible.
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SENIOR MOMENTS – JULY 2015
This has been another busy month for the Seniors’ Section, with 8 competitive events and, of course, our Seniors’ Open.
We have played 5 friendly matches, starting the month with our first really significant defeat against Bramshaw. We played the Forest Course in sublime conditions but went down by 5½-½. Eric Brown and Ray White saved us from a whitewash! In the other 4 friendly matches we halved against Chippenham at Home and Tidworth Away and then won convincingly against Tidworth and Mendip at Home. We had to cancel one Home match versus Marlborough, because of extremely inclement weather, and having beaten them in the Away match in June, we had rather fancied our chances in the Home fixture. Sadly, it was not to be!
A team of 10 went to Bridport and West Dorset to play in the second round of the Knighton Heath Knock Out Plate Competition but, sadly, we departed from the Competition in losing by 8½-1½. John Brickell won his match and Roly Jones kept his clean sheet in this competition by halving his. Ivan Gower narrowly escaped an adder bite as he saw the adder before it saw him!
In the Brian Burns No 4 event, Jack Winter and Alan Watts both came in with 38 points but Jack won first place on count back. Then in the Monthly Medal, John Barnes went round in a net 62 and saw his handicap reduce from 17 to 15 as a result.
The highlight of the month was, of course, our Seniors Open, which was once again superbly organised by Ray White. He enlisted the help of a very able team, which included Melanie and Jim Derham, Ivan Gower and Dave Johnson and several willing volunteers from our Ladies’ Section. Our thanks are due to Ladies Captain, Lana Walls, and her team for their support. There were over 150 competitors taking part and some excellent performances were achieved by members of the Section. Terry Turner surprised even himself by coming in with 45 points, thereby taking first prize, and he saw his handicap reduce from 25 to 22 as a result. Jack Winter was Runner Up with 40 points and, after his earlier success this month in the Brian Burns and then this in the Seniors Open, his handicap has also reduced this month by 2 from 18 to 16.
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SENIOR MOMENTS – JUNE 2015
Activity during June in the Seniors Section has been busy, successful and highly enjoyable. It began with the Brian Burns No 3 event on 1st June, with 27 Seniors taking part. John Walpole finished in the top spot but with a surprisingly low score of 35 points.
Two days later 24 Seniors set off for 3 days of golf at Dudsbury and what a success that was. The trip was superbly organised by Ivan Gower and we got off to a great start when Mick Toomey, unable to go at the last minute, donated a bottle of wine to every room. What a generous gesture. The golf wasn’t easy as Dudsbury proved to be a challenging course. This was evidenced by the number of lost balls when, over 3 rounds, 24 golfers lost 179 balls – an average of over 7 each! Roger Lee cunningly forecasted a loss of 180 balls and thus won the “lost ball sweep”! Ian Marshall, Bob Davies, Roland Jones and Laurie Richardson won the first day’s Bowmaker event. Bob Davies featured again with Laurie Richardson to win the second day’s Better Ball event. Then once again Bob Davies featured in the last day’s Singles event, in the low handicap division, but this time he was beaten into second place, on count back, by Dave Johnson. In the high handicap division of the last day’s Singles event, Club President Dave Hiscock emerged triumphant with Section Treasurer Alan Welch in second place.
The Seniors hosted an event with our Ladies Section on the 18th June and 16 teams took to the field in a Texas Scramble event. The winners were Julie Osborne, Jan Sargison, Derek Pike and Ivan Gower with a net score of 59.8. In second place were Linda Parkinson, Lyn Penington, Joe O’Brien and Warren White with 61.1 and on count back in third place were Meryl Pike, Vivienne Warden, Tony Craddock and John Brickell with 61.8. Meryl Pike was also successful in being nearest lady to the pin on the 9th hole at 34 inches, whilst Kevin O’Mahony claimed nearest the pin for the men on the 4th hole at 34 feet!
