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.