results from the 2007 season

Our results for the 2007 season were as follows

(most recent event first):

Challenge Trophy

Stratford-on-Avon Golf Club - 4th October 2007

27 hole stableford (full handicap)

20 players arrived for the final event of the 2007 season at Stratford-on-Avon Golf Club - there should have been 21 players, but Steve Booth got the wrong day and was ready to arrive on Friday 5th.

Stratford is a flat tree-lined parkland course and was in a superb condition for the time of year. The tight holes and some tricky greens again kept scoring down for the majority of the field. The weather was a real surprise for October and the bright sunshine meant it was short-sleeves all round, a real bonus for the 10th month of the year.

All 27 holes counted for this event, so there was no 'morning money' to play for so it was straight into the competitive golf from the opening tee shots of the morning round.

The first of the prize winners, and in the prizes for the third event running, was Society Secretary Steve Lloyd, playing off a handicap of 6. Steve scored a total of 50 points over the 27 holes and just edged Chris Craddy out of the prizes with a better final 9 holes.

One point ahead of Steve and taking a prize for the first time in his BUNGS 'career' was David Jones. Playing off 24, David scored 35 points on the 1st 18 holes and 16 on his 9 holes in the afternoon. On the same score as David and playing off 14 was Paul Herrmann, but is was Paul's better score of 18 points for the final 9 holes that put him in second place ahead of David.

The winner was Bill Hancock who scored 52 points off his handicap of 15. A very good 37 points over the morning 18 holes was followed-up by 15 in the afternoon and this was good enough to secure Bill his first BUNGS title, well played Bill and we look forward to your joke when you collect your trophy after your next victory.

Being the final event of the year, the end-of-season prizes were decided as follows:

LEAGUE CUP - Brian Hornby

GROSS BIRDIES LEAGUE - Graham Bilsland

NETT BIRDIES LEAGUE - Steve Lloyd

Full results from the The Stratford golf day can be seen by clicking

results_2007_10_stratford_2007.htm

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

Captain's Trophy

Trentham Golf Club - 7th September 2007

18 hole stableford (full handicap)

22 players arrived at Trentham Golf Club in Stoke-on-Trent to compete for the 2007 Captain's Trophy. Trentham is a traditional members club with a superb 18 holes of parkland golf. The first two holes lull you into a false sense of security with a short and fairly generously wide first hole followed by an easily reachable par 5 second. Even the third looks easy when looking at the scorecard (325 yard par 4) but it's here  when the fairways start to narrow and the greens start to undulate. It was an excellent test of golf with the tight, tree lined fairways, thick rough and fast undulating greens. The course was in a pretty good condition although many of the hole 'cups' were damaged due to the pin positions not being moved for a couple of days, which was a little disappointing.

The morning 9 hole 'practice' started under cloudy conditions but the sun started to appear later in the round making great conditions for golf and the wind picked-up somewhat during the afternoon, giving you an extra something to think about.

Scoring in the morning was pretty good with third going to Bill Hancock with 17 points, second to James Shipman with 18 and the winner was John Bayliss with a superb 21 points, helped by an eagle three at the 2nd for 5 points, only the second eagle of John's life apparently.

After a soup and sandwich lunch it was onto the afternoon stableford competition and as this was Captain's day, Karl Hughes also put up additional prizes for:

* Best front 9

* Best back 9

* Fewest putts taken

Karl also offered to give £5 to this year's charity for every sand save during the afternoon round. Some players, when their afternoon games had gone somewhat pearshaped, resulted to deliberately aiming for the bunkers to give them a chance of an up and down to help boost the charity pot at Karl's expense. In the end, there were only five sand saves (three coming from Steve Lloyd alone), meaning Karl will be donating and extra £25 to the Macmillan Cancer charity.

