Monday, 27 October 2008

Captains Blog

This section is for the Captain of Western Park golf club, to leave comments.

9 comments:

Adam Flowers said...

Captain’s Blog – January 2009

January has seen a relatively quiet month with the weather worsening by the week getting colder than the credit crunch.
I think I speak for most of us when I say I’m praying for my first round of golf where the greens aren’t frozen solid and the fairways & rough isn’t so boggy.
Still, being the dedicated golf enthusiasts that we are, we make the most of it.

On the 4th January, I officially undertook the 2009 Captaincy where I am extremely grateful for the support shown in numbers that turned out for the drive-in. A mixed bag of shots for this year’s team Captain’s (no names mentioned Mr Fitzgerald) however regardless, being there to take part and get involved is the important thing and I offer my thanks for the work that all of you will put in during the year.

In terms of what’s new, with the help of Rob Turland and Kev James, we are putting together an internal league for the A, B, and C teams to compete against each other for the inter-club team championship.

The new member special offers have been showing encouraging results with several new applications being received.

The weather did grab one of this month’s competitions however no matter how difficult conditions were (and putting!) we managed to brave the cold and ice to yield ourselves some January winners.

Stableford League 6-Won by S Sibley
Stableford Betterball - Won by H Mcteir & M Brown
4 Ball Vs Par – Won by S Cartwright & T Wileman

With the snow currently on the ground, let’s hope and pray it goes as quickly as it came so we can get on with our golf!
To sign off, I leave you with a golfing joke

A man staggers into an emergency room with two black eyes and a five iron wrapped tightly around his throat. Naturally, the doctor asks him what happened.
"Well, I was having a quiet round of golf with my wife when she sliced her ball into a pasture of cows. We went to look for it and while I was rooting around I noticed one of the cows had something white at its rear end. I walked over and lifted up the tail and sure enough, there was my wife's golf ball... stuck right in the middle of the cow's butt. "That's when I made my mistake."
"What did you do?" asks the doctor.
"Well, I lifted the tail and yelled to my wife, Hey, this looks like yours!"

Thanks for reading

Adam Flowers

Adam Flowers said...
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Adam Flowers said...

Captain’s Blog February 2009
Another quiet month due to the course being closed for 2 weeks due to the snow where I’d imagine many golfers including myself were scratching around for something to do on a Saturday morning, anything to avoid the list of chores the good lady had left! Thankfully the Spring is on its way, the weather has improved and the course is showing signs of recovery.
Once finally opened, we managed to play a couple of the postponed competitions and the annual Hairies v Baldies match.
I’m pleased to say the Hairie’s stood firm in a resounding 18 point victory to retain this much coveted trophy. Congratulations to Steve Merrall who hit a superb hole in one at the 10th.
In the individual competitions:-
Stableford League 7
Div 1
1st S Cartwright 20pts
2nd K Roberts 19ts (C/Back)
3rd G Lawes 19 Pts (C/Back)

Div 2
1st Semi 20pts
2nd H Whittaker 19pts (C/Back)
3rd M Brown 19pts (C/Back)


Pairs Texas Scramble Medal

1st S Allen & P Chambers 29.7
2nd J Bamford & C Cartwright 29.8
3rd S Merrall / J Cartwright 30.6


Off the course, preparations are well under way for the beginning of the season where we all are anticipating a superb year of successful golf, willing and wanting to get our hands on a trophy.
Additionally, the Club Centenary Committee has been elected and met recently to discuss ideas in how we celebrate 100 years of WPGC in 2010. Updates on this to follow regularly so watch this space!
March sees some of the rearranged competitions including the Pairs Combined Medal and the Better Ball Stableford plus the C Team will take on the B team.
There is also the Steward’s Away Day to be played at Collingtree Park, Northampton.
I imagine that many of us view March as key preparation time for the first competition of the season, the Noble Cup Qualifier. There’s no better time to undertake a couple of lessons as part of your prep, pop into the pro shop and ask for details.
Finally, on Saturday 14th March, Taff Howells is holding a fun day in celebration of his 70th Birthday. Fun and games are expected with players wearing eye patches and hitting their teeshot at the 10th with their opposite /weaker hands. An evening disco and buffet has been put on and I look forward to seeing everyone there.
Off the seventh tee, Joe sliced his shot deep into a wooded ravine. He took his eight iron and clambered down the embankment in search of his lost ball.
After many long minutes of hacking at the underbrush, he spotted something glistening in the leaves. As he drew nearer, he discovered that it was an eight iron in hands of a skeleton!
Joe immediately called out to his friend, "Jack, I've got trouble down here!"
"What's the matter?" Jack asked from the edge of the ravine.
"Bring me my wedge," Joe shouted. "You can't get out of here with an eight iron!"
Until March’s blog, thanks for reading
Adam Flowers

Anonymous said...

just thought id drop in and describe my first competitive hole in one in some 15 years of golf. This can during a relatively easy round of Golf with my young Golfing Partner Jake Cartwright. Jake a 16 Handicap 13 year old had just had an eagle Two at the eigth. not to be outdone by a Junior i pulled out all the stops. A clean hit 6 iron landed 10 feet passed the pin, spun back straight into the hole. That said and after Jake and i stopped laughing we completed the round and contributed 51 points better ball for the Hairies. Ive had the pleasure of playing golf twice now with Jake, those of you with doubts about thier contribution to club golf would be well advised to encourage and support our future. Heres looking forward to a great 2009, its been such a great story since returning from "another" club last year. Play well, support your club, remember if you cant win .......Steve Merrall, happy WPGC member

Adam Flowers said...

