Ray Gellatly Memorial Trophy 30th August 2020

Ray Gellatly Memorial Trophy   

Geoff Gibson contenders

David Doughty (82/12/70) has won the first Board Competition of his Alty GC career today with a display matching his surname . David had the benefit of playing with his preferred foursome with local uber-supportive chums Paulson , Corcoran and Mills . He started steadily , playing the opening dangerous couple of holes to handicap before signalling his intentions with a welcome birdie on 3 to get him into early contention . As is so often the case , the positive of a shot gained to handicap sometimes brings a vulnerability and he immediately gave the shot back with a sloppy 6 on 4 but he regrouped to play the long 5 to handicap before again taking closer order with a magnificent birdie 3 on the benign 6th to again take him under par . Sadly , after maintaining momentum playing the tricky 7th to handicap Doughty was to leak shots at the supposedly benign 8th and 9th to get to the turn at +1 , just 2 off the lead of the only player to beat his handicap , Billy Brickhill. David reacted positively to his reverses by putting together a superb run of holes , playing the benign 10/11 axis to handicap before taking on Amen Corner and showing complete disdain for the high tariff of difficulty with a tremendous net birdie 5 on 12 then following that with a sublime net eagle 2 on 13 which propelled him to the top of the leaderboard and taking the competition by the scruff of the neck . Doughty fabulously increased his momentum with a further gain on the long 14th to take him to the heady heights of -3 and in complete control . Could he maintain dominance of the Amen Corner holes at 15 ? Perhaps there was an inevitability that he would succumb but a net bogey 7 still had him at -2 with the Championship holes to play . He started the run for home well , playing the benign 16th to handicap but dropping another shot on 17 that took him back to -1 and more vulnerable to the pack behind him . A net par 5 at the last meant he finished with a net 70 and the ‘leader in the clubhouse’ tag which was just too good in the end for his 44 rivals . The handicapper made a slight cut of 0.2 to a new mark of 11.6 for an individual who defied the tee to green wet conditions to ultimately prevail and be the latest member to add his name to our hallowed boards .

Ian Cheetham (97/27/70) has endured a slump in form as of late ... the left-handed silver fox 👨‍🦳 has a best white tee score of 90 (September 2017) but he has struggled recently and had posted scores of 109,113 and most recently 110 in his last trio of medal outings . Today , faced with the Uber-difficult conditions he has simply reinvented himself into that competitive golfer that occasionally gets into that groove . Ian practices for long hours and tries to hone his classic swing to perfection . Today , he has been rewarded for his teak-tough mentality with a superb showing . Playing with his devoted regular partner and fellow Committee member Andrew Window together with popular former Captain Bob Kay ( sadly minus his enforcer George Sainthouse who succumbed to a mystery ailment in the night and was unable to play 🍺  ) the trio sedately played their way around the course . Ian started well , playing the increasingly tricky opening hole to handicap then taking closer order in fine style with successive gains on 2 and 3 to immediately take him into serious contention . Ian played to handicap on three of his next quartet of holes , succumbing his first shot of the round at the benign 6th hole . Regrouping superbly he got his third gain of his round by parring 8 to return him to -2 with just our ‘easiest’ hole to play before the turn . Ian drove his tee shot left towards the 11th green and tragically simply could not find his ball . Forced to play 3 off the tee he eventually slumped to a card-busting net triple bogey 8 to leave him at +1 , still 2 shots off the lead but understandably shell-shocked as to his reverse in fortunes .
Cheetham responded magnificently to the situation , playing 10 to handicap but regaining a shot courtesy of a superb net birdie 4 on 11 then making great use of his handicap to gain a second consecutive shot with a 6 on our toughest hole then playing the remaining three Amen Corner holes to handicap . At -1 he knew that he was in contention but could he somehow add another gain as he played those trio of Championship holes ? Given the trying conditions , Ian can be proud of his efforts in taking his sequence of holes played to handicap to six in finishing his round . He played the back 9 2 under his handicap but agonisingly was to be denied on countback and thus still awaits a breakthrough first individual Board Competition victory . The handicapper significantly cut his handicap by 0.8 to a new mark of 26.1 . Ian was refreshingly happy with his efforts and this observer is confident that he will build on the momentum gained after such a solid campaign this morning . 

David Royle (76/6/70) is our Club Champion and produced an unforgettable display of his talents today . After a sloppy net DB on the opening hole (then playing to his handicap on 2) , Royle stood on the 3rd tee already down the leaderboard and in need of a change of fortunes . An unerring iron shot later the ball was nestling in the hole for a truly spectacular  net eagle 1 and the excitement that only a hole-in-one can bring . Better still was the fact that 3 family members were present to share in this most special moment . David would consolidate his momentum in his next quartet of holes , his highlight a net birdie 4 on 7 to get him to -1 with the supposedly benign 8/9 to get to the turn . Inexplicably , David would leak a shot on 8 and he got to turn at level par , still just one off the lead .

