Littlehampton – April 2009

It was a sunny afternoon on the coast. Unusually for a society day no rain was in sight but a stiff breeze from the East promised to give some interesting club choice decisions to those amongst us who know about these things.  Kevin had brought Mobsy along as a caddy (very good to see him back and looking so well after major surgery) but it was to little avail and there were mutterings of professionalism until the mutterers found out Kevin was fines master again!

Bos had taken the Match Manager’s role for the day and had chosen a simple format for the team competition so that for once the players could concentrate on their game without having to multiply, divide, count their putts or even select the best two scores. 

Lunch of ham egg and excellent chips was served early in the well secured clubhouse (five number combinations gave some of the more forgetful members trouble) and this gave the sixteen players plenty of time to plan their rounds, practice their putting, chip a few balls onto the practice green and test their driving in the net. One or two did. 

So onto the course which was in excellent condition with fast greens and wide fairways to aid the wayward amongst us.  An idyllic setting with only the blast of heavy metal rehearsals to distract the players at the far end of the course.  Play moved on quickly, and despite the latish start, we were all back in the clubhouse in plenty time to dive into sandwiches and to help out the Littlehampton quiz teams with a little North Sussex intellect before Fines Master Kevin and his able assistant Lord Stokes of Millais approached their task with customary zeal.

The prize giving showed the day to have been a close fought contest with only three points separating the top three in both divisions. Prizewinner of the day was Derrick Belcher taking longest drive, nearest the pin, team prize and 2^nd in his division.  Paul Holmes won Division 1, clearly aiming to move into negative handicap territory shortly, whilst Graham Sinclair managed to deprive DB of the final Div 2 prize.

Finally, Mr Woody was a closely fought contest, but in the end Kevin took the honour for special course behaviour.  

An excellent day was had by all. Thanks to Bos for running the day and we look forward to Brian’s Captain’s Day at Sweetwoods with anticipation.

Youngsters Pinch Geoff’s Pot.

Youth triumphed over experience as the first new style competition for ‘Geoffs Pot’ was won by the Under 60’s in fine style. Despite a valiant effort by the ‘Overs’, who imported a couple of foreign looking over 70’s one of which had a very strange putting style described by his partner as a ‘crouching tiger bay’ and the other who drove his buggy at breakneck speed mapping all the course hazards, the under 60’s won easily by a couple of holes.

Twenty intrepid members turned out at Rookwood ready for the fray. Coffee was served; Paul Mobsby entertained us with an unending stream of humour; we welcomed new member Paul Fennelly as the newest member; Clive Dolan regaled us with tales of shipwrecks in the far South where he and his crew had bravely brought their crippled craft back just in time for Clive to round up the numbers and save Holmesy having to divide 19 by 4; Captain Stickley took to his new post; a great deal was made of the new season’s handicaps (despite no one understanding how they were arrived at): and all the time Roger ‘The Fines’ Pitts looked on, constantly seeking opportunity to recruit another ‘informer’ to help swell the Society’s coffers.

Eventually, the teams made their way to the first tee and the contest began in earnest.  The first two matches were keen to get back for the prizegiving and raced away. Match 3 took the whole affair much more seriously with every shot carefully planned and executed with such precision that a small gap opened up between them and the match in front. On any other outing this would have gone unnoticed but on this day one of the sharp eyed over 70’s in a following match had his buggy fitted with a sat nav (presumably so he wouldn’t get lost) and this machine constantly logged how far behind schedule the round was going. Pure evidence for the Finesmaster.

The weather was kind to us and the course played long and occasionally straight,allowing some good scoring and perhaps fewer lost balls than normal.  The water hazards claimed their share though  - the pond in front of the 3rd green being a particular challenge for some of our number. 

And so as the sun dipped behind the trees the final matches moved down the 18th fairway where Steve O’Carroll had taken time out between checking Ryder Cup progress to find the fairway for the Div 1 longest drive and Captain Stickley had driven straight and true as befitted a new Captain for the Div 2 Prize.

Back in the clubhouse, food and drink were taken, the fines were paid, the prizes distributed, and Sandra presented Geoff’s pot to the worthy under 60’s winners, many of whom will be able to bolster the over 60’s side in next year’s competition!

                                           CRISP & EVEN

The Christmas outing at Mannings is always a happy event and this year was no different.

After several days of blue skies and sub-zero temperatures it was no surprise that the course was white, frozen and unforgiving with balls collecting lumps of ice as they struggled across the greens and tees bending as they were pushed into the hard ground.

With an excellent breakfast on arrival and a thorough team briefing from the Match Manager, the groups went out confidently holding onto their yellow team balls with the expectation of producing them again later in the day. No chance!

However, there were some fine performances and clever use of Mulligans to bring high scores at the top of both Divisions. Steve O’Carroll beat Bos and Phil (this is not a joke, it’s a true story) Mobsby on count-back to win a tight Division 1 competition with Paul Holmes winning the longest drive. In Division 2 the Harmans dominated with guest Adam scoring 41 points to beat his father and Brian Stickley. Maurice Jones took the longest drive.

Tony West won the much coveted Bum Hole Award and there were then two other presentations. Chris Macauley took Mr Woody home for safe keeping until the end of March and Paul Holmes was honoured to become the first recipient of the Barns Green Gnome award which he has confirmed he will be displaying in his living room for those Members who would like to call round to admire it.

After an excellent Christmas meal, Fines Masters Rick Harman and Rod Merry dealt some harsh sentences on the unsuspecting revellers. It was then time to award the prizes, including the usual selection of dirigibles, and distribute the presents before finishing the wine, generously sanctioned by the Treasurer, and clearing the windscreens of ice before heading for home.