Geoff Freeman wins twice in the matches that weren’t.

What a weekend for golf……..what a weekend of golf!  Golf on ice anyone? ‘First thing in the morning if you can manage it!’  That was the cry on Friday when the call went out on Whatsapp from one Geoffrey Freeman, and those of us who read it and had seen the forecast, thought, ‘Is he mad?’.  Meanwhile, sat with his wife on Pannat Hill, having shared a glass or three of Christmas cheer one man thought: ‘I think I can fit it in between bike rides!’ And like so many before him a wishful tipsy thought transmitted itself via the interweb and became tomorrow’s regret. Who else could it be but Jon [sometimes John] Holmes. And lo and behold we were wrong again, there wasn’t just someone mad enough to play on Saturday, there were two of them.

Day 1

Saturday

The day dawned differently to those earlier in the week; no sun to burn the worst of the frost off. Deep, deep frost it was too but not too much for those two. Bitterly cold? So what! Temporary greens? No problem! Balls bouncing high in the air? Who cares! . And so they set off…madmen posing as golfers…hero and villain… winner and loser…but which would be which?  Each met the challenge of the first tee well and after concerted efforts succeeded in getting their tees into the ground! And away up the fairway they went.  Geoff’s 5 brought him 2 points but Jon[sometimes John] was unlucky with frozen worm casts and could only manage a 6 for 1. Good drives off the second went helter-skelter and a tricky pin on an even trickier green led to 7’s for both. But by virtue of a higher handicap[20] GF’s brought him a point. “Who chose to put that green there?” Jon was heard to mutter. And back came the ghostly reply, the spirit of Silecroft, the one we call Ken. “That was me!” it whispered, with a grin. Geoff 3 points, Jon [sometimes John] 1. On the third it was Geoff’s honour and as he looked in the distance for the flag he was forced to ask where the ‘new’ green was. “It’s where it’s always been.” Said the spirit of Christmas Golf, the one we call Ken. “Why couldn’t you have just put it on that flat bit short of the green?” “Toooooo easy!” And by immense effort, accurate iron play and the power of prayer both came away with fours. But for Geoff off 20, that’s another 2 points, whereas for Jon [sometimes John], off a niggardly 14 it’s only 1. The score moves on, now it’s 5 – 2. On to the 4th where each scored a 6 for 1 and at 6 – 3 it looked a likely win for Geoff. “Who mowed these greens?” Asked ‘almost gone Jon’. “”Nowt wrong with em!” replied Geoff. “Thaaaat woooould have been Gunger.” The ghost claimed, with a wicked laugh. But you don’t get up at 6 for a bike ride around in the dark by giving up and you can’t stand in front of a classroom of miscreants and bring them to heel without a degree of fortitude either….and so it began…. unknown to Geoff… the fight-back was on. A 4 on the 5^th was soon followed by a three on the 6^th and a birdie on the 7^th all meant a massive 9 points in three holes. Not that Geoff was playing badly either with 6 points of his own over the same three holes. But suddenly it was 12 – 12 with two to play. Was it the bit between his teeth? Coloured balls? Something someone said? A trip to left field or just pure bad luck? No one will ever know because what happened on the 8^th is staying on the 8^th. Sometimes John, it’s best to forget. Geoff’s 6 was good enough for 2 points, 14 – 12, we’ll say no more. Rallying on the 9^th was much more Jon’s style and two points there left Geoff needing one point to win. It was there that, thanks to an outrageous rebound off one worm cast and an in-off another he was able to count a six and win by the narrowest of margins. Final score Geoff 15 Jon 14. But wait, who was that figure in a Kangol hat approaching the green? Could it be Gunger? Yes it was. “What are you doing here?” They asked in unison. “I couldn’t believe that anyone would be daft enough to play in this and I had to find out!” Said Gunger. “Well we did.”They answered. And so the pair shook hands and went home, anxious to tell their grandchildren that once upon a time they played ‘golf on ice’. “You’re mad as a Hatter.” Said Geoff’s.” On yer bike.” Said Jon’s.

And as all three left an eerie sound was heard, which echoed and swirled and drifted and carried a message from The Spirit of Silecroft Golf Club in his nearby workshop, to golfers everywhere….and if you concentrated and  listened really carefully you could just make out what it said….”Yes we’re open…all through the holidays..if you’re mad enough.”

Day 2

Sunday.

