Wilson Trophies 12th June 2021
Paul Hackett is known to some of you as the author of the reports that now live within his own website … never EVER in his wildest dreams could he ever think that he could be a part of a victory that must rank as one of the most extraordinary successes in the history of the club .
The pair started poorly , especially Hackett who started with a trio of triple bogeys that immediately put them in the lower reaches of the leaderboard … Moss was less wasteful and his net double bogey on the opening hole was tempered by consecutive net birdies on 4 and 5 . Although Hackett regrouped with gains on 5 and 7 , a poor short wayward tee shot on 8 would result in a disheartening net triple bogey 8 which would usually herald using the remaining holes for experimentation . Despite a further reverse on 9 , runt player Hackett ( who had took an awful 54 strokes (+9) to get to the turn ) called on his partner Moss (who had scored 49 (+2) to ‘beat these contenders on the back 9 AND try to get back as close as they could to parity from their current +11 position ’ .
At -3 , Miehe and Rossiter were playing superbly and were 14 strokes ahead … the record books show that Hackett & Moss were FIFTEEN strokes in arrears at the turn to the pairs that stood at -4 .
The pair immediately tore into the course , both gaining net birdies on 10 , Moss on 11 with both players utilising their handicap to score net birdie 6s on the long 12 meant that they had clawed back 5 of the 11 strokes on the journey back to parity which Hackett thought would probably be close to the winning score .The 13th hole is often a disaster waiting to happen and thankfully Hacketts’ feeble attempt to stroke ‘Henderson’ ( his 12 degree driver ) over the brook resulted in a lay up 60 yards from the flag . He would get a 4 whereas Moss found the brook and made a net bogey 5 to stall their growing momentum … it was to be the last reverse the pair would endure as Moss responded magnificently to plunder a net eagle 4 on 14 then get back another shot on the tricky 15th , ignoring the cruel carnage happening to playing partner John Rossiter to record a net birdie 5 . He would again record a gain on 16 ( Hackett had managed to play to handicap on 13,14 ,15 and 16 turning around his poor play earlier in the round ) . The duo both crucially managed to net birdie 17 which meant that they had amazingly got themselves to level par for their round . Both golfers took 3 shots to get on the green and both had 4 footers to maintain their level par status which they nervelessly converted for a victory neither of them contemplated .
A third Board Competition for Hackett after a (tortuous) 3 year wait since his June 2018 Diggle triumph whilst there was a deserved first Board Comp for Moss after cruelly being denied victory with his infamous slow 2 foot putt that ‘bounced out’ last season , curiously in the Bernie Wood trophy . .
Moss 49/40/89/24/65 Hackett 54/43/97/20/77 tells the story with ‘Moss the Boss’ -8 on his back 9 with Hackett chipping in with -3 … a campaign showing ALL members that we should NEVER let the course bully us into submission .
Legendary Hall of Famer Bernie Wood (44/46/90/15/75) and his partner Gordon G. Boardman (41/38/79/12/67) have both had promising starts to their season and must have been looking forward to a competition that would reward a more patient approach. The vastly experienced lifelong chums have plundered no less than 33 Board Competitions (11 pairs titles) between them but were bidding for a first Board Competition victory together .
Like all of us , it can be a given that their aim at the opening hole was just to get off to a steady start and avoid an early card-busting number . Unfortunately they stumbled to a net +3 start to their campaign with GGB recording an ugly 7 with Wood just one better to immediately destabilise their challenge .
Boardman was to regroup well and he tore at the front 9 with relish recording net birdies on 2,3 and 4 and only suffering a reverse on 9 . For his part Bernie dropped another shot on 2 but then rallied with gains on 4 and 8 but he also was to find the SI 18 9th tricky , dropping a shot which meant that the pair got to the turn 6 strokes off the lead at +2 .
Although the pair were to lose momentum on the benign 10/11 axis with GGB faltering as he dropped a shot on 10 then two on 11 that was to be his last reverses as he again found form and recorded a net birdie 5 on 12 which cancelled the dropped shot of his partner .
They stood on the 13th tee now a massive 13 shots off the lead but were to fight back as both gained shots on 13 with GGB again starring with sublime successive net eagles on 14 and 15 … Although BW dropped shots at those holes
the pair faced the remaining trio of ‘Championship holes’ amazingly finding themselves having gained ELEVEN shots to the field and now just two strokes off the lead . They both played the benign 16th to handicap but then Bernie Wood recorded a potentially trophy-winning net birdie 4 on 17 which meant that they had incredibly taken a share of the lead with just the final hole to play .
Both players nervelessly caressed their crucial final tee shots to around 100 yards from the flag to put themselves in a fantastic position .
Boardman took aim for the green typically recovered his form to find it then two putt to take another net birdie but what of his legendary partner ?
Bernie unfortunately steered his second shot to a greenside bunker , compounded by the fact that he found himself having to have an uneven ( one foot in , one foot out ) stance on a spot devoid of sand .
Tragically although he did well to get out of the bunker he cleared the green with his third and although he was on in 4 he could only two putt which meant a net bogey 6 which cancelled out his chums efforts which saw them having to endure the exasperation of losing the trophy on countback .
Nevertheless a truly titanic effort from the pair to finish at level par and in second place . Your reporter can reveal that Bernie contacted him personally to put aside his own extreme disappointment to congratulate him on his victory which gives a glimpse into the measure of the man who is rightly considered to be one of the clubs legends .
The Wetherills are a relatively recent addition to our membership and the high-handicappers put in a fine showing today .
