Health and Happiness To You All

Merry Christmas to all!!!

Turkey Trot

Positively balmy conditions for today's competition compared to the freezing conditions we have experienced for most of the week here. Twenty-eight players (20 men and 8 ladies) took to the course to play in this 3-club Stableford fun competition. Some very good scores returned and very close scoring with a lot of people wondering why they really need 14 clubs to play golf!!!!
The winner today with an excellent 36pts was Dave Warwick. Runner-up was Roy Whiting who just edged out Jimmy Green on count-back after both returned 35pts. Fourth place went to Mike Chamberlain just beating John Day and John Baron also on count-back. Full result - click here.

Seniors Xmas Fayre

The coldest day yet at minus 4, but the hardy seniors were out there to play their annual Xmas Fayre competition today. The format was a Texas Scramble with three players to a team.

The winning team was ("I'm giving up golf, 'cos I can't hit a ball") Andrew Buchanan, John Christopher & Ofer Ben David each winning a £15 Sainsbury voucher. Runners-up were Derrick Perrin, Mike Pritchard & Gordon Turner each winning a Christmas Pudding and in 3rd place were John Butcher, Geoff Denner & Bob Alton each winning mince pies. 
Full result - click here.
Everyone had a gift from the table, then enjoyed a three course meal and were entertained with a quiz prepared by Lesley Cratchley. Our thanks to Rachael and her staff.

Winners - Ofer Ben-David, John Christopher & Andrew Buchanan

Runners-up - Gordon Turner, Derrick Perrin & Mike Pritchard (missing!!)

3rd place - Geoff Denner, John Butcher & Bob Alton

Helen Mills - winner of the unofficial "funniest hat" competition

John Taylor

Richard Hook

Sam Whiting

Wendy Seymour Texas Scramble

A cold and windy day at the racecourse, but huge thanks to the people who turned out to play today in this event in memory of a special and much-missed member of the club. Paul Seymour and Dan were both there to support the competition as well as other members of the family.
There was a raffle following the golf which raised approx £300 for the Rarer Cancers charity and our thanks go to all who contributed.

On to the golf. Well ... it may have been cold and windy, but there were some awesome scores from the twenty teams that took part today. The winners with a phenomenal score of 54.0 (gross 59 which included four 2's) were Max Nicholls, John Baron & John Day. The two John's were in the winning team last year as well!! Runners-up, with a score of 56.2 were the team of Edwin Jones, Steve Viney & Pam Edwards. Third place was extremely close with three teams having to be separated on count-back. The three teams all recorded 65 gross and 58.2 net but the back nine holes sorted out the order!! The junior team of Josh Wallin, Jack Unsworth & Luke Gregory just pipped Sean Sargeant, Dan Green & Ian Folwell and Jon Miller, Kim Richardson & Mark Richardson. Thanks to all again for your support. Full result - click here.

Just for info ... the draw for the Turkey Trot (to be played next Sat 15th Dec) will be done on Wednesday of this week. So if you haven't entered and still wish to do so, please get your entry in before Wednesday. Prizes will be awarded immediately after the event.

December Seniors Medal

Another bitterly cold day for the Seniors medal today, but the sun came out later on to make the temperature soar up to about 5 degrees!!! This month's competition was played as a Stableford off the yellow tees for men and there was a separate competition for the ladies.

In the men's event, John Butcher was the victor with an excellent 40pts, his third seniors medal since joining the "old folk" in August. Runner-up was the in-form Derrick Perrin on 39pts closely followed by Ofer Ben-David just one point further back. Andrew Buchanan (who "gave up golf last week"!!!) was fourth just ahead of Bob Evans on count-back. 
Full result - click here.

In the ladies competition, Lady Captain Jan Hinks headed the field on 32pts just ahead of runner-up Lesley Cratchley on 31pts.
Full result - click here.

Only three 2's were recorded today - Ofer Ben-David at the 6th, John Butcher at the 14th and Gordon Turner on the 16th.

To view the latest seniors eclectic standings - click here.

December Medal

Another good field of thirty-six players (30 men and 6 ladies) for the last of the 2012 medals. Unfortunately, because of the enforced closure of the 2nd hole, the competition had to be declared as a non-qualifier. Despite this, and the chilly conditions, there were some excellent scores returned.

Division 1
In the top division, Phil Knight scored an excellent 40pts to secure his first medal win for over three years! Runner-up was Dave Warwick on 38pts followed by Josh Wallin on 35pts. Full result - click here.

Division 2
After starting 2012 with a medal win, one of our esteemed seniors Derrick Perrin grabbed the honours in division 2 with 37pts. Runner-up was seniors captain Roy Whiting on 36pts followed by Rowland Barnfield who just finished ahead of Ian Turner on count-back after both returned 35pts. Full result - click here.

Division 3
Brian Matthews recorded his first medal success in division 3 with 36pts. One point further back was runner-up was Andy Tooley who just pipped Patrick Brind on count-back. Full result - click here.

Ladies
Well worth the wait for Sian Soanes who notched her first medal win since 2005 with a win on 32pts today. Runner-up was Kim Richardson on 29pts followed by Sam Whiting on 27pts. Full result - click here.

