Seniors Member and Guest Day July 30 2024

 

Winners Tony Whittaker and Gary Fleming with Captain Richard Westergreen-Thorne

Tony Lloyd reports on one of the Senior Section's top events

It's the day when John O'Gaunt Seniors can treat their guests to a taste of what our great club offers ... and I think it is fair to say that no one was disappointed.

Eighty-four members and guests enjoyed a great day of golf on the John O'Gaunt course followed by a hearty meal. 

It was hot day, probably the hottest of the year so far, when brollies were used as sunshades for a change.

This was a four-ball better-ball competition so you would expect some good scores. And we weren't disappointed.

In first place, with 45 points, were Tony Whittaker and Gary Fleming. In second, with 43 on countback, were Paul Hammond and Suky Sehmbi and in third were Graham Lewis and his son Paul.

Nearest the Pin on the 4th was won by Suky Sehmbi, Nearest the Pin on the 10th was won by Jack Shepherd, Nearest the Pin on the 12th in 2 was won by Andrew Clarke and Nearest the Pin on the 16th was won by Richard Herbert. Nearest the Rope on the 17th was won by Tom Day but a special prize for hitting beyond the rope was awarded to Gary Fleming.

The raffle was well supported and raised a whopping £465 for Captain Richard Westergreen-Thorne's charity, the British Heart Foundation.

The competition was run by Member and Guest Day stalwarts Nigel and Sabrina Underwood whose meticulous planning ensured that the day went without a hitch.

It's a cliche, but a great day was truly had by all.

Second place: Paul Hammond with his guest Suky Sehmbi

Third place: Graham Lewis and his son, Paul

Captain Richard thanks organisers Nigel and Sabrina Underwood

THE PLAYERS

Cav Kendall, Warren Kendall, George Burnham, Les Burnham

Suky Sehmbi, Paul Hammond, Nigel Shadbolt, Barry Donovan

Jed Isbell, Stephen Richardson, Alan Emm, Paul Dobson

Richard Westergreen-Thorne, David Crosby, Stephen Tofield, Graham Gadsden

Algy Grimes, Ian Mulcahy, Brian Mansbridge, David Price

Peter Hayzelden, Len Greaves, Glyn Roberts, Brian Goldsmith

Clive Gardiner, Les Harrison, Tony Reeve, Robert Isaacson

Luke Sansby, Jonathan Lean, Oz Osman, Ziggy Trzebinski

Richard Cooper, Mick Merry, Andrew Webb, Alan Kirkham

Michael Newstead, Malcolm Falconer, Peter Martin, Derek Weller

Tim North, David Wood, Paul Beck, Tom Day

Kevin Flynn, Kevin Barbour, Tim Boundy, Harry Wakefield

Tony Walters, Michael Etwaroo, David Battams, David Moore

David Patrick, Phil Odell, Jeevie Jeeves, Geoff Emery

Ros Bents, Richard Herbert, Trevor Darrington, Andrew Clarke

Tony Whittaker, Gary Fleming, Anita Isaacson, Claire Reeve

David Charteress, Robert Anderson, Tony Munn, Richard Munn

John Sandland, Douglas Neish, Keith Howard, Gerry Degaute

Jack Shepherd, Judith Sharpe, Andy Lawrence, Anthony Woods

David Boyd, Ian Maddison, Paul Lewis, Graham Lewis

Steve Luckman, Richard Luckman, David Robinson, Keith Howlett

Seniors away v Leighton Buzzard July 29 2024

 

Organiser Trevor Darrington reports

On a very hot (30.5 degrees in the car on the way home) sunny day with little wind, Leighton Buzzard hosted JOG for their return match. Having won the home match 5 & 3, we entered the fray in a confident mood. The course was in lovely condition although we encountered some “interesting" holes along the way. The Captain, Richard and I were matched with their Captain, John and his partner Danny. With Danny getting 9 shots to Richard’s 2 and my 4, it was always going to be tough and tough indeed it was.

Having parred the first 3 holes, we were still only even, then we lost the fourth to their par. It stayed that way until the 8^th when I made a birdie. A bit of see-saw over the next 4 holes but then we went one down again on the par 3 11^th (to a par). My two birdies on the 14^th and 15^th put us in the lead for the first time in the match, only to lose the 16^th to yet another par. Two more pars to finish the round on what was both a physically and mentally tough round. All four of us said it was the hardest match we had ever played. A fair result in the end though.    

Speaking to some of our other players, they had similar experiences with pars not being good enough to win holes, so a difficult day all round. Many matches not being decided until the 18^th green.

Well done to everybody, and I hope they enjoyed the day and especially the steak and crème brulee meal afterwards.  The half-way house wasn’t too bad either!

Overall, the match was drawn. The scores were:-

Richard Westergreen-Thorne and Trevor Darrington – half

Philip Armstrong and Chris Sullivan – lost 2 down

Rafe Bateson and Steve Luckman – half

Chris Saunders and Tony Goodson – lost 1 down

Terry Sweeney and Chris Dennis – won 4&3

David Trotter and Ian Maddison – lost 8&6

Barry Donovan and Algy Grimes – won 1 up

Ken Brewer and Neil Pinnington – won 2 up

   

Seniors Away to Cambridge Country Club - 26th July 2024

 

                     I wish I could be the first organiser to take the scroll back to John O'Gaunt. 

