Happy New Year !!

Texas Scramble postponed

Unfortunately, due to the recent weather conditions, the eagerly awaited Wendy Seymour Texas Scramble will not be played tomorrow (28th Dec).
The event is re-scheduled to be played on Sunday 16th January.

Presentation Evening - book now ...

Newbury Racecourse Golf Club

PRESENTATION EVENING

Saturday 29th January 2011

Full details - click here.

Winter golf ... NOT !!!

In case any of you were wondering why there is not much news about golf at Newbury at the moment ... see pictures below. We're praying for a thaw next week so that the Wendy Seymour Texas Scramble can take place on Tuesday. Will keep you informed. At least the greens (sorry whites) are very receptive !!!!




For info, the range and Pro-Shop are still open.

Merry Christmas

December Weekday Stableford

The final weekday Stableford of the year was played on Thu/Fri 16th/17th December by a small field of 11 players before the snow arrived. Even without the snow, conditions were tough which reflected in the scores. This is where the Pro's came into their own !!!
The winner with 35 points was our head professional Nick Mitchell. One point behind, and getting back to serious golf for the new year was runner-up Dan Seymour our touring professional. He was closely followed by Matthew Scapplehorn and Steve Bonner on the same score beaten on count-back. Two points further back was the consistent John Day.
Full result - click here.

Turkey Trot

This competition seems to be doomed !!!! For the second year running it could not be played because of the weather. Rather than try to re-schedule it (as we did twice last year without success), the committee decided that if it could not be played on the day, there would be a draw for the prizes from all the entrants. The draw was made by Chris Moore, Jon Miller and John Taylor and the results are as follows:

Vouchers:
£45 D Glover
£30 P Tebbutt
£20 J Allum
£15 M Richardson
£9 B Heath
£8 S Soanes
£7 M Nicholls
£6 K Richardson
£5 S Bonner
£5 S Briginshaw
£5 J Purvis
£5 C Adlem
£5 T Glover

Well played all the prize winners !!!
Please collect your vouchers from the Treasurer.

December Seniors Medal

The December Seniors Medal was played yesterday in cold conditions with a stiff north-easterly to test all the players. The expected rain did not arrive until quite late, so most players were lucky and missed it. Not so lucky for the last couple of groups who were bombarded with a heavy hail storm!!
Thirty-one players competed for the medals this month and as there were only three ladies competing, there was no separate ladies medal. The medal was played as a Stableford from the yellow tees and as it was a mixed gender competition, the CONGU calculations meant that the Men had a CHA (competition handicap adjustment) of minus 1 stroke.
Despite the cold conditions, the course was in good condition and the greens were receptive. The players at the top end of the leaderboard took full advantage of this and carded some very good scores.
The winner with a fine 39 points (CONGU adjusted to 38) was Chris Moore (7hcp) who shot an impressive gross 75. One point further back was Harry Jackson (16hcp) and one point behind Harry was third-placed Roy Whiting (17hcp).
Well done to all who turned out to play in the conditions.
Full result - click here.

A Date For Your Diary

SATURDAY 29TH JANUARY 2011

NRGC PRESENTATION EVENING

More details to follow early January

December Medal

Two days ago there only seemed a small chance of playing this competition, but a slight respite in the weather enabled it to be played today. Considering the conditions, a good field of thirty-three men and six ladies competed for the medals.

Division 1
A solid performance by Tony Glover (6hcp) secured the medal in the top division with 38 points. Runner-up just one point further back was Nick Powell (11hcp) who now moves to 10 handicap. Third place was decided on countback with Phil Knight (11hcp) just edging out Paul Seymour (7hcp) and Chris Moore (7hcp) after all three scored 35 points.
Full result - click here.

Division 2
This division was again close at the top. Jason Allum (19hcp) just squeezed the win with 36 points, his first medal for about 7 years !!!. One point further back was runner-up Roger Tillett (13hcp). Again, third place was decided on countback with Mark Richardson (14hcp) just ahead of Richard Osgood (16hcp).
Full result - click here.

Division 3
Congratulation to Patrick Brind (22hcp) who secured his first medal with 36 points. Runner-up was Nick Turner (20hcp) with 34 points followed by Aubrey Phillips (20hcp) just one point further back.
Full result - click here.

Ladies
A double for Kim Richardson (14hcp) as she cruised to her second succesive medal with a score of 39 points. Runner-up was Lizzie Swallow (3hcp) with 33 points followed by Cilla Osgood (23hcp) on 30 points.
Full result - click here.

Wendy Seymour Texas Scramble

Early boost for charity

As many will know, the Captain and Lady Captain's chosen charity this year is "Action for Children". The charity fund received a welcome boost yesterday after John Graham's employer AWE donated a cheque for £300. John nominated the charity at AWE who agreed to pay a donation to the charity if his area at work reached a 31 day period of total safety with no incidents, accidents or security problems. This was achieved last month, so the donation was duly paid by AWE.

Many thanks to AWE and to John for nominating this at work.

Boxing Day Roll-Up ?

Would any of the members like a nine-hole roll up on Boxing Day ??

If so, please contact the Pro-Shop.
£2.00 entry for members and guests (free green fee).

Winner takes all !!

