2006 results

Challenge Trophy

Chilwell Manor Golf Club - 20th October 2006

28 hole stableford (full handicap)

31 players arrived for the final event of the 2006 season at Chilwell Manor Golf Club. The weather was wet and gloomy on arrival but this soon improved and warm sunshine greeted players teeing off at the first and the weather remained good throughout the day, all except the last half an hour for the final finishers. The course could have been in better condition, with the tees needing a cut and the greens were obviously suffering from a fungal infection, but considering it was mid-October, nobody could complain too much, especially as the layout of Chilwell is very good with some very tight and tricky holes and the undulating greens were very tricky to putt on.

After the morning 18 holes, a number of players were in contention with Bill Hancock, Howard Holliday, Les Poultney and Barry Whitmore on 33 points; Paul Herrmann on 34 points; John Bayliss, Graham Bilsland, Anthony Jackson and Craig Vale on 35 points; with Adrian Marchant leading the way on 37 points.

With just 10 holes being played in the afternoon, any of these players could take the title and a good score would be needed. However, a good score is not what was obtained by Barry Whitmore (10 points), Paul Herrmann (12 points), Bill Hancock and Anthony Jackson (14 points) and Adrian Marchant (15 points).

Howard Holliday (handicap 7) managed a respectable 18 points in the afternoon for a 51 point total, equal with Les Poultney (21) who also scored 18 in the afternoon but it was a better back nine for Les that put him in the prizes in fifth. One clear was 'lunchtime leader' Adrian Marchant (11) who only managed a poor 15 points in the afternoon for a 52 point total and fourth place. Two clear of Adrian was playing partner, Craig Vale (21) who scored 19 in the afternoon for a 54 point total.

With the sniff of a victory and the League Cup title in the palm of his hands, Graham Bilsland (3) played the ten holes in only one over par for a very impressive 21 points and a 56 point total. This was only good enough for second though as Graham's travelling companion, John Bayliss (15) matched Graham's 21 point afternoon and full day total of 56 points, with John taking the title (and a fiver off Graham) by virtue of a better back six holes. Well played John.

Graham did have the consolation of taking the League Cup title and also wrapping-up the Gross Birdies League, with John Mansell (who also won the matchplay knockout) securing the Nett Birdies title.

Full results from the Chilwell Manor golf day can be seen by clicking results_2006-10_chilwellmanor_2006.htm

2's Sweep - gross 2's scored by the following:

Captain's Trophy

Coventry Golf Club - 21st September 2006

18 hole stableford (full handicap)

24 players fought their way through the traffic (with the majority of people getting very lost) to arrive at Coventry Golf Club. Otherwise known as Finham, the course is a traditional parkland layout with lush, tree lined fairways and fast sloping greens. Considering it was mid September, the weather on the day was absolutely superb but the high winds made the golf a test, even though the course wasn't the longest.

The morning money went to Ian Talboys in third with 18 points, Bill Hancock in second on 19 points and Brian Hornby in first with 20 points. A mention has to be made of Neil Smiths paltry 9 points in the morning round. Neil was put-off somewhat by seeing a snake at the fourth. 6ft 2in former bouncer Neil who is built like a brick sh*thouse was, in his own words, 'scared sh*tless'. Good job you don't work the doors anymore Neil if that's all it needs to get your knees trembling.

Despite the high wind and the tricky greens, scoring in the afternoon competition was pretty good. Fifth place went to Bill Hancock (playing off 16) who scored 16 points on the front nine and an excellent  20 on the back nine for a 36 point total. Ahead of Bill by countback with a better back six holes was Mike Fox, playing off 17. Foxy was using a new set of clubs for the first time and these seem to be working well, Watch out for Foxy's scores at future events.

Two points ahead of Bill and Mike was Karl Hughes, playing off 11, who scored 18 on the font nine and 20 on the return for a 38 point total along with two nearest the pin prizes. One clear of Karl, playing off a handicap of 24 was John Mansell, who scored 19 points going out and 20 coming home for 39 points. Two clear of John, with an excellent score of 41 points, was Chris Craddy. Chris scored 21 points on the front nine and 20 points on the back nine, despite a 6,6 finish on the last two hole for only three points. Chris is becoming one of the most consistent BUNGS players and this was his fifth 'BUNGS career' win, well played Chris.

