Jubilee Trophy 2nd May 2021

JUBILEE TROPHY 2nd May 2021

Andy Mills (20) 44/43/87/20/67 has managed to complete the rare feat of winning both Board Comps in the weekend with a victory courtesy of an unfortunate disqualification today . Mills had seen a 0.3 cut in his Handicap Index which equated to a stroke as he arrived at his first tee …he immediately carried on his good form with a net birdie on the tricky opening hole . his front 9 was rollercoaster given that the joys of consecutive gains on 3,4 and 5 were tempered with dropped shots on 6 and 8 leaving him at -1 at the turn , a full 6 strokes behind runaway leader McDonald . Andy had showed a slight preference for his back 9 in his victory the previous day and it was no surprise to see him again record consecutive net birdies on 10,11 and 12 to thrust himself into serious contention just 2 behind . Momentum was maintained with consecutive regulation bogeys on 13 to 16 before he crucially recorded his 8th net birdie of the round on 17 to stand on the final tee at -5 and still 2 adrift . a sloppy final bogey at the last took him back to -4 and saw him take the trophy due to that tragic DQ . His  second Board Competition victory of his career coming just 24 hours after his first … phenomenal play and clearly our top net golfer right now . His Handicap Index has been cut by 0.6 to a new mark of 17.0 .                                             

Tom Wilkins (26) 46/47/93/26/67 is one` of our newer members and was playing just his 4th competition today . With a gross best score of 103 it is no surprise that he would shatter that mark by no less than 10 strokes . Wilkins started well in a net bogey free opening quintet of holes that saw him ease to to 4 under courtesy of consecutive net birdies on 2 and 5 spliced with  a superb net eagle 4 on 4 . He lost momentum getting to the turn with reverses noted on 6 and 8 and he got to the turn handily placed at -2 for his handicap , 5 strokes behind the leader . Tom regained his momentum on the turn for home with regulation bogeys on the benign strips of land that are 10 and 11 and then took closer order with a stunning run of 4 consecutive Amen Corner net birdies to stand on the 16th tee at -6 , now in second place and 2 strokes off the lead . Inexplicably he stumbled to a net bogey 5 and although he managed to regroup to play 17 to handicap he stood on the final tee 2 strokes adrift at -5 and in desperate need of a rousing finish . Sadly he just could not summon the skills that had got him into his exalted position and a net bogey 6 meant that he recorded a superb net 67 which ultimately meant that he had agonisingly lost the trophy on countback given the sad DQ of Paul McDonald . His Handicap Index has been cut by 2.2 to a new mark of 19.6

Brian Cawley (23) 44/47/91/23/68 has maintained a solid consistency to his game and he had every right to be  hopeful as to his chances today . The popular Alty treasure  was to have a rollercoaster front 9 courtesy of a sloppy net bogey 7 on 2 , which saw his regroup magnificently with consecutive net birdies on 3,4 and 5 , build momentum with another gain on 7 which was tempered by a sloppy net bogey on 8 that saw him get to the turn at -2 , 5 strokes off the leader . He was to show his class at the benign 11th with a magnificent net eagle 3 taking him just 2 strokes off the lead . Although he would play 12 and 13 to regulation , Brian found the long 14th too tricky for him and he would compound that dropped shot with another reverse on the long 15th . Although he defiantly regained a shot courtesy of a great par on 13 he could only play to handicap on his final two holes to register another solid round of net 68 , which would ultimately be registered as just one stroke from glory . A tremendous effort for this wily veteran and one recognised by the handicapper as his Handicap Index has been cut again by 0.5 to a new mark of 18.4.