Captain's Blog March 2009
Well, March has seen a marked improvement in the weather helping the course to dry out and recover ready for the new season. The greens have suffered as a result of the winter however as always the “Park” will overcome it in no time at all.
Some good times had by all during the month in particular Taff’s 70th Birthday Fun Day. Many who I spoke to remarked what a great day and how much fun was had playing with one eye and then taking on the “Reverse Handed 10th”. For me, it epitomised what Taff stands for in the club and his approach to golf. Enjoy the walk and laugh with those in your company.
The Daily Mail Foursomes saw Jo Welch and Carol Spriggs win at Kirby Muxloe, whilst Brad Bishop and John Bamford were also winners over Oadby. Well done to them and good luck in the next round.
The C Team have got off to a flyer defeating the B Team (marginally may I add) and following that up with a 3.5 – 2.5 win over Lutterworth on their own turf.
Congratulations to Coby Cartwright who has been picked to represent the club in the County Under 14’s. Well done Cobe.
Congrats also to the weekend winners:
Stableford League No 8
18 Hole Competition

Div 1 Winner – John Bamford, 42 Pts
Div 2 Winner – Frank Coleman, 45 Pts

Pairs BB Medal
9 Hole Competition

Winners – A Bayley & R Moore, 29 Net

April 1st sees the start of the season kicking off and so good luck to everyone for the coming summer months.

Don’t forget the Weekly Medal where you can enter any day of the week, entry payable at the pro shop.

There is also a national pair’s competition, the Lynx UK Pairs, in which I’d like to enter the club into it. Great prizes plus championship golf for regional qualifiers. What we need is 20 pairs / 40 players before we can put our entry in. The cost is £10 per pair and we have to have entered by April 30th. If you interested in playing please contact myself for details on adam@flowersassociates.com.

Finally, signing off, I leave you with a slice of golfing jest I thought was quite apt

A little girl was at her first golf lesson when she asked an interesting question: 'Is the word spelled p-u-t or p-u-t-t?' she asked the instructor. 'P-u-t-t is correct,' he replied. 'Put means to place a thing where you want it. Putt means merely a vain attempt to do the same thing.

Happy P-U-T-Ting

Adam

PS. Couldn’t resist this one.

Art said he wanted to get more distance. I told him to hit it and run backward.
- Ken Venturi, on Art Rosenbaum

Adam Flowers said...

Captain’s Blog April 2009
The new season started at the beginning of the month and has seen some superb performances, most notably cracking 65’s from Gerald Sanders and Pete Veasey along with a sizzling 62 from Ben French. The greens have seen better days for some, but they have improved greatly going into May.
Off the course, the quiz night was a great night with most entrants winning something, however overall winners eggyeds, captained by Sam Brown walking away as champions.
The C Team continued its unbeaten run with a 3-3 draw against Lingdale whilst the A Team and the Seniors began their season with resounding wins. The A-Team 6.5-1.5 over Rutland Water, the Seniors 6 – 1 over Kibworth. Leicestershire Seniors however managed a win over our boys 4-2.
Congratulations to all April’s winners:
Noble Cup Qualifier Gerald Sanders 65
PGA Medal Ben French 62
Presidents Trophy Dave Fitzgerald 69 (Countback)
UKPGC Div 1 John Bamford 41pts (Countback)
UKPGC Div 2 Tommy Myatt 42 pts
*Well done to the 32 members who made it through to the Noble Knockout Stages. Don’t forget matches must be played by 31st May
Coming up in May is the annual Race Night, and further much anticipated competitions with matches in the Clapham Trophy and Hawtree against Hilltop at home. The Municipal Triella will be held at WPGC on 10th May.
Team matches sees the ladies taking on Glen Gorse. The B team kicks off its campaign away at Oakridge whilst the C Team hosts Forest Hill and Humberstone. The A Team host Breedon Priory and travel to Humberstone, whilst the Seniors travel to Kirby Muxloe and then host Whetstone.
An enjoyable start to the season and great to see so many members playing well.
Signing off with something humorous.......
Golfer: "Think I'm going to drown myself in the lake."
Caddy: "Think you can keep your head down that long?"
Golfer: "How do you like my game?"
Caddy: "Very good sir, but personally, I prefer golf."
Golfer: "Do you think I can get there with a 5 iron?"
Caddy: "Eventually."

Adam Flowers said...

