Home match v South Beds - JOG

Sadly this match was abandoned with the first group reaching the 9th green via the beginnings of a new water hazard on the 9th fairway. Fred Le-Tallec won nearest the pin for South Beds on the 4th but, by way of compensation for JOG not reaching their NTP on the 16th, it must be mentioned that Captain Jim Peacock's tee-shot on the 4th would have denied Fred by some distance!

Other highlights were restricted to the JOG changing rooms where the following comments were heard: (Jim Kerr: "It was such a pity. We had them just where we wanted them, we were only 3 down with 10 to go") and (Fred Williams: "I've never seen Malcolm Faulkner lose two balls on consectutive holes before. I tried to emulate him but, in those conditions, I couldn't hit the ball far enough to lose it!

Marcus kindly pulled forward our lunch and so, after a leisurely shower and drink at the bar we all sat down to ponder what might have been over a delicious chargrilled gammon steak and - SUMMER FRUIT PUDDING!. Thank you Marcus and the catering team.

The good news is that the Club have kindly agreed that we can reschedule the match on 12th July 2016. Thank you Simon and Michael. 

Many South Beds members had not played here before but were very complimentary about the bits of the course they could play. They'll have to wait to play the JOG back 9 as the rescheduled match will be on the Carthagena. 

Priority will be given to those members selected for this abandoned game and then to those who entered but were not selected and then entry will be open to others to fill the team. I am already aware of a number of today's team who cannot make the 12th.

We look forward to the rescheduled home match and the away match on 21st September and, hopefully, the beginning of a new chapter of interclub matches with South Beds GC in future years.

Thank you to the JOG players for making organising this match (my first as Organiser) so easy and enjoyable for me.

David (Crosby)

Away match v East Herts - 24th May

One of our harder fixtures but the welcome was as good as ever, with the course playing tough but fair. The result, a 5-3 loss was much better than last year and two matches went to the final hole. We await our revenge when they visit JOG at the end of June. One serious moment took place before the start of the match when a certain Mr Fox found that he had left his golf shoes at home!!!! The cost of his new shoes will be a matter of discussion for some time I am sure.

Ken Robinson Scramble Trophy, 17th May

On a glorious May Day, 68 of the Seniors' finest did battle on the JOG course for the Ken Robinson Scramble Trophy.

With such nice weather and the course playing superbly, birdies of the golfing sort abounded !

The winning four had seven and the second place had 6. The most birdied hole was the first, with nine of the teams scoring. The second favourite was the sixteenth with seven birdies.

All were very  pleased to see Ken Robinson in attendance to present the trophy and we wish him well for a speedy recovery.

The winners were :-

1st  -  Kevin Donnelly, Gerry Gentle, Derek Weller, Fred Williams  with a net 59

2nd - Steve Collins, Geoff Stevens, Mike Tomblin, Nigel Witten with 60.5

3rd - David Crosby, Malcolm Falconer, Mike Marshall, William Skelding with 61.2

Probably the unhappiest person on the day was Pat Gilgallon, who thought his tee time was 9.46 when, in fact it was 8.46 !!

And his team came second !!!!

Added to that he lost his car keys on Monday, it has not been a happy start to the week for poor Pat !

Peter

Home match v Harpenden Common, 10th May

On Tuesday 10^th May JOG Seniors hosted the Harpenden Common Seniors playing on the Carthagena course off the white tees. Harpenden Common Seniors are known as “The Ancient Britons”, but with the amount of rain we experienced they could well have been renamed as “The Ancient Mariners”!!

I think the polite phrase is persistent rain, but with the Carthagena course draining well, the matches were enjoyed, and the course was in very good condition which enabled good golf to be played (providing you stayed out of the wet semi-rough!).

Capt Jim & I lost our game on the 18^th, so it was close, but the overall result was in JOG Seniors' favour who were winners with 4.5, Ancient Britons 3.5.

The day finished with an excellent hot/cold buffet with Summer Fruit tarte.

We look forward to the away match in order to renew friendships.

Graham McKay (organiser) 

Away Match v St Neots, 6th May

Seniors' Captain Jim arranged some lovely sunshine for the match and the only red faces afterwards were from sunburn because the match was won 4.5 to 3.5 by JOG.

It was poised 3.5 each, waiting for the result of the final match of Geoff Beck and Tony Goodson who were able to secure a win with 2 up.

New “boy” John Gregory managed the shot of the day on the 7^th hole, index 1. His opponent Gully Mann had made a par 4 but had to watch John chip in for a 3! All of the games were very tight some going down to the last put on the last green so a very good, evenly matched competition.

The course was in good condition albeit the greens had been dressed and heavily watered but that seemed to favour the putting of JOG.

Everyone enjoyed the day in good company and had a good lunch.

Fred Williams

(Vice Capt. and Organiser)

Annual Medal Trophy - John O'Gaunt Course, 3rd May

On a lovely Spring day, still a bit of a chill in the rather frisky wind, 72 of the Seniors' finest took on the John O'Gaunt course from the back tees. This is always a struggle for some as what used to be par fours are now definitely par fives!

However, this didn't stop the cream rising to the top and two players finished one under par, a mighty achievement. Lots of others were 'in the zone', which meant that they did quite well against the course.

The Winner was Patrick Smith with a net 70, on count back from Sam Standen and third was Gerry Gentle with a net 73.

The Winner of the Jubilee Cup, presented by ex Captain Robin Smith in 2012 was won by Jonathan Lean with 33 points. This Cup is for the best Stableford score for those players with Handicaps of 21 and over.

Peter