1 Issue No. 18 November 2009 Editor: John Salter It won’t be long now! Just look at the two photographs. The one on the left shows the scaffolding being erected in April 2009, the one below was taken on November 5 – no intentional significance in the date! – and you might think that not much had happened in 7 months. But you’d be wrong! A lot has been going on behind the shell. Most of the windows and doors have been installed, all first-fix electrics, mechanical works and plumbing have been completed, the new clock tower has been finished and the upstairs bar, the kitchen and the washroom facilities have been installed. The plastering of all the walls and ceilings is nearing completion, ready for painting, and the new door frames are being installed. The builders are still promising handover, the week prior to Christmas. But what is that circular mass of concrete in front of the Clubhouse? It’s an ornamental pond, which will provide an impressive feature as you walk up the path towards the new building. Zac Thompson says: “We’re in the last quarter of the reconstruction and I anticipate ‘opening the doors’ to our members on Saturday, January 9 th to a much improved facility. We have invested more money that the agreed insurance payout in order to acquire a larger functioning space and a higher spec. build. Once again, I’d like to thank all senior members for their patience during the period of the re-build”. We can’t wait to move into our new Monday and Thursday “home” and I’m sure we’ll all agree that the marquee has sufficiently serviced our needs during this short interim period. Features: P2: Captain’s Report P4: Francis Toole Profile P5: Competition Sec. Report P6: Hand/Cap.Sec. Report P9: My Passion is…….. by David Mansell P11: Rules Quiz
Transcript
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Issue No. 18 November 2009
Editor: John Salter
It won’t be long now!
Just look at the two photographs. The one on the left shows the scaffolding being erected in April 2009, the one below was taken on November 5 – no intentional significance in the date! – and you might think that not much had happened in 7 months. But you’d be wrong! A lot has been going on behind the shell.
Most of the windows and doors have been installed, all first-fix electrics, mechanical works and plumbing have been completed, the new clock tower has been finished and the upstairs bar, the kitchen and the washroom facilities have been installed. The plastering of all the walls and ceilings is nearing completion, ready for painting, and the new door frames are being installed. The builders are still promising handover, the week prior to Christmas. But what is that circular mass of concrete in front of the Clubhouse? It’s an ornamental pond, which will provide an impressive feature as you walk up the path towards the new building. Zac Thompson says: “We’re in the last quarter of the reconstruction and I anticipate ‘opening the doors’ to our members on Saturday, January 9th to a much improved facility. We have invested more money that the agreed insurance payout in order to acquire a larger functioning space and a higher spec. build. Once again, I’d like to thank all senior members for their patience during the period of the re-build”. We can’t wait to move into our new Monday and Thursday “home” and I’m sure we’ll all agree that the marquee has sufficiently serviced our needs during this short interim period.
Features: P2: Captain’s Report
P4: Francis Toole Profile
P5: Competition Sec. Report
P6: Hand/Cap.Sec. Report
P9: My Passion is……..