Two's
Four 2's were scored today. Josh Wallin & Patrick Brind at the 6th and Jim Green & Geoff Denner on the 11th.

Winter Medal Aggregate
This was the second round and half way point of the Winter Medal Aggregate competition. Rowland Barnfield now has a slender lead over Derrick Perrin and Josh Wallin and a host of other players in close attendance. Current standings - click here. Remember it's the best 3 scores that will count.

Don't miss this ...

Dear Golf Course Member,

As you will be aware, and as we discussed at the Annual General Meeting in September, The Racecourse has been reviewing options for the development of the Golf Facility at The Racecourse.

Following a detailed search for potential golf operators, we would like the opportunity to present our vision of the future of golf facilities here. The meeting will be in The Club House at 7pm on Wednesday 5th December.

We look forward to welcoming you on the night.

Stephen Higgins
Managing Director
(Racecourse & Events)

Seniors Yellow-Ball Stableford

A bitterly cold day today, but the seniors were out there today playing a yellow-ball Stableford. Twelve teams of 3 played in this event which involves players in the team taking turns to play the yellow-ball on each hole to earn double points for the team. The yellow-ball score MUST count plus the best score of the other two in the team on each hole. There's a lot of pressure when it's your turn to play that yellow-ball, especially when out-of-bounds is close or water hazards to be negotiated ... if it is lost, the yellow-ball can't be replaced!!
The winners today with a score of 116pts were Bob Stevenson, Allan Trotman & Ted Fitzsimons. Runners-up with 114pts were John Butcher, Richard Hook & Richard Cross. Third place went to Derrick Perrin, Mike Pritchard & Ken Croucher who just pipped Jeremy Proud, Ofer Ben-David & Doris on count-back after both teams scored 111pts.

November Weekday Stableford

Can't believe I'm still writing about golf with all this wet weather and flooding around, but the November Weekday Stableford WAS played on Thursday and Friday last week with six men and two ladies taking part in this mixed competition.
Jamie Prater must be an Aquarius as he amassed a fantastic score of 46 points to win the competition. Runner-up was Paul Hickey on 38pts followed by Mark Richardson on 36pts. Full result - click here.

November Medal

A fantastic entry for the re-scheduled November Medal with 38 men and 10 ladies competing for the medals in this Stableford competition. With declining numbers in medals recently, this is the largest medal field we have seen since June 2010!! It was nice to see some new faces entering the medal as well as the usual stalwarts. The weather was also extremely kind to us today. After an early frost, the players were treated to clear blue skies, no wind and some very welcome sunshine.

Division 1
In the men's top division, Jon Miller recorded his second medal win of 2012 amassing 39pts (despite one or two wayward shots!). Josh Wallin was runner-up with a commendable 38pts followed by Roger Tillet in third place who just beat Jamie Hines on count-back after both carded 37pts. Full result - click here.

Division 2
The clear winner in Div 2 was Rowland Barnfield with an excellent 41pts. Runner-up was senior Derrick Perrin on 38pts followed 1pt further back by John Butcher who just edged out Paul Hickey on count-back.
Full result - click here.

Division 3
In Div 3, Nick Turner won his third medal of the year with a very impressive 43pts. John Swallow just pipped Roger Carter for the runners-up spot on count-back with both players on 38pts. Young Andrew Mead was just behind these with an excellent 37pts.
Full result - click here. 

Ladies
Fay Unsworth continued with her excellent form this year to win the Ladies medal, although Fay needed count-back to finish just ahead of Sarah Purvis after both scored 37pts. Sian Soanes was third on 36pts followed by Maria Tillett just one point further back. Full result - click here.

Two's
There were a total of 5 two's recorded today ... Jon Miller (2nd), John Butcher (11th), Geoff Denner (14th), Derrick Perrin (11th) and Kim Richardson (11th).

Winter Medal Aggregate
As announced earlier, there is a "free to enter" competition in the four winter Stableford medals for the best 3 aggregate scores.The prize for the winner is free entry to EIGHT selected competitions in 2013, so well worth winning.
The early leader in this competition is Nick Turner (43pts) followed by Rowland Barnfield on 41pts then Jon Miller on 39pts.
Full listing - click here.
Be sure to enter the December medal to give yourself the best chance of winning the first prize.

Ace number two for John

Handicap Secretary John Christopher recorded his second hole-in-one whilst playing with the Seniors on Friday 16th Nov. His latest ace was at the 14th hole using his trusty 5-wood!!! Well done John.

Seniors Bowmaker

A cloudy, chilly start but a nice sunny finish for today's Seniors event. Twelve teams of three competed for the prizes in a Bowmaker Strokeplay competition.
The winning team on a total of 127 were Raymond Bilton, Bob Stevenson and Ofer Ben-David. Runners-up on 131 were Bob Evans, Rod Spring and Jan Hinks followed by Ray Tillen, Linda Vale and Mike Pritchard who just edged out Geoff Denner, Richard Hook and Frank Morley after both teams returned 133. Full result - click here.

Miller news ...

