Society Days 2011

Using all of my shots was the key to winning commented Phil Greatbatch as he won the first Society day of the year held at Newcastle Golf Club. Winning with 37 points from 98 strokes and playing off a handicap of 27, Phil said that for once he thought about how he was going to use all of his shots and then plotted his way around the course never hitting anything bigger than his trusty old 5 wood. His round consisted of 3 pars and just one nil return on the second hole. Great start to the season for Phil and perhaps a lesson to all of us about course management.

In second place, on count back, came last years Order of Merit Strokeplay Champion and Winter League Winner Kevin Abell (20) with 37 points from 92 strokes. It was a good start for Kevin who also went on to win the Nearest the Pin and the Longest Drive Competitions. Kevin had 6 pars and a Birdie on the par 4 11th hole, so all in all, a bright start to the campaign.

In third place came Russ Howard (32) with 34 points from 108 strokes. And it won’t be long before we see his handicap dropping after another consistent performance.

Brookfield Golf Club - Friday 24th June 2011

Richard plays a blinder
to win the
Twilight Trophy

Trentham Park Golf Club - Friday 22nd July 2011

Alsager Golf Club - Thursday 4th August 2011

Aldersey Green Golf Club - Friday 30th Sept 2011

RESULTS
NAME	SCORE
Phil Greatbatch (27)	98 / 37
Kevin Abell (20)	92 / 37
Russ Howard (32)	108 / 34
Joe Matthews (24)	98 / 34
Peter Simms (23)	98 / 33
Andrew Abell (23)	101 / 32
Daz Matthews (23)	103 / 31
Phil Smith (12)	89 / 31
Karl Furniss (17)	97 / 29
Stan Malpass (22)	102 / 29
Kevin Sherwin (25)	106 / 25
John Smith (24)	105 / 28
Phil Stonier (22)	103 / 28
Richard Meadowcroft (21)	103 / 27
Les Smith (19)	107 / 25
Mel Clewlow (28)	115 / 21

“I used a 5 wood and
thought about it for
a change” says Phil!

Onneley Golf Club - Friday 13th May 2011

RESULTS
NAME	SCORE
Kevin Sherwin (25)	88 / 43
Richard Meadowcroft (21)	86 / 42
John Smith (24)	88 / 42
Andrew Abell (23)	88 / 41
Kevin Abell (20)	89 / 37
Daz Matthews (23)	95 / 36
Steve Ruddell (21)	91 / 36
Phil Smith (12)	84 / 35
Graham Cooke (20)	91 / 35
Peter Simms (23)	94 / 34
Les Smith (19)	92 / 33
Steve Rushton (24)	97 / 33
Joe Matthews (24)	99 / 32
Russ Howard (32)	108 / 32
Stan Malpass (22)	96 / 31
Karl Furniss (17)	94 / 29
Phil Greatbatch (26)	106 / 29
Brian Abell (34)	122 / 28

Handicap slashed as
Kevin Sherwin wins
his third Society Day
at Onneley

Confidence from starting well helped Kevin Sherwin (h’cap 25) to build a great stableford s

core of 43 points from 88 strokes to win our second Society Day at Onneley Golf Club. Ironically, it was at our previous Society Day at Newcastle that Kevin remarked that if he started well it normally gave him the confidence to press on and put a good round of golf together with the ability to focus on his game. Well, he certainly did it at Onneley, great score and perhaps he will give us all a few tips on keeping our concentration out on the course.

Anyway, on to Kevin’s round of golf, what a good front nine holes with 24 points and no disasters dropping just 7 shots. Back nine consisted of a nice birdie on the par 3 15th hole but this was spoiled with a triple bogey 7 on the 16th hole, the only blob on the card. It was a great day all round for Kevin with not only winning the Society’s Easter Cup but then adding the Nearest the Pin Money Hole and picking up the money on the day. Well played Kevin, shame you’ve been docked 3 shots!!