There was some superb golf in patches, Bobby Ho stood on the 10th tee with 20 points under his belt, but a collapse and only 9 points on the back 9 scuppered his chance of a prize. Mike Fox's round was somewhat the opposite, he stood on the 9th tee with a pathetic THREE POINTS on his card, but picked-up his game scoring a creditable 20 points over the next ten holes. Similarly, Paul Herrmann had a lously front 9, scoring only 10 points but a superb 19 points on the back nine secured him the best back nine prize.

Onto the main prize winners and in fourth was one of this years most consistent players, Howard Holliday, scoring 31 points off a handicap of 5. Howard also won the longest drive prize at the 18th, surely the first time this has been won by someone taking an iron off the tee!

After taking the money over the front nine in the morning, John Bayliss was at it again in the afternoon, scoring an excellent 22 points over the first 9 holes, playing off his handicap of 13. However, a collapse and only 10 points on the final 9 holes meant John's 32 point total was only enough for third. His front nine score was good enough to take the best front nine prize however.

Playing in the same group as John and also having a good front nine (20 points) was Steve Lloyd, playing off 7. Steve managed to get to the 16th before his mini-collapse happened, with blobs at 16 and 17, followed par a hard-fought par at 18 resulted in a 32 point total. This was only good enough for second place overall but Steve did win the fewest number of putts prize (28, the same number as Graham Bilsland but Steve took the prize for having the greater number of single putts).

Every year, there is a BUNGS members who has a great year, reducing his handicap by a great amount but failing to take the final step and actually secure a win. With two third's, a fourth and a fifth during the season, it looked like Brian Hornby was going to be that player during 2007. However, more superb play and a very steady scoring of 16 on the front 9 and 17 on the back off his handicap of 18, resulted in Brian taking his maiden BUNGS victory on countback over Steve. With both players scoring 33 points, it was Brian's better back nine total that gave him the title - well played Brian (can you type through gritted teeth?).

Full results from the The Trentham golf day can be seen by clicking

results_2007-09_trentham_2007.htm

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

BUNGS Shield

Kibworth Golf Club - 9th August 2007

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

26 players arrived at Kibworth Golf Club amongst good weather on a fine parkland course to compete for the 2007 BUNGS Shield. This competition is an 'eclectic' played over 36 holes where you play each hole morning and afternoon and take your best score of the two to calculate your score.

The first of the prize winners, and not for the first time this season, was Brian Hornby who continued his fine form scoring 37 points off a handicap of 19. One point ahead of Brian was society Secretary Steve Lloyd who had a pretty poor morning (with only 21 points scored) but some excellent play in the afternoon boosted his score to 38 points, off his handicap of 7. It's a good job that Steve managed to secure a par at the 18th in his morning round as he was too busy laughing to play the 18th properly in the afternoon. After both his playing partners, Barry Whitmore and David Jones, found the water - Steve helped David to retrieve his ball. When the ball was scooped-up, Steve tossed it to David at the exact moment that Barry scooped his own ball out of the water. David attempted to catch the two balls but missed them both and with one of them heading back into the ditch, David dived forwards to stop it but unfortunately his forward momentum took him straight into the ditch, leaving him lying in the water hazard much to the great amusement of Steve and Barry. David saw the funny side however as he 'squelched' his way down the final hole.

Second place and another excellent score went to Graham Bilsland who with just 2 shots to play with scored a superb 39 points. Also on 39, but beating Graham to the title with a better back nine was Howard Holliday playing off 6. Howard scored 18 points on the front nine and 21 on the back nine to secure his first BUNGS victory since 2003 - well played Howard.

Full results from the The Kibworth golf day can be seen by clicking

results_2007-08_kibworth_2007.htm

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

Pairs Championship

Erewash Valley Golf Club - 13th July 2007

18 hole fourball-betterball stableford (3/4 handicap)

Following the wettest June on record, the weather during the second week of July was somewhat improved..... until Friday 13th.

