1

Issue No. 33 November, 2014

Editor: John Salter

Congratulations to Zac and his father, who must

be very proud to see how Pavenham Park Golf

Course has flourished, since it was opened 20

years ago.

Many Seniors joined in the mid 90’s and will all

have stories to tell about those early years.

The first clubhouse was a porta-cabin, with all

mod cons. A bar, a lounge area, which could be converted into a pleasant dining room for parties, changing areas for the ladies and gents

(“functional”, I think would be how an estate agent would describe them). The gent’s

changing room had two electric showers, one of which used to give up early on. The other

shower had a hand set, which continually fell off the wall........good for washing your feet, but

not much else. The heating was surprisingly warm, even in the depths of winter.

Senior matches had just begun, but on one occasion, due to the lack of catering on site, a

member of the home team went to the Fish and Chip shop in Clapham and bought 24 portions

of fish and chips......the dietary option was “take it or leave it”. The meal was cold on arrival,

but eaten with relish (not the gentleman’s sort).

The land on which the Course was built, had belonged to Lord Luke of Pavenham, who lived

in a grand mansion called “The Bury”, hence the name of the housing development, bordering

the Course. A lot of the land was devoted to arable use and in 1994, when the Course was

opened, the golf balls were often difficult to find among the cabbages and brussel sprout

stalks, on what is now the 1st fairway.

The Course was basically the same as today, the main difference being that on the second

hole, you drove to the top of the hill, then played your second shot into what is now the blue

zone plantation and your third over the ditch, onto the green. A set of steps were installed in

the ditch, of which traces remain today.

Even then, one of the features of the course was the variety of the trees, whose autumnal

colours were as magnificent then as they are now and it is a credit to the way the course has

been developed, that it is still a habitat for birds, animals, flora and fauna. One other feature

that is still with us and is often not noticed until you play on other courses, is the absence of

noise, particularly traffic noise.

It must have been a momentous decision to embark on such a venture, but Elgar and Zac have

given a lot of enjoyment to thousands of people over the years. Cheers to you both.

Features: P1 PPGC’s 20th Anniversary

P2 Captain’s and VC’s reports

P3 Seniors Championship

P4 Peter Daniel’s profile

P6 Rules Quiz

P7 Tony Mackay and painting

P10 Competition results

P11 The 28 handicappers

2

The Captain’s review of his last 12 months.

In just under a month’s time, I will be coming to the end of my

captaincy. I was hesitant to take on the job at first, but after a few

weeks, knowing that I had the support of everybody around me I

started to enjoy it. Giving the post-match chats (I won’t call them

speeches) didn’t make me over-apprehensive and I particularly liked

the away matches, when I was able to give a score in favour of PP.

Our match record is average: won 7; lost 8; halved 4 and I was

overjoyed at the 6-0 drubbing of Chesfield Downs.

The highlight of my year was Captain’s Day and although I wasn’t

playing, it was good to whiz around in the buggy and dole out the drinks and snacks to those

who were. It was also very heartening that the Day raised £460 towards my chosen charity,

the Willen Hospice.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my golf, although if you look through the competitions’ table on

page 10, my name is conspicuous by its absence. However, I might make a late appearance,

as I’m due to play in the Pairs Knock-out final, when this pesky rib problem heals. It’s a

great comfort to hear my wife Jane constantly reassure me by saying that I’m not as young as

I used to be and that old people’s injuries take longer to repair.

On a personal note, my grandson has played in every match, starting or as a sub, since the

new manager Kit Symonds was appointed Fulham manager and the results have improved.

He’s still in the Welsh squad and played 80 minutes against Croatia and on Sunday, 16th

November is in the squad to play Belgium with his mate Gareth Bale. And then it’ll soon be

Christmas and grandson number 12 is due to arrive. It’s all a bit hectic.

Finally, I would like to thank the committee for their support and a special thank-you to Mike,

who has stepped seamlessly into the Vice-Captain’s shoes. Next year’s captaincy is in a safe

pair of hands.