In second spot came Richard Meadowcroft (21) with 42 points from 86 strokes. Oh what a round this could have been for Richard. Missed a “few” tiddler putts on his way round but still built a good score. In third place was John Smith (24) also with 42 points from 88 strokes. Another solid round of golf.

RESULTS
NAME	SCORE
Kevin Abell (19)	83 / 42
Daz Matthews (23)	87 / 42
Russell Howard (32)	100 / 39
Phil Smith (12)	80 / 38
John Smith (22)	93 / 35
Karl Furniss (17)	91 / 35
Phil Stonier (22)	94 / 34
Stan Malpass (22)	95 / 33
Jon Downs (20)	93 / 33
Phil Greatbatch (26)	102 / 33
Andrew Abell (21)	97 / 30
Joe Matthews (24)	102 / 28
Steve Ruddell (21)	101 / 27
Brian Abell (34)	121 / 22
Stephen Rushton (24)	115 / 18

Daz Matthews and Kev Abell
off to a flyer at Brookfield

Professional Golfers will always say how important it is to get off to a good start if you want to put together a great round of golf. Well, both Daz and Kevin did precisely that after opening their round at a blistering pace. Kevin opened with

a score of two over par after seven holes and Daz responded with two over after six. Kevin came unstuck on the hardest hole on the course with a blob on the mammoth 579 yards par 5 8th hole which also proved a difficult hole for most of us. Daz handled that hole well coming off with a seven. Daz finished the back nine with a two point lead and was better off by one shot.

The back nine was a different story with Kevin coming out on top with a three point advantage and a five shot lead. It all came down to the last hole and it was Kevin who came in with a par 5 compared to Daz’s eight that gave Kevin the Players Championship Trophy on a count back decision with both players finishing with 42 points. Well done to both players on a great game of golf. This was Kevin’s 5th Stableford Win with the Society.

In third place came Russ Howard (32) with 39 points from 100 shots and just missed out on breaking a hundred for the first time since starting to play golf. Had a great score on the 8th with a gross six - well done Russ.

RESULTS
NAME	SCORE
Richard Meadowcroft (19)	87 / 41
Andrew Abell (21)	90 / 39
John Smith (22)	95 / 36
Kevin Abell (17)	90 / 35
Joe Matthews (25)	96 / 33
Daz Matthews (20)	96 / 33
Jon Downs (20)	98 / 32
Phil Stonier (22)	102 / 33
Russ Howard (30)	113 / 28
Brian Abell (34)	117 / 26
Tom Gallimore (11) Guest	81 / 39

Well it just goes to show what a funny old game golf is. Richard Meadowcroft (19 h’cap) and not having played for a few weeks following an operation on his leg, spoiled rotten by the nurses and his better half and possibly pampered to death. - and what happens? Jumps out of his car straight to the first tee and shoots his second best score with the Society of 87 shots picking up 41 stableford points to win the Twilight Trophy at Gorstyhill Golf Club. His best ever round with the Society was an 82 at Rhos on Sea on last years annual tour.

What a good knock from Richard. Opens with a great birdie on the long par 5 first hole which started the juices flowing with 4 stableford points in the bag. Then a bit of a lull over the next three holes with just 3 points coming in from holes 2 to 4. But Richard hit a purple patch when he recorded 20 points from the next 8 holes with a great birdie on the par 5 12th hole - another 4 pointer. The par 3 13th hole resulted in a blob before finishing the round off with 12 points from the final 5 holes.

In second place came Andrew Abell (21) with 39 points from 90 strokes. A good solid round of golf. A good opening nine holes bagged 21 points and Andrew looked hot with a great score in the making. But the back nine went a little cool for Andrew after such a good start. In third place came John smith (22) with 36 points from 95 strokes so playing to his handicap. Blowing a bit hot and cold at the moment but had a great Eagle chance on the par 5 12th hole finding the back of the green with his second shot. Missed the Eagle but claimed a birdie for 5 points.