Jon and Kim consider ditching Mark from Texas Scramble team in favour of more promising player ... latest winner on European Tour - Matteo Maneserro!!!

 

November Greensomes

Eighteen pairings competed today in the November Greensomes. After some heavy overnight rain, the course was a bit wet in places, but that didn't deter today's competitors who returned some amazing Stableford scores.
The winning team with a fantastic score of 48pts were Josh Wallin and Luke Gregory. Runners-up with another great score of 45pts were Dan Green and Jack Unsworth making it a clean sweep for our very talented juniors. Third spot went to Christine and John Cooper on 43pts.
Full result - click here.

This was the final counting competition for the Order of Merit. Fay Unsworth managed to hang on to first place and win the Order of Merit and deserves it for her consistent play throughout the year in club competitions. Jack Unsworth made it a family double by finishing runner-up just beating Roger Tillett courtesy of more wins during the season. Final standings - click here.

Newbury & District Cancer Care Trust

Outgoing Captains Jon Miller and Sam Whiting welcomed David Ball, Chairman of Newbury & District Cancer Care Trust to the Golf Club to present him with a cheque for £1,455.80
Jon and Sam would like to thank everyone for helping them to raise this money for this deserving local charity.

November Seniors Medal

A good attendance for today's Seniors medal. Thirty-two men and five ladies competed for the prizes in chilly but thankfully dry conditions.

Men
In the men's medal a superb net 62 from Steve Thompson which included 2 two's, captured the medal. Runner-up on net 67 was Jim Green whose gross 77 was the lowest of the day. One stroke further back was third placed John Clark followed by Ken Croucher with a net 70. The only other two was recorded by Bob Evans on the tricky 14th.
Full result - click here.

Ladies
Linda Vale claimed her third Senior Ladies medal of the year with a winning total of net 71. Runner-up was Sam Whiting (net 76) recording the ladies lowest gross followed by Jan Hinks in third place.
Full result - click here.

November Medal

Following the wash-out on Sunday, it has been decided to re-schedule the November Medal to be played on Sunday 18th November.
The draw is exactly how it was for last Sunday, so if you were down to play and can no longer make it please let Paul Tebbutt know. Likewise, if you were not in the draw and would now like to play, please contact Paul and he will try to accomodate you.
The draw is on the web and can be viewed here.

Seniors Texas Scramble

Today's Seniors competition was a Texas Scramble. Thirteen teams of 3 battled it out for the prizes (although two teams had to play a "Doris" after a couple of the seniors called in sick!!!!). It was a cold and sometimes wet day, but the seniors soldiered on in their own inimitable way and posted some excellent scores.
The winning team with a super score of 57.0 were Tom Wallin, Rod Spring and Stephen Vale. Runners-up were John Butcher, Mike Pritchard and Jan Hinks on 58.0 closely followed by Paul Tebbutt, Roy Whiting and Ted Fitzsimons in third place (58.8). Full result - click here.

Junior Pro-Am

On Sunday 28th October, NRGC held its annual Junior Pro-am.
This is run by Nick Mitchell, and is a small, in-house competition giving our juniors the chance to play with a professional in a proper pro-am medal competition. The team consists of 2 juniors, 1 adult and 1 professional. All our pro's took part and everyone had a really great day.

The winning team was Nick Mitchell, Max Nicholls, Michael Sopp and Jeremy Twaits. Individual Professional scores were: Winner - Tim Butler -3, Nick Mitchell and Nigel Hart level par.

Jeremy Twaits, Max Nicholls, Michael Sopp & Nick Mitchell

Nick Mitchell & Tim Butler

Junior Open

A good field for this year's Junior Open sponsored by S&J Communications which was played in dry but slightly chilly conditions. Twenty-three players from Burnham Beeches,  Blue Mountain,  Castle Royle,  Newbury & Crookham,  Newbury Racecourse and  Witney Lakes entered the main competition with a further eleven young Newbury Racecourse players in the Red-Tee Stableford.

In the main gross competition, scoring was excellent and very close at the top of the leader board. At the finish, the winner by a single shot was Tim Shin from Castle Royle with a score of 70. Count-back was required to decide the runner-up with Jack Unsworth just edging out last year's winner Max Nicholls after both carded 71. Full result - click here.

In the net category, Jack Oades from Newbury Racecourse was the emphatic winner with a superb 63. two shots further back was runner-up Luke Gregory also from Newbury Racecourse. In third place, Jack Unsworth (Newbury Racecourse) just pipped Oliver Overend (Newbury Racecourse) on count-back, but as Jack had already captured the runner-up gross spot, the prize went to Oliver. Full result - click here.
Other prize winners were:
Best Front 9 gross  - Max Nicholls (Newbury Racecourse)
Best Back 9 gross  - Michael East (Burnham Beeches)
Best Front 9 net  - Oliver Overend (Newbury Racecourse)
Best Back 9 net  - Jack Oades (Newbury Racecourse)
Longest Drive  - Tim Shin (Castle Royle)
Nearest the Pin - Oliver Black (Newbury & Crookham)