The Vice-Captain’s review of his last six months.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time playing with the Seniors and in the inter-club matches,

which have provided excellent opportunities to visit other new

Clubs, such as Chesfield Downs and Priors Hall, in my case. I am

grateful to everyone who has played in the matches and rallied to

the cause, when I was struggling to find 12 players. I shall be

looking for your continued support as we go into the Winter League

matches, although, due to the withdrawal of Rushden, we now only

have matches against Colworth and Colmworth.

Talking of matches, I’m trying to get the shop to purchase some

more Seniors’ shirts at £25 each. I need to increase the numbers, so

let me know if you want one.

It’s been difficult this year fitting in all my golfing and family

commitments, but I shall be better able to plan for the coming year. I organise a monthly

society throughout the summer and I can now ensure there are no clashes of dates. In

addition, I have had to move my father from his old family house to a two-bedroom flat. An

awful lot of clutter to sort out, made all the more difficult by the fact that he lives in South

Wales. My wife Stasia retired in August, so I have now had to review just how many times a

week I can play golf!

Then there’s a married daughter in North London with 2 boys, Henry aged 4 and George age

2, so we have to fit in planned and unplanned visits.

Finally, I have circulated a Job Description of the Vice-Captain’s role. Once you get to grips

with it, it doesn’t take too much time and you do not have to play in all the matches.

3

The Seniors’ Championship, which took place on the 1st

and 4th

September

was one of the closest fought contests for years.

John Umney won both the Gross and Nett competitions, but the Seniors’

Section principle of the Championship is that no individual can win more than

one cash prize and winners always receive the best prize for which they qualify.

Congratulations to John Umney, who came out top in

both Gross and Nett competitions. As far as we know, it

is the first time this has happened.

John’s name will be engraved on both trophies.

Neil Platt came a very close second, and the photo

shows him trying, in vain, to wrest the Nett Trophy from

John’s grasp.

So while both trophies went to John, on the basis of the

above ruling, the cash prizes were allocated as follows

Seniors’ Championship GROSS:

1st

John Umney 84+80 = 164

2nd

Jim Duffield 84+85 = 169

3rd

Peter Sly 87+85 = 172

Neil Platt was in the top three but received a better prize (see below).

Seniors’ Championship NETT:

1st

Neil Platt 74+70 = 144

2nd

John Economides 72+72 = 144

3rd

Ted Woodward 73+72 = 145

John Umney was actually top on count back, but received the GROSS prize above.

Round 1 (Monday):

1st

Glyn Lee 69

2nd

Keith Jaynes 70

3rd

Mike Taylor 70

Round 2 (Thursday):

1st

Nan Taylor 72

2nd

Charlie Glover 72

3rd

David Atkins 72

John Umney, Neil Platt, Ted Woodward and John Economides would have been placed, but

had already received better prizes above.

“You play golf” says an incredulous Tiger Woods to Stevie Wonder

“Yes,” says Stevie, “and I play off scratch.”

“But that’s amazing. How do know where to hit the ball? How do you putt? asks Tiger

“I rely very much on my caddie’s voice and I play the ball towards him. The same with

putting. My caddie puts his ear to the ground behind the hole and I play towards his voice.

Perhaps you’d like a game sometime. But because people don’t take me seriously, I only play

for money. Never less than $10,000 a hole.”

“That’s OK with me. I can afford that. When would you like to play?”

“Pick a night,” says Stevie Wonder.

4

Peter Daniel, a former Seniors’ Captain, tells us about his fascinating, wide-ranging career

in teaching as well as other aspects of his life.

I came into the world in Wallasey, 15 minutes after my twin sister. Britain was at war and

Wallasey, being at the mouth of the Mersey Estuary opposite Liverpool, was a prime target

for Hitler’s bombs. When the house next door to our family home was flattened I was

evacuated with my mother two sisters and grandparents to a farm in Radnorshire and soon

afterwards to a house in Oswestry, in Shropshire only returning to Wallasey when the war

had ended. So, like most wartime babies, I saw my father only occasionally up to the age of

five.

Wallasey was a good town to grow up in. Being situated on the corner of the Wirral

Peninsula, the town has a long coastline with several miles of promenades. It also

incorporated the resort of New Brighton with its pier, fairgrounds and Tower ballroom. A

short walk from where we lived there was a 9-hole links course, which is where I first hit a

golf ball with my father’s old wooden shafted golf clubs.

