Holiday Cup 9th August 2020

Holiday Cup 9th August 2020

Holiday Cup 2020 contenders (leaders in BOLD)

2020 Altrincham GC Captain Stuart Mason (78/13/65)continued to see his way clearly to a second Board Competition of the season and 8th Board Competition victory of his Alty career ( 6th in his last 2 seasons after enduring his 2016-18 wilderness period ) . 

Mason started steadily and played to his handicap on the opening couple of holes . He then incredibly parred the next 7 holes( 3,4,5 and 7 net birdies ) to get to the turn at -4 and in a share of the lead . Now clearly in ‘ the zone’ , Mr Captain amazingly stretched his run of pars to 11  with the resulting net birdies on 10,12 and 13 taking him to -7 and in control of the competition.  Although he finally ended the run with a 5 on 14 he lost ground with a careless reverse on 15 to take him back to -6 but standing on the benign 16th tee now joint leader . Inexplicably the Captain stumbled to another net bogey to drop to -5 with the intimidating 17th tee awaiting him . Mason regrouped superbly to record his 12th par of the record ( 8th net birdie ) to lead by a single shot with our wonderful final hole to play . He played it to handicap to take the W by three strokes . An absolute masterclass in tee to green course management , accurate approach play and a situation where (although no birdie chances were converted)  it was his ability on the day to relentlessly two putt his way round to a quite magnificent net 65 to which the handicapper responded by cutting him 1.1 to a new mark of 11.4 . The Captain has worked hard on his game and had reputably took delivery of a new SIM driver recently which has obviously been an inspired addition to his golfing kit . His gross 78 was only one worse than his personal best , which was achieved way back in his 2015 Remembrance victory then replicated in his Gibson victory last year . He is rightly reaping the benefits of his practice and this observer wouldn’t be surprised at all to see him adding to his trophy haul in the coming weeks .

Raymond Corcoran (83/16/67) has equalled his best ever Alty white tee round in his efforts to contend today (a year which has seen his handicap go up by 3 now sees him finally finding his handicap competitive after rarely contending ). His front 9 was rollercoaster with net birdies on 1 and 6 tempered with reverses on 2 and 7 that saw him reach the turn at level par and languishing in mid-table . After further dropped shots on 10 and 11 he found himself 8 shots off the lead as he stood on the 12th tee with Amen Corner awaiting him . Corcoran seemingly reinvented himself from that moment , playing 12 and 13 to handicap and then powering his way home with consecutive net birdies on 14,15 and 16 then bettered with a wonderful net eagle 3 on 17 and then ending his round with a net birdie on 18 to play his final 5 holes SIX under his handicap to sensationally snatch second place ( ironically from his playing partner Andy Mills who had been playing great golf for most of the morning)  . 

Raymond attracted the attention of the handicapper who has cut him by 0.9 to a new mark of 14.7 .An extraordinary end to a round that had looked to be petering into mid table obscurity and a lesson to us all to keep trying ! 

Andy Mills played with Corcoran at the 0730 tee time and he started sluggishly with two net bogeys but regrouping superbly with a consecutive 4 par blast from 3 to 6 including net birdies on 3,4 and 6 with a magnificent net eagle 4 on 5 meaning he had gained 5 shots on those quartet of holes . Andy understandably could not keep those standards up and a net double bogey 7 on 7 stopped his momentum ... that said , the front 9 ended positively with a net birdie to leave him at -2 handily placed and just 2 off the joint leaders . 

Once again Mills started the turn for home slowly playing to handicap on the benign 10/11 axis as Amen Corner beckoned ... Andy became reenergised and again went on a glorious run gaining 4 shots to handicap over those challenging holes highlighted by a second net eagle but this time on the fearsome 12th . A routine 6 on 15 meant that he got to the championship holes in joint leadership ... could he maintain momentum and power through to take the trophy ? Sadly not as he was to crucially drop a shot on the benign 16th but stayed level as the leader also suffered a reverse on that hole . Playing 17 to handicap meant he stood on the final tee needing a 4 to get back to -6 which would’ve meant Mr Captain would’ve had to find another gain or lose  on countback . Sadly , a tiring Mills slumped to a net double bogey 7 which left him 3 short and in third place behind playing partner Corcoran. Nevertheless a fantastic effort from Andy and wonderful use of his 20 handicap to secure those two net eagles . 

David Christian (90/21/69) IS the long-suffering golfing partner of your scribe , who was privileged to see his efforts today . DC started slowly , net bogeying the first after straying on the ‘wrong’ side of the hole . After playing the next 4 holes to handicap which included some excellent scrambling to keep in touch he finished the front 9 well with back to back net birdies on 6 and 7 and again playing to handicap on the deceptively tricky 8 and 9 to get to -1 at the turn , 3 off the lead . Looking back over his efforts on that opening 9 , in many years of playing with him he had never scrambled as well with his short game repeatedly rescuing earlier frailties . 

