Seniors away to St Neots May 30 2024

 

JOG Seniors Captain Richard Westergreen-Thorne and organiser Jed Isbell on the 1st tee with their St Neots opponents 

Organiser Jed Isbell reports

A slightly overcast morning saw a merry band of JoG Seniors visit St Neots to play them in our annual inter-club match. The forecast indicated a 25% chance of rain, which did materialise in the form of some drizzle about half way round and lasted for a couple of holes before we all ended up removing clothing as the sun beat down on us.

As to the Captain's game, here we found ourselves one down after the first hole but soon rallied to make it all square by the third. We then managed to go two up before St Neots pulled one back, but we then promptly took the next two holes to reach the turn three up. Once again St Neots rallied only for their hopes to be dashed as our Captain produced a sublime chip and putt on the makeshift 16th hole (one was out of play for coursework) to keep us on track and to help secure a win of 4&3.

Pairings and results for the JoG team were as follows:

Richard Westergreen-Thorne & Jed Isbell - WON 4&3

Tony Lloyd & Mark Ellis - A/S

Paul Beck & Derek Young - Lost 1 Down

Paul Life & Tony Goodson - WON 5&3

Michael Bonwick & Gerry Degaute - Lost 1 Down

Ken Brewer & Michael Newstead - Lost 5&4

Paul Hammond & Rafe Bateson - Lost 2 Down

Algy Grimes & Trevor Darrington WON 5&4

A very close-fought match, which could have gone either way with 3 of the matches being lost on the 18th green, resulted in a win for St Neots with a final score of 4½ to the JoG’s 3½. We look forward to hosting St Neots on the 18th June for the return match, when we look to turn this result around.

After the match we were treated to cottage pie, treacle sponge and custard, which was enjoyed by all before our Captain got up to announce the result. Before doing so he shared with the audience a couple of incidents that had happened during our visit, with two of our players - Rafe Bateson and Paul Hammond - getting "tickets" on their windscreens as they do not allow commercial vehicles to park in front of the clubhouse - a situation made all the more comical by the fact that Rafe's vehicle is in fact  taxed as a car and not used in any commercial capacity.

 The other incident related to the "shot of the day" where a ball appeared on the fairway that our Captain was playing, only to find that it was in fact a wayward tee shot of Paul Life who had "slightly" lost his way. The faux pas to the story was that he was then given advice from the playing opponents of the Captain and promptly struck the ball over some trees to land it on the green to win the hole he was playing. Needless to say his playing opponents were none too pleased with the advice that was given to him by their so-called colleagues.

Post Match Note: Playing the 3rd, Algy Grimes got a birdie - but not one of the golfing kind. His second shot into the green hit the rear end of a Canada Goose that happened to be walking on the course. Needless to say this did not stop them from going on to win their game.

You can't park here sir! Rafe Bateson and Paul Hammond received windscreen "tickets" reminding them that "commercial vehicles" are not allowed to park in front of the clubhouse

Seniors at home to Millbrook May 28th 2024

 

Organiser Jonathan Lean, Captain Richard Westergreen-Thorne, Millbrook Vice Captain Ian Potter and Millbrook Captain Martin Howell on the Carthagena 1st Tee.

Organiser Jonathan Lean reports

This was the first home match that I had organised, so I was keen that everything went smoothly.  Trying to keep ahead of the game, I prepared the score cards on the Friday before the match on Tuesday 28th May.  Murphy’s Law kicked in though and, on the Saturday, Millbrook Captain Martin Howell sent me the updated Millbrook team.  The good news was that the team was unchanged in terms of personnel.  The bad news was that every Millbrook team member’s HI had changed except one.  Tippex to the rescue!

On the morning of the match, I arrived at the club at 7.30am only to find our intrepid captain already warming up in the nets.  Trying to get some practice in not having played for 3 weeks, he explained.  Such dedication!