Discount Weekend

Saturday & Sunday 4th and 5th December

MEMBERS ONLY - DISCOUNT WEEKEND

UP TO 15% OFF ALL STOCK ITEMS IN THE SHOP

OR WHY NOT BUY A CHRISTMAS VOUCHER FOR EITHER LESSONS OR PURCHASES

ALL PERSONALISED FOR ANY AMOUNT

Men's Sunday Roll-Up

Sunday morning saw our first organised men's roll up for a few years. It was well attended by the men and along with welcome appearances from Steve Mitchell and old members guesting for the day in Sean Sargeant and Mark Allen, we had a friendly but competitive fourball better ball competition. The winners were Mark Richardson (same old faces I know) and new member Jake Chambers.
Many thanks to all those who attended and who have already pledged their support for future weeks. Hopefully something will be put on most Sundays (weather and available tee times permitting) so please if you want to join in, come along by 9.30 when the draw for partners will be made (promptly).
Sorry to offend other sections of the club but this is for the men's section only, unless otherwise sanctioned by the organisers, but guests will normally be permitted again at the organiser's discretion! Again many thanks to those who played and sorry Tim for being such a lousy partner!

Jon Miller

Thank-you from BDFA

One of the charities to benefit from our generous members over the last year was the British Disabled Flying Association. This charity was sponsored by last year's Lady Captain Elaine Brichard.
Here we see Mike Miller-Smith, the chief executive of BDFA who was absolutely delighted to receive a cheque for £1270 from NRGC presented by Elaine.

November Weekday Stableford

A small field of 10 players (9 men and 1 lady) braved the elements on Thursday and Friday this week to compete in this months Weekday Stableford.
The winner with a superb 40 points was Mark Richardson. Runner-up was regular and welcome visitor Keith Morley on 38 points with Russell Bowers in third place one point further back.
Full result - click here.

More Seniors on the Course

Another great turnout of 11 seniors to continue the good work of repairing divots on the course.

The difference from the previous effort was the fact that this time we were able to learn from the great words of wisdom from Harry (green-keeper) Jackson who supervised the soil/seed mix which he had said had not been correct on Monday. His vast knowledge enabled the team of Mike Charlton (sorry Mike), Lesley Cratchley, Judy Willson, Bob Evans, Brian Grace, Derrick Perrin, Jim Green, Rob Seaton, Gerry Eatwell, Peter Myles and Raymond Bilton (2nd shift) to complete the work to a very high standard.

I do hope all members appreciate the effort of this fine band of helpers.

Chris Moore.

Blog Comments ...

We really welcome you're comments on the blog. Preferably constructive ones - but we don't mind a bit of humour !!

However, similar to the "Comments Book" in the Pro-Shop, if you do not leave your name against the comment, the committee will ignore them. In the case of this blog, they may just be deleted !!

Please be brave enough to put your name to your comments.
When you post a comment, the drop-down list for "Comment as:" has a Name/URL option. Just select this and fill in your name (don't worry about URL) - then post your comment.

Many thanks.

Seniors on the Course

Senior members ventured on to the course today in sub-zero temperatures to repair divots and badly worn areas on the 13th to 18th holes. Two tons of soil were placed and raked to improve the fairways and fill rabbit scrapes to continue the ongoing improvement of the course. On Thursday another team of intrepid 'Old Gits' will tackle the 7th to 12th holes.

Thanks to: Linda & Stephen Vale, Al Drennan, Alan Owen, Les Eden, Ray Bilton, Peter Darwin and Captain Tom Wallin

Chris Moore.

It's back ...

Newbury Golf Centre

LOYALTY CARD

Save over £1000

For full details - click here

John and Nick through to final qualifying

Nick Mitchell and John Hoskison have both won through to the final stage of the European Seniors Tour Qualifying event in Portugal. Both had to play a 36-hole stage one event to qualify for the final stage. John played at the Gramacho Course where he carded an impressive 4 under par to finish 5th in the event. Nick played at the Silves Course where he scored a creditable 3 over par finishing 17th.
Both will now move on to Pestana’s Vale da Pinta course (15-18 Nov) to contest the 14 available cards for the 2011 European Senior Tour season.
Gramacho qualifying scores - click here.
Silves qualifying scores - click here.

We are privileged to have two players associated with our Club playing at such a high level in the game. I'm sure you all join me in wishing both Nick and John all the very best of luck for final qualifying. You can follow Nick and John's progress by visiting the European Seniors Tour Qualifying web pages at http://www.europeantour.com/seniortour/qualifying/index.html

Message to all Members ...

I was delighted to play on our course today in the November Greensomes. My golf was not great but the course was!! I tried to fix two pitch marks on each green and amazingly only found three in total. It was also good to see the new seed boxes being used on the tees.

IF WE TAKE A PRIDE IN OUR COURSE NOW WE WILL REAP THE REWARDS IN THE SPRING.

FILL IN YOUR DIVOTS, FIX YOUR PITCH MARKS, SAND THE TEES, TAKE PRIDE IN OUR COURSE.

Thanks to all.
John Graham
Club Captain

November Greensomes

Twenty-four pairings battled it out today in moderate conditions for the November Greensomes. With the course in excellent condition, the scoring in this Stableford event did not disappoint.
The winners with a very impressive 46 points were Nigel Huszarik and Ian Folwell collecting their 3rd trophy as a partnership this year. Runners-up two points behind on 44 points were Chris and Kim Richardson with third place going to the dogged pairing of Geoff Denner and Barry Heath on 43 points.
Full result - click here.

This was the final event of the calendar year which qualified for Order of Merit points.
The deserved winner on 58 pts is Maria Tillett who has performed consistently well in all competitions this year. Ian Folwell grabbed the runners-up spot after todays win and consistent performances in the Summer KO competitions.
Full result - click here.

Another Italian pestering John Taylor for his autograph ...

Young Italian golfer pesters NRGC members for photo opportunity ...

(For info - the golfer is the one in the middle !!)

Pro's Texas Scramble

November Medal

The first of the four winter Stableford medals was played today. Thirty-one men and five ladies competed for this month's medals. With conditions not yet "wintry", the scoring was very good.