26 players headed to Erewash Valley Golf Club to compete in this year's Pair Championship. Erewash is a typical rolling parkland course with many trees and fast, undulating greens - making it a good test of golf.

The morning 'practice' started in light rain and we were all hopeful that the weather wouldn't deteriorate. This was wishful thinking however, as by the time the last group teed-off, steady rain had set-in and with no wind to blow the weather away - rain was the order of the day. The morning 'money' was taken by the first group, Howard Holliday and Mike Fox with 21 points with second place going to Steve Lloyd and Steve Booth on 19 points (ahead of Adrian Marchant and Chris Craddy on countback).

After a soup and sandwich lunch, everyone donned their already soaking-wet waterproofs to head-out for the afternoon fourball-betterballs. Much praise must be given to everyone for completing the round, as it would have been very easy to walk-in with the cold, wet conditions.

For those present at the prize giving, it may come as a surprise to find-out that third place actually went to Mike Thacker and Brian Hornby and not Gordon Galloway and Simon Haywood as was announced at the time. Whoever sorted the cards before passing them to Steve for the presentation (no names mentioned) made a mistake on the countback and it was actually Mike and Brian who took third with a 40 point total, playing off 27 and 19 respectively. If Mike and Brian read this, Steve will give you your prize vouchers next time we see you. This was Brian's third top 3 finish of the season and took him to the top of the League Cup table.

One point ahead in third were John Shaw and Anthony Jackson, playing off 6 and 18. A superb 22 points were amassed on the front nine (helped by a birdie, birdie start by John), followed by 19 on the back nine for a 41 point total.

The winners, and taking his second BUNGS event in a row, was Dave Grubb ably partnered by Adam Thompson. With Thommo playing off 5 and Grubby of 26, this was an ideal partnership with the very steady play of Adam complemented by the more erratic (but with lots of shots) Dave. Grubby certainly did more than his fair share in the points scoring - after just missing a birdie 2 and the 4th, Rollo proceeded to chip-in for a 2 at 5th, taking a total of 7 points from the two 'quarry holes'. This 7 points helped them amass 23 points on the front nine, followed by 19 on the way home, with the round superbly completed by Adam with a birdie 2 at 18, for a 42 point total. Well played fellas.

Full results from the Erewash Valley golf day can be seen below:

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

BUNGS Championship and BUNGS Masters

Walmley Golf Club - 18th May 2007

18 hole stableford (full handicap) - 27 holes for the BUNGS Masters

A bright and breezy day greeted the 29 players who had arrived at Walmley Golf Club to contest the 2007 BUNGS Championship and BUNGS Masters. Walmley is an undulating tree lined course, making accuracy off the tee a premium. The greens were undulating and in good condition, although not as fast as expected.

The morning scoring was decidedly average and the money was taken by Gordon Galloway, Bill Hancock and Karl Hughes scoring 17, 18 and 19 points respectively.

Some wonderful views were had from the clubhouse during lunch, Mike Fox in particular thought the local scenery was particularly impressive.

Onto the afternoon competition and once again the scores were pretty low, the strong wind presumably having something to do with this. With less than 30 players present, prizes were awarded to the top four and the first of the prize winners was Ian Talboys (8.5 handicap) who scored 18 on the front nine and was in a great position after 14, but only four points scored on the last four holes meantIana had to settle for 15 on the back nine and a 33 point total.

One point ahead of Ian was one of this year's most consistent players, Brian Hornby. Playing off 20.2 Brian scored 19 going out and 15 coming home for a 34 point total. John Mansell got off to a spectacular start by holing his second shot to the par 4 first for an eagle two. This helped him to a superb 23 points on the front nine but a collapse on the back nine meant he only just scored half his 1st nine total and his 12 points meant he only amassed 35 points and had to settle for second.