After primary school I went to Wallasey Grammar school where I played rugby and cricket

and after A levels took a Geography degree at Liverpool University. One of the good things

about studying geography was the many field courses I went on both in Britain and Europe. I

was also fortunate to be awarded a couple of travelling scholarships while I was at University

and these enabled me to spend six weeks in Aurlansdalen in Norway conducting research for

a dissertation and, after I had graduated in 1962, to lead an expedition to Peltovuoma, a

settlement within Finland’s Arctic Circle.

At this point in my life, I had decided I wanted to teach and was fortunate to be offered a

place on a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) in the Department of Education at

Oxford University. My professor at Liverpool University advised me to apply for a place at an

Oxford College and arranged an interview for me with the Master of St Peter’s College, The

Rev. Thornton-Dewsbury, on Woodside Station,

Birkenhead. He was passing through Birkenhead on

his way to the Isle of Man. After the interview I was

duly accepted as a member of the College and was

able to play cricket for the College in the summer of

1963. My PGCE year was thoroughly enjoyable and

enabled me to complete a full term’s teaching

practice with the Geography Department at Magdalen

College School in Oxford.

My first teaching post was in the Geography Department at Calday Grange Grammar School.

I have very happy memories of my time at Calday. One of the things I most enjoyed was

coaching an under 13 rugby team. I was fortunate to have a particularly good team in my

second year at the school. The team was undefeated throughout the season and one of the

boys, Andrew Maxwell, subsequently went on to play for England. The school gave me many

opportunities as a keen, young teacher. One of these was accompanying the Head of Art on

a cultural holiday to Florence and Rome. We arrived in Florence during Easter Holy week

and stayed in a small hotel overlooking the main square. The hotel’s facilities were quite

basic and the dining room doubled up as the lounge, with bedrooms off it. The boys became

suspicious when they noticed that a series of men were passing through the dining area to

one of the bedrooms and departing some time later. This led to the boys cheering each man

before and after he entered the room. It eventually dawned on George and I that the hotel

was also a brothel and we went to remonstrate with the hotel owner, who at first thought

St. Peter’s College Freshers, 1962

Can you spot Peter?

5

we were trying to negotiate a price to spend time with the prostitute, who transpired to be

his daughter! After this, the succession of male customers did stop, mainly due to the boys

cheering, rather than our intervention.

After Calday, I went into teacher education at a time when there was a shortage of teachers

and a need to increase the numbers being trained. I was appointed to a post in the

Geography Department at Kirkby Fields College of Education in Liverpool. The college had

an excellent principal and the standards were high, so much so that its staff were selected to

form the nucleus of appointments to Nene College, a new college which was being built in

Northampton. Hilary and I were committed to the move and had reserved a house on a new

estate in Long Buckby, when I was approached by the Principal of St Katherine’s College in

Liverpool and offered the post of Senior Lecturer in Geography. After much deliberation, I

decided to take up the post and not move to Nene.

Hilary and I moved to Bedford in 1974 when I was appointed head of the geography

department at Bedford College of Education. Within two years, the College merged with

Bedford College of Physical Education and Mander College of Further Education and I was

appointed Head of the School of Humanities. I stayed at the college until I retired in 1999

during which time I wrote a number of geography text books and combined administrative

with teaching duties. When Bedford College of Higher Education merged with De Montfort

University, Leicester, I became an Associate Dean and spent my last three working years

based at the main Leicester campus. Since I retired, the college has severed its links with De

Montfort and is now a constituent part of the University of Bedfordshire.

It seems extraordinary to reflect that I have now been retired for 13 years. It’s a period of

life which continues to give great pleasure. Hilary and I have

been married for 50 years and love visiting our children and

grandchildren (5 and all teenagers) in Ealing ,London and

Wetheral near Carlisle. We travel to new and exciting places

whenever we can but are always look forward to returning to

the familiar, particularly Pavenham and West Dorset. I enjoy

village life and am chairman of Pavenham tennis club and a

member of the Pavenham Village Hall and Playing Field

Committee. But playing with the Seniors at Pavenham Park as

often as I can is something I always look forward to and I’m

extremely grateful to Harry and all those who organise the Senior’s section so well.

