Ken Robinson Scramble April 30 2024

 

Winners of the Ken Robinson Scramble Jonathan Lean, Bob Isaacson, Paul Jones and Trevor Darrington with Seniors Captain Richard Westergreen-Thorne

Congratulations to everyone who competed in the Ken Robinson Scramble in warm sunshine on the Carthagena course. The teams were chosen to even out the combined handicaps and it seemed to work, with only seven shots separating the whole field of 21 groups.

Winners, with 57 nett points were Jonathan Lean, Bob Isaacson, Paul Jones and Trevor Darrington.

In second place on 58 points were Vernon Toms, Clive Gardiner, Phil Armstrong and Tony Lloyd.

In third place, also on 58 but beaten on countback, were Rob Ebsworth, Ian Simpson, Sam Standen and Ned Yorke.

£10 Raffle prize winners were Paul Hammond, Ian Murray, Vernon Toms and Phil Armstrong. The money will be added to their pro shop accounts.

Second place: Tony Lloyd and Phil Armstrong plus Vernon Toms and Clive Gardiner

Third place: Sam Standen, Ned Yorke, Ian Simpson and Rob Ebsworth

The beauty of Carthagena, April 30 2024

 

Above and below: spring sunshine filtered through the tree in front of the Carthagena 16th green gives the impression of a system of underground roots. Many thanks to Jed Isbell for the photos

A carpet of bluebells between the Carthagena 17th and 18th

Seniors away to Brocket Hall April 29 2024

 

Captain Richard and Organiser Jonathan with their Brocket Hall opponents on the 1st tee

Organiser Jonathan Lean reports

After the Biblical downpour of the previous 24 hours, the JOG team were delighted to be greeted with bright sunshine on the morning of the match against our new rivals, Brocket Hall.  The civilised late start of 1pm tee time also meant a traffic and stress free journey down the A1 to get to the beautiful venue for our match.

We were welcomed with tea, coffee and bacon rolls to sustain us over the forthcoming ordeals.  We played on the Palmerston course which is just a few yards short of 6500 which, together with the lengthy walks from green to tee, meant that it was a fairly lengthy round of golf.

What a beautiful venue and course though.  If you like tree-lined narrow fairways which are sloping and dog-legged then this is the course for you.  Our opponents told us that the Palmerston is the preferred course since the Melbourne has a lot of water including some holes with significant ‘carries’ required and also the ferry on the last hole was not functioning!  (Did this mean that you had to swim across?!).

Our match (Captain Richard and organiser Jonathan) was a ding-dong affair right up to the 10th with never more than one hole in it.  Brocket then managed to win 3 of the next 4 holes to go three up and held off a spirited fight-back eventually winning 3 & 2.

We retired to the bar to lick our wounds but confident that the rest of the team would redress the balance.  Sadly we were wrong as the results slowly came in it became apparent that we came second in every match.

Trying to put a positive spin on it, there was only one match which was not close.  Peter Johnston, the acting Brocket Hall captain for the day informed us that they rarely lose matches at home.  We look forward to trying to redress the balance when we entertain them at JOG on 1st July.

The day was nicely rounded off with an excellent meal of Chicken casserole followed by Crème Brulée and ice cream.

Detailed results are as follows:-

Richard Westergreen-Thorne and Jonathan Lean – Lost 3 & 2

Tony Lloyd and Jack Shepherd – Lost 2 & 1

Algy Grimes and David McNair – Lost 3 & 2

Oz Osman and Gavin Little – Lost 2 down

Tony Goodson and Peter Imray – Lost 6 & 5

Steve Luckman and Neil Pinnington – Lost 2 & 1.

Scenes from the Palmerston course taken by Algy Grimes

The pit where Lord Brocket's collection of Ferraris were rumoured to have been buried 

Seniors away to Aspley Guise April 25 2024

 Organiser Rafe Bateson reports

An early start across country to Aspley Guise with everyone arriving on time - almost,  a putting green almost as cold as the first tee on the Carthagena but a dry morning got the day off to a good start.

Our hosts provided tees and coffees and looking at the handicaps we gave them 123 shots so it would be a tall order to pull off a result.

The shock came on the second green when the ball landed 20 yards to the right and finished 10 yards to the left of the flag. The greens were fast and hardly any were flat. If you didn’t get the right position you could find yourself a long way off the green. "Come back in three weeks and see how fast they really are," said their captain Paul with a smile on his face.

Having said that the course was in excellent condition and, apart from a two-minute drop of rain, the day remained dry and even warmed up.

Despite this massive advantage to AG we came away with a creditable 4-4 draw, and although I assisted Captain Richard in going 5 down at the turn our golf improved and we won the back nine, losing in the end 4&3.