It was the best of days [that weekend] not the worst of days [this year] and our hero had found a different playing partner, a certain Stephen Butterfield, who was prepared to travel from Keswick to give Geoff a game and would also push him to the limit. Stephen’s 19 points consisted of good three pointers on 3,5,6 & 9 and a particularly brilliant iron shot from 140 yards onto the miniature temporary green on the ninth. But Geoff remains in scintillating form and despite the hiccup of a 7 on the 8^th was able to better his handicap by three shots and come home with an outstanding 21 points. Having posted 44 points in the Christmas Comp Geoff was naturally keen to play this weekend and was able to add a 21pts to his order of merit. Stephen’s 19 points was no mean feat either. With insufficient numbers to constitute a competition entry fees will be carried over to their next Natterjack rounds.

Chris Davey wins close decision – Pete Warren pushes winner.

1^st Chris Davey 23 pts
2^nd Peter Warren 23 pts
3^rd Dave Warren  21 pts

When Chris Davey’s playing partners finished their rounds on Saturday word soon seeped out that Chris had been on fire again, sparking conversations throughout the rest of the weekend about the advantages of a high handicap. But this is not the first time a relatively new player has put in good performances ahead of their handicap and it won’t be the last. The fact remains that whoever wins has had to have had a very good day on the course by their standards and if that continues their handicap will catch up with them. And Chris did have a very good day. It started in fairly ordinary fashion with five points from the first three holes but eighteen points over the next six including a birdie on the 8^th for 5 pts was enough to claim victory.  What’s that you say…’a birdie on the 8^th…isn’t that stroke index 1?’ And you’re right, it is the most difficult hole on the course, so, rather than guess what happened I rang him to find out. “My drive left me with 130 yards to go,” Chris told me. “ and I used a pitching wedge next, which left me a yard or two off the green at the front. I chose to putt and luckily for me the putt went in.” Which leaves us with the age old question: if we aim for the hole from any distance and it goes in, is that luck? Or good technique rewarded? On this occasion it was enough to give Chris the win on count-back. There were also two one pointers on his card, on the 2^nd and the 5^th each of which could have easily been blanks on his card but on both occasions he managed to rescue bad shots with a good short game finish. So sometimes it’s those birdies that win it and sometimes it’s the one point we rescue after a difficult approach but most times it’s both. Chris did both and had a great day as a result.   

So did Peter Warren. He started with just one point on the first but it got better and better from there on. Four points on the fifth came virtue of a birdie and a par on the eighth was good enough for another four. Peter is one of those players who sails along mostly unnoticed but then proves himself more than capable on any given day. Saturday was one of those. Round 3 might have belonged to him but for the rules of count-back and on this occasion Chris’s 5 pointer on the eighth was decisive.

There were in fact lots of very good scores in round 3 and in third place with 21 was Dave Warren. The winner of this year’s knockout was in fine form once again on Sunday, with five pars, including both par 3’s and was Mr Consistent with six 2 pointers and three 3 pointers. A par on 6 was a rarity over both days so well done Dave. Alan Holmes won round 2 and put in another great effort on Saturday, coming home with 20 points. A run of three successive pars on 3,4 & 5 brought nine points and were part of his collection of five three pointers. Another solid round to boost his Order of Merit claims. Also on 20 points was new member Stephen Butterfield. Three great up and downs formed the basis of his round, one of which brought him from the deep rough to the right of the third to eight feet away courtesy of a superb wedge shot. The putt goes in and suddenly a potential disaster turns into three points. We’ll be hearing more of Stephen, who drives a long way to be here, inspired by memories of the course in his earlier years. There were four players with 19 points and beginning with ladies first it was a quite extraordinary day for Diane Clark. Four one pointers makes it sound….well…nothing unusual in that you might say… but how do you get from there to 19 points? And the answer is… by playing the other five holes marvelously well. Scoring four points on the 7^th helped. Geoff Freeman’s 19 points also came via the 7^th where a birdie earned him four points. George van Boyd matched that with a birdie of his own on the 7^th and that helped him to 19. And AJ Holmes managed 19 points while playing off a handicap of just 6. His highlight was a birdie on the third, or as it’s better known… a two, earning him a sleeve of balls in the process. A birdie on 3 followed by 6 consecutive pars tells its own story. Quality stuff! AJ also posted 18 points on Sunday, adding to his Order of Merit claims. There were five more players with 18, including our first visitor to the competition Glenn Clark. A frequent visitor to Silecroft golf course Millomite Glenn is son of Silecroft GC legend Dave [Diddy] Clark and Sunday was a case of Clark Snr v Clark Jnr with Diddy leading all the way up until the last two holes where Glen scored two pars to make it honours even, 18 points each. Neil Robertson [Gunger] started well, including a notable par on the second but blanks on 3 & 4 looked to have scuppered his chances until a birdie on the 5^th got him back on track. A consistent run in brought him up to 18 points and if those two blanks hadn’t been what could he have scored? Dave Boyce scored on every hole and was among that elite group with pars on both the par threes in among his 18 points, while John Simpson was another to have scored on all nine for 18. Peter Clark was yet another to score on every hole and had three pars in his 17 points. For Gary Turner it was ‘a game of two halves’ on Saturday with holes 1 through 4 only producing a meager 4 points and then holes 5 through 9 harvesting 12. A birdie on 7 was the highlight. Club Captain Ank Robinson had five pars in his 16 points and Jon Holmes spent his round scrambling to score on every hole, which he did, for his 16. It was good to see Richard [Joey] Roberts back playing again and despite not being absolutely 100% he still managed 15 points. Joe Burch had an extraordinary round on Saturday with three blanks and a birdie on the 7^th for 4 points among his 15. One day soon Joe…one day soon. We don’t see enough of John Armstrong these days and he also began slowly but came home strong for 14 points as did Darren Clark, another new member only recently taken to golf. Early signs are good and he returned 14 points too. Helen Holmes had two excellent pars in her 14 points. Mike Jackman started well but things went a bit awry after his par on the third, although he was able to post 13 points thanks to a strong finish on 8 & 9. Vernon Edmondson & Martin George go back a long way and both had been off with serious injuries which kept them away from golf for the summer. It’s good to have them back. It’s fair to say they haven’t got back to their best yet but with their handicaps it’s only a matter of time before they’re back in the prizes and the Natterjack’s may be their next target.

