1^st Chris Davey 24 pts

2^nd Diane Clark 21 pts

3^rd Peter Clark 20 pts

Chris Davey Seizes the Day

Those among us who have had the pleasure of Chris’s company around the course have all come away with three impressions. Observation one: OMG what a huge hitter. Observation two: his handicap will never last. Observation three: what a likeable lad, who, if he ever gets his short game together will be a real contender. Well, Sunday was that day. It began with three pointers on 1 & 2, the opening we all look for and love and a two pointer on the third was only the precursor to what would happen on the next. The perfect execution of consecutive shots is what we imagine on every tee but so rarely achieve. In this case it was. A five iron off the tee, a seven iron into the green and a fifteen foot putt to finish it properly. Looking back on his round his one point on the 5^th may serve as evidence of even more room for improvement and might have been a turning point when it happened but he was soon back on track with 2 pointers on 6 & 7 before closing out with two more three pointers on 8 & 9. And while all this was going on Diane and Peter Clark were locked in a battle of their own. With a 22 shot difference in their handicaps the heat was on for Pete but a par on the first gave him the initial lead which by the 2^nd had been leveled up to 5points each After the third it was 7points each but then a 3 pointer on the 4^th gave Diane the narrowest of leads and after 2 points each on the 5^th another 3 points on 6 increased her lead to two, 15 -13. An additional 3 points on the 7^th made it 18-15 and must have made victory look more certain but it was then Peter launched a comeback winning the 8^th with a two pointer and then the last with a 3 pointer to Diane’s 2. Final score Diane 21 Pete 20. Diane’s satisfaction was in having had a very consistent round while the consolation for Peter was having made a fight of it and shooting par on the last. Twenty points off an 11 handicap is no mean feat either. Talking of which, Anthony Holmes, known to us all as AJ, found himself narrowly out of the prizes whilst playing off just 6 but can also be said to have beat that by coming in with 19 points, the highlight of which must have been a birdie on the first! The 4 points set him up for a good round which he was able to complete in just 36 shots. There is a word for that and that word is …quality. Dave Warren and Geoff Freeman were next with 18 points each. Dave was probably the most improved player at Silecroft in the regular season, winning the knockout with five victories, all against very good players, and has been representing us in the Alliance with great success too. His 18 points was another example of consistency highlighted by a par on the 5^th on a difficult day. It was a heck of a week and weekend for Geoff. He’s project leading the new building which, thanks to a successful GDF application led by Andrew Leece and announced on Thursday, will come to fruition over the next few months and be a great asset to the club. On Saturday Geoff was one of the famous four who braved the wet to play [more of that later]and his reward when he got home was success for his beloved Hatters [Luton Town FC] over league leaders QPR. A slow start, with just two points after two, was followed by pars on the third and fifth, each contributing three points. Playing partner on Saturday David Clark won The Battle of the Wet, coming out the winner with 17 points in appalling conditions and despite a blank on hole 1. Davey Boyce posted 17 points on Sunday and is this season’s first recipient of a sleeve of Srixons for his birdie 2 on the third. Brad Steel’s 16 points included four consecutive fours while playing partner Joan Myers’ 16 points began with a superb par on the first. Neil Robertson, Alan Holmes and new member Stephen Butterfield all scored 14 points. Neil began and finished with pars, Alan had six net pars and Stephen was rather handicapped by a lack of course knowledge and having to play with Dave ‘Motormouth’ Ward. He did however manage to score on every hole and could be a dark horse in future comps. George van Boyd and John Simpson each managed 13 points, George getting off to a good start with a par on the first and 8 points on the first 4 before going awry on the fifth. John’s difficulties are known to us all and he is still much admired for his tenacity and still sometimes brilliant play. Club Captain and Comps Secretary Ank had one of those days we’ve all had when we struggle to put anything together while watching our playing partner have the game of their life. But Ank has the consolation of also being an informal golf mentor to playing partner Chris Davey and so in one sense Chris’s success is also Anks. Peter Warren is another who can be brilliant or struggle and this was not his day, but another good one awaits him.

Thanks to everyone who participated especially Dave Clark, Geoff Freeman + Diane & Peter Clark, who came out on Saturday and fought The Battle of the Wet. The new signing in regimen worked after one or two teething problems were sorted by Andrew Leece. The Order of Merit will be posted by Wednesday and the prizes are on their way. We look forward to seeing you all on Saturday 29^th & Sunday 30^th of this month for round 2.