                                                      See my report below to see if I did!!

As we sat on the patio at the Cambridge Country Club your Captain, Richard Westergreen -Thorne  and myself feared the worst and this blog would be entitled "If it wasn't for bad luck we would have no luck at all" having been beaten by their Captain (19 shots) and his partner 6 handicap 4 and 3.

The clouds darken when the second game came in and advised they too had lost 2 and 1. It was about this time I was advising the Captain to get a new organiser for next years games.

A glimmer of hope appeared when the first group that had started on the seventeenth appeared smiling with a win of 3 and 2. The Captain and I breathed a sigh of relief " at least it will not be a white wash" was the comment.

The second group out on the seventeenth did something I have only read about in magazines. being five up with five to play,  yes dormie 5  they managed to snatch a draw from the jaws of victory. 

To cut a long story short the next three pairings were all winners and our mood completely changed to the possibility of a significantly large win. Remember we lost at home 5 1/2 to 2 1/2 and if our last pair could come in with a win we could earn an honourable draw overall. However dreams are there to be crushed and with a dog licence being mentioned we had to settle on the fact that we had beaten our opponents 4 1/2 to 3 1/2. This is the first time I can remember beating them on their home ground.

Yes they keep the Scroll and we live to fight another day.

You will notice "No Names No Pack Drill". As a team it was well played and to come away with a win is heart warming.

I must thank Ian Maddison, Steve Luckman and Keith Howlett who are ex CCC members and were given a rowdy reception by the opposing team members all in a good spirit as indeed the whole match was played

As someone said "there is always next year" Watch this space.

 

Derek Young

Organiser

Notes of the Seniors Committee Meeting, July 18 2024

 

Senior Committee meeting minutes July 18 2024

 

Present: Richard Westergreen-Thorne (RWT), Jonathan Lean (JL), Barry Donovan (BD), Nigel Underwood (NU), Dave Wood (DW), Tony Lloyd (TL). Apologies for absence: Algy Grimes

1 Minutes of the previous meeting were accepted

2 Matters not arising elsewhere on the agenda

An approach had been received from the organiser of Northampton Golf Club’s social team asking if we would be interested in playing regular matches against them in the future. It was decided that this was more suited to a club event than a seniors event.

Action: TL to kindly decline their offer and pass the correspondence on to Gordon McLeod.

3 Captain’s report (RWT)

Apart from a number of items covered elsewhere in the agenda much of my engagement since the last meeting has been away from the course.

With the new structure of the club coming into place Jonathan attended the inaugural Captains Committee meeting as both Tony and I were away and I then attended the follow up session on my own when Tony was away. This committee is designed to be a sharing session with the Club, Senior and Ladies Captains and Vice Captains present along with representatives of the Juniors and the House, Charity, Golf and Handicap Working Groups.

Subsequently, both Tony and I attended the latest meeting of the committee last week. I have already distributed a copy of the report I tabled about our activities to this committee and Tony and I can update you on what transpired at the session at our meeting.

I also attended the first Golf Working Group Meeting where I presented our Staggered Start Proposal. As you are aware this was forwarded to the Executive Board for their consideration, and I subsequently attended a Board Meeting to present a revised proposal. I was very pleased to report that the request has led to a three-match trial later this year and this is a separate agenda item.

As Tony and I now meet with the Club Captain and Vice Captain on a regular basis at the Captains Committee it has been agreed that, to reduce the workload and avoid duplication, the Vice Captain will not, in future, attend our committee meetings.

I played in the recent Captains Day Competition and attended the pre round breakfast as a guest of the Club Captain. I have also accepted a similar invitation to the Ladies Captains Day in a few weeks’ time.

I am delighted to report that the JustGiving contribution from the seniors to the 54 hole longest day challenge was over £1,750 inc. gift aid. A splendid effort towards the club charity of Macmillan Cancer Support and I can assure Tony that it was very easy to do the 54 holes. It created a lot of interest amongst the seniors and has the potential to be a much bigger opportunity for the club.

We are fast approaching a few weeks with plenty of events and competitions coming up and so I am looking forward to lots of opportunities to present prizes and awards to fellow members.

4 Vice Captain’s report (TL)

TL reported that a member of the senior section was currently in hospital and that he would send a get well soon card on behalf of the seniors

5 Immediate Past Captain’s report (JL)

Nothing to report

6 Treasurer’s report (BD)

1.   Current Financial Situation. As of 16^th July 2024, our cash position is very positive at £5261.14. However, I have had to accrue for outstanding Club invoices for Matchday food (£3072) and £300 for prizes. Additionally, there are outstanding Debtors of £1096 (main Club). Our net position for the year to date is therefore a Nett £666.86, leaving our nett cash position as  £3023.84, once everything has caught up !!

2.      The admin process surrounding Club Matches is still somewhat fraught and we have particularly suffered due to the Clubhouse Manager’s absence due to illness and holiday. However, ever the optimist, I hope these issues will now be behind us !!. The Accruals and Debtors – above – mean at least from a Cashflow point of view – we know where we are.