26 years too early. When the team sheet went up for the match against the Bedfordshire on 7

th August, Hugh

Josty, noticed that a certain individual picked for the team, did not seem to be a current

member of the Seniors’ Section, which is treasurer’s jargon for: “Hadn’t paid his £5

subscription.”

Mike Wherrett, our VC, who has the job of picking the teams, having seen this name on the

board and wishing to give everybody a game, which is VC’s jargon for: “Was short of

players”, assumed, quite naturally, that he was a member.

Mike then did some investigating and having obtained the individual’s email address from the

Club discovered that he was a club member, but did not qualify as a Senior, as he was only 29

years old. “I saw a sheet asking for players, and put my name down,” said the premature

Senior.

But all ended well. Michael Taylor replaced the eager young man and played in the match. After the Queen sent her first twitter message recently, the twitterati were busy. One tweeted:

“Welcome Mam to the unreal world of computer generated text rubbish.”

6

Rules Quiz: check your answers against the answers at

the foot of the page.

1. In taking relief from interference by a cart path, Player A drops his ball from a point

just above waist height. Which of the following is true?

a) There is no penalty if the ball is played as it lies.

b) The player incurs a penalty of one stroke and must play the ball as it lies.

c) The player may correct his mistake by lifting and dropping the ball from

shoulder height.

2. A player makes a stroke on the putting green and his ball strikes the flagstick, which

has been removed and placed on the ground. What is the ruling?

a) There is no penalty.

b) The player incurs a penalty of one stroke.

c) The player incurs a penalty of two strokes.

3. Players A and B are partners in a fourball strokeplay competition. Player B’s ball lies

on the putting green and he has a 12-foot birdie putt. Player A touches the green in

indicating the line to Player B. What is the ruling?

a) Player B is penalised two strokes.

b) Player A is penalised two strokes.

c) Both players are penalised two strokes.

4. Player A’s ball lies close to a low-lying branch of a tree, which he moves out the way

with his foot, to prevent it interfering with his stroke.. What is the ruling?

a) There is no penalty.

b) Player A is penalised two strokes.

c) Player A is disqualified.

Answer 1c. A ball must be dropped from shoulder height. If it is incorrectly dropped and not

yet played, the player may correct his error and drop again (Rule 20-2 & 20-6).

Answer 2c. The player incurs a penalty of two strokes. The player’s ball must not strike the

flagstick when it is attended, removed or held up (Rule 17-3).

Answer 3a Player B is penalised two stokes.(Rule 8-2b).

Answer 4b. Player A is penalised two strokes. You are not allowed to improve the area of

your intended swing by moving anything that is growing in this way (Rule 13-2) (Acknowledgements to Golf Monthly for these questions)

A lesson to all Seniors.

A propos the death of an angler in the excitement of hooking a salmon,

golf can be equally hazardous. I was once called, when an elderly golfer

sank a last putt to score a net 65, by far the best score of his life. He

promptly collapsed and died.

It was a double tragedy. He hadn’t signed his card and under the rules

was disqualified. I put it to the committee that if it was possible to win

the Victoria Cross posthumously, surely the same could apply to the

monthly medal. They were unmoved. Letter in the Times, 4

th August, 2014

7

Tony Mackay is too busy working on large construction designs in China to play as much golf with

the Seniors as he would like to, but as a distinguished painter, he did find the time to give us an

insight into the influences which have had a bearing on how his craft has developed over the years.

Painting for pleasure is a compulsion. A bit like golf. To spend hours over painting or drawing, even

as a child, one has to really want to do it. This is even moreso as an adult because, unless it is one’s

job and livelihood, it is actually quite hard work to create paintings, which are satisfying and reach

the standards you set for yourself. But don’t let that put you off. If you feel that you would like to

paint, everyone can find their own level and be comfortable with that.

My own world of drawing and painting started when very

young……about 5 or 6 years old….when I discovered soft

pencils and watercolours. My grandfather was influential

because one day he showed me how to draw boats. He

was chief engineer on ocean liners through the 1930s and,

as a marine engineer, had to have some ability in drawing.

