It was a chilly start but the sun eventually broke through for a glorious warm day.

Winner of the Bank Holiday Plate was back in form Richard B 41 points with Mike Shabani runner-up 40. Katharina took 3rd on contback g=from Lica for 3rd and 38 points. Ned was best 37 on countbacks from Geoge T and Daniel.

There wer 9 ‘Twos’ recorded. Best front 9 24pts – Luca whilst John A and Katharina best back 22.

Richard B re-featured in birdies report attached – both he and George M had 4.

The rain of the last couple of days created some trouble: there was little roll on the fairways. The rough has grown quite rapidly since the rain made its return. The softer greens created some very welcome grip. But they could’ve done with a better roll. Some men will have been in a bit of a shock to see the white tees moved all the way to the back on 17 and 18.

Today’s Top 4 all seemed to follow the same course of action: get at least 20pts on the back 9. Leader in the clubhouse Joe Goncalves set the bar very high with his 39pts. 3 people came close. Charlie Edwards had an excellent back 9 (23pts) but has to settle for 2nd. First woman today, Gina, is keeping up her good form (save some good shots for the Hawtree …) on her way to 3rd. You guessed right: she scored 20pts on the way in. Richard Young scored 20pts too but the countback moves him into 4th. The 2 players who finished on 36pts both had 17pts on the back 9. Pete’s final six holes were just a bit better. So he takes 5th place.

Only 3 2s were recorded today. All took place on the 10th hole. Looks like Pete Goodall won the Founders Cup with 118pts.

The rain of the last couple of days cancelled out some of the weird bounces that we had grown used to. Greens were also a lot more receptive. Weirdly they seemed to have lost some pace. Soft(er) fairways also meant that there was far less roll (as Gina said so eloquently: The balls are going nowhere …). Think the field must have been rather pleased that the Met Office had it wrong: believe that only the early starters had to deal with some rain. Most of the field could leave the umbrella and waterproofs in the golf bag.

Today’s clear winner is Eliot Kerr. Despite two 7s on the front 9 he was able to record 23pts on the way out. Birdies on 14 and 15 were a nice extension of that excellent front 9. The only reason his margin of victory wasn’t bigger was because of an untimely 6 on the 18th. The MC started slowly, can’t really give another definition for a sequence 5,5,5 and 4 on the first 4 holes. He then steadied himself and despite an ugly 5 on the 18th finished 2nd with 40pts. Alastair Whyte lost to the MC on countback (NR’s on 13 and 17 didn’t help). Peter Goodall is keeping up his excellent form with a score of 39pts. Early starter Nafeez was leader in the clubhouse for a couple of hours with 38pts. Richard Owen and Teddy Holt recorded 37s for 6th and 7th places.

Peter Goodall takes the lead in the Founders Cup standings (115pts). Rick Kimber (113) and Roger Rojas (111) remain within striking distance.

Women

A bit like last week, the result was a surprise to the winner, especially as it included a tee shot fired into the trees and a re-load (on the 7th for an 8), but it wasn’t quite the same resounding win that the men will be reporting on – net 60 versus 71 for Sheena
Think the weather was also a bit of a surprise, although Donna jinxed it on the 10th tee saying that it hadn’t rained. By the 11th we’d donned our rainwear, but overall it was so much better than the forecasters had predicted. But timing is all and I know the later games got a soaking for a few holes.
This time last year we were just coming out of lockdown 1 as we now refer to it, and the grass was very long and lush everywhere with no end of NRs from everyone. After a month of no rain, nature seemed to be going at it with full vigour as the grass was so much longer and more dense off the fairways than it has been – not quite to the level of last year, but then again the greenkeeping staff have been back for a while now.

Men

Forecast rain was not as heavy or prolonged for the May Monthly Medal.
First prize after final Committee scrutiny goes to Richard Inglis 62 with Colm Ivors the deserved 2nd with 63.
3rd was Ant Thomas on back 9 from James Shine and Gunnar 66. Consistent performers Peter G and Brian M returned 67s.

Full marks to Eagle specialist Ross H @ 14.

The event was 2nd round in the GMT in which Ant leads on 132 with Colm on 133, Gunnar 3rd.
NAPGC entrants are depicted with a  tick in the results below.

Looks like the field enjoyed the golfing conditions. Scoring was excellent.

Peter Goodall torched the front 9 for 24pts. Thanks to 19pts on the back 9 he was able to clinch 1st place. Close second was Gina with a very steady round (21pts on front and back 9). Ned Shanklyn came 3rd. But I think he would like to play the back 9 again. NR on 16, eagle on17 and NR on 18. Jay Barker went from zero on Sunday to hero in a matter of 3 days. A gross score of level par giives him 41pts and 4th place. Second woman of the day was Ann Gardner with an excellent score of 41pts. Jon Wilson, Tony Barnett and Julie Ryan complete the Top8. Final note: Keith had the best 9 yesterday (22pts).

Gina takes the lead in Founders Cup round 2 standings just ahead of Keith:

.