3.      A point for 2025 – we need to clearly understand what Matches are to operate on a non-reciprocal basis. The Organiser needs to take responsibility for overseeing the payment and collection of food costs as it is not always clear what has been agreed. We have one match still outstanding (which Ian Riches is chasing).

4.      I have requested an update on the Captain’s honorarium and will advise once received.

5.      Christmas Fayre. Over the coming weeks I will be contacting Hurren’s and Piggot’s for costings. Carl is aware that this approach will be happening and is keen to get involved.

Action: Finances of the Bring and Win, Christmas Fayre and Presentation Evening to be discussed at the next meeting

 

7 Honorary Secretary’s report (TL)

Not much to report from me this month that is not covered elsewhere on the agenda.

The 2025 calendar is now complete, with all the competitions and matches agreed with Nigel Tarn and the clubs we play in matches.

I have signed up four new members since our meeting in May: Peter Sweeney, Dave Gabbitas, Euan Gill and Alan Slingsby. Our practice of welcoming new members worked well with at least one “newbie” now playing regularly in the roll ups.

I have had a few issues with the newsletter not being received by a number of members which has entailed me sending it out again to those who missed it. I’m not sure what caused it but I suspect some internet providers, specifically btinternet, are sensitive to what they think may be spam. Last Sunday (July 7) I am pleased to say there were no issues. It made me think that we could do with an IT expert to call on in situations like this.

8 Competition Secretary’s report (JL)

Since the last meeting there have been four competitions.

Annual Medal Trophy and Jubilee Trophy.  83 entrants.  Won by Kevin Cocker with a nett 69

Rex Cleaver Championship Trophy.  92 entrants.  Won by Chris Sullivan.

Reg Batson Trophy.  40 entrants.  Won by Cavan Kendall.

Annual Stableford.  114 entrants.  Won by Rob Bage.

We have at last managed to have one successful Stableford Roll-up on 2^nd July.  Well attended with 20 attendees, 12 of whom submitted cards.  The next one on 25^th July is ready to go.

The Member and Guest Day is full with a reserve list set up.  The draw is done and I think that all the special requests have been accommodated.

The Senior Captain’s Day is also full with 100 entrants.  A reserve list is set up.

The Bailiff Shield on 20^th August is now open for entrants and at the time of writing there were 85 entrants.  Nothing after this until the Gordon Percival in October.

I have started to carry out training for Nigel Underwood.  This will be an ongoing process.

Part of the training was entering competitions for next year.  It was noted that our entry fee is £5 and has been fixed at this price for as long as I can remember.  Should we consider a modest increase to £6?

Action After a discussion it was decided to keep the entry fee at £5 for the time being

9 Match Secretary’s report (AG)

Due to being on holiday from the 5^th to 19^th July, I must offer my apologies for non-attendance at the meeting, so please take the following as my report for the meeting.

 Our last meeting in early May I reported that we had played four matches, two home and two away. Won one, Drawn one and Lost two. Unfortunately, my report doesn’t bring any better news of our fortunes since then.

 We have played seven home and three away, we have Won three and Lost seven. Most were lost by the odd game or two, but there was 6 – 2 defeats at both Saffron Walden and Northampton. Plus a 5½ - ½ loss to Brocket Hall.

 The more worrying fact is that withdrawals have seen quite large numbers with five pulling out of two matches, a total of 25 over the ten matches, two were actually those that had played a Joker.

 Selections have been made for Tranche 4 matches plus the Leighton Buzzard away match which appeared in the wrong tranche.

 Tranche 5 closes on Monday 22^nd July, and I hope to again ask Dave Wood to meet with me to help select the teams. We have a healthy sign up with the exception of South Beds away, only 15 signed up as I write this report, if nobody else signs up I do have some that I can call on.

 

10 Staggered start trial

Action RWT to send briefing note to those playing in the trial matches 

11 Future events

Member and Guest Day: NU gave an updated report on the day’s activities and refreshments

Action JL to email entrants with competition details, TL to organise the raffle with the help of Dave Gauge and take photos of teams if time allows

Senior Captain’s Day TL gave an updated report on progress

Action BD to run putting competition with the help of Dave Gauge

Away Day Nothing to discuss

Swap Day AG to discuss arrangements with Peterborough Milton

Swap Day 2026 A tentative approach from Luffenham Heath offering a swap for a maximum 24 players on a Wednesday was discussed. It was felt these two conditions were too constraining

Action TL to kindly decline and begin the process of finding another venue

12 Honours boards

The boards are nearing completion

Action Find a date for a 6pm unveiling ceremony. TL to invite past winners whose names appear on the boards. TL to check with Justin Thomas whether the new “Captain’s Fund” could help pay for the boards

13 Any other business

BD asked whether there would be interest in a golfing weekend away for senior section members.

