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

Rex Bullock Trophy - Carthagena Course, 26th April.

On a very cold day with a flurry of wintry showers, over 80 Seniors did battle for the Rex Bullock Trophy. The Carthagena course was in fine condition and even the hail showers didn't spoil the play. A tricky wind did upset a few scores but all enjoyed the day. Scoring was a bit of a curate's egg with the top four well ahead of the rest.

The Winner was Peter Grimes with 39 points on count back over Mike Tomblin in second place. George Turner beat Peter Imray on count back for third place with 38 points.

Winner: Peter Grimes

Runner-up: Mike Tomblin

Third Place: George Turner

Away match v Aspley Guise, 21st April

I am pleased to report that we had great day. Weather was good and the golf was better. I am glad to report that Captain Jim was fit to play. The score was 6 - 2 . The Willmots were perfect hosts and the meal was excellent. All in all a perfect Seniors match day.

Away Match v Dunstable Downs. 14th April.

Captain Jim had to pull out at the last minute. Vice Captain Fred was a good stand-in. We won the match 5-3. Good company, good food, good weather (mostly!) 

Everyone happy.

Home match v Aspley Guise, Carthagena - Tues,12 April

It was an eventful day. Steve Clark won nearest the pin for the Home team but was taken ill at lunch (nothing to do with the food !!). He was tended to by staff before a para medic attended. He has since recovered. Captain Jim played very well to lead the team home to a 7 to 1 win. Due to a communications failure the match was late starting but it did mean that the players missed the rain. There was some complaint of slow play. The evidence lay in the fact the first group were in well ahead of the rest and lunch had to be put back a couple of times but was enjoyed by all except poor Steve.

Peter

Peter Hollingsworth
Hon. Sec. JOG Seniors

Away match v Beds and County, 29th March

A enjoyable day was had for all, sunshine but cold, though no rain, the course was in good condition which was all credit to the greenstaff, because the day before, all but 3 holes were closed. The halfway house was appreciated and a two tee start speeded things up.

Everybody was in agreement that we were very lucky with the day and a superb chilli con carne with good service and hospitality and the day ended with some gentle banter between the two captains afterwards.

The result 4.5 to 3.5 to the J O G !

Peter
Peter Hollingsworth
Hon. Sec. JOG Seniors

Match v Saffron Walden - Carthagena, 22nd March

The Saffron Walden match and day went very well, we won 5/3.

The food and hospitality were, as ever very good and Saffron Walden can't wait to get their revenge !