by David Mansell
P11: Rules Quiz
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Here is Michael Taylor’s last InPutt report as Seniors’ Captain. Hello to all Seniors. It doesn’t seem long since I took on the job of being your Captain, a job I have enjoyed immensely. I have never carried out anything like this before but I am glad I did it. It has been a pleasure and the one thing that makes it so is because you Seniors are such a friendly and cheerful bunch of people. Long may this continue. Now I want to thank a number of people. First of all, I want to thank all of you for supporting me in my year of office. Then, my thanks to all the committee for their help and support and finally, to all the staff of Pavenham Park, who, with Zac at their head, have been very helpful to the Seniors during these difficult times Now let me review what has gone on this year. First of all, there was the Winter League. We had very good support from you all when fielding teams, home and away. Although we didn’t do as well as in previous years, the commitment from you all was always there. (Must do better next year). Next, the Summer matches with the other clubs. This was an outstanding year for us, as the results were the best we could have hoped for;
23 matches played, 14 won, 8 lost and 1 drawn. So all in all a very good result. I have to apologise for some of my jokes but I did get a laugh from some of them. We had praise from all the clubs we visited, home and away, for the hospitality and friendly attitude of all our teams. My Captain’s Day couldn’t have been better. We had a very good entry, the weather was brilliant, (ordered specially) and from all your comments, you all enjoyed the day. We raised a staggering amount of money for my chosen charity of the year, The Royal British Legion - £345:00, well done to everyone. And to all who supported me on the charity walk I did for the same charity, that was an additional £300:00. Regarding the tragic Club-house fire, it was nice to see that as soon as your help was asked for, there you were all helping out, collecting cups and trophies and taking them home to clean and restore. In fact the President of the Club, Chris Foster, made a point of coming in person to thank all the Seniors for their help at one of our roll-ups. One senior committee member who did a lot for the club during the early difficult times and was thanked by the Club Captain and by Zac, was Peter Hasler, who volunteered to keep all the handicaps for the whole Club going, until the computers were up and running after the fire. Thanks Peter. The support the committee has had from you this year has been extremely good, with figures of 45 to 50+ players at our roll-ups and even more for some of the competitions. The one thing I have been very pleased to see working well has been the communication between us, since the introduction of the e-mail bulletins and results, keeping you all informed. It’s nice to see so many of you are now looking forward to this communication, and I am sure this will continue with John Ayers at the helm. However, we are conscious that not all of you are comfortable with e-mails, so we will bear this in mind and continue using the notice-board and the communications folder. The other new innovation that has been brought in with Peter Hasler’s and Lee Pepper’s help, is the putting-in of all roll-up cards for handicap reviews. There were a few sceptics at first, but I think that now you have all seen the regular movement of the handicaps, we are all benefiting from more realistic and accurate handicaps. Well that’s all I have to report for my year. I do hope you have all had a good year and as I have said before, I would not have missed it for the world. We have a very vibrant and strong Seniors’ Section, the envy of many clubs around, and let’s all strive to make it even better next year under John Ayers’ leadership. Thanks again for the privilege of letting me be your Captain.
Knockout Cup P Julyan J Brown R Laing C. Berry F Williams Richard Day
Plate Cup L Dormer T Boittier J Salter J. Fossey P Metcalf
Three Club Trophy
John Moore
Freddie Pack
Robin Mowe
Michael Taylor
Jack Brown Robin Cooper
Yellow Ball Team Trophy
J Brown J Umney J Middleton
J Hill J Parrott B Farman
B Farman S Pitts B Sammon
A. David J. Fossey Joe Quinn
R Cooper Neil Platt Tony Asher
Dick Holman Mike Lacey Bill Letch
Captain’s Day Trophy
P Archer/ R Holman
V Rolton/ J Salter
P Julyan R. de Branco & P. Law
Ted Hill Joe Quinn
B. Farman (Div1)
G. Day (Div 2)
Seniors’ Champion
Tony Boittier
Tony Boittier
Ron Laing Mike Lacey Mike Lacey Mike Lacey
Seniors’ net Champion
John Umney
Paul Archer
Alllen Woodward
Joe Quinn Frank Williams
Andy David
Brian Farman Vase
J Brown/ B Bolton
D Davies/ P Julyan
A David/ P Metcalf
G. Lee/ M. Lacey
George Holt Mike Rogers
Stewart Wood Roy Davies
Merit League Division 1
Stewart Wood
Shaun O’Reilly
John Salter Tom Taylor Mike Rogers Mike Rogers
Merit League Division 2
Tom Taylor Peter Metcalf
Peter Metcalf
Peter Metcalf Robin Cooper
Roger Burrows
Merit League Ladies
Nannette. Taylor
Nanette Taylor
Nanette Taylor
Pairs Knockout
B. Farman/ T. Hill
Mike Rogers Mike Taylor
_
Division 1 medals: Mike Lacey (April); Mike Lacey (May); Roy Davies (June); Neil Platt (July); Roly Winser (August); Mike Lacey (September); Peter Law (October)
Division 2 medals: Richard Day (April); Tony Asher (May); Roger Burrows (June); Geoff Day (July); David Mansell (August); John Salter (September); Nanette Taylor (October)
Some golfing highlights since the July edition of InPutt.
