To put it mildly: that was tough. The field finally experienced spring weather. Milder temperatures created some welcome additional carry. The roll on the (freshly mown – the 9am starters could’ve done without the stalking of the Glendale staff …) fairways was a feature we had all but given up on. The greens could’ve run smoother. A bit of extra zip wouldn’t have hurt either. As you can tell from the results: only one player managed to play to his handicap,

Pralab wins today thanks to a score of 68 Net (+8 gross on front and back 9). His score could’ve been a lot better had disaster not struck on the 13th. 2 players called Chris finish on 69 Net. Chris R had the slightly better back 9 based on countback. Chris S “only” finishes 3rd despite 2 birdies on the back 9 (3 birdies over 18 holes). The 7 on the 6th will haunt him though … Another early bird Rob S is the lone player on 70 Net. Bill N takes 5th (the last “Money spot”) thanks to a 71 Net. Good to see 3 cripple (V, P and A) making their return to the park. Shout-out to Angus for finishing as the best of the “Returning Cripple”.

MW Grand Medal
Pralab (212), Richard M (215), Gina (219)

Playing conditions encouraged a good turnout of 65 for the May Bank Holiday Plate. Whilst dry, rough grass growth made it longer looking for balls and overall PCC was +1 – more difficult conditions. Last day for preferred lies.

A countback on back 9 determined the winner as Anthony Williams from Duncan T both 40 points; both had exceptional back 9s – Anthony 26 [inc. blob at par 3 11th], Duncan 25. Alone 3rd with 9 was Onursal (who also blob at 11th).
5 followed with 37s – Richard B (level back 9 33), Peter N, Robin T, Alex B and best woman Ali C who shared best front 9 21 points with Onursal.

Both Alan K and Richard B had 3 birdies.

As one competitor said: that was hard work. Even though the greenkeeping staff started prepping the course for (the future better weather it was hard to attack the course. Most of the casual weather disappeared but the fairways still offered next to no roll. Greens are definitely firming up. But they could be a bit more even. The swirling winds made distance control very tricky. Some pin position were fairly cruel (the 10th immediately comes to mind).  Believe the whole field appreciated the cut grass on the fairways. But the required carry off the tee was pretty demanding on some holes.

The early bird catches the worm today. Chris had the best front 9 (21pts – honour shared with Alex). Only 3 pars on the back 9 translate into 17pts. In the end 38pts was too high a bar for the rest of the field. Toby came closest (he will rue his scores on the 10th and 14th hole though). Paul G had the best back 9 (19pts – same as Toby) to claim 3rd. Single HI’ers Peter and Richard B both had 2 birdies to claim the last of the money positions.

Round 1 is in the books. 5 more  to go. Plenty of time to make up some ground.

Please find attached a PDF reports of the results, Best Scores Analysis and Competition Scoring Analysis (just see how holes 12,13 & 14 ranked today).

The forecast was for some heavy rain.

In the event there was some early persistent rain. Conditions were difficult and some long drives were needed to clear the rough before fairway on some holes. PCC remained at 0.

Onursal was crowned winner of Coronation Cup with net 68 ahead of 3 70s from Gregory, Pat B (first woman) and Ross H (also loewst gross 77); Onursal had reserves – he had 10 on 17th.

For the men this was the first event in divisionalised Top Dog for the season. In the attached we eee heading the senior division is Ross on 12 points followed by Joe G 8 down to Pete M 1; in the junior it’s Onursal 12 points from Gregory 8 down to Julian 1.

Theme of the day had to be the number 1:

– there were 30 and 1 entrants

– the winning score (gross) was +1

– for the 1st time in donkeys’ years Ali entered the sweep. And the gamble/choice paid off (see below)

– and last but (certainly) not least: Ed Robinson aced the 2nd hole (guess drinks are on offer next week)

Believe the saying is that you can tell a good golfer apart from the way he rebounds from a bad result. Richard B had a sub-par day last Sunday. But he improved dramatically by posting the winning score of +1 gross. -2 gross on the front 9 (2 birdies and 7 pars if you are interested in details). The start and the end of the back 9 were solid (all pars). The only blemishes of the day were 3 consecutive bogeys on 12,13 & 14. Still a very decent day at the office. Another early starter Paul G(iles) came (distant) second with solid score of 67 (Net). He was matched by first lady Susan. But the countback rule sides with Paul. Ali broke par today with a solid score of 68 (Net). Peter G and Ian are the last to play better than their handicaps.

