Seniors at home to Wellingborough April 18, 2023

Organiser Neil Pinnington reports

It would have been a beautiful spring day were it not for the biting nor'easterly gusting across the Carthagena Course. These conditions seemed to suit our Captain and me. We rained down par after par on their Seniors Captain and his partner Andrew.  

Even more unfortunately for them,  Andrew was suffering from a bad back that severely hampered his golf swing. He said it normally wore off after 4 or 5 holes. However this did not happen. On the seventh green he retired hurt (after our Captain had chipped in from off the back of the green for yet another par to put us seven up).

 Their Captain did battle on alone for the next three holes, until the game came to its inevitable conclusion on the tenth green.

The following five games kept the match incredibly tight. Each result alternated such that the JOG lead was lost, regained and then lost again. Three of the games went all the way to the eighteenth green before being decided. 

Congratulations to Rob Ebsworth & Tony Goodson. Commiserations to Algy & Fred and to Chris Roy & Ken Brewer. Congratulations to Ian Maddison & Rafe Bateson who had a comfortable 3&2 win.

 Special commiserations must go to Nigel Underwood & Oz Osman. Last year, I had been the subject of Bob Anderson's wrath for sending him out for a second time against a certain 30 handicap player from Wellingborough when Bob had to give him 19 shots. That same fate befell Nigel and Oz this year. Again that Wellingborough player not only played consistently throughout but this time was receiving 22 shots. Despite their best efforts Nigel and Oz lost 2&1, which was an honourable result under the circumstances.

So, after 6 games the match was tied 3-3. Luckily, I had backloaded the team with the golfing talents of Andy Shilton, Gerry Degaute, Richard Westergreen-Thorne and Nick Schumann. This meant we rounded out the match with two magnificent 4&2 wins.

The overall result was a 5-3 win for John O'Gaunt. No doubt Wellingborough are already plotting their revenge for the return match in August.

 

St Ives Swap Day April 17 2023

On the first tee: Richard Herbert, Trevor Darrington, St Ives President Roger Bishop, Jonathan Lean and Fred Williams

 Forty of John O'Gaunt's finest made the trip to St Ives Golf Club for our swap day where we were welcomed by Club President Roger Bishop.

Early conversation centred on the inadequacy of car sat-navs in finding the place but we were soon distracted by the view from their modern clubhouse of their links-style course with its "one tree".

Playing four ball better ball in 10 groups, we were led off by Seniors Captain Jonathan Lean.

The competition was played in warm spring sunshine but the course was playing rather long after recent prolonged rainfall.

In first place, with 40 points, were Richard Herbert and Trevor Darrington, while in second, on 39 points, were Paul Life and Tony Whittaker. In third, on 38 points, were Peter Salmon and Paul Beck. Notably, six other pairs also scored 38 points but were beaten on countback.

Fred Williams won nearest the pin after being the first player in the first group to hit the green.

The golf was followed by an enjoyable meal of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding followed by fruit crumble and ice cream.

Their President, Roger Bishop, who joined us for the meal, presented Jonathan with a book on the history of St Ives GC and a flag marking their centenary year.

Winners Richard Herbert and Trevor Darrington with Seniors Captain Jonathan Lean

Second place: Paul Life and Tony Whittaker

Third place: Peter Salmon and Paul Beck

Nearest the pin: Fred Williams

Full results

Richard Herbert and Trevor Darrington 40

Paul Life and Tony Whittaker 39

Peter Salmon and Paul Beck 38

Jed Isbell and Paul Dobson 38

Chris Dennis and Keith Fuller 38

Jack Shepherd and Ian Simpson 38

Jonathan Lean and Fred Williams 38

Richard Westergreen-Thorne and Alban Macdonald 38

Nigel Lewis and Graham Underwood 38

Ray Smart and Tony Goodson 37

David EJ Price and Anthony Bell 36

Bill Conway and Tony Lloyd 36

George Burnham and Andy Shilton 35

Terry Domagala and Paul Hammond 35

Ian Riches and Ian Simpson 35

Brian Williams and Michael Newstead 35

Algy Grimes and Rafe Bateson 34

Richard Cooper and Terry Sweeney 32

Paul Jones and Chris Roy 27

Colin Newbury and David Crosby 24

End of Year Celebrations Survey

We traditionally hold an Annual Dinner in December where we also recognise the winners during the year of our competitions. In practice, most of those who attend are our trophy winners and so we wondered if we should make a change for 2023.