The way his pen captured the lines of a tug boat with a

few swift strokes seemed like a magic trick at the time. In

fact drawing and painting have always seemed to be the

stuff of a magical world to me.

In our home, it seemed the most natural thing in the world to draw my surroundings and it came

easily. Years later at school a stand-in art teacher asked me to show him the sketches I had done at

home and he saw that I nearly always drew buildings in the landscape. He suggested that I could

look into architecture as a career. I am ever thankful that this perceptive man pointed the way for

me.

However studying architecture came some years later.

My early paintings were in watercolour and quite stilted in style. As I lived by the sea, on the Wirral

peninsular, there was plenty of inspiration in sunsets across the Dee near Hoylake (those who

watched The Open recently will have seen the place) and the magical countryside of the Clywyds in

North Wales. The Lady Lever Art Gallery in Port Sunlight had a superb collection of Pre-Raphaelite

works and I was a regular visitor. I could lose myself amongst the imaginative fantasies of Holman

Hunt, Rosetti and Millais. This collection had a massive

influence on my life.

I only started to paint in earnest during my middle twenties,

jumping straight into oils. My early attempts were based on a

single painting by Matisse, which I tried to copy and then to

interpret. I learned so much about using strong colour and

painting in rather unrealistic forms from this master Fauvist

painter. Doing this enabled me then to see the world in

different ways, allowed me to observe the effects of light on

the landscape and to recognise that painting was so different to taking photographs. Pure realism

was unimportant but creating an image which captured the spirit of the subject was a priority. I

recognised then that the key to painting lay in observation.

During the sixties and seventies, whilst living in Copenhagen in Denmark, I painted a series of large

abstract works based on the ways groups of people, birds, animals and vehicles moved around and

reacted to the spaces they were in. One graphic example was the experience of travelling into the

city by train and seeing the ways that commuters behaved under crowd pressure in the train, on the

platforms and escalators and then in the street. I absorbed all this and tried to paint the physical and

spiritual nature of my subject.

At this time I also tried to paint the sounds and shapes of modern jazz music and bands, including

amongst my subjects, Don Cherry, Ben Webster and Johnny Griffin. Some of these paintings were

bought by a hotel in Copenhagen and are exhibited permanently in their bars and restaurant areas.

The underlying motivation for attempting to do this was my enthusiasm for the music coupled with a

curiosity as to whether it was possible to use colours to express sound.

8

Every few years I have an exhibition in an attempt to expose myself to criticism and it tends to focus

the mind. It is surprisingly nerve-racking to put one’s work on the wall for anyone to see. Over the

years I have been fortunate enough to exhibit in Copenhagen, London, Liverpool and in several

galleries closer to Bedford.

Alongside oil and watercolour painting, I have used my architectural background to help me with ink

drawings of the buildings and landscapes of Bedfordshire and the surrounding counties of Herts,

Bucks and Oxfordshire. These drawings appear in a series of books entitled ‘Journeys into

Bedfordshire’ etc. The drawings are accompanied by short historical notes on the locations. Very

different in character to my paintings, they nevertheless illustrate the effects of light, shadow and

texture and hopefully record the environment of the late 20th

century in this part of the world in a

strongly graphic way. It was great fun researching the material and meeting people who lived or

worked in the many buildings I looked at.

Travelling all over Europe with my family, exposed me to

unfamiliar images and landscapes which fuelled my imagination

more and the next years were filled with drawings in pastel,

watercolours and oils which reflected these travels. Favourite

places were India, China and Italy and here I did what I now

consider to be my best work. Sometimes I look at this work and

wonder how I can get back to that level.

In recent years, my other work has taken me to the cities of China, in particular Beijing and Shanghai,

and this has meant living in high rise apartments and seeing the city from an entirely different

perspective. The result is a series of oil paintings which try to capture the experience of living

amongst the towers and seeing the normal world going on way down there at street level below, of

experiencing the sunrise through the mist and reflective glass walls of the city buildings. There is a

raw kind of beauty in this which is addictive.