Paul Hackett (22) 47/45/92/22/70 is in dreamland given his welcome return to form ( after last seasons’ poor showings ) and he came into todays round ‘sleepless in Alty’ due to his ongoing NHS post-retirement night shift . His extreme tiredness actually was to play in his favour as it again removed the more cavalier side to his play , replaced by a mentality and a current game plan to be dour and to ‘play the percentages’ . A steady but unspectacular front 9 saw him play the opening hole to handicap , fail to score a net birdie 5 on 2 then succumb to an irritating net bogey 5 because of a slapped tee shot . The irritation and angst were to continue although a decent putt saved a further reverse on 4 followed up by his first net birdie which could have been more had his approach shot not pitched on the very end of the left sided ‘ water hazard to stop its journey to the green . Despite this success a short tee shot meant he could only get on the green in 3 and a sloppy 3 putt again sent him back down the leaderboard . This was to be his last reverse of his round as his course management skills came into play . He safely negotiated holes 7 to 9 to get to the turn at 1 over for his handicap and with a growing conviction to play dour golf , a difficult proposition as his playing partners Wright , Hall and Moss were playing risk/reward golf that saw more agony than ecstasy . He again battled to keep to his handicap but did so on holes 10 and 11 whilst his drive on 12 again found a spot behind the huge tree adjacent to the 17th tee … another failure to capitalise on the lower stroke index hole was tempered with a great 3 on 13 , getting up and down from the outer fringes of the green to get back to parity for his round , Your scribe was to build on his momentum with a battling net birdie 5 on the long 14th , again scrambling well to get him to -1 and ( in his mind ) potential contention ! he was to play his final 4 holes to handicap but had the agony of missed chances to improve his score on 15 and 17 with another gritty scrambled long 2-putt on 18 meaning that he had again beaten his handicap to finish in a creditable 4th place , building on the momentum that has seen him finish in the top 10 for 6 of his 9 weekend events this season .The handicapper again cut his Handicap Index this time by 0.6 to a new mark of 18.0 , pleasing for me but ominously for those 3 individuals and 3 pairs with whom he has KO matches with this month .

Special mentions …

Chris O’Connell (15) 45/42/87/15/72 has already had a stellar start to his sason with his Bailey Cup victory … he has followed that breakthrough victory up with several quality performances which must have made him relatively confident as he lined up today .He made a steady start with a trio of regulation bogeys before succumbed to an uncharacteristic net DB 7 on 4 .Although he immediately regrouped with a gritty net birdie 4 on 5 he double bogeyed 6 and 7 (net DB) poorly to fall further away from the leading pack , again rallying to par 8 (net birdie) and a regulation par on 9 to get to the turn in mid-division on +3 , a massive TEN shots behind the leader . Chris is a long-hitter so must have relished the possibility of taking on the benign (and short) 10th and 11th ... a regulation 5 on 10 was followed by a sloppy net bogey 5 on 11 to put him back to +4 and nearer the runt end of the leaderboard. He rallied to play a magnificent Amen Corner , with superb net birdies on 12,14 and 15 spliced with a regulation bogey on 13 to stand on the benign short par 3 16th on +1 and beginning to take closer order . Chris probably needed only a wedge for this hole yet inexplicably recorded a net bogey 5 to again falter .Although he immediately regrouped to par the final two holes (17 a net birdie) , his inconsistency today meant that he finished with a net 1 over 72 , still good enough for fifth place , but to his mind probably an underachievement in his current form .The handicapper remains impressed and his Handicap Index has been cut by 0.1 to a new mark of 12.7

Roy Jackson (34) 54/52/106/34/72 

cuts a dapper figure as he strolls around the course ... always immaculately attired , this wily veteran doesn’t stroke the ball long distances but usually straight . Now at 34 handicap under the new index Roy is capable of contending and today he put up his best performance of the season . A rollercoaster front 9 saw him net birdie 3,5 and 7 but suffer net triple bogey on 2 and a further dropped shot on 8 to get to the turn 9 shots away from the leader at +2 . Jackson improved his position with a fighting net birdie 5 on 10 but then succumbed to a second net triple bogey on 11 with a further dropped shot to handicap on 12 to stand at +5 and completely out of touch with the leaders . Your observer has had the honour of playing with Roy several times and he rarely gives in . Today , he rallied magnificently to serve up a net bogey free final sextet of holes with his highlights net birdies on 13 and 15 with a superb net eagle 3 on the benign 16th . ... regulation 6s  on the final two holes left him in a very creditable 6th position posting a very respectable net 72 . Unsurprisingly his efforts were noted by the handicapper who trimmed his Handicap Index by 0.4 to a new mark of 28.3 . 