As it was captain's day, there were also separate prizes for three different handicap groups, all of who received some vouchers for American Golf Discount. The divisional winners were:

Full results from the Coventry golf day can be seen by clicking results_2006-09_coventry_2006.htm

2's Sweep - gross 2's scored by the following:

BUNGS Shield

Longcliffe Golf Club - 25th August 2006

36 hole selected-score stableford (3/4 handicap)

A small field of 25 BUNGS members plus a couple of guests turned-up at Longcliffe Golf Club to compete for the 2006 BUNGS Shield. This is a 36 holes selected-score stableford event, being played of 3/4 handicap for the first time.

The course was in excellent condition and although three of the greens had recently been hollow-tined and top dressed, the majority of the greens were excellent  with very subtle borrows making putting very tricky.

Perhaps it was the tough greens or possibly the 3/4 handicap, but scoring was not as high as expected, with 38 points being good enough to be in the prizes. Fifth place went to one of our guests for the day, Les Jackson, playing off 10 who beat John Bayliss into the prizes by virtue of a better back nine. Three players scored 39 points and fourth place went to Alan Tolley playing off 19. He played the front nine in 20 points and the back in 20. Alan was beaten into third by Neil Smith, playing off 22 who went out in 18 and came home in a very good 21 points. A great performance saw Graham Bilsland in second spot off a handicap of 3. His decidedly average front nine only yielded 17 points but a superb 22 points on the final nine holes saw him in second on countback ahead of Alan and Neil respectively.

One point clear of second and winning his first BUNGS event since 2001 was Paul Weston, playing off a handicap of 14. Although only having 23 points after the morning round, Paul improved on eight of the holes in the afternoon and a very steady 20 points on each nine for a 40 point total was enough for victory.

Full results from the Longcliffe golf day can be seen by clicking  

results_2006-08_longcliffe_2006.htm

2's Sweep - gross 2's scored by the following:

Pairs Championship

Chesterfield Golf Club - 27th July 2006

18 hole four-ball better-ball stableford (3/4 handicap)

A smaller field than usual of only 26 players headed north to Chesterfield Golf Club to compete for the 2006 Pairs Championship. Defending champions, Chris Craddy and Barry Whitmore, were paired together with all others drawn out of the hat. The course was in good condition, a little brown in places due to the hottest July on record, but played very well nonetheless. The greens were true and in excellent condition, although they weren't as quick as they looked (unless you had a tricky downhiller which inevitably was like lightning). The weather was warm and dry with just a breath of wind, so conditions were conducive to good scoring.

Scoring for the morning 'practice' was pretty good and second place went to one of the favourites for the day, John Mansell and Ivan Heathcote on 22 points but they were pipped to first place by the two Gordon's, Galloway and Sullivan, who scored a might fine 23 points.

A soup and sandwich lunch was taken in the clubhouse with probably some of the slowest serving ever behind the bar, and then it was onto the main afternoon competition.

Even with ice cream refreshments at the 'halfway house', the heat must have taken its toll on many in the afternoon as scoring wasn't quite to hot for most. Third place went to Paul Weston (14) and Steve Lloyd (6) who scored 21 on the front nine and 20 on the back nine for a 41 point total. In second place, by virtue of a better back three, were Paul and Steve's playing partners Howard Holliday (7) and Anthony Jackson (18). Pivotal in Anthony and Howard pipping Steve and Paul was the 17th where Howard rolled in a putt for a birdie three and Steve three putted for a double-bogey six, for a three shot swing.

The winners, who also went out in 21 points but came back in an impressive 23 were Ian Talboys (8) and Paul Herrmann (16), and this despite Paul having the distraction of having his ball nicked by a dog on the 18th. After coming back from the Southport tour with a 100% losing record (played five, lost five), it was good to see Paul bounce straight back with a win, well played fellas.

Full results from the Chesterfield golf day can be seen below:

2's Sweep - gross 2's scored by the following:

BUNGS Championship

Enville Golf Club - 26th May 2006

18 hole stableford (full handicap)

30 people drove through the country lanes to Enville Golf Club (a high proportion of them arriving late due to getting lost). The weather was dreadful when we set out for the journey but had cleared by the time we arrived, and luckily we remained dry all day. Enville has two superb courses, The Highgate and The Lodge and we were to play the former in the morning, the latter in the afternoon.

