Men’s Golf Captain’s Blog
While the unseasonably wet weather has been anathema for sun-seekers, it has been a delight for the grounds staff and the course is soft and looks a verdant green – perfect for the extra maintenance work carried out after the Legends Pro Am. The course will recover quickly, and the greens will be in fantastic condition for the final major of the year, the Autumn Meeting which will be played on 16th and 17th September. Huge respect to Peter, David and the team who fit an extensive course maintenance programme around major golf events such as the Pro Am, Spring Meeting, Club Championship, Autumn Meeting in addition to the Ladies’ Gold Cup in early April.
We’ve had little men’s competitive golf since my last blog so kudos to the 19 participants in the Club Rollup on 20th August. The winner was Gautam Samarth (42 pts), from William Magee (39 pts) Scott Bannerman (38 pts) and special mention to Peter Crocombe who scored 38 pts from +1 handicap – a gross 68 (3 under par).
In Captain and Pro we have maintained our hectic schedule with three excellent matches. It is most certainly true that everyone turns on their best golf for ‘Captain and Pro’ matches.
Firstly Ricky and I took on Past Captain Stuart Loggie and First Team player David Birn. All four players made birdie at the 1st which set a tone for a match which became an ‘eagle and birdie fest’. Stuart and David shot a betterball gross 62 and despite Ricky making eagles on the 9th and 15th, the challengers won by 2/1.
Next up Johnny Perkins and Richard Willams challenged Oscar Isaac and myself. The match was nicely balanced in that Richard made net eagle at the 3rd and Johnny made net eagle (to win the match) at the 15th.
Finally, Gerry Dennigan and Brian O’Boyle took on Wes Byatt and myself. You’ll notice that Ben appears in the accompanying photo – I’m grateful that Ben played the first seven holes while Wes had travel issues. In a game that never went beyond one hole up/down, everyone played some fantastic golf with the challengers making birdies at 14th, 15th, and 17th to keep it tight. Thankfully I can make my first mention of winning a crucial hole – making ‘up and down’ at the 18th for a 1up win. I really must go on record to acknowledge the fantastic spirit and company we’ve had in these matches – it will always live in my memory.
Simon Butler, Men’s Golf Captain