Stephen Collins and Keith Carne won 2&1, Andy Brown and Tony Goodson won by 1, Ian Maddison and Fred Williams lost by 2, Paul Life and Derek Young (who also won nearest the pin on the tricky 10th) won by 1, Nick Seeley and Ian Riches had the biggest win 5&4, with Stephen Mathers and Paul Clarke, Graham Gadsden and Derek Page both losing by 1 and 4&2 respectively.

Thanks to a two tee start lunch was served at 2.15pm with everyone away in good time to miss the traffic. A good day, brilliant hosts and a very good course.

Seniors at home to Cambridge Country Club April 23 2024

John O'Gaunt Senior Captain Richard Westergreen-Thorne and organiser Algy Grimes with their Cambridge Country Club opponents on the first tee

 

Organiser Algy Grimes reports

With the drizzle falling outside we had 32 very keen golfers gather in the clubhouse to enjoy coffee and biscuits prior to the usual introductions. Whilst announcing the JOG team, Richard Westergreen-Thorne welcomed three members playing their first inter-club match. They were Paul Life, Stephen Mathers and David Trotter and when I asked them after the round they were all very pleased with how the morning had gone.

Looking at the team sheet and the shot allowance for the two teams it showed that JOG had 46 shots and CCC had 158, that is a difference of 112! I did mention this to the visiting Captain on more than one occasion on the way round the course.

With myself and Captain Richard leading the way we lost the first hole to a par by a 29 handicapper - Richard's putt was too hard to go in! With their Captain having a shot on the next two holes we soon found ourselves three down, albeit playing bogey golf.

 Fortunes changed on the 4th, their nearest the pin. Neither of them hit the green, but yours truly did and managed a birdie to win that hole. Then two down we also had shots on the next two holes and managed to bring it back to all square, then a loss, win, loss so we were one down at the turn.

 Hole 10 beckoned and with everyone getting a bogey, we lost it to yet another shot for CCC. Surprisingly we then managed to halve four holes on the trot, fighting off more shots against us. However we succumbed on the 15th to go dormy three, then only being able to half 16 we lost 3 & 2. At this point Richard was nearest the pin on the 16th, but with Jonathan Lean behind us, he did say he would only remain there for about 5 minutes. Sure enough we saw Jonathan tee off and watched his shot majestically land on the green and roll up closer to the pin to claim the bottle of wine.

As the scores came in we found ourselves losing 4 - 0. We won the fifth with our pair overcoming a shot deficit of 21, very impressive, so for a moment we were dreaming of halving the match. However the next  was only halved so we knew we had lost the match. The 7th  was lost but the 8th was another win for JOG, which was also impressive because we overcame 12 shot disadvantage.

A fine meal of Gammon steak and egg on bubble and squeak, followed by sticky toffee pudding was enjoyed by all. Richard's joke was one of the longest I have heard following a match and featured a 'cycle path', you have to hear the joke to get it, if you have a number of minutes to spare ask Richard to tell it again!

The results were;

Richard Westergreen-Thorne & Algy Grimes - Lost 3 & 2

Jonathan Lean & Fred Williams - Lost 2 down

Nigel Underwood & Rob Ebsworth - Lost 5 & 4

Trevor Darrington & Graham Gadsden - Lost 3 & 1

Paul Clark & Jack Shepherd - WON 5 & 4

David Trotter & Tony Lloyd - Halved

Stephen Mathers & Alban Macdonald - Lost 2 & 1

Paul Jones & Paul Life - WON 3 & 2

Overall a loss 5½ - 2½ 

An uphill task awaits us in the return match in July to try and win the scroll, although we have never won it yet!

Senior Section Minutes April 11 2024

 

Senior Section Minutes April 11 2024

Present: Richard Westergreen-Thorne (RWT), Jonathan Lean (JL), Algy Grimes (AG), Dave Wood (DW), Tony Lloyd (TL), Peter Wade (PW)

Apologies: Nigel Underwood

1 Peter Wade attended his first Seniors Committee Meeting in his role as Club Vice Captain. There was a discussion on various topics including:

·       The club’s new structure and pace of change, including finding the best people to fill the new roles

·       Handicaps, the handicap committee and qualifying rounds

·       Finance and cash flow between the club and seniors section

·       A planned code of conduct to address behaviour by some elements on the course

2 Minutes of the last meeting: accepted

3 Matters arising not on the agenda: none

4 Captain’s Report

April 2024

I have had a busy time since I took over the role of Captain with much of it away from the golf course given the recent weather and its impact upon the chances to actually play.

I attended, in Jonathan’s absence, the club’s Presentation Evening where the Club Captain awarded the trophies for 2023 and then the Captain’s Swansong near the end of March. Sadly, this has been followed by attending the funeral of Peter Horlock last week.