Women

That was a bit more like a decent day for golf even if the wind did get rather strong at times, at least it wasn’t bitterly cold although several jumpers went on and off at frequent intervals & despite it being a packed field of RP players the games were moving at a better pace.
The 4-ball who joined up when after 2 cancellations didn’t seem to have any issues in keeping up with the game in front and was no doubt more enjoyable than being in 2-balls and waiting all the time.After the first round of the Committee Cup it’s tight at the top with over a third of the field within 5 shots of each other. Sheena with 38, tops the group by 1 point from Joan and a further 1 from Caroline. The 2 Ja(y)ne’s are next on 34 with Donna & Doreen on 33.
But who knows what will happen in the 2nd round in a couple of weeks – it is all very open.

Men

Breezy, but at last the Arctic air of late had retreated for the May Plate.

Bogey is always a difficult format with no real reward fr birdies – think of it as a restrictve stableford.
All credit then to Ant and Keith – both early starters who slugged it out with Ant the very early clubhouse leader and winner 5 up, justy nipping Keith on the back 6 holes
Saturday player Diilp was 3rd 4up , also on countback from Duncan on back 9 holes. Very creditable 3-Ups followed from Tony K and Neil R.

PCC not computed until overnight so handicap changes not known at present.

Ant’s 3 birdies give him a decided edge in the Sunday birdies tree whilst mention should be made of George T’s storming finish – birdie, birdie birdie. Also a shout out to Brian Ransome who would have clambered aboard Eagle tree for Friday – @ 17th.

Pretty decent conditions for a stroll at the park today. Joe made the most of the conditions. He went out in 39 and came home in 35. He didn’t score worse than 5 on any hole. 8 4’s and 1 3 on the back 9 allow him to post a score of 64 (Net) and make him the clear winner today. Tamas recovered from a 6 on the second hole to record 43 (gross) on the front 9. Thanks to a strong back 9 (38 gross – par on 13 and birdie on 15) he takes 2nd place just 1 shot behind Joe.

MIke Jones’ nerves probably took the better of him towards the end of his rounds. His 6 on the last hole prevent him from finishing better than 3rd. Despite a 6 on the second Charlie was still able to take 4th. When you open your round with a howler (the only correct term for a 7) you can either give in or put it behind you and focus on the rest of the round. Angus managed re-focus and finish 5th with a 68 (net). Ulli, Toby and  Ronnie complete the Top 8. 

Veronica leads through round 2 of the Midweek Grand Medal Trophy

Competitors numbered 85 – almost a record in recent years but swelled by 4 who actually played on Saturday.

Still a chilly wind and not yet spring-like but there was a shower raising brollies for 10 mins.

There was some superb golf for the May ‘Plate’. In his winning 44 points Armi recorded 5 birdies in his level par round; runner-up Ed Hall had 2 ‘blobs’ in his 42 points [20 out, 22 back]. Beaten into countback from Ed was Nick on back 6 holes for his 42 points. Carmelo made a bid, 4th on 41 from Ant, Daniel and Roger 39s. Best 9 went to Sean O’S.

Armis’s and Ant’s birdies made them draw ahead in the detailed Men’s Birdies report attached.

Next fixture should see the courses well-watered by the much needed and forecast rain – then we can complain at the impossible thick rough!

The course conditions proved tricky. Teeing off everybody must have been feeling like Bryson Dechambeau (the extra roll on the fairway was ridiculous at times). On the flip side landing shots into greens proved challenging. And the greens seemed to be speeding up during the course of the day. Perhaps playing (very) early in the morning was the way to go (4 players in the Top 7 went out at the crack of dawn).

 Today’s winner is Aung with a remarkable score of 5 Up His front 9 (4 Up) was excellent. He lost 3 holes on the way in to close the back 9 1 Up. Keith’s movement back to single figure handicap is right on track. A great back 9 (3 Up – he only lost 3 holes today) set him apart from Jim Deissler. Unfortunately Jim pulled out all the stops on the way out (4 Up). Based on the countback rule Keith finishes 2nd and Jim takes the last march on the podium. Diego takes 4th with a strong score of 3 Up. 4 people finish on 2 Up. Gina had the best back 9 of that group (2 Up), Mike Jones was the most consistent (1 Up on front and back 9).

The men’s captain managed to not win a single hole on the back 9. Luckily he was 4 Up on the front 9 (starting birdie-birdie-birdie/his chip on the 3rd almost nearly dropped for an eagle)..

A bitingly cold nor’easter took the shine off what turned out to be another brilliantly sunny day for 85 competitors in the Coronation Cup.

Tidy golf from Rhys on 66 was enough to be 2 clear from Mike H, Jayne M and early starter Russell.

Stats show Nick R and Kerry level on the par 3s with Kerry best back 9, Henry L-B and Ant best front 9.

Just 2 Twos were recorded -by Kerry and rejoiner Ross at 16 and 3 respectively. Ross scores Eagle on his return – well done!

For the men, the round constituted round 1 of The Top Dog Trophy.