Division 1
The top division was very close but David Warwick (12hcp) came out on top winning his first division one medal with 40 points. Runner-up was the returning Andy Steadman (6hcp) on 39 points just one point ahead of Tony Glover (6hcp).
Full result - click here.

Division 2
This division was even closer with winner Ian Folwell (13hcp) just edging out Rowland Barnfield (16hcp) on countback after both carded 39 points. Third place went to Roger Tillett (13hcp) with a respectable 37 points.
Full result - click here.

Division 3
A very comfortable win in this division for the rapidly improving Danny Glover (23hcp) after he scored a fantastic 47 points. Danny receives a three shot cut in his handicap. Runner-up was Brian Matthews (21hcp) on 36 points just ahead of Mark France (23hcp) in third with 34 points.
Full result - click here.

Ladies
Unusually, not such good scoring from the ladies this month, so their division was calculated as a "reductions only" competition. The winner was Kim Richardson (14hcp) on 32points. Runner-up was decided on countback with Maria Tillett (17hcp) just beating Sarah Purvis (23hcp) and Sam Whiting (13hcp) after all three scored 27 points each.
Full result - click here.

Pitch Marks

DID YOU KNOW ...

A recent United States P.G.A. test has shown that a pitch-mark left unrepaired for 10 minutes or longer takes 15 days to recover, whereas a pitch-mark repaired within 5 minutes recovers completely within 24 hours.
Therefore if on average 80 players played each day this would equate to 80 pitch-marks per green x 18 greens = 1440 pitch-marks per day, 110,080 a week or a staggering 524,160 per year.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REPAIR ALL PITCHMARKS

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CO-OPERATION

November Seniors Medal

This month's Seniors Medal was played on Wednesday 3rd November. Thirty-six sprightly seniors (31 men and 5 ladies) braved the autumnal winds to compete for the prizes.

The clear winner by 4 strokes in the men's section was John Day (11hcp) with a superb nett 67 and lowest gross of the day (78). Runner-up and silver medal winner was Stephen Vale (20hcp) with a nett level par 71. One stroke further back, three players battled it out for third spot with Rob Seaton (12hcp) just beating Steve Thompson (25hcp) and Gerry Eatwell (22hcp) on countback.
Full result - click here.

In the ladies section, Liz Evans (33hcp) finally won her first Seniors medal with a nett score of 74 just beating Lesley Cratchley (23hcp) on countback. Third was Sam Whiting (13hcp) with a nett 82 and the lowest gross in the ladies section.
Full result - click here.

ALL JUNIORS, PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS

I am determined to strengthen our Junior section for 2011 and the easiest way to get to grips with junior golf is for young members to enter our monthly 'RED TEE' Stableford competition (most of our current scratch team started here).
Regardless of ability, we will supervise and encourage youngsters until they are equipped with confidence of competitive golf and with an official handicap so they can move up to the main junior medal. There is an entry list on the junior board or contact me on 07973705094 for more information.

Chris Moore

Junior Medal

The October Junior Medal was played today.
A disappointing small field, but some good performances nevertheless.

The winner and lowest gross of the day was George Stockley (4hcp) with a nett 70. One shot further back was runner-up Max Nicholls (8hcp). Two players were tied for third spot (nett 74) with Curtis MacGeever (4hcp) just edging out Conor Dick (4hcp) on countback.
Congratulations to George Baker who after playing well in both the Junior Pro-Am and Junior Open and a good showing today off the white tees, now has an official handicap.
Full result - click here.

This was the antepenultimate qualifying event for the Junior Masters Trophy (just the Nov and Dec Medals to go) and it's still very open. For latest positions - click here.

Captain's Away Day

The Captains away day Stableford competition was played today at Wokefield Park Golf Club, where the weather held out fine but a little windy. Bacon baps and coffee before play and a two course meal after was tremendous value.
The Stableford prize was won by Jeremy (Handicap Cut Required ) Twaits, and the team event was won by Jeremy Twaits, Maria Tillet, Sarah Purvis & Dean Butler, the prize was kindly donated by Paul Seymour, thanks Paul.

It was a great day out together playing golf amongst friends, I thank all of you for playing and look forward to our next away day.
Special THANKS to Maria again, the most organised woman I have ever met, for sorting out the day, cards, tee times and everything else for that matter.
Watch this space for our next away day.

John Graham.

Men's Golf Clinic

Are your woods causing you a problem? Are your irons not performing? Is the distance you are acheiving leaving you a challenging shot to reach the green?
Why not come along to the first ...

MEN'S GOLF CLINIC

Wednesday 3rd November - 7pm to 8pm

with DAN SEYMOUR

Available to all male members and non-members

Cost £6 per person (£7 non-members)

Must be booked in advance.

Call the Pro-Shop (01635 551464) to book your place

Junior Open

The annual Junior Open was held today with a final entry of 48 juniors of varying ability and experience. Very pleasing to see that we had 12 very young boys and girls who played in the 12 hole stableford 8 from red tees and 4 from a hastily constructed short course.

The main gross event was won by Jordan Williams from Hadden Hill (69) who just got the better of James Foster (70) from Newbury and Crookham with our own Conor Dick and Lizzie Swallow tied third on 72. Full Result - click here.

The net event produced a much overdue win for Lucy Mortimer with 64. Charlie Brown from Castle Royle claimed the runner-up spot on 65, with Danny Glover and Harriet Richards sharing third spot. Full result - click here.

The most pleasing feature was the fine showing of our younger players. In the red tee event Dan Green 1st George Baker 3rd and George Armstrong 4th ... strong additions to our League Team for next year !!!! For Stableford results - click here.

For a full list of all the prize winners - click here.