A highlight for me so far has been the Captain’s Drive and opening of the Terrace, as we now need to call it, a couple of weeks ago. It was a very good evening with well over 200 people in attendance and a packed clubhouse. I hit a great drive for the photographer an hour before the event and then did less well, but still got it away, for the drive itself. Thanks to Algy for stepping in to take the previous Captain’s putt on the 18^th. As the first ever such event it was a good day for the club and I am sure that it will be repeated in future years.

I have also informed the relevant people such as the General Manager and Club Captain that we will make the Jock Allan Prostate Project Golf Day an official senior’s event each year and the feedback I have received has been very positive.

The first two matches of the year were good fun, and I was pleased to see two members new to matches taking part and both enjoyed the experience. Unfortunately, both matches were lost, did I mention how many shots we were giving away, but played in good spirits which augers well for the year.

I have met with the Club and Ladies Captains about charities, charity events and prizes since the last of our committee meetings and have been able to clarify the voucher and prizes distribution to assist the Prostate Day auction. Justin Thomas is looking to set up a Charity Committee for the club which will be very helpful when established. I also took the opportunity to share with them the arrangements for monies to be transferred after matches this year between us and the club.

Macmillan Cancer Support have a Golf Challenge Day on their calendar of events for the longest day of the year seeking clubs across the country to get involved. In the circumstances the Ladies Captain and I agreed to make this a club event when all 4 club captains do the 54 hole challenge for Macmillan and get sponsorship from across the club. We also agreed that both my charity and the Ladies Section charity will get a share of the club Captains Charity Days in September.

I have also liaised with Bill Walker, Keith Howlett and Tony Lloyd about the arrangements for the roll up single stablefords where you have the option to complete a qualifying card. Hopefully, we have set up a good system and the use of the sign-up feature on IG will make it much easier with the first such roll up just a week away.

There has not been a meeting of the Golf Committee yet since the club AGM and this will be re-formed after the first General Committee Meeting which is in a few days time.

We have a busy period coming up with at least one competition or match every week so let’s hope that the rains finally stay away and we do not have further issues with our competitions due to the water on the courses.

5 Vice Captain’s Report

Nothing to report

6 Immediate Past Captain’s Report

Nothing to report

7 Treasurer's Report

One competition and 2 matches played so far this year. Additional income has come from the Knockout comps.

·       Bank Balance £2924.02

·       Debtor £384 - Creditor accrual £768 - both Aspley Guise.

·       Postponement of the 4BBB means budget down £240 - although I gather this is now been played later in the year

·       Costings for 'Other events' to be finalised at this meeting

·       Member /guest - current net budget £94

·       Captain’s Day - current net budget (£290)

·       Christmas Fayre - current net budget £0

·       Presentation evening   - current net budget £166

·       Budget tracker now in place showing variances to budget per event

 

8 Honorary Secretary’s report

The main thing to tell you about is the “straw poll” conducted regarding the future of the roll-up and the proposal to move it to Monday/Wednesday/Friday. There were 24 responses made up of 9 for, 12 against and 3 others. The interesting and varied results are attached to the agenda for your consideration.

The reasons behind those voting for a change are fairly straightforward and a common theme was the desire to avoid  a clash with the Ladies on Thursdays plus the flexibility afforded by playing on three days a week.

Main reasons for opposing a change included the disruption to the routine of existing organisers and the risk of clashing with other established roll-up groups who already play on some of those days.

There were also some other interesting ideas thrown up by the survey including starting later on Thursdays to avoid a clash with the ladies and sending early arrivals out first to avoid long waits in the conservatory.

We can discuss this fully at the meeting.

The 2025 calendar is progressing satisfactorily. I have agreed with Nigel Tarn a new date for the 4BBB Trophy which was abandoned due to course closure on March 14. It will now be played on October 15.

The Swap Day at Newmarket has been agreed with Nigel Tarn and Newmarket for Monday October 27.

I am still awaiting confirmation on 2025 dates from eight of the clubs we play in matches, although most have agreed “provisionally” so I have sent out reminders in an attempt to tie up these loose ends.

Admin rights have now been changed for me as Hon Sec and for Nigel so that he can help with competitions.

I have signed up one new member this month – Mike Etwaroo, who is an established club member recently retired and looking to play more midweek golf.

9 Competition Secretary’s report

Once again I have to extend thanks to Tony Lloyd for handling all issues while I have been

on holiday. Tony will no doubt be pleased to hear that I have no more holidays booked until

November.

In anticipation of the Rex Bullock which is the first GotY competition of the year, I have now

set up the Senior Section Golfer of the Year 2024 Order of Merit. This should start to

automatically update after each qualifying competition.

