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Wednesday, 30 June 2010

Seniors July Medal

Yes - I know it's not July yet (!), but because the Seniors have the Senior Pro-Am next Wednesday and the Senior Open the week after, it was decided to play the medal earlier rather than later in the month.
A good field of 33 Seniors (26 men and 7 ladies) competed for the medals today. Although a bit breezy, the weather was again perfect for good scoring and the Seniors did not disappoint.

The men's gold medal was won with a fine nett 64 by Brian Grace (hcp 18). Surprisingly, although Brian has won in regular monthly medals in the past, this is his first Senior medal. The silver medal was decided on countback with Harry Jackson (hcp 18) just beating Richard Cross (hcp 21) after both scored nett 66. After two good rounds last weekend in the Club Championships, the lowest gross of the day (80) was scored by Brian Bailey. A total of 7 players earned a reduction in their playing handicap.
Full result -
click here.

The ladies medal was hotly contested again with some good scores. The winner was Linda Vale (hcp 25) with a superb nett 63. Runner-up was Lesley Cratchley (hcp 24) again scoring low with nett 66. Judy Willson (hcp 18) just grabbed third from Agnes Jackson (hcp 29) after both carded nett 70. Judy and Linda both share lowest gross honours with 88 and another four players from the ladies section received handicap decreases.
Full result -
click here.

Sunday, 27 June 2010

Club Championship Day 2

Curtis Macgeever and Lizzie Swallow
Another scorching hot day today for the final day of the Ladies and Men's Club Championship. Scoring conditions could not have been better and many players in the field took full advantage.

Men Gross
There were at least half a dozen players in with a realistic chance of winning the Club Championship after round 1, and there were some very competitive performances on the final day. But defending champion Curtis Macgeever kept his nerve to score a superb 69 in round 2 to go with his 72 yesterday (141). Two shots further back was overnight leader George Stockley who scored a solid 73 to finish on 143 and two shots behind George was Steve Bonner scoring 145 for the championship.
Full result -
click here.

Men Nett
More splendid scores in the nett category saw Jon Miller (130) clinch the Div 1 honours. In Div 2, a superb second round 59 from Jack Unsworth (134) was just good enough to defeat David Warwick on countback with the same score. Div 3 witnessed more impressive scoring with Matt Baillie (134) coming out on top after a final round 62.
Div 1 full result - click here.

Div 2 full result - click here.
Div 3 full result - click here.

Ladies Gross
After a level par round of 72 and a 10 shot lead on day 1, it was always going to difficult for the other ladies to catch Lizzie Swallow. Lizzie put matters beyond any doubt on day 2 by breaking her own recently-set course record with a phenomenal 68 in the second round for a total of 140. Runner-up was Sam Whiting (163) followed by Fay Unsworth (166).
Full result - click here.

Ladies Nett
Lizzie also finished top of the nett list, but as the competition rules state that competitors cannot win both prizes, the nett winner was Lucy Mortimer who just pipped Sam Whiting on countback both scoring 133.
Full result - click here.

Saturday, 26 June 2010

Club Championship - Day 1

The first round of the Ladies and Men's Club Championships took place today in scorching sunshine. Our thanks go to Richard and his team for the care taken in preparing the course for the event. The team will also have another very early start tomorrow again preparing the course for round 2. Thanks also to Fiona and her team for the catering throughout the day.

Men Gross
Competition is very tight after round 1 with many players in contention. George Stockley leads the way with an impressive 70 closely followed by reigning Club Champion Curtis MacGeever on 72. One shot further back are three players on 73 - Jon Miller, Charlie Butler and Joe Bell. A further 10 players shot in the seventies, so it's all to play for tomorrow.

Men Nett
The three divisions in the Men's nett category are currently led by Jon Miller (62), David Warwick (66) and Mike Chamberlain (69) but there are plenty of other players still playing for the nett prizes in all divisions tomorrow.

Ladies Gross
Another stunning performance by Lizzie Swallow equalling her own course record of 72 sees her lead by 10 shots over Sam Whiting and 11 ahead of Kim Richardson. Can Lizzie be caught? It's going to be tough, but anything is possible in golf!!

Ladies Nett
Lizzie Swallow (64) also leads the nett competition but, given that one player cannot win both gross and nett prizes, it's all to play for here. Sam Whiting and Kim Richardson both sit on 67 with Lucy Mortimer one further back on 68.