Once again, the most prestigious trophy in the BUNGS 'clubhouse' was won by a surprise winner. I'm sure even he would not have put himself in the frame to be crowned BUNGS Champion golfer of the year at the start of play, but Dave Grubb had a very steady day. Many 28 handicappers would have felt under pressure with their playing partners having handicaps of 3 and 7, but Grubby showed he is made of stern stuff, scoring on every hole throughout the entire day and his 19 points on the front nine and 17 on the return home for a 36 point total was enough to secure his maiden BUNGS victory (and a two show handicap reduction). Well played Grubby.

This event also saw the concurrent running of the thirds BUNGS Masters where all 27 holes count and this is competed between all winners from the previous 12 months (including the Matchplay Knockout and League Cup winners), along with all previous BUNGS Masters winners. There was a tight finish to this year's Masters between the two previous winners of the competition, with Ian Talboys taking the crown ahead of Karl Hughes. Both players scored 49 points over the 27 holes, but it was Ian's 33 points over the afternoon round that secured him victory via countback.

Full results from the The Walmley golf day can be seen by clicking results_2007-05_walmley_2007.htm

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

BUNGS Memorial Trophy

Coxmoor Golf Club - 27th April 2007

18 hole stableford (full handicap)

A very healthy field of 37 players headed North to Coxmoor golf club to contest the 2007 BUNGS Memorial Trophy. Coxmoor is a challenging, undulating heathland course with gorse and heather aplenty, making it a stern test of golf. The weather was different than expected, every arrived anticipating warm sunshine (especially Bill Hancock who wore his shorts - not a pretty sight) but the morning round was played in chilly conditions and a stiff breeze made things difficult.

Despite the wind, the morning scores were generally pretty good and the money went to Andy Smith in third (19 points), Jamie Moore in second (21 points) and Graeme Black in first (an excellent 21 points). Graeme's total being helped by a birdie at the fifth for FIVE stableford points.

After a soup and sandwich lunch it was onto the serious business of the afternoon competition and everyone was glad when the sun made an appearance (especially Bill) which warmed things up, but the wind remained - so scoring in the afternoon was not as impressive as in the morning 'practice', although I'm sure tiredness was something to do with this, as it is a punishing course (I was absolutely shattered after eleven holes of the afternoon round).

Fifth place went to Andy Smith who finished just inside the prizes ahead of Bill Hancock due to a better back nine. Playing off 13, Andy scored 17 on the front nine and 19 on the back for a 36 point total. One ahead of Andy and playing off 21, was Tom Harris who scored 20 going out and 17 on the way home for a 37 point total. Two players were tied on 38 points but Darren Weston (19) just pipped Steve Booth (11) into second place. Both players scored 21 points on the front and 17 on the back, but Darren had a better back six holes. This was a pretty impressive total for Darren who hadn't played for nearly a year and he literally had to wipe a cobweb from one of his clubs during the morning practice.

The winner of this year's Memorial Trophy went to a player whose been in fine form this year, James Shipman. Playing with his father (who held his hand all the way) in the final group of the day, James scored a very impressive 40 points off his handicap of 9, 19 on the front nine and 21 on the back nine - well played James.

Full results from the The Coxmoor golf day can be seen by clicking results_2007-04_coxmoor_2007.htm

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

Enterprise Cup

Penn Golf Club - 30th March 2007

18 hole stableford (full handicap)

28 players were to compete for this year's Enterprise Cup at Penn Golf Club in Wolverhampton. Although it was a dark and overcast day, the weather could have been a lot worse and at least we stayed relatively dry during the day. The course was in a pretty good condition for the time of year. The greens were not as quick as they could have been, but that was probably a good thing on the very tricky, sloping surfaces it was three and four putting aplenty (Steve Lloyd three-putted six of the nine holes during the morning practice).

Despite the difficult greens, the morning 'practice' money was taken with some very good scores. Joint second place went to Bill Hancock and Brian Hornby on 20 points and first went to Paul Weston with an excellent 21 points.