The Red-Tee Stableford event was played over 12 holes by eleven players from Newbury Racecourse who have not yet obtained a CONGU handicap (all played off a nominal 28 handicap). The winner with a great score of 34pts was George Freer. Only two points behind was runner-up Michael Sopp. With these and other recent performances, both these boys have now earned a CONGU handicap of 28.
Other Red-Tee Stableford prize winners were:
Nearest the Pin  - Laurie Gale (Newbury Racecourse)
Longest Drive (18th) - Oliver Walker (Newbury Racecourse)
Longest Drive (8th) - Simon Mead (Newbury Racecourse)

 

 

 

Newbury Racecourse Junior Open Prize Winners

Finally some acknowledgements.Thanks to ...
The catering staff who provided an excellent lunch for all the competitors today.
Richard Holmes and his greens staff for preparing the course in excellent condition.
Lorraine Storey, Nick Mitchell and John Hoskison for organising today's event.
Peter Smith for his continued sponsorship of this competition and starting duties.
Raymond Bilton for his registration and scoring duties.
Paul Tebbutt for collating the scores.
Jim Purvis, Lesley Cratchley, Fay Unsworth and other parents for guiding the Red-Tee players round.
Finally thanks to all the players for showing up today and supporting this event. Hope to see you again next year.

Seniors Fourball

Today's event for the seniors was a fourball Stableford playing off 3/4 handicap. In the moist, chilly conditions, the course was playing long and scoring wasn't particularly 'easy'. But, as usual, the 16 pairings of seniors returned some very good scores.
The winners with a great score of 44pts were the team of Derrick Perrin & Tommy Lees. Runners-up on 41pts were Geoff Denner & Bob Stevenson. Steve Thompson & guest, (young) Jim Purvis, just pipped Bob Evans & Richards Hook to third spot on count-back after both scored 40pts.
Full result - click here.

Nice to see another guest (Mr Moore) back out on the course today!!

October Junior Medal

This month's Junior Medal was contested by eight players on Sunday 21st October.
The victor with his second Junior medal win this year was Chris Richardson with an excellent net 65. Runner-up was Jack Unsworth whose 73 was the lowest gross of the day (net 68). Oliver Overend was in third spot (net 69) followed by Josh Wallin with a net 70. Full result - click here.

Junior Masters
With two counting medals still to go, it looks like Jack Unsworth has the Junior Masters title sewn up. With 2 wins, 5 runners-up and 3 third places in the counting events, Jack has played consistently well this year. Current standings - click here.

Winter Medals

WINTER MEDAL AGGREGATE

Free entry and a worthwhile prize for the winner

The winner will be the player with the highest 3-round aggregate Stableford score from the four winter medals. It costs nothing to enter, but you must play in at least 3 of the 4 medals in November, December, January and February.

The prize is FREE entry in 2013 to FOUR medals (March, April, May and June) PLUS FREE entry to FOUR other competitions (Carole Scott Cup, April Fool Texas Scramble, John Ives Trophy and the Summer Singles KO).

More good reasons for playing in the winter medals this year!

A leader board will be published after each medal.

Any questions, just ask the Handicaps & Competitions Committee.

October Fourball

A foggy and somewhat chilly start to this year's October Fourball. Three groups managed to get out on time but then the fog came down again and proceedings were delayed for about an hour. Later on in the round the fog cleared and we were treated to a very pleasant, almost windless, and sunny autumn day. The players took advantage of the benign conditions and posted some excellent scores in this better-ball stroke play event.
The winners with a superb score of 60 were the team of Jack & Fay Unsworth whose round included three two's! Runners-up on 63 were the junior partnership of Josh Wallin & Luke Gregory. Count-back was called into action to decide third spot with Nick & Pete Turner just edging out John Butcher & Sian Soanes after both recorded 64. Special mention to Carl McCartney who had a hole-in-one today on the 16th!!
Full result - click here.

Order of Merit
This is the penultimate event that counts towards the year-long Order of Merit (the last one is the November Greensomes). With today's win, Fay Unsworth has re-taken the lead in the standings from Roger Tillett with Jack Unsworth currently in third spot. It could be a very tight finish!?! Current standings - click here.

October Weekday Stableford

Nine players competed in this months Weekday Stableford. The winner, with a score of 42pts, was Chris Richardson. Two points further back was runner-up Ian Panting followed by Christine Cooper on 39pts.
Full result - click here.
Thanks to Nick and Steve Mitchell for taking part on the day. Nick shot a very respectable gross 65. (I think a handicap review is in order - he's been off scratch for far too long!!!!!!).