Action: BD to come up with an outline proposal at the next meeting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seniors at home to Gog Magog July 23 2024

 

Organiser Paul Jones and Captain Richard Westergreen-Thorne on the JOG 1st with their Gog Magog opponents

Organiser Paul Jones reports

Given the recent unpredictable British Summertime weather I checked the forecast on Monday evening and it looked promising.  However, it did suggest that there was a slight chance that some of us might get wet.  So I was quite alarmed when early on Tuesday morning I put my gear into the car that this horrible "wet rain" was falling, so I made sure my waterproofs were in my bag and got wet doing so. I set off with the windscreen wipers on the intermittent setting struggling to shift the rain, not looking forward to playing in the rain yet again.   By the time I pulled into the car park the rain had almost stopped and when I reappeared about half an hour later it had mercifully ceased and it turned into a lovely day to play golf.

All players from both teams arrived in good time, although when I got home there was a voice message from one of our guys saying "the traffic was awful". Since I was caught up in admin (a hint for any future organisers take some scorecards home with you a day or two before the match and write them out at home)  I didn't notice what time the straggler arrived so my tardy extraction of his voicemail message was the only indication of any problems  Be honest guys, how many of you have ever uttered the words "the traffic was awful" when a five minute delay on the road meant that you turned up somewhere half an hour late.

Anyway enough of my timekeeping confessions, the golf is what you want to read about.  

Our captain Richard Westergreen-Thorne was paired with myself, Paul Jones (my reward for acting as organiser)  and we got the John O'Gaunt team off to steady start as our match finished  tied *(or all square" for those traditionalists amongst you).  

We were pitted against their organiser Allan, a very competent single figure handicapper, and their club Captain Dennis who also had a single figure handicap index but was not quite as consistent as Allan.  However, Dennis made a few valuable contributions like parring the third hole after hitting his tee shot 70 yards.  Then on the next hole, Gog's nearest the pin hole, after Richard and I had missed the green, Dennis put his tee shot to within ten inches of the hole. Richard had a very difficult chip from the right side of the green and duly but unsuccessfully tried to secure a half. I was about six foot short of the green and pulled out the "Texas Wedge" and holed out for a important half. Our match was always tight with neither team ever getting more than 1 up. There was a fair sprinkling of good golf and by the ninth hole, which Richard birdied to get us level, all four players had recorded at least one gross birdie.  The only other point of note is that I won the nearest the pin on the 16th which meant both nearest the pins were won by the first group.

The other matches were generally close, not a dog licence in sight, and the full results making up a 6.5 to 1.5 victory for John O Gaunt were:

Richard Westergreen-Thorne and Paul Jones: Halved

Nigel Underwood and Paul Dobson: won 3 & 2.

Jed Isbell and Chris Roy: won 1 up

Rob Ebsworth and Steve Mathers: won 3 & 2

Steve Luckman and Keith Howlett: won 5 & 4

David McNair and Mehmet Osman: lost 3 & 1

Paul Jeeves and Rob Isaacson: won 3 & 2

Andrew Lawrence and Tony Lloyd: won 4 & 2

It's worth mentioning that this match was the first time that we have been granted permission to start from 2 different tees (1st and 17th) and this appeared to work very well, meaning we were able to eat about half an hour earlier and were away from the club before the traffic made us all late home blaming the traffic. Thank you to those who turned up to make sure that the two tee start worked as well as it did.

We enjoyed a lovely meal and Paula and her team kept up the high standard of food that we at John O'Gaunt have become used to.

We wished our opponents a safe journey home and look forward to the return fixture in September.

* Footnote A match that was previously recorded as all square is now ‘tied’, though a tied hole can still be known as “halved”. The logic behind the change appeared to be about employing more commonly used language, making the game easier for a casual audience to understand ?

David McNair and Oz Osman with their Gog Magog opponents make history by teeing off on the 17th for the first time in a staggered start trial

Annual Stableford Trophy July 16 2024

 

Winner Rob Bage receives the trophy from Seniors Captain Richard Westergreen-Thorne

The leaderboard in the Annual Stableford seemed to be static for hours with 39 points the best score in the clubhouse. Thirty-nine? On Carthagena? Surely not!

And so it proved. We had to wait literally until the last group came in before we saw 41 points shake things up. And it was scored by Rob Bage with a very tidy card comprising of two birdies, 11 pars and five bogeys. 

Second place went to Jed Isbell with 39 points and third place to Malcom Roberts, also on 39 but beaten on countback.

Only 16 players scored 36 points or more. This was surprising as, apart from the odd heavy shower, the conditions were relatively benign and the greens (according to the winner at least!) playing straight and true.

The results left Paul Jones at the top of the Golfer of the Year leaderboard but introduced some new names into the top 10. See screenshot below.

Thanks are due to Richard Childerley who, because of an oversight, had to write out most of the score cards by hand in the pro shop.

Raffle prizes were won by Dave Trotter, Chris Ellis, Chris Roy and Peter Wallace. £10 each will be added to their pro shop accounts.

Third place: Malcolm Roberts

Golfer of the Year leaderboard

Reg Batson Trophy Tuesday July 9 2024

 

Winner Cav Kendall receives the Reg Batson Trophy from Captain Richard

Forty of the Senior Section's finest battled it out on John O'Gaunt today for the prestigious Reg Batson Trophy.