Lee Lomas (11) 39/44/83/11/72  had not troubled the leaders in his initial Board Competition attempts this season but had made a return to form in the weekday roll up finishing in 4th place so his golfing spirits must have been encouraged as he teed off today . His initial holes showed his intent with an excellent front 6 which saw him plunder net birdies at 1 and 5 , playing the other holes in regulation to stand on the 7th tee at -2 and in definite contention . Such is the nature of golf is that momentum can be stalled or decimated and today Lee succumbed to a net DB 7 to take him back to parity . Such reverses can often destroy a golfer but Lee fought back and scored a magnificent birdie 3 on 8 and played out a regulation par on 9 to get to the turn on -1 , 6 shots back from the leader . Momentum was maintained with regulation pars on 10 and 11 and playing the 12th in 6 until he faced the ever-dangerous 13th . Sadly Lee’s’ swing failed him with the result a net DB 6 to drop back again , although he immediately rallied to record an excellent net birdie 4 on 14 he was unable to improve further , playing 15,16 and 18 with a sloppy net bogey 6 on 17 leaving him on net 72 , good enough for 7th place which represented his best Board Competition performance of the year and good enough for his Handicap Index to be cut by 0.3 to a new mark of 9.6

Defending Champion Watch 

Andrew Window (20) won the trophy in style last year and the post-lockdown 2021 version has lost a bit of form and was struggling to put a good round on the scorecard . This season the popular , dandy Committee man has not troubled the leaderboards but ALWAYS plays the game with humility and is seemingly unaffected on the course irrespective of whether his performances are good or bad . Today Andrew had a decent front 9 highlighted by gains on 4,5,6 and 8 but tempered by reverses on 2 and 8 spliced with a horror net triple bogey 8 on 7 to leave him on +1 at the turn . His back 9 was similarly rollercoaster with gains on 10 and 17 dimmed by reverses on 11,13( net DB) and 15 leaving him at the seemingly average finish of +3 but given the efforts of his peers that score was good enough for 10th position , his highest finish of his Board Competition season . 

Paul McDonald (18) 37/45/82/18/64 DQ may have fell foul of the Rule Book today but he would be churlish not to record his efforts on the field of play . It IS a sad fact he has today thrown away the glory of what would have been his 15th Board Competition win because tragically he didn’t do his due diligence and check that he had signed for the right score but on-course McDonald had been showing signs of a return to form and today he unleashed his skills on our beloved course and it had no answer to the majesty of his performance. In a phenomenal front 9 he played the holes in a stunning 2 over par gross 37 which equated to 7 under his handicap to take a commanding 5 stroke lead ,highlighted by 7 net birdies with only holes 2 and 3 played to handicap . ‘Macca’ found the course a little tougher on the journey for home playing the benign axis that is 10 and 11 to handicap before dropping his first shot on the long 12th hole which cut his lead to just 2 strokes  . It was no surprise that he would regroup with consecutive net birdies recorded on Amen Corner holes 13 and 14 to get to an incredible 8 under  before easing to a 7 under net 64 courtesy of playing 15,16 and 18 to handicap with only 17 providing resistance with a net bogey . It is to the great mans’ credit that it is reported that he took his DQ with good grace and a stark reminder to ALL members to take the time to properly check your scores are correctly recorded AND  then ensure that signatures are marked in the right places . His Handicap Index has been cut by 1.2 to a new mark of 13.9 .     

Greg Hall (24) finished down the field in 39th place ( a reluctant NR) and mixed tap-in net birdies on 1 with horror holes ... Hall recorded a disastrous 13 on the 13th today ( the images of him hacking his ball  into that enticing area of turf over the water but still in the hazard will stay with this observer forever ) . He then disclosed that it was the second time he had recorded a 13 on that hole ! A tribute to his obduracy to complete a hole in a medal comp ! 

Overall , another day where the course has been on top with ( for the second consecutive day ) only 4 golfers beat their handicaps .