There were quite a few reminders of the wet winter months. Looks like we will need a few more weeks of dry weather to do away with the casual water and mud. Luckily the winds were not too severe. Scoring in general was pretty decent.

Senior Division
Will recorded an excellent score of of 37 gross (+2). He even upped the ante on the back 9 by coming home in level par. A score of 70 gross (62 Net) make the clear winner today. Pete Malla was a very deserving second with a Net score of 64. Kevin finished 3rd. But it must feel a day of what could’ve been (6 shots lost to par over the last 4 holes). Amid, Jay and Mark are the last ones in the Sr Div to break par.

Junior Division
It also took a Net 62 to win the Junior Division. Paul used an excellent front 9 (+4 gross) to set up today’s win. He had a few nerves on the back 9. But all in all he kept his composure to seal the win. At first glance Gunnar is distant second today. But a closer look of his scorecard learns that victory slipped through his fingers on the last 3 holes. Duncan had a solid round to finish 3rd. The only blemish on his round was a snowman on the 9th hole. Much and Sean both recorded 67’s to claim 4th and 5th in this division. Shout-out to Edd Hall for ducking in time to prevent being hit by a wayward tee-shot coming from the 13th tee (player’s identity is known but not will be named).

To use an understatement: that was tough! The predicted continuous rain didn’t materialise. But instead the field got treated to heavy showers that came and went in a flash. By the time you put on your rain gear the clouds opened and the sun appeared. The 40mph gusts of wind did sign present. On top of that they were quite swirling too

The field just recovered from the headwind on the 14th hole. Surely the wind must have come from the left on the 15th hole. It was quite a shock to see that hole playing … into the wind. Holes 5,12 and 14 all played into the wind.  So it comes as no surprise that those 3 holes played as the most difficult holes of the day.

All these were very mitigating circumstances for today’s scoring. Just 1 player beat the course: Alan King. His solid front 9 (2Up) was followed by more subdued back 9 (Level). Alex took his time to find his groove. He was 2 Down on the way out. But a better back 9 (2Up) allows him to beat yours truly on countback. Jay was best of the rest. Wouldn’t be a surprise if PCC will be adjusted. [Ed..it +3!]

A chilly start butte warm sun came out and players slowly took off the odd layer of clothing with temps nudging 18C for Easter.

Silvia B off HI 6 ( last year’s women’s champion) shot a superb 38 points (20 on back 9) to win the Easter plate from Nick R and consistent Pete Mall 36s, Much, Toby and Nigel W followed with 35s.

Alan K had magic front 9 – 21 points whilst men’s champion Richard B shot the only ‘Two’.

If you keep in mind that last year’s winning score was 61 (FYI: that score was posted by the Women’s Captain) we could state that this year’s scoring was a bit underwhelming (makes me think of Rosamund Pike who said that it is strange that people are either over- or underwhelmed but never whelmed …). Or as the MC said: the course record on Princes is safe …

Pete Needham posted an excellent front 9 (39 gross). He was seriously rattled on the 10tth (an ugly 7). But he recovered remarkably with a birdie on the next hole. That enabled him to record a score of 38 (gross) on the back 9. Good enough for a score of 78 (gross – 64 Nett). 3 people finish 1 shot back on 65 (Nett). Richard had the best back 9 of those 3. Toby took advantage of Cuneyt’s mishaps on the 13th to take 4th. Peter F finishes 5th. Last year’s winner put up a valiant defence of her title by claiming 6th. Lots of birdies on the 4th hole (that hole played as SI 18 today). Jay managed to record 4 birdies today. Finally Richard B eagled the 9th.

Considering the amount of recent rain, Prince’s was quite playable with wet mud in just a few places.

Overall, the course played more difficult than expected with a PCC of +2.
No fewer than 4 payers returned 36 points with Hieu Van the winner on bck 3 countback from Pete M (another good consistent score), Wonil and Cuneyt ( who must rue blob on par 3 4th. Paul Kammerling tied with Cuneyt for front 9 – 18 points.

Ross led the chase on 34 points from Tony K and Paul K; congrats to Ross on securing 4th men’s Sunday eagle at 17th – as per attached.