After much swapping of groups due to the people arriving late (or not turning-up at all) we headed to the first tee on The Highgate for the morning nine holes to be greeted with a superbly manicured heathland course, which was an absolutely axcellent condition, despite the poor weather in the preceding weeks. Scoring was pretty good in the morning and the money was won by Steve Lloyd in 3rd place on 20 points, Karl Hughes in second on 21 points and the winner was James Shipman who had eight pars and a double bogey for a 22 point total. Karl was also the 'clubhouse leader' in the BUNGS Masters (where all 27 holes count, a full four points clear of Tim Thacker in second and Barry Whitmore a further two back in third.

After a brief soup and sandwich lunch, it was onto The Lodge course for the main BUNGS Championship. The Lodge starts in a similar heathland fashion to The Highgate, but after you plat the third, you cross the road and are greeted with very tight, tree lined fairways for the next nine holes (very reminiscent of Woburn apparently). It was these very tricky nine holes that meant the scoring wasn't particularly good with 30 points being good enough for fifth place which was taken by Mike Thacker. Mike was playing only his second round of golf since breaking his ankle badly nearly a year ago so this performance really was something special. Things didn't look too good after nine holes however as Mike had accumulated only ten points, but a superb 20 points on the back nine, which helped squeeze Derek Pells out of the prizes with a better back nine, secured fifth for Mike.

One ahead of Mike was a player who could well have been disqualified. After amassing 18 points on the front nine, Brian Keates (plaing off 24) was so disgusted with only scoring 13 points on the back nine, he tore-up his card. A brief discussion between the secretary and Captain as to whether Brian's score should be accepted, cam our favourably for Brian. Taking third ahead of Brian with a better back nine was Karl Hughes, playing off 11. Karl scored a steady 16 points going out and 16 on the return for his 31 point total. This was more than enough to secure the BUNGS Masters title for Karl on 52 points who ended up a massive eight points ahead of Tim Thacker on 44 with John Mansell a further two back on 42. The other six Masters qualifiers will probably be happy that I don't reveal their scores.

After taking nearly a year to get his handicap up to six, Adam Thompson foolishly scored 33 points (13 front nine, 20 back nine) to end up in second place and have his handicap cut back to 4.5.

Normally, whoever wins the money in the morning 'practice' does not fair so well in the main afternoon event and it looked like this would happen again when society captain James Shipman (playing off 11) only scored 14 points on the front nine. However his gross +1 on the back nine secured him 22 points for a 36 point total and victory by a clear three points.

Full results from the Enville golf day can be seen by clicking

results_2006-05_enville_2006.htm.

2's Sweep - gross 2's scored by the following

Memorial Trophy

Druids Heath Golf Club - 28th April 2006

18 hole stableford (full handicap)

An excellent turn out of 40 people arrived at Druids Heath Golf Club to contest the 2006 Memorial Trophy. The weather was good and the course in good condition with the greens being particularly tricky with some devilish borrows which caused numerous problems for the players.

The morning ‘practice’ was won by Jamie Moore scoring 20 points over the nine holes. Jamie’s travelling companion, Adrian Marchant was second on 19 points, one ahead of Craig Vale on 18.

After a soup and sandwich lunch, it was on to the serious golf. The tricky greens meant that scoring wasn’t too high by the majority of the field and 35 points was enough to secure fifth place. This went to Adam Thompson, playing off 6, who beat Brian Keates into fifth by virtue of a better back nine. Two points clear of Adam was Ivan Heathcote who went out in an excellent 21 but returned in a disappointing 16 for a 37 point total off his handicap of 16.

Third place went to one of the most consistent and improved players of the past 12 months, Alan Tolley, who was playing off 21. Alan scored 19 on the front nine and 20 on the way home for an excellent 39 point total. Also on 39 and beating Alan into second place with a better last six holes was another player in fine form recently, Craig Vale who played off 23.

A massive four shots clear of second was one of the societies biggest underachievers (until now), John Mansell. John has played off 28 since joining the society in 2001 and it is only recently that he’s started to make serious progress. After starting with a no score at the first, John’s front nine tally of 17 points was nothing special but he certainly came to life on the back nine. Three nett eagles, four nett birdies, one nett par (and a blob at the last would you believe) and John’s back nine total was 26 points, surely one of the biggest nine hole totals in BUNGS history. With a total score of 43 points, it’s a good job he got a no score at the 18^th or his four shot handicap reduction could have been far more severe. Well played John.

