Wednesday February 1st – Par

Flatstick Roofing Summer Cup, Part 1 of Round 1
It was a perfect morning for golf, temperature just right for a relaxed stroll through the park and just the gentlest of zephyrs from the south/south west.  Being the 1st half of Round One of the RGC/Flatstick Roofing Summer Cup there was a strong, mixed field.  The recent heat had continued to dry the course so many players found their drives much closer to the green allowing for far shorter approach shots.  News of the event had spread far and wide and a number of additional golfers had decided to take on the course, and did it with class.  On a great day to be out in the open air the results were;
Women’s Winner; Kath Jekabsons (29) +5 from Darlene Baker (27)  +1 and Jenny Hartley (41) +1
Men’s Winner; Les Carless (25) +6 (visitor from Wales) from John Laing (31) +3

Saturday January 28th – Monthly Medal – Stroke & Putts

Despite the temperature reaching into the 30s it was an excellent day for the January Monthly Medal.  The wind, firstly from the NW before swinging around to the SW was a fairly steady 15 – 20 Kph; it did not really affect balls in the air but did help to cool the players.  The last few days of higher temperatures had dried the rough and some sections of the fairways giving players excellent value for well struck drives.  The greens, those not dined up by our Little Corellas, continue to putt very true an their condition is a credit to the hard work of Les Gaunt and other members.  The round saw the return of past club champion Darren Freestone.  He obviously liked the place!  On a hot, dry day the results were;

Winner and January Medalist; Darren Freestone – 81/12/69 from Kevin Dunn – 94/24/70, Mick Nicholls (Snr) – 95/24/71, John Laing –  102/31/71, John Freestone – 94/23/71, Anthony Freeman – 94/22/72, Mick Nicholls (Jnr) – 94/22/72 & Chris vanDerVliet – 97/25/72
NTPs; 1st – John Laing & 15th – Mick Nicholls (Jnr)
Least Putts; Kevin Dunn – 25

Wednesday January 25th – Monthly Medal – Stroke & Putts

It was a perfect morning for golf, just over 20C and a steady southerly breeze of about 25Kph.  The course was again in great nick but the annual Little Corella vandals had again been at work.  This time three greens had received their attention. Usually they spend their days digging up and eating the onion grass bulbs, the greens are just for their relaxation after a hard day in the rough!  As the field went around a number of Green Fees golfers also took the opportunity for a hit.  On a beautiful morning the results were;
Winner and January Medalist; Jenny Hartley – 114/41/73 from Leila Beasley – 114/37/77
Least Putts; Leila Beasley – 27 C/B from Kath Jekabsons.

Saturday January 21st – Stableford

Another amazing week, 36C on Tuesday, cool, overcast weather for the following two days then almost 20mm of steady rain on Friday.  The course was again in good condition and the wily old heads prepared to take full advantage. There was a 25 – 30 Kph wind from the SSW which later swung around to the S, this played havoc with the final few oles where the OOB on the 18th cost a number of players shots.  The course had soaked up the rain very well but there were a few wet patches here and there where balls plugged or picked up mud, no relief was given except fo plugged balls.  The round finished with two of the club’s veterans fighting it out over the final few holes, even then it was almost too close to split them.  On another almost spring day the results were;

Winner; Les Gaunt (4) – 35 pts C/B from John Freestone (23)
NTPs; 15th – Les Gaunt &  16th – Bob Dwyer

Saturday January 14th – Ambrose – Guest Day

After around 5 mm of rain late on Friday the course was again in top nick.  Fairways just hard enough to give good value for well struck drives and the greens very receptive to wedge and high iron approach shots.  The greens again putted very true, unless you were above the hole on the 5th or the 7th, so players who aimed at the hole were well rewarded.  The “Golf for a Cause” (Double comp fee with 1/2 going to cancer research) drew an excellent field however, the Ambrose format was perfect for the larger numbers.  A couple of teams had “skiting rights” but, as usual, actions spoke louder than words.  The day was one of great hilarity with teams cheering each other on or attempting to “get inside each others’ heads” to gain any advantage.  The stakes, a glass and a few balls were certainly high enough!  The mild afternoon saw some excellent golf, on a beautiful, almost spring day, the results were;

Winners; Rob Rea/Andrew Clement/Jim Patton – 67/8.2/58.8 from Sherif Abdel-Sayed/Ron Walker/John Freestone – 73/11.3/61.7
NTPs; 1st – John Freestone, 15th – John Freestone & 16th – Rob Rea.

Wednesday January 11th – 12 Hole Ambrose

The 2017 Wednesday syllabus got off to an excellent start.  The weather was very pleasant, rarely getting above the mid 20’s and the course was in top nick.  Teams of two or three took to the field and enjoyed their round over “The Old Course”.  At par 45 this is a very tricky layout with many players coming unstuck at our “Amen Corner”, three successive par 3’s.  On a very relaxed morning the results were;

Winners: Darlene Baker /Wendy Gosden/Jenny Hartley – 52/11.8/40.2 from Sherif Abdel-Sayed/Elaine Scanlon – 50/9.7/40.3
NTP; 8th – Darlene Baker.

Saturday January 7th – 4 Ball Aggregate Stableford

With the day’s temperature predicted to be 34C the club’s heat safety policy did not need to be activated. Conditions meant that those in carts were hoping for a more relaxed afternoon but as the round wore on some found there was little truth in that. The field teed off with a steady NE breeze to cool things down a little and to add just a bit of spice when shots got above the tree line. The warm, dry air saw balls travel surprising distances providing some players with quite short approach shots. However, in the end the hot, dry conditions took their toll on many golfers out and it was a battle between two of the cart pairs to win the day. The day’s results were;

Winning pair – Jim Patton (21)/Mick Nicholls Sr who celebrated his 80th birthday at the beginning of Jan, (24) – 71 points from Andrew Laing (19)/John Laing (30) – 67 points
NTPs; 1st – Jim Patton, 15th – Daniel Wright (very close to jackpot) & 16th – Andrew Laing

Wednesday February 22nd – Stroke

Flatstick Summer Cup Part 1 of 4th and final round 

The morning dawned very hot and very windy so golf was going to be a challenge.  Under these conditions it did not seem to matter just how much water had been put on the greens, they dried out and hardened considerably during the round.  With the wind gusting from the NE at between 30 and 40 Kph it was a battle to keep the ball under control and the wiser, older heads who had played Romsey in these circumstances many times before brought all their experience to bear.  On another tough day on the course the results were;

Women’s Winner;  Kath Jekabsons – 102/27/75.
Least Putts; Beryl Cole – 30
Men’s Winner;  John Laing – 103/31/72.
Least Putts; Hugh Williams – 27
Nine-hole winner;  Jan Harver – 54/21/33 C/B from Jenny Hartley – 53/20/33.
Least Putts; Jan Harver – 16

Monday January 2nd – New Year’s Day Stableford

After Saturday’s exellent golf players were looking forward to getting back on the course, having a relaxed round and posting a good score.  The 1st round of the year began with a slight southerly breeze and some light but steady drizzle.  During the round the breeze grew stronger while the drizzle dried up after the first four or five holes.  It was another exellent morning for golf and the scoring was again good.  The morning’s results were;
Winners; Andrew Laing (19) – 40 pts & Elaine Scanlon (33) – 38 pts