After a delicious parsnip soup and variety of sandwiches, it was onto the afternoon competition.

With less than 30 attendees, prizes were awarded to the top four and the first of the prizes went to John Bayliss who pipped Derek Pells into fourth by virtue of a better back nine, Playing off a handicap of 13, John scored 15 on the front nine and 16 on the back for a 31 point total. Three points ahead of John was Phil Latham, playing off 27, who scored 18 on the front nine and 16 coming home for a 34 point total.

After a massive 22 points on the front nine, Adrian Marchant, playing off 11, must have thought he had a great chance of taking the title but a paltry 13 on the back nine, including a blob at the last, meant Adrian had to settle for second with his 35 points. There is no truth in the rumour that Adrian is to be announced as the new Pakistan cricket coach, even if he does choke easily.

To the dismay of Marcho, his blob at the last meant that his travelling companion, Jamie Moore, beat him to the title and his second Enterprise Cup. Playing off 22, Jamie scored a steady 17 on the front nine followed by a great 19 on the way home for a 36 point total. I just hope Jamie didn't remind Adrian of his blob at the last too many times during their drive back to Reading. Well played Jamie.

Full results from the The Penn golf day can be seen by clicking  

results_2007-03_penn_2007.htm

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

The Belfry Golf Day

Brabazon Course - 2nd March 2007

18 hole stableford (full handicap)

32 players arrived at The Belfry for the first BUNGS event for three months, which to place on The Prestigious Brabazon course, home of the Ryder Cup on four occasions.. Extremely wet weather in the preceding couple of weeks meant a buggy and trolley ban was in force, so it was carry-bags only. An overnight frost meant a delayed start to proceedings, so the 'Drive-In' of 2007 season Captain, Karl Hughes arrived twenty minutes late. With a sizeable gallery looking-on, Karl must have never been happier to put an opening tee shot in a bunker, as he'd made a good contact and put his ball in the right hand fairway bunker.

Despite the trolley ban, the course was in very good condition for the time of year, especially considering many courses in the area were shut. As would be expected of such a venue, the greens were very good and particularly quick, meaning many people struggled, hence scoring wasn't particularly good.

30 points was good enough for a prize place and fifth went to Jamie Moore playing off 23. Beating Jamie into fourth by virtue of a better back nine was Howard Holliday playing off 7. Two ahead of Howard and playing off 14 was Tim Thacker. Tim got off to a great start and had 23 points after ten holes but made a complete mess of 11, 12 and 13 adding just one further stableford point over these holes. The 'demons' must have been flying around Tim's head at this point but he recovered somewhat over the remaining holes to come in with a 32 point total. One ahead of Tim with another top five position was Graham Bilsland who scored a very steady 17 on the front nine and 16 on the return home off his handicap of 3 for a 33 point tally.

In 2005, Tim Thacker had a great year as Captain, winning an event, the League Cup and Matchplay Knocout and reducing his handicap by 4.7 shots. 2006 Captain, James Shipman, won an event and reduced his handicap by 2.8 shots. The morale of the story - being BUNGS Captain does wonder for your game. Is this true? Well it seems to be happening again as our 2007 Captain triumphed at The Belfry in his first event as BUNGS figurehead. Karl played off a handicap of 10 and scored 18 points on the front nine and 16 points on the back nine for a 34 point total to win by one shot, well done Mr Captain.

Full results from the The Belfry golf day can be seen by clicking  

results_2007-02_the belfry_2007.htm

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

*6th hole was a temporary par three as the regular par four hole was being re-built

The Christmas Clock

Maxstoke Park Golf Club - 14th December 2006

18 hole stableford (full handicap)

29 players gathered at Maxstoke Park Golf Club to compete for the 2006 Christmas Clock. The previous week had seen a huge amount of rainfall and we were lucky the course was in pretty good condition considering. The greens were soft and very receptive but considering it was mid December, you could not really fault them. The weather was very good to us and it stayed dry all day, there was a pretty strong breeze however, which made for some interesting holes.

