2018 5 Club Shield 26th. May
5 Club Shield 26th. May 2018
This years’ competition was hotly contested and with competitors course management tested like never before given the need to improvise with their 5 weapons of choice .
2017 had seen last years’ champion produce 87/20/67 ( a round 6 shots better than his best round with a full set of clubs ) ... scarcely believable to this observer that he could find such improvement !
That said , ‘Best in show’ and champion 5 Club golfer for this year was our reigning Club champion Stewart Royle (72/4/68) whose consistent high standard of play left him 2 under after a superb gross par front 9 ... two more net birdies saw him to -4 for his handicap before successive net bogeys on 15 and 16 brought him back within reach of the pack . A crucial closing birdie on the final hole made the difference and gave him his first major of the season despite recently losing a shot to his handicap after his recent strong showing in the Monthly Medal earlier this month ... as in last years competition, Stewart’s 72 was curiously his best round of the season (maintaining last years trend) despite having 9 fewer clubs to choose from !
In contrast to the winner , second-placed Lee Lomas (80/11/69) was playing in his first ever Alty competition ... he found himself back in the pack at +3 for his handicap after 8 holes but then produced 10 quality holes on arguably some of our toughest tests to play them 5 under his handicap to finish just one behind ... a fantastic effort given his lack of knowledge for the course !
Nick Alderson (89/19/70) had started poorly with a net double bogey on the 1st. but he rallied well with some steady holes to finish level for his handicap after the front 9 ... a topsy turvy back 9 followed with another net double on 14 putting him out of contention but a birdie on 17 helping to get him to an excellent third place finish !
Michael Bange is another new recruit to Alty and he has started his competitive career with a strong fourth place . He had finished the front 9 at level par for his handicap but he moved into contention after covering 9-14 in a gross 1 over saw him standing on 15th tee at 2 under for his handicap and right in the mix ... sadly successive net bogeys on 15 to 17 pushed him back but a final hole par brought him back to parity for the round ... a great effort !
Special mentions ...
Alty ex-captain Norman Crowther (79/8/71) has started the season well and was in good humour given his excitement at his beloved Liverpool FCs long-awaited CL Final appearance later that day ... after a poor net double bogey start on the 1st., Norman rallied magnificently to catch up 3 shots on the field to end the front 9 on -1 for his handicap ... 5 gross pars in his back 9 were sadly countered by conceding shots on the testing 12th to 15th holes and he finished fifth . Hopefully any members encountering him this week will properly console him after that tragic CL final result ... this observer is confident that the Alty family will ensure he doesn’t ‘walk alone’ in his despair (unlike his team did with their goalkeeper)
Mark Caffrey (88/15/73) had made a superb start and was an incredible 6 under his handicap after the first 8 holes but then had a sequence of poor holes to drop down the leaderboard with a tragic quint-bogey 10 on 15th sadly helping to drag him down to 8th. place ...
Our Alty GC handicap sub-committee member and Trafford Leisure stalwart Jason Denton achieved the rare feat of birdieing two of the par 3s today ( worth a couple of golf ball sleeves ) ! Well done Jason !