To view more pictures of the Junior Open - click here.

The fact that the day was a great success was due to the great help and commitment from our club volunteer stalwarts - Judy and Mike Willson, Marian and John Taylor, John Christopher, John Hoskison, Brian Faithfull, Jon Miller, Tom Wallin, Steve Mitchell, Andrew Buchanan, Lesley Cratchley and of course Paul Tebbutt.
Finally a special thank-you to Peter Smith of S&J Communications Ltd for his continued support and sponsorship of this event.

Thanks to you all,
Chris Moore

Junior Pro-Am

The annual Junior Pro-Am was played on Tuesday 26th October. On a very cold, crisp, autumn day, the event attracted 38 players. This is a very unique competition and everyone enjoyed the day. The teams in the competition are made up of 1 professional, 1 adult and 2 juniors.


Team result
1. Nigel Hart, Maria Tillett, Lucy Mortimer, Lizzie Swallow 126
2. John Hoskison, Chris Moore, George Baker, Alex Davidson 127 OCB
3. Nick Mitchell, Paul Seymour, Conor Dick, Curtis MacGeever 127

Professionals result
1= Nick Mitchell 66 (-5)
1= Dan Seymour 66 (-5)
3. Nigel Hart 68 (-3)
4. John Hoskison 71 (level)

October Weekday Stableford

Sixteen players braved the cold weather to play in the October Weekday Stableford on Thursday 21st and Friday 22nd October.
The winner with a super score of 43 points was Chris Richardson. Four points further back was runner-up was Jim Purvis (39 points). Mark Richardson claimed third place on 38 points.
Full result - click here.

October Fourball

After a chilly start, the October Fourball was played today in beautiful sunshine and near perfect conditions. Twenty pairings competed for the prizes today and, as expected, the scoring was very competitive in this strokeplay event.
The winners were John Graham and Sarah Purvis with a great score of nett 64. One shot further back (65) were runners-up Tony Glover and Mark France and third were Sean Sargeant and Janice Paulin with nett 66.
Full result - click here.

October Seniors Medal

After a damp start, the weather soon brightened up as 27 seniors (25 men and 2 ladies) competed for the medals today. As only two ladies competed, this was played as a mixed gender event with no separate ladies medal.
The winner, winning his first Senior gold medal, was Roy Whiting (18hcp) with a nett 72. One shot further back was runner-up was Jim Green (9hcp) whose 82 was the lowest gross of the day. A further shot back was last week's winner Harry Jackson (17hcp).
Well done to Bob Evans who captured the 2's pool with his birdie at the 16th.
Full result - click here.

October Medal

After a foggy start, the last of the 2010 stroke play medals was played in warm sunshine today. The next four monthly medals will be Stableford.
Despite the lure of the Ryder Cup, a good field of 37 men and 6 ladies competed for the medals.

Division 1
The top division was very close with only one stroke separating the top four places. The winner was George Stockley (4hcp) with a nett 72 and the lowest gross of the day (76). Runner-up on countback with the same nett score was Tony Grove (9hcp). One shot further back, the next two places were also decided on countback with John Day (11hcp) just edging it from Jimmy Green (6hcp).
Full result - click here.

Division 2
This division was even tighter with only two shots separating the top 9 places! The winner was our very own "A-list" celebrity Richard Osgood (16hcp) with a nett 73. Richard just pipped Ian Turner (14hcp) and Steve Steele (15hcp) on countback after they returned the same score. Fourth place went to Ian Folwell (13hcp) on nett 74.
Full result - click here.

Division 3
A slightly more comfortable win in this division for Mike Chamberlain (23hcp) with a nett 70 and the lowest gross. Runner-up was decided on countback with Patrick Brind (hcp22) just beating Aubrey Phillips (hcp21) after both carded nett 74.
Full result - click here.

Ladies
Cilla Osgood (hcp23) made it a family double by winning the ladies medal with a nett 75. One shot further back was runner-up Kim Richardson (14hcp) followed by Maria Tillett (17hcp) a further shot back.
Full result - click here.

Scratch Team vs Sandmartins

I'm pleased to say that we have signed off our best season in the league by finishing 4th with a 6-1 win over Sandmartins at Wokefield Park today. A very close match which saw two games finish on the 18th and one on 17th.

The results were ...
Ian & Charlie 1up
Tony & Lloyd all square
Conor and Curtis 1up

I feel we are now comfortable playing foursomes at this level and look forward to an even better season next year.
For league details - click here.

Chris Moore.

Winter Warmers

Captains Cup

The new captains, Club Captain John Graham and Lady Captain Maria Tillett officially started their year in the traditional way with the Captain's Drive-in prior to the Captain's Cup competition today. This year, they were joined by Seniors Captain Tom Wallin and Junior Captain Curtis MacGeever.


The day started with hot beverages and danish pastries followed by the drive-in and 18 holes of golf in cold, windy conditions but thankfully dry.

The Stableford Captain's Cup competition was won by John Baron with 41 points. One point further back and runner-up was new Lady Captain Maria Tillett and a further point behind was third placed Jean Raincock. Full result - click here.

Following the golf, all players were treated to lunch courtesy of the new captains prior to the prize-giving.






The chosen charity for our Captains this year is "Action for Children".

We wish all the new Captains good luck for the year ahead.

September Junior Medal

A minimal field of four players competed for this months Junior medal yesterday.
The winner was Max Nicholls (8hcp) with a nett 71. Three shots further back was George Stockley (4hcp) whose 78 gross was the lowest of the day.

Full result - click here.

September Weekday Stableford

The September Weekday Stableford was played on Thursday and Friday 23rd/24th September. Twenty players (17 men and 3 ladies) competed for the prizes in this mixed competition.

