R.A.F.A. Aggregate Trophy

R.A.F.A. Aggregate Trophy 2019 

The RAFA trophy is awarded to the member with the lowest set of 6 weekend round net scores in the white tee summer season . This year saw 20 rounds played from 21st. April to the final round which was the Autumn Cup day on 8th. September . Make no mistake people , this is one of the most prestigious Board Competitions in the calendar and one most coveted by those members who know of its historical significance given the quality of players that have triumphed . 

RAFA Contenders

Greg Harding - ( 412 from 10 rounds ) best 65 . Gregory Harding showed that quality can sometimes override quantity in taking this prestigious trophy despite playing only 10 rounds and completing just 9 of them . This is in marked contrast to last year where our winner Brian Southworth played 34 rounds in his successful quest to take the title . Family and business commitments restrict Greg’s ability to play that often but this season we have seen just how talented a player he is . He started well with a 2nd placed net 65 following that up with solid net 72s in his next couple of rounds . His only NR came after a poor front 9 in the Captains Bowl with his initial ‘super 6’ completed with two good performances in successive Monthly Medal Qualifiers sandwiched by a modest net 74 in the Holiday Cup that represented his worst finishing position of his completed rounds. His initial score of 421 put him in solid contention . His next round , competing in the second round of the J Ford only , saw him score an excellent net 68 with the course at its longest  thus cutting his ‘super 6’ score by 6 shots to leave him only a couple of strokes behind at 415 . With only two booked tee times left in his personal schedule he was desperate to end the summer season on a high knowing that strong finishes would undoubtedly strengthen his chances in this premier competition . In the Old Hall trophy he mixed quality play on the harder holes with an inexplicable sloppiness on the easier ones with a couple of net birdies on 2 and 4 inadequate against reverses on 1,6 and 8 , all double digit stroke index holes ... further reverses on 10,14,16 and 18 meant that he failed to improve his ‘super 6’ score and now had just one last chance for glory at the RAFA ending Autumn Cup . In his final event Greg knew that he needed a 69 to prevail but yet again showed fragility on the easier holes with reverses again on 1 and 3 this time cancelled out by net birdie 4s on 2 and 4 and a birdie 3 on 9 to take him to -1 and in position to consolidate his challenge . True drama was to follow with Harding with him playing a steady and unspectacular 8 holes , missing chances to improve his score but hanging on by playing to handicap . Teeing up on the 18th he required to play the hole in a net birdie 4 to snatch the prize and he magnificently got that number to snatch the prize from the unfortunate Miehe , at the same time feeling the agony of a second place finish just one behind the faltering but triumphant Andrew Window as he collected his first Board Competition whilst Greg had the supreme consolation of bagging the RAFA to win his first individual Board Competition to go with his 2016 pairs triumph in the Greatbanks with his great pal Luke Johnstone  . A well-deserved victory for one of Alty’s most talented golfers . 

65,72,72,70,74,68 - 421 18th August        65,72,72,70,68,68 - 415.  25th August    65,72,70,68,68,69 - 412  8th September

Andy Miehe - ( 412 from 16 rounds ) best 66 Your observer has played and talked golf with Andy Miehe on several occasions and he never thought that he was playing anywhere near his best golf . That said , the stats do not lie and to record 6 sub par medal rounds in a summer campaign is a supreme effort . Andy is restricted as to how much golf he plays due to family commitments thus did well to complete 16 rounds . His initial ‘super 6’ rounds took 432 strokes but he gained 20 strokes to shoot to the top of the leaderboard on 413 after his 69 on 13th August . His final round was in the Seniors Trophy , the penultimate qualifying round needing a round of 70 or better to improve his score and increase his lead  ... he started well with a net birdie on the opening hole and made further gains on holes 5 and 7 but inexplicably fell foul of the easier holes with reverses on 3,6,8 and 9 leaving him at +1 at the turn and needing to find 2 strokes to handicap to improve his score . His response was to play 10-12 to handicap then to embark on a great run of 3 consecutive gains highlighted by a birdie 2 on the ever-daunting 13th and consolidated by net birdies on 14 and 15 which took him to a great position needing to play to handicap on the final three holes to post a 411 ‘super 6’ score ... Andy played to handicap on the next two holes but crucially dropped a shot on the final hole to finish with a closing 80/10/70 to finish on 412 . Sadly that dropped shot was to cost him this prestigious trophy . Andy was back in 23rd position last year with a score of 427 from 18 rounds so a great improvement didn’t quite get him to the W but a marvellous effort to come so close . 

75,77,71,68,72,69 - 432 6th July              75,71,68,72,69,66 - 421 7th July.           71,68,72,69,66,70 - 416 21st July

71,68,69,66,70,69 - 413 18th August.      68,69,66,70,69,70 - 412 7th September

Danny Miller - ( 414 from 15 rounds ) best 67 ... Danny Miller was bidding to win his second RAFA title but fell just  2 strokes short , posting his best super six scores on 25th August but scored 75 on his final outing in the Old Hall Trophy when a 69 was required and did not play in the two final qualifying competitions . His fourth 3rd place finish in 5 years in this season-long event shows marvellous consistency . He may look back on a sluggish start which saw him have a best finishing position of 9th in his first 8 qualifying rounds . Typically he regrouped with 5 of his next 6 rounds in the top 5 but sadly not quite enough to take the spoils . 