After the usual introductions, we set off in cloudy but dry conditions.  This was not to last though and the whole round was punctuated by brollies up and down, waterproofs on and off and a challenging swirling wind.  These are my excuses, and I am sticking to them!

The opening match (organiser and captain) did not start to plan, losing the first 2 holes to net pars.  We stopped the rot briefly by halving the third and then managed a birdie on the 4th to pull back to 1 down.  This was a brief respite though as Millbrook won the 5th to get back to 2 up where they stayed to the turn.  There was no let up as our opponents played very well to eventually triumph 4 & 2.  The rain had let up by then so we played the 17th and 18th, both of which captain Richard played immaculately.  Too little to late though.  Perhaps he was showing off to club captain Justin Thomas who walked in with us for these last 2 holes.

As the results trickled in things started to look up as matches 2 and 3 went our way and match 4 was halved.  2½ - 1½ after 4 matches.  Could this be 2 wins in a row?  Sadly we then lost 3 of the last 4 matches to eventually go down 3½ - 4½ overall.

An excellent lunch of chicken and vegetables followed by chocolate tart eased the disappointment somewhat. 

The course was in excellent condition and compliments abounded from the Millbrook team.  Their captain, Martin Howell confided that this match against JOG was the most over-subscribed in their calendar

Nearest the pin on the 8th for JOG was Nick Schumann.  His was the only name on the sheet even though he was in the 6th match out.  None of the JOG players managed to hit the green in the first 5 matches!

Overall results as follows.

Richard Westergreen-Thorne and Jonathan Lean lost 4 & 2

Phil Armstrong and Andy Lawrence won 2 & 1

Jack Shepherd and Chris Roy won 1 up.

Fred Williams and Gerry Degaute halved their match

Oz Osman and Gavin Little lost 5 & 4

Nick Schumann and Alban Macdonald lost 2 & 1

Barry Donovan and Neil Pinnington won 3 & 2

Michael Newstead and Graham Gadsden lost 2 & 1.

Seniors at home to South Beds Tuesday May 21 2024

 

Chris Dennis and Tony Lloyd with their South Beds opponents

Tony Lloyd reports on a welcome victory for JOG Seniors

I was up with the larks for my third match as stand-in Captain for Richard Westergreen-Thorne. A flat battery on my car meant I had plenty to worry about, never mind securing a sought-after victory for Richard.

As things turned out - Mrs Lloyd lent me her Mini - it might have been just what I needed to take my mind off the golf.

Playing with organiser Chris Dennis in Match 1 we got off to a shaky start with me in the greenside bunker and Chris over the back of the green. One up to South Beds.

But we recovered immediately with wins on the 2nd and 3rd to go 1 up.

By the 6th we were 2 up and feeling confident but not complacent ... before slipping to 1 up on the 7th.

Remarkably, we reached the 8th before a hole was halved.

South Beds' star player Andy Perry thought he had got us on the Par 5 9th with a birdie ... until yours truly, with a shot, followed up with a nett birdie to stay 1 up at the turn.

Then followed a loss at the 10th and five Halves with Dennis and Lloyd going 1 up on the 16th with a Par from Chris. 

South Beds won the 17th, leaving us all square going up the 18th. South Beds Captain Brian Murnane was in the hole for 5 nett 4, leaving Chris and me two shortish putts for a half.  I lined up mine only to realise I had an 8 iron in my hand! I walked back to my bag very slowly to find on my way back our opponents giving us the half, leaving the match Halved.

Back in the clubhouse it seemed as if our Half might have been the high point of the day, with Matches 2, 3 and 4 going to South Beds. Hats off to Richard Herbert and Richard Young (who recorded two birdies) who fought back from 4 down at the turn to end up narrowly defeated 1 Down.

Then came a ray of hope with matches 5, 6 and 7 going to John O'Gaunt. All square as we awaited the final result  - a convincing 3&2 win for Graham Gadsden and Trevor Darrington to give JOG a much-needed 4½ -3½ win ... only our second of the year.