The turn for home started well with more scrambling getting him a net birdie 4 on 10  . Untidy play on 11 meant he immediately gave  back the shot but he regrouped well playing 12 to handicap (despite steering his second shot out of position to take 4 to get over the water ) then play a deft chip off the bank on 13 to help him score a welcome net birdie 3 . After playing 14 to handicap he started  the 15th poorly and swished his fourth shot ( supposed approach to the green) to that horrific deep rough corridor of uncertainty adjacent to the pond that we all hate . Playing partner Andy Miehe stated that  the shot was far too difficult to take on but fearless DC disregarded percentage golf to play the most sublime pitch over the water to within 20 feet and he managed to finish the hole with a net bogey 7 when a 9 or 10 was clearly on the cards . 

A final net birdie on 17 took him to the heady heights of -3 and gave him a tidy sniff of the trophy IF he could produce a spectacular finish and others falter . Sadly his approach shot drifted right of the big bunker and in a horrible position and his net bogey 6 meant a -2 finish but a fine fourth place . The handicapper cut him 0.4 to 20.3 meaning he was welcomed back into the 20 handicap family after a short absence .

A great round of golf , with DC’s poorly shoulder (that he rarely complains about 🙃) arguably more mobile because of the hot conditions and the personal additional difficulties for him of playing with a trio of golfers who were consistently Scoring High In Tandem as he maintained a good score . 

Special mentions ...

William (Billy) Brickhill is best known to this observer as the individual unfortunate enough to take 38 shots to finish his final 4 holes in the Coronation Cup in early July . Since then WB has made steady improvement, playing the course 23 shots better in his last outing which saw his 21.6 (22) handicap cut by 1.2 to 20.4(20) in last weeks Social .

Today he started steadily , playing to handicap on his initial trio of holes before taking closer order on the field with net birdies on 4,5 and 7 to stand on the 8th tee at -3 and in strong contention . Sadly back to back net bogeys on the tricky 8 and 9 left him at -1, 3 strokes off the lead . 

Brickhill played the benign 10th to handicap but net bogeyed the similarly easy 11th to lose momentum as the Amen Corner holes beckoned . He regrouped well , with a net birdie 6 on 12 then playing 13-15 to handicap now 5 shots off the lead . Billy got himself to -2 and was never nearer , ending his campaign dropping a shot at the final hole to finish with a net 69 with his gross 90 just one off his personal best . A great effort for the individual who excels at professional level at a different sport but whose commitment to his golf seems to be reaping its reward . 

Keith Ralston (80/10/70) is having a great season and was again a strong contender today . His front 9 was a masterclass in consistency , a gross 36 , parring  8 of the front 9 holes ( including 5 net birdies on 1.2,4,5 and 7 ) with his only reverse a bogey 5 on 8 which catapulted him into joint leadership at -4 as he got to the turn . 

He didn’t start well coming home with a reverse on 10 and his Amen Corner campaign was patchy , and although the highlight of a net birdie on 14 was a quick response to his horror net double net bogey 5 on 13 , a further reverse on 15 left him 5 shots off the pace and he was to play the final trio of holes to handicap for a fifth place which was a disappointing return for the promise of that sublime opening 9 . 

Defending Champion Watch ...

Tashan Dunbar , the member who sensationally won the trophy in his second and final start of the season last August , has not played any of our competitions since and has not been seen at our club so did not choose to defend the trophy . 

Gross Watch ...

Former Club Champion Glen Rothwell (76/4/72) had 4 birdies in his round ( 4,7,12,14 ) and a 10th place finish . 

Highest Score on a hole ...

Your scribe had the great fortune to play with Andrew Moss (57/NR/NR) who was unable to reproduce form anything like his extraordinary 27 Stableford points front 9 efforts in the Bernie Wood last month and he had already endured the pain of consecutive triple bogeys as he stood on the 4th tee today .  This big-hitting Lancastrian is fearless in his driving of the ball but a succession of wayward drives and miscued approaches meant that he took an unfortunate 12 shots on the hole . As a foursome , your scribe , Messrs Moss and Miehe produced many cringeworthy moments as Mr Christian alone attempted to mount a challenge . 

As is usual in these circumstances his playing partners gave Moss our appropriate sympathies thankful that we hadn’t suffered as he did . Golf at its most cruel with our beloved course perhaps reminding Moss that his stellar effort of the previous month would be difficult to reproduce . 

Andrew went on to finally NR on 10 and record a 40th placed finish but with his enthusiasm for the sport undimmed . 

Overall a day dominated by our skipper who continues his journey to the Holy Grail of single-handicap golf leaving the rest of us trailing in his wake in the dry and occasionally sunny conditions .