The season is certainly in full swing with jam packed weeks full of competitions displaying some great golf.
Club competition winners included Rich Cockram (Cleek 1) who won on countback closely followed by a certain Adam Flowers. There was a tie in the pairs Curtis & Horsepool between John Bamford partnering Jonny Golding (first adult men’s competition) and Paul Cantell partnering Adam Flowers (what a good May this guy has had!), play off to be arranged.
May also saw WPGC competing in the Municipal Triella against Humberstone and Oadby however suffered a heavy loss with Humberstone taking the deserved plaudits. Then came the Clapham Trophy against Hill Top which we narrowly lost, however a great performance in the mixed Hawtree from gents and ladies saw WPGC go through with a 3.5-1.5 win over Hilltop again.
Unfortunately we again suffered narrow defeats in the mixed foursomes against Forest Hill and the Pro fours at home to Scraptoft with Martin Brutnall and Paul Williams eventually falling 1 down.
Good news in the Daily Mail Competition where Brad Bishop and John Bamford are going from strength to strength with a resounding 3-2 win over Humberstone. In the Ladies Daily Mail, Jo Welch and Carol Spriggs also progressed, good luck to all in the next rounds!
The C team continued their unbeaten run with a win over Forest Hill and a draw against Humberstone. In the Higher Handicapper Cup, Bill Bale led his C team marching into the semi-finals.
The B team led by Rob Turland got off to a rocky start away at Oakridge losing 5-1. With key players missing and a tough track to visit, the B’s were always up against it however the next match on 17th June at home to Lingdale will give us the opportunity to get back on track.
The A Team led by Paul Williams got off to a great start with 6.5 1.5 wins over Rutland and Breedon Priory followed by a tricky outing to Humberstone, playing in high winds and came away with a 4 - 4 draw.
The Juniors have been impressing this season and pushing the men all the way, in the Open cup Murray Ingram and Ellis Davies secured victory with a superb 46 points.
Mitchell Brown and Alex Fraser will play off for the Loach Bowl with excellent scores of 42 points.
Coby Cartwright is also leading the way where he won in the county under 14’s against Bedford 5 and 3, followed by a first ever for Coby, breaking 80 off the white tees. Off the course, the Race Night was well supported and a great time had by everyone. Another one will be planned for later in the year.
So plenty to celebrate so far this season with some good wins and the losses, well, we’ll put them right next year. Thanks to everyone for your continued support so far, and I wish everyone well for June where as well as the club competitions, professional’s day is on 6th June (have a great day Martin, Lee and Pete), the mixed triella is held on 7th June, and the county foursomes will played at Kilworth on 10th June.
The annual Pee Wee tournament will be held on 20th June, we still need volunteers so please do offer your time, it would be greatly appreciated as well as being a great day for the kids.
Just a wee joke to sign off.
Two golfers were being held up as the twosome of women in front of them whiffed shots, hunted for lost balls and stood over putts for what seemed like hours. "I'll ask if we can play through," Bill said as he strode toward the women. Twenty yards from the green, however, he turned on his heel and went back to where his companion was waiting.
"Can't do it," he explained, sheepishly. "One of them is my wife and the other's my mistress!"
"I'll ask," said Ralph. He started off, only to turn and come back before reaching the green. "What's wrong?" Bill asked. Ralph replied, "Small world isn't it?"

Thanks for reading
a

Adam Flowers said...

June 2009

What a month we've had in June! From torrential rain through to 35 degree sunshine, and some red hot golf to go with it.
Firstly, a huge well done to 4 players who have really shone in June. Jake Cartwright has shot some amazing scores including a 74 net 61. His performances have seen his handicap tumble from 13 to 8.
Ben French has also been playing superbly, with his handicap reducing from 24 at the start of the season to 16. Paul Cantell is now at the lowest handicap he has ever been, now off 17.
Rich Cockram seems to have one hand on the Cleek trophy with another win in the second round of the Cleek Trophy having also won the first round.
The Juniors are still going great guns with Jessica Bailey wining the Junior Medal and Sam Wood winning the 9 hole stableford with 33 points.
The annual Pee Wee tournament was successfully held on 20th June with a great turn out making a great family day. Congrats to all winners.
The Junior team did however suffer a defeat at Charnwood however good news on the County front where 2 of our players, Jake and Coby Cartwright have been selected to represent Leicestershire U’14’s at Whetstone against Notts in August.
The C team finally ended their winning streak with a loss at home to Humberstone but bounced back with a draw against Beedles Lake.
The B team maintained their unbeaten run with a hard fought draw at home to Lingdale and a resounding win away at Oadby.
Congrats to the A Team who hammered Beedles Lake bouncing back from a narrow defeat at Rutland County. The A Team remains on course challenging for the division title!
The Mixed Triella was unfortunately cancelled due to bad weather however this is in the process of being re-arranged.
Signing off, when is it appropriate to not play golf???
A party of golfers who notice a funeral passing by on a road adjacent to the course. Ralph suggests to the others, "Why don't we pause a moment and show some respect for the dead." So they remove their caps and stand in silence as car after car goes by.
Finally, Ralph remarks, "There sure are a lot of cars. That person must have been well loved." Bill replies, "Yes, she was. We would have been married 25 years tomorrow."

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