Senior Men’s Golf Chairman’s Blog
One of the privileges of being the Chair of Seniors Golf is that every fortnight, I have the opportunity to talk about aspects of golf beyond the day to day competitions competed for among seniors at Roehampton Club. This last weekend most seniors will have been watching or listening to the coverage of the Ryder Cup in Rome. Indeed, one Member explained to me in the gym on Sunday morning that the television coverage available on an exercise bike made his session more bearable.
Two particular features of the match that caught my eye were the existence of the two short par fours which tempted players to go for the green at risk of finding thick rough or, on one hole, water.
We at Roehampton Club are familiar with the concept of short par fours. Indeed, in his video ‘Ken on the Course’ Ken Brown pointed out the balance of risk and reward on holes four, five and six which is even more acute for club golfers.
I was also intrigued by the row over the actions of Patrick Cantlay’s caddy around the green at a crucial point on Saturday. It reminded me of the need to be aware of how where we are positioned on the green when someone else is putting can be crucial. I have to own up to the fact that I am not always conscious of how my presence can affect others. The final afternoon was quite tense for a while until the red tide on the scoreboard began to recede sufficiently to guarantee a win for Europe.
September Grail
With course maintenance truncating play this week, I only have the September Grail upon which to report. A large entry of 65 seniors played in our competition. Despite the good weather and the rough not yet as punitive as it may become in the winter only a fifth of players played to their handicaps. In a closely fought struggle, the successful players were:
1st Bengt Grundberg 39 points (countback)
2nd Peter Sabine 39 points (countback)
3rd Mark Tydeman 38 points (countback)
4th Clive Nicholson 38 points (countback)
5th Terry Dillon 38 points (countback
Congratulations to all prize winners especially to Bengt on his memorable win.
Seniors Summer Eclectic
The September Grail was the last opportunity to improve upon scores in our summer eclectic. We had fewer than normal entrants this summer – perhaps put off by the fact that a handful of seniors have monopolised the leaderboard in recent years. The winners were:
1st Ken Pratt nett 49
2nd Hassan Dajani nett 51
3rd David Bouch nett 51
The best gross score was posted by Suresh Vara with a gross 68.
Our winter competitions start in October except for the Winter Eclectic which opens this month.
Seniors AGM
Our AGM is to be held on Wednesday 25th October. To enable the AGM to follow on directly after golf at 2pm, like last year we will have a shotgun start. Arrangements will be made to enable seniors to pre-order sandwiches or other food. Please sign up as it will be an opportunity for everyone to comment upon the organisation of senior golf.
Annual Men’s Golf Dinner
The annual golf dinner is to be held on Friday 17th November. Sign up is already open and it has been a great occasion in recent years. The cost is £50 and Members can sign up at Reception. As in the past we will hope to have at least two tables of seniors who can give a cheer for the three or four seniors who will be presented with their trophies from summer competitions at the dinner.