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results from the 2002 seasonChallenge Trophy Matlock Golf Club - 11th October 2002 18 + 11 hole combined score stableford (7/8 handicap)
Another good turn-out of 30 people were to contest the final event of the 2002 season, The Challenge Trophy. The weather was very good for the time of year and the course was in great condition. Matlock is a superbly designed course, where you have to think your way around as it's very important which side of the fairway and green you end up on, as to whether you've got a chance at your next shot. The greens were very tricky and many people actually ended up putting off the green.
The event was played over 29 holes (18 in the morning and 11 in the afternoon) with the scores for both rounds added together to get a total score. Although the total score was from 29 holes, the stableford points scores on the day were very low, due the the difficulty of the course layout and the very severe greens.
The event was won by a new BUNGS member, Bob Lander. This was only Bob's second BUNGS event and he followed his third place at Collingtree with victory at Matlock with a combined total of 47 points. Second place went to Barry Whitmore who, after a pathetic 6 points on the opening nine holes of the morning round, scored a superb 40 points on the next 20 holes for a total of 46 points. In third was Paul Weston who scored very consistently for a 45 point total. Although outside the prizes on the day, Adam Thompson's fourth place proved to be very significant. Adam needed to score 17 'league cup' points to overtake Andy Smith in the final event of the year. Adam's score of 44 stableford points was enough to beat Steve Lloyd on countback to finish fourth and snatch league cup victory from Andy in the tightest of finishes. Andy was last seen sitting in the corner cradling several pints of Stella, although Andy did have some consolation by winning the nett birdies league title.
Full results from Matlock can be seen here: handicap adjustments (matlock 2002).htm
2's Sweep - gross 2's scored by the following: 4th Par 3 165 yards Mike Thacker (£5) 8th Par 3 139 yards Adam Thompson am (£5) 8th Par 3 139 yards Karl Hughes (£5) 8th Par 3 139 yards John Newton (£5)
8th
Par 3 139 yards Adam Thompson pm (£5) 10th Par 3 169 yards John Pinches (£5)
Glastek Trophy Collingtree Park Golf Course - 4th September 2002 18 hole stableford (7/8 handicap)
Once again we had an excellent attendance of 32 players to contest the Glastek Trophy at Collingtree Parl Golf Course. Collingtreee is a superb Johnny Miller designed course that has held European PGA Tour events and the quality of the course certainly didn't disappoint. The general course condition was superb and the greens were fast and true, with some very difficult pin positions.
The weather was, once again, absolutely superb and the local residents (Collingtree is built within a housing estate) were sitting in their gardens, enjoying the September sunshine and watching the golfers go by. Someone should have warned them that BUNGS were coming as I'm sure evasive action must have been taken on a multitude of occasions as stray shot disappeared into nearby gardens on a regular basis. A great example was Graham Adams who, with his opening tee shot of the afternoon, somehow managed to slice a ball 50 yards forward and 80 yards right. The ball clattered off the roof of a nearby mansion and fell in the garden. Luckily no-one was home.
Not everyone was as wayward as the vast majority of the BUNGS members present and there were some good performances over a difficult golf course. James Shipman, who won the event last time we played at Collingtree, shot a very creditable 32 points playing of 8. John Shaw (4.4), John Pinches (9.4) and Chris Craddy (18.1) all shot very good rounds to score 34 points. Third place went to first time BUNGS attendee, Bob Lander (18.0). After taking the money in the morning practice, Bob continued his good play to get to the turn in 21 points. He stuttered on the back nine however to come home in 14 points for an excellent total of 35 points. Second place, by virtue of a better back nine, went to John Mansell (27.0). John had commented that he'd had some lessons and sorted his game-out. After his opening tee-shot in the morning we weren't too sure but John's game improved and he also shot an excellent 35 points. The runaway leader with a massive 42 points was Adam Thompson. Adam, playing off a handicap of 8.9, played superb golf all day and only lost-out to Bob Lander for the morning's money due to a worse last 6 holes. Adam rarely missed the fairway or the green in regulation and, coming down the final hole was only one over par. A three putt from the edge of the green however meant that Adam bogeyed the last for a round of 74, Adam's best ever round of golf.
