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.

A small field didn’t enjoy the best playing conditions. The rain of the last couple of days rendered the course really muddy. That mud, thicker air and changing winds reduced the carry on numerous holes. On top of that the greens were too wet to get cut. So judging the pace of the greens was delicate too.

The early starters take (most of) the honours today. Joe recorded a timely birdie on the 18th. That enabled him to record 20pts on the back 9. Add that to 19pts on the front 9 and you get today’s winning score. Ross, another early starter, had a solid front 9 (20pts). But an ugly bogey on the 18th prevented him from leapfrogging Joe. Pralab put together a solid round to claim 3rd (good thing the score of his 1st round was upheld – more on that later). PaulG is the last to earn some credits. Mayumi is first lady today. Believe that Peter Goodall managed the feat of recording more birdies than pars today …

Aggregate MW Spring Stableford

Pralab was the most consistent of the field over 2 rounds. 37pts today and 38pts last week make the winning score. Kim lost the plot over 4 holes on the back 9 and finishes 2nd. 

The weather forecast was pretty much spot on and the early starters had the best of the day. Morning sunshine gave way to heavy rain showers blown through on a strong south-westerly wind. After about 2 hours rain, rounds finished in the dry (just about), with dark stormy skies of rain, hail and thunder all around.

Last-minute entrant Cuneyt Sazer stole the day with a stunning 43 points, 22 out and 21 in, in fact he had 29 points after the first 11 holes. Consistent throughout but his one-putting from distance on 5 or 6 holes was the backbone to his score – a priviledge to behold. Rannesh (37 points) came 2nd with birdies on the first 2 holes and an unlikely ‘blob’ on the 18th. Pralab had the best of the weather and probably finished before it even started to rain, his 35 points makes him 3rd and last of the sweep winners.

Payout £9, £5, £3

Conditions were fairly tricky. The field experienced little roll on the fairways and receptive greens. There was also quite a bit of casual water. And it looks like swirling winds became stronger during the course of the day. The early starters must have faced the occasional drizzle. Based on the scoring the late starters fared better in today’s conditions.

Richard N and Pralab were among the late starters. But both of them had solid rounds. Richard N’s back 9 was excellent (22pts). That score enabled him to squeeze out today’s win. Yours truly’s round was the mirror image of RN: 22pts (front 9) and 17pts (back 9). He had a huge slice of good luck on the 10th. But that was offset by a freak incident with the pin on the 16th. His bogey putt hit the bottom of the pin and bounced straight back to him. Russell had 3 birdies on the front 9 to take 4th place. Ian and Stephen complete the Top6. First lady/woman today is Gina.

All to play for in Round 2 next week.

The first few holes were played in a very light misty rain, then we had over 2 hours of serious rain, and at about 1pm the sun came out, although by then there were puddles on fairways, paths and some of the early greens – a typical early Spring day at Richmond Park.

Five teams competed in the Texas Scramble competition, all teams scored well and the result was very close, with only 3 stableford points separating all 5 teams.

Top spot, on a 49 points countback, was the team of Jayne Maxwell, Susan Smith, Brian Ransom and Cuneyt Sazer. They had a total of 6 birdies, including a stretch of 3 consecutive birdies on the 15th, 16th and 17th, and just one bogey (on the 8th). Apparently Cuneyt really found his touch with the putter, which wasn’t behaving for him 2 days earlier on Duke’s.

Also with 49 points, in 2nd place, was the team of Cheryl Woodhouse, Uli katte, James Deissler and Seymour Laird, who had 4 birdies and no bogeys, but a weaker back 9 than the winning team.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the format and sweep payout to the winning team (£4.50 each).

Spring golf is edging closer but the field still faced swirling winds and chilly temperatures. At least the fairways offered occasional roll, but once off line you did run the risk of a plugged lie.

Run away winner today is Richard Marriott. Despite a blip on the 6th he recorded an outstanding score of 64 (Net). A duo finished 4 shots back. Leader in the clubhouse Joe posted an excellent 79 (gross – 68 Net). He was matched by his playing partner Darren. But Joe had the better back 9 (Darren’s back 9 was quite volatile).  Another duo finishes on 69 (Net). Richard Owen and Alex Braun claim the last of the payouts. First woman of the day is early bird Gina. Lowest gross score was posted by Jay, A word of sympathy for our Gordon Foster Captain Uli. He was humming along nicely. But disaster struck on the 14th.  He had a bit of good fortune finding his tee-shot. But his conservative approach to get his ball back into play backfired. Out of sympathy the report will not mention his score on that hole.

Below see Best Score Analysis and Competition Scoring Analysis (looks like our “Amen Corner” lived up to its reputation again).

A pleasant Spring day with some sunshine and temperature nudging 14C for the 3/4 player team Waltz where where best stableford points scored best 1 1st hole then best 2 2nd then 3 third and so on.

The team of Richard Inglis, Justin Wildman, Will Balakrishnan, Kevin Prendergast came out on top with 86 points – 44 on the back 9
Runners-up a point behind on 85 were Kerry Sargeant, Toby Hunt, Justin Bradford, Alan King
– 43 out and 42 back with a very useful 10 points on 18th.

Heavy overnight rain gave way to brighter conditions as the day went on and the Duke’s course was back to its muddy self.

The clear winner (35 points) was Rannesh Jansari, out in Game 1 with James Deissler, who came 2nd (32 points). Rannesh had the best back 9 (20 points) and best scores on the Par 4s. Pralab Barua had the best front 9 (16 points) and was the best on the Par 3s (paring them all). Uli Katte had the only Birdie of the day, on the 10th.
Sweep to top 2 (£6 & £2)