Stratford Park                                    Saturday May 16th

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NP1-8th: Mark Beswick  NP1-13th: Paul Newsome NP1-17th: John Timson 

Captain Combo: Jamie Agnew              Handicap Changes: Here

A tougher day than usual weather-wise, with a little rain around, but nothing that caused any real problems. Overall, it was a good society course, although the greens left plenty to be desired, inconsistent in pace, patchy in places, and with several bunkers marked as GUR. Despite that, it was another fantastic turnout, with a record society field of 35 golfers battling it out for the honours. The standard of handicapping also appears to be improving, with only four players managing to break par on what initially looked an open and scoreable layout. The trees and bunkers proved far more punishing than expected, swallowing up golf balls throughout the day and contributing to a slow round for much of the field. Two golfers finished level par to take fifth and sixth positions. Paul Newsome continued his impressive form, and his Nearest the Pin accuracy, by collecting yet another pin prize, while John Timson produced one of the steadiest cards of the day without registering a single bogey. Fourth place went to Ian Hammond, whose one-under-par performance could have been even better. A disastrous start featuring a double blob across the opening two holes, followed by another blob on the 10th, ultimately left him with too much ground to recover. Third place, also one under par, went to Kirk Taylor in a welcome return to form ahead of the weekend away. Kirk avoided blobs throughout the round, but a below-par closing stretch over the final four holes prevented him from mounting a serious challenge for top spot. Battling it out for the day’s honours were two golfers who both produced excellent three-under-par scores. Rob Ward fired a superb 39-point haul, containing just a single blob alongside two excellent four-point holes. Unfortunately for Rob, it was only enough for second place on countback, although a hefty 1.7 handicap cut provided some consolation after another outstanding performance. But the day belonged to Antony Wale, whose winning card also featured just one blob alongside a relentless stream of twos and threes. A composed finish over the closing holes proved decisive, with Antony edging victory on countback after one of the most consistent performances of the season. His reward is a further 1.3 handicap cut heading into next month’s Wales weekend.