Pershore Golf Society

Summer Special - Redditch 29/7/22 - Report

 

Another summer’s day, another golf event and this time we made the short journey to Redditch for the Summer Special. 22 members were in attendance, and this time the latecomer was not me but Mr Clive Britton, who was duly reprimanded (and fined) by the ever-zealous Terry Mead once the round was concluded. But I am getting ahead of myself...

 

The format of the day was Stableford singles, with a group competition running in parallel, and nearest the pin in one and two shots as well. A snake was issued to each group to be retained by the golfer who most recently visited a bunker or water, with a £2 fine for the final holder, and 50p fines for blobs were also in force.

 

The course was in fine fettle and the clubhouse and pro-shop had obviously benefitted from recent investment. The course was playing short due to the dry weather but many holes particularly on the back nine were very tight with mature trees on either side and the fast greens meant position was crucial to score well.

 

The first point raised with me to include in the report (by Ian Brazier, before I had even reached the first tee) was the matter of Nev Green’s handicap. Apparently it has been cut to 10 and should be 16, and some grumbling was observed. Whether this grumbling was legitimate I do not know. I merely report what I was told…

 

Once the round started one could not fail to notice the dryness of the fairways, resulting in balls running long distances once struck. There is a caveat however; the ball needs to reach the fairway, something that Nick Moody struggled with on the 1st tee, taking three to get just beyond the first bunker.

 

The greens were also lightning fast and though in beautiful condition, were very challenging particularly on downhill putts if on a tiered green. I managed to record a 5 on the 2nd hole having reached the top tier with my tee shot.

 

I was playing in the 4th group with Tony Owo, Alan Taylor and Chris of the Rawlings (starting to sound like Doddy here). The first particularly noteworthy hole for our group was the 6 th (a par 5) where my second shot out of the rough struck Alan’s ball which was lying on the fairway. It slightly improved Alan’s position but very honestly he moved it back to its earlier spot meaning he had to contend with a tricky overhang. Further on up the same hole, Chris recorded that rarest of PGS sightings, an eagle, when he chipped in from a greenside bunker. Unfortunately none of the rest of us saw it, so denying Chris the proper acclamation that he deserved. Well done Chris.

 

My round started to deteriorate on the 9 th taking three shots to escape a bunker and on the 10th I lost two balls in the thick trees and undergrowth on the left. I gave up on the hole and went for a wee in the woods, only to find the provisional while looking for a suitably private spot.

 

On the 11th my playing partners were all on the fairway while I pulled my drive horribly onto the parallel 9th fairway, where I met Mr Adams who asked “how are you getting on?” Very kind of you to ask I thought, and I started to tell him how we were all doing but he quickly interrupted to say “No I’m only interested in you, I’ve got you in the sweep”. I never knew you cared Dave.

 

On the 15th three of our group went into the trees on the full, the exception being Alan who hit a well struck drive down the left of the fairway. Sadly for Alan, that was the last he was to see of that ball while those of us who were off target with our drives all found our balls. It rather summed up Alan’s day as he had very little luck.

 

But enough of my group. The real action was elsewhere, with Mr Keith Taylor starting his round imperiously with six successive gross pars, and going on to finish second with a very impressive score of 37. He also incurred a fine for mislaying a snake, leaving it and his sunglasses on top of Robin’s car.

 

John Vincent played from the wrong side of the tee markers on the 11th incurring a two shot penalty courtesy of a quick check in Google. He also had an eagle putt on the 15th and ended up with a blob.

 

There was a lively dispute between Ian’s group and the group behind (Terry, Gaz, Dave and Marc) re the respective evils of driving through the group in front (4 times) and slow play/failing to ring the bell (also multiple times). I’m not sure of the exact events but Terry made sure both groups were fined, while strenuously denying he had any part in the wrongdoing.

 

It was clear however that there had been some erratic driving from Gaz Walden, as he hit a marker post and cars in the car park, and settled for a £5 cashout after 10 holes. I took this to mean that after 10 holes he agreed with Terry to pay £5 rather than risk incurring even more than that in fines over the whole round.

 

Although conditions were generally benign it was somewhat humid and a few spots of drizzle were noted. The main extra hazards were a profusion of flying ants and horseflies, which added to Tim’s misery caused by dental issues. He nevertheless recorded a respectable score of 31, and was part of the winning group, along with Darren Thompson with 32 and the overall singles winner Dom Swainson with a very fine score of 38.

 

This was Dom’s first win with the society and he was warmly congratulated by everyone. This was the second new winner in a row for PGS, though Dom was quick to point out that it had taken him considerably less time to bust his PGS virginity than the previous winner Cuth.

 

Keith came second with his 37 points and Ian was third with 35 points.

 

Nearest the pin was won by Dave Adams and nearest the pin in 2 was won by Matt Sailes.

 

Congratulations to all the winners and to Dom in particular.

 

Once again, a PGS golf day delivered in terms of the course, the weather, fun, competitiveness, banter and good company. Thank you captain Doddy.

 

Roll on the next one.

 

Simon Redgewell