The weather was kind and you responded by taking the opportunity to make it a really good contest. Thanks to everyone. The Order of Merit is now well under way and standings are posted in the signing in room. As soon as we have a qualifier with six scores then I’ll be posting the standings on here too. Chris Davey has made a strong start but can he find consistency? Alan Holmes already has a 19 & 20, a great start too and brings a lot of experience and a viable handicap to the course. All those with 19+ points are up and running and this season we will once again be giving out prizes down to 5^th. It looked like 23 points was exceptional and some thought unbeatable but then Peter Warren showed that it wasn’t and several others went close but for the odd slip up. We have new members competing and our first visitor was a familiar face who might well return.

Round 4 will take place on the 26^th & 27^th November and will be on the back 9.

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.

Gunga Grabs Gold.

1^st  Neil Robertson 20 pts

2^nd Peter Warren    19pts [Count-back]

3^rd Tony Waugh       19pts [Count-back]

The weather was finally kind and after 28 rounds played no less than seven players posted 19 points but it all came good for Gunga as he pipped all seven at the post by just one point. Five pars in nine holes accounted for thirteen of those and with nothing more than a 5 on his card his consistency meant his time had come at last. Peter Warren went out early Sunday with John Simpson and Richard Roberts and despite a slow start managed his 19 points by coming home strong enough to secure 2^nd place, virtue of 8 points on the last three. Richard only scored four points on the first four holes before coming home strong himself to post 17 while John had the satisfaction of a par on the 14^th in his 13. It took count-back over the last six holes to separate Tony Waugh’s 19 from Brad Steels’, a blank on the 14^th costing Brad third place after a scintillating start to his round including 10 points from his first four holes. Gary Turner and Joe Burch each had 19 too. It was a weekend when scoring or not scoring on the last decided a lot of issues and so it was with Joe whose 7 on the 18^th slipped him out of the winner’s enclosure. They both came late to the Natterjack season and if his shift pattern allows him more chances next season then surely Gary will be a threat to all. As for Joe, well, if I’m scoring 19 points at 82 years old I’ll be a happy player, as will we all. Well done Joe. Doug Myers came into the weekend with an outside chance in the Order of Merit where he sat sixth. It was a big ask but his 19 points on Saturday came from a superb start and sixteen points as he stood on the 16^th hole. Was it the previous night out on the razzle? A sore shoulder from too much fly casting? Or Waugher’s cough? Because he too struggled on the last after a brave effort! Another round on Sunday brought 18 points including a brilliant 4 for 4 on the 14^th. Wife Joan meanwhile was also in with a chance in the Ladies Order of Merit and had an 18 pointer on Sunday to take her close. Davey Boyce had an extraordinary round on Saturday when his 19 points included a blank and two one pointers but featured a birdie on the 13^th. Playing partner on Sunday Dave Warren’s attempt to climb into the Order of Merit top 10 looked good with 18 points but others had improved too and meant he just lost out. Helen and Jon Holmes were able to return from their travels to play Sunday and Helen had the satisfaction of pars on both par threes while Jon had no less than 4 one pointers in his 18. George Farquhar had 17 points on Saturday with solid pars on 12, 13 & 16 and it was good to see Ron Lester back among us again. He soon made short work of the 10^th with a three pointer. Playing partners Malcolm Haworth and Bill Hoyle had a mixed weekend whereby neither was able to take advantage of the benign conditions but each was glad of the opportunity to prove it.

