Seniors Annual Medal and Jubilee Trophy - 25th April 2017

ALBAN TAKES THE MEDAL WITH A SUPERB 69
The Seniors John Freedman Annual Medal Trophy was played on the JOG Course on 25^th April in sunny weather but a crisp north wind. The course was in excellent condition and the greens were fast, in fact, too fast for many as there were reports of many missed putts!

In 3^rd place was Peter Imray with a net 71. In second place was Geoff Emery with a net 70 and in 1^st place was Alban Macdonald with a superb net score of 69 playing off 13 handicap and cut 1.2 strokes. I must give a mention to Phil White who had a magnificent 79 and best gross score but no prize to go with the accolade. Well played Phil!

 

Alban Macdonald

Geoff Emery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The competition also included a stableford competition for handicaps 21 to 28 and that Jubilee Trophy was presented to the match organiser John Ellary  with a winning score of 35 points to pip seniors captain Fred and immediate past seniors captain Jim Peacock into 2^nd and 3^rd respectively.

John Ellary

Fred Williams and Jim Peacock

 

Away Match v Apsley Guise & Woburn Sands - Willmotts - 20th April 2017

The away match with Apsley Guise was very close fought and resulted in an honourable 4/4 draw. There were good wins for Richard Coventry and John Ellary 5/3 and Keith Fuller and Richard Westergreen Thorne 4/3 and Tony Goodson and Nick Seeley 3/1 but the home side held their nerve to share the points with some exceptional golf from their captain Bill Vorley who was on top form from tee to green to reverse the result at the home leg and close match 1 5/3.

Away Match v Dunstable Downs Seniors - 13th April 2017

Requested time was 7.45 for 8.30 start. At 8.10 we got a call from Fred saying he was stuck on the M1! Luckily he arrived @ 8.20.Not the best start for the flustered first pair which explains why on the first fairway (middle!) our organiser played the wrong ball (we never found who owned it) and our captain lost his ball on his second shot (we found it later near the second tee). The good news was that the weather was sunny but a little crisp.
Together Fred & l played very well but not well enough as our two opponents clicked together fantastically and pulled too many rabbits out of the bag. We lost on the 17th.

There were good wins by John Ellary/Peter (Algy) Grimes & Keith Fuller/Steve Foster plus good halves by Malcolm Lee/ Robert Anderson & Michael Lacey/Nicholas Seeley, but overall we lost 5-3.

Gerry Gentle won the nearest the pin (again!!)

The course and company were first class. The food was a real test for their new chef (knowing our seniors reputation for their fine dining knowledge!!). The meal was a well presented pork dish followed by a chocolate dessert. I'm sure the day was enjoyed by everyone.

Best Regards, Brian Bullen - Organiser

Home Match v Aspley Guise & Woburn Sands - Willmotts 11th April 2017

This was my debut as match organiser and aware of the debacle last year with JOG ready to play for 8.30 am but with Willmotts Seniors having (wrongly) been told it was a 10 am Tee I was fearful that half the team might be too early or not turn up!

No problem this year with both teams on time although a 10 am Tee meant only a one tee official start.

The sun shone brightly as the 16 intrepid JOG seniors took on the visitors on the old course and we did manage to filter in two matches from the 10^th tee and they completed their games in good time.

As a joke I had prewritten a match report before the game saying I played '*****' and that Fred was brilliant. Although written in jest it wasn’t far from true as, after a shaky start, Fred had a special round in which little went wrong and we dovetailed nicely to close the match 6/4.

After Fred had slotted a 40 ft putt for a half on the 10^th opposing captain dubbed him Sergio Williams and made enquiry concerning the sombrero!!

However our good result was eclipsed by the efforts of Dave Evans and Algy Grimes who won 8/7.

Two other games were close with wins 1 up and JOG won overall 6 ½ to 1 ½.

Special mention was made by Fred after lunch to congratulate Bob Gray age 87 and Noel Gotts age 88 from Willmotts which shows the longevity golf gives to the active oldies.