Those who made the cut had returned the lowest aggregate scores in the Annual Medal Trophy and the Rex Cleaver Seniors' Championship Trophy combined.

The winner, on nett 66, was Cav Kendall whose round consisted of seven pars, 10 bogeys and just one double bogey. Cav said afterwards it was just one of those days when everything went right.

Those of  you who know Cav will not be surprised that he did 18 holes before starting the competition and was planning to return later in the day to play another nine!

In second place, on nett 67, was Rob Bage and in third place with nett 70 was Dave Wood. 

For those of you who like stats, there were 11 birdies and 132 pars. Hole 10 produced the most dramatic score range with the best being 2 and worst 11!

Congratulations to everyone for qualifying and taking part.

Raffle prizes were won by Jeevie Jeeves, Warren Churms , Sam Standen and Richard Westergreen-Thorne. £10 will be paid into their pro shop accounts.

Second place: Rob Bage

Third place: Dave Wood

Seniors at home to Brocket Hall Monday July 1 2024

 

Organiser Jonathan Lean reports

On a decidedly un-July like grey and cool day, 12 of JOG Seniors’ best met with their opponents from Brocket Hall at 12.45pm for a 1.30 start for the match.  Because of the unusual starting time we were treated to gargantuan bacon baps from the kitchen to give us stamina for the ensuing battle. 

JOG were looking to avoid another whitewash which was dealt out to us in the away match!  We knew that we would have our work cut out as it was noted that two of our best players, Jack Shepherd and Peter Imray were unusually (for them) receiving shots from their opponents!

After the introductions, captain Richard and myself as organiser started the match off against Brocket Hall vice-captain and his partner (both called Peter), with a solid half on the first hole.  We then got our noses in front as captain Richard parred the second but this advantage was quickly lost on the third as the burden of giving 13 shots to our opponents started to take its toll.  A par from me was not good enough to win – back to all square.

So it remained until the 6th where both Peters struggled with the length of the hole and a double bogey 6 from Richard was good enough to win the hole.  1 up again.  However, our opponents struck back immediately on the 7th .

The match continued with the home side getting a slight advantage but not able to hold on and never managing to go more than 1 up.  It was at this point that Brocket Hall vice captain got his putter working and proceeded to sink some very long putts.  The first was on the 16th to win the hole and go one up themselves and then another monster on the 17th to halve the hole.  So, we were dormie one down on the 18th tee.  Sadly, yet again, Brocket Hall managed a knee-trembler 4 footer on the last green to halve the hole and eventually win the match one up.

As other results came in it soon became apparent that JOG would be struggling yet again.  Four of the next matches were wins for Brocket Hall with the only consolation being a fighting halved match in the last pairing of Algy Grimes and Neil Pinnington.

The evening was rounded off with a delicious Chilli con Carne followed by chocolate and orange tart. 

The course was in excellent condition and there were many unsolicited complimentary comments from the Brocket Hall team. 

Final results were as follows.

Richard Westergreen-Thorne and Jonathan Lean – Lost 1 down

David McNair and Alban Macdonald – Lost 3 & 2

Paul Dobson and Peter Imray – Lost 3 & 2

Paul Jones and Jack Shepherd – Lost 5 & 4

Ian Maddison and Tony Goodson – Lost 4 & 3

Neil Pinnington and Algy Grimes – match halved.

Final result – a win for Brocket Hall 5½ - ½.

It was small consolation that the Brocket Hall vice-captain advised us that they very rarely lost matches.  It was surmised that their handicaps travel well as they are earned on their tough courses.

A thoroughly enjoyable day.

Qualifying roll up Tuesday July 2 2024 ... and a hole in one!

 

David Tamsitt picks his ball out of the JOG 16th hole after his hole in one

Congratulations to David Tamsitt who not only won the first of our qualifying roll ups but made history by doing it with a hole in one.

And although David won the roll up fiver he faced a substantial bar bill!

Twenty people entered the roll up with 12 of those entering it as a qualifying round.

David racked up an amazing 41 points which included five points for his hole in one on the John O'Gaunt 16th using a hybrid 3 club.

In second place on 35 points was Terry Domagala and in third with 33 points was Michael Bonwick.

It was the first qualifying roll up as two earlier events were cancelled due to course closures . 

Thanks to everyone who took part and made it a great success. The next one is scheduled for Thursday July 25.

Seniors v Northampton away Friday June 28 2024

Algy Grimes and Jed Isbell with their Northampton opponents

Organiser and Captain for the Day Algy Grimes reports

Following a leisurely journey to Northampton everyone arrived on time, pretty much like the weather; bright and breezy. After the usual introductions of the teams, including Tony Walters introducing himself as a Mrs Brown lookalike, we sat down in our playing groups for a splendid full English breakfast. So having been well fed, off we went to the first tee. Standing in for our Captain Richard, I was very hopeful of leading the team to victory, especially as we had a 51 shot advantage which is unusual for a JOG team.