Some time ago I was invited to talk to lower school children

about painting water, a subject which I have been fascinated

with, working along the banks of the Ouse in Bedford. I asked

the children to tell me what colour water is. Many suggested

blue and their paintings on the walls of the classrooms

confirmed this, but then I used a bottle of water to illustrate

that in fact water was clear and transparent and that it was

always the colour of its surroundings. Holding the bottle in

front of my shirt it certainly looked blue, but then when in front of the window blinds it became red.

When seen in a calm river, water reflected like a mirror and became

the colours of the trees and sky and so on. The point is, we should all

observe with our eyes and see how things really are and not take

things for granted. They got the message very easily and when I

then demonstrated by doing some watercolour paintings of a river

in the landscape for them. They were ahead of me in selecting the

colours in the water. They recognised that the river should look

green, black, blue, white, brown and many other colours. They

couldn’t wait to do their own paintings that afternoon.

My next project is to paint the outstanding oak tree alongside the

10th

tee at Pavenham, you know the one, with the branches hanging

down to the earth. It must be several hundred years old and has had

time to develop character. So if one day, as you prepare to tee off,

you see a scruffy guy crouched over an easel nearby, please leave a

few pence in the hat.

Two seniors are walking along a fairway and one says to the other:

“After 23 years of marriage, my wife and I are still madly in love.”

“You are?”

“Yes. She with her dentist, me with my secretary.”

9

This is the harmless trunk now lying adjacent to the

16th

green. But on 14th

October, 2014 the majestic

tree it had once been was whipped into frenzied

action by Hurricane Gonzala, which felled it to lie

across the lane leading to the Club. Luckily,

nobody was injured. However, Tina Farman, who

often used to play with the Seniors, did have a very

narrow escape. She was driving down the lane from

the Club and for some reason looked up and thought

“....that looks dangerous,” and the next moment, the

tree was lying in front of her. What made her look

up, she doesn’t know, but whatever it was, she was very grateful.

A “Yes” vote and a “No” vote on two consecutive days in Scotland.

After 260 years of exclusion from membership, The

Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, Fife has

agreed to admit women members for the first time.

The spiritual home of golf has at last bowed to the

pressures of inclusivity, much to the chagrin of

other all-male membership Clubs, including the

Royal Burgess golf club in Edinburgh.

Matters came to a head when the Open sponsor, HSBC made it known that it

was uncomfortable with the policy of the major championship being held at

exclusively male clubs. Also, Professor Louise Richardson, the first woman

principal of St. Andrews University spoke out against the ban on women. She

claimed that the snub meant that she was unable to entertain university

donors at the clubhouse, traditionally an important part of the principal’s role.

The all-male R&A has currently three distinct areas of responsibility, namely:

the administration of the Rules of Golf in conjunction with the USGA, the

running of The Open Championship and other key golfing events, and the

development of the game in existing and emerging golfing nations. Will this

momentous change bring with it other responsibilities?

But perhaps the first tricky decision the R&A has to make is: who will be the

first lady member to apply for and be elected to the committee. Joe was a single guy living at home with his father and working in the family business He discovered that he was going to inherit a fortune when his sickly father died, so he decided he needed a wife, with whom to share his fortune. One evening at an investment meeting he spotted a very attractive woman. She took his breath away. “I may look like an ordinary guy,” he said to her, “but in a just a few years, my father will be dead and I’ll inherit a fortune worth millions.” Impressed, the woman obtained his business card and they arranged to meet. Three days later, his dad gave him some unexpected news: “Come round son, I’d like you to meet your new stepmother.” Yes you’ve guessed it. Women are so much better at financial planning than men.

10

Competition Winners 2007-2014 Competition 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Shaun O’Reilly Cup