The Seniors Committee is considering changing the format of our end-of-year celebrations so that everyone can take part. This could involve inviting winners and their partners to a presentation evening but adding another event as a dinner for all members, perhaps with some form of entertainment, so that we can all get together in a social setting.

 Please reply to the following options so we can gauge your interest by clicking on this link and following the instructions.

 

https://forms.gle/7aUZfzYkKHMCQ5GS6

 

Please complete the Survey by 30 April and we will update you of the results via the Newsletter.

 

Rex Bullock Shield April 11, 2023

Seniors Captain Jonathan Lean presents winner Andy Brown with the Rex Bullock Shield

The Seniors competition calendar got under way in earnest with the Rex Bullock Shield, the first of nine qualifiers for the Golfer of the Year Competition.

Played on the John O’Gaunt course, the Rex Bullock was won by Andy Brown with 38 points. His score included birdies on the 8th, 10th and 16th.

In second place, on 37 points, was Paul Hammond with another birdie fest on the 1st, 7th and 10th. And in third place, with 36 points was Jed Isbell.

The day began with bright spring sunshine and most of the 99 entrants enjoyed pleasant conditions before rain set in later in the day.

Scoring was relatively low with the John O’Gaunt playing rather long after the recent rainy spell. Less than a third of the field scored 30 points or more.

Raffle prizes were won by Derek Weller, David Trotter, Kevin Cocker and Sam Standen.

Second place: Paul Hammond

First group on the first tee: Peter Jarman, Paul Jeeves and Keith Hargreaves

You can see the first GOTY table after this first event of the year by clicking the link below. 

https://www.johnogauntgolfclub.co.uk/orderofmerit.php?oom=8

Your best 6 results from the 9 qualifying competitions in the calendar year 2023 count towards the Order of Merit.

20 points are awarded for winning a competition, 19 points for second etc down to 1 point for 20th place.

All players will be awarded 1 point for entering and completing the competition.

Don’t forget that when it comes to the popular Christmas Fayre Competition, where numbers are restricted, priority will be given to those with the most number of GOTY entries.

Home match against Aspley Guise April 4, 2023

 

Acting Captain Richard Westergreen-Thorne, left, on the Carthagena 4th green

 Richard Westergreen-Thorne reports

What a difference a week makes. After playing in constant rain in our match last week we were treated to some glorious sunshine for the game with Aspley Guise.

Our Match Organiser, Jim Kerr, is currently injured, but he did us proud by setting everything up for the match and turning up first thing to distribute the cards and make sure everything was alright. This led to probably the earliest presentation of a bottle of wine in appreciation ever by the seniors as I, as stand in Captain, presented it to Jim at 8.10am. A bit early in the day to drink it but thanks Jim.

It was cold but with clear skies as we set off and it soon warmed up to be great golfing weather. No wind and true fast greens remarked upon by all players from both clubs when we assembled at the end of the day. The result was tight with Andy Lawrence and I managing to claw back from 1 down after 14 holes to win 2 and 1 and then the other results gradually came in.  We lost match 2, won match 3, lost match 4 and won matches 5 and 6 . Unfortunately, we could not quite get over the line and Aspley Guise managed to win the last two matches to give us a 4 – 4 draw overall. A result well received by all involved at the end of the meal that followed.