Congratulations to Neil Pinnington who hit the pin to win nearest the pin on the 16th and sank the putt for as birdie to go Dormie 2 with Gavin Little.

Commiserations to their opponent whose trolley ended up in a bunker but well done to his playing partner who went looking in the brook for his lost ball only to find three Pro V1s.

Apart from the flood-damaged 13th the course was looking stunning and drew many plaudits from the visitors ... as did the pork loin and sticky toffee pudding which we ate gratefully in the warmth of the Burgoyne Suite as the heavens opened outside.

Congratulations to Chris Dennis whose first match as organiser went seemlessly. Let's hope we can do as well on our return visit in September.

Overall results:

Chris Dennis and Tony Lloyd: Halved

Terry Domagala and Jed Isbell: Lost 4&2

Richard Herbert and Richard Young: Lost 1 down

Tony Goodson and Ken Brewer: Lost 3&1

Gavin Little and Neil Pinnington: Won 2&1

Jonathan Lean and Michael Newstead: Won 1 up

Paul Hammond and Algy Grimes: Won 1 up

Graham Gadsden and Trevor Darrington: Won 3&2

Result: 4½ -3½ win to John O'Gaunt

Seniors away to Saffron Walden May 15 2024

 

Tony Lloyd and Michael Newstead with Saffron Walden's Peter Warren and Gerrard Murphy

Organiser Michael Newstead reports

The weather forecast the previous day had been grim with storms, thunder and lightning threatened.   As I drove to Saffron Walden, I gazed morosely out of the car window, the sky dark and threatening and thought to myself, we are going to get wet. However, more about the weather later.

Following the customary greeting, the announcement of pairings and the other administrative details it was off to the 1st and 17th tees for the game to begin. First away off the first tee was the two team captains and the two organisers and something very strange occurred!  All four sent their drives soaring down the fairway, straight and true, as I said, highly unusual. Second shots sent towards the green had mixed results, as did the score on that first hole, which JOG won with a birdie 3.

(Editor's note: Michael is too modest to report that the birdie was his)

JOG was able to maintain their advantage through holes 2 and 3, with ties on each, but lost hole 4, making it all square.  Holes 5 and 6 were a tie and a loss respectively, but a JOG win on 7 again equalized.  A loss on hole 9 meant JOG went into the back 9 one hole down.    After ties on 10, 11 and 12, Saffron Waldon increased their lead to 2 with a win on 13.  Hole 14 went to JOG, then 15 and 16 were tied.  Anyone out there good at maths will now see that Saffron Walden have surged ahead by 1 hole and we were coming to the end of the match.   Something had to be done!  Taking courage in both hands, the JOG team delivered a win on the 17th.

Nerves jangling, none of the 4 found the green on the 18th, which to those of you not familiar with Saffron Walden, is a downhill 158-yard par three, protected by bunkers to the left and right and with a viciously sloping green.   At this point, our gallant captain for the day, Tony Lloyd, who it is fair to say had not had the best round of his life, showed magnificent leadership in a crisis.   His ball having found the left-hand bunker was sent to within 2 feet of the pin, a truly magnificent shot and he made the par putt, handing JOG victory by one hole.

In the clubhouse, sitting waiting for the scores to come in things were looking good for JOG.   That first win was followed by a Saffron Walden win and then two tied scores.   Four matches recorded and all square.   Back to speaking about the weather, which throughout our match had been lovely.   However, the skies now opened, and rain was coming down in buckets as the remainder of the troops completed their games and as the weather worsened so did the scores for JOG, who sadly lost the remaining 4 games.

One person who did have a good day was Rob Ebsworth, mentioned in dispatches for winning the nearest the pin bottle of wine.

Saffron Walden is a magnificent golf course with fantastic views over the surrounding countryside and we were treated extremely well by both the Saffron Walden team and the meal and service provided by the club was excellent.

