Tommy Barlow Trophy 4th July 2020

Tommy Barlow Trophy - July 4th. 2020

Tommy Barlow Trophy - the contenders

Age-defying John Wilks has beaten a field of 46 to win his first Board Competition in taking the Tommy Barlow trophy today . This wily venerable left-hander has prevailed after a round where he was one of only two players to break par .

John played the first decade of his golfing life as a right-hander before going over to the left  ‘dark side’ a good few years ago  . He plays golf regularly through the week and is to be found playing with the Vets on most Tuesdays and Fridays ... he started by safely negotiating the devilishly tricky opening hole to handicap before exploding into action with a magnificent net eagle 4 on 2 then building momentum further with consecutive net birdies on 3 and 4 to stand on the 5th tee at -4 and in an early lead . Unfortunately JW succumbed to a net bogey 7 then played sloppy golf to the turn shipping shots on 6, 8 and 9 to finish his front 9 at level par 2 shots behind the leader .

He played the next trio of holes to handicap which curiously reduced his deficit to just one shot as he faced up to the challenge of Amen Corner ... JW tends to play conservatively at 13 and his tactics worked a treat as he came away with a net birdie but he struggled at 14 and dropped a shot . John immediately regrouped with a crucial net birdie at the difficult 15th but despite this had dropped to third place 2 shots off the lead with just 3 holes left . 

The wily pensioner utilised his 27 handicap well at this crucial situation and showed his high standard of accuracy by maintaining his perfect record on par 3 short holes with his third net birdie of the round on 16 to get to -2 . He played 17 to handicap to be one of three golfers to stand on the final tee at -2 with all to play for . Given that the other two had 29 Board Competitions between them Wilks held his nerve to magnificently card a crucial net birdie to take the spoils by a shot and make that  breakthrough win . That said ,  this genial individual normally spends the majority of  his summer in South West England thus he has taken full advantage of an enforced extended period at home  by his efforts today . A truly marvellous achievement from one of the clubs genuine characters and recognised by the handicapper, who has cut John by 1.6 to a new mark of 25.4 . 

Keith Ralston started his round in confident mood today after his recent Wilsons’ aggregate pairs victory last week . Today playing as an individual KR had a rollercoaster start  with an impressive net birdie 4 on the opening hole offset by a net DB on 2 ... Keith regrouped well , with net birdies on 4 and 6 and playing the rest to handicap to leave him at -1 as he stood on the 9th tee . Inexplicably Keith succumbed to a net bogey 5 on the easiest hole to finish at level par and 1 shot back . 

Although a superb birdie 3 on 10 was encouraging, KR was to again fall foul of the benign holes by dropping a shot on 11 but he began his Amen Corner campaign with a net par on 12 . Ralston then made his move with net birdies on 13 and 14 and a solid net par on 15 taking him to -2 and still just one behind . Unbelievably he was to succumb to a net bogey 4 on 16 meaning that he had shipped shots at 3 of the 4 easiest holes . He immediately bounced back to regain a shot at 17 which left him in a share of the lead but effectively needing a 4 at the final hole to take the spoils . Sadly , a net par meant an exasperating  second place finish but one which attracted the attention of the handicapper , who has cut him by 0.6 to a new mark of 10.1.

Danny Miller (78/7/71) won the last of his 30 Board Competitions in 2018 and our 2021 Captain-elect has made a good start to the season. Today he again stumbled to a net bogey 5 on the opening hole but then played solidly with net birdies on 5 and 7 before suffering a reverse on the deceptively awkward 8th , reaching the turn at level par and handily placed in definite contention . DM lost impetus after playing 10 to hcp and dropping shots at the benign 11th and tricky 13th seemed to have taken him back in the pack but the legend regrouped with superb net birdies on 15 and 17 helping him to get back to level and 3 shots back in third place  .The handicapper was impressed enough to cut his handicap by 0.2 to a new mark of 6.5 .

Brian Nicholls (89/17/72) enjoyed a great 2019 but has had a steady but unspectacular start this year . Today he has put together his best round of the year . 

He started well , with net birdies at 1 , 3 , 6 but reverses on 5 and 9 with a net DB on 7 meant he reached the turn at +1 . He again stumbled to consecutive net bogeys  on 11,12 and 13 which put him back in mid-division but Brian finished superbly with gains on 15 and 18 to finish in a very credible 4th place . 

Special mentions ...

Glen Rothwell (69+1 hole NR) is our revered Club Champion but rarely gets the chance to compete strongly in the nett events . Today he put together a superb front 9 in 36 strokes which catapulted him to lead the competition at the turn , highlighted by a magnificent net eagle 3 on 2 with further gains on 5 and 7 with his momentum  dulled with net bogeys on the benign 6th and 9th. taking him to -1 and with a slender one stroke lead over the field . 

His back 9 saw him strengthen his candidacy for a 19th Board Competition win with gains on 11 and 12 to extend his lead to 2 as he stood on the 13th tee with 6 holes left . Inexplicably a net DB 5 put him out of his comfort zone but he played 14 to handicap before rousing himself with a magnificent (net) birdie 4 which left him in a share of the lead . He played 16 and 17 to handicap leaving him in a three-way tie at the top with just one hole to play .

Sensationally Glen NR’d the final hole with the competition seemingly at his mercy thus finishing in a lowly 40th place . No details have yet emerged as to what went wrong on the hole for our Club Champion but rest assured that your scribe will surely add to this report should the truth come out . A truly wonderful 17 holes of golf from our champion but heartbreakingly not enough to take the spoils . 

The handicapper felt that he had to take action given his performance and thus trimmed his handicap by 0.1 to a new mark of 3.7 . 

5th placed Carl Grout (88/16/72) had several bright spots on his front 9 , racking up 4 net birdies in his first 6 holes but he had endured a card-busting net triple bogey 8 on 2 ... despite his efforts seeing him get back to  -1 a sloppy net bogey on 9 put him back to parity .He regrouped well with a  net birdie 12 pushed him back into contention just 2 shots behind as he stood on the 15th tee  .For all his great form Carl has shown the odd frailty and unbelievably a net DB 8 on 15 effectively ended his challenge playing the final trio of holes to parity . Another very capable round from the departing CG and further interference completed by the handicapper , who has cut his handicap by 0.3 to a new mark of 15.7 . 

Gross Best ...Danny Miller (78) was the best gross score of the day . Much respect to him ! 

Defending Champion Watch ... sadly  our 2019 champion Nick Lewis left the club for pastures new just a few weeks ago so wasn’t able to defend his trophy .
 

Highest Score on one hole ...

Tim Roberts took 11 strokes to play the 7th hole today ... let’s take a moment for his pain at that time 😉

Only one of us ( Club Champion Glen Rothwell ) recorded a sub- par front 9 today ... only two players ( Wilks and Ralston ) recorded sub-par scores on the back 9 as our beloved course continues to befuddle us with the worm-hunting crows adding an unwanted extra degree of difficulty on many of our recovering greens which made for an absorbing day of attritional golf .