Tony Hopkins’ hole-in-one on the 8th
on August 24
Jack Brown’s eagle on the 1st on August 17.
John Economides scored 48 points in the September 17 stableford roll-up. Andy David scored
40. Beware Greeks bearing golf clubs.
Peter Hasler scored 47 points in the September 21 Stableford. Fancy having to cut yourself as
handicap secretary. Rather like self-flagellation.
Glyn Lee – 46 points in a roll-up on August 17.
Robin Cooper won the 3-club competition with 40 points – a score not matched this summer with
a full set of clubs!
Seven 2s won on August 24 (poor Hugh Josty our treasurer had apoplexy).
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Francis Toole has had a long association with the Club. Here is his pen portrait. Born in Accrington in May 1933, I had some thrilling times as a schoolboy watching Accrington Stanley. My first job when leaving school was with the Railways. In those days we still had horses and carts for local delivery. I started work at 5 am and often walked to work with the local knocker-upper at the start of his round. You could say I was “the knocker-upper’s knocker upper”! By 7 am everyone was awakened by the march over the cobbled streets of the 1000 pairs of iron-shod clogs of the weavers on their way to the mills. Them were the days!! My National Service started in 1951 and I was posted with the RAF to the Suez Canal Zone. Quite a few PPGC Seniors served their National Service there at about the same time. You can tell who they are – sand still falls out of their shoes in the locker room! On being demobbed, I returned to the Railways and eventually transferred to London. In 1956, I took a two-year secondment as a travelling auditor in the finance section of the East African Railways and Harbours, Nairobi and stayed there for 10 years. One attraction was 6 months’ paid leave and home passage every 3 years. The main railway went from Mombasa to the Congo border in Uganda and as there were very few hotels on the route, my accommodation, when I was away from HQ, was a railway coach fully fitted out with lounge, bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and staff quarters. Many weeks at a time were spent living in the coach, moving from station to station. I was also responsible for the steamers and ports on Lake Victoria and Lake Albert and this took many weeks. The Uganda Nile was served by a paddle steamer. I often had views of Mt. Kilimanjaro, which I never climbed but I
did fish in its trout streams. As you can see from the picture taken in
1956, I also caught 35 pound Nile perch in Lake Albert. (I’m the one in the middle behind the bar!)
Janet and I were married in Nairobi in 1964. When we met, Janet was a nursing sister in Dar es Salaam hospital. Our daughter Anne was born in Nairobi. We returned to England in the late 1960s. I joined Lloyds Bank for a few years before returning to transport, this time with the NFC ( National Freight Corporation). I started at Oxford, moved to London and eventually to Bedford, when the HQ moved here. We moved to Pavenham in 1983 and have enjoyed all the time we have been here. I watched the golf course being built and joined when it opened. I think I was one of Zac’s first customers when he opened the Office on that Saturday morning in 1994. The practice range was the first area to open and this was quite crowded on occasions. We couldn’t wait for the Course proper to open, eager to put into use all the skills we had honed on the practice range! Brian Houchin started the Seniors Section in 1995 as Captain. I took on the Secretary/Treasurer job, which in due course was split. I remained Treasurer until 2003 and am still called upon to serve the Club in my role as auditor for the Seniors’ Section. I very much enjoy being a member at PPGC, especially with the Seniors. Long may it last!
