John O’Gaunt Seniors v Bourn Seniors, Fri 11th April on the JOG course

Sorry to report that we lost our match 3½ to 4½. This was the proverbial game of two halves. We lost our first four matches and then won 3½ out of the last four. I put out what I thought was the strongest pairings first and look what happened. The phrase ‘golf is a funny old game’ comes to mind. The real winner was the course, I can’t remember the fairways being this good and we were still doing pick and place. The greens are close to being at their best. Just the bunkers to sort out.

So no excuses the weather was great and the course was great. Pity about the golf but we are still in the hunt for the scroll as there is only 1 point in it. I thought the kitchen did us proud! Regards to all, Jim

John O’Gaunt Seniors v Beds & County Seniors, Tuesday 1st April 2014

The 1^st April and an early start bearing in mind the Bedford traffic. No sign of an April Fool. It was a misty day at Bedford and County Golf Club in Clapham the sun did not break through till 1pm. At times it was a little chilly.

It was great to stop at their halfway house for tea or coffee, plus a bacon bap, sausage bap or cake. Everybody seemed to enjoy the break.

The course was good but the greens had been treated with a very sharp sand and were therefore slow.

A sociable gathering in the bar and dining room afterwards.

The match result a draw, however three of our matches lost were by substantial margins being up against birdies and in the last match an eagle by their Seniors Secretary. Well, he is off 6 handicap!

Captain Alan was pleased that we had not lost a match this year.

A number of players from both teams requested that they play the same four ball in the return match on the Carthagena on 16^th September.

Ken Doggrell

John O’Gaunt Seniors v Saffron Walden Seniors, Tuesday 25th March 2014

On a rather murky and rainy day, JOG Seniors started their 2014 matches against Saffron Walden Seniors. The match was played on the John O’Gaunt Course, which was in tremendous condition, with all holes open. A tricky wind made everyone take more care over their shots but a good time was enjoyed by both sides. A good meal and conversation followed and the match result was a win for JOG by 5.5 to 2.5.

Four Ball Better Ball, Carthagena Course, Tuesday 18th March 2014

On a fine windy day with a few spots of rain, the first Seniors’ competition got under way. It was also the first time in the year that the White tees were in use and it made for an interesting day.

68 played, which was 16 more than had entered by the close date. This made it difficult for the organiser, Ken Robinson, who did a great job in getting all the latecomers a game.

The Hon Sec would like to emphasise that it will not happen again. Members are made very well aware of the dates and the times of the entry for the competitions and should, in their part, make sure that they enter on time. If everyone had entered on time we could have had a two tee start which would have been much more preferable for all concerned.

The Winners with a VERY respectable score of 43 points were John Morris and Stuart Denny.

Second on 42 points were the old warhorses Robin Smith and Graham McKay.

Third, on 41 points were Harry Wakefield and Patrick Smith.

Ladies/Seniors Mixed Greensomes-13th March 2014

What a shame about the weather, it wasn’t rain or snow this time it was fog !!!! The delay was about 90 minutes and it was decided to play just nine holes, using the original starting times and having two competitions, Front Nine and Back Nine (JOG course).

We had 104 competitors which says volumes for the tenacity of Pat Gilgallon, who cajoled, threatened and generally encouraged everyone, apart from a small minority including Jarman and Collins, to enter. Well done Pat.

His helpers on the day, Jim, Marilyn and Les did a grand job. Unfortunately the computer didn’t play ball, because it was set up for the Men’s card instead of the Ladies’ card !

PH will fix next year.

There were lots of good scores and three prizes were given for each competition

The Front nine winners were :-

1^st - Paul Stallard and Diane Munns

2^nd - Mike Marshall and Margaret Budgen

3^rd – Fergus Moynihan and Marie Bayes

The Back Nine winners were :-

1^st - Derek Weller and Valerie Cooper

2^nd -Steve Cooper and Anne Gurney

3^rd - Patrick Smith and Lorna Harvey

A super raffle with wine, biscuits and Easter eggs was very well supported. The ladies’ cakes were, as ever, magnificent !!!

Peter (Hon Sec)

Annual Dinner

For those that didn't attend the dinner last night, you missed a very good evening. We finished up with 84 diners. The food was good, the service was excellent, the speeches were short, all in all a very good evening.
Peter Jarman, as Golfer of the Year also made a short speech of thanks. Please feel free to download any of the pictures below.             Peter (Hon Sec)

		Annual Dinner VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Arthur Lucas (Bring and Win) Competition

A rather small turnout of 49 meant a single tee start. This resulted in a very long day, particularly for the early starters! As would be expected at this time of the year, the average scores were below par for rounds on the John O’Gaunt course which was playing long. However, Rodney Thomas managed a good round with 40 points (handicap was 22 now down to 20) Well done Rodney! Philip White played to his handicap of 5, a score which, to mere mortals,  is the stuff of dreams! Apart from Rodney, there were no other handicap adjustments. For the full results please click HERE.

Completed Knockouts for 2013

For those who may wish to see the completed tables for the 2013 Knockouts and dream of what might have been, then please click ……HERE.

Holmwood Plate 2013

Pedro ze Bandit strikes again! A substantial reward has been offered by the handicap committee for the apprehension of this renegade. For the second year running he has stolen the coveted Holmwood Plate. He must be stopped before his winning spree spreads to other trophies.

TSB Trophy

As ever, the TSB Trophy match with the Junior Section was closely contested, with several matches being decided on the final hole. A 5-5 tie was satisfactory to both sides, with the Seniors retaining the Trophy. The highlight came in the lead match, where Phil White, partnering Captain John, holed in one on the sixth hole (Carthagena). Despite this, the Junior pairing of Captain Jack Slater and Vice Captain Callum Pearson ran out winners in their match.