Final Order of Merit 2022

Both titles, Men’s & Women’s, were up for grabs as Round 12 began and it was fitting that it all came down to the last hole on the last day. Tony Waugh was under threat from Doug Myers and Helen Holmes could be caught by Joan Myers. With everything to play for Dougie needed a par on the last to tie Tony and with Helen not improving her score on the day, a par for Joan would mean she had pipped Helen by 1 point. Whether it was the pressure, or having Tony looking over their shoulders, who can say but both valiant efforts faltered there and each had to settle for 2^nd place in their respective divisions. But Doug added a brilliant six points to his final total to leap frog from 6^th into 2^nd place and Joan improved by 5 points to go above Diane Clark. Which all means that Tony and Helen, having each led their division for most of the competition, have both narrowly held on and are now the worthy Natterjack 9’s Order of merit champions for 2022.

But there’s another story here too. Pete Warren’s 19 points meant he was able to swap that for an 8 pointer and gain 11 points and Neil Robertson’s 20 points replaced a 16 to move him up to 10^th on the final leader board. Each made slow starts to the Natterjacks and both could pose a threat in 2022/23. The same is true for Gary Turner who finished with a 19 pointer and was able to drop a 14 for a five point gain. Brad Steel made it a successful comp for him and all of his fourball partners by adding 3 points on Saturday; cementing his place in the top 10. Davey Boyce added 2 points to take him into joint 3^rd. Dave Warren has been having success on the Winter Alliance and improved by 2 points but narrowly missed out on the top 10; another dark horse for next season when he brings his Alliance game to the Natterjacks. And spare a thought for defending champion Geoff Freeman who made a bright start to his defense but was struck down by injury. He’ll be back too.

The Order of Merit has proved a popular addition to the calendar and will be returning this Autumn, thank you all for your support.

Men: with a minimum of 4 qualifying rounds.

1st Tony Waugh	121 [6]  22 – 22 – 20 – 19 – 19 – 19
2nd Doug Myers	+6   118 [6]  24 – 20 – 19 – 19 – 18 – 18
3rd Richard Roberts	116 [6]  21 – 21 – 20 – 19 – 18 – 17
3rd Davey Boyce	+2  116 [6]  22 – 20 – 19 – 19 – 18 – 18
5th George van Boyd	115 [6]  21 – 21 – 19 – 19 – 19 – 16
Ian Swarbrick	114 [6]  24 – 20 – 19 – 18 – 17 – 16
Brad Steel	+ 3  114 [6]  20 – 20 – 19 – 19 – 18 – 18
David Clark	111 [6] 21 – 19 – 19 – 18 – 17 – 17
Vernon Edmondson	109 [6]  23 – 19 – 18 – 17 – 16 – 16
Neil Robertson	+4  107 [6]  20 – 18 – 18 – 17 – 17 – 17
Geoff Freeman	107 [6]  Season ruined by injury. 2020/21 Champion.
Dave Warren	+2  106 [6] 19 – 18 – 18 – 17 – 17 – 17
Peter Clark	103 [6]
Joe Shaw	103 [6]
Ged McGrath	102 [6]
Martin George	101 [6]
Jon Holmes	101 [6]
Gary Turner	+5 101 [6]
Peter Warren	+11 100 [6]
Joe Burch	98 [6]
John Simpson	93 [6]
AJ Holmes	91 [6]
Dave Maclardie	91 [6]
Alan Holmes	90 [6]
Pete Fry	86 [5]
John Phillips	86 [6]
James Mallon	82 [5]
John Simpson	93 [6]
Joe Burch	98 [6]
Edd Robertson	69 [4]
John French	66 [4]

Ladies: All qualifiers

Helen Holmes	111 [6]21 – 20 – 19 – 17 – 17 – 17
Joan Myers	+5  109 [6]19 – 19 – 19 –  18 -17 – 17
Diane Clark	107 [6]22 – 20 – 18 – 16 – 16 – 15
Sue Driver	82 [5]
Chris Lloyd-Rogers	71 [4]
Sue Bilgri	41 [2]
Yvonne Goodrick	40 [2]