Stoke by Nayland
SENIORS
Welcome to the newsletter for
November 2022
From our Captain
It was a great honour to be nominated for Senior’s Captain at SBN.
It seems an eternity from when I was first asked.
We've had to endure the pandemic and various lockdowns, but hopefully we can now all concentrate on the game we love.
I follow in the footsteps of some great past captains and I can assure you that I'll do my best to continue with their previous work.
My chosen charity is the East Anglian Children’s Hospice (EACH).
Based locally, they provide support for children with life threatening illnesses and important support to their families too.
Hopefully, with the help of yourselves, we can make a difference to these people.
Through the forthcoming changes, I urge you all to continue to support our section and to help keep our identity that we've successfully built over the last number of years.
I look forward to seeing you on the fairways very soon.
Malcolm Norton
New Members
A warm welcome back to Brian Hemmings.
Geoff Ellender
We have had some very sad news recently with the death of one of our members - Geoff Ellender.
Geoff was a lovely man, quiet and unassuming, and a keen member of our swindle group.
We have received the following information from his wife Bev, who is also a keen golfer and a member of the Ladies Section.
Geoff was diagnosed in July with lung cancer, but after having complications with the treatment this last month, eventually lost the fight.
Geoff’s funeral is on Tuesday 8th November, 2pm at Colchester Crematorium, Mersea Road, Colchester and afterwards at The Chalet, Brick House Road, Tolleshunt Major, CM9 8JX and afterwards at The Chalet, Brickhouse Road, Tolleshunt Major CM9 8JX.
May Geoff rest in peace.
Wednesday Swindles
Here’s a Round Up of the results over the last month,– the latest first – well done to all the Winners, and those placed. As always, a vote of thanks to Malcolm for organising the events, and his team of bookers, who make themselves available in the early hours to secure tee times for us all.
The 2021/22 swindle drew to its’ eagerly anticipated conclusion on October 12th, resulting in Mick Henry being crowned as ‘Swindler of the Year,’ with a best six scores total of 240. Congratulations to Mick.
The competitions after October 12th were purely fun occasions and will not be reported on. Malcolm will advise us, in due course, the date for the resumption of the swindle for real. I’m sure it won’t be too far away as he is eager to start snipping handicaps with a vengeance.
Wednesday 12th October
1st was Dom Watts with 34 points
2nd were Tony Denmead, Rob Davies, Ian Archer and Ray Ludlam all with 32 points
3rd were Robin Owen, Brian Butcher, Paul Sheffield and Tony Emms all with 31 points.
Friday 7th October
1st with 37 was Del McWilliams
2nd with 34 was John Williams
3rd with 33 was Steve Mitchell
Inter Club Matches
Our last two games of the season, and also, our last two games against Braintree took place in October and are reported on below. Thanks to everyone who participated in the matches this season, we hope you enjoyed your experience. If you didn’t manage to play, but would like to next season, you will be reminded to sign up for the team early next year before the matches resume in Spring.
A special thanks to Peter Hele, who has successfully organised all the matches this year that have run very smoothly.
Inter Club Match v Braintree - Constable - 3rd October
SbN 4 Braintree 4
Match 1 Robins &Hatch - Won 5&4
Spawney old Bas—-d “ was a term used more than once as our Captain Pete and Lionel won their match 5&4.
Pete the “Spawney “one holed from distance and to gimme length and Lionel felt embarrassed for the first time in his life. Poor old Peter from Braintree couldn’t hole a putt until it was all over.
A really good game played in typical Senior’s fashion that could have finished a lot closer
Match 2 Boyland & Simpson - Lost 5&4
Tough gig this one. Two in form Braintree players proved a difficult task in this match. Never in front sbnalways chasing the match. There were some highlights Simpson sinking some great putts and at one stage threatened to run both Braintree players over with his golf buggy. Match played in good spirit?
Match 3 Davies & Williams - Lost 3&2
The golfing God previously known as John Williams and his weedy partner, managed to bash it around the course in gross 4 over par unfortunately to no avail as they were done down by the dodgy Braintree handicaps of Sam and Wee Davie.