The Section had a significant victory in the first round of the Knighton Heath Plate Competition when we beat Rushmore 6-4 and we are now drawn against Bridport in the next round with this match to be played in July.
We also played 5 friendly fixtures during the month of June. We lost only one game to South Wilts, halved with Kingsdown and Chippenham and beat Bath and Marlborough. We aim to get our revenge in our Home match against South Wilts in September! Two of our Seniors, Peter Walton and Roger Lee, went off to North Wilts during the month to help celebrate the North Wilts Club’s 125th Anniversary. Peter came back reporting a very enjoyable day with them.
The final event of the month was the Seniors Monthly Medal, held on a glorious sunny day with a creditable 22 players taking part. Terry Turner topped the list with a net score of 66. John Barnes and Steve Adams were in second place on a net 67. Well done all!
On a further note of optimism, the Section has grown by 3 new members during June, with Chris Martin, Vic Simpson and David Turner joining us. We can also report that Alan Bayliss has rejoined the Section.
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SENIOR MOMENTS – MAY 2015
Despite miserable weather, with rain and strong winds throughout May, there has been another surfeit of golf played by the Seniors’ Section.
We had to abandon one match without a ball being played, because of torrential rain, and that match at Home against Kingsdown has had to be rearranged for June, which makes next month even busier. Nevertheless, the Section played 4 friendly matches in May, halving with strong teams from Farrington and North Wilts at Home, scoring a 4- 2 victory against Bramshaw, again at Home, and losing Away to High Post by a margin of 11⁄2 to 41⁄2.
Round 2 of the Brian Burns was played on Monday, 11 May with Colin Hart emerging in 1st place and Dave Johnson hard on his heels. The Section was well represented in the Club’s John Doyle Memorial Trophy with Jack Cox and Gordon Walls winning the event and, again, Colin Hart playing with Bob Davies achieving second place. Finally, the 5th Seniors Monthly Medal was played on 27 May and Colin Hart, with a net 64, was once again the winner with John Walpole in second place on 67, on count back from Terry Turner. You will not be surprised to hear that Colin’s handicap has reduced from 22 to 20, directly as a result of his efforts in May. Well done Colin!
We look forward to a busy month in June, made even tougher by the rearranged match with Kingsdown and the 1st round of the Knighton Heath Knock Out Plate competition in which we have been drawn to play Rushmore at Home.
Please keep an eye on our Seniors’ Notice Board and add your names to the Team Sheets whenever possible.
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SENIOR MOMENTS – APRIL 2015
The Seniors’ season has teed off to an exhilarating start with 6 matches already under our belts. However, we should start this news update by wrapping up the winter events, which remained incomplete at the last time of writing.
The two winter knock out competitions dragged on for much longer than expected this year for many different reasons. However, the two finals were very exciting affairs and turned out to be hard fought battles. In the Winter Four BBB event Peter Walton and Kevin O’Mahony eventually went down to Ivan Gower and Dave Johnson, whereas in the Winter Foursomes competition it was Reg Monger and John Brickell who eventually triumphed over Peter Laugher and John Richards.
The March Eclectic event was equally competitive with some 15 Seniors taking part and, at the end of the day, it was impossible to sort out first place with two players recoding a net score of 51. It was decided therefore that John Barnes and Laurie Richardson should both take home the spoils! John Barnes was also successful in winning the Seniors March Medal event and won enough to buy himself a Seniors’ Team shirt! I am sure he will feature regularly for the Seniors’ Section in our Friendly fixtures. Incidentally the Seniors Monthly Medal event has proved so successful that we will continue to run a medal event throughout the summer on the last Monday in the month, where possible. Keep an eye on our Notice Board. The Seniors’ Roll Ups on Monday, Wednesday and Friday continue to be extremely well attended and we regularly field over 20 players. It is great news that the Board have decided to continue to allow the use of both tees, otherwise we would have difficulty in completing our Roll Ups to time.