Mixed Open

An excellent turn-out, excellent weather and some excellent scoring in today's Mixed Open. Sixty-four players in thirty-two teams competed for the prizes playing a better-ball Stableford off 3/4 handicap. Newbury Racecourse welcomed many visitors from over a dozen different golf clubs from as far away as Devon.
The course was prepared in excellent fashion by Richard Holmes and his staff and the meal afterwards was, as always, well received by everyone.
The winners today with a fantastic score of 45pts were David Baxter (Saunton) and Amanda Ransom (Westonbirt). Runners-up were decided on count-back with home players Jim Green and Fay Unsworth just edging out John Butcher and Sian Soanes after both returned 44pts. Fourth spot went to John Day (NRGC) and Laura Hawkins (Donnington Grove).
Full result - click here.
Special prizes were awarded to Neil & Jean Dalton (Meon Valley) and John & Bet Gazzard (Cotswold Edge). Nearest the pin prizes were won by John Day and Jan Hinks and Longest drives were won by Sian Soanes and Rob Bailey.
Club Captain Jeremy Twaits and Lady Captain Jan Hinks presented the prizes and thanks must go to Lorraine Storey for organising a very successful day.

Winners - David Baxter & Amanda Ransom

Runners-up - Jim Green & Fay Unsworth

3rd place - John Butcher & Sian Soanes

4th place - John Day & Laura Hawkins

Special prize - Neil & Jean Dalton

Special prize - John & Bet Gazzard

Ladies nearest the pin - Jan Hinks

Men nearest the pin - John Day

Ladies longest drive - Sian Soanes

Men longest drive - Rob Bailey

Seniors Greensomes

Today's competition for the Seniors was a mixed greensomes Stableford played from the yellow tees for the men. Thirteen teams competed for the prizes and, as usual, the scoring was excellent.
The winners with a score of 42pts were Ofer Ben-David & John Clark. Runners-up with 40pts were Malcolm Passey & Jan Hinks. Les Eden & Rod Spring claimed third spot on count-back from John Butcher & Ken Croucher after both teams returned 37pts. Full result - click here.

October Medal

Unfortunately, another small field for the October Medal today. Under the new rules this meant only two divisions and a mixed gender competition. The ones who did play today were rewarded with some beautiful sunshine and a nice warm autumnal day. Following the overnight rain, the course was playing long with some tricky puddles to negotiate!

Division 1
This months winner of the top division was "newly-crowned" Club Captain Jeremy Twaits with a score of net 70 (the only player who sneaked under par!). Runner-up was Jim Purvis on 72 closely followed by Ian Turner on net 73. Josh Wallin carded the lowest gross of 80.
Full details - click here.

Division 2
Nick Turner was the victor in division 2 with a score of net 71. The runner-up was decided on count-back with Paul Tebbutt just ahead of Sarah Purvis courtesy of a better back nine after both scored net 72.
Full details - click here.

Two's
Only one player recorded a two today ... Andy Stockley. Unfortunately, he wasn't in the two's pool!!!

Owen Millennium Trophy
As this was the last stroke-play medal of the year the Owen Millennium Trophy was decided today. The runaway winner was Max Nicholls with an excellent four round aggregate of 286. Runner-up was Josh Wallin with a very respectable total of 313. Full details - click here.

Seniors October Medal

A nice sunny day, but a testing wind blowing across the course for the twenty-six players in today's October Seniors Medal. Only one lady took part today, so it was played as a mixed competition.
The harsh wind made scoring conditions tricky but not for today's clear winner John Butcher who carded a superb net 64 (gross 80) to take first prize. The runners-up spot  was decided on count-back with Geoff Denner just beating Paul Tebbutt courtesy of a better back nine after both returned net 72. Fourth place went to Raymond Bilton on net 73. Unusually there were no two's today!!!
Full result - click here.

Captains Cup

After some early morning refreshments kindly provided by the new Captains, the customary drive-in took place for this year's new captains. Club Captain Jeremy Twaits, Ladies Captain Jan Hinks and Junior Captain Jack Unsworth all successfully hit their tee shots to the appreciation of the crowd gathered round the 13th tee.

Jan Hinks, Jeremy Twaits and Jack Unsworth

The 18-hole Captains Cup Stableford was then contested in tricky conditions with a brisk south-westerly keeping all the players on their toes. After a shot-gun start, it was back to the clubhouse for the presentation of the prizes and the customary raffles. The clear winner of the Captains Cup today with a super score of 43pts was Roger Tillett. The next four players were all tied on 37pts so count-back had to be invoked to separate them. The lucky runner-up was Paul Tebbutt who just pipped Jack Unsworth, Jim Green and Captain Jeremy Twaits courtesy of a better back nine score. Full result - click here.

Winner Roger Tillett with the Cup

To view more pictures - click here.

The longest drives were won by Sarah Purvis and Gordon Souter, whilst the nearest-the-pin prizes went to Allison Holmes and Lloyd Childs. The charity parking space raffle was won by Mark France who will now have further to walk to his car than his normal parking spot!!!!! There was also a charity raffle with prizes donated by many generous members. The Captain's charity benefits from today's proceedings to the tune of approx £391 which is a good start to the year.

This is another event that counts towards the Order of Merit. With this win, Roger Tillett has just sneaked into the lead one point ahead of Fay Unsworth. With points earned yesterday, Jack Unsworth is now in third place - Full listing - click here.