Colin Armstrong won nearest the pin for the visitors with Richard Coventry piping Keith Fuller and Fred to win the wine for nearest pin on the 16^th.

The visitors were full of praise for the course and JOG hospitality so a good day all round.

My choice of Steak & Ale Pie followed by Treacle Pudding was enjoyed with relish by both teams.

Lets hope for a similar result with the same pairings for the away leg.

Chris Roy - Organiser

Home Match v Bourn Seniors - 7th April 2017

A sunny Friday morning with clear blue skies saw a select 16 from Jog Seniors hosted a team from the senior section of Bourn GC on the Jog course. The scene was set for a challenging match with perfect weather on a pristine course.

Wins for Jog against Bourn are a rare event and so it proved with the visitors prevailing 5 1/2 to 2 1/2. However, this result disguises what was a very closely fought match. For example Match 1 featuring Captain Fred Williams and Organizer Bill Walker included 5 birdies with the 17th being halved in birdy 4s to decide the match.

Chicken and ham pie followed by treacle sponge and custard made a perfect end to an almost (shame about the result) perfect day.

Revenge at Bourn on 27 July is the only way to redress matters.

Bill Walker - Organiser

Home Match v Wellingborough Seniors - 4th April 2017

Spring appeared to have truly arrived for JOG’s Seniors match against Wellingborough Seniors on The Carthagena course. The Wellingborough captain led the way off the tee with a cracking drive down the centre of the fairway next his team partner, then our captain Fred following suit. Our match organiser, however, topped the ball only as far as the end of the tee. After 2 holes the visitors were 2 up but obviously led into a false sense of security as by the 5th the match was all square, and at the turn JOG were 3 up. Handshakes were made on the 14^th green with the JOG captain recording his first match win this year at 5&4.

Generally it was a topsy-turvy fixture swinging first one way then the other with scores of a 6&5,  a 5&4, 4&2 and a 1 up against us but an 8&7 (Fox & Gentle of course), a 5&4, a 3&2 and a 3&1 for us. It was not until the JOG vice captain came in, that with his pair recording a 3&2 win, could the overall result be declared as an honourable draw

NP for JOG on the 8^th  was Gerry Gentle whilst for Wellingborough Ian Jolly took the honours on the 6th also making his birdie which he followed up with also making a birdie on the 8^th.
The lunch menu choice for the after match was a very good roast with pork followed by bread & butter pudding and custard.

For the return match in August we have quite a task on our hands to get at least a draw as their captain Andrew, off 10, is most unlikely to  have another off day playing against us. He is sure to have the bit between his teeth but on the day he was extremely gracious in his defeat. 

Malcolm Lee - Match Organiser

Away Match v Bedford & County - 28th March 2017

Although not forecast, the weather was initially very misty causing a delay to the start, despite the fact that the JOG members all arrived on schedule allowing the organiser the opportunity to relax. The Bedford & County Seniors Captain introduced himself and was proud to announce that he was not the shortest player (he was standing next to Captain Fred at the time !), although I think a micrometre would be necessary to confirm the difference in height.

The initial part of the day continued to be misty, cold and damp, making the course play longer, but fortunately we were bathed in sunshine before the games were complete.

There were mixed fortunes with two games being decided early (a 7 & 6 loss and a 5 & 4 win bandits on both sides), two games decided on the last hole (one win, and one loss), and Fred and I were holding our own against Ron Etheridge 9 h/cap but played to 2 over, until we stopped for a sausage roll and lost the next 3 holes – I reckon our dogs were doctored !

We were looking good for an unexpected match win, sitting in the club house 4-3 up and the last match was reported to be 3 up. Confidence reigned until the last match came in having lost on the last hole !

Final match score was a creditable 4-4 draw, followed by roast beef – all in all a great day, just a couple of handicaps need to be reviewed (19 h/cap and a card 5 over par – hmmmmm.)

 

Graham McKay - Match Organiser