Season Handicaps (as of 12th November)

Adrian (The Duke)                              29
Andy (The Tornado)                           26
Ben (Smiffy)                                           8
Ian (The Stylist)                                   28
Mark (The Power)                               18
Nick (The Smiler)                                16
Richie (Boom Boom)                          22
Rob (The Player)                                   7
Jono (Ironman)                                   16
Miles (The Stand In)                           28
Mike (Baggy)                                        18

Money Standings:

St Pierre Golf Club

11th November – Adrian, Andy, Ben, Ian, Mark, Nick, Rob and Richie

Overall Winner – Ben 71 pts
First Day Winner – Ben 42 pts
Second Day Winner – Robbier 32 pts

Full report can be found here 

Cirencester Golf Club

5th November – Nick, Ian, Robbie and Ben

Overal Winner – Nick 31 pts
Front 9 – Nick/Ian 16 pts
Back 9 – Ben 19pts

Special Notes:

The last weekend for handicap changes before St Pierre saw 4 intrepid players head to Cirencester. On a windy cold Novembers morning golf was definitely not the winner but luckily the banter and team game kept everyone interested. Nick and Ian both had ropey starts but started amassing points after the 4th hole to take the front 9. With the team matchplay getting tasty Nick was offering encouragement to everyone but could only watch in awe as Robbie and Ben dominated the back 9. Going down the last everything was to play for but Nick kept his head to win the overall and reduce the match play result to 1up.

Naunton Downs Golf Club

28th October – Ade, Ian, Browner and Ben

Overal Winner – Adrian 31 pts
Front 9 – Adrian 18 pts
Back 9 – Andy 18 pts

Special Notes:

With Jono back to London Browner stepped in to make the 4 ball back at Naunton. A stunning day saw Adie fly through the front 9 and take a commanding lead only for Browner to do the same on the back 9 and claw back to level after 17. Walking down the 18th anyone could have won but Adrian kept his nerve, played out from the trees onto the green and sunk the putt to end Andys dreams of his first autumn win this year.

Naunton Downs Golf Club

21st October – Ade, Ian, Jono and Ben

Overal Winner – Jono 36 pts
Front 9 – Jono 18 pts
Back 9 – Jono 18 pts

Special Notes:

A special guest made the 4 ball on a sunny Octobers day as Jono joined from the London department. He didn’t disappoint as he dominated the day and took the clean sweep. The team game went down the 18th as Ian secured the drawing by putting his approach shot into gimme range, and for once in the afternoon Jono couldn’t match him. Jono will be invited again but he wont be playing off the same handicap.

Cotswold Hills Golf Club

15th October – Robbie, Ade, Ian, Richie, Nick, Mark  and Ben

Overal Winner – Nick 35 pts
Front 9 – Ben 19 pts
Back 9 – Adrian 19 pts

Special Notes:

A beautiful but windy day saw the players descend on Cotswold Hills. Nick played consistently to take the overall score whilst Ben took the front 9 with a sparkling display. This magnificent front 9 was overshadowed by his playing partners on the par 4 8th hole where both Nick and Ian hit 8 irons from 150 yards to within 10ft and both drained their putt for birdie. After a front 9 to be forgotten Adrian stepped up and demolished the back 9 leaving everyone in his wake. The only blemish that his group had to let 3 ladies through due to their slow play, an act possibly never to be forgotten……

Cotswold Hills Golf Club

17th September – Robbie, Ade, Ian, Richie, Nick, Browner, Mark  and Ben

Overal Winner – Richie 40 pts
Front 9 – Richie 19 pts
Back 9 – Richie 21 pts

Special Notes:

Richie dominated the day taking the clean sweep at Cotswold Hills. A solid front nine led to a sparkling back 9 giving him an unassailable lead which no-one could get near. Solid performances from everyone involved saw most of the group hit 30+ points but it wasn’t enough to get challenge Richie at the top. Many blame Browner for taking the 3 wood out of Richies hand in the pro shop and lighting the fire in his belly but all we know is that the 3 wood definitely didn’t do Browner any favours.