The Rex Bullock was held successfully with 105 eventually taking part. Just a few late

withdrawals. The winner was Keith Howlett with 41 points just edging out Paul Jones on

countback. Third was Rob Anderson. The GotY has updated successfully.

Thanks to Nigel Underwood for rounding up the early starters’ cards. Very helpful.

I have also set up the new 4BBB for 15th October.

The first Seniors Qualifying Roll up is on 18th April but so far nobody has entered in advance.

I guess that everyone is waiting to see what the weather will do!

The Rules Seminar is nearly full with 49 attendees out of a maximum of 50.

There are 79 entrants for the Ken Robinson scramble at the time of writing. Maximum is 92.

There are 82 entrants for the Annual Medal and Jubilee Cup out of a maximum of 120.

Brief but succinct!

10 Match Secretary’s Report

We are two matches down with 28 to go, but unfortunately we are yet to record a win, having lost the first match away to Bedfordshire & County 4 – 2, this being the first year as a 12 a side match. Hopefully it will revert to 16 a side or we may need to have a discussion about that.

The second match was at home to Aspley Guise & Woburn Sands and again it was a loss 6 – 2. A point to note was that JOG had 86 shots to Aspley Guise having 157! Thanks go to the organisers for two well run events. I also wish to thank Keith Howlett for creating new team sheets that take account of the new handicap calculations.

Matches continue next week (16th April) at home to Wellingborough followed by Cambridge Country Club a week later and two days after that it is Aspley Guise away.

We have a total of 66 members signed up, but there are some that only signed up for one match.

The selections have been made for tranche 2 and after a few minor issues, I have managed to now publish the teams on the Match Dropdown file which everyone can access but must remember to log out after viewing their own selections.

For the Saffron Walden match away, I took the decision to limit the number of Jokers to be played, as it is there are 10, Tony standing in as the Captain plus the Organiser, this was to help make it fair for others with only 4 other places.

The sign up for tranche 3 is open, currently we have a good response for all matches, Northampton away, seems the most popular with 24 signed up including 7 Jokers.

Unfortunately due to medical advice we have our first withdrawal from a match, Terry Sweeney for Cambridge Country Club. Graham Gadsden who was the only reserve has stepped up to play, that leaves no reserves so I may need to call on my ‘back pocket’ team if anyone else drops out.

Given the shot difference we have faced recently I am encouraging the organisers of away matches to wait for the opponent’s team before choosing our teams.

11 Costings

Member and Guest Day

EXPENDITURE;

88 x tea/coffee and (slightly smaller) bacon roll       506.00

88 x halfway house (tea/coffee + snack )                  352.00

88 x lunch  (trio of sausages, mash, veg)                    968.00

Main prize vouchers (2x50,2x30,2x20)                      200.00

Nearest pin etc                                                            40.00

Gratuities                                                                     40.00

Total outgoings                                                       £2106.00

 

INCOME;

44 pairs @ £50.00 per pair = £2200 = net surplus of £94.00

44 pairs @ £48.00               = £2112 = net surplus of £6.00

44 pairs @ £45.00               = £1980 = deficit of £126.00

 

Halfway house will be the buggy near the first tee for 10^th tee starters, staffed throughout, and the “café” at the 10^th also hopefully staffed.

Action point: further discussion at our next meeting

Senior Captain’s Day

Expenditure

Halfway House  £400 (from Captain’s Honorarium)

Sandwiches and chips £770

Prize money £90

Nearest pin prizes £24

Income

 £1,000

Christmas Fayre

Barry Donovan to organise and detail expenditure with an £11 entry fee and estimated £825 on prizes

Presentation Dinner

Dave Wood to bring menu suggestions to the next meeting. It was also decided to hold a raffle

12 Staggered Start update

A discussion was held on the best way to advance our ambitions for a staggered start for seniors matches.

13 Qualifying roll-up update

It was decided to abandon the qualifying roll-up due to take place on April 18 as there is a competition on Carthagena and JoG is not yet fully open

14 Changing roll-up days

Results of the recent straw poll were discussed. The survey elicited 24 responses made up of 9 for, 12 against and 3 others. As there was a majority against change it was decided to leave things as they are.

15 Honours Boards

Algy reported on progress with the four new honours boards which are nearing completion at a cost of £250. The boards, to be installed in the clubhouse opposite the bar, will be for the Annual Singles Stableford, the Golfer of the Year, the Reg Batson and the Rex Cleaver. It was decided to mark the unveiling with an informal ceremony, the date to be decided.

16 Rules Session

Although there is no charge for the presentation by Joan Cocksedge it was decided to invite attendees to make a charitable donation to be divided equally between the Seniors and Ladies charities.

Any other business

There had been two requests for seniors ties even though our stock is now exhausted. It was decided to seek advice from the Aesopians on where best to source a new supply.