Individual results:

Tony Lloyd and Michael Newstead: Won 1 up

Paul Life and Neil Pinnington: Lost 3&2

Steve Mathers and Steve Collins: Halved

Derek Young and Gavin Little: Halved

Andy Brown and Richard Herbert: Lost 3&1

Rob Ebsworth and Alban Macdonald: Lost 1 down

Mark Ellis and Michael Bonwick: Lost 2&1

Algy Grimes and Chris Saunders: Lost 3&2

Overall result: Lost 6-2

Saffron Walden's iconic par 3 5th hole with Audley End House in the background

Seniors at home to Harpenden Common May 14 2024

 

Phil Armstrong and Tony Lloyd with Paul Bagnall and Steve Hewitt from Harpenden Common

Organiser Phil Armstrong reports

The false sense of security, which the weather gods had lulled us into during the previous week, was soon dispelled by a decidedly damp morning at John O’Gaunt.  Nevertheless, a convivial buzz filled the clubhouse as “Captain for the Day”, Tony Lloyd greeted everyone and the pairs were introduced.

In the leading match Tony and I started well, were pegged back and then took the lead again to be 1 up after nine.  Tony was displaying an unusual combination of skills by hitting the ball sweetly but also attempting to break the record for most bunkers visited in nine holes. In the second half the Harpenden Common pair came back strongly and an enjoyable match was brought to an end with our loss at the 17^th.

Waiting in the clubhouse as the results came in the lead swung to and fro but sadly John O‘Gaunt ended up losing 5 to 3.

Positive comments were received from the visitors on the condition of the course and fairways in particular.

Lunch was lasagne, salad and skin-on chips, which went down very well, followed by a chocolate and orange tart.

As Seniors Captain, Richard Westergreen-Thorne, was on holiday Tony experienced a taster of his role next year. Although apprehensive at the prospect he performed well and was glad to get his first “Captain’s” joke launched.

Harpenden Common’s Captain looked forward to receiving us at the return match in September with the aim of renewing some of the battles that that had taken place today.

Winners of the Nearest the Pin were David Rhodes (HC) on 6^th and Gavin Little (JOG) on 8^th.

Detailed results are shown below.

Tony Lloyd & Phil Armstrong                lost 2 & 1

Len Greaves & Fred Williams                won 2&1

Nic Seeley & Jed Isbell                           won 2& 1

Ken Brewer & Graham Gadsden          lost 7 & 6

Richard Young & Gerry Degaute          lost 3 & 2

Steve Luckman & Gavin Little               won 5 & 4

Oz Osman & Paul Hammond                lost 2 & 1

Trevor Darrington & Rob Ebsworth    lost 1 down

 

A 5 - 3 loss overall.

Notes of the Seniors Committee Meeting May 3 2024

 

Seniors Committee meeting Friday May 3 2024

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

1 Minutes previous: accepted

2 Peter Wade

A discussion was held with Peter on a range of topics including:

·       Issues around thunder and lightning, the Seniors’ response to the storm that interrupted the Jock Allan Prostate Cancer Day and how to improve the club’s reaction to such extreme weather events

·       Progress on the new structure of governance at the club

·       The Senior Section’s ambitions for a staggered start for matches

3  Matters Arising not elsewhere on agenda: None

 

4 Captain's Update (RWT)

The golfing season is now in full swing with matches and competitions every week until the end of October.

At the time of writing, we have played five matches so far this year and it has been really positive to see seven members new to inter club matches taking part. There have been several constants in our matches so far, they have been good fun, played in good spirits and we have given a lot of shots to the other club. I look forward to the upcoming matches and hope to see even more ‘newbies’ taking part.

It was a pleasure to be involved in the Prostate Project Charity Day and it was its usual well organised success despite the weather on the day. The concerns regarding the thunder and lightning soon after we set off to play have been raised with the club for future reference for any other event that encounters a similar issue. There will also be a review meeting of the organising committee shortly to look over the arrangements with thoughts for tweaks for next year. It feels right that it is now officially part of the Senior Section annual calendar of events.

