Geoff Gibson Trophy 23rd August 2020

Geoff Gibson Trophy contenders

Keith Ralston (77/10/67) has won the second Board Comp of his  season and the 12th of his Alty career with a controlled performance of skill and guile today . Keith started steadily and played the opening couple of holes to his handicap before succumbing to a sloppy bogey on 3 which would prove to be his only reverse of his round . Undaunted , Ralston regrouped immediately and embarked on a brilliant run of holes with successive gains on 4,5,6(birdie) and 7 then playing 8 and 9 to handicap to complete an awesome gross 37 to get to the turn on -3 and in a share of the lead . 

He maintained momentum by continuing  to play to handicap on the benign 10/11 axis before beginning his Amen Corner experience . He  played responsibly playing 12,14 and 15 to handicap but he had superbly birdied 13 to reach the Championship holes on -4 in a share of the lead .

He was to play the last trio of holes to handicap to finish on a magnificent net 67 to win on countback , a restrained victory based on his ability to avoid crucial reverses after his sole lapse on 3 in the trying conditions . The handicapper docked him 0.6 to a new mark of 9.0 . 

Stephen Whyte (84/17/67) is one of our most underrated members who these days quietly plies his trade in the earlier tees to keep with family commitments . Stephen is the possessor of a fine swing and can hit the ball long and accurate at his best . Today Stephen started magnificently and sensationally net birdied the first four holes to immediately take the lead . Similar to his great rival Keith Ralston , he succumbed to a net bogey ( on 5 ) then regrouped superbly to a further trio of consecutive net birdies to stand on the 8th tee on -5 with only the supposedly benign stroke index 18 9th in his way . Inexplicably he dropped two shots to handicap on that hole  but nevertheless found himself in a share of the lead at -3 . Further angst came on the benign 10th but he again bounced back to gain a shot on 11 and then navigate his way through Amen Corner at -4 with a tremendous gain on 13 to get him level with Keith and then crucially again hit the front with his third gain on the short holes to get to -5 as he stood on the 17th tee . Tragically he slipped to a net bogey 6 and could not only play the final hole to handicap to match Ralston on -4 but to suffer the cruel fate of a countback loss to deny him his first Board Competition victory . The handicapper was extremely impressed with his efforts and he was cut a massive 1.2 to a new mark of 15.8 . 

Richard Paulson (86/16/70) is enjoying a good season and has already claimed a Board Competition this season . Today he started poorly with a net bogey on 1 followed by two further dropped shots on the tricky second but regrouped magnificently and reclaimed all three shots courtesy of net birdies on 4,6 and 8 to get himself on the fringes of contention 3 shots off the lead as he reached the turn . 

Sadly his back 9 was initially rollercoaster as a heartening gain on 13 was  tempered with reverses on 11,12 and 14 . He stood on 16th tee now on +2 way off the pace but he finished superbly with consecutive net birdies on all the final three ‘Championship holes’ to snatch a very creditable third place . 

Andy Miehe (82/12/70) is rightly revered as one of our best ball strikers but he has had a slump in form recently and finished down the table in the majority of his efforts this season . Today , Andy has shown glimpses of his undoubted talent ...his front 9 started well , with net birdies on 2 and 5 getting him to -2 as  he stood on the inviting 6th tee . A careless dropped shot on there was his only reverse and he played to handicap to get to the turn at -1 just 2 off the lead . Miehe improved his position with a magnificent birdie 3 on 10 before succumbing to another dropped shot on an easy hole on 11. He initially played Amen Corner to handicap before dropping a further shot on 15 then compounding that error with a reverse on 16 which meant he had inexplicably lost shots on 3 of the 4 easiest holes to tumble down the field at +1 . Miehe regrouped superbly to net birdie the final two holes to finish in an encouraging 4th position on -1 . 

Special mentions ...