Dates of future meeting

May 3, July 18, August 22, October 3, November 5, January 14

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rules Seminar April 18 2024

 

Joan Cocksedge addresses club members on the Rules of Golf

Qualified rules official and tour referee Joan Cocksedge addressed around 45 members of the Senior and Ladies Section at a presentation in the Burgoyne Suite.

In an hour-long session interspersed with questions from the floor, Joan's slide and video show explained a host of rules, some of which surprised those present - most notably the rule covering the wall on the Carthagena 16th.

Conventional wisdom has it that you get a free drop if your ball is on the wall. But not necessarily! Joan explained that you only get a free drop if you can get your club to the ball. If your ball is on the wall but also in the middle of a gorse bush, i.e. you couldn't play it anyway, there is no free drop. 

Surprise your friends with your newly-gained knowledge when you next play them!

And follow Joan's advice by downloading the free R&A App on your smart phone so you can refer to it on the course. The App also has a quiz section which makes learning the rules more fun.

Joan was presented with a bottle of champagne as a thankyou for her time and a collection was held afterwards to be divided equally between the Seniors' and Ladies' charities.

Joan contacted the Blog later with the following clarification, which is best explained in her own words:

 "You mention in the Senior’s blog my bombshell about not necessarily getting free relief from the wall on 16, even though it is an Abnormal Course Condition.  For clarification, it might be worth quoting the part of the Rule involved: Rule 16.1a (3) No Relief When Clearly Unreasonable.

To clarify further, Rule 16.1a applies to all ACCs where they affect the lie, stance and intended area of swing, so it could apply even if the ball is not actually 'on the wall’.  In one of my photos it was next to the wall, affecting the area of swing, but it could be that the players stance is partly on the wall, also a case for relief."

The Blog is happy to make this clear

Tony Lloyd, Seniors Vice Captain, presents Joan

 with a thankyou gift of a bottle of champagne

Home Match v Wellingborough, 16th April 2024

 Organiser Neil Pinnington reports

After the hail and thunder that had affected the Charity Day on Monday, there was a certain amount
of trepidation about the conditions we would be facing for the match. In the event there was no
need to worry. Although it started quite cool and was occasionally windy it turned into a beautiful
day.

The Captain and I did not get off to the best of starts. Their Captain won the first hole with a par even
though both Richard and I had shots at the hole. Luckily, we rectified the situation by winning the
second with a net birdie.

 There followed an extremely tight match, never more than one hole in it either way. In fact, 8 of the next 12 holes were halved and the match remained all square standing on the 15th tee. Their Captain hooked his drive down the trees to the left, never to see his ball again.
Despite this, his partner hit two magnificent shots into the centre of the green and a stonewall par.
Captain Richard pitched on to the green and holed a 12ft clutch putt to keep the match all square.
It remained so until the final hole where I managed a net birdie to win the match 1 up.
Two of the Wellingborough team, travelling together in the same car, had attempted a cross country
route to avoid possible delays on A14 only to be delayed elsewhere. As a result, the second and third
matches were switched. Michael Bonwick and Bob Isaacson moved up to second and achieved a
creditable half. A good start to Michael’s senior match career.
Andy Brown and Nick Schumann also halved their match against one of the delayed visitors. Notably,
the two nearest the pin prizes were won in this match. Begrudging congratulations to Nick for
depriving me of the prize. A personal acquaintance of mine, Martin Wood, committed the cardinal
sin of depriving their captain.
Congratulations to Michael Newstead and Ken Brewer for winning the fourth match 3&1 against one of the other delayed visitors. I did hear mutterings in the clubhouse from their team about how well
Michael had played!
So, after 4 games JOG was leading 3-1. Last year I had successfully backloaded our team to secure
the victory so took delight in reminding their captain of this.
My over-confidence took a bit of a blow when Chris Saunders and Richard Herbert lost the next
match 3&2. Commiserations to them. However,  a 2&1 Victory for Richard Cobb and Warren
Churms and a 3&1 victory for Bill Walker and Andrew Lawrence, put us in an unassailable position.
Unfortunately, Chris Roy and David Tamsitt were not able to build on that as they lost 4&3.
Congratulations to all the team for securing the first win of the season.
The overall result, a 5-3 win for John O'Gaunt, was a repeat of last year’s result. Wellingborough are
well positioned to exact revenge in August. Last year’s result on their course was a 6-2 loss and that
was an improvement on the previous year. I look forward to another great day's golf an a much
improved result this year.

Jock Allan Prostate Cancer Charity Day April 15 2024

 

Prostate Project Ambassador Colin Stokes presents winners Malcolm Roberts and Robert Beaumont with the new Jock Allan Trophy, the first time it has been played for 

There was a shotgun start at 9am ... and by the time the players had reached their first green there was an altogether different sound - loud claps of thunder accompanied by hailstones which sent the 88 drenched players heading back to the clubhouse wondering whether the Jock Allan Prostate Cancer Charity Day would be cancelled.