RESULTS
NAME	SCORE
Les Smith (19)	88 / 38
Phil Stonier (23)	92 / 38
Russ Howard (30)	103 / 35
Jon Downs (20)	92 / 35
Joe Matthews (25)	100 / 33
Phil Smith (11)	85 / 33
Daz Matthews (20)	95 / 32
Stan Malpass (22)	98 / 32
Karl Furniss (17)	93 / 31
Kevin Abell (17)	97 / 29
Andrew Abell (20)	101 / 27
Steve Rushton (25)	108 / 27
Phil Greatbatch (26)	110 / 25
John Smith (22)	110 / 21
Brian Abell (34)	125 / 21
John Munn (16) Guest	93 / 30

Les edges home
on count back to lift
the Summer Cup

Well it has to be said what a a great day we had at Trentham Park . The golf course was in great condition and the weather was again kind to us with the sun beating down on us for most of the round. The golf course was tough, especially for those who had not played the course before. The front nine holes were fairly open providing little forgiveness on wayward tee shots but the back nine provided a sterner test. Tighter fairways, more slopes and trees to cope and all contributed to making the last few holes a bit of a struggle for most of our players.

However, it was Les Smith (19) and Phil Stonier (23) who had the best rounds of the day with 38 points apiece. But, it was Les Smith who took away the Summer Cup on a count back decision to continue a very impressive run of form and playing some great golf over recent weeks. Only two weeks ago Les won one of the Medal Competitions at Wolstanton Golf Club with a great game of golf. Well done Les lovely round at Trentham. Les also won the Nearest the Pin competition on the 148 yard 13th Hole. Phil looks as though his game is recovering with a much better day off the tee. Driving well throughout the round but a bad tee shot on the 18th, that resulted in a blob and the only one on his card, cost him the chance of winning on the day. (bugger!!)

In third spot came Russ Howard (30) with 35 points from 103 strokes. Russ had a nightmare first hole which we all dread. A tee shot that went a few yards down the bank followed by a second shot that hit the wall on the bridge that rebounded onto the 18th green (nearly decapitating playing partners!!). Russ was then further back than where he started on the first tee. He then hit a fabulous shot down the middle of the fairway and was up and running. Thereafter, played some good shots and hit some really long drives. Sorry Russ, but your handicap won’t last for long now - expect to drop a few shots if you carry on playing as well as you did at Trentham

RESULTS
NAME	SCORE
Phil Stonier (22)	87/ 41
Mel Clelow (28)	97 / 36
Daz Matthews (21)	94 / 34
Russ Howard (30)	102 / 34
Steve Rushton (25)	102 / 30
Richard Meadowcroft (18)	96 / 30
Phil Greatbatch (27)	104 / 28
John Smith (22)	100 / 28
Karl Furniss (18)	97 / 27
Kevin Abell (17)	98 / 26
Brian Abell (34)	128 / 15
Peter Isherwood (guest-15)	84 / 37
Paul Herrington (Guest 19)	95 / 36
John Munn (Guest-16)	88 / 34
Mike Pumford (Guest-9)	82 / 31
John Ashurst (Guest-14)	87 / 33
Andy Prince (Guest-19)	92 / 33
Ian Smith (Guest-19)	93 / 27

Phil Stonier wins the
“12,000 Miles Trophy”
by a distance

This was our first Society visit to Alsager Golf Club and we were certainly not disappointed in what we found in this South Cheshire village and so close to home for many of our members. The early evening start at 4.15pm was again a stroke of luck. The sky had been delivering showers all day and the prospects for us enjoying a round of golf on a glorious summers evening looked very bleak in deed. However, right on cue, as we strolled down to the first tee, the sun poked through the clouds and stayed with us for the rest of the evening. A beautiful evening for playing golf and the views from the 14th and the 16th tee - well, just breathtaking, must be the envy of every golf club - the walk was tough but well worth it.