Glyn Lee Shaun O’ Reilly

Andy David

John Salter

Robin Cooper

John Economides

Dave Atkins

Ted Woodward

Aston & Toole Trophy

Stewart Wood

Allen Woodward

Hugh Josty

Roy Davies

Andy David

Dave Thorne

Glyn Lee Jim Duffield

Summer Salver

Allen Woodward

Jim Middleton

Roly Winser

Mike Brock

Paul Dunne

Neil Platt

Brian Deacon Charlie Glover

Autumn Shield

R. Cooper/ S. Wood

C Tyers/ A Woodward

B. Farman M. Rogers

B. Morey M. Lacey

J Fossey B Letch

Peter Metcalf/ John Salter

John Economides/ Nick Yelland

Brian Mackett Paul Smith

Plate Cup/ 10

thAnniv’ry

Trophy

John Fossey

Peter Metcalf

Mike Bellamy

Mike Bellamy

Mike Lacey

Tom McConville

Roy Davies Peter Broadway

Knockout Cup

C. Berry F Williams R. Day A Kinnon Glyn Lee

Frank Williams

David Attkins Charlie Glover

Three Club Trophy

Michael Taylor

Jack Brown

Robin Cooper

Robin Mowe

Ted Woodward

Brian Kirkup

John Barber Jerry Hawkins

Yellow Ball Team Trophy

A. David J. Fossey Joe Quinn

R Cooper Neil Platt Tony Asher

D. Holman M. Lacey B. Letch

S Wood A Kinnon J Umney

J Brown M Rogers J Econ- Omides

B. Bolton Nanette Taylor J. Ashby

Roger Burrows George Holt Paul Smith Tom Taylor

Peter Broadway Ian Wallace Robin Mowe Harry Sykes

Captain’s Day Trophy

R de Branco & P. Law

Ted Hill Joe Quinn

B Farman J Day

M Rogers J Econ- omides

J Umney J Econ- omides

Peter Julyan

Dave Atkins Hugh Josty

Seniors’ Champion

Mike Lacey

Mike Lacey

Mike Lacey

Mike Bellamy

Paul Dunne

Charlie Berry

Brian Deacon John Umney

Seniors’ net Champion

Joe Quinn Frank Williams

Andy David

Charlie Glover

David Mansell

Nanette Taylor

David Fleure John Umney

Brian Farman Vase

G. Lee/ M. Lacey

George Holt Mike Rogers

S. Wood R. Davies

M Rogers/ B. Farman

J Fossey M Taylor

John Umney Peter Hasler

Charlie Glover Frank Williams

John Barber Peter Law

Merit League Division 1

Tom Taylor

Mike Rogers

Mike Rogers

Roger Burrows

Roger Burrows

Peter Julyan

Frank Williams

Paul Smith

Merit League Division 2

Peter Metcalf

Robin Cooper

Roger Burrows

Peter Metcalf

Brian Bolton

Peter Metcalf

Harry Sykes Brian Mackett

Merit League Ladies

Nannette Taylor

Nanette Taylor

Nanette Taylor

Nannette Taylor

Nanette Taylor

Discon- tinued

Discontinued Discontinued

Pairs Knockout

B. Farman T. Hill

M Rogers M Taylor

_ _ R Davies M Taylor

D. Atkins F. Williams

J Economides Nick Yelland

Still to be played

Division 1 medals: Brian Deacon (April); Peter Julyan (May); Peter Broadway (June); Keith Jaynes (July): Jim Duffield (August): Paul Smith (September); Brian Deacon(October)

Division 2 medals: John Salter (April); David Mansell (May); John Barber (June); Stan Jones (July): Brian Mackett (August); Peter Law (September); Paul Smith(October)

Just in case you missed it in the September issue of the PPGC newsletter, the following extract

reveals some interesting information about the difficulty of the holes on the course:

“Since the introduction of our new Competition software in March 2008, there has been a total of 993 competitions processed on the Club System. In total, scores from 571,745 holes played were analysed, giving the following statistics: � 9th hole – most eagles with 95

� a total of 14,161 birdies have been scored

� the 6th and 16th holes are the only par 3’s not to be aced in competition play

� 7th hole ranked as the hardest, followed by the 3rd

� 9th hole ranked as the easiest, followed by the 13th.

11

The 28ers handicap group were first introduced to InPutt readers in July 2012. They’re still

going strong.-.well they’re still going - and now Peter Baker, Harry Sykes, Graham Follett

and Frank Bellingham tell you about the strange world they inhabit and why, despite being

mocked or pitied, they turn up to play the great game of golf at all.

There are three types of golfer: the Professional, the Amateur and

the 28 handicapper (at PPGC we call ourselves “The Support

Group”). Let us inform the first two categories of golfer of how

we, the third type, a strange bunch of “athletes”, approach the

game.

