Foursomes Success

The foursomes pairing of Candy Brown and Isabel Hirst were representing Parklands at the Area Final of the 2010 Peugeot LGU Coronation Foursomes event held at Hexham Golf Club on Wednesday, 28th July. Candy and Isabel had won the local qualification earlier in the season at the club event at Parklands. With 70 pairings in the final from as far and wide as Workington to West Surrey and playing the dreaded foursomes format at Hexham (always a testing course) they carded a creditable 39 points. Later in the day they were called back to attend the presentation and to be told they had won the event and qualified for the Grand Final to be played at the Eden Course at St Andrews in September. The Grand Final also entitles them to 2 nights accommodation in the Old Course Hotel and travel expenses. They will of course be accompanied by two caddies ... Barry Hirst and me ... Well done ladies!!

Captain's Day - and the winner was?

First of all, a big thanks from Brian King to all the members who turned up to play on Captain's Day, over 140 and the largest number of members to play in recent times. We had a dry day (weather that is) and the day produced some great scores to claim the £1300+ of prizes on offer. The full results are available on the Parklands web site ... but congratulations here go to our winner ... Rod Armstrong who can be seen here receiving his prizes from Brian and Joan. 2nd was Robert Hope who tied on 42 points with Rod, but lost on count back. 3rd was David Quinn also on 42 points. 4th was Richard Newman on 41 points. Thanks for a great day Brian.

Birthday Girl - Dorothy

Our birthday wishes go to Dorothy Hutchins. We never ask a lady her age, but in this case there is an obvious hint since the cards say 80 years old or is it 80 years young? Dorothy had a tea party with many of the ladies from the golf club today along with a cake and a bouquet of flowers to accompany the celebration. Well done Dorothy and many more to come .....

Lady Captain's Day

Saturday was Lady Captain's Day, Deborah's Day ... and Deborah did the Ladies proud. The day was a little windy with some threatening rain clouds skirting the course, but the players who turned out to support their Captain on her big day stayed dry ... on the outside that is!! With a putting competition to start the proceedings, it was off to the first tee for a goody bag, drinks and sweeties ... and a compulsory photo on the 1st tee box. see link .... www.pics-by-geoff.photos.us.com/c1873043.html
Then 18 holes of stableford golf, with a stop at the 9th for refreshments, then back to the 19th for afternoon tea (or in some cases something a little stronger) and the prize giving. This years prize theme was clocks ... so the winners will always be on time. The winner on the day was Sam Malone who tied with Joan King on 37 points, winning on count back. All the prize winners are listed on the Parklands web site. Well done Debs ... a great day for all concerned.

Club Champions 2010

Sunday was the Finals Day of the Club Championship and although it was a dry and mainly sunny day, the weather was dominated by very strong winds which shook the trees, flapped the trouser legs and accentuated any spin on the ball into exaggerated movements in the air.

The morning matches included the Men's Senior Handicap Trophy and the Ladies Bronze Championship Finals, both played over 18 holes. In the Seniors final, Keith Simpson and Terry Cooper contested a close contest with both players making some excellent shots in the windy conditions. However, the match came to a conclusion on the 17th with Keith triumphing 3 and 1.

In the Ladies Bronze, the Lady Captain, Deborah Welch was playing Terri Hallows, an excellent match player who often punches above her weight. This was a very close match throughout which was only decided on the 18th when Terri, playing her second shot from a divot hole, chipped through the green to give Deborah a win on the 18th. Congratulations and well played Debs.

The Men's and Ladies Championships were played over 36 holes and both matches nearly went the distance. In the Ladies, Gill Davison in her first final was challenging Alyssa Balding a previous champion. In the morning session, the match score moved as expected with Alyssa taking a comfortable lead of 4 up at lunch. However, things changed on the afternoon and Gill made serious dents in Alyssa lead which was 6 holes at one point and this was cut back to 2. Alyssa finally got her golfing brain together, but not before Gill had missed a few putts to win holes that could have tied the match. The match finished on the 17th with a super win for Alyssa Badling. Well done and congratulations.

The Men's final was between Graeme Hewitt and Ronnie Dixon. Graeme has been Club Champion in 1995, 1996, 1998 and 1999 whereas this was Ronnie's first final. This was an enthralling battle from the off with a tight morning round. Ronnie was 3 up after the 15th only to lose 3 holes on the trot, as Graeme called on all his experience to go to lunch 1 up. The afternoon round again produced some gripping golf, always played in the most laudable of sporting manner. The match finished on the 36th hole when Ronnie, teeing off 1 up, held his nerves together and won the match and the Championship. Well done and thanks guys for a great final.

Captain's Day Entry - 25th July

If you had already put your name down to play on Captain's Day, please note that the entry sheet has been stolen and you need to re-enter by next Sunday 18th July to ensure that you are in the draw.
You can enter by putting your name on the replacement entry sheet in the locker room or by email to parklands_golf@btinternet.com.
Please pass this message to all the members who might have been on the original entry sheet.

Vandalism and Theft

For the second time in a week we have experienced an act of vandalism in the Men's locker room at the Club. Last week it was obscenities written across a notice. Today, sometime this afternoon, someone stole the entry sheet for Captain's Day. This is an attack on everyone of the 80+ members who had entered their name on the sheet and it will inconvenience every potential entrant. If the culprit is identified, I will personally ensure that they receive a life time ban from the Parklands and ensure that their name is published to every golf club secretary in the area. This is an attack on every member of the club. If anyone witnessed anything out of the ordinary in the vicinity of the Men's locker room this afternoon, please come forward and report it.

Rules of Golf - Did you know?

The white stakes (or any other object) which define the out of bounds are FIXED. Improving the position of the ball by moving anything fixed is a breach of Rule 13-2 (Improving Lie, Area of Intended Stance or Swing, or Line of Play). So you must never remove a white stake even if you are still in bounds and the stake interferes with your stroke.

The penalty for Breach of Rule is : Match Play - Loss of Hole, Stroke Play - Two Strokes.

Even removing the stake and replacing it before you play the stroke incurs the same penalty. I wonder how often this rule has been broken in ignorance - so hands off.

Club Championship Quarters and Semis

Saturday, 3rd July brought the quarter and semi finals of the Club Championships for both the Men and the Ladies and also the quarter finals for the Seniors Handicap Trophy. In the morning matches the draw brought together the brothers Ricky and Steven Jamieson, with Ricky prevailing. The other winners were Graeme Hewitt who beat Tommy Mitchell, Craig Wilson who beat Karl Mossom and Ronnie Dixon who beat. In the Ladies there were wins for Alyssa Balding over Pat Bainbridge, Samantha Taylor who beat Maureen Jenkins, Candy Paige who beat Terri Hallows and Gill Davison who beat Samantha Malone. In the Seniors there were wins for Brian Rutherford, Keith Simpson, Terry Cooper and Graham Hope. In the afternoon semi finals, Graeme Hewitt had a win over Ricky Jamieson and in the Ladies there were wins for Alyssa Balding and Gill Davison. It was a lovely sunny day though the wind picked up in the afternoon. The support was meagre to say the least ... I hope it is better for the Finals next Sunday. Our Champions deserve it.

Well done Sam

Well done Samantha Malone. You can hold your head high after your performance in the national finals of the EWGA Grand Medal Final held at Worcestershire Golf Club on 26th June 2010. Sam played really well to qualify for this competition at both the Club and at the Regional finals. She then returned a score of nett 79 and finished in the top half of the results in the national final, a most laudable achievement.