Monday 30th October
Le Frenchman and I had a game of 'chairman' with that
well known TV star John Walton. Although slightly older than
I remember John Boy plays a mean game. In his pomp he was
telling us he played off a 7 handicap.
Unfortunately for our golfing thespian today belonged
to me. I was happy to take his money and that of Le
Frenchman. As always the golf was good but the chat was
better. Very enjoyable.
As a young married man with young children I had to
bar myself from watching The Waltons as it was embarrassing bawling my
eyes out in front of my impressionable offspring.
Fortunately they have not needed counselling as a consequence.
Saturday 28th October
TOGS Week 4
The TOGS (current)
For the second week in a row L'homme de Francais
magnifique came in with the best score, 39 points, and is now down to a
handicap of 8. He did the simple things simply.
Straight drive, hit greens in regulation and don't three putt.
Very good round of golf and sets him up nicely for the rest of the
season.
Oor Willy is as consistent as ever and another 37
points brings his handicap down to 6. 115 points from three
completed rounds is a fantastic start to the defence of his TOGS title.
It will take a good score to win this year and once again Willy is
setting the pace.
Paul Keenan and Rosco escaped a cut with
a pair of 36's by virtue of our silly new rule and Larry Page also
posted a creditable 35 to give him a very impressive start to the
season.
The Cultured Caledonian and Steve Todd returned from
their travels suffering from jet lag and will no doubt improve as they
acclimatise to the realities of a Tynemouth winter.
Sunday 22nd October
The Chairman's Prize (7/8 hcp)
Having just returned from Scotland I could not resist
the chance to play even though it was a Sunday. By the way,
whoever heard of playing off 7/8 handicap? What's that about
then?
I started with a birdie three which is most unusual
but fell away after a decent front nine to come in with a paltry 27
points. Fortunately i was partnering Daz who was in
blistering form with 4 more birdies and we emptied the pockets of Le
Frenchman and Bill ??
Daz finished with a score of 37 points which was
leading in the clubhouse on a difficult scoring day.
I am playing on Wednesday and will update then as
well as unpacking my carry bag, I'm shattered. Carrying
today was just too much.
TOGS WEEK 3
Willy returned from a week in Majorca with the
scores, how does that work then? All the details can be
found on The TOGS page. If you have been looking here for
the details of Week 3 and were playing, why did you not Email the scores
to me? If you did not play and are just curious...that's OK.
Saturday 14th October
TOGS WEEK 2
As well as playing in the normal TOGS game, Tony
Sarginson and I played our singles competition. All credit
to Digby's best mate, he beat me 4&3 and never broke sweat.
I was 4 down after four holes and was always playing catch up.
Having missed a six foot putt for a win on the 10th green to get
back to just one down I proceeded to duff my tap in half from less than
6 inches and went back 3 down. Game over (and out)!
Congratulations to Daz and Liz on their marriage in
Corfu last week. All of the TOGS will be there
tonight to celebrate.
Thursday 12th October
Yet another unexpected and unplanned round of golf.
Phone calls in quick succession and ten minutes later I was on the
course in the company of Bill Fletcher, John Raffle and Eddy Tyszick.
The balls came down in favour of Raff and I and it
was a pleasure as always to relieve young Mr Fletcher of his hard earned
dosh. Do ring again chaps.
Monday 9th October
Sometimes the unplanned unexpected round of golf is
most enjoyable. Today's game was one such event.
Playing a friendly matchplay format with John Raffle we shook hands all
square on the eighteenth in blazing sunshine.
A pot of tea and sausage sarnie our rewards for
staying out in a twenty minute downpour. Nice one Raff.
Do call again.
Saturday 7th October
The new TOGS winter league starts today
Thirteen out of the squad of eighteen played in
today's opener in extremely windy conditions and everyone scored 30 or
more points, which could be a first.
Alan Ross came out on top with a super score of 38
followed by Graham Marsh with 37 to pip Eddy Stothert on countback for
second place. They lose 2, 1 and 1 shot respectively.
Willy Smith escapes a cut by virtue of today's amended rule that 36 is
OK. 37, 38 and 39 points will incur a 1 shot handicap
reduction if a payer is not placed first or second.
Got it? Good. Let's play.
I also suggest everyone has a look at the back of a
scorecard and reads Rule 12 regarding slow play.
The rules since we started in 2003 are posted on the
TOGS page and as we keep amending or adding to them I have written them
down. So if anyone wants to take a look into the collective
psyche of how a committee of eighteen people works, try wading
through in chronological order and see how the rules have evolved.
I am just happy to be here!
Wednesday 4th October
Playing with Vic and Joe Mole we played a game known
as 'Chairman' and it was an enjoyable way to lose a coin of the realm or
two.
An interesting format in that only when a hole is won
outright by one of the players is he 'in the chair'.
Only when someone occupies the chair can they then go on and win a point
(rather like the server in squash). If the 'chairman' then
loses a hole the chair passes over to the winner of the hole who then
has an opportunity to try and win a point or two. Or, if the
hole is halved by the the other two players and the chairman effectively
loses the hole, he also loses the chair and it is now empty.
A new chairman takes control only when he has won a hole and he can try
to score a point etc.....
Good game and Joe Mole, thanks to two birdies, won by
two.
Five Nations Golf Trophy
Prestonfield Golf Club - Edinburgh
An excellent addition to the golfing calendar and wee
Frankie Clark deserves a lot of praise for all of his hard work in
getting the competition off the ground, with help from the 'big man' Reg
Chisholm.
It has to be said that the format needs tweaking for
the competition to work.
Firstly:
The matchplay element should be played off
¾handicap difference to the lowest player in the group and not full
handicaps. If this had been the case Rachel Reynolds and I
would have won our match and the trophy would have been shared.
To try and give away 26 shots in a fourball matchplay is quite
ridiculous.
Secondly:
If there is to be an individual competition played alongside the
matchplay (?) then it should be a stableford format.
Watching our opponents rack up 8's and 9's when the hole is lost is
simply a waste of time and makes for slow play. Four and a
half hour rounds of golf are not necessary.
That said, the two days were very
enjoyable and it was great to see and play with familiar faces.
The golf course was excellent and the clubhouse magnificent and as
always the hospitality of the Scots was first class.
If Terry Mangan gets to read this,
happy Birthday Tel I enjoyed your company as always. Look
forward to next year in Dublin.