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Jim Middleton, Competitions’ Secretary, looks back on another busy year. We are now at the end of yet another season and each summer seems to go more and more quickly as we get older. Recently we drew up next year’s fixture list and it is now being printed by John Parrott ready for the AGM. The list is mainly dictated by the matches, we then fit in a medal and major competitions for each month and finally roll-ups and other games. The Turkey Chase and AGM are on Thursday December 3rd and there will be a shotgun start at 8.30am. The treasurer will be collecting the £5 membership for next season on the day. Following some representations, we are keeping the £10-or-more present for each player to bring, but it is to be UNWRAPPED. This will enable players to choose a present from the table in the knowledge of what it is – like raffles often operate. In addition, the top four players who win the turkey or M&S vouchers will go last and have the choice from the final four presents. We also have the chicken chase on Monday 14th December, but there seems to be no definition of what a chicken chase actually is. We are currently getting well over 50 players turning out when the weather is good and this is really more than our tee times allow. However Lee, Carl and Steve have been very helpful in letting us use tees in addition to the 1st to get everybody away, so we can finish as quickly as possible. For some competitions we have been able to book three starts to include the 10th, which again helps us. If you do start on the 10th or 16th make sure you give full consideration to players who are on a full round and let them through where appropriate. Also, if you are starting on the 10th, pop in to the “clubhouse” to let the shop know you are going to the 1st, so your group can be merged with any other players who are booked in for a full round. We had the best ever entry for the Seniors’ Championship with 35 players completing both rounds plus another dozen playing one of the rounds. Mike Lacey continued his run of good form winning the gross competition with a score of 164 and Andy David took the nett prize with a score of 138. The plate knockout final is still to be played between Mick Bellamy and myself. The Summer Merit League is now finished and the results are as follows:-
Division 1 – 1st Mike Rogers, 2nd Mike Lacey and 3rd Michael Taylor Division 2 – 1st Roger Burrows, 2nd Brian Bolton and 3rd Andy David Ladies League – 1st Nanette Taylor
(The other main competition results for the year are on page 3).
So that’s it – the end of another season and only the thrill of the Winter Eclectic and Winter League matches against Rushden, Colmworth and Colworth House to look forward to. Happy Christmas from Robin and myself to all players and thanks for not hassling us too much. Quote by Arnold Palmer:
“Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated. It satisfies the soul and frustrates the
intellect. It is, at the same time, rewarding and maddening and, without a doubt, the greatest
game ever invented”.
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Peter Hasler, Handicaps’ Secretary, brings us up to date on some changes, which have affected us. Since the decision to follow the guidance in the CONGU Unified Handicapping System and include all qualifying competitions in the calculation of handicaps, there has been a noticeable reduction in the complaints about Seniors’ handicaps! As you know, this has been in operation this Summer and, as a result, handicaps have moved both up and down to reflect playing ability. The problem about “reduction only” competitions has therefore gone and the majority of Seniors seem happy with the changes. Where possible, the scores during the Winter will also be entered as qualifying competitions even when pick-and-place rules apply, in accordance with the CONGU recommendations. If conditions preclude reasonable scores, it is likely that the calculated CSS will be high enough to make the competition a “reductions only” competition. A secondary feature of entering all the Seniors’ Competitions on the Club computer is that results can be viewed on the internet at: www.MasterScoreboard.co.uk/ClubIndex.php?CWID=2221 If that is too difficult for you, go to www.masterscoreboard.co.uk and enter pavenham in the search box. Clicking on Pavenham Park will then take you to our Club page. There you can view the latest Handicap List and the results of all competitions entered on the computer. You may notice that the results for the stableford competitions show the scores 2 points less than you calculated. This is because the official way of calculating the results in mixed competitions (men & women), where the SSS differs by 2, is to reduce men’s handicaps by 2 rather than increasing ladies’ by 2. We do it the other way round because it involves less work. The net result is, however, the same. Whilst on the subject, I would like to explain the reason for the changes we have made to the way ladies’ scores are calculated. We used to just add 2 points to the ladies’ scores at the end of the round. Now we give the ladies 2 extra shots on their handicaps. This was because it was felt fairer that the ladies should earn the points at the appropriate holes rather than being given them gratuitously.
A man wanted a miracle declared because the bread he had buttered had fallen on the carpet,
butter side up.
After much debate between the Pope and his cardinals, the man was told it was no miracle
because he had buttered the bread on the wrong side.
Important Notice
PAVENHAM PARK GOLF CLUB- SENIORS’ SECTION
NOTICE OF THE 15th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Notice is hereby given, that the fifteenth Annual General Meeting of the Pavenham Park
Golf Club Seniors’ Section, will be held at the Golf Club on:
Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 1415 hours (approximately)
Please attend if you can. The full Notice and Agenda is on the notice board.
