Simon Byford’s golf column: Stowmarket Golf Centre event raises more than £2,000 for the National Autistic Society, Stowmarket ASD Club
The day was organised by Richard and Anita Cook, and there were nine teams in total – each with their own theme.
There was an array of different outfits from panto dames, robbers, superheroes, the Wizard of Oz, Teletubbies, the Cookies, Oddbods, Misfits, sunflowers, sharks and a chicken.
Everyone looked amazing and the fun and laughter could be heard from all over of the golf course, along with some great dancing in the party and refreshment tent on the fifth tee.
Everyone who took part made a huge effort and were so very generous with their donations. A total of £2,300 was raised on the day. We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who made the day a complete success.
England Golf
Recent Bury St Edmunds GC member Tyler Weaver has once again been named in the US-based England Golf squad. Tyler continues to impress the selectors, which will have been helped as he won all three of his matches for Florida State in the NCAA Grand Final.
With the World Amateur Team Championships and of course the Walker Cup on the horizon next season, this will be something to look ahead to for Tyler and his compatriots.
The Suffolk GC
The Suffolk Seniors held the Rabbits vs Tigers competition. This is a low versus high handicap fun competition.
The format was singles Stableford but with the entrants split into two teams. The top three scores on the day were Ian Jonsson, Richard Graves and Alexander MacCormick – all with 33 points. There was no requirement for The Count as this was a team event, but it did mean that the low handicap team (Rabbits) were victorious by four points.
James Laflin continued to collect the winning chips in the Midweek Stableford. His run of recent form made his 34 points a best on the day. John Dale got the nod from The Count when his 28 points was deemed superior to Peter Thomas’. James also topped the Saturday Stabelford with 38 points for a double week victory. Tom Riethoff was second on 36 and Barry Franklin third on 33 points.
In the Sunday Stableford Tony Hurst scored 36 points for first place. Gavin Hogg was second on 32 and Terry Hall third on 30.
The Seniors were at it again with a Greensomes event. Richard Graves took top spot this time with his Partner Derek Bloomfield. The Count adjudged their 35 points as better than Alan Horne & Rob Kennedy’s. Andrew Rudd & Neil Mawson were third on 33.
Bury St Edmunds
The Scratch Trophy is seen by the low handicappers at Bury as one to aim for. The top eight scratch scores from the club championships are eligible and the final was contested by Craig Nurse & Ben Whittaker.
The 18 hole-final saw some amazing golf, with both players scoring two-under-par, leaving the match all square after the full round.
This led to a sudden-death play-off. Ben Whittaker pushed his tee shot out of bounds, while Craig played the hole in regulation to secure his par. Unfortunately for Craig, Ben wasn’t done. After his three off the tee, he then completed the 514-yard par five in two more shots.
His ‘second ball eagle’ meant the hole was halved in five and the play-off continued. Whether this caused Craig to miss the second green or not we don’t know, but Ben made a three to Craig’s four to secure the trophy and one of Bury’s major trophies.
Watson Quaich
The Watson Quaich is a men’s 4BBB Stableford competition, to signal the end of the captain/pro series of matches.
It is always followed by a gala dinner with PGA head professional Matt Alderton giving a speech regarding the preceding season of challenge matches.
This speech gives Matt free licence (for one night only) to say what he really wants to regarding the players he has faced, and is not one to miss. On the day, the scoring was excellent, with 16 pairings scoring 40 points or more.
Two pairs returned 44 points, but unfortunately neither pair eligible for the win due to insufficient cards during the preceding year. This meant there was a serious job for The Count, separating five pairs on 43 points.
Alan Garrett & Chris Whyatt were the top result after the back nine calculations, and it was double victory for Alan as he was the only person to back his pairing in the accompanying Tote sweep, picking up the entire £140+ pot.
The Juniors held the last of their Sunday series this past week, meaning that the Pepper Shield (0-18hcap) and Nichols Trophy (19-36) would be decided. These are Order Of Merit (OOM) Trophies where points are accumulated on attendance and results in Sunday Medals/Stablefords. On the day itself, Shae Baldwin scored a fantastic 40 points to take the win, Louis Sturman was second on 35 by way of The Count ahead of Johnathan Points also on 35.
This meant the Pepper Shield went to Louis Sturman with 22 OOM points across the season, and the Nichols Trophy to William Cobbald on 19 OOM points.
Thetford GC
Thetford Golf Club held its summer season-ending event with the Bill Jennings Trophy. Entry was restricted to those who had won a club competition in the last 12 months.
The prestigious title was won by Peter Allott with a net 69, pipping Martin Jackson on 70, and a gaggle of others on 71.
The course was again the star, dry underfoot when many others in the area have suffered with the recent wet weather. It bodes well for the future, something Thetford has an eye on with a soon to be launched Winter Series of Opens,
Thetford Winter Series
Finally, this week a little promotion for an excellent series of events. The Winter Series at Thetford Golf Club features five open events run from November to March.
The events take place on Thursday’s and Fridays. The competition is open to all, men, ladies, pros, amateurs and is run on a pairs basis (4BBB). It’s a great opportunity to play winter golf on one of the top courses in the region, enjoy coffee and a bacon roll to start, with a one course meal to finish.
A real winter-warmer. To find out more, go to norfolkpro-amleague.co.uk.
Have a great golfing week.