His back 9 saw him regroup well and play holes largely to handicap with a superb birdie 3 on 11 his highlight . He plotted his way around Amen Corner well apart from a net bogey 6 on 15 which left him 2 shots behind with the Championship holes left to play . He played to handicap at 16 then scored a crucial net birdie 4 on 17 leaving him needing a birdie 3 to take the spoils . Sadly a par 4 left him in third place on countback . The handicapper was duly impressed and docked him 0.2 to a new mark of 5.3 for his efforts . David has the extra kudos of the presentation to him of an AltyGC hole-in-one tie to look forward to ... 

Special mentions ....

Neil Royle (85/15/70) has had a quiet year individually but has a reputation for regularly scoring well in important competitions . . His Greatbanks victory with son David was his 9th pairs Board Competition victory and he is officially the most decorated player in the history of Alty GC that still awaits his first individual win . Today he played in front 9 level par for his handicap, with reverses on 1 and 6 cancelled out by net birdies on 2 and 7 . His back 9 saw him inconsistent with a sloppy net bogey 5 on 11 cancelled out by a welcome net birdie 3 on 13 , his Amen Corner finishing with a disappointing net bogey  7 on 15 leaving him 3 shots back as the Championship holes beckoned . A superb net eagle  2 on 16 incredibly took him into a four-way tie for the lead with just the final hole to play and a net birdie 4 required to finally end his long wait for an individual trophy . Sadly , a 5 meant that he finished in a credible 4th place with the handicapper docking his handicap by 0.3 to a new mark of 14.5 . 

John Cullen (81/10/71) started with a fine net birdie 4 on the opening hole  but he then endured a horror trio of holes that saw him slump to net bogeys on 2 and 3 then compound matters with a net DB 7 on 4 to drop to +3 . He regrouped well , with superb net birdies on 5 and 7 only tempered by a sloppy reverse on 8 leaving him on +3 at the turn and well down the field . Cullen immediately attacked the course and plundered net birdies at 10,12,14 and 15 with only a net bogey 4 on 13 tempering a fine Amen Corner campaign . Now just 2 shots off the lead could John maintain momentum to get even closer ? Sadly another poor effort at one of our easier holes effectively ended his challenge , although a net birdie 4 on 17 meant that a repeat would've  seen him sensationally take the trophy on countback . A 5 meant a fifth-placed finish but a very credible effort in the difficult conditions. . 

Mark Snape (77/6/71) has had a great season but he started sluggishly with a front 9 including sloppy reverses on 1,3,5 and 9 tempered with a solitary gain on 7 which left him 4 off the lead . His response was to shoot a sublime ‘ best in show’ gross 36 with back to back birdies on 10/11 with further momentum boosting gains on 12 and 14 to put him on -1 and now seriously contending . Sadly he would stumble to a net bogey 6 on 15 then play his final holes to handicap , failing to get the par that would’ve given him the win and thus finishing in 6th place . A great back 9 comeback nevertheless ! 

Billy Brickhill (92/20/72) deserved a mention as the only player to beat his handicap on the front 9 . He had regrouped superbly after losing 3 shots after his opening couple of holes with net birdies on 4,6,7 and 9 . A rollercoaster back 9 saw him take two further gains on 13 and 17 and he would finish just 2 shots away from the winner .Billy continues to improve and will surely contend for honours very soon.

David Barton (106/34/82) warrants a mention because he has produced a magnificent level par back 9 after a disastrous opening 9 holes which had left him on +11 and with every right to lose concentration . Not so , as Barton had consecutive. net birdies on 13 and 14 tempered only by reverses on 10 and 18 which was a truly faaaabulous effort in the conditions .

Overall a day where our beloved course saw only 3 players beat their handicap and leave many of our finest players with embarrassing totals with only a select few content with their efforts today . 

Gross Watch ... David Royle 76 ( as described earlier ) 

Defending Champion Watch ...

Nathan Butterworth (82/8/74) finished in a credible 10th position with sloppy play on the easier holes ruining his challenge  . He can , however , look back at his superb net birdies on 2,7 14 and 15 as his highlights today . 

Hole-in-one ...

Club Champion David Royle has achieved the rare and valued ecstasy of a hole in one today at the 3rd hole today . As yet , no more details have emerged as to his wonderful feat but sadly the news did not filter through to this observer to share the moment with a celebratory liquid .

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