We will be at Aspley Guise before the end of the month to play the return leg when Captain Jonathan Lean will take back the reins. For me it was a draw in my first match as acting Captain and a well received joke.

Notes of the Senior Section Committee Meeting 23 March 2023

 

Notes of the Senior Section Committee Meeting

23 March 2023

Attendance:

Algy Grimes (AG), Jonathan Lean (JL), Barry Donovan (BD), Richard Westergreen – Thorne (RWT), Tony Lloyd (TL) Andy Shilton (AS)

Minutes previous and matters arising

The minutes previous were approved.

TL provided a brief outline of the Prostate Day arrangements and senior section involvement.

Captain (JL)

I tabled ‘discussion notes’ regarding the participation of ladies in Seniors’ events at the Golf Committee meeting on 7th February. These notes have already been circulated to this committee.

The outcome of the discussion at the Golf Committee Meeting was that there was a general consensus that it was good to start having this sort of discussion around the table.  We are moving in the direction of equal opportunities for both (or should I say all) genders! There was a suggestion that although there is a Senior Ladies squad, they only have a very few matches, and they are keen to play in more if possible. It was suggested that in the future we could designate some of our matches as ‘mixed matches ‘depending on the responses we get from the clubs we play against regarding the possibility of ladies being included in our squads.

My suggestion for the time being is for Richard WT to contact all the clubs (or you if that is more appropriate) and advise them that there is a possibility of ladies being in our squad and see what the reactions are.  If any club comes back and rejects this then we can just make sure that we do not include any ladies in that match.  If any of them are happy then we can possibly select ladies for these matches if any of them put their names down. From next year onwards the suggestion is that we can designate 4 of our 13 matches ad ‘mixed’ matches.

There has been a reaction from some of the senior men who are refusing to play alongside ladies in competitions. We need to have a consensus on how to handle this situation. (see agenda item below)

Plans are well advanced for the Charity week and also the Club’s 75th anniversary celebrations week in June. More details to follow when all arrangements are finalised.

JL also updated the committee on the progress of the arrangements for the club's 75^th anniversary events having recently attended a meeting of the planning committee.

Vice Captain (RWT)

RWT updated the committee on his engagement with fellow members who are currently not playing.

Immediate Past Captain (AG)

 

Nothing to report.

Treasurer's Report (BD)

BD outlined what he has done since the last meeting. This included familiarising himself with the accounts and the transactions involved in the competitions and matches. He has also been looking at the cash flow during the year and estimating what the end of year balance will be based upon assumptions regarding income and expenditure in competitions and matches.

Of particular importance to our finances this year are the Member and Guest Day, Senior Captains Day, Christmas Fayre and Christmas Dinner where subsidies are traditionally given towards the cost of the food and, in the case of the Dinner, the cost of the meal for invited guests such as the staff.

The increased cost of food has increased our costs this year for matches and the numbers entering competitions look likely to be larger than in previous years but it is still early days for us to be able to have a clear estimate of income from competition fees. BD outlined that the finances look tight this year and he will circulate some documents to the committee when he has done further work on them and this can be discussed in more detail at the next meeting.

It was agreed that we would need to increase the cost of playing in the three events that are currently subsidised due to the rising cost of food and potential impact upon our finances.

All three are a shotgun start with a limited field and so we cannot increase numbers taking part in order to for us to increase income.

It was agreed that Senior Captains Day entry fee should rise to £10, Xmas Fayre rise to £10 and the member and Guest Day to £35 per team.

Action point:

Subsidies and prices for these events to be an agenda item at the next meeting and, in the meantime, RWT to flag up the anticipated entry costs in the Newsletter.

Hon. Secretary (RWT)

Since we last met the membership numbers have continued to increase at a rate of around one a week. It is currently 254 with a further couple of ex-players who also receive the newsletter. There are 8 Ladies as members and I think one or two more who are engaged but through their husbands/partners email account.