The new arrangements for the management of the club and the role of the Club Captain mean that there will now be a Captains Committee that is responsible for much of the arrangements that relate to our golf such as charities, house and social, handicaps, etc. The first meeting of this committee has been set for 13^th May and, as I nor Tony are able to attend on that date Jonathan has kindly agreed to represent us.

As I am going to be away a couple of times before the end of May I am particularly keen to sort the arrangements and publicise the Longest Day Challenge as it is not very long before we need to be letting people know about it. I can update you on progress at the meeting. It would also be good to set some of the planning arrangements in place for coordinating charities for 2025 before the end of the year given the lead time required for things like fourball vouchers.

I have also liaised with the club regarding an event to unveil the boards and Gordon and Paula are keen to help to make the arrangements when we are in a position to fix a date. They are happy to support whatever we set up.

All I now need to do is fix my golf and I am all set for the rest of the year

Note: Further discussion was held on the section’s representation on the club’s Captains’ Committee, Charities Committee, Handicap Committee and House and Social Committee. JL to attend the next Captains’ Committee on behalf of RWT

RWT also reported verbally that he had responded to a recent request for information from the club regarding the use of the Honorarium and the costs associated with being the Seniors Captain. This was part of a survey and review involving all those who receive an honorarium. He had also recently attended the funeral of Richard Aubigne on behalf of the seniors.

5 Vice Captain's Update (TL)

 (TL) had contacted the family of a member who has not been seen for some time and our concerns were allayed.

6 Immediate Past Captain's Update (JL): JL outlined a potential issue concerning on course etiquette during a recent competition.

7 Treasurer's Update (BD)

All comps and Matches up to date ( to Camb Country Club). Aspley Guise Home not yet processed .

New process with Clubhouse and Finance seems to be working well.

Cash position - Bank Balance £1693.61. Debtors £768. Potential debtor ( Camb Country Club non reciprocal arrangement) - awaiting confirmation.

Cash reserves depleted due to Home matches - but manageable.

Pleased to see 4BBB back in the schedule - helps with the overall year position.

No other changes to budget expected at this stage

8 Honorary Secretary’s Update (TL)

The 2025 calendar is almost complete, with all the competitions and all but two of the matches agreed with Nigel Tarn and entered on the calendar. The two outstanding match dates – Cambridge Country Club and Leighton Buzzard – are tacitly agreed but awaiting confirmation from them. I don’t anticipate a problem.

I will be sitting down with Tom Simm in the next week or two to discuss the Senior Captain’s Day and input from the Pro Shop.

The Rules Seminar with Joan Cocksedge was well attended and went very well. It provided a good talking point for the newsletter and blog and, once again, puts the senior section at the forefront of club activities.

I have had little feedback to speak of following our decision to maintain the status quo with regards to the Tuesday/Thursday roll-up. One suggestion put to me was to have a WhatsApp group for the roll-up but I remain concerned that WhatsApp chats can become a vehicle for unsavoury jokes and I think that, for the time being, the newsletter is the best vehicle for spreading information.

I have signed up one new member into the senior section – John Gibson – who seems to have been a member at John O’Gaunt for about 12 years.

9 Competition Secretary’s Update (JL)

Since the last meeting there has been just one competition – the Ken Robinson Scramble.  84 entrants which was perfect until we had one very late withdrawal the day before.  Many thanks to George Burnham for stepping in at the last moment.

Modesty forbids me from reporting the winners in full but I had worthy partners who played to their full potential.

The draw for the Annual Medal and Jubilee Trophy has now been done.  There are 89 entries.  Medals are not quite as popular as Stableford competitions.

I have also done the draw for the Holmwood Plate now that the first round of the Green Tilley has been completed.  First round to be played by 25^th June.

The first Individual Stableford Roll-up had to be abandoned because of the weather.  The next one is scheduled for 23^rd May.

Entry for the Rex Cleaver is now open and at the time of writing we have 70 entrants.