Shot selection

Never spend too long deciding which club to use for your 2nd

shot

after a brilliant tee shot…club selection is irrelevant when you will

most probably hit the ground 2” in front of the ball anyway.

Always try to emulate Seve when in awkward lies…kneeling down under a hazard using a

club backwards left handed is highly recommended. Anything rather than taking a penalty

drop.

Why chip out sideways when there’s a gap of at least 18” between the two trees 20 yards

ahead?

If the distance to the green is further than you have ever hit an iron or wood before, don’t

think of taking two shots; you never know, this may be the time you will reach in one.

The best (and only) bunker strategy is to not get in them in the first place.

Just because that flop shot over the greenside bunker has never worked, there really is no

reason not to try it again.

Trees

If there is a tree in direct line between your ball and the green, aim straight at it…I’ll leave

you to work out why.

It takes great skill to hit a tree in the right place so that the ball bounces out onto the

fairway…that’s why we keep trying.

Unwritten rules

Never warm up intensively before a round…this can cause serious injury when you’ve only

just rolled out of bed.

Never practise putting before teeing off on the first…this may use up your only lucky 20 ft

putt for the rest of the week.

Never clean your ball before the first tee, or worse still unpack a brand new one…this will

guarantee a pathetic tee shot and probably a lost ball.

Enjoy the unlimited promise and potential of the round ahead when you’re on the first

tee...it’s probably as good as it’s going to get.

If you find yourself chasing the game be sure to hit the ball at least 20% harder than you are

comfortable with.

Perks

When you have made the most of a hole where you get two shots and you have 4 for 4 or

even 4 for 5, make sure you announce your score within earshot of at least one grumpy low-

handicapper. It’s one of life’s pleasures!

Console yourself with the knowledge that no matter how bad it gets, they can’t take any

more 0.1pts away from you.

Sods Law

The day you play your best round ever and are revelling in the idea you will get cut…is the

day that the round is declared a non-qualifier.

Graham, Harry, Frank &Peter

doing what they do best.

12

Peter Baker’s Tangent Jazz Band

Half Moon Pub

42 High Street Grendon

Tuesday, 16th

December, 2014

8.00-1030 pm

New Orleans , Swing, Blues, Latin

and a selection of Christmas favourites

Good food, bar snacks and beer

available Reservations for meals: 01933 665532

Jim Middleton

I was working on this edition of InPutt, when Margaret, Jim

Middleton’s wife, rang to tell me the sad news of his death on the

morning of Tuesday, 11th

November, 2014.

I met Jim when he first joined the Seniors – it may have been his

first outing with us or even the first time he had played the game–

his bag and clubs suggested that he had either bought them at a

car boot sale 20 or 30 years ago or had inherited them from his

grandfather, who was a greenkeeper at Renfrew Golf Club.

However, it was obvious that he had a natural ability for the game

and it was not long before he was picking up the prize-money. He

worked in tandem with Tom Taylor as joint Competitions’

Secretary before taking over the position in 2007, which he

continued to do until he became Vice-Captain in January 2013, a

position he held until he fell ill with cancer a few months later.

He cultivated a wide circle of friendships and made a point of

meeting up with his university friends, rugby mates and others on a regular basis. He was a

lovely, laid-back man, with a wicked, laconic sense of humour and was a great organiser –

and that’s just for starters. Everybody thought highly of him.

Ashley Salter

A personal thank-you to all of you who donated to Ashley’s funeral charity. £2,689 was

raised for the St. John’s Hospice, Moggerhanger, where he spent his last days.

I hope you have enjoyed reading at least some of the articles in this edition.

If you would like to contribute a piece, which you feel might be of interest to InPutt

readers, please do not hesitate to let me have it.

Finally, I am having difficulty finding Seniors who have hobbies/pastimes/passions

that I could include in future editions. If you have one – bee-keeping, bell-ringing,

cooking, collecting antiques, sailing, restoring old furniture, gardening etc. please

let me know.

The next edition is scheduled for March 2015.

John Salter 01234 713653 johnsalter7@btinternet.com