Spring Meeting
The course defended itself very well against the golfers who contested the Spring Meeting. Missing the fairway came at a high cost, and the bunkers seemed to be moving about to meet our balls. But, as is always the case, there were players who rose to the challenge. There are quite a few trophies associated with this event, and those will be handed out after the Foursomes competition next week. Congratulations to all who played, but especially to:
Silver Division
1st Place Scratch Ali Jacobs (78) The Greenwood Trophy
2nd Place Scratch Lou Wills (83)
Handicap Winner Ali Jacobs (71) George Gadd Memorial Trophy (Trophy Only)
1st Place Handicap Therese Swanson (74)
2nd Place Handicap Alison Post (75)
Bronze Division
1st Place Scratch Tricia Culliford (96)
2nd Place Scratch Emma Angood (98) CB
1st Place Handicap Henrietta O’Shea (74) CB George Gadd Memorial Trophy
2nd Place Handicap Sandy MacCaw (74)
3rd Place Handicap Gill Evamy (77) CB
Best nett score by past Captains and present Committee Therese Swanson (74) Holness Silver Box
Veterans Prize
Sandy MacCaw (74)
Teams in action
Well done to the Centenary Bowl team, who defeated Croham Hurst Golf Club 3/2. The Pearson Squad unfortunately lost the away leg of the round of 16 to a very strong team from Betchworth Park Golf Club. Good luck to all players, in the home matches, as well as to the Wallis team who will play at Hankley Common Golf Club.
Special mention to the twelve ladies who gave the men a walloping in the annual match between the two sections. They were victorious in 5 of the 6 games. The glorious details are on display on the notice board in the locker room.
Success on the bigger stage
A huge congratulations to Annabell Fuller for being named to represent Team GB&I at the 42nd Curtis Cup Match to be played 10th-12th June at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. In addition to that, she also shot winning rounds of 66 and 71 to qualify for the 2022 US Open. This professional major will be held at Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club, Southern Pines, North Carolina on June 2-5.
Hit it hard, go find it and hit it again … (Arnie Palmer)
Everyone who has been out on the course recently has most likely at some point hit a ball into the rough. And what rough it is … long and lush! It looks lovely and green from far away but is less inviting when your ball is sitting down in it. Before tackling the issue of which club to use, a player should identify her ball. Hitting the wrong ball incurs a two-shot penalty in stroke play and is loss of hole in a match. So, identifying the ball is imperative, but make sure you do it correctly.
There are a number of measures a player can take in what’s termed a ‘fair search’ for the ball. She can shift sand and water, she can move and bend grass, bushes, tree branches and other ‘growing or attached natural objects’. She can even break them. But the key here is that it is done as part of ‘reasonable actions’ to find and identify the ball. If that’s the case, she won’t pick up a penalty, even if what she does improves the conditions affecting the stroke. But if the actions are not reasonable, the general penalty – two strokes in stroke play and loss of hole in match play – is applied for a breach of Rule 8.1, which requires a player to play the course as she finds it.
If a player comes across a ball and she’s not sure whether it’s hers then, of course, she can lift the ball to identify it. She can even rotate it. But she must (MUST) mark the spot of the ball first and cannot clean it any more than is required to make sure it’s hers. She must then make sure she returns the ball to the exact same spot, recreating the lie, even if it means burying the ball deep into the long grass. Failure to mark the spot before lifting, or cleaning the ball when not allowed, incurs a one-shot penalty.
The player cannot lift the ball unless it is reasonably necessary. A player picking up her ball to identify it, when doing so is not necessary, for example because her initials are clearly visible, will incur a one-shot penalty. So be wary of players ‘identifying a ball’ when they really just are trying to pull it out of the rough or see what the lie is like underneath.
Patricia Morgan, Ladies’ Golf Captain