When anyone asks to join us, I have continued previous practice to send them a welcome email and an offer to follow up with a chat and to arrange a game if they would like to do this. This year I am now able to add for people who are not known to us contact with one of the three members who have offered to help with the new member liaison role. They have had 9 people to contact in total so far and it seems to have proved very useful A couple of those they have spoken to have become engaged with us and others are interested but still working, etc. I have arranged with the three taking on this role to take stock of where we are in a couple of months.

I have removed several names from the mailing list where I know people have left the club but will go through the club membership list more systematically now the membership is known for the year.

There has been a lot of interest in the additional match with Brocket Hall and it has opened up the possibility of further afternoon matches and this is on the agenda as part of our review of the calendar for 2024. There are a number of other points to consider regarding the calendar for 2024 and I need to make good progress on it shortly so that we are in synch with other clubs deliberations.

I have recently sent an email with our contact details to the other clubs we play and referred to our gender-neutral status as we agreed at our last meeting. I can update you on the responses during the gender-neutral agenda item.

I was pleased to see the level of response from members when we needed to get extra players for the 4BBB and now that we have started our season of matches and competitions, I hope to see good numbers looking at the blog to keep up to date with what is going on.

Other matters are considered elsewhere on the agenda.

Competition Secretary (TL)

The Green Tilley and Foursomes knockouts opened on the day of the AGM and caused immediate interest, with two ladies signing up for the foursomes for the first time. This led to a little confusion as we considered how to run the knockouts from red and yellow tees. Eventually, after seeking advice, we arrived at what we hope will be a workable solution. i.e the same rules as the Fletcher Cup and President’s Cup.

Fifty-two signed up for the Foursomes and 82 for the Green Tilley. The draw for both was conducted on March 7 along with the draw for the 4BBB.

The mixed greensomes with the ladies was due to take place on March 9 but had to be cancelled when the course was closed due to snow. Forty ladies and 40 seniors had entered but their fees were reimbursed. Fortunately, as the decision was beyond our control, we did not have to pay for the cake. It is hoped we can rearrange the match for later in the year, although the crowded calendar may make this difficult.

The 4BBB Trophy on March 14 filled up very quickly, soon reaching the maximum 92 including, again for the first time, two ladies. There were a handful of withdrawals, but the reserve list kept the start sheet full. There were two further withdrawals on the eve of the competition and one on the morning of the competition. Following an appeal by RWT we just got over the line. Thanks to those who stepped forward at the last minute. The competition itself was played in fine weather and was won by Chris Saunders and David Wrench.

The Rex Bullock Trophy, to be played on April 11, was so popular that the initial cap of 102 had to be increased to 120 by adding earlier and later tee times. At the last count 111 players had signed up, justifying our decision to maximise the number of available tee times by making it a one tee start. If, as we hope, interest in competitions remains high, we will continue with one-tee starts where appropriate and monitor the situation.

The Brocket Hall matches opened for entries on March 5 and 31 players quickly signed up.

The Swap Day with St Ives. The entry list of 40 is full, with two on the reserve list.

Jock Allan Prostate Cancer Charity Day While not a seniors event, I have been helping Bill Walker, Algy Grimes and David Barlow with IG sign-up. At the last count, there were 70 entries, with the hope that a last-minute publicity drive would attract a few more.

Action Point

It looks unlikely that we can find a mutually agreeable date to rearrange the Greensomes and TL will propose to the Ladies section that it be cancelled for 2023.

Match Secretaries Report (AS)

Matches are now underway with our first game against Beds & County played on Tuesday 21^st ending with a positive 5-3 result and a good joke.  Next match Saffron Walden at home next Tuesday (28^th).