But as the entrants compared weather notes over coffee the storm passed over and off we went again to pick up from where we left off ... pity those who had trudged to the farthest reaches of the Carthagena twice!

Soon enough the sun was shining, although the wind was gusting up to 46mph, making for very challenging conditions.

Despite the weather there were some respectable scores and the winners, Malcolm Roberts and Malcolm Beaumont came home with 42 points, playing fourball betterball format.

In second place, on 41 points, were Ian Riches and Andy Brown and in third, also on 41 but beaten on countback were Kevin Gray and John Wall.

As the scores came in on IG Jim Kerr and Tony Goodson had a commanding lead with 93 points ... until it was discovered that Jim had entered his stableford points rather than gross scores, making it look as if he had scored six holes-in-one!

After a hearty meal of sausage and mash followed by apple crumble and custard, the online Galabid auction gathered pace with those present, and others at home, outbidding each other for the many fourball vouchers on offer. 

Then came the presentation of prizes including the newly-donated Jock Allan Trophy, which was won  by Malcolm Roberts and Robert Beaumont, the first to get their names on the shield.

Accepting the award, Malcolm praised the work of the Prostate Project and revealed that he was "living proof" that early detection of prostate cancer saves lives as he had been diagnosed with the disease 17 years ago and, because it was caught in time, was still here to tell the tale.

The event raising a whopping £5,400 for the Prostate Project plus another £500 generously donated by the late Jock Allan's family.

Second place: Andy Brown and Ian Riches

Third place: Kevin Gray and John Wall

Nearest the pin on the 2nd: Chris Saunders

Nearest the pin on the 6th Dave Wilsher

Nearest the pin on the 8th Steve McLaughlin

Nearest the pin on the 11th Tim Coles

Nearest the pin on the 13th Mike Tipper

Longest drive on the 10th Matt Stevens

Nearest the pin in 2 on the 14th Rob Bage

Competition organiser Bill Walker presents Colin Stokes with a £500 cheque donated by members of Jock Allan's family Ian Allan and Catherine Abraham, pictured below

Rex Bullock Trophy April 9 2024

 

Winner Keith Howlett receives the Rex Bullock Trophy from Richard Westergreen-Thorne

The Rex Bullock Trophy competition - the first of the Senior Section's Golfer of the Year qualifiers - was played in challenging conditions on the Carthagena course after it was switched from the partially-flooded John O'Gaunt.

Early starters suffered the worst of the rain while later starters had to contend with strong winds and the odd squall.

Nevertheless 105 souls braved the weather and the scores - only 9 scored more than 36 points - reflected the difficulty of the day.

As ever, some rose to the challenge with impressive rounds. In first place, with 41, was Keith Howlett, winning his first competition at John O'Gaunt since moving from Bourne.

In second place, also with 41 points, and beaten on countback, was Paul Jones.

And in third, with 40 points, was Rob Anderson.

£10 raffle prizes were won by Paul Clark, Sam Standen, Neil Pinnington and Andrew Brookman. 

Second place: Paul Jones

Third place: Rob Anderson

Seniors at home to Aspley Guise April 2 2024

 

Captain Richard Westergreen-Thorne and organiser Rafe Bateson with Aspley Guise opponents

Organiser Rafe Bateson reports

The early morning rain and the greenkeepers presented the course in great condition and with all the introductions complete, Alban made his entrance ... he couldn't have timed it better!

 Off to the first tee.

Handicaps were sorted with some minor changes after the latest update to the WHS on the 1st April. 

Aspley Guise had 157 shots to JOG's  86 which made for an interesting day, especially on the Carthagena!

Richard and I were behind after the second hole and despite some valiant efforts from your captain while I was playing in the bunkers, 8 of them to be precise, we lost 4&3.

Despite a couple of fightbacks by other teams, Aspley Guise came out on top 6-2, so you could say we were trounced!

The only winners were Gerry Degaute and Trevor Darrington 4&3, so well done to them.  Halves were achieved by Paul Jeeves and Ian Riches and Oz Osman and Paul Hammond (who came back from 3 down with 3 to play) .

Other losses were as follows:

Chris Saunders & Graham Gadsden lost 2&1

Peter Imray & Tony Lloyd lost 3&2

Peter Wade & Richard Young lost 4&3

and finally Steve Luckman & Alban Macdonald lost 5&4 

Nearest the pin for JOG on the 8th was Steve Luckman and for Aspley Guise on the 6th Andrew Wright.

As usual lunch was excellent and Richard carried on the tradition of a captain's joke. Ask nicely and I'm sure he will tell it again!