Well the sun was certainly shining on Phil Stonier (22 h’cap)) who started the round at a blistering pace. Carding 41 points from 87 strokes and opening with a lovely par on the first hole with a shot that was five feet from the pin. He then went on to drop just 3 shots over the next six holes . The first nine holes earned 22 points and put him in a strong position to put together a good stableford score. Phil said “It really helped having two Alsager members playing in my group. So, I just watched where they were hitting the ball and the clubs they were using and did likewise. They were great company, we all had a laugh and come what may, I was going to enjoy my golf. As it happened, everything worked and my highest score was one seven on the par 5 17th hole. Yep, starting to really enjoy my golf again”.

In second place and with his best ever round of golf with the Society came Mel Clewlow (28) with 36 points from 98 strokes and playing his first game of golf for several weeks following a knee operation. Good steady round of golf with no disasters and no blobs on the card. However, he had to wait until the very tough last hole for his first and only par.

In third place came Daz Matthews (21) with 33 points from 94 strokes. Another good round of golf from Daz who is beginning to put together a run of good games. This result puts Daz at the top of the Stableford Order of Merit which he now leads by 2 points from Kevin Abell who has been sitting on top of the table all year.

RESULTS
NAME	SCORE
Andrew Abell (21)	82 / 48
Peter Meadowcroft (23)	92 / 40
John Smith (22)	92 / 39
Phil Smith (11)	82 / 37
Karl Furniss (18)	91 / 35
Phil Stonier (20)	92 / 34
Stan Malpass (22)	97 / 34
Ed Green (12)	87 / 33
Jon Downs (20)	95 / 33
Russ Howard (30)	107 / 32
Joe Matthews (25)	106 / 31
Richard Meadowcroft (18)	99 / 30
Stephen Rushton (25)	106 / 30
Brian Abell (34)	117 / 26
Tom Gallimore (11)	82 / 37

Andrew Abell scored 48 Stableford Points at our seventh Society Day at Gorstyhill Golf Club to win the “Gorstyhill Classic Trophy” by a staggering 8 points from nearest challenger Peter Meadowcroft. What a great game of golf for Andrew who stated that it was possibly the best round of golf he has ever played. Playing off an handicap of 21 it was such a shame that Andrew opened his round with a nine on the par 5 first hole. After this opening blip it was all systems go with the putter hot and the feeling that he could do nothing wrong as he went on to drop just two shots on the opening 9 holes (forgetting the first hole!). The back nine was just as impressive dropping just 4 shots on his way to his best ever round of golf. Well played Andrew but the handicap axe has fallen and you have just lost yourself 4 shots and go to Wales with a very impressive new handicap of 17.

In the same 3 ball and the first group to go out we had Phil Smith (11) and Tom Gallimore (11) who both returned 37 points from 82 strokes. What are the chances of this happening at our level - three players coming in with 82 strokes each in the same group - cracking result.

Anyway, in overall second place came Peter Meadowcroft (23) with a great score of 40 points from 92 strokes. So unlucky to come up against the days winning score when 40 points would normally give you a great chance of winning. Peter hit the ball really well off the tee and only a little rustiness with the short game prevented him from an even higher score. Great result considering Peter has played very little golf this year.

In third spot came John Smith (22) with 39 points from 92 strokes. A much better performance than in previous weeks and looks like hitting a good run of form before we take to the courses of Wales in a couple of weeks time.

RESULTS
NAME	SCORE
Stan Malpass (23)	91/ 38
Joe Matthews (23)	93 / 36
Daz Matthews (21)	91 / 36
Steve Rushton (24)	96 / 34
Peter Simms (22)	97 / 31
Jon Downs (20)	97 / 30
John Smith (22)	100 /28
Phil Greatbatch (27)	107 / 27
Kevin Abell (17)	100 / 18
Phil Stonier (20)	103 / 27
Russ Howard (26)	108 / 26
Karl Furniss (15)	102 / 25
Steve Ruddell (20)	104 / 24
Andrew Abell (18)	112 / 19
Mel Clewlow (28)	118 / 19

Super back nine
catapults Stan to
his first win
of the year

Phil Smith wins the
Strokeplay Order of Merit
and the Stableford Order of Merit
will be decided at Newcastle GC

It was the battle of the “Buggy Boys” as Stan Malpass (handicap 23) came out on top with a blistering back nine to win our eleventh Society Day at a sun drenched Aldersey Green Golf Club with a score of 38 Stableford Points from 91 strokes. The three best scores of the day all came out of the first group who went out in two buggies.