 We have had a very strong sign up of 60 players and the availability is such that all matches are oversubscribed with the lowest at 22 players available for 20 places.  Due to the level of sign up the availability/selection ratio is between 50 and 60% which is less than historically the case.  This has also made the selection process quite difficult and required many iterations.   I decided to do the selection for the whole season as most people had put availability in for the entire season.  This made it easier to ensure fairness.  But I have stated that only batch 1 is confirmed and batches 2 and 3 are provisional.

 There were several players that didn’t put in for equal availability of home and away and some rather heavily skewed to away games.  All have been written to and responded appropriately.

 As usual no sooner was the selection made than people started dropping out.  There has been something like 13 withdrawals notified within a week of publishing.  So already the data is starting to look skewed.  This is a reality. 

 We have settled on a price of £24 to try to keep the costs reasonable.  By way of comparison Beds & County players were charged £17 on Tuesday up from £16.50 last year.  The menu is I think satisfactory with how and cold options available.

 The work with Alban Macdonald to develop a better way of managing teams is now live and I used it in earnest for the selection.  This was a bit painful as we worked our way through the issues.  It is certainly now for a PC user a better tool for looking at what you have been selected for.  However, it still doesn’t work well on a mobile (the temporary filters are not supported on mobile), so we have left the original reporting tool live for mobile users.  Use of this version has dropped down considerably and the initial problem of multiple users has settled as traffic has reduced.  From the Match Secretary perspective, it is now working fine but you do need to be comfortable in the tech space to manage it.   

 On a side note, sales of new 75^th anniversary Senior Jumpers seems to have been strong as many were on display on Tuesday.

 AS and Alban MacDonald (AM) were thanked for their considerable efforts with the new selection matrix.

 Action Point:

 JL to present AM with a gift in recognition of his efforts on behalf of the seniors.

Annual Dinner and Presentation of Trophies 2023

 Dave Wood (DW) attended for this item.

 The Annual Dinner in December is where we have traditionally presented our trophies to competition winners. The majority of members who attend are competition winners and last year we did not fill all 80 spaces available with winners, invited club staff and other senior members. Discussion took place about the reasons for this. For example, does the presentation element discourage other seniors from attending or is there only a limited interest in such an event? 

Action Point

 DW and TL to produce a questionnaire for all members to gauge views on the options open to us in 2023:

-          Keep the event as it is and encourage more members to attend

-          Have just a presentation event and discontinue the dinner

-          Have a separate dinner and presentation event and if this was the preferred option consider some form of entertainment at the dinner

Once ready to be sent to members to be distributed via the newsletter.

 It was agreed that trophy winners can keep their trophy when they receive it until Oct/Nov when DW will ask for it back for engraving. It will then be formally presented at the Dinner/Presentation Evening when winners can then take home again until it is required for the next year’s competition.

Gender neutral status

Following discussion it was agreed that it is early days for ladies being involved in seniors competitions and that the committee should monitor entries from ladies and communications from individual seniors. Currently a small number of ladies have entered our competitions that have been open and none have put themselves forward to play in matches.

When RWT circulated the fact that we are a gender-neutral section to the clubs we play in matches one raised an objection and the others were either positive or did not specifically respond.

To be returned to at the next meeting.

Calendar 2024 

RWT is currently working on the 2024 calendar.

RWT had circulated in advance of the meeting a number of options for the 2024 calendar and some have  already been agreed regarding possible dates and days for competitions with, for example, the Ladies section and the Junior section.

It was agreed that we should look to play Brocket Hall in 2024 as an afternoon match again and look to see if we could add one or two more Monday afternoon fixtures along similar lines with new clubs. Given the increase in membership this would give more members the option of playing matches.

Newmarket have been unable to agree to the proposed Swap day with them in 2024 and so we need to find another club to swap with.

Action Points:

JL to discuss additional afternoon fixtures with The Club Manager with a view to raise as an agenda item at the next club Golf Committee.

RWT to circulate other clubs with the potential offer of a Swap Day and/or an afternoon fixture and a number of clubs were discussed as possibilities to approach.