Tuesday, 22 June 2010

Dan Through To Open Final Qualifying

Caddie Gary Moore with Dan SeymourWell done to Dan Seymour who qualified joint winner of the 2010 Open Regional Qualifier at Ferndown on Monday 21st June. After 4 birdies and an eagle on the par-4 8th, Dan eventually went on to shoot 67 and finish joint winner, a superb performance.
Now Dan leaves on Sunday to prepare and play 36 holes in the final qualifier at Scotscraig in Scotland. Tee times at Scotscraig are 7:04 am and 12:05 pm on Tuesday 29th 2010.
Good luck Dan - we'd love to see you at St Andrews !!!
Special thanks to Gary for his help and good work.

Monty's Longest Day

Monty Norman
On Monday 21st June, one of very own seniors, Monty Norman set out early at 06:00 to attempt his "Longest Day" golf challenge. His self-imposed challenge was to play four rounds of golf (72 holes) in one day to raise money for the Macmillan Cancer Care charity.

After a very long hot day, Monty completed the challenge finishing at 20:30 in the evening .... still smiling!!! To help him along the way and offer moral support, Monty was joined at various times by other members of the club. Club Captain John Butcher played alongside him for the first round. The second round he was accompanied by Lesley Cratchley and for the final two rounds Chris Moore played and gave his support. John Taylor was also there to offer his support at various parts of the day.
So far Monty has raised nearly £600 for Macmillan with more money yet to be collected. A big thank-you to all who supported Monty in this very tough challenge.
WELL DONE MONTY!!!

Sunday, 20 June 2010

NRGC vs Theale GC

Newbury Racecourse played the annual home men's match against Theale Golf Club today, which resulted in a 3 - 3 draw. The home side took a 3-0 lead but were pegged back by the away side. The weather was great again, the food was excellent and I am pleased to say all players enjoyed the day and we all look forward the return game on the 25th July at Theale.
Thanks to everyone for taking part and supporting the match in a friendly but competitive manner and the final score was great reflection of the day.
Theale Golf Club have kindly agreed to donate a trophy for the future matches, with the format being played over the two courses each year. Theale will start as trophy holders and have challenged the Racecourse to win it off them, so to speak. We go into the 2nd leg at 3-3 which gives us a chance to win it as they have challenged. The holders will only lose the trophy if it is won from them each year, so 6-6 would mean Theale keep it. We will see.

John Graham.

June Weekday Stableford

A field of 23 players (15 men and 8 ladies) competed in the June Weekday Stableford on Thu 17th and Fri 18th June. Once again some very impressive scores were returned with six players receiving a playing handicap reduction.
The winner had to be decided on countback with Chris Richardson just beating back-to-form Marian Taylor. Both carded 44 points. Two points further back in third place was Kim Richardson. Forty-one points was unfortunately only good for fourth place with 3 players battling it out on that score. Sandy Deacon just eased out Sian Soanes and Jamie Prater.
Full result - click here.

Wednesday, 16 June 2010

Seniors Club Championship

Seniors Club Champion Chris Moore & Seniors Captain Brian Faithfull The second 18 holes of the Seniors Club Championship was played today in warm but very breezy conditions making scoring quite tricky. Thanks to the greenkepers for preparing the course in excellent condition.

Gross
In the main event, Chris Moore and Raymond Bilton started the day 3 strokes behind first round leader Tony Grove who had carded a very respectable 77. In today's second round, Chris Moore scored a solid 78 to finish with a total of 158, four shots ahead of Raymond Bilton (162) and five shots ahead of defending champion Jim Green (163).
Full result -
click here.

Nett
The nett event saw some excellent performances and was a very close contest with only 8 strokes separating to top ten places.
The eventual winner was Rod Spring (138), closely followed by Lesley Cratchley (139) and in third place Malcolm Passey (141).
Full result - click here.

Monday, 14 June 2010

Captain's Day

I would like to thank everyone who supported us today but more importantly our charities in helping raising much needed money.
A rainy start soon was replaced by a nice day with lots of red faces (sun burned!!) coming into the clubhouse. It was a different format running in tandem with the usual competition which judging by the positive comments worked well. It was good to see my guests being shown respect on the golf course by our members.
Max Nicholls won the Men's event with Sam Whiting winning the Ladies and Paul Bennellick taking top spot for the guests. It was great to see you all out there enjoying yourselves. I didn't know Lorraine could run so fast as she chased her Powakaddy down the tenth , also my brother just missed me with his tee shot on the seventh.
A total of £800 was raised today.
Full result - click here.
THANK YOU
John Butcher ( Club Captain )

Sunday, 6 June 2010

NRGC vs Bearwood

Newbury Racecourse played a mixed match against our new friends from Bearwood Golf Club today, which resulted in a 5 - 3 win for the away side.
The weather was great with a cooling breeze helping all the players. The food was excellent again the company good. I am pleased to say all players enjoyed the day and we all look forward the return game on the 4th July at Bearwood.
Thanks to John Butcher and Maria Tillett for taking over the organising of the day in my absence and to all the members from both clubs for taking part in the match.
The match sheets for the Theale Home (Mens) and the return with Bearwood (Mixed) matches will appear on the notice board in the next day or so.
John Graham.