The first match consisting of myself and Jed Isbell started in reasonable fashion, we went 1 up after the second hole but by the 7th we found ourselves 2 down. As Jed remarked at the time we were not playing badly, they were just playing a little bit better. However we then went on a winning streak by winning the next 3 holes to put us 1 up after the 10th. The iced tea from the halfway house played a big part in rejuvenating us. Northampton came back to level on the next hole but we were 1 up again after 14. Then with all four of us on or near the green in 2 on the 15th we thought we would at least secure a half, if not win the hole. However, we did not account for one of the opponents sinking a 40ft putt to win the hole. There we were all square after 15. Not too bad I was thinking, we have three holes to play. However, with Northampton then winning 16 and 17 it was suddenly all over and we lost 2 & 1. A very enjoyable round though, both Jed and I played to our handicaps but still lost.

The second match saw Warren Churms play just 9 over par but still lost 4 & 3, apparently their opposition didn't accept Warren's offer of half on one hole when he had a 5 foot putt downhill and they had a 4 foot putt uphill, I wonder why?

The first three results came in and we were 3 down, so I was fearing the worst of a whitewash, but Graham Gadsden and Nigel Underwood steadied the ship with a 2 & 1 win. There was hope, or so I thought. The remaining results proved to mainly go against us but Paul Jeeves and David Tamsitt did win 2 & 1. Meaning a defeat 6 - 2 to Northampton.

There was a nearest the pin in 2 prize on the 18th, that too went to a Northampton player.

The individual matches were;

Algy Grimes & Jed Isbell                     lost 2 & 1

Derek Page & Warren Churms              lost 4 & 3

Terry Sweeney & Paul Dobson              lost 5 & 4

Graham Gadsden & Nigel Underwood     WON 2 & 1

Barry Donovan & Trevor Darrington       lost 5 & 3

Rob Issacson & Tony Walters               lost 2 & 1

Paul Jeeves & David Tamsitt                 WON 2 & 1

Paul Jones & Nick Schumann                lost 6 & 4

We can have no excuses. The course was in very good condition, but the greens may have been a bit slower than those at JOG and what we are used to, well I have to look for some sort of an excuse!!

A great day otherwise!

Paul Jones and Nick Schumann enjoy a moment in the sunshine before their round

Paul Jeeves on the 16th with the clubhouse in the background

 

Seniors at home to Letchworth Tuesday June 25 2024

 

Good boy: Chris Sullivan collects the plates after lunch

Organiser Nigel Underwood reports

PHEW...IT'S A SCORCHER....AND PHEW....THAT WAS CLOSE!

In blazing sun and fearsome heat  (yes, Summer has briefly appeared), Captain Richard led from the front,  as his team of gallant  (as well as hot, sticky and exhausted) combatants crushed the opposition from Letchworth and sent them scuttling back down the A1......well, nearly. 

In very warm but otherwise perfect conditions, all but one of the matches produced very tight finishes, as did the match overall. Indeed, 5 matches were only decided on the eighteenth green and the final putt. Matches see-sawed one way then another as did the overall match score as results trickled in.

Richard Westergreen Thorne and Nigel Underwood won 1 up

Ian Riches and David Trotter won 2 and 1

Fred Williams and Chris Sullivan halved

Steve Collins and Gerry Degaute  halved

Barry  Donovan and Oz Osman lost 1 down

Gavin Little and Trevor Darrington lost 3 and 2

Len Greaves and Chris Roy won 2 and 1

... 4 to 3 to JoG with 1 result to come.

We knew Michael Bonwick  and Nick Schuman had been +1 through 16. Had they held on???? After perhaps the longest cooling showers in JoG match history the brave pair finally ambled into the bar to reveal their 1 up victory after the 18th ... a crucial  result that sealed a 5-3 WIN for the home team!  Thanks to all who took part ... it was bloody hot out there! Congratulations to all our winners and halvers and special plaudits to Michael and Nick who clinched the victory ... a day that will go down in the annals of history. 

PS: sausage and mash may not have been the greatest choice for lunch with the temperatures over 90F.....but hey, REAL men don't do salad, right?

Longest Day Challenge Friday June 21 2024

 

Four captains: Richard Westergreen-Thorne, Justin Thomas, Chris Ellis and Ixie Akpan

Richard tees off on the first hole of the 54-hole challenge

Senior Captain Richard Westergreen-Thorne reports on the Longest Day Challenge

On Friday 21^st June I set off, just before 8.00am, with the other three captains of Justin Thomas (Club Captain), Chris Ellis (Ladies Captain) and Ixie Akpan (Junior Captain) to complete the 54 hole challenge in aid of the Club Captains charity of Macmillan Cancer Support.

It was a hot day when we set off and got even hotter as the day progressed, but we were in good spirits and well provided for with drink and sustenance. Gordon had laid on Bucks Fizz on the first tee and some very loud stirring music to inspire us – sorry if you were woken up in Potton! One of the tunes was the music from the film ‘The Longest Day’ and I spent most of the first round trying to get it out of my head.

First up was 4BBB on JOG with Justin and I taking on Ixie and Chris.  Ixie has a handicap of three and hits the ball a very long way so a pattern was soon established of us teeing off and then the rest of us attempting to get past Ixie’s first ball with our second shots. Impressive stuff. Aided by birdies on 5 and 6 by Ixie (yes 5 and 6) it was a very tight match won by Ixie and Chris on the last green.