There are many people to acknowledge and thank for their part in helping to make today's event the success it was. Judy Willson, Tina Hawkins and Jon Miller for their early morning shift extracting money for captains drive-in pegs and raffle tickets, Andrew Buchanan and Dan Green for collecting the pegs and balls, Jon Miller and Paul Tebbutt for processing all the score cards, the clubhouse team for an early start to provide the refreshments, the green keepers for preparing the course in excellent condition and Brian Grace for collecting the forgotten longest drive marker in his buggy despite the fuel gauge being in the red!!!!
Most of all thanks to all the competitors who turned out today to make this a very successful event.   

September Weekday Stableford

This month's weekday Stableford was played on Thu 27th and Fri 28th Sept. Nine men and three ladies competed for the prizes and the scoring was excellent.
Steve Cobb came out on top with a fine 43pts. Runner-up was August winner Jamie Hines (42pts) followed by Adrian Hayward in third spot (41pts). Leading lady was Allison Holmes (36pts). Full result - click here.

September Junior Medal

The Junior Medal was played today in beautiful sunshine. Max Nicholls followed his win last month to make it a double by winning this one as well with an excellent net 66 and the lowest gross of 68. Just one stroke further back was runner-up Jack Unsworth (67) followed by Luke Gregory then George Baker. Full result - click here.
Jack Unsworth has a healthy 18 point lead in the Junior Masters with only three counting competitions to go. Full details - click here.

Captain's Cup

The Captain's Cup and drive-in will take place this Sunday 30th September. It is a shotgun start and the draw for starting tees will be done on the day before the start of the competition.
 
The drive-in should take place at 08:30 and the competition approx 20 minutes after that. Please arrive in plenty of time to draw your starting tee and place pegs out for the captain's drives.

There will be a raffle after the event and if anyone wants to donate prizes for this (no matter how big or small) please contact Jeremy Twaits on jeremy.twaits@nrgc.co.uk

Seniors Bowmaker

The Seniors competition today was a Bowmaker strokeplay event with seven teams of 4 taking part and the best two net scores to count on each hole.
The winning team were Sam Whiting, Lesley Cratchley, Ofer Ben-David and Frank Morley with a score of 124. Runners-up were Malcolm Passey, Stephen Vale, Geoff Denner and Chris Piper (126) followed by Paul Tebbutt, Judy Willson, Alan Gray and Linda Vale (127) in third place.
Full result - click here.

Course changes

As discussed at the AGM, the new course changes have now taken place.
The first hole is now a par 4 for both men and ladies, the second hole is now increased in length (still a par 3), the third hole is now reduced in length (still a par 4) and the tenth hole is now a par 5 for both men and ladies.
The resulting changes mean that the par for both men and ladies is now 71. The SSS will remain the same on all tees for the time being and there is no change to the stroke indexes.
Once the racecourse car park changes have taken place, there may be some modification to these holes to lengthen them. There will also be some "featuring" around the new greens in time.
Competitions will continue to run as normal on the modified course but with some slight changes to Competition Handicap Allowances in mixed gender competitions.
The yardages for the changed holes are as follows:

Hole   Par   White   Yellow   Red
 1      4     394     374     310
 2      3     168     155     140
 3      4     318     300     290
10      5     490     475     437

Thanks in advance for your patience whilst these new changes "bed-in".

AGM

The 18th Annual General Meeting of Newbury Racecourse Golf Club was held on Wednesday 19th September. Speeches and reviews of the year were given by Maria Tillett (Treasurer), Jon Miller (outgoing Club Captain), Sam Whiting (outgoing Ladies Captain), Mike Willson (outgoing Seniors Captain), John Hoskison (Juniors Coordinator), Nick Mitchell (Head Professional and Golf Centre Manager) and Stephen Higgins (MD Newbury Racecourse). No specific resolutions were tabled for discussion. 

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

Managing Secretary - Nick Mitchell
Club Captain - Jeremy Twaits
Ladies Captain - Jan Hinks
Treasurer - Maria Tillett
Vice Captain and Matches - Vacant
Ladies Vice Captain - Vacant
Handicaps Secretary - John Christopher
Competitions Secretary - Vacant
Seniors Captain - Roy Whiting
Juniors Co-ordinator - John Hoskison
Admin Officer - Vacant
Press Officer - Judy Willson
IT Officer - Paul Tebbutt
The new Junior Captain is Jack Unsworth

As you can see, there are some vacant positions still to be filled. If you would like to help the Club in any one of these positions, please let any of the committee know.

Jon Miller and Jeremy Twaits

Sam Whiting and Jan Hinks

9-Hole Committee Stableford

Nick & Lorraine kindly organised a nine-hole Stableford competition for members of this years committee who were available today. Early beverages and bacon rolls were supplied before the nine-hole competition played in glorious sunshine, followed by the prize-giving.
Max Nicholls deservedly won first prize with a fantastic 4-under gross score and 23pts. Runner-up was Maria Tillett on 20pts followed by Mike Willson (19pts) in third place. Highest placed lady (not in the top 3) was Sam Whiting.
Many thanks to Nick and Lorraine for organising this event and to Nick, Lorraine and John Hoskison for also playing in the event which was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

The players ... Andrew Buchanan, Roy Whiting, John Christopher, Mike Willson, Judy Willson, Max Nicholls, John Hoskison, Nick Mitchell, Maria Tillett, Jon Miller, Sam Whiting, Lorraine Storey & Paul Tebbutt