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A man was beaten up and left in the gutter, bleeding and in pain. The first passer-by averted his
gaze, as did the second. No one wanted to know, until a do-gooder passed by. She looked down
at him and said: “Tut, tut. Whoever did this needs help”.
During the year, we play a number of competitions, for which trophies are awarded. Most of these have been donated by members of the section, many of them past captains, and as quite a few of us rarely have the honour of handling these coveted prizes, this is what they look like.
Autumn Shield
Presented by D Lawrence 1995
A & T Trophy
Presented by Robert D Aston and Francis Toole
1997
Seniors’ Captain’s Day Trophy
Presented by Bryan Houchin 1995
The J P Trophy
Presented by John P Parrott 2002
Seniors’ Merit League
Division One Presented by Michael Thomas
2000
Seniors’ Merit League
Division Two Presented by
John Parrott and Peter Daniel 2000
Pair’s Crystal Trophy
Presented by Brian Farman 2004
S J O’Reilly Cup Presented by Shaun J O’Reilly
1997
Seniors’ Club Champion –
Best Gross Presented by Bob Morey and Colin Tyers
2003
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Seniors’ Club Champion –
Best Nett Presented by Peter Hasler
2003
Seniors’ Knock-out Trophy Purchased from Section Funds
1999
Summer Salver
Presented by Alister Kinnon 1997
3-Club Competition Trophy
Presented by Tom Taylor 1997
Yellow Ball Team Trophy
Presented by Frank Webber and Peter Planterose
1997
The 10
th Anniversary Trophy
Presented by the Seniors’ Section 1999
When nature calls………
Approaching the 17th hole on the occasion of the Yellow Ball Trophy on August 20, one of the three players decided he had to pay an emergency visit to the loo. His partners thought this meant a quick visit into the woods, but no, this meant a quick scamper back to the temporary latrines. He played his drive and then rushed off, while his partners guided his trolley to his ball in the middle of the fairway. Puffing a little, he arrived back and played his second shot onto the green and walked off with a birdie - and the three behind had not even made it onto the tee. His partners had a sneaking feeling that the plums picked on the third hole were the cause of his discomfort!
Friday, January 22, 2010
Venue: The New Clubhouse Full Details are on the notice board
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In our second “past-times and hobbies” article, David Mansell shares his enthusiasm for “mucking about in boats”, with a fascinating trip on the Thames.
My wife Carol and I purchased a second-hand, 30-foot narrow-boat in 1999. We have spent many very enjoyable hours cruising the canals and rivers and have made some wonderful friendships. When our friends Jo and Tom offered us the use of their 45ft boat Foxtrot, which at the time was moored on the Thames, we were delighted, as we had always talked of cruising the Thames. We boarded Foxtrot at Reading and over the following week we cruised downstream to Windsor, back upstream to Oxford before handing her back fully intact. The River Thames is one of the most picturesque rivers in the country. Our first and most striking observation was the width of the Thames, especially after the narrow 14ft canals that we normally use. The birds, the peaceful water meadows, where wildlife abound, the rich variety of animals, and all manor of ducks and geese, make cruising the Thames a real pleasure. Add to that the odd stop or three at the local riverside pubs. During recent years the general opinion is that there has been a decline in privately- owned boats on the Thames, with less hire bases than there used to be. But also, during the last few years there has been a good increase in narrow boat traffic. This in part is to do with the introduction of the Environment Agency combined gold licence, for the Thames and the Canal system, ( the standard British Waterways licence only covers the canals), but without doubt, a good percentage of narrow-boat owners who I have spoken to, who have not cruised the Thames before, have found it unbelievably idyllic, and easy to cruise. The Thames can be a real pleasure to cruise in any weather. There are many historical sights and buildings almost throughout its entire length. The larger towns of Oxford, Reading, Maidenhead, Windsor and Richmond, provide a good shopping break and the opportunity to investigate at which local to have lunch. St Johns Lock, Lechlade is the first lock on the Thames, approx 234 feet above sea level. The last lock on the non-tidal stretch is Teddington, approx 14 feet above sea level. We really enjoyed the