Haywards Heath Golf Club
Monday 22nd July 2024
Seniors Section Sign Up - Monday July 22
Monday’s Seniors Section Sign Up produced a new winner as Clive Driver recorded his first victory - and his best Stableford score - of 2024.
Clive scored on every hole on his way to 36 points, with Tony Jones (33) and Bill Steele (32) his nearest challengers.
“I thought I was going to miss out on 16 after finding the trees off the tee,” Clive said. “I took six shots to reach the edge of the green but chipped in with my 8 iron. So yes, I think that was my shot of the day.
“I don’t like playing in wet weather - you’re always putting the cover over your bag or changing in and out of your waterproofs - but thankfully today was no more than misty rain.”
Clive and Bill were the only players in the 23-man field to avoid a blob. Bill started shakily, dropping 4 Stableford points in his first six holes, but then, steadiness personified, scored two on each of his remaining 12. Tony, meanwhile, led at halfway with 21 points but then faded on the way in.
Learning the rules the hard way
The other driver to feature prominently on Monday belonged to Andrew Lodge. His misfortune provided the Seniors Section with a perfect opportunity, for the second week in a row, to expand their knowledge of the rules.
“I hit my tee shot on the second - it turned out to be a decent shot, actually - and found myself holding onto half a shaft, with the rest, along with the clubhead, lying on the ground behind me,” Andrew said.
“I was playing with Paul Benson - it was great to have him back after his return to health - and he lent me his driver for the rest of the round. I thought that might lead to a 2-shot penalty but I found out in the bar afterwards that it meant disqualification*.”
All’s well that ends well
But there was a good ending to the story.
”Paul’s club is an inch shorter than mine and I hit it really well. So that’s the shaft length I’m going to opt for when my driver is fixed,” Andrew added.
In last week’s Sign Up, John Blackwell was penalised after discovering he had 15 clubs in his bag rather than the stipulated 14.
*Rule 4.1b (2)
Tuesday 16th July 2024
Senior Section Sign Up - Monday July 15
Steve Young saw off a record field in fine style on Monday to win his second Seniors Sign Up in a row on Monday - only to be overshadowed by a rival who scored just one Stableford point from his first six holes.
Steve recorded an excellent 40 points, the best by anyone in the event this year, to see off Mark Bawden (37) and Ian Emmins (35, edging out Tony Jones on countback).
An unprecedented 30 players took advantage of the fine conditions, with half scoring 30 points or more.
But John Blackwell received as many plaudits as the top three finishers after his dramatic - not to say traumatic - round.
Let the drama begin
After a solid start, John absentmindedly teed off from the white markers rather than the yellows on the 3rd hole, thus incurring a 2-shot penalty.
He got back on track with a par at the next but the drama was only just beginning.
Walking to the 7th tee, he discovered he was inadvertently carrying 15 clubs rather than 14, after testing out a new wedge from the pro shop and forgetting to remove a club to make way for it.
“We tried to check up on the rules and thought that John should be penalised 2 shots for each of the holes he had played*,” said Sign Up partner Derek Taylor.
“John then declared his 5 iron out of play - we couldn’t just throw it out, so one thing you can do is turn it upside down in your bag**, to make sure you don’t use the club, but we just put his driver cover over it.”
So, after a third of his round, John’s scorecard now read: NR, NR, NR, 6, NR, NR … for one Stableford point.
Laughing it off
“To his credit, John called the foul on himself - I would never have noticed that he had too many clubs,” Derek added. “John’s a really nice guy and I was impressed by his honesty. He just laughed the whole thing off.”
But perhaps what occurred next was equally noteworthy.
Having seen his scorecard thus decimated, John responded by playing some fine golf, netting himself five pars - and 16 Stableford points - from the next six holes.
So congratulations to Steve, Mark and Ian. And top marks to our Seniors Captain, who - along with most of us - learnt a new rule, kept battling and still managed to close with an exemplary and well-earned 25 Stableford points.
*Rule 4.1b. But John and Derek were only partially correct. In strokeplay a player with too many clubs is penalised two strokes per hole - but only up to a maximum of four penalty shots. So John should only have been penalised two shots on the 1st and 2nd holes - with two more penalty strokes for teeing off from the wrong markers on hole 3. But since John signed for 2-shot penalties on each of his first six holes, his score stands.
** Rule 4.1c
Tuesday 2nd July 2024
Seniors Section Sign Up - Monday July 1
Steve won the battle of the Youngs on Monday as both he and Gordon posted their best scores of the year in the Seniors Sign Up.
Steve’s secret? Switching to a discarded putter. Gordon’s? Focusing on a lower-body move “that I’ve probably tried before”.
Steve’s 36 Stableford points equalled his highest score of 2024, while Gordon posted 35, his first in the 30s and seven points more than his previous best. Anthony Gimson was third with 34.
”I’ve been putting so badly - I even had a lesson booked for the day after the competition,” Steve said. “I use a Ping mallet but I tried an Odyssey blade putter in the pro shop and got on with it… then remembered I already had one at home!
”I’d never liked it, so it was barely used. Safe to say, my mallet is now temporarily retired.”
Steve’s win trumps two second places and one third in earlier competitions this year.
It was a good day for another Young on Monday, with Steve’s wife Julie winning her match as well.
Warm up? Hm…
Gordon, meanwhile, resorting to a YouTube golf tip search, has been trying to initiate his downswing with his legs and lower body.
”When I get it right, I do get more distance,” he said.
His chances seemed almost over before they had begun on Monday, though, scoring a single point over the first three holes - “I went through the back on the first, and lost my ball on the second” - only to net 19 points over the next seven.
But he didn’t seem convinced that a more thorough pre-round warm-up might help in future. “A warm up? Oh no, I’m not sure about that,” Gordon said.
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