Rules quiz

A ball is lost if, after searching for it for one minute, the player declares it to be lost.
A – True
B – False

Answer at the end of this newsletter

Seniors Fun Day – Friday 24 July

Reporter: Paul Foster

Well, what a difference a few days make! Gone was the blazing sunshine that had turned the fairways into something resembling the Serengeti, replaced by much cooler conditions that caught more than a few of the Seniors reaching for an extra layer instead of the suncream. Another glorious chapter was written in the history of the Seniors’ fiercely contested “Bottle of Goodman Wine” competition, where pride was on the line and the prize was just enough to keep the winner smiling until the next round.

This week’s star of the show was Ian Smith, who somehow managed to keep the ball on the fairway, avoid the bunkers (mostly), and hole enough putts to claim the coveted bottle of wine. Rumours that Ian had been practising in secret have been denied, although witnesses did report seeing him reading the greens with the intensity of a detective solving a murder.
The rest of the field put up a spirited effort. There were booming drives, miraculous recoveries, and putts that defied both logic and gravity. A few golfers even managed to find parts of the course the greenkeepers didn’t know existed. As always, there was no shortage of advice freely offered after the round – mostly from those who had played considerably worse than Ian. Excuses included the wind, the greens, the bounce, the wrong ball, stiff backs, and one player who claimed his glasses had mysteriously “gone out of focus” on every green.

Congratulations to Ian Smith on a well-deserved victory. We hope the bottle of wine tastes even better than those six-foot putts everyone else left themselves. Better luck to the chasing pack next week – remember, golf is a game where one good round can make you believe anything is possible… until the following Friday!

Results

The weather may have cooled, but Tony Dixon certainly wasn’t. Stepping up to the short 13th armed with nothing more than a trusty 9-iron, Tony produced the shot of the season. The ball took a hop, a skip and a cheeky little jump before disappearing into the hole for a magnificent hole-in-one. Whether it was skill, luck or a quiet word with the golfing gods remains open for debate!

Remember, every hole-in-one starts with someone saying, “I’ll just try and get this somewhere near!” In keeping with golfing tradition, Tony very generously left a bottle of whisky behind the bar for everyone to enjoy. Rumour has it a few members were already congratulating him before he’d even signed his card, purely to make sure they didn’t miss out on a wee dram!

Sixty five long years Tony has been trying for a hole in one, (approximately 13,520 attempts) and on Friday he nearly had two! As if one ace wasn’t enough excitement for the day (Les Williams was very excited), Tony very nearly pulled off the impossible earlier at the 4th. His perfectly struck tee shot on the par 4 finished just eight feet from the hole, leaving everyone wondering if we’d need to start checking his clubs for hidden technology.

(Editor’s note: I’m guessing the AI image below, sent to me by Paul Foster, was created by Steve “too much time on my hands” Barlow.

Happy Mondays Report – 27 July

Reporter: Steve Bird

In the absence of an Inter-Club game today we had a very decent turnout of 21 players who made up one team of 4, five teams of 3 and one of 2.

Scoring was difficult due to a brisk westerly breeze combined with drizzle early on and to make matters worse we had to cope with some fiendish pin locations left over from yesterday’s Men’s Club Championship – think putting uphill from off the green, getting within a foot of the pin and your ball returning to you twice (which I witnessed)

Before announcing the results, I must draw your attention to an incident that occurred near the 13th green. I was in a group following Ken Pearce and Eric Cox. We were waiting for them to putt out when we noticed that only Ken was on the green. Where was Eric? To cut a long story short, Eric’s electric trolley had found its way down the side of Sow Brook and he was trying to retrieve it. Only the thick vegetation on the steep bank prevented both Eric and trolley ending up in the drink.

One of our group went up to find out what was happening and at the same time four members who were having a coffee on the terrace also went over to assist. In the end both Eric and Trolley were hauled up the bank to safety.

I guess the message here is to be careful around any water hazards on the course because your life is more important than a golf trolly. Thankfully our dear friend Eric was relatively unscathed, finished his round and will be with us again next Monday.

Turning to the results, the winning team was that of Pete Broady, Alan Copeland, Mark Pickles (good to see you on a Monday Mark) and Dave Waggitt with an average score of 27.25. Runners up were Colin Chisnall, Alan Thomas and John White with a score of 26.6. Too scorer for the day was Colin Crail with 30 points. Colins’ team which included Mike Bennett and Richard Yates finished third with 26.3.

Tee booking schedule for tomorrow Thursday 30 July – Peter Herrity Trophy

On Friday 14 August we will be playing for the Peter Herrity Trophy. This is an 18-hole stableford competition played off the yellow tees. You should play off your normal handicap for a Friday which is 95% of your course handicap.

There is a £5 fee to enter the competition, and all the funds generated will be donated to our nominated charity. The £5 will be debited from your clubhouse account. Please make sure that you enter the competition on IG any time before teeing off if you are playing in the competition.

Happy Mondays tee-booking schedule for Sunday 2 August

Rules Quiz answer

Correct answer B. Explanation: See Definition of Lost. A player may not make a ball lost by a declaration. A ball is lost only when it has not been found within three minutes after the player or their caddie or partner begins to search for it.