Turning now to our matches, we had a warm up match against the Club “Wagglers” (most of whom were Seniors anyway!) and this resulted in a very narrow defeat by 3 matches to 2. Undeterred, we then went into the first friendly match of the season against a very strong Hamptworth team, which we managed to halve 3-3. The match was played in gale force winds and so a draw was a fair result. Since then we have played Sherborne and Wells at home, managing comfortable victories by 4 matches to 2, and we lost away to Kingsdown by the narrowest of margins 3½ to 2½. Our biggest disappointment has been in the Knighton Heath Knock Out competition where we were drawn to play away in the first round against Weymouth. The match was played in lovely weather on a course that was in superb condition and we only recorded one victory out of 10 matches. Very well done Roly Jones! We will now progress to the Plate competition, as we did last year, and we will try and improve on that performance.
Many of our Seniors’ Section members took part in the Club’s Over 60s Basil Cole competition on Monday, 20 April and 8 of our members featured in the top 10 places. This was a great reflection on the activities within the Section.
We ended our last report with the news that Terry Turner had achieved his first hole-in-one in January. We can now report that, in March, two of our Seniors’ members recorded a hole-in-one on the same day! Well done to Jeff Gardner, who holed out on the 16th, and Terry Armitt who managed his on the 13th. Watch this space in the next report!
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SENIOR MOMENTS - MARCH 2015
With the 2015 season about to tee off in earnest it’s time for a brief review of the events of this year so far. The weather hasn’t been particularly conducive to playing golf but nevertheless the same faces appear regularly for our roll-ups and competitions.
The Winter Stableford competition is now complete. The winner of the January event was Peter Laugher with 40 points and in the final round in February it was Bryan Pickles with 43 points. Time to look now at the best scores to find the winner of this year’s event and we see Joe O’Brien in second place with 115 points but the winner with a magnificent 125 points is John Walpole. This despite a handicap review half way through so well done John.
The Toomey Tri-Club competition was played on the first Monday in March in foul conditions – some rain and severe wind – but this didn’t deter Colin Hart or John Barnes who both came in with 36 points; Colin winning on count back. Both have been submitted to the Club Handicap Committee for review but not just on the basis of this result, of course!
The Winter Foursomes and Match Play competitions are not yet complete and that report will be saved for a later review of events.
We ran a Medal event in January, as was requested by members, and we had a healthy turn out of 22 players. The winner was Walt Witts, despite playing with an arthritic hip! Walt has now undergone hip replacement surgery and will no doubt be back on the course as soon as he is able. The intended Medal event in February was cancelled because of the atrocious weather and, since our programme is getting pretty crowded, it was decided not to re-run the event. We will persevere with the Medal Competition in March and then consider whether or not to make it a permanent monthly event. It would be nice to see more of our low handicappers competing and this they may well do when the course resumes its normal playing length and the weather improves.
Our Eclectic event got underway this month with players having to submit 5 cards, all within the month of March. 15 Seniors are taking part so it will prove to be challenging and worthwhile competition.
The Seniors’ Section was well represented in the Club 6-way competition played last weekend. Peter Walton paired up with John Brickell to come in with 35 pts and beat their Wagglers opposition. The other pair was John Walpole and Terry Turner who produced 36 pts and tied with a Ladies pair, despite having to give away 13 shots!
We have once again entered the Section for the Knighton Heath Knock Out competition and it appears that we have received a bye from the Preliminary Round. We should know our opponents for the 1st round very shortly. We will need all hands to the pumps for this as the maximum handicap allowed for any player is 18.
The least said about my personal golf the better having fractured a finger in February. I am keeping my fingers crossed (even the fractured one) to be able to play in our first Seniors’ matches in April but, thanks to Peter Walton, my Captain’s contribution has not been missed!
Finally, I couldn’t close this review without mentioning Terry Turner and his magnificent hole-in-one on the 13thhole back in January. As far as Terry is concerned this remains “the event of my life time” but I’m sure he’ll forget that when he gets his next one! Well done Terry.
Dave Thackaberry
Seniors’ Captain
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