Cirencester Golf Club

23rd July – Robbie, Ade, Ian, Richie, Nick, Browner  and Ben

Overal Winner – Ben 36 pts
Front 9 – Ade 22 pts
Back 9 – Robbie 21 pts

Special Notes:

A threeway split of the money saw the front, back and overall shared amongst the field. A stunning front 9 from Ade got stopped in its tracks by a change of weather as the rains came. The wet weather helped Robbie find his range as he got to grips with his spanking new set of clubs which helped him take the last 2 nearest the pins, the last with an awesome 6 iron to 5 ft on the 18th. Despite missing the birdie on the 18th Robbie did hole out from 90 yards on the par 5 12th to record an eagle and score 5pts on 1 hole. Throughout it all Ben played steadily to take the overall money despite doing his best to lose his playing partners clubs up trees. Browner put in a good rear guard action to make 20pts on the back 9 and Richie played consistently throughout to make 34pts overall but both went home with nothing. Ian and Nick battled well and both had moments of inspiration but didn’t trouble the money makers.

Brickhampton Golf CLub

21st May – Robbie, Ade, Ian, Richie, Mark, Nick, Browner  and Ben

Overal Winner – Mark 43 pts
Front 9 – Mark 26 pts
Back 9 – Ben 20 pts

Special Notes:

For the first time after the Newark Cup the full squad were back in training. The pointless members of the team, Mark and Nick, were given additional shots after the embarrassment of the away weekend and everyone was looking forward to a potentially fruitful afternoon. Mark made the most of his extra shots as he shot 2 over par gross on the front 9 to come in with 26 points off 18 to take the money. It was a high scoring front 9 with 4 others all coming in below handicap. The back 9 saw Mark pick off the par 3’s and leave the others to compete over the big money which was taken by Ben scoring 20 pts. Mark once again cleared up, as he tends to when a full team is out, and paid the price by being cut 4 shots.

Naunton Downs G.C.

14th May – Robbie, Ade, Ian and Ben

Overal Winner – Ben 37 pts
Front 9 – Ben 19 pts
Back 9 – Ben 18 pts

Special Notes:

After the glory of the Newark Cup only 4 of the team made the golf course. The select team teed off in good spirits but soon caught up with a competition and by the 12th we’re waiting 10minutes a shot. Promoted by some key kick off times at 5.30pm the decision was taken to play the front 5 again and finish on the 1st, the only time the team have played the 1st hole 3 times in a round (on purpose).

Cotswold Hills Golf Club

1st May – Robbie, Nick, Richie, Andy, Ade, Ian, Mike and Ben

Overal Winner –  Rob 37 pts
Front 9 – Richie, Robbie and Mike 19 pts
Back 9 –  Robbie 18 pts

Special Notes:

A bank holiday special saw the group teeing off late on the last Monday before the Newark cup for some much need practice. A competitive front 9 saw the money split 4 ways before Rob dominated the back 9 to win overall, stupidly getting a 2 shot cut a week before the first major competition of the season. Mike rejoined the group in his first appearance since 2015 and dazzled with moments of inspiration on the front 9.

 

Cirencester Golf Club

16th April – Robbie, Ian and Ben

Overal Winner –  Ian 41 pts
Front 9 – Ben 19 pts
Back 9 –  Ian 24 pts

Special Notes:

Ian bought his A game to Cirencester to take the back 9 by storm in a fiercely competitive game. Unfortunately for Ian only Robbie and Ben were there to see it so Ian’s best round of the year, so far, delivered the smallest prize fund. Despite the small group some very competitive good golf delighted the watching crowds and made for a good mornings work.

Puckrup Hall Golf Club

25th March – Robbie, Nick, Richie, Andy, Ade and Ben

Overal Winner –  Ade 32 pts
Front 9 – Richie 17 pts
Back 9 –  Ade 19 pts

Special Notes:

In a rare event the groups came down in handicap order and as Nick, Rob and Ben headed out the competitive edge was tangible. Another beautiful spring windy day saw some moments of inspiration amongst a lot of rubbish. Robbie, consistent as ever, saw the challenge off in the top group whilst Richie led the second group only for Ade to storm past him on the back 9. Five of the six golfers all picked up something  on the day. All the par 3’s were hit and the first introduction of Americans saw Robbie take the money in the front 3. A further putting competition saw Robbie demonstrate his short game skills to put the final nail in the column for Nick after his least successful day.