A good day was had by all, ready for the return match on the 25th April.  

Captains’ Drive in March 30, 2024

 A packed clubhouse witnessed the official opening of the new terrace to the sound of our own John O'Jaunty Brass Ensemble, a ceremonial putt-out  on the 18th by our retiring captains and a drive down the 1st by our incoming captains. 

Algy Grimes stood in for Jonathan Lean, who is on holiday, and Sue Lee stood in for Nathan Church.

Immediate Past Club Captain Mike Tipper, Immediate Past Ladies Captain Lorna Jerome, Sue Lee, Algy Grimes, Ladies Captain Chris Ellis, Seniors Captain Richard Westergreen-Thorne and Junior Captain Ixie Akpan 

Algy Grimes stands in for Immediate Past Seniors Captain Jonathan Lean

Sue Lee stands in for Immediate Past Junior Captain Nathan Church

Immediate Past Lady Captain Lorna Jerome

 John O'Jaunty Brass Ensemble, including Michael Newstead, David Barlow and his wife Sam

Senior Section Captain Richard Westergreen-Thorne drives the 1st

Fancy That!

Richard Westergreen-Thorne was Club Captain for a day due to a slight mix-up with the names on the Captain's Honours Board. The mistake was spotted and corrected. But I'm told you can still see the ghost of Richard's long double-barrelled surname if you look closely

Jock Allan Prostate Cancer Charity Golf Day

 

The Jock Allan Charity Day Auction is now live, with Four Ball Golf Vouchers for Gog Magog, Porters Park, Letchworth and Saffron Walden up for grabs. Scan the QR code on the poster above or go to the auction page using the link below and enter your bid. The auction site will be live until 3pm on the day.

 

https://app.galabid.com/jogprostate2024/items

There is also still time to enter a team of two for this very worthwhile charity event which raises much-needed funds for the Prostate Project. Sign up on the club website or email me on tonylloyd2016@gmail.com. Sign-up will close on Tuesday April 2 so don't miss out. 

Minutes of the Seniors Committee Meeting, Thursday March 14, 2024

 

Senior Section Committee Meeting Feb 14 2024

Present: Richard Westergreen-Thorne (RWT), Tony Lloyd (TL), Jonathan Lean (JL), Algy Grimes (AG), Barry Donovan (BD), Nigel Underwood (NU), Dave Wood (DW) Invited guest: Keith Howlett

Minutes previous

Accepted

Change to handicap rules

Keith Howlett, a member of the club’s Handicap Committee, attended for this item to explain major changes to handicap rules being adopted from April 1 2024. The key changes as far as Senior Section members are concerned include:

•           Introduction of Course Rating CR- Par into the Course Handicap CH calculation, impact - lower course handicaps playing yellow tees on Carthagena

•           4BBB results to be used for calculating handicaps, but only when in a competition

•           A new method of calculating handicaps for matches

          Your Course Handicap CH is likely to change on Cart yellow between 31 March and 1 April without playing.

           The I.G. and MyEG apps will update overnight. The 1 April CH listings will be in a folder in the ProShop.

        Following these changes, qualifying roll-ups will be set up on IG as a competition and entrants will be able to sign up on the day, the result to count towards their handicap

Matters arising not on the agenda

·       Honours Boards: New Senior Section Honours Boards have been approved by the club and they will be inscribed in due course

Meeting with Justin Thomas

RWT met earlier with JT as he was unable to attend this meeting. Their discussion covered the Captains’ charities, the Prostate Challenge Day, the club’s accounting system in relation to the Senior Section’s finances and the recent survey of members. It was agreed that Peter Wade, Club Vice Captain, would attend future committee meetings.

Co-opted committee members

RWT welcomed Nigel Underwood and Dave Wood to the committee. It was agreed that Nigel would help Jonathan with competitions and Dave would help Algy with the matches.

Action point TL to arrange relevant admin rights with the office.

Captain’s report

It already seems a long time since the AGM and I am very pleased that our proposal  at the meeting for two co-opted members joining the committee for this year led to a significant response from members and the subsequent appointment of Dave Wood and Nigel Underwood.

I have had my first experience of presenting the prizes after one of our events at the Mixed Greensomes with the Ladies and will follow this up with the 4BBB on the Tuesday, prior to this meeting. I enjoyed the Greensomes and it was nice to see so many people staying until the end for the presentations.

There have been a couple of issues on the course that I have been made aware of and I have assisted following these up with Gordon and the Club Captain and Vice- Captain and I can outline more at the meeting.

 The closure and partial closure of JOG due to the weather has led to times when there have been a lot of club members keen to play and limited space on the course. This area was also a topic of discussion at the Golf Committee.