The prize winners ... Mike Willson, Max Nicholls, Maria Tillett & Sam Whiting

Seniors Captain's Day

Today's get together was for Senior Captain's Day - superbly organised by this year's senior captain Mike Willson (with more than a little help from Judy!!).
The competition was a Dallas Scramble with 3 players to a team. Twelve teams took part with a shotgun start. The winning team with a score of 63.8 were Alan Owen, Andrew Buchanan and Jim Green. Runners-up were Roy Whiting, John Day and Ray Tillen (64.4) and in third place on 64.6 were Ted Fitzsimons, Gordon Turner and Bob Stevenson. There were many other prizes as well for Nearest the Pin and Longest Drive. Full details - click here. Afterwards, the players were treated to a very tasty buffet.

More importantly, today was a celebration and thank-you to Mike for being our Senior Captain (and Senior Treasurer) for the year. Mike has not only done superb work for the Senior section but also for the Club as a whole by being Senior Club Captain previously and Club Treasurer for many years. He has also lent his help to many Adult and Junior competitions as well as Opens and many other things behind the scenes too many to mention here. Much of this work taking place when he wasn't in the best of health. So a HUGE thank-you to Mike and we hope he can learn to take things a bit easier now ... he certainly deserves it!!!!

To view some pictures of today's event and prize-giving  - click here.

36-Hole Stableford

Only a small field for the 36-Hole Stableford played today in warm, dry conditions but well done to those who did enter and play in this competition.

Men
After the first 18 holes, Nick Turner's 40pts was one ahead of Max Nicholls and two ahead of Jack Unsworth and Roger Tillett. Dave Warwick was just in touch in 5th place on 35pts. Unfortunately, Nick could not repeat the performance in round 2 and fell to 6th place. Another solid second round from Max Nicholls ensured he took the title with a total of 79pts. Dave Warwick also scored well in round 2 to secure the runners-up spot just ahead of Jack Unsworth in 3rd and Roger Tillett 4th. 
Full result - click here.

Ladies
An opening round of 39pts gave Fay Unsworth an early lead and she followed this up with another good round to take the title by nine on 76pts. Runner-up was Sian Soanes following an excellent 40pts in round 2. Maria Tillett grabbed third spot with a total of 70pts. 
Full result - click here.

Order of Merit
Today's competition also counts towards the Order of Merit. Fay Unsworth continued her great form this year and today's competition was her fourth win of the year (Bader Cup, Ladies Club Championship and Parker Hart were her previous wins). This puts Fay firmly at the top of the Order of Merit on 49pts. The nearest challenger is Roger Tillett on 39pts just ahead of Kim Richardson and Sian Soanes. Full listing - click here.

TEL - Final

After 15 weeks, the Thursday Evening League finally reached it's conclusion today. The 18-hole final was played in glorious sunshine with all members of each team eligible to play.

The Bottle Jobs team, captained by young Dan Green, kept their nerve, and after 5 wins in the last 6 outings (including today) took the league title with a total of 106pts. Runners-up were Birdies & Bogeymen followed by Easily Second (winners for the past 3 years) in third place.

With the course firming up and only a slight breeze, the scoring was excellent today. The 18-hole winner with a superb score of 45pts was Kim Richardson. Count-back was required to decide the 2nd and 3rd places with Dan Green just beating Ian Folwell on the back nine after both scored 40pts. Janice Paulin and Andy Vine, also on 40pts were the unlucky losers. Special mention for Jack Unsworth who knocked it round in a great gross 69 today.

The Best5 prize was decided last Thursday and the winner was Sean Sargeant on 98pts closely followed by Jack Unsworth, Josh Wallin and Dan Green on 97pts, 96pts and 95pts respectively.

For details of all the scores, etc. - click here.

Many thanks once again to Nick & Lorraine for organising this unique event and thanks to all the players who turn up in good and bad weather to support this competition. Hope to see you all again next year.

TEL - Week 15

The final Thursday games of the league were played this evening. Just the final 18-hole Saturday to go in two days time.
As the league nears the end, it gets harder and harder to return good scores, but still they keep coming!! Tonight's individual winner was Lorraine Storey (Check Us Out) who just beat Alison Holmes (Birdies & Bogeymen) on count-back after both scored 21pts.
After what can only be described as a mediocre season, Check Us Out finally came good and were tonight's winning team with 55pts. Runners-up were Easily Second on 53pts followed by Birdies & Bogeymen on 52pts just beating Bottle Jobs on the fourth score.
The league has yet to be decided. Bottle Jobs are top leading by 8pts from Birdies & Bogeymen with Easily Second 1pt further back. Bottle Jobs are odds-on favourites to win the league, but there is no such thing as a certainty in golf!!!! Full details - click here.
The 18-hole final on Saturday does not count towards the individual Best5 scores so we have a winner. Sean Sargeant tops the list on 98pts narrowly beating the Bottle Jobs trio of Jack Unsworth, Josh Wallin and Dan Green.