Cotswold Hills Golf Club

18th March – Robbie, Nick, Richie and Ben

Overal Winner – Joint between Nick and Ben 29 pts
Front 9 – Nick 14 pts
Back 9 –  Ben 17 pts

Special Notes:

A windy day on the hill saw a small but select band head over to Cotswold Hills. Robbie and Nick took on Richie and Ben in the match play and took a large lead on the first 5 holes which they would never relinquish. The only noteworthy mention was that no par 3’s were hit in group, testament to the windy conditions and dodgy golf played.

South Cerney Golf Club

5th February – Ade, Andy, Ben, Ian, Nick, Richie, Rob

Overal Winner – Andy 38 pts
Front 9 – Andy 19 pts
Back 9 –  Ade 20 pts

Special Notes:

As the handicap committee caught up with Richie, Andy’s time finally came. On a cold February morning the groups first, and last, visit to South Cerney saw Andy find something missing for so long from his game – consistency. Scoring 19pts on both the front and back 9 Andy showed cool, calm composure to bring home the bacon. His new Uncle Albert inspired facial hair and collagen like eyelids brought the crowds to their feet and money to his pockets. A well deserved win after spending the month of January flying under the radar without bringing the eye of the handicap committee onto him.

Two other notes to make on this otherwise uninspiring Sunday was the inability of the group to hit any par 3, only Richie managed to get one par 3 in regulation. That means that of the 5 par 3’s played the 7 members of the group managed to hit 1 green in 35 efforts, a 2.8% success ratio – now that can only be described in one way.
The other noteworthy comment was about the team scores. Andy, Richie and Robbie took on Nick, Ian, Ade and Ben in an all about battle royale. The final scores (this format uses total pts for the team divided by the number of players) saw the three ball average 32.67 vs the 4 ball with 32.25 – the closest team battle to date.

Cirencester Golf Club

29th January – Andy, Ben, Ian, Nick, Richie, Rob

Overal Winner – Richie 45 pts
Front 9 – Richie 26 pts
Back 9 –  Nick 20 pts

Special Notes:

Richie continued his dash towards a single figure handicap with a 2 over par gross front nine finishing on 26pts, an outrageous score. Having picked up one of the nearest pins on the front 9 his overall winnings were enough for a one way flight to Germany, and by the end of the round he had the return paid for as well. A great round by Andy, scoring 39pts and getting nowhere near the money, sank in obscurity as Richies golf eclipsed everything that happened that day. A high scoring day for everyone, with the lowest being a good 32pts, saw Richie take another early year pot but his days are limited as the handicap committee have their eyes firmly on him and the scythe it out.

Naunton Downs Golf Club

8th January – Ade, Andy, Ben, Ian, Mark, Nick, Richie, Rob

Overal Winner – Richie 41 pts
Front 9 – Rob and Adrian 20 pts
Back 9 –  Richie 22 pts

Special Notes:

A full contingent out for the second game of the year and big bucks up for grabs. Richie was on fire and upsetting his fellow golfers for the second week running. Ade scored 20 pts on both front and back coming in with an impressive 40pts overall only to walk away with £3 in winnings as Richie pipped him to the back and overall. The other bit of naughtiness was Richie scoring 5 pts on one hole after a great birdie on the par 5 10th hole with 2 shots – cheeky.

Cirencester Golf Club

2nd January – Ade, Andy, Ben, Mark, Nick, Richie, Rob

Overal Winner – Rob 39 pts
Front 9 – Rob 21 pts
Back 9 –  Richie 20 pts

Special Notes:

An expected full contingent came up on short due to illness which affected one team member considerably leading to a 7 pt front nine, not the best start to the year. Artic type temperatures didn’t affect the quality on display though as 4 plays hit good scores on the first round of the year. Browner imploded on the last 4 holes handing the overall to Robbie, Ian discovered his 3 wood game and Richie nailed a driver to 5ft on the 18th to take the nearest the pin and help him take the back nine  by 1pt winning him £12.