Full results from the Druids Heath golf day can be seen by clicking

results_2006-04_druidsheath_2006.htm

2's Sweep - gross 2's scored by the following

Enterprise Cup

Worfield Golf Club - 31st March 2006

18 hole stableford (full handicap)

26 players fought through the Wolverhampton morning traffic to arrive at Worfield Golf Club to start the day with a full English breakfast which helped build up the strength for the mountaineering to come.

Worfield certainly cannot be described as flat and there are many, many, many undulations and climbs but this does make for an interesting course and the beauty of Worfield (and the reason we played there) is that it remains dry all year round. Despite there being a huge amount of rain in the proceeding weeks, you could not have known, as the course was very dry with no 'soggy' areas to be seen. The greens we're in a good enough condition for the time of year, a few 'bobby' patches in places but we've got to remember that it was still March and the growing season has not really started yet. All in all, to receive a breakfast, 27 holes of golf, lunch, dinner and prizes for £40 was cracking value.

The weather was good to us in general, although there was some brief rain during the afternoon round, but it was fairly warm despite the strong wind which made for interesting golf as Worfield has no protection from the elements.

As usual for the morning 'practice' it was £1 in with the prize pot being split between the first three who were Steve Lloyd in 3rd on 19 points with James Shipman and John Bayliss in second and first respectively on 20 points, John beating James into first place with a better back two holes.

Onto the main competition in the afternoon and, probably due to the wind (and tiredness setting-in) the scoring was not as good as expected. Fifth place went to 2006 society captain James Shipman, playing off 12, James had a decidedly average front nine scoring only 14 points but came alive on the back nine with a  very impressive 22 for a 36 point total. One point clear of James on 37 points was Craig Vale with a very steady 18 out and 19 on the return. Playing off 24, Craig had putted like a demon in the morning practice and it was commented that it wouldn't last. Indeed, this seemed to be true as he three putted the first from no more than 15 feet. This was only a temporary setback however and he soon started rolling in the putts from all over the place. Who needs a £150 Scotty Cameron when a £30 Hippo putter can do such a good job.

Third place went to a first time attendee, Andy Heathcote playing off a handicap of 15, although judging by the comments of his playing partners, he won't be playing off this for long. By all accounts, a very powerful performance resulted in 20 points on the front nine and 18 points on the back nine for a 38 point total, just one point off the leading two. Playing with Andy Heathcote (and I'm sure trying to put Andy off all the way round once he knew how much of a threat he would be) was Adrian Marchant playing off 13. Adrian's grip and swing have been described as the 'eighth wonder of the world' but it is effective and his 39 point total of 20 points going out and 19 on the return may well have been enough for victory at many events but was only good for second place on this occasion.

Beating Adrian by virtue of a better back nine was Worfield member, Karl Hughes, playing off 12. Even though his club handicap of 15 (I believe) only having 12 shots to play with didn't bother Karl and his steady 17 pints on the front nine was followed by a thunderous gross +2 on the back nine for 22 points. I always wondered why Karl was so keen on the society visiting his home club, but after securing his first solo BUNGS victory, all became clear. Well played Karl.

Full results from the Worfield golf day can be seen by clicking

results_2006-03_worfield_2006.htm

2's Sweep - gross 2's scored by the following

Extra March Event

Worksop Golf Club - 3rd March 2006

18 hole stableford (full handicap)

The extra March event for 2006 saw the society visit Worksop Golf Club, home of Lee Westwood. Worksop is a fantastic wooded heathland course and a course many members had been looking forward to visit. The visit could easily have ended-up being a massive disappointment however, as freezing temperatures and the threat of snow in the preceding days threatened to cancel the day. However, Friday morning was bright albeit cold and things looked good. On arrival at the club (around 10am) it looked like we were to be on temporary greens as the heavy overnight frost meant players on the course were off the proper greens, but no sooner had we arrived, the greenstaff were moving the flags back onto the proper greens for our 11am start. The course turned out to be in excellent condition for the time of year and credit must go to the greenkeepers for having the greens in such good condition.

The BUNGS day started with the 'drive-in' of 2006 society Captain James Shipman. A sweepstake was arranged on the basis of where James' tee shot at the first was to end up. After hitting two exploding joke balls with his driver, James took the cowardly option and went back to his bag for an iron and smashed the ball down the middle of the fairway, the only option that had not been picked in the sweepstake (people have obviously watched you play before James).