I have also liaised with Bill Walker regarding the roll up and what to do when courses are closed, particularly on a Thursday when the Ladies have competitions. I have attended two Golf Committee Meetings. The first of which was to look at the status of outstanding items prior to the club AGM and one of the aspects covered was the introduction of course furniture, particularly on the tee boxes which Jonathan initially raised. There are a number of options which are being costed up by Justin Thomas for consideration.

The second meeting focussed upon the feedback from members of the club in the recent member survey and those items from it that relate to the Golf Committee. There was an over 70% response in favour of keeping the current tee booking arrangements at the club and so the proposal has gone to the General Committee that this matter would be closed for at least three years which seems a very sensible thing to do. Overall, the top three golf related areas raised by members in the survey to be followed up were:

- Tee times

- Pace of Play and associated thoughts regarding marshalling on the course

- Competition access – which really relates to weekend golf and club

competitions and I was able to outline the open access and large numbers

taking part in our events to the meeting

I have yet to meet with Justin Thomas and Christine Ellis regarding charities for the year but, as Christine has now returned from holiday, I hope to do so shortly.

The Matches season is about to start and I am looking forward to the challenge.

Treasurer’s report

BD has set up profit and loss figures on a spread sheet for every competition and match. He said the section’s finances were in good shape. It may be necessary to increase the fee for the Member and Guest day to £50 to cover costs. BD and RWT to continue monitoring the Captain’s Honorarium.

Action point:  NU to provide the next meeting with costings for the Member and Guest Day. TL to provide costing for the Senior Captain’s Day.

Honorary Secretary’s report

It has been a busy few weeks since the AGM and a steep learning curve. But I have made some progress:

1:  Five new members have been signed up to the section. All are long-standing club members and I didn’t think it necessary to take them under our “ambassadors’” wings. They have received a welcome letter and a copy of our 2024 calendar.

2: Nigel Tarn has agreed to all our competition dates for 2025 including keeping Senior Captain’s Day on  Tuesday Aug 5.

3: I have been in contact with all the other clubs we play, offering dates for 2025 and some have already replied accepting those dates.

4: Bedford and County are hoping to field a team of 16 but will decide later in the year

5: Brocket Hall have requested to keep the matches at 12-a-side and on a Monday afternoon

6: Luffenham Heath would like to move to 16-a-side and to a morning. JOG date not yet settled

7: I have agreed possible dates for the Swap Day with Newmarket to Nigel Tarn and have put them to Newmarket. I have also invited their captain and A.N.Other to JOG for a game

Competition Secretary’s report

JL gave an update on upcoming competitions. He said the entries for the knockouts this year were disappointing.

Action point: To discuss at the October meeting how to make these competitions more attractive.

Match Secretary’s report

First of all thanks to those at the AGM that approved my nomination to be the new Match Secretary for the Senior Section, Andy Shilton is going to be a tough act to follow.

Following on from the Survey last year, Andy and I decided on a tranche based system for selections, members will only be asked to sign up for a few weeks in advance and should be able to manage their diaries better than last year to reduce the withdrawals to a minimum.

So I began, what a baptism of fire to the start of my tenure. We had some teething problems to say the least, a few of my own making. However, some were caused by members with duplicate entries and other minor issues. At one point I had the same player selected twice for the same match due to signing up displaying his name in two different ways.

At the time of writing we have 64 members signed up, tranche 2 doesn’t close until early April. We had only one new member so far for this tranche and we need a few more for some of the matches.

There has been some confusion on how to sign up, those who signed up for the first tranche were all sent a unique link to use for the second tranche, most have used it but there were some that used the previous link again which meant they were in the list twice. I did have a few emails shown as non-delivered, they were mainly ‘btinternet’ addresses. All members yet to sign up are to use the original link which will give them access to sign up as they wish, this was published in the latest Newsletter.

The first tranche of matches will soon be upon us, we have full teams for all of them, the only issue could be Cambridge Country Club where we only have one reserve. I do have a few ‘back-pocket’ members that I could call on if necessary so we should be alright.

So far so good!!

Prostate Project

The committee considered a proposal by Bill Walker that the Jock Allan Prostate Cancer Charity Day be taken under the control of the Senior Section. It was agreed that this was a good way forward so long as the event continued to be run by a separate committee which reported to the Senior Section.

Staggered start

The committee considered and accepted a draft proposal by RWT on the best way to proceed with the section’s ambition to move to a staggered start for matches

Roll-up Days proposal

Following an approach by a Senior Section member to change the roll-up from Tuesdays and Thursdays to Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays it was agreed to gauge the feelings of members through the newsletter initially. If there was sufficient demand a poll of members would be considered.

Action point: To be an agenda item at the next meeting

 

Any other business: None

Dates of future meeting:

11^th April

2^nd May

18^th July

22^nd August

3^rd October

5^th November

14^th January