Tim Jones (91/21/70) is a relatively new member and was just having his second competitive round after opening his account with a net 86 in the Trafford Leisure a week earlier . 

‘It’s not unusual‘ for a new member to show vast improvement and today Tim played our hallowed course 16 shots better than his initial effort just one week earlier . He started well and was -3 after 5 with consecutive gains on 3,4 and 5 before net bogeys on 7 and 9 halted his momentum and left him 2 back at the turn . ‘The Jones boy’ regrouped well and initially played Amen Corner superbly playing to handicap on 12 then achieving consecutive net birdies on 13 and 14 to stand on the 15th tee at -3 and just behind the leaders . Sadly he was to suffer dropped shots on 15 and 17 leaving him with fifth place on -1 but a very promising effort nevertheless.

Howard Johnson (84/13/71) had a solid but unspectacular front 9 and got to the turn at +1 highlighted by his net birdie on 4 . His back 9 saw him claim net birdies on 10,13 and 17 and tempered with a net bogey on 12 and a sloppy reverse on 15 meant that he finished in 6th place , a fine effort given he has hardly played this season . 

Paul MacDonald (88/17/71) is enduring his most barren run of achievements with his Board Competition haul stuck on 14 since his Divot Party victory back in 2018 . Today he has returned to a semblance of form with a front 9 highlighted by net birdies on 2,3 and 8 tempered with reverses on 4 and 9 which left him 2 off the lead at the turn . Playing the benign 10/11 axis to handicap he roared into action with back to back gains on the intimidating 12 and 13 , irritatingly giving both shots back on 14 before again showing his prowess on the longer holes by a further net birdie in 15 to put himself just 2 behind with only the ‘championship holes’ left ... sadly dropped shots on the final two holes left him back in 7th position but an encouraging effort from him nevertheless .

Tim Dibble (91/17/74) quickly returned to form after his woes of the previous day with an encouraging display today . Dibble eased to a challenging -2 after a front 9 highlighted by gains on 1,6 and 8 with his only surprising reverse on 9. Sadly Amen Corner was to destroy any hopes he may have had for glory as he dropped 5 shots to handicap over those holes regrouping to play to handicap holes 16-18 for a 17th place finish which should put him in better spirits  for the weeks ahead  . 

David Christian (98/21/77) played with your scribe and again scrambled soooo well on a front 9 where his gains on 3 (holing his bunker shot) and 5 were tempered with a net bogey on 1 and a net DB on 8 which saw him get to the turn at +1 . He battled superbly to gain shots on 10,12 and 14 ( a tremendous net eagle ) to stand on the 15th tee just 2 off the lead but was then jolted  with a net bogey in 15 then totally derailed due to an extraordinary lapse on the benign 16th where his tee shot dribbled just a few feet adjacent to the litter bin and he compounded that mistake to eventually succumb to a horror net  quad bogey 8 to end all hopes of glory. A 25th place finish with a net 77 does not tell the tale of several hard fought holes played to handicap with excellent scrambling but DC certainly served notice today that he is ready to challenge again in the near future . 

Defending Champion Watch ...

Mr Captain Stuart Mason ( 84/11/73) finished in a very creditable 11th place with his highlights net birdies on 1,5 and a superb net eagle 3 in 7 tempered with lapses on 3 of the easiest 4 holes on the front 9 to leave him at +1 at the turn . Once again , Mr Captain showed his undoubted talent with gains on 13 and 15 but a sloppy net DB on 12 and net bogey on  14 restricted him to finish 6 shots behind the winner and looking very much at home with his new lower handicap status . 

Gross Watch ...

Glen Rothwell (76/4/72) finished 8th and showed his class by magnificently net eagling the 12th hole with other gains achieved on 2 and 5 tempered with sloppy reverses at 1,3,7,8 and 17 .

Overall a day where members expected more inclement weather than they actually received but one where the course played tough , exemplified by the fact that only 5 of the 43 members beat their handicap .