CAPTAIN'S BLOG - NEWS

On Sunday the 29th May 2016 the club will hold the Mixed Foursomes Championship Round 1 and the Mixed Foursomes Handicap for the Wotton Trophy Round 1. Both Round 2 games will be held on Sunday 5th June 2016. Conditions of the Competition are in the pro-shop and on the notice Club Notice Board. Bookings can be made through the computer. Good luck to all players.

The Men's Foursomes Championship qualifying round and Patron's Trophy were played last Saturday in spectacular conditions. Whilst there was some discontent allowing an Individual Stableford in conjunction with the event, it soon became clear that this is what members required. We had 42 starters in the Foursomes and 40 starters in the Stableford. Had we only limited it to the foursomes, a lot of members may have been disappointed, to not play at all. The Patron's Trophy was contested as a net result, won by Terry McAuliffe and Tony Hobson with a gross 84 and net 70. Runners up were David Boyd and Pascal Timores with a net 72. Whilst Terry and Tony were not at the presentation, the Patron's Trophy, a silver Plate was presented to the Captain by our Patron, Mr. Brian Lamb to hold until the Presentation Night in February 2017. The eight gross qualifiers for the Men's Foursomes Championship are as follows : Elliot & Gair 84, McAuliffe & Hobson 84, Burgess & Sam Mulholland 85, Boyd & Timores 86, Phillips & Hanrahan 87, Eggert & Denholm 88, Turpie & Eriksson 94 and last but not least, Keirnan & Barker 95. The draw , 1 plays 8, 2 plays 7 etc is in the pro-shop. Matches must be played by the designated times in the club calendar. If you cannot meet this commitment or do not wish to play in the knockout, please advise me as a matter of urgency so the next qualifying team can be included. We wish all competitors good luck. 

Members will have noticed the deterioration in the head wall on the Eastern side of the 18th fairway bridge. Unfortunately time and water have eroded the foundation, which has led to the collapsing of the wall and undermining of the pipes. As it is in immediate need of repair, we have sought a quote, from a local firm, to have approximately 500 cm of the pipes removed, the culvert excavated to bedrock and reinforced concrete poured to underpin the pipes and provide a footing for a replacement wall. As the footings on the Northern side are in good order, we will extend them to allow for the building a similar wall on both sides. On completion of this task, we will allocate the further construction to our resident Stone Mason extraordinaire, Taffy McCarten, to build a sandstone wall on each side in keeping with the bridge on the 1st. Whilst there is a cost in all this, it is not exorbitant, as there is no further structural work to fix the problem. However, there is some urgency as future rains may create a more costly problem in the future. Please be patient during the building process as I am confident the final result will enhance the overall look of the 18th fairway.

After some manipulation as to time and date, the final of the Men's Foursomes Handicap Knockout was played last Saturday week, between Jim Phillips & Tony Fitzpatrick and Alec Dietsch & Chris Harvey. It was a cold windy day and the referee was not looking forward to the job at hand. Alec and Jim  hit off the first and both landed on the 18th. Oops, I told them I wouldn't mention that. The game then settled down to more conservative play with Jim & Tony winning the first two holes. Alec & Chris squared the third and won the fourth. Jim & Tony responded by winning the next 5 holes straight, which put them in a commanding position at 6 up on the turn. Jim & Tony were eventual worthy winners 5 / 3 with the game played in great spirit. Congratulations go to Jim & Tony with commiserations to Alec & Chris.Maybe a photo to follow if I can get them together.