Gemini Trophy results from Mike Healey June 29th 2021

Gemini Trophy Result: Another great day for Senior golf at Clays. The earlier tees had a cool start with cloud cover but it cleared and the tail-enders finished in glorious sunshine. The fairways and greens were superb yet again and the ground staff have been working on bunker trimming this week - the whole course was a picture. Only two seniors scored two's on the par threes - Stewart Poole and Dave Fergus both scored their two's on the Fifth. Several new members asked about the format and both partners submitting a medal score combined proved hard for some. 27 pairs submitted cards at the end and there were a number of N/R's. It was extremely competitive at the top however - 8 cards returned scores in the 140's - Ernie Williams /Tony Jackson, Andy Mitchell/Alan Bottomley and Mick Carnell/Dave A Jones all scored 145 points but the winners of the Gemini Trophy today with a magnificent score of 141 points were Chris Jones and Mick McHugh. Congratulations to them both.

Seniors Memorial Day June 24th 2021

A great day for the Seniors. Don Wraight posted Memorial photos on every tee and most of our past colleagues were well remembered. 54 Seniors had strict instructions to turn up on time, collect playing group and proceed around the course with stealth - that's exactly what they did! There were no hold ups at any of the anticipated areas and everybody appeared to be moving quite well. The light drizzle had no effect whatsoever on morale or indeed scoring. Some individuals scored a competent 36 points, but even they missed out because of count back. Senior Captain Barry Dare held a minute's silence in the lounge after the golf and the names of deceased members were read out before the announcement of results. First: Keith Hawthorn 45 points £10.00 and Memorial Trophy Second: Damian Atkin 43 points £9.00 Third: Bob Jarvis 41 points £8.00 Fourth: Brian Beaton 38 points c/b £7.00 Fifth: Don Wraight 38 points c/b £6.00 Sixth: Mick Carnell 38 points c/b £5.00 Seventh: Richard Collier 36 points c/b £4.00 Eighth: Tony Harcombe 36 points c/b £3.00 Ninth: Dave A Jones 36 points c/b £2.00 Some photos courtesy of Don Wraight below

Results from Devon trip at Okehampton via Fred Court 2021

results from Okehampton, as you may be aware, although Fred organised the event he did not travel down him and asked Irwin the look after the group. Due to the uncertainty of Covid, the group reduced from 24 down to 16 which included two guests from the Bristol area. The results have been declared and are as follows in the report from Irwin. Four sunny days then a bit of rain yesterday morning. The scoring was unbelievable. Tony Jackson won the Ramnee with 156 pts and the Forest with net 61,so awarded Forrest to second place who was Stuart Leyland who came in with 45(net 63) points on the Kigbere! Neville Bassett came second in Ramnee with 155 pts but won the 28MA with 11 four pointers! The norm is 2-4 holes with a 4 or better score

Seniors Stableford report from Mike Healey June 17th 2021

Seniors - a long day, partly due to the one tee start and partly due to speed on the course - more later. A good few members declared perfect conditions around the course and the ground staff deserve our praise for that. The 'BBC-threatened' rain did not materialise and the cooler weather was a blessing for golf. 32 intrepid seniors teed off the first and gave the Stableford Qualifier their best shot. Quite a few scores were returned around 34,35, and 36 points - not good enough for the six prizes. Please find result below: Individual Stableford Qualifier First: Jon Falcus 44 points £9.00 Second: Ken Tieszen 43 points £7.00 Third: Ian Ketland 42 points £6.00 Fourth: Colin Brown 39 points £5.00 Fifth: Peter M Jones 38 points £3.00 Sixth: Alan Bottomley 37 points c/b £2.00 one other missed out on 37 c/b

Betterball golf versus Holywell. Report via Malcolm Williams/Mike Healey June 15th 2021

What a fantastic morning of golf we have just had. A superbly organised team by Mal Williams and Tom Pierce, 18 holes of Betterball golf won by Clays Seniors 9-0 (embarrassing!) and a 2 course meal to help us all doze away the afternoon. The weather was superb, the opposition - Holywell - paid us compliments regarding the course and Hayley's cooking - what more can we ask?