A quick lunch and we were off on Carthagena for a Foursomes in the same teams. I decided to give Justin some bunker practice on the first few holes but we held on for a long time before Ixie and Chris pulled ahead to win.

It got very hot on the second round so, after a short break, we decided we should keep going rather than stopping and seizing up and so we quickly moved on to JOG for Greensomes in the same pairings. Thankfully a breeze gradually sprung up and some clouds appeared to offer some partial shade and Justin and I sprung to life to win the game. As Justin and I thought we should play this round ‘double or quits’ we tried to believe that the match ended all square.

It was a good feeling walking up the 18^th for the last time (yes I did walk all the way round) and also to receive the well wishes of fellow golfers throughout the day. A good experience for a very good cause.

Thanks to the contributions of many seniors I have raised around £1,700 towards the Club Captains Macmillan Cancer Support charity which is a very pleasing achievement for such a worthwhile cause.

Thanks to everyone who has supported the 54 Hole Challenge and over to you Tony for next year – it’s a doddle!

Richard Westergreen - Thorne

Past Senior Captains' Away Day Thursday June 20 2024

Winner Algy Grimes receives a bottle of wine from organiser Richard Coventry

 Six past Senior Captains, our current Captain and guests took part in this year's Past Senior Captains' Away Day at Whipsnade Park Golf Club.

As we played the first hole we observed a tall wire fence running the length of the fairway and  wondered what kind of danger lurked next door at Whipsnade Zoo. Lions? Tigers? To our relief we found it was the deer park. In fact the only wildlife we saw was a muntjack deer and a couple of hares.

The winner, with 38 points, was Algy Grimes. Nearest the pin winner was Richard Westergreen-Thorne and nearest the pin in three on a par 4 was Bill Walker. Richard and Bill were presented with bottles of win by Fred Williams.

Among the more impressive shots of the day was Jonathan Lean's chip in for 2 on the par 3 17th.

The prize-giving took place following an excellent meal in the club's impressive restaurant which looks more like a Spanish Hacienda than a golf club. Those lucky enough to have won a place on the away day at Whipsnade in September have a treat in store.

Richard W-T thanked Richard Coventry for organising this event and other away days over recent years.

Bill Walker, David Barlow, Rafe Bateson and Richard Coventry

Nigel Underwood, Jim Kerr, Fred Williams and Barry Donovan

Richard Westergreen-Thorne, Jonathan Lean, Tony Lloyd and Algy Grimes

Nearest the pin in 3 on a par 4: Bill Walker

Nearest the pin: Richard Westergreen-Thorne

Seniors at home to Luffenham Heath Monday June 17 2024

Organiser Ian Riches reports

After months of rain, sometimes of near Biblical proportions, summer finally arrived at John O’Gaunt this week as we welcomed 12 players from Luffenham Heath G.C. in Rutland for an afternoon match in glorious sunshine. This is a new match in our calendar and, consequently, as it was squeezed into an already crowded fixture list it was only twelve-a-side compared to the usual sixteen. Next year we will be running a full sixteen-a-side competition.

Our Captain played extremely well and rarely missed a fairway with his drive. At the turn we were 2 up and Richard then put his tee shot within about five feet of the 10^th hole, which was subsequently conceded due to too many shots having been taken by our opponents. Richard was adamant he would have made the birdie putt. We went on to win our match 5&3.

Despite John O’Gaunt having a 67-shot advantage, the home team struggled to convert this into a winning margin. Messrs Dennis and Domagala drew their match and there was a 3&2 win for Brown and Page, but sadly Grimes and Walters lost by two holes, Sweeney and Osman lost 5&4 and Lean and Tamsitt lost 3&2. This all resulted in an overall win for Luffenham Heath and a final score of 3½ to 2½.

There was generous praise from the Luffenham Heath players as to the condition of the John O’Gaunt course. I understand that Luffenham Heath, which is a site of Special Scientific Interest, has penal levels of rough which will only be cut after we visit in late August, so those lucky enough to be chosen to play one of Harry Colt’s best heathland creations will need to ensure they can hit it straight if we are to obtain our revenge.

Footnote: David Tamsitt achieved a "Barnes Wallis" on the 4th, skimming his golf ball across the lake to safety.

Seniors at home to St Neots June 18 2024

 

Seniors Captain Richard Westergreen-Thorne and organiser Jed Isbell with St Neots opponents

Organiser Jed Isbell reports

The day started with everyone wondering if summer was here at long last, with a number of players left scurrying around looking to change from trousers to shorts before teeing off and participating in the latest JoG Seniors Inter-Club match against St Neots.

As to the Captain's game we soon found ourselves 1 down with St Neots striking an early lead, but rallied to bring it back to all square on the very next hole. It didn’t stop there with us then winning the next 4 holes to go 4 up. Things then took a dramatic turn with St Neots using their shots well, even throwing in a birdie to eventually bring the game to all square by the 17th and to then take the 18th with literally the last putt of the game. A really enjoyable game and one that could so easily have gone either way.

In the second match Jonathan Lean and Tony Lloyd got off to a flying start with Jonathan chipping in from off the green for par and Tony sinking his putt for four net three.