Our gallant boys lost 3/2, but were they downhearted?
Yes!
Match 4 - Beckinsale & Price - Won 1 up
Some early exchanges saw the hosts go 2 up at the 4th. This was countered by the guests winning 5 & 6. A birdie on 8 saw the opposition go ahead for the first time, however, good use of Adrian’s shots saw the hosts go back to 1 up at the 10th, much to the annoyance of Tony! Another birdie at 11 levelled the match. Kevin played the last 7 holes strongly and the match was conceded on 18.
Match 5 Jardine & Parkinson - Won 1up
JP and JJ had a very enjoyable match played in a great spirit. After losing the first they raced to three up at the turn. This was extended to 4 up with 4 to play. At that stage the higher handicapper for Braintree made par at the last four holes with shots. Thankfully a chip to gimme for a par for JJ and a superb birdie for JP at the 18th secured a one up victory. Apart from some very hard bunkers the course was in great condition and our guests were very complimentary.
Match 6 Jay/Ling - Lost 2&1
A very tight match with the lead switching from one pair to the other over the opening 16 holes with never more than one hole in throughout. Teeing off on the 15th one hole up the Stoke team clearly started to smell the beer a little too early, losing 3 of the remaining holes to lose by 2 holes. A great match
Match 7 Filer & Middleton - Won 5&3
Not a lot to say really. We won the first 2 holes then maintained that lead until the 12th when we increased that and on the next 2 to win 5& 3. On the 6th my tee shot hit the marker post full on , the ball bouncing back 30 yards. Our opponents took pity on me and told me to retake the shot without penalty !!A friendly match all round.
Match 8 Perry & Emms - Lost 3&1
We had a close match with neither side ever more than a hole or two ahead. Notable play from us was Jonathan's birdies on the 11th and 13th. Our opponents played very consistently and took the match 3 &1 on the 17th after some poor approach play from the SbN team”
Many thanks to Phil Boyland for producing the report of the Braintree match - thanks Phil.
Inter Club Match v Braintree - Away - 19th October
Braintree 6 1/2 SbN 1 1/2
Match 1 Pete Robins/Trevor Waterhouse A/S
What a game, SBN 4 up after 11 then reduced to 1 up after 17. Braintree decided to putt 40 feet from off the green on 18 and holed it. Trevor then left his putt for the win just 4 inches short from 30 feet so game finished all square. Well done Pete.
Match 2 Steve Mitchell/Richard Middleton Lost 1 down
SBN were 3 up after 8 holes, but the home pair won the 9th which seemed to spur them on, also winning the next 2 holes to square the match. They then took the lead on 14, but SBN got level again on 16. All square going down the last which Braintree won courtesy of the 18th being their last shot hole. Really good game, great company and played in good spirit.
Match 3 Kevin Price/Pete Hele A/S
Kev and Pete were never up in the match and only level on the 1st tee and walking off the 18th green. 2 down at the turn and dormie 3 down - it was an epic recovery over the final 3 holes to gain the half.
Match 4 Phil Boyland/Bob Filer Lost 8&7
Bob was taken poorly with toothache, Phil was left to struggle on, but the inevitable happened and Braintree ran out 8&7 winners.
Match 5 John Parkinson/Jonathan Perry A/S
A very close match with only one hole in it at any point in time.Jonathan was on form on the front 9 and John came good on the back 9. A fair result in the end with solid play from our hosts to take the match down 18.
Match 6 Phil Brennan/Tony Carmen Lost 3&1
The 2 John's of Braintree dovetailed well, with one of them using his wife's putter to good effect with 2 30ft putts and many 5 footers. 4 down half way and lost 3&1. Home advantage won.
Match 7 Brian Roloff/John Williams Lost 3&2
Great match although lost 3&2. Giving 4 shots to one of the oppositon who duly had 3 birdies!
Match 8 Pete Garnett/Andy Cracknell Lost 2&1
A very close game played in good spirit. All square at the turn but Braintree eventually ran out 2&1 winners after a run of nett birdies.