As there are a few teams who cannot field a full team on Saturday, we have slightly adjusted the fixture list for the final day. There will be no 08:40 tee time on either the 1st or 10th tees. Hopefully, this will ensure there are no players left "stranded" on the tee on their own!!
Click here for the latest fixture list.

Seniors September Medal

A good field of thirty-eight (33 men and 5 ladies) played in today's seniors medal. A pleasant day, but scoring was obviously not easy as not one of the players managed to break net par.

The top three in the men's competition had to be separated on count-back after all returned net 72. Ofer Ben-David was the winner capturing his first seniors medal. The silver medal went to Ted Fitzsimons followed by Allan Trotman. Fourth place went to Harry Jackson just one shot further back. John Day carded the lowest gross of 82.
Full details - click here.

In the ladies competition, Linda Vale was the victor, also on count-back from Jan Hinks after both scored net 78. Liz Evans grabbed third spot from Lesley Cratchley with Sam Whiting in fifth spot with the lowest gross for the ladies. Full details - click here.

Only two 2's today ... Bob Evans at the 2nd and Jeremy Proud at the 11th.

September Medal

Another small field today for the September Medal (19 men and 5 ladies), so it was played as a mixed competition in two divisions. There was some early drizzly rain to contend with, but dry conditions to finish. 

Division 1

An excellent round of net 67 (gross 79) secured first place by three shots for Kim Richardson in division 1. Max Nicholls was runner-up with the lowest gross of the day 72 (net 70) followed by Ian Turner in third place on net 73. Full details - click here.

Division 2

Division 2 was a bit closer with two shots covering the first 6 places. Roger Carter, playing in only his second medal at NRGC, was the victor in this division with a net 70. Runner-up was Paul Tebbutt who just pipped Sarah Purvis on count-back after both scored net 71. Third place went to George Baker again on count-back from Ofer Ben-David and Mike Chamberlain. Full details - click here.

Two's

Three 2's were recorded today. John Baron at the 2nd and Ian and Nick Turner both at the notorious 14th!

Owen Millennium Trophy

Only one strokeplay medal left to count for the Owen Millennium Trophy. Max Nicholls is certainly looking favourite to take the title as he sits on top of the table on 286 with a 28 point lead! Josh Wallin is currently in second place on 314 followed by John Day on 330.
Full details - click here.

TEL - Week 14

Still some good individual scores returned on the penultimate Thursday of the league. Bob Stevenson scored 19pts, George Baker, Dan Green and Andrew Moore managed 20pts each, but Janice Paulin and Paul Tebbutt topped the list with 22pts apiece. Paul was just ahead on count-back but gave the prize to Janice for her help collating the scores on the night!!

The team winners AGAIN tonight were Bottle Jobs for the fourth week in a row!! Runners & Riders were in second place followed by One For The Road third and Colts & Fillies fourth. Easily Second had a poor night and may have severely dented their chances of winning the league. League leaders are still Bottle Jobs now by 10pts from Birdies & Bogeymen with Easily Second in third place.

Sean Sargeant still heads the Best5 table from a trio of Bottle Jobs players ... Jack Unsworth, Josh Wallin and Dan Green.

Full league details - click here.

It's the last Thursday of the league next week (6th Sept) followed by the 18-hole final two days later on Saturday 8th Sept. With the evenings getting dark very quickly now, PLEASE ensure you are on the tee next Thursday and ready to play on time. If your playing partners are late, DO NOT wait for them ... tee-off at your allotted time. They may join you later but must forfeit the points on the holes they have missed.

Good luck to everyone next week and for the final. It could be close if the Bottle Jobs live up to their name!!!!!!   8-)

Ladies & Men's Clinics

MEN'S

WEDNESDAY 12 SEPT

WITH STEVE   7:00pm - 8:00pm

LADIES

MONDAY 17TH SEPT

WITH TIM 6:30pm - 7:30pm

 £7.00 per person

Seniors Texas Scramble

The seniors played a Texas Scramble today in appalling weather conditions. The fair weather at the start of the round lulled everyone into a false sense of security as, later on, the heavens opened, the greens and fairways became flooded and conditions were almost unplayable!! But the senior community are a hardy bunch and most teams managed to soldier on and finish their rounds. Eleven teams competed for the prizes today and considering the conditions, the scoring was excellent.

The winning team today were John Butcher, Richard Hook and Ofer Ben-David with a net score of 60.0. Runners-up on 61.8 were Geoff Denner, John Clark and Alan Owen followed by Raymond Bilton, Richard Cross and Linda Vale in third spot. Full details - click here.

August Weekday Stableford

A good field of twenty players for this month's Weekday Stableford played last Friday. Some good scoring too and very close at the sharp end of the competition.

The winner on count-back was Luke Gregory with 42pts. George Baker and Adrian Hayward were second and third respectively also returning 42pts. More count-backs were required to decide 4th place - Josh Wallin was just ahead of Dan Green and Frank Morley after all three carded 39pts. Full result - click here.

There were four no-returns due to no card being handed in. Please remember - it is a condition of the competition that you must post your scorecard whether you complete the round or not.