Full results from Collingtree can be seen here: handicap adjustments (collingtree 2002).htm
2's Sweep - gross 2's scored by the following:
5th
Par 3 150 yards James Shipman (£10)
Pairs Championship Walsall Golf Club - 1st August 2002 18 hole fourball betterball stableford (7/8 handicap)
Another great turn-out of 33 players contested the fourball betterball Pairs Championship. Each pair played off 7/8 handicap with the exception of the one group of three players who played of half handicap to try and even things out.
For once, the weather let us down and we got wet both morning and afternoon although at least we finished in the dry. The wet weather however made the greens soft and 'attacking the pin' was a real prospect for everyone. The course was in absolutely superb condition and the greens were in excellent condition. Despite being wet, they were lightning quick and very true.
With four pairs within 3 points at the top of the leaderboard, it was one of the tightest Pairs Championships in BUNGS history. The winners, not for the first time this year, were Brian Keates and Andy Smith who were one point clear (on 43 points) of two other pairs on 42 points. Even though both Brian and Andy have been on form this season, it was still a good victory as Andy only played the afternoon round so didn't get a chance to see the course in the morning texas scramble (although when Andy can do things like nearly drive the 314yard 15th hole with a 1 iron, who needs to see the course first!) After winning the BUNGS Championship the previous month, Brian showed that the pressure of being the club champion didn't phase him as he hit a monstrous opening tee shot in the morning texas scramble. His skied floating drive was very reminiscent of Richard Stevens in his heyday, as it soared all of ten yards forward and five yards right onto the path at the side of the 1st tee!
Second place went to John Newman and Dean Sheward who, despite being held-up by the group in front for the majority of the round, scored a very good 42 points. John and Dean also took the money in he morning texas scramble. Third place, also on 42 points were Chris Craddy and John Pinches with Gordon Sullivan and Darren Weston in fourth on 41 points.
John Newton, who was only two days away from a pending marriage must have had other things on his mind in the afternoon. Amazingly drawn out of the hat with Richard Stevens (John's best man for the big day), they nearly won the morning texas scramble and were only beaten by the Newman/Sheward pairing by virtue of a worse final hole. Things weren't so good in the afternoon though as they came dead last on 31 points. Let's hope for Jenny's sake that John's performance is better on Saturday night than it was on Thursday afternoon! 1st Brian Keates (25.0) & Andy Smith
(13.7)
43 points
2's Sweep - gross 2's scored by the following:
4th
Par 3 167 yards Dean Sheward (£5) 10th Par 3 154 yards Graham Bilsland (£5)
13th Par 3
165 yards John Pinches (£5) BUNGS Championship Coxmoor Golf Club - 12th July 2002 18 hole stableford (7/8 handicap)
Another good turn-out of 30 players contested the BUNGS Championship at the excellent Coxmoor Golf Club. We were, once again, lucky with the weather as the sun shone nearly all the day and the superb quality and condition of the course made it a very enjoyable day.
The day was won by Brian Keates with a great 37 points. When Ian Talboys said he couldn't attend the golf day due to sickness, Brian (Ian's boss) said he would have to win the event for the Financial Planners. Ian chuckled at this as Brian rarely finishes in the top half but a superb performance saw him bank his first BUNGS event and take home the best trophy of the year.
Second place, for the second event running, went to Bobby Ho. Not only did Bobby finish second, he also beat Steve Lloyd 3/2 in their matchplay game but also managed to take £4 off him. Bobby obviously doesn't realise that to keep beating (and taking money off) the society secretary will result in him playing off single figures very shortly.
Third place, and another handicap cut, went to Graham Bilsland. In the best round of the day, Graham went rround in 3 over par and with only one shot, came in with a great 34 points. I hope Graham won't be too upset when he sees his revised handicap of scratch.
Other noteable scores came from Rob Summerfield in 4th with a good 34 points and Stuart Mahon, John Newton and Tim Thacker with 33 points. A mention must also be given to defending champion, John Bayliss who must have put up the worst defence of a title in BUNGS history by finishing in 27th place with only 21 points. Also on 21 points was Barry Whitmore who after taking the money in the morning practice 9 holes with 20 points, somehow only managed to score one extra point over the full 18 holes.
Full results from Coxmoor can be seen here: handicap adjustments (coxmoor 2002).htm
2's Sweep - gross 2's scored by the following:
2nd
Par 3 170 yards Dean Sheward (£5)
Summer Shield Longcliffe Golf Club - 17th May 2002 36 hole selected-score stableford (7/8 handicap)
The smallest field of 2002 so far (22 players) were to contest the Summer Shield at Longcliffe Golf Club, one of the best courses in Leicestershire. The course was in excellent condition and the gently undulating greens made reading the line of putts very difficult, keeping the scores relatively low.