I fully agree with Richard's comments on WhatsApp about the food at Braintree, and have never seen Trevor so pleased. Happy tums all round. Sorry Gordon!
Many thanks to Steve Mitchell for reporting on this, the final Inter Club match of the year.
Seniors Club Competition results
St Andrew’s Greensomes - Gainsborough - 5th October
On a mild but pretty windy day 24 pairs set off on a Gainsborough course in really good condition - a credit to the green staff - to play in the annual St Andrew’s Greensomes, an ideal opportunity for the higher handicaps players to put the quality players into the middle of a bush and “now get out of that”.
Despite the 18 hole challenges everyone seemed to return to the clubhouse in good spirit ready for a presentation and how good it was to see the number of players waiting to support those who were successful.
Congratulations must go to the pairing of Barry Hitchcock and Trevor Waterhouse who with 41 points nudged out Graham Vandervord and Mal Jones on countback - both pairs returned equal scores on the back 9 and back 6 - couldn’t be closer.
Leading positions ………
1st Barry Hitchcock & Trevor Waterhouse 41 points on c/b
2nd Graham Vandervord & Mal Jones 41 pts
3rd Adrian Cherry & Robin Owen 40 pts
4th Tony Carman & David Seymour 38 pts
5th Brian Roloff & Norman Davidson 38 pts
Senior Past Captains Match - Felixstowe GC - 7th October
Due to holidays and other commitments 10 Past Captains played in a very enjoyable away fixture at Felixstowe on Friday 7th October.
The weather was set fair but the forecast was for rain later in the day and Felixstowe wind was blowing.
It was obvious from the cards that several players had good front nines with several 18 pointers and one 19.
It all changed on the back nine and several struggled with the conditions.
The winner on the day was John King with 30 points closely followed by Pete Robins with 29 on countback from Peter Garnett.
The overall winner for the Trophy was Bob (yet again) Filer with 37 points from the home leg and 28 on the away giving him 65 points over the two legs followed by John King and Norman Davidson with 61.
Thanks for all that took part and we look forward to next year when Norman is in the hot seat.
Results Home Away Total
Bob Filer 37 28 65
Norman Davidson 37 24 61
John King 31 30 61
Peter Garnett 28 29 57
Steve Wright 30 26 56
Pete Robins 21 29 50
Lionel Hatch 23 27 50
Alan Line * 34. - 34
Steve Ling* - 28. 28
Peter Jay*. - 25. 25
Ian Bickers*. 25. - 25
Mike Aldir* 24 - 24
Terry Mitchell*. 24. - 24
David Hunter* 22. 22
Played home or away only *
Monthly Stableford & Millennium Trophy - Gainsborough - 13th October
55 players in todays Monthly Stableford & the annual competition for the Millennium Trophy.
Congratulations to Alan Austin, the winner of Division 1 with 40 points - nudging out Robin Nicholson on countback , and to Steve Stacey, with an excellent 42 points in Division 2.
Leading positions ……
Division 1
1st Alan Austin 40 points on c/b
2nd Robin Nicholson 40 pts
3rd Allen Smith 39 pts on c/b
Division 2
1st Steve Stacey 42 points
2nd Ray Firth 36 pts
3rd Andy Caldwell 35 pts
The Millennium Trophy was played for by the First Division and Second Division winners in each of the previous 11 Stablefords in the year.This year the honours went to Alan Austin (who is in a rich vein of trophy form at the moment) with Robin Nicholson second and Allen Smith third.
Congratulations all round.
4 BBB - Gainsborough - 26th October
A total of 28 pairs contested the Seniors 4BBB on Gainsborough yesterday, and enjoyed a fine October morning with sunshine and balmy temperatures.
The conditions brought out some good scoring with the top seven teams all bagging 40 points or more.
Desperately unlucky David Seymour had the most bizarre incident of the day on the second hole, when the shaft of his driver broke in the middle of his downswing before making any contact. But he and partner Phil Hickley still managed to come back with 36 points though.