The competition was very close at the top end of the leaderboard and the winner had to be decided on countback. Three players were tied on 40 points at the top with George Stockley (3hcp) just edging out Joe Bell (3hcp) and dad Andy Stockley (7hcp). Fourth place went to Darren Boyce (5hcp) with 39 points.

Whatever happened to the theory that Stableford competitions favoured high handicappers !!!???!!!

Full result - click here.

Summer KO's

Throughout the summer months, the rounds of the summer matchplay knockout competitions have been played and September sees the end to these events with the finals being completed.

Jubilee Cup
This is the Seniors singles KO competition. There is always a strong field for this event and this year was no different with 32 players competing for the prizes. The final was played earlier this month with Mike Willson just edging out Rod Spring in a closely contested match. It's a deserved win for Mike as he has come so close on numerous occasions only to be thwarted near the end and also Mike played his semi and final matches not being in the best of health. Well done Mike!!
Full details - click here.

Summer Singles
A slightly smaller field than usual (26 players) competed in this years singles, but the competition is always tough in this event. The eventual winner was Richard Osgood who beat Gordon Souter, Nigel Huszarik, Tim McAuley and then Ian Folwell in the final.
Full details - click here.

Summer Fourball
Twenty-two pairings started in this event in May. The winners were Nigel Huszarik and Ian Folwell (who both seem to be matchplay specialists !!). On their way to victory they defeated Jimmy Green & Jon Miller, Andy Stockley & Shuan Irlam, Jim & Sarah Purvis and lastly Rowland Barnfield & Nick Powell (who always feature well in these events) in the final.
Full details - click here.

Summer Foursomes
A smaller field of 16 pairings started this event but the busy Ian Folwell and Nigel Huszarik completed a fine summer by winning this event as well. They defeated Elaine Brichard & Mike Lucey, Aaron Stockley & Joe Bell, Jason Allum & Richard Osgood and lastly the tough paring of Jimmy Green & Carl McCartney in the final.
Full details - click here.

Thanks to all for competing in these events.

AGM

The 16th Annual General Meeting of Newbury Racecourse Golf Club was held last evening. Speeches and reviews of the year were given by Stephen Higgins (MD Newbury Racecourse), Maria Tillet (Treasurer), Elaine Brichard (outgoing Ladies Captain), Brian Faithfull (outgoing Seniors Captain), Shaun Irlam (outgoing Junior Organiser), John Butcher (outgoing Club Captain) and Nick Mitchell (Head Professional and Golf Centre Manager).

The new committee for the year were nominated and will be as follows:

Managing Secretary - Nick Mitchell
Club Captain - John Graham
Ladies Captain - Maria Tillett
Treasurer - Maria Tillett
Vice Captain & Matches - Jon Miller
Ladies Vice Captain - Sam Whiting
Handicaps Secretary - John Christopher
Competitions Secretary - Andrew Buchanan
Seniors Captain - Tom Wallin
Juniors Co-ordinator - Chris Moore
Admin Officer - Cilla Osgood
Press Officer - Dean Butler
IT Officer - Paul Tebbutt
The new Junior Captain is Curtis MacGeever

New Captains Tom Wallin, John Graham and Maria Tillet in their new club blazers.

Junior Events

These are the Junior events for the rest of this year :

Sunday October 24th - Junior Pro Am 10:00
Wednesday October 27th - Junior Open 10:00

Sunday October 31st - Medal 11:00
Sunday November 28th - Medal 11:00
Saturday December 18th - Medal 10:30

For the medals, entry fee will cost £3.00 per person.
A minimum of 4 players are needed for the event to be a qualifier and receive medal. Winner will also (regardless of number of entries) receive a £5.00 pro-shop voucher.

Junior Racenight

The junior race night raised £406.18 for their funds after deductions.A big thank you to all that supported the night. You will all know that things did not run entirely smoothly on the night but Ahaun and I kept on going to the end .
It would have been great to have seen more juniors and their parents on the night as this is a important night for valuable fund raising which keeps the costs down in the coming year for all.
Thank you to Nick Mitchell for giving a free clinic to all juniors who attended that night also thanks to all race sponsors and owners on the night. Thank you to Mike Smith who ran the tote .

John Butcher ( Club Captain )

Calling All 7-day Members

Our club needs a new Men's Vice Captain for the year ahead.

The requirements of a Vice Captain are to help out at the various events organised during the year, as well as advertising and selecting the teams to play matches against various other Golf Clubs.

An exciting and once-in-a-life-time opportunity awaits you!!

The new Club Captain (John Graham) would be pleased to nominate any 7-day members wishing to carry out this vital role within the club.

Seniors Captain's Day

Twelve teams of 3 played in the Seniors Captain's Day Texas Scramble today. The weather stayed dry but there was a strong westerly wind blowing.
There was an extra twist added to the scoring of the Texas Scramble with four "jokers" being drawn by each team at the end to determine plus and minus shots before the final totals were calculated. In the end, the lucky winners were Paul Tebbutt, John Christopher and Gerry Eatwell (58.3). Runners-up were Derek Fox, Les Eden and Jan Hinks (59.2), and in third place were Andrew Buchanan, Lesley Cratchley and Richard Hook (63.1). Nearest the pin prizes went to Jim Green, Ted Fitzsimons and Les Eden.

But today was not really about winners or losers, it was a day to celebrate the end of the year of our current Seniors Captain Brian Faithfull. I'm sure all the seniors would like to really thank Brian for the tremendous job he has done this past year as Captain.
Thanks and happy golfing for the future Brian.