In the selected-score competition, you play 18 holes both morning and afternoon and take the best score on each hole to calculate the stableford points. e.g. if you scored a bogey 4 on the first in the morning and a par 3 in the afternoon, then your afternoon score would count for your stableford points tally.
The event was won by serial handicap whinger, John Bayliss with a total of 40 points, leaving him one point ahead of Bobby Ho and a further 2 ahead of Mike Fox and James Shipman. Foxy must have been kicking himself after seeing the winning score, as his dropped shots at both 17 and 18 cost him victory. James didn't mind about being left out of the main prizes in fourth place as he won one of the nearest the pin trophies plus £20 for his 2 at the 15th. Bobby certainly didn't care about not winning, well not after his 8th pint of Fosters anyway.
John Bayliss, just like Beau Desert last year, left Longcliffe looking like a Frenchman whose just spent a forthnight's holiday in a Turkish brothel, although his smile may be diminished somewhat when he sees his new handicap of 11.4.
Full results from Longcliffe can be seen here: handicap adjustments (longcliffe 2002).htm
2's Sweep - gross 2's scored by the following: 5th Par 3 135 yards Ian Talboys (£20) 15th Par 3 157 yards James Shipman (£20)
Memorial Salver Cavendish Golf Club - 19th April 2002 18 hole stableford (7/8 handicap)
Another excellent turn-out of 32 golfers were to contest the inaugural Memorial Salver at Cavendish Golf Club.
Cavendish was designed by the same person who sculptured Augusta, home of The US Masters, Dr Alister Mackenzie. After watching the tournament on TV the previous week, everyone was really looking forward to playing the course. However, no one can have told the greenstaff that we were attending as the greens were in an appalling state. They had recently been hollow-tined, top dressed and seemingly hadn't been cut for a week, and putting on the treacherous slopes proved to be a complete lottery, with three and four putts (and possibly even 5) a regular occurrence.
I can only apologise to those attending for the state of the greens, but I was not informed of any maintenance work due on the course and it was a great surprise to see what had been done. I have written a letter to the club expressing my disappointment at the state of the greens, and am currently awaiting a reply.
Despite the greens, at least a handful of society members managed to accumulate a respectable number of stableford points with Dean Sheward triumphing with 35 points, closely followed by Paul Jobbins with 33 points in second and Adam Thompson in third with 32 points. It was surprising to see Dean doing so well as I'm sure he must have hurt his sides laughing at his playing partner, Paul Weston, who started in the worst of fashions by needing three shots at the first hole before his ball travelled over 50 yards.
Another member having a bit of trouble was Barry Whitmore at the seemingly simple 122 yard par 3 4th. After leaving his tee shot a mile short of the ditch in front of the green, Barry thins his second into the bunker at the back of the green. His third, another thinned shot, flies over the green into the ditch at the front. It was at this point that Barry trudged off to the 5th tee, much to the amusement of those waiting on the 4th tee.
Final standings and handicap adjustments from Cavendish were as follows:
Full results from Cavendish can be seen here: handicap adjustments (cavendish 2002).htm
2's Sweep - gross 2's scored by the following: 13th Par 3 178 yards Steve Warner (£10) 17th Par 3 154 yards John Pinches (£10)
Enterprise Cup Kedleston Park Golf Club - 22nd March 2002 18 hole stableford (7/8 handicap)
A superb turn-out at Kedleston Park meant that 35 golfers were to contest 2002's Enterprise Cup. For the time of year, the course was in an absolutely wonderful condition and, with so many new faces present, it was great to play such a good venue. I hope all of the first time attendees enjoyed themselves, although one of them had the worst of starts. Steve Booth, who was playing off a single figure handicap, somehow managed to hit four different trees on the first hole - giving him the worst of starts to his BUNGS 'career'.
Another player having a little difficulty was John Mansell at the 9th. Faced with an uphill shot and with little run on the ball, John decides to give it a 'bit extra'. Unfortunately the only part of the club that hit the ball was the heel and this sent the ball about 3 yards forward and about 10 yards to the left. After waiting for the green to clear, John then almost swung himself off his feet and, creaming the ball about 4 yards under a bench by the tee.