fact that the locks are all manned by lock keepers on the Thames, unlike the canal locks. Once the boat was in the lock, the engine had to be switched off, the ropes thrown up to the lock keeper who tied her up until the gates opened. Many of the lock keepers keep the grounds surrounding the lock in lovely condition and most are a blaze of colour. The height of bridges varies from just 2.28 metres at Osney, above Oxford, the lowest bridge on the Thames, to 9.8 meters at Maidenhead Railway Bridge. The bridges vary in design from the typical road or Rail Bridge to the very ornate. The statutory speed limit upstream of Teddington is 4 miles an hour, over the riverbed. The speed limit below Teddington on the tideway, but above Wandsworth Bridge, is 10 mph and below Wandsworth bridge to the estuary there is no speed limit. About a mile upstream from Oxford, between Godstow and Medley, is Port Meadow, a large expanse of meadowland that has grazing cows, horses, and gaggles of geese of many varieties, together with ducks and occasionally sheep. It’s like a wild-life park. Whilst cruising through Oxford, there are public moorings near Folly Bridge, just a short walk from the centre of the town. Eight miles further on is Abingdon, with plenty of moorings on both sides of the river, just a short walk into the town centre. From here we visited the lovely 13th century church of St Helens. As we cruised the Thames it was fascinating to see the different type of craft, especially the typical wooden Thames launch, some even propelled by steam and the occasional expensive gin-swigging
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palace. We also had a talk with three women in a boat - an antique wooden rowing boat. They told us they were tracing the steps of the TV series three men in a boat. Henley lives up to expectations with the impressive rowing clubs, the many and varied rowing boats training for the forthcoming regatta. It feels very awkward when you are cruising in a 14-ton steel craft, but being overtaken by these small sleek feather weight boats. Some of the smaller towns and villages, are interesting stopovers, for example Benson, has a very nice riverside café on the portside going downstream. From here approximately three miles away is Ewelme complete with watercress beds and a very old Church. Then there is Clifton Hampden and a very nice pub the Barley Mow, it is here that the author of the Three Men in a Boat stayed whilst writing his book. Goring, Pangbourne, and a host of others, all offer a very worthwhile break.
Windsor is a lovely town to look around and the photograph shows Windsor looking from the rear of Foxtrot. The Castle and grounds are well worth a visit. We had no problem finding a mooring, with a pleasant walk across the bridge to Eton, where some of the buildings date from 1420. The railway station at Windsor is now filled with a variety of shops and pavement cafes. There is also the Theatre Royal, Windsor racecourse, and lots other interesting things to pass the time of day. Hampton Court is a very popular mooring, but they can
be in short supply. We were unable to moor up and could not therefore visit the Palace and its attractions. A short distance downstream from Hampton Court is Kingston-Upon- Thames. A free-of-charge jetty mooring gave us the opportunity to shop at the local market which is open every day of the week. Teddington, about thirty minutes downstream from Kingston, is the largest lock system on the whole of the river and marks the end of the non-tidal Thames. The Port of London Authority controls the tidal river downstream from this point. Many large craft use the tidal stretch downstream of Teddington. This short but most enjoyable cruise has made us determined to return to the Thames. The next time we plan to take more time, be ambitious and conquer the tidal section, even if it means taking up the challenge in our own 30ft narrow boat.
I've sure gotten old! I've had two bypass surgeries, a hip replacement, new knees, fought prostate cancer and diabetes . I'm half blind. Can't hear anything quieter than a jet engine. Take 40 different medications that make me dizzy, flatulent and subject to blackouts. Have bouts of dementia. Have poor circulation. Hardly feel my hands and feet anymore. Can't remember if I'm 85 or 92. Have lost all my friends, but, thank God, I still have my driver's licence.
If you have a medical condition, which may require emergency treatment on the golf course and you carry this treatment with you, you can obtain a label, as illustrated above, which you can put onto your golf bag.
Ask John Salter for one.