Staggered Start

RWT circulated a draft paper regarding a staggered start arrangement for home matches. A number of amendments were suggested and RWT will circulate a second draft to the committee.

Action Point

At the appropriate time JL will table the proposal at a club Golf Committee meeting.

AOB

-          Committee 2024

 

Action Point:

It was agreed that RWT will put a note in the Newsletter inviting members to come forward if they are interested in becoming involved in helping with the organisation of seniors events. There is a need to make changes within the committee for 2024, for example, RWT will stand down as Hon Sec when he becomes Captain. There are also plenty of other roles outside of the committee where members can be involved and help.

 

-          Past Senior Captains Lunch

 Action Point:

JL to follow up and report back at the next meeting

Date and time of next meeting  

Thursday 13^th April

Thursday 4^th May

Thursday 20^th July

Tuesday 29^th August

Thursday 5^th October

Tuesday 7^th November

Tuesday 16^th January 2024

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seniors at home to Saffron Walden, March 28, 2023

 Organiser Michael Newstead reports

The day dawned dim and dismal and just got worse as the morning wore on. Rain, rain and more rain, just the sort of weather we golfers love going out to play in, I think not!  The mood in the clubhouse before the game was only lifted by the fact most of the Saffron Walden team had never played on Carthagena so there was an air of excitement.

Even prior to starting there were two notable events: no names, no pack-drill you understand but one of our number had forgotten he was playing and had to make a hurried journey to the club. The other had taken 08:30 as the time we were meeting for introductions, not the time of the first teeing off.  

 Now as to the result;  as is custom, the first out and back was your Captain and Organiser and we had played our opposite numbers.   Our game was swinging each way and we were one up at the turn.   From that point we had a run where we won several holes.  In fact, after the 15^th the result of the match was not in doubt as we were 5/3 up.   We played the 16^th, but clearly our opponents were more interested at that point in returning to the clubhouse and getting out of the rain as the game was lost to them.

 Seated comfortably in the clubhouse, out of the rain and enjoying a post-match drink, we waited in anticipation as each match ended and the results brought to us for recording.   Later, all smartly dressed with one exception who clearly didn’t get the message, yes, you know who you are! we enjoyed a delicious meal served with great efficiency by the catering team, after which your Captain gave the customary brief words and joke. Then the Saffron Walden Organiser had the unenviable task of announcing that the result was 7 games to 1 in favour of John O’Gaunt, making it two out of two for our Captain!

 The day finished with pointed references to the return (revenge!) match at Saffron Walden on 17^th May!

 

Home match v Brocket Hall, March 27, 2023

Chris Roy and Trevor Darrington with their opponents on the first tee

Organiser Richard Westergreen-Thorne reports

It was a day of firsts as we played Brocket Hall for the very first time. It was also the first home match of the year for our Captain, Jonathan Lean, and the first time we had played at JOG with an afternoon start.

Responding to an offer from Brocket Hall earlier in the year we were able to arrange to play an additional fixture to add to our calendar for 2023 which proved a very popular decision. To make it work we agreed to play 12 a side on a Monday afternoon and so the two teams assembled in the clubhouse ready to do battle on the course. With the weather being variable at best over recent days we were blessed with good weather and JOG looked fantastic in the sunshine.

As for the match there were some close games and some not so close. For example, Nigel Underwood and Graham Lewis won comfortably and Nick Seeley and I ..... well, let's just say that our opponents played very well. Jonathan Lean and Peter Wade were able to win a tight match but overall we lost 4 - 2.

In the clubhouse afterwards for sandwiches and chips (another first) all agreed it was a good day's golf with good company. Jonathan supplied his usual joke and all left looking forward to the return fixture and the hope that we can make this into a regular part of our calendar. 