Another newcomer, Roger Sherwin had a much better day and finished in third place, and would have won the event if he hadn't been so honest and owned up to his handicap being two strokes lower than that printed on his scorecard. Second place went to John O'Brien who must have thought he had the competition 'in the bag' after going out in 21 points. His back 9 wasn't so impressive but he had accumulated 35 points after 17 and he must have felt he'd done just about enough for victory. However, a blob at the last meant John's score didn't improve and he had to settle for second place.
The winner, for the second event running was Andy Smith. After managing to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory on many previous occasions, Andy certainly got the taste for victory after his first BUNGS success at Breadsall Priory and followed that with another victory, by virtue of a better back 9. Andy's double success means that along with a calculated handicap reduction of 2.3, he will also receive a further general play reduction of 1.6, taking his handicap down to 12. This now means that Andy's handicap has come down 10 shots in the past 14 months and I hope this will stop other members' comments about Andy's handicap (i.e. 'It's a f***ing disgrace' as was heard from one member when Andy collected the trophy)
UPDATE Due to a major balls-up by the secretary, five members played off an incorrect handicap at Kedleston Park. Those affected were as follows:
Andy
Smith
Steve
Warner
John
Newton
Mike
Fox
John
Mansell
I'm sorry for making such a major cock-up, but I'm sure you all appreciate that I work my knackers off running the society, and one big mistake in 9 years isn't too bad.
Full results from Kedleston Park can be seen here: handicap adjustments (kedleston 2002).htm
2's Sweep - gross 2's scored by the following: 4th Par 3 141 yards Brian Edwards (£10) 16th Par 3 175 yards Ray Whiston (£10)
Christmas Clock Breadsall Priory Hotel & Country Club - 14th December 2001 18 hole stableford (7/8 handicap)
The first golf day of our 2002 season, The Christmas Clock, took place on The Moorland Course at Breadsall Priory Hotel & Country Club. The Christmas Clock has been contested at Breadsall Priory for four years in a row, due to The Moorland course normally being in a good condition in December.
The course was probably in as good as a condition as we've ever seen it, which should have made for some excellent scoring. However, on a course that normally generates good scores, only one player exceeded 36 points. The winner of 2001's League Cup, 2001's most improved player and finalist in 2001's matchplay competition decided that he wanted to match the amount of silverware won by his beloved Liverpool and Andy Smith finished five shots clear of the rest. Despite taking home more trophies that he could carry at the prize giving after the Breadsall golf day, this was actually Andy's first success in a BUNGS golf day. I suppose it was because we played early and didn't have lunch before going out that Andy didn't 'choke' on this occasion.
Prior to the golf day, the society secretary was considering increasing the handicaps of both Steve Warner and John Newton as they had both struggled to play to their very low handicaps in recent events. It was finally decided not to increase their handicaps and this proved to be a wise decision as Steve and John finished second and third respectively, ensuring they will both have their handicaps cut.
It was generally agreed that John's third place was only obtained because of the additional practice he received by playing the 11th hole twice. The group of Steve Lloyd, Mike Fox and John Newton, who have all played at Breadsall on numerous occasions, somehow managed to walk from the 7th green to the 11th tee and proceed to play the entire hole before realising their mistake. The society secretary placed the blame fully on the shoulders of his playing partners. Steve was so busy castigating himself for missing a 3 foot putt on the 7th for his third consecutive birdie, he just followed his playing partners to the incorrect tee. How was he supposed to swear and think at the same time.
The extra hole incident wasn't the only cock-up (and I mean mistake and not an altercation with Richard Stevens in the showers) in a colourful day for Steve Lloyd. After talking great delight in hearing of yet more trouble with John Newton's now legendary PowaCaddy where John brought the wrong battery and had to hire a trolley, Steve had a bit of trouble with a trolley that he had hired himself. After striking a beautiful iron onto the green at the par 3 1st, Steve proceeded toward the green but didn't take his clubs with him as the handle flew off the trolley and his clubs collapsed onto the floor. Being unable to tighten the knob to hold the handle in position, he was just about to send Ian Talboys back to the proshop to replace the faulty trolley when, much to Steve's embarrassment and the great delight of all those watching, the course marshall pointed out that the trolley wasn't broken, just that Steve has been turning the knob the wrong way!
Full results from Breadsall Priory can be seen here: handicap adjustments (breadsall 2001).htm
2's Sweep - gross 2's scored by the following: 6th Par 3 118 yards Steve Lloyd (£10) 17th Par 3 152 yards Graham Bilsland (£10)
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