Name
Complaint
Medication
Location
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Arun Hay, our golf rules expert, poses some situations for holes 15-16 and invites you to say what you would do. Hole 15 A player's ball lies several feet directly behind the Ian Poulter Rock in the
rough. The rock does not physically interfere with the player's stance or the area of his intended swing. However, the rock bothers the player mentally. Is the player entitled to relief under Rule 24-2b?
a. Yes b. No
Answer b: No. See Rule 24-2a - Interference by an immovable obstruction occurs when a ball lies in or on the obstruction, or when the obstruction interferes with the player’s stance or the area of his intended swing. If the player’s ball lies on the putting green, interference also occurs if an immovable obstruction on the putting green intervenes on his line of putt. Otherwise, intervention on the line of play is not, of itself, interference under this Rule. Hole 16 After mis-clubbing on the 16th tee, player A’s ball lands in the bunker. After raking the bunker should he replace the rake in or outside the bunker? There is not a perfect answer for the position of rakes, but on balance it is felt there is less likelihood of an advantage or disadvantage to the player if rakes are placed outside of bunkers. It may be argued that there is more likelihood of a ball being deflected into or kept out of a bunker if the rake is placed outside the bunker. It could also be argued that if the rake is in the bunker it is most unlikely that the ball will be deflected out of the bunker. However, in practice, players who leave rakes in bunkers frequently leave them at the side which tends to stop a ball rolling into the flat part of the bunker, resulting in a much more difficult shot than would otherwise have been the case. This is most prevalent at a course where the bunkers are small. When the ball comes to rest on or against a rake in the bunker and the player must proceed under Rule 24-1, it may not be possible to replace the ball on the same spot or find a spot in the bunker which is not nearer the hole – see Decision 20-3d/2. If rakes are left in the middle of the bunker the only way to position them is to throw them into the bunker and this causes damage to the surface. Also, if a rake is in the middle of a large bunker it is either not used or the player is obliged to rake a large area of the bunker resulting in unnecessary delay. Therefore, after considering all these aspects, it is recommended that rakes should be left outside bunkers in areas where they are least likely to affect the movement of the ball. The Plumber’s Mistake One of our Seniors was having some plumbing work done. The plumber was clearing a space in the garage and picked up a golf club that was in the way and, looking for somewhere to put it, deposited it in a golf bag. The following day, the Senior picked up the golf bag and during his round noticed he had one too many clubs in it. Fortunately, the error was not too serious, but had it happened a week later, it could have been, because he had a prize-winning round and he would have had to declare it null and void. Did the plumber knowingly put the club there? He is, after all, himself a golfer.
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To try and reward those seniors who turn up week after week yet never, or seldom, win a prize in the Roll-up, a new competition was suggested at the beginning of this year by Tony Finch as a one-off event. Members had to play a minimum of 12 rounds to qualify and those finishing outside the top three places up to and including 23rd place received points based upon their position. For example the player finishing in 4th place in the Roll-up received 1 point, 5th place 2 points and so on to 23rd place, when 20 points were awarded. Tony recorded the scores and kept a running total and an analysis of the results revealed some interesting facts:
• 81 Seniors took part in at least one qualifying event
• 49 Seniors competed in the minimum 12 events
• 29 different Seniors finished in the top three of the 12 qualifying events
• 3 Seniors finished in the top 3 of the competition, more than 9 times. The winner is: Frank Bellingham 2nd is: Dick Holman 3rd is: Mike Brock. The winner’s prize will be presented at the AGM. What’s in a name?
If you’re a Senior golfer at Pavenham Park, you have a 1 in 8 chance of being named “John”, as
we currently have 11 golfers with that first name. Our next most popular names are:
• Mike 7
• Peter 6
• David 6
• Brian 4
• Frank 4
• Tony 4
We then have 8 names, all occurring twice: Charles, Derek, Harold, Jean, Robin, Richard,
Stephen and Ted.
That just leaves 33% of our members (29), who will not be confused with anyone else, since their
first names are not duplicated.
When it comes to surnames, there is much less chance of confusion. We have 3 Browns and 3
Taylors and 9 other paired surnames – mostly husband and wife players: Davies, Day, Farman,
Hill, Kirman, Mitchell, Pike, Rolton and Woodward. In other words, 73% of our members have
unique surnames.
Which all goes to prove….you tell me!
Researched and submitted by Hugh Josty
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