36 Hole Stableford

A warm summer's day, a light breeze, a golf course in pristine condition .... ideal for an 8 mile walk and 36 holes of golf!!! Thirty players (23 men and 7 ladies) competed in the Men and Ladies individual 36-hole Stableford today.

Men
Unusually for a Stableford competition, it was the low handicap players who led the way after the first round. Curtis Macgeever was in front with a good 38 pts followed by George Stockley, Jim Purvis, Andy Stockley and Mike Chamberlain all with a steady 36 pts. Jack Unsworth was one point further back on 35 pts.
However, the second round was a slightly different story. Jack Unsworth scored a suberb 39 pts to ease out George Stockley and win on countback. George also improved his morning round by two points. In third place was Mike Chamberlain with two very consistent rounds of 36 pts.
Full result - click here.

Ladies
In the ladies competition, Sarah Purvis led the way after round one with 35 pts. One shot further back was last year's winner Kim Richardson followed by Sam Whiting (32 pts) and Maria Tillet (31 pts). In the afternoon, another solid performance by Kim Richardson (38 pts) was enough to secure the win and retain her title. Sam Whiting also improved on her morning round to score 36 pts and grab the runner-up spot. Third was Maria Tillett who again improved on her first round by 2 pts.
Full result - click here.

Keith Knight Cup

Thirty-six senior men and ladies played for the Keith Knight Cup today. This Stableford competition is named in memory of one of our respected senior members and friend Keith Knight. Conditions were slightly damp first thing, but the course again was in excellent condition.

Today's winner with a score of 40 points was Rob Seaton (12hcp). One shot further back was runner-up Bob Evans (17hcp) closely followed by Ray Tillen (14hcp) another shot behind.

Special thanks to winner Rob Seaton for providing prizes for nearest the pins on his birthday. These were won by Brain Bailey, Agnes Jackson and Paul Tebbutt.

Full result - click here.

Junior Ryder Cup Day

WHAT A DAY!!!!!

The juniors and I played the 2010 course at Celtic Manor on Saturday 4th September. This course will be hosting the Ryder Cup in 3 weeks. As soon as we got there we had a tour of the clubhouse, what a clubhouse. The attention to detail was amazing. We were shown our lockers for the day which had our names on them as well as our tee times (nice touch). Our clubs then got transported down to the first tee along with us 20mins later. When we got to the first tee there was a putting green where we all got used to the speed of the greens and a few putting competitions.

TEE TIME!!!!!

Joe Bell hit the first tee shot of the day - a big push right!!!! All throughout the day you kept hearing comments like AMAZING, IMMENSE, TOP DRAW, AWESOME, UNBELIEVEABLE. Hearing this, I take it everyone was having a good time! After all the golf was played the scores were counted and George Stockley won with 6 over gross 34points.

I would like to thank all the parents for helping with lifts and supporting this event.

Thanks Shaun Irlam.

September Medal

Twenty-five men and 8 ladies competed for the September medals today.

Division 1
The top division was won by John Day (11hcp) with a very good score of nett 69. Runner-up was decided by countback with Gordon Souter (12hcp) just beating Ian Martinez (4hcp) after both scored nett 70. Ian carded 74 gross which was the lowest of the day.
Full result - click here.

Division 2
This division was dominated by Ian Turner (15hcp) who scored a superb nett 66 and the lowest gross of 81. Five shots behind was runner-up Bob Stevenson (19hcp). Third place was decided on countback with John Butcher (16hcp) just edging out Roy Whiting (18hcp) after both scored nett 73.
Full result - click here.

Division 3
Another nett 66 and the lowest gross in this division (88) was enough to win division 3 for the fast-improving Chris Richardson (22hcp). Runner-up was Aubrey Phillips (21hcp) with a nett 68 followed by Trevor Mortimer (20hcp) another 4 shots further back.
Full result - click here.

Ladies
Sarah Purvis (26hcp) continued her good form by winning this month's ladies section with yet another nett 66 and earned a 3-shot handicap reduction for her efforts. Runner-up was Maria Tillett (18hcp) with nett 70. One shot further back was Sam Whiting (13hcp) who also scored the lowest gross with 84.
Full result - click here.

Captains Cup

Seniors September Medal

The September Seniors Medal was played today warm, sunny conditions. With only a light breeze and the course looking immaculate, conditions seemed ideal for lots of low scores. Strangely, that wasn't the case and only two scores less than par were recorded. A very good field of thirty-four men and six ladies competed for the medals.

In the men's section, the winner on countback and his first Senior winners medal for 4 years, was John Christopher (20hcp) who just beat Rob Seaton (13hcp) after both scored nett 69. Three shots further back, the next 3 places were also decided on countback. Brian Bailey (11hcp) edged out Peter Darwin (11hcp) and Peter Myles (12hcp). Rob Seaton and Jim Green both shared the honour of lowest gross with 82.
Full details - click here.

For the ladies, Linda Vale (22hcp) continued her good form winning her third Senior medal this year with a nett 75. One shot behind was Jan Hinks (35hcp) and Anges Jackson (28hcp) was third two shots behind the winner. Lowest gross for the ladies was Judy Willson with 96.
Full details - click here.

August Junior Medal

The August Junior Medal was played yesterday in tricky conditions with a strong wind blowing. Ten players competed for the medal. The winner with a superb nett 67 was Will Green (12hcp). Runner-up was Jack Unsworth (11hcp) who just beat Chris Richardson (22hcp) on countback after both carded a nett 70. Fourth place went to Conor Dick (4hcp) who scored nett 71 and also the lowest gross of the day.
Full result - click here.

The monthly Junior medals (as well as the Junior Club Championship) are the main counting events for the Junior Masters trophy presented at the end of the calendar year. With four medals still to count, this year's trophy is still very close with probably six players still in contention. Joe Bell currently leads the way just 3 points ahead of Conor Dick, closely followed by Charlie Butler and Max Nicholls.
For full details - click here.