Chris on the Course

I have spent quite a few hours helping out our very under-strength greenkeeping team assisting in top dressing greens and then latterly to repair damage to the badly worn tees.
We are all aware our course is not Wentworth or Carnoustie but we can help by doing 'our bit' in preserving the condition of greens, tees, fairways and bunkers. I have heard members sitting in the bar saying 'the pay and play never repair pitch marks or divots' ...... but I know better!
ONE EXAMPLE: On Friday evening I placed the white tee markers at the back of the second tee (undamaged area) and also filled the soil bin with soil and seed mix. After the medal Tony G and I went onto the course to move tee markers and rake bunkers before the Scratch League visitors teed off. I must say I was horrified at what I found on the second tee. About 20 large divots removed and NOT ONE had been repaired.

Are you one of those who complain about the course and blame others??

Chris Moore

Hillman Trophy

The Hillman dream is over for another year. After a hard fought match which saw the lead change lots of time NRGC finally went down 5-2. The wind was very strong on the day with the away side Harleyford handling the conditions better. I would like to wish Harleyford all the best in future matches in this competition and say a big thank you to my team who gave me 100%. Lets hope we can win this in years to come.
John Butcher ( Club Captain )

Saturday, 5 June 2010

June Medal

Forty-two men and six ladies contested the June medals today in some of the best weather yet this year. With very little wind and the course running hard and fast there were some fantastic scores recorded in all divisions.

Division 1
The top mens division was won by Ian Martinez (5hcp) with a very impressive nett 64. Ian also recorded the lowest gross of the day - 69. The runners-up spot had to be decided on countback with Steve Bonner (8hcp) just beating Curtis Macgeever (5hcp) after both notched nett 67. Four other players followed this on nett 68, the leader of these being Jake Heaver (8hcp).
Full result - click here.


Division 2
Runaway winner in this division was Ian Turner (hcp17) who carded a superb nett 63 and also the lowest gross of 80. Runner-up was again decided on countback with John Baron coming out on top over Steve Steele. Both players scored nett 67 off 17hcp.
Full result - click here.

Division 3
More super scores in this division with young Danny Glover winning his first adult medal with a great score of nett 62. Danny earns a 3 shot handicap reduction for his efforts. The unlucky runner-up was Nick Turner who also went low carding a nett 63 and grabbing the lowest gross in this division. Third place went to Aubrey Phillips with nett 73.
Full result - click here.

Ladies
Not to be left out, there were just as impressive scores from the ladies section. This month's winner completing a hat trick of victories was Maria Tillett (21hcp) with a nett 62. Maria just beat Lizzie Swallow (hcp10) on countback. Lizzie scored a magnificent gross 72 which is a new course record for the amateur ladies. In third place was Kim Richardson with a nett 66.
Full result - click here.

Wednesday, 2 June 2010

Seniors June Medal

After a misty start, the weather warmed up nicely with the sun shining for the June Seniors Medal played today. 28 men and 5 ladies competed for the medals.

The men's medal winner today was Tony Grove (10hcp) who carded a very nice nett 66 as well as the lowest gross of the day (76). The silver medal goes to Al Drennan (hcp22) who just beat Peter Myles (hcp13) on countback after both scored nett 70.
Full result - click here.

The ladies medal was won today by back-in-form Judy Willson (hcp19) with a nett 68. Judy also carded the lowest gross in the ladies section. Runner-up was Lesley Cratchley (hcp26) scoring a nett 70.
Full result - click here.

May Junior Medal

A field of nine juniors competed for the May Junior Medal on Sunday 30th May.
As you would expect from our crop of talented juniors, the scoring was excellent. The winner on countback and also carding the lowest gross of the day (72) was Curtis Macgeever (5hcp) shooting a nett 67. Runner-up on the same nett score was Lizzie Swallow (10hcp). In third place was Conor Dick (nett 68) who has now managed to get his handicap down to 5.4 (cat 1). Well done Conor !!
Full result - click here.