Blog Stats as of June 12th 2021

ll Time 133328  Today 15  Yesterday 53  This Month 378  Last Month 947

Shrewsbury Golf Club 4BBB results of Clays Senior members

Overall Third Place Malcolm Williams and Russ Adamson with 40points The following clays members Ernie Williams and Richard Collier came in with 38 points and with the same score Alan Bottomley and Jones Jones. The full results of the competition cand be found on the Shrewsbury Golf Club web site.

St David's Day Trophy Competition June 10th 2021. REPORT from Mike Healey

St David's Day Trophy Competition. A glass was banged on the table and the humdrum noise instantly ceased. It was so nice to meet once again, as a group, upstairs in the bar/restaurant area for refreshment, score resolving, prize giving and most importantly - banter. It was a great atmosphere even if you scored rock bottom of the group. Seniors were once again discussing their seventh and eighth shots to the fifteenth - who cares?? They also commented on the course being in good shape and although cloudy overhead, there was a nice temperature throughout, making a good combination for good golf. That is exactly what we got - close competition with a lot of countback at the top. The "ever so nearly" St David's Day comp was a complete success with no fewer than ten "all welsh" prizes being presented at the end (all organised and purchased by Don Wraight - thank you Don!). The prizes were presented by Senior Captain, Barry Dare and Past Senior Captain, Roy Jones, who generously sponsored the top prize - thank you Roy. The prizes ranged from Penderyn Celt Malt Whiskey, wines, beers, the inevitable golf balls and a wonderful bobble hat with a Welsh dragon on it! Two Seniors managed to shoot "twos" - Richard Collier and Chris Jacques - both received a substantial payout for their efforts (d St David's Day Trophy Result: First: Dave Palferman 41 points

Second: Mike Turner 40 points Third: Brian Beaton 39 points c/b Fourth: Damian Atkin 39 points c/b Fifth: Keith Hawthorn 39 points c/b Sixth: Dave Jones 39 points c/b Seventh: Nigel Davies 39 points c/b Eighth: Tony Jackson 38 points c/b Ninth: Richard Collier 38 points c/b Tenth: Colin Evans 38 points c/b

Winter League Trophy Despite the Winter League Trophy being curtailed by lockdown regulations, we managed to complete two rounds before Xmas. It would be remiss of the Senior committee not to award the Trophy, as one player stood out in the first two rounds. An unassailable lead with 18 points (two second places) meant Don Wraight stepped forward to receive the Winter League Trophy and some wine from Senior Captain, Barry Dare.

Report from Mike Healey June 8th 2021

Mike Healey has just arrived back from a scorching game at Shrewsbury. Sadly it was the weather not my golf!! I will leave it to Tony Harcombe to produce those results. Meanwhile there was serious competition at Clays, albeit for only fifteen participants (therefore only two prizes) and the result was as follows: First: Tony Jackson and Irwin Elkin 45 points £5.00 each Second: Mike Griffiths and Ken Tieszen 41 points (c/b) £3.00 each One other pair had 41 points but missed out on countback