NRGC vs Hennerton GC

Newbury Racecourse GC beat Hennerton Golf Club at the Racecourse today by 3 1/2 - 2 1/2 in very windy conditions. All the players enjoyed the challenge and all the matches were very close.
I would like to thank Hennerton for the matches played this year and we will add the fixture to next years calendar as both games were played in a friendly manner and enjoyed by all.

I would like to thank all the members for playing in the matches during my term as Vice Captain and it was nice to finish with a win. I will give full support to all the matches again next season, if I get selected to play of course.

Thanks also to Fiona and her staff for all the great food served this year and the green staff for making the course playable.

Anyone interested in taking on the role as Vice Captain for next season please feel free to come and have a chat.

John Graham

Thursday Evening League

Today was the final day of this year's Thursday Evening League. Starting from last May, 10 teams of 8 players have played 9-hole Stableford rounds on Thursday evenings, culminating in today's 18-hole finale and prize giving.

The standard of play has been high throughout the 14 weeks with many players receiving double-digit reductions to their TEL handicap. John Baron, Shaun Irlam, Charlie Butler, Lizzie Swallow and Ian Martinez received 10-shot reductions during the competition, Sandy Deacon and Ian Folwell earned 11-shot reductions and Matt Baillie a whopping 12-shots. Many players got down to single-figure handicaps, but special mention to Lizzie Swallow and Joe Bell who got down to zero, Lloyd Childs and George Stockley to -1 and particularly Charlie Butler and Ian Martinez who achieved -5. Imagine having to shoot gross 66 to score 36 points !!!!

On to the prize winners ...

Over the course of the 13 weeks of Thursday 9-hole evening rounds there are prizes awarded for the best 5 individual scores. Always a tight and challenging part of the competition, this years winner was Matt Baillie with a superb score of 102. Runner-up was Lizzie Swallow who just beat Sandy Deacon on best average score after both tied on 100 points.


Today's finale was also an 18-hole individual competition. The winner was Tony Grove with 39 points. Second with 38 points was Matt Heffy. Third place was decided on countback with Alan Irlam just beating Max Nicholls and Paul Hyde after all three scored 37 points.


Finally, the league itself. This was a very close competition this year and the result was not decided until all today's scores were processed. In the end, it was a repeat result of last year with team Easily Second (101 points) just beating Allsorts by 3 points. Colts and Fillies claimed third spot another 3 points further back.
For full details - click here.

Thanks to Nick and Lorraine for organising this unique and successful event and we hope it will be as successful again next year.

NRGC vs Witney Lakes

Apologies to all but the match due to be played on 4th September has had to be cancelled due to Witney Lakes being unable to field a team. We will try again next year.

NRGC Junior Ryder Cup

NRGC vs Hennerton GC

Date: Sunday 29th August 2010
Venue: Newbury Racecourse

Team and Tee Times (all from 1st tee)
11:00 John Graham & John Butcher
11:08 Russell Bowers & Andrew Buchanan
11:16 Dean Butler & TBA
11:24 Jim Purvis & Jeremy Twaits
11:32 Dave Warwick & Roy Whiting
11:40 Jon Miller & Mark Richardson

£10 per head
Tea/Coffee on arrival
2 course meal served afterwards
Smart casual dress to be worn around the club house

Any queries - please contact john.graham@nrgc.co.uk

AGM

NEWBURY RACECOURSE GOLF CLUB

16TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The 16th Annual General Meeting of the members of Newbury Racecourse Golf Club will be held in the Club House on Wednesday 22nd September 2010 at 7.30pm.
Members wishing to submit resolutions for this meeting must do so in writing to the Secretary (Nick Mitchell) by Wednesday 1st September 2010.

John Graham will assume the position of Club Captain as laid down by the constitution.

Maria Tillett will assume the position of Lady Captain as laid down by the constitution.

Nominations for the following committee positions, each proposed and seconded, should be submitted to the Secretary (Nick Mitchell) in writing by Wednesday 8th September 2010.

• Vice Captain
• Lady Vice Captain
• Senior Captain
• Handicap Secretary
• Competitions Secretary
• Junior Organiser
• Treasurer
• Junior Captain
• IT Officer
• Press Officer
• Admin Officer

Nomination forms may be obtained from any Committee member or ask at the Clubhouse.

Thursday Evening League Final Day

After another successful summer of Evening League matches, the final week is almost here. Next Thursday 26th Aug is the last of the evening games closely followed by the final day on Saturday 28th August. The final day is an 18-hole event with all players from each team eligible to play. Each team has been allocated four separate tee-times from both 1st and 10th tees. The points scored on this day will count towards the league but not the "Best 5" competition. The league is the closest it has been for a few years with the top 8 still in contention.

For tee times on the final day - click here.

How-Did-I-Do

For those that don't know, at NRGC we use a system called Club2000 to administer our Membership, Competitions and Handicaps. One of the benefits of using this system is the information available to you on-line via How-Did-I-Do (HDID).
For example:

• Access to your online playing record
• Print your own CONGU handicap certificate
• Access to detailed competition results, course stats and handicap lists
• Personal competition results and handicap change notification via e-mail
• Detailed analysis of your competition rounds - hole-by-hole
• And much more.

... and all this is FREE !!!

You just need to register on the HDID site.
Go to http://www.howdidido.co.uk/ click on the "Register" button in the left column, fill in a few details and away you go. Why not try it !?!?