77,74,71,70,75,77 - 444 23rd June          
77,74,71,70,75,73 - 440 30th June              

74,71,70,75,73,68 - 431 13th July

74,71,70,73,68,68 - 424 4th August       

 71,70,73,68,68,70 - 420 11th August       

 71,70,68,68,70,72 - 419 24th August

71,70,68,68,70,67 - 414 25th August 

Luke Dunlop - ( 415 from 8 rounds ) best 65 ... Luke Dunlop only joined our club in June and was given a 20 handicap but scored very consistently and quickly scored well to cut that mark ... he played 7 qualifying rounds with just one NR at the Trafford Leisure Trophy which meant he posted his initial ,super 6’ scores totalling 415 which put him in a challenging position for this trophy . On the last qualifying competition Luke started his round needing to improve his weakest ‘super 6’ round of 74 by 3 strokes to match the score of leader Andy Miehe . The round started well with a net birdie on the opening hole immediately getting him to -1 and on course to snatch an unlikely victory . He improved his position further courtesy of further gains on 5 and 6 putting him on -3 and on course for a 68 (and a winning super 6 score of 409 ) . In reality he could have afforded to played out the final 12 holes of his round at +2 and he would still be victorious. However , disaster struck with him dropping one shot on 7 then recording a net triple bogey 8 on the 8th then compounded the collapse further with a net bogey 5 on the benign 9th which meant that he was now on course for a 73 but would need to play the back 9:in 2 under his handicap to equal the winning score . Astonishingly Luke withdrew from the comp and decided not to play his final 9 holes , effectively denying himself the chance to win this prestigious competition .
Given the relatively low profile of this prestigious Board Comp it would seem natural to assume that Luke was blissfully unaware of the fact that he was in this position . This observer will certainly aim to highlight this prestigious competition next season given the lack of publicity as to its closing stages .
Nevertheless a fantastic start to his Alty career and one showing much promise for the future .
 

74,65,68,68,70,70 - 415 7th September 

Stuart Mason - ( 416 from 17 rounds ) best 63 Stuart has improved immeasurably from last season and his scores reflect his progress . A sluggish start to the season saw him post a substandard 437 by early July but he improved to get within 4 of the leader and stood in the first tee on the final qualifying round needing to score 69 to win , a total well within his powers given his form . Sadly he was perhaps feeling the effects of a long season as he posted a 81 . Nevertheless a fifth place finish reflects an excellent effort ! 

77,77,63,78,72,70 - 437 6th July           

77,77,63,72,70,69 - 428 13th July                  

 77,63,72,70,69,68 - 419 11th August 

63,72,70,69, 68,74 - 416  7th September 

George Sainthouse - ( 417 from 19 rounds ) best 66 . George has had a great season and his scores reflect a steady improvement in his fortunes gaining a massive 32 strokes on his initial ‘super 6’ posting . George started the final comp in fantastic order after winning the Seniors Trophy the day before with a stunning 86/20/66 which had been his best round since his Coronation Cup triumph in July 2017. He needed to complete the final qualifying round in 86/19/65 as his handicap had gone down . He had a rollercoaster round with 3 net birdies cancelled out by dropping 4 shots to stand at +1 and never got things going , failing to improve his score and finishing in sixth place , a phenomenal effort for a gentleman of his vintage .

82,79,70,77,70,71 - 449 29th June         

79,70,77,70,71,78 - 445 30th June        

70,77,70,71,78,71 - 437 6th July

70,77,70,71,71,75 - 434 13th July           

 70,70,71,71,75,69 - 426   4th August        

 70,70,71,71,69,66 - 417 7th September 

Special Mention ...

Nathan Butterworth - ( 417 from 11 rounds ) best 66 a 7th place on countback and further evidence that he has had a fantastic season . Just 11 rounds completed but enough for him to make his mark but he needed a net 66 to catch the leader and started well getting to -2 after 8 and needing to finish -3 for his last 10 holes to take the win . Sadly he had already dropped a shot earlier on the benign 3rd and his vulnerability on the higher stroke-indexed holes that day destroyed his chances . as he net bogeyed 9 and 13 and dropped two shots to handicap on 12 to effectively end his challenge . A fighting response to gain shots in 16 and 18 got him to a net 71 to take his final ‘super 6’ score to 417 left him in seventh place . 

71,71,68,70,77,81 -  438 7th July            
71,71,68,70,77,66 - 423 13th July          

71,71,68,70,66,72 - 418  21st July

71,71,68,70,66,71 -417  8th September 

Defending Champion ... 

Brian Southworth - ( 443 from 12 rounds ) although Brian managed to win the Jubilee Trophy is his second outing of the season back in May , his only other decent performance was a 4th place in the Seniors in the penultimate qualifying round of the season . This meant that his finishing position was 37th which will have been a disappointment but nevertheless a season that saw him take his Alty GC Board Competition total to 12 . 

80,70,77,80,73,78 - 458 21st July    
70,77,80,73,78,77 - 455 4th August    

70,77,73,78,77,77 - 452 24th August 

70,77,73,77,77,69 - 443 7th September