Scoring was pretty good in general and when Ivan Heathcote hit the showers he must have thought his 38 points (playing off a handicap of 15) had a chance. However, this was only good enough for fifth place and he was beaten into third by Pete Barrow (playing off 28) by virtue of a better back nine holes for Pete. Also on 38 points, and ahead of Pete with a better final three holes, was Brian Hornby who played off a handicap of 21.

Playing his final event as 2006 Captain was James Shipman and he kept up the tradition of good performances by BUNGS Captains with a very good 40 point total off his handicap of 10.

The winner was Neil Smith who, playing off a handicap of 21, finished one point clear of James. Neil scored a good 19 points on the front nine and then followed this up with an excellent 22 points on the back nine for a 41 point total. It must be something about windy conditions but Neil always seems to do well when 'it blows' (and when there are no snakes on the course of course). His only other win came on the links at Aberdovey in 2005 and he was 'there abouts' in the recent trip to Dovey in November. His handicap has been cut to 19 and I expect to see this tumble over the next year. Well played Neil.

Full results from the Maxstoke Park golf day can be seen by clicking  

results_2006-12_maxstokepark_2006.htm

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

The Cliff Thompson Salver

Aberdovey Golf Club - 18th November 2006

18 hole stableford (full handicap)

25 players arrived at Aberdovey Golf Club on Friday 17th November and sat through breakfast in nervous fashion as the heavy rain was hitting the clubhouse windows sideways, such was the severity of the wind. Luckily for the group, the rain abated before our first group contesting the fourball-betterball's hit the first tee and after half a dozen holes, the wind even dropped to a more 'manageable' level and the round was played in very pleasant, albeit cold, conditions. Unfortunately we all had to play every shot (even in the rough) off a small mat that the club provided, which is a rule just introduced by Aberdovey to try and help the course through the winter months. The grass on the greens was long resulting in very slow greens (not what you expect, as Aberdovey is famed for having great greens) and this did, unfortunately, lessen the enjoyment of the course for many of those attending.

The Friday fourballs is purely 'for fun' and a few quid on the side and the winners were Adam Thompson and Neil Smith, scoring 45 points, one ahead of Ivan Heathcote and John Mansell in second.

After a delicious roast beef dinner at the golf club it was off to The Dovey Inn for the remainder of the evening, where we were joined by Andy Smith who travelled-up after work on Friday to join us for Saturday's competition. The evening was fun for everyone although some people did overindulge as usual. No names will be mentioned but when John Mansell had to disappear into the field at the side of the ninth hole to 'relieve himself', I'm sure it had nothing to do with the previous evenings alcohol or excitement. It's a good job he had a decent sized golf towel to wipe himself clean afterwards.

Saturday morning was bright and breezy and it was only when you got to the golf club, you realised just how strong the wind was. This was a true links prevailing wind and would make it a very testing day for the BUNGS contingent, although the weather did remain kind to us as we stayed dry all day.

Due to the wind, scores were not surprisingly low and the first of the prize winners was Barry Whitmore, playing off 23 who scored 35 points and he just edged Ivan Heathcote out of the prizes by virtue of a better back nine. Also on 35 points, playing off a handicap of 13, was Andy Smith who beat Barry into third spot with a better 'back six' holes.

Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.......scoring 36 points off a handicap of 18, second place went to Alan Tolley who again just missed-out on victory. Alan's game has improved beyond recognition over the past 18 months and has finished in the prizes numerous times, seeing his handicap cut by a massive eleven shots, but has never managed to secure a victory. To blame for this was Brian Dodwell, another player whose game has improved recently, and he used 'home advantage' to full effect to secure his maiden BUNGS victory with a steady round of 18 points out and 19 back for a 37 point total. Well played Brian.

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

results_2006-11_aberdovey_2006.htm

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