Captains Newsletter June 2021

It is with very little sadness that we say goodbye to the wettest month of May on record in Wales. On a positive note, the wet weather did help the greens recover quickly from their annual maintenance, leaving them looking really good. The greens should be really firm and fast after a few days of intense sunshine. Well done to Mark and his team for getting the course looking great in less-than-ideal weather. I appreciate that it is sometimes frustrating when the course is closed or restrictions are placed on buggies etc. I politely ask everyone to except the decisions of the green staff. Obviously, if the course can be played safely, it will be open. The Captains Drive-In shotgun start was cancelled last year due to Covid-19 restrictions, it was cancelled due to the weather this year. Can I take this opportunity to thank everyone who signed up to support this competition? We had 21 fourballs ready to go. The Captains Drive-In competition will be held, without the shotgun start, on Saturday 26th June. Please book tees in the normal manner via BRS. Despite the weather, we did manage to complete one board competition, the Karen Griffiths Trophy, won by Matt Cairns. Congratulations Matt, your name will be added to the honours board later in the year. There will be further honours board competitions held throughout June. Please support these competitions if you can. Who knows, like Matt, you could get your name on an honours board. A date for your golfing diaries: Captains Day will take place on Saturday 10th July. Keep an eye out for the sign-up sheet that will be placed on the notice board in the clubhouse in the next couple of weeks. This competition will be a shotgun start followed by food and drink, hopefully, in glorious sunshine! Final arrangements will be communicated nearer to the day. Finally, it is with great sadness I note the passing of Ron Roberts. Ron was one of our club’s great characters, with a sharp wit and dry humour, never short of a funny, if cutting, observation. Ron’s presence on the course is already being missed by his many friends. RIP Ron. Enjoy the sunshine and stay safe. Dave Palferman Captain 2021 dpalferman@gmail.com

Handicap message from Fred Court June 2nd 2021

June 3rd.2021. Many thanks to Steve for his report yesterday. So here, after years of playing to certain regulations, we find changes with a new system, sometimes clear and obvious, other times not so clear. Hence in a given situation our long term memory kicks in and we remember and apply procedures no longer valid. This seems to be the case with our basic start in golf, our “Handicap”. In the past we were awarded a handicap which was basically controlled thereafter on individual qualifying scores. Whilst that system was fair within a golf club, it allowed anomalies when comparing one Golf Club to another due to physical differences comparing Clubs. For this reason a “World Handicap System” has been introduced, which theoretically gives each handicap golfer an even opportunity regardless of the golf course in play. So how does the new system work? After submitting witnessed scorecards from 54 holes you are issued with an initial “Handicap Index” up to a maximum of 54.0. Your Handicap Index is the new number for you to remember, which may be adjusted as you submit additional scores from competition or recreational events and eventually formulated with your best 8 scores from your last 20 score input into the system. So remember your “Handicap Index” and check for any changes. Before playing your game you must establish a “Course Handicap” for example most Golf Clubs will have three courses played over the same 18 holes IE, playing from White, Yellow or Red tee markers. Your Course Handicap is established from a list displayed at the golf club. Lookup you’re “Handicap Index” on the table for the Tee’s from which you are playing which indicates a range of indexes on the left and displays a “Course Handicap” in the next column. Remember your course handicap may differ between playing off White, Yellow and/or red Tees. Should you be confident to calculate your “Course Handicap” for 18 holes, the formulae is :- Course Handicap= Handicap Index x (Slope Rating /113) Unfortunately we are not finished here, as we now have to establish our playing handicap as follows:- Playing Handicap = Course Handicap X Handicap allowance. The % allowance will normally be identified within the competition format for example in stroke play 95%. There are other changes allowed into the score system, best left for another occasion. Regards Sheriff.

Seniors 9x3 plus 9x2 competition result from Steve Monk

Needless to say, today the weather was as good as it gets for playing golf, and I know many of today's participants thoroughly enjoyed their game. This includes me - excellent company, what we thought was a good score (!), and many of Barry Evans' finest and certainly oldest jokes. However... to the results. The (9x3) + (9x2) format was played by 40 members, in 10 teams of 4. Scores were quite closely packed but with two separated from the main group - one at each end of the spectrum. Winners were: 1st - Bob Brown, Bob Jarvis, Mick Carnell and Malcolm Williams, scoring a total of 108 points - £5 each. 2nd - Fred Court, Dave A Jones, Mike Drake and Nigel Davies, with 104 points - £3 each. 3rd - Stewart Poole, Colin Evans, Ian Ketland and Neville Bassett, with 102 points - £2 each. Derek hopes to publish some photos taken on the day by Stewart Poole. Derek comments that he does not know how players managed in the heat and humidity. He was sat at home in his conservatory under a fan!!!! Photos below courtesy of Stewart