The home team won the 2nd with a nett birdie from Tony and the 3rd with a tap-in three from Jonathan.

They stretched their lead to four up before being pegged back to all square by the 11th. St Neots then gifted JoG three holes in a row to end with a 3 & 1 victory.

The overall match result was a loss of 5&3 with 4 games being lost on the 18th green. Pairings and results for the JoG team were as follows:

Richard Westergreen-Thorne & Jed Isbell - Lost 1Dn

Tony Lloyd & Jonathan Lean - WON 3&1

Peter Grimes & Nigel Underwood - Lost 1Dn

Gerry Degaute & Ken Brewer - Lost 1Dn

Steve Luckman & Tony Goodson - Lost 3&2

Mehmet Osman & David Trotter - Lost 6&5

Neil Pinnington & Paul Dobson - WON 1Up

Paul Jeeves & Graham Gadsden - WON 6&5

After the match we were well looked after by the JoG hospitality team who served up a delightful meal of chargrilled gammon followed by cherry & apple crumble with custard.

Seniors at home to Leighton Buzzard Tuesday June 11 2024

 

Seniors Captain Richard Westergreen-Thorne and organiser Trevor Darrington with their Leighton Buzzard opponents on the JOG first tee

Organiser Trevor Darrington reports

On a mild and sunny day interspersed with a little rain, JOG entertained a team from Leighton Buzzard. The Captain, Richard and I were matched with their Captain, John and his partner Richard L. With only 5 shots between us, the match was always going to be very close.

 We went one up on the second, but were pulled back on the fourth. Having taken the lead again on the fifth, we remained one shot ahead until the 11th when two pars from the Organiser shot us three points ahead. John chipped in from well off the back of the 13th green for a par and it was left to Richard (I had lost my ball in the water with my second shot) to come up trumps with a remarkable five, with a shot, to halve the hole.

 On the 15th both I and Richard L hit fine tee shots. Richard L hit his second to about 50 yards from the pin. I hit mine 5 yards from the green, but was impeded by the bank on the bunker, so couldn’t putt. Richard L promptly chipped to within 2 inches of the pin for a 4. Anybody who has seen me with a wedge in my hand would have been worried at this stage, but I managed to chip within 15 inches of the hole. I was made to putt out for a 4 with a shot to end the match winning 4 & 3.

The 15th green was also the scene of much celebration and “Dad dancing” by Nick Schumann who managed to hole a 40 foot putt to “win” the hole and take the lead in their very tight match. Unfortunately, Nick had putted Steve Luckman’s ball which meant they had actually gone one down rather than one up. Their final result was a 3&2 loss.

Well done to everybody, and especially those who stepped in at the very last minute and those with some remarkable “dog licences”. *

The scores were:-

Richard Westergreen-Thorne and Trevor Darrington – won 4&3

Fred Williams and Paul Life – lost 2 down

Michael Bonwick and Graham Gadsden – half

Gavin Little and Jed Isbell – won 7&6

Ian Maddison and Rafe Bateson – won 7&6

Nick Schumann and Steve Luckman – lost 3&2

Bill Walker and David Tamsitt – won 2&1

Algy Grimes and Terry Sweeney – half

Overall, a 5&3 win for John O’Gaunt.

* Editor's note: For those of you, like me, who didn't get the "dog licences" reference, a dog licence used to cost seven and six! Thankyou to Trevor for the joke.

Match Secretary's dilemma

 

The image above illustrates perfectly how difficult Algy Grimes's job as Match Secretary can be for the more popular away matches. As you can see 32 people applied for the 12 places at Luffenham Heath away. Once the Captain and Organiser are selected that leaves only 10 places. To be fair to everyone Algy used a random number generator to select from the remaining 30 hopefuls. The lucky ones are marked S for Selected in the final column. Thanks to Algy for doing such a great job and apologies to those who were unsuccessful.

Seniors Rex Cleaver Championship Trophy Tuesday June 4 2024

 Congratulations to Chris Sullivan, winner of the Rex Cleaver Championship Trophy with a score of nett 65.

Chris was one of three players on nett 65, the others being David List in second place and Keith Hargreaves in third.

Winner of the Bessant East Scratch Trophy for best gross score was Peter Imray with 77.

Second place: David List receives his prize from Richard Westergreen-Thorne

Third place: Keith Hargreaves receives his prize from Richard Westergreen-Thorne

The result shook up the Golfer of the Year leaderboard, leaving Paul Jones in first place with 41 points, David List in second with 38 points, Graham Gadsden in third with 36 points, Cav Kendall in fourth with 35 points and Kevin Cocker in fifth with 30 points.

To see the full leaderboard go to the Club Website, then click "competitions", "ongoing", "order of merit competitions", "senior section golfer of the year".

Your best six results from the nine qualifying competitions in 2024 count towards the GOTY competition. Twenty points are awarded for winning a competition, 19 points for second etc down to one point for 20th place. All players are awarded one point for entering and completing the competition.

Raffle winners after the Rex Cleaver were Graham Gadsden, Dennis Ford, Rafe Bateson and John Hazelwood. They each receive £10 on their pro shop account.