The stroke field teed off on a cold, surprisingly still day with plenty of winter sun.  Players again battled soft, wet fairways and very cold air, hitting a green in “regulation” proved to be very difficult.  Players with a good short game had a distinct advantage.  There were still some bare patches that had still not recovered from February to June’s extended dry, so “relief to a handspan through the green” was given.  All greens were good allowing players to attack the cup, overly confident putts could, and did, slide well passed leaving difficult second putts.  Whilst there is a deal of new growth across the whole course the fairways are really beginning to take off.  They will soon be back to their best once the soil temperature begins to rise.  On a sunny, but very cold afternoon, the results were;

Winner; Rob Rea – 91/18/73 from Bruce Robb – 106/30/76

The temperature was 6°C when the field hit off for the Silver Spoon Playoff and by the end of the round it was 4°!!! Needless to say conditions were challenging and scoring well was difficult. The softened fairways pulled the ball up quickly and reduced forward momentum but those who could stay on the fairway were not so badly affected . The greens were variable with some being quite soft but most were true and still quite quick.
In a round of very few highlights Pam Drummond chipped in on the 17th and Darlene Baker birdied the 15th with a longish putt.
Leila Beasley was the nine hole winner.
The major highlight however was Elaine Scanlon winning the day and progressing to the final of the Silver Spoon at Eastern Golf Course in November, well done Elaine.

It was a very challenging afternoon for golf, icy cold, rain predicted and strong winds moving between the west and the south-west.  The club’s oldest shield, first played in 1965, was up for grabs; the final being between Anthony Lakey/John Freestone & John & Andrew Laing.  The strong winds and very soft fairways saw bogie or double bogie good enough to halve or win a hole, par was the exception.  The match was a close affair with with neither team getting more than one hole ahead until the second half of the back nine.  During the round there was plenty of excellent driving and chipping but more importantly some amazing escapes from under or over trees straight onto the green and some extremely “courageous” putting.  With three holes to go it was dormi-three but no-one was prepared to lie down.  It was not until the 17th that the final was decided.  As for the stroke field, well, scoring was such that it was almost as if no-one turned up.  On a very cold, windy afternoon the results were;

W. E. Tom Final

Anthony Lakey (4)/John Freestone (2) D John Laing (7)/Andrew Laing (0) – 2/1

Discussion aplenty this morning as we assembled at the Tennis Club rooms before teeing off. The only topic of conversation was the wind. The howling north westerly was blowing a gale and was forecast to get even stronger as the day wore on. But we were all in agreement that it was only a bit of wind and Wednesday is golf day so off we headed to the 8th  tee which ( is the starting point from our temporary club house accommodation).
The wind played havoc with the ball when it was a cross wind but adjustments were made and all players enjoyed a the round of Pinehurst with the eventual winners being Jenny Hartley and Darlene Baker 95/20.5/74.5 closely followed in second place by Lorraine Robb and Elaine Scanlon.

The June Medal was contested on another chilly afternoon however, the sun did shine through here and there.  During the round the wind shifted from the south to the south-west, golfers also battled cold air and quite soft fairways.  The greens continue to be fast and very true.  A number of the field had not played art Romsey for quite a while and found it all to easy to three putt after an exuberant first putt sailed well passed the cup.  The conditions made it difficult to post a good score, especially when steady drizzle fell over the final few holes.  With works being undertaken at the Golf & Bowls Clubrooms the golf club has relocated to the Romsey Tennis Club rooms.  We would like to thank Kaitlyn Stevens (MRSC) and the Tennis club for their support.  On a very cold afternoon the results were;

Winner & June Medalist; John Freestone – 93/20/73 from Mal Mottram – 86/10/76

NTPs; 15th – Kevin Dunn & 16th – Andrew Clement

Least Putts; Scott Williams – 24

Congratulations to Jenny Hartley on winning the June Monthly Medal with a very good score of 98/24/74.  Pam Drummond was runner up, with Darlene Baker third.
Bob Dwyer returned the best score for the men on the day.

Players headed to the tee on a very chilly afternoon, there was virtually no wind and the sun declined to shine through.  The course was very wet and all fairways were soft. The very cold air held up all drives and made approach shots difficult to predict.  The greens were slightly slower than in recent weeks but again putted very true.  The 4BBB Stroke competition saw a number of pairs vying for the lead before steady drizzle over the final few holes brought almost everyone back to the field.  In the end the 4BBB Stroke event a battle between two old stagers and a couple of much lower markers.  However, despite the tough conditions a number of golfers put in excellent individual performances.  On a cold, wet afternoon the results were;

Winners; Kev Dunn/Hugh Drummond – 84/22/62 from Rob Rea/Mal Mottram – 81/14.5/66.5, John Laing/Andrew Laing – 91/21.5/69.5 & Ron Walker/John Freestone – 91/21/70

Individual scores; Kev Dunn – 93/24/69, Mal Mottram – 83/11/72 & Hugh Drummond – 92/20/72

NTPs; 1st – Andrew Laing & 15 – Mal Mottram

Romsey GC was represented by Wendy Gosden and Darlene Baker at the 2018 Shirley Deane 4BBB Stableford event at Nagambie Golf Club. The round began at 9.30 am with the temperature hovering around 1°C.  Despite the chill there was a large field of 76 players. The wintery conditions soon gave way to some sun and the remainder of the round proved to be quite pleasant.  The course was in very good condition with a lot of run down the middle of the fairways and greens that were well grassed and true.  The overall winners were from Seymour G. C.

2018  Deane Winners; Ricky Rickman & Irene Davey, –  45 pts.

The RGC team combined well to score 37 pts.

A small field of hardy players took to the course on a very chilly morning for the club’s Stableford competition.  The course was very wet and heavy with balls stopping almost as soon as they landed and usually picking up mud.  One small positive was the dew and/or frost on a few greens gave a clear indication of what line to take when putting.  The overall conditions made it very difficult to card a good score..  The morning’s results were;

Winner; Darlene Baker, from Wendy Gosden & Jenny Hartley

With wet and virtually freezing conditions predicted a number of members ensconced themselves at home with a warm drink and a comfortable chair however, there were a few hardy (others may use a different adjective) golfers who took to the course for the club’s stableford competition.  Consistent rain during the week saw very soft fairways and the cold air robbed distance from all shots making club selection trickier than usual.  Despite the recent rain and heavy dews the greens were surprising quick and many putts cruised well passed the cup.  The challenging conditions made it very difficult to get into any form of rythmn and when the drizzle descended late in the round players began looking towards the rooms and a warm snack.  On a very difficult day for the golf the results were;

Winner; Chris vanDerVliet (23) – 33 pts C/B from Anthony Lakey (22)