 

10 Match Secretary’s Update (AG)

Since the last meeting we have played four matches, two home and two away. The first of these saw our first win of the season, at home to Wellingborough by 5 – 3, well done to the team. However, we didn’t fair too well in the other three, at home to Cambridge Country Club we lost 5½ - 2½, followed by a very well fought draw away at Aspley Guise 4 – 4 and then our worst result so far away at Brocket Hall, another 12 a side match, where we lost 6 – 0. It does seem that we are always giving more shots than we receive, for example the difference in the Cambridge match was 112 shots in their favour. We have had some members playing in their first Interclub matches and all so far report how they enjoyed the events.

 Tranche 3 closes on Monday 6^th May, and I have asked Dave Wood to meet with me after the competition on Tuesday next, and so that I can show him how the system works and to select the teams. Out of the 6 matches in this tranche, five of them are at home. We have a very healthy sign up for four of the matches each being mid to high 20’s. We only have 15 for the 12 places in the return against Brocket Hall. For St Neots at home we have only 18 signed up so only two reserves. The most popular in this tranche is away to Northampton with 25 including 9 Jokers.

Note: It was agreed to bring the menu and price for our home match against Brocket Hall into line with our other matches.

AG said Tranche 4 matches would be opened soon when a “Matches Special” newsletter would be sent out

 

11 Staggered Start Update

Discussion was held on the best way to advance the section’s ambition for staggered start in matches against other clubs. It was agreed that proper procedure should be followed in putting the proposals to the relevant club committee.

12 Events

- Member and Guest Day – NU confirmed final plans for the day which were agreed.

- Senior Captain’s Day – TL outlined progress on his planning for the event

- Christmas Fayre – to be discussed at the next meeting

- Presentation Dinner - DW outlined his proposed menu and costings which were agreed

- Swap day and Away Day: TL to publicise both events in the newsletter

13 Honours Boards informal "unveiling". The new boards were almost ready and further plans were laid for an informal opening ceremony to which past winners would be invited

14 54-hole challenge - Jonathan to attend charity committee meeting on our behalf

15 Joe Ogunremi's funeral: DW to attend on behalf of the Seniors

Any Other Business: AG to seek a supplier for a new batch of ties

 Dates of future Meetings

18th July /22nd August /3rd October /5th November /14th January

 

 

 

Seniors Annual Medal & Jubilee Cup May 7 2024

 

Winner Kevin Cocker with Seniors Captain Richard Westergreen-Thorne

Congratulations to Kevin Cocker for first place in the Seniors Annual Medal played from the white tees on John O'Gaunt.

He came in with a nett 69 which included nine pars and a birdie on the 4th.

In second place on nett 70 was Geoff Scott and in third on nett 72 was Graham Gadsden.

Winner of the Jubilee Cup for the best player with a handicap of 21 or over was Geoff Scott.

The result changed the Golfer of the Year leaderboard as you can see below. 

Player		Played	Wins	Highest Points	Best 6 Results Points
1st	Paul Jones	2		20	36
2nd	Graham Gadsden	2		19	35
3rd	Kevin Cocker	2	1	21	22
4th	Keith Howlett	1	1	21	21
5th	Geoff Scott	2		20	21
6th	Robert Anderson	1		19	19
7th	Cavan Kendall	2		18	19
8th	David List	1		18	18
9th =	Paul Clark	2		17	18
9th =	Leonard Greaves	2		17	18

Geoff Scott: Second place and winner of the Jubilee Cup

Graham Gadsden: third place

Eighty-three players entered the competition.

The next GOTY qualifier is the Rex Cleaver Championship Trophy on June 4 when it could be all change yet again. 

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

Twenty points are awarded for winning a competition, 19 points for second etc down to 1 point for 20th place.
All players are awarded 1 point for entering and completing the competition.

You can check your position on the GOTY leaderboard by going onto the club website and clicking on Competitions, then Ongoing, then Senior Section Golfer of the Year.

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