Racecourse Cup

The Racecourse Cup Stableford was played today from the White/Red tees. Although there was a stiff southerly breeze blowing, conditions were favourable for scoring and the leaders took full advantage. The winner was Jeremy Twaits (21hcp) scoring 42 points. This is Jeremy's second win of the season having already captured the Bogey Competition trophy. Runner-up was Club Captain John Butcher (17hcp) who scored 40 points just beating Ian Folwell (14hcp) into third place on countback.
Full result - click here.

August Weekday Stableford

Nineteen players (17 men and 2 ladies) competed in this months Weekday Stableford on Thu 19th and Fri 20th August. The scoring was outstanding with the top three players all scoring 40+ points and receiving handicap reductions for their efforts.
The winner was Gary Crosby with an incredible 47 points. Runner-up was Chris Richardson with 44 points followed by Jamie Prater on 42 points.
Full result - click here.

Quiz Night

Parker Hart Four-ball

Eighteen pairings competed for the Parker Hart Four-ball Trophy today. Following nearly a week of on-and-off rain, the weather was really kind to us - warm and sunny (at times). Unfortunately, due to some unexpected "obstructions" on the 18th fairway, the competition had to be played over 17 holes. As this was a better-ball strokeplay event, to prevent everyone being disqualified by the computer, each pairing was given a nett par 5 for the 18th.
The winners were father and son team Tony & Danny Glover who just pipped John Baron and John Day on countback (front 3) after both teams scored a splendid nett 64. Third place went to father and daughter team of Trevor & Lucy Mortimer on nett 65 with Mark & Chris Richardson one stroke further back.
Full result - click here.

Scratch Team vs Donnington Valley

The team played at Sandford Springs today.
Could not be closer with every match ending in a 1 hole win, but another frustrating day losing 5-2. George and Lloyd lost the last hole to lose 1 down, Conor and Curtis lost the last 2 holes to only win 1up and Tony and Joe made a birdie at the 18th to lose 1 down. The last hole cost us a 5 - 2 win)!!

Chris Moore.

Junior Club Championship

The 36-hole Junior Club Championship was played yesterday in a strong westerly breeze testing all the players. Although only a small-ish field, the eleven players (10 boys and 1 girl) represented the "cream" of Junior golf at Newbury Racecourse and the scoring on the day did not disappoint.

After round 1, it was clear there would be no run-away victory by anyone. Lloyd Childs led the way with a superb level par gross 71 closely followed by Charlie Butler and Conor Dick both on 72. Joe Bell and Lizzie Swallow were also in contention just 3 off the lead both carding gross 74. The nett prize was also very close after round 1 with Lloyd Childs, Max Nicholls and Charlie Butler separated by just one shot.
With a few holes to go in the second round, it looked like a play-off might be required, however it was not to be. After the scores were registered, 3 shots separated the top five places. Charlie Butler was the eventual winner on 144 (72+72). Runner-up was Conor Dick (72+73). Third was Lloyd Childs (71+75) closely followed by Lizzie Swallow and Joe Bell who carded identical rounds (74+73).
The nett prize went to the ever-improving Max Nicholls on countback from the luckless Conor Dick - both scored 135. One shot further back were 3 players. Guy Farrier claimed third place, again on countback from Charlie Butler and Lloyd Childs.

Full gross result - click here.
Full nett result - click here.

Thank-you to all the people who made this event a success.

Wendy Seymour 24/3/1962 - 31/7/2010

It is with great sadness that we report that following her long, brave fight, Wendy who was diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer, passed away peacefully in her sleep on Saturday morning 31st July 2010. Wendy was a loving wife, caring mother and fantastic friend to so many and will be sadly missed by all. She will be will be forever in our thoughts and we will treasure all her lasting memories.

A message from Paul and Dan:
At this sad time please try if you can to think of the good times and remember that time will ease your sorrows. With deepest sympathy, God bless you Wendy.

Wendy is now back in the Chapel of Rest and the funeral will take place next Monday 16th Aug 2010 at 2pm St Georges Church, Wash Common, Newbury. The committal will take place at West Berks Crematorium, Thatcham at 3pm. A reception wake will take place afterwards at the Newbury Golf Centre.

All arrangements by Camp Hopson Undertakers 01635 522210.
I have set up a web page in memory of Wendy anyone wishing to make a donation can do so on her page. http://www.justgiving.com/wendy-seymour

Paul Seymour.

Seniors Fourball Salver

Eighteen teams contested the Seniors Fourball Salver today. After a wet day yesterday, we were treated to a nice, warm and dry day today. This mixed gender strokeplay competition was played from the white/red tees with 3/4 handicap and, as usual, the scores was very good.

The winners were Raymond Bilton & Lesley Cratchley with a great score of 65. Runners-up and two strokes behind (67) were Rod Spring & Marian Taylor. Third place went to Andrew Buchanan & Monty Norman one stroke further back (68).
Full result - click here.

Men's Member/Guest Day

This year's competition will be held on Sunday 19th September 2010.
Closing date for entries is 12th September.

As in previous years, the format is Fourball Betterball Strokeplay off 3/4 handicap from the white tees. Entry fee is £44 per pair to include tea/coffee and biscuits on arrival and a 2-course carvery meal after play.

For more details and an entry form click here.

Seniors vs Theale

On Friday 6th August, NRGC Seniors played the inaugural friendly at home against Theale Seniors and, after a close competition, the result finished 4-3 in favour of the Racecourse.
Winning pairings were: Jim Green & Derrick Perrin (2 & 1), Raymond Bilton & Steve Thompson (7 & 5), John Christopher & Barrie Heath (2 & 1) and Ray Tillen & Richard Hook (3 & 2). Nearest the pin went to home player Jim Green, with Theale's Eddie Thorpe taking the longest drive.