Michael Newstead’s charity challenge, March 26 2023

 

Michael Newstead celebrates after abseiling down the 200ft Lister Hospital tower in aid of the East and North Herts Hospitals’ Charity. Afterwards Michael thanked all the John O’Gaunt seniors whose sponsorship helped him raise £965. It’s not too late to donate by following the link below.

 www.justgiving.com/Michael-Is-Abseiling

Seniors away to Beds and County, March 21, 2023

 Organiser Michael Newstead reports

An overheard conversation at JOG on Sunday 19^th March sent me scurrying to the Beds and County website and to my horror found it was true. They had a trolley ban in place, it was carry only!   With the match just two days away visions of 16 old and weary men (32 if you count B&C players) struggling up the final hole, weighed down by their bag of clubs, knees aching, gasping for breath, back-breaking under the strain, not a pretty sight I think  you will agree!   Something had to be done to avert this disaster.    A flurry of emails with the B&C organiser, his commitment to take up the matter the following day, Monday 20^th.   Conversation with the JOGS match secretary produced three scenarios – 1) everyone carries, 2) send a reduced team if not everyone can carry, 3) cancel.

 Next step, alert the team of impending disaster. Result, my inbox filled with messages from thirteen of our finest with cries of, “I can carry if I have to, but my poor back/knees/legs/ankles/teeth (yes,  I made the last one up).”   Let’s just say the sigh of relief could be heard all over Potton and beyond when I learned that the B&C Organiser had obtained special dispensation for us to use our trolleys!

 On the appointed day we arrived at Beds & County expecting to be trudging through seas of mud, but actually nothing of the sort.    Certainly the course was a little wet in places and the air-brushes were well-used at the end of the game, but the greens were fast, true and just as difficult to read as ever; the grass was verdant and for the most, proper tees were in play, although the ears of my partner, your Captain (stand up and salute!!) and myself were oft assailed by our playing partners with comments of, “We haven’t been playing off this tee, we have been using mats/the ladies tee for the past few months.”

 How bravely JOG’s valiant sixteen took to the field of battle; unperturbed by the knowledge they were fighting a 58 shot advantage!   As the scores started to roll in the pessimism turned to joy and we scented victory, confirmed when our Captain announced after dinner that in fact John O’Gaunt had overcome the odds and were the winners 5 and 3.

 All that remained was to congratulate your Captain and Derek Cormack for winning nearest the pin on the par 3 12^th, each being awarded the traditional bottle of wine and to raise a cheer to the catering staff for a superb meal and service.

 

4BBB Trophy March 14, 2023

Seniors Captain Jonathan Lean presents the trophy to winners Chris Saunders and Dave Wrench 

Oh no, not again! That might have been the reaction of entrants viewing the weather early on Tuesday so soon after the cancellation of the ladies and seniors mixed greensomes the week before.

Then, hoorah, the clouds parted, the sun made a rare appearance and 92 seniors thanked their lucky stars for a great day of golf.

The scoring was good too. First prize went to Chris Saunders and Dave Wrench with an impressive 47 points. In second place, on countback, were Derek Weller and Andy Brown, also on 47 points. And in third place, on 46 points, were Ian Maddison and Tony Lloyd. Rumours that Tony, as the new Competitions Secretary, had fiddled the figures, were hotly denied by his lawyers.

Also on 46 points, but narrowly missing out on a podium place, were Tony Goodson and Keith Howlett.

Raffle prizes were won by Chris Sullivan, Andrew Wellings, Algy Grimes and Tony Goodson.

Only the day before, the start sheet was in a state of flux as two players, for entirely valid reasons, had to withdraw. An emergency appeal for extra players by Hon Sec Richard Westergreen-Thorne resulted in an instant response which fixed the problem. Then, as late as 8am on the day of the competition came another withdrawal. Keith Fuller, just about to get in the shower, came to the rescue and arrived on cue for a 10.10am start. Thanks to all who answered the call to ensure the day went without a hitch.

Second place on countback: Derek Weller and Andy Brown

Third place: Tony Lloyd and Ian Maddison