Eventual winners on the day, with an untouchable 46 points, were Graham Vandervord and Mike Clare. Second with 45 points were Tony Carman and Brian Willsher and third with 42 points were Pete Hele and Ray Firth.
3 Captains Match & AGM- Gainsborough - 31st October
This annual event took place in superb conditions. Despite the fact we are heading into November, the majority felt comfortable enough to still be in shirt sleeves. The course was presented well, apart from the usual autumnal leaf fall between 4 & 5, although scoring was fairly average. As this was a team event,individual scores were more for Kudos, however, there were four players all tied at the top with 37 points. The best score on countback was Mike Clare.
Team results (Top 10 scores):
Malcolm Norton (VC)337
Pete Robins (Capt)342
Terry Mitchell (IPC)346
After the 3 Captain’s match, all those staying for the AGM were able to enjoy a very plentiful Ham, Eggs and Chips.
The AGM was very well attended and the minutes will be released in due course. Below is a summary of all the prizewinners:
Seniors Championship
Lowest net total 2022 John Smith
Lowest Gross total and Senior Champion 2022 Mark Clark
Senior Veterans Cup Alan Austin
Millennium Trophy 2022 Alan Austin
Seniors Medal Bell – for lowest gross score Mark Clark
Seniors Medal Cup Ray Ludlam
Reg Fox Matchplay CupJohn Williams
Winter Singles KnockoutTony Carman
Summer Pairs knockout – The Syd Thomas Trophy Ray Firth &John Williams
Roy Tricker Bowl Alan Finlayson &
Bill Wardle (tied)
The Swindle Trophy Mick Henry
Three Clubs and a putter Robin Nicholson
The Desperately Unlucky Plate Steve Stacey
Hunter Trophy Peter Jay
Best performance v Captain Pro Pete Hele & Dick Lumsden
Roy Tricker Trophy
The Roy Tricker Trophy is awarded to the player with the best 6 from a possible 12 scores registered during the golfing year.
The October Stableford is a busy day in the Seniors Calendar....not only is it a hotly contested competition in its own right, it also acts as the Millennium Trophy decider and, on this occasion, it was also the deciding fixture for the Roy Tricker Trophy.
The Roy Tricker this year has been closely fought for months, and as we started out on the morning of the competition, Alan Finlayson and Bill Wardle were locked at the top on 234 points each...with Reg Reid, Gordon Bryan and Peter Garnett behind them and all in with a shout if scores went their way.
As it happens though, Bill couldn't play, so his total score didn't change and Alan came in with a 32 which didn't better any of his six best scores. And none of Reg, Gordon or Peter could catch them.
So this year, for the first time anyone on the committee can remember, the Roy Tricker Trophy is shared between Alan and Bill...so it will be an unusual photo at the AGM when it is presented!!
Hole in one alert
Many congratulations to Del McWilliams on achieving his very first Hole in One whilst playing the 7th Gainsborough with a friend, using a 6 iron.The feat was witnessed from the tee by VC (now C), Malcolm Norton, and his playing partners.
Well done Del - hopefully the first of many !!
Senior Captain's Charity Presentation - October 2022
Senior's Captain, Pete Robins, was delighted to welcome Liam Macinder, a community fundraiser for The Brain Tumour Charity and to present him with a cheque for £6538 - this was an amazing result, well done to both Pete and the SbN Senior members on achieving this result.
Happy Birthdays in November to the following Seniors Members (apologies if I have omitted anyone)–
Steve Ling, Rob Swan, Allen Brown, Malcolm Jones, Richard Middleton, John Venner, Tony Carman, Bill Dastur, Derek Boyt, Niall Caven, David Seymour and Ian Archer
UPCOMING EVENTS - November
Monday 7th NovSenior Capt’s Drive In & Monthly Stableford (Gainsborough)
Wednesday 16th Nov4 Ball Better Ball (Hi-Lo drawn) (Constable)
Wednesday 30th NovMonthly Stableford (Constable)
Please refer to WhatsApp for swindle details in November. These will be announced on a weekly basis, with the first one taking place on Wednesday, 2nd Nov on Constable