The day it self was very tight with some good scores at the top and one notable at the bottom. Society secretary Steve Lloyd had been playing some of his best golf the the run-up to Worksop and was confident of shooting a near par score and do well in the event. Things didn't go to plan though and a wayward driver, a wayward three wood and a wayward 1 iron meant he had a torrid day off the tee, losing around eight golf balls and ended propping-up the field in last place on 20 points.

As mentioned above, it was a very tight day with twelve players within four shots of the winner and the top five separated by only one point. Fifth went to Ian Talboys, playing off a handicap of 8 who went out in 19 points and returned in 16 for a 35 point total. In contrast to Ian, Andy Smith playing off 13 went out in 16 and came home in 19 to beat into into fourth on countback.

One point ahead of Ian and Andy were society Captain James Shipman and Bobby Ho, both playing off 13. The both scored an impressive 20 points on the front nine but faded slightly on the back nine with 16 points and it was Bobby who beat James into second spot by virtue of a better last six, meaning james had to settle for third in the first event as Captain.

The winner, on the same 36 point total as James and Bobby was John Shaw. It must have been the shorter drive than usual (he lives in Leeds) that meant John was fresh for the challenge and won his first BUNGS event. Playing off 6, John only scored 15 going out but came home in a very impressive 21, well played John.

Full results from the Worksop golf day can be seen by clicking

results_2006-02_worksop_2006.htm

2's Sweep - gross 2's scored by the following

Christmas Clock

Morley Hayes Golf Club - 9th December 2005

18 hole stableford (full handicap)

As the golf day at Morley Hayes started in severe fog making play somewhat of a lottery, none of the results from this day will be counting towards the League Cup, Birdies League etc. The players on the day were informed of this as play started, so I hope nobody is too upset by this. Handicaps will not be adjusted from this event.

On the day we simply played for the prizes on offer and full results from the Morley Hayes golf day can be seen below: results_2005-12_morleyhayes_2005.htm

2's Sweep - gross 2's scored by the following

Extra November Event

Woodhall Spa Golf Club - 12th November 2005

18 hole stableford (full handicap)

Having packed all the wet weather gear they could muster, 27 committed bungs members gathered in Lincolnshire to do battle with the elements and the formidable Hotchkin course at Woodhall Spa.

After a very early start the majority of members who didn’t travel down on Thursday, met at the course for a very welcome breakfast prior to play. Friday’s competition was a better ball with pairs being drawn over breakfast. With 27 competitors Bobby Ho, being the first name out of the hat (or ashtray to be precise), played with both his playing partners and was for much of the day in the unusual position of being first and second, beating himself with a better back nine! However John Bayliss and Jamie Moore managed to pip Bobby by a point and relegate him to second and third. The pairs was played over the Bracken course which although it is the ‘second’ course, proved to be in excellent condition and a tough test of golf, particularly the tricky sloping greens.

The weather remained dry although the wind added to the difficulty of the course and made club selection vital to good scoring.

Friday evening passed very pleasantly at the Admiral Rodney Hotel, which was a lovely place to stay with good-sized rooms and excellent food. Many members retired early after an energetic day however as usual a good number also stayed up later and drank more than they should.

After breakfast at the hotel we made the short trip back to the course for the main event of the weekend. The day was bright (if a little chilly) and the wind had died down to give a beautiful day for golf. The Hotchkin course is rated one of the top courses in the country and no wonder. It was in superb condition for the time of year and the layout is magnificent. Tree lined fairways, carry’s over heather and masses of huge bunkers make for 18 wonderful holes and the only slight disappointment was the greens showed signs of having been hollow tined recently and weren’t at their best. This was however a very minor irritation and more than compensated for by the excellent condition of the course in mid November.

Fifth place went to Jeff Thacker scoring 33 points off a handicap of 18 who beat Brian Keates and Bobby Ho into the prizes by virtue of a better back nine. One ahead of Jeff on 34 points was Bill Hancock, playing off 16 and beating Bill into third with a better back nine was Graham Bilsland with a great finish off his handicap of 3. It's here that things from last year continue with two of 2005's best performers equal on 35 points. Alan Tolley scored 35 points off 22, whilst Cliff Thompson matched this off 23. It was Cliff's better back six holes however that was enough to give him his first BUNGS title.

Special mentions must also go to 2005's most improved player, Graeme Black who showed that his two victories in 2005 were not flukes with his magnificent 15 points.

Full results from the Woodhall Spa golf day can be seen below: results_2005-11_woodhallspa_2005.htm

2's Sweep - gross 2's scored by the following