The New Bridge Has Started

The foundations and beams are in position on the 15th for the new (Maureen Braven) bridge. The bridge is being funded from donations and money raised within the Club and the work so far has been courtesy of Kenny Shepherd and Derek Himlin. The next task is for the stonemasons. Great job guys .... well done.

Hadrian League - Parklands vs Newcastle United

This was an away match but the scene is familiar .....

A cloud burst, a deluge, flooded greens and the match was abandoned without a ball being struck ..... try again next week!!

Super win against Slaley

The Men's team played at home yesterday evening against Slaley Hall in the Hadrian League match. With the course drying out after the deluge last weekend, the only cause for concern was the bunkers. However, with the help of Richard from the shop and a few willing members, the bunkers were raked and most became playable on the night. All the matches were close with two finishing on the 17th and 2 on the 18th. There were wins for Graeme Hewitt 3/2, Chris Bowman 1up, Paul Shanks 2up, Daniel Trotter 3/2 and Craig Wilson 2/1. Ian Davidson lost 3/2 to an in form opponent. It was an impressive team performance all round. The result was a 10 - 2 win for Parklands. Well done to you all. Ronnie Dixon sent his best wishes .... he had to go to that place called 'work' .... well somebody has to ... glad it's not me!!

Junior Team Result - Parklands 8 Ponteland 4

Report from Robert Hope :- A phenomenal result for Parklands on a wet weekend at Ponteland, when many courses were waterlogged and closed.
With a harsh defeat against City last week lingering on the teams mind, we knew we were the underdogs who would have been thankful for a draw.
A fantastic victory of 8-4 against a stronger and more experienced Ponteland side gave the team a massive boost, creating a wave of confidence for all and hopefully marking the beginning of a winning streak. The first 3 off the tee each gave 9 shots away while the final 3 were more evenly matched
The team would like to offer heartfelt thanks to Ben Goldie for once again playing number one, with the additional pressure that the position brings. This week Ben played four handicapper Peter Sym. Despite a shaky start Ben managed to sink a number of impressive puts to pull back a number of holes, before being beaten on the 13th. Well done Ben for showing such resilience in the match.
Oliver Hogg ventured out as number two playing six handicapper Adam Barker. Olly was up against it from tee off . Although his head went down slightly after the 8th, after some words of encouragement he rallied and was proud to finish five and three after being 6 down through 6.
Robert Hope took on nine handicapper Rachel Bruce reigning county girls captain. The two started off well and played shot for shot until Robert emerged victorious down the 18th with both players leaving with a mutual respect for the other and a new found friendship.
Tom Brookes had his 2nd victory for the junior team playing Mathew Fenwick. Having lead for most of the way, Tom won the match on the 16th green. A more enjoyable match this week for Tom against a great opponent giving him good reason to keep smiling.
Wayne Mcculloch showed guts and dug deep coming from three down through four holes to achieve victory. After a wayward front nine Wayne found form on the back nine to win the match on the 16th green.
Joanna Rumney played a storming match in her 2nd team appearance beating 15 year old Samuel Newman eight and six. Joanna was gracious in victory and also went on to support the team through the remaining matches. Well done Joanna, I hope Ponteland do not steal you away from us next year!
Samantha Malone picked up the gauntlet as team reserve once again and enjoyed a good round on the course.
Extra thanks to Brian and Trish Malone who came and supported the juniors and Jack who provided an excellent caddie service for Wayne.
Parklands juniors would like to recognise the welcome and hospitality we received at Ponteland, a close team of great sportsmen.

Men's Captain's Day Cancelled

I visited the course this morning (like visiting a sick relative) to witness the effects of the deluge. The pond on the 2nd has burst its banks and there is extensive flooding. With the course closed, there is little option but to cancel and reschedule tomorrows competition. The new date is Sunday, 9th August 2009 and a new draw will be made. The entry sheet will go out next Sunday morning as normal.

Wash Out for the Weekend

The Lady Captain, Maureen, was on the phone early this morning to tell me that the Ladies Captain's Day scheduled for tomorrow has been cancelled owing to the 2 inches of rain currently pouring from the sky. Such are the plans of men (and women) dashed by the actions of the gods!! The day has been re-scheduled for Saturday 1st August ... check the website for further details.

My Captain's Day on Sunday is looking very unlikely ... Steven Quince will assess the course in the morning and I hope to have the information out on the web and on this blog before noon ... b*****ks!!!!

Beaten but not down at Newbiggin

It's always a bad sign to get a text message when driving to a team match. I pulled over and read that Ricky Jamieson was going to be late. Don't worry. we have until 6.30pm to tee off. I arrived at Newbiggin on a warm and sunny evening. The threat of rain seemed to have gone, and we were ready for a tough match. The phone rang again. Ricky was not coming ... and with two regular team members not available I had no reserves. Frantic phone calls ... and voila ... Karl Mossom raced up from Parklands to fill the breach and we were a team of 6 again. But it was tough .... Newbiggin played the Penny brothers who are their Newcastle and District players with handicaps of +2. Their 6th player had a handicap of 2 .... a strong team on their own turf ... Matches at the start of the back nine were running to form, we were down in 5 and even in 1. The results started to come in ... Graeme Hewitt lost 5/4 but felt he played well, Chris Bowman lost 3/2, Craig Wilson lost 4/3. Ronnie lost 5/4 .... get the picture? The exception was Daniel Trotter playing at no.6 who had a good run of holes and won 4/3 to secure 2 points and ensure that we did not go home empty handed. Left out on the course with a growing crowd of onlookers was Karl playing at no.3 .... he was all square with three to go ... and his opponent was swearing, banging his club down, generally bad mannered. They halved the next ... then a par three ... Karl's opponent topped a chip shot and promptly broke his wedge over his knee ... the hole was halved ... down the 18th and both players had a putt for birdie. .... and both missed by a couple of inches ... and a half was secured and a point for the team. We had lost 9 - 3 but it was an ok result. Thanks to Karl for filling the gap ... it was appreciated by the team and me.