We could have been playing on a golf course in the Algarve - the weather was that good. The course was in excellent condition with plenty of trees, hedges and tight fairways and plenty of water hazards to contend with. Before the game it was the general belief that anyone coming in with 36 points on this course could win the day. So it was great to see that six of our members came in with 30 points or more. Make no mistake, for a first visit, this was a very difficult course, so well played everyone.

Stan started his round slowly picking up just 9 points from the first seven holes. Then it all happened for him. From the 8th hole Stan dropped just 2 shots other than a blip at the par 4 14th where he made a 7. Fabulous run of golf Stan and well played. and all achieved despite having to share a buggy with Joe!

In second place came Joe Matthews (23) with 36 points from 93 strokes. Good round of golf with 17 points from the front nine and 19 points from the back nine. Starting to put together a few good rounds of golf as a result of hitting the ball well off the tee. The new driver has worked wonders.

In third place came Daz Matthews (21) with 36 points from 91 strokes. Good round of golf again which puts Daz as a serious challenger for the Stableford Order of Merit. Just 3 points behind the Leader Russ Howard with one game left at Newcastle.

RESULTS
NAME	SCORE
John Smith (22)	94 / 36
Les Smith (19)	94 / 33
Daz Matthews (20)	97 / 31
Peter Simms (22)	99 / 31
Phil Smith (10)	90 / 28
Andrew Abell (18)	100 /27
Stan Malpass (21)	103 / 27
Kevin Sherwin (23)	105 / 26
Phil Greatbatch (27)	111 / 25
Karl Furniss (15)	98 / 25
Steve Rushton (24)	111 / 24
Kevin Abell (18)	106 / 21
Russ Howard (27)	115 / 20
Brian Abell (34)	124 / 19
Barry Brereton (24)	119 / 18
Tom Gallimore (Guest)	92 / 27

John retains the
“Winter Warmer Trophy” to
become the 12th Winner
this year and clinches the
Stableford Order of Merit

After such a great golfing year it was fitting that the winner of the Stableford Order of Merit would be decided at the the last Society Day of the season. Newcastle Golf Club presented us with a course in pristine condition with all the players remarking on the quality and speed of the greens. A difficult course for visitors to play with plenty of woodland, hazards and tricky holes. Over recent weeks the banter amongst the members had increased and there were a few players that really showed a desire to win the highest accolade that the Society offers - “The Stableford Order of Merit”. Both Order of Merit Competitions are difficult to win and is just reward to both winners for consistency over the year.

On the day it was John Smith (h’cap 22) who came out on top with a splendid score of 36 points from 94 strokes. This score was enough to win the Society’s “Winter Warmer Trophy” for the best score of the day plus it was double joy for John as 36 points also gave him a two point winning margin over Russ Howard in the Order of Merit. John commented that he was really chuffed to win both and put it down to a great day off the tee where his driving was the key to his score. It was a good day all round for John when he also came away with the cash from the Nearest the Pin “Money Hole”. Congratulations Smithy on your first win of the year.

In second place came Les Smith (19) with 33 points from 94 strokes. A quiet year for Les and perhaps next year we will see a more consistent performer to match the standards he set himself over recent years. In third spot came Daz Matthews (20) with 31 points from 97 strokes. Coming into this game Daz was firmly in the frame to do well after some very good performances over recent weeks. A good score would have given him a great chance of the Order of Merit but he fell six points short of winning. Still it doesn’t matter cos he is a Chelsea fan!