,Mark (46/52/98/21/77) and Chad (42/50/92/24/68) started superbly , both scoring net birdie 4s to get to -2 ( one of only two pairs to both gain strokes on that hole ) and take an early lead … sadly the duo both gave back their gains on 2 … Mark was to have an inconsistent front 9 with dropped shots on 4 (net DB) and 7 tempered with consecutive gains achieved on 5 and 6 giving him a steady +1 start . Chad was the better performer and although he suffered further reverses on 9 he had earlier achieved superb net birdies on 3 and 6 then truly stepped up with spectacular net eagles on 5 and again on 7 rising to a joint share of the lead at the turn.
In regard to holes10 to 15 Mark started his back 9 well with a great net birdie on 10 but succumbed to drop a shot on 12 but suffer 2 net DBs on 13 and 15 with his only highlight his net birdie on 14 . Chad started the journey for home poorly by dropping 3 shots on the benign 10/11 axis but then regrouped well , playing 12 and 13 to handicap before magnificently recording net birdies on 14 and 15 .
The duo now stood on the 16th tee to play their Championship holes just two shots back . Mark dropped a shot on 16 but played to handicap on the remaining holes . Chad held his nerve to play 16 to handicap then crucially net birdied 17 to close to within one of the leaders . Unfortunately he dropped a shot at the last this the pair finishEd in a very creditable third place just two shots back .
Special Mentions …
Keith Walton 46/45/91/14/77
Brian Cawley 46/46/92/24/68
Keith and Brian led after 3 holes , quickly getting to -3 courtesy of both players gaining a shot on 2 with Cawley gaining again on the short 3rd. but then faltered for the next 6 holes getting to the turn at +3 , 7 off the lead … Keith Walton is famed for his consistency but he had a rare off day today and only had 3 pars all day . Brian Cawley did find form with a fabulous run from 13 to 15 which saw him gain 4 strokes which helped to get them to within 4 strokes of the lead but they couldn’t get any closer and had to settle for 4th place .
Owen Fallon 44/51/95/19/76
Brian Nicholls 40/46/86/17/69
Owen and Brian were just one off the joint leaders at the turn , courtesy of Brian’s’ superb blemish-free -3 aligned with Owens’ solid level par start . They were undone by a poor Amen Corner but still found themselves just 2 shots back with 3 to go but sadly couldn’t step up
John Hogan 37/45/82/12/70
Stu Mason 43/46/89/14/75
Holes 1-14 Hogan had a sublime blemish free front 9 , easing to -4 then after a sloppy net bogey on 10 regrouped and standing on the 15th tee was -5 for his round having recorded 6 net birdies at that point.
Mr Captain Mason got to the turn at +1 but stepped it up on the journey home , blemish free and net birdies on 11 and 14 meaning the pair were leading with -6 . The 15th hole was sadly their nemesis as they dropped seven precious shots to handicap (Hogan 10 Captain 9). Incredibly they were still only 2 shots down with the Championship holes to play . Sadly they both succumbed a shot each to the benign 16th and their challenge faded into a 6th place finish!
Andy Miehe 41/46/87/14/73
John Rossiter 42/54/96/21/75
Your scribe had the honour of playing with John and Andy , who undoubtedly started he competition as one of the favourites given their consistent results in recent years . Today they gave a masterclass in pairs golf for the first 12 holes … in that time Rossiter had taken the lead role with an excellent front 9 , regrouping well after an early reverse on 2 to net birdie holes 3,,5,7 and 9 with Miehe steadier and also falling foul of the second hole but adding two net birdies on 3 and 6 to get them to the turn handily placed just one stroke off the lead . Although their momentum was stalling a Miehe net bogey on 10 was remedied by a Rossiter net birdie before they shot into the lead after 12 courtesy of a truly magnificent Miehe net eagle and a Rossiter gain had took them to -7 and both playing fantastic golf . The 13th did not go well for Miehe as he stumbled to a net DB then compounded his error by posting a net triple bogey 8 on 14 . Rossiter had maintained momentum by playing both those holes to handicap as they stood on the 15th tee … Rossiter drove his ball into the edge of the brook , the ball teetering in play and leaving him with the dilemma as to whether to play it or not . He elected to take a drop but inexplicably hooked his ball to the left of the fairway into the heavy rough , a turn of events that deteriorated to a nightmare degree involving his ball nestling into a pin-high tree trunk with him eventually taking 15 strokes … the pair showed tremendous resilience in trying to fight back with Miehe parring the ’Championship holes’, two of which were net birdies whilst Rossiter played 16 to regulation , net birdie 17 but sadly stumble to a net DB 7 at the last leaving them 6 strokes back and a 10th placed finish .
Defending Champion Watch …
Mark Snape had won his second Wilsons last year with his regular partner Keith Ralston after tasting victory 10 years earlier with Bill Snape . Today the defending champions had a difficult round from the start with the pair enduring a horrible opening pair of holes which saw them stand on the third tee at +9 … although Keith would regroup magnificently to play the remaining 16 holes in 2 under to finish net 74 Mark couldn’t match his partners effort and endured major problems at 4,6 and 11 to stumble to an ugly net 90 .
Scoring High In Tandem …
The nature of playing aggregate golf is trying to match your partner , keep the ball on fairways and greens and try to avoid big scores …
Snape 90 Ralston 74 … differential 16 … ( as described above ) Mark Snape was really really Scoring Highest in Tandem today 😨
Hackett 77 Moss 65 … differential 12 … winners maybe but your scribe was Scoring High In Tandem from the start and , although he improved significantly in that back 9 to ultimately help his partner win the trophies that does not excuse him but makes him incredibly fortunate ( or an inspired choice to take the place of regular partner David Christian who was holidaying this weekend ) !
Overall , a most extraordinary day where the course toyed with us all for long periods with the 15th hole being particularly evil to several contenders as one pair enjoyed an unforgettable back 9 for glory in the warm conditions .
