Sunday 13^th June - what a glorious day for Kings Church Golf Society to visit a new course! Local member and pre-race favourite Tony Wilson was able to show off his Sherfield Oaks facilities in their full glory, and the brevity of this report is no reflection on the enjoyment had by the lucky thirteen who searched desperately for shade on the day. [Some finding it more successfully than others!]

It wasn’t only relief from the hot sun that was at a premium. With the Nearest the Pin prize on the short 8^th hole only open to those whose tee-shots finished on the green, accuracy was also in short supply. Appropriately, the best target practice here came from the lowest handicapper on parade, Matt Bailey - although even he admitted his winning pitch was a considerable distance from the flagpole.

Things hadn’t improved much by the 15^th, a 544-yard par-5 with a large oak and even larger lake lurking on the left. There was still plenty of short grass to aim at, and Barry Bailey looked to have clinched yet another prize for his household with a monster drive of around 275 yards to the middle of the fairway. Unfortunately for Baz, Jim Adkins’ tee-shot 30 minutes later rolled comfortably past the metal marker to take Jim’s first Longest Drive prize of the summer.

On his return from the back injury which, he tells me, has ended any lingering hopes of a career in rugby league (even for Wigan in their current plight),  Peter Ashall shared the halfway lead with Tony Wilson on 20 points from the front nine. They led Jim Adkins by one point, Matt Bailey and David Payne by two, and Warren Williams and your intrepid correspondent by three at this stage.

Scores generally improved on the back nine, though not for all. Graham Stewart and Steve Dally’s purple patches around 12,13 and 14 couldn’t rescue struggling rounds. Warren Williams’ afternoon was feast and famine in the starkest contrast as he achieved a rare-as-a-humble-Springbok birdie four on the 500-yard 7^th while failing to register at all on four other holes.

Ian Tatton’s highlight was at the 10^th, where a very good drive was followed by a truly stunning second to about eight inches; the tapped-in birdie didn’t really do justice to a brilliantly-played hole. The 10^thwas also a highlight for Mark Gawthrop, the scene of one of his five 3-point holes in another up-and-down round…and playing partner Ben Crane’s afternoon was likewise as it petered out after a strong start and a par on the 8^th.

Up ahead, David Payne and yours truly pretty much matched each other all the way round. David’s front nine was slightly better, aided by a four-point 4 on the 300-yard sixth hole, while I came on strong later in the day. My only four-point hole was on the 18^th, where morning prayers were answered as my tee shot somehow found its way through the trees onto the fairway on the far side. David and I each finished with 35 points, sharing 5^th place.

Nearest the Pin winner Matt Bailey played to his allegedly-generous handicap of 11, ending with the par score of 18 points from each half of his round. Matt finished in 4^th spot, one behind the two players tying for the runner-up spot. Peter couldn’t quite match his own 20-point front nine, not helped by pitching through the 18^th green and almost into the car park. On the other hand, Jim scored at least a point on every hole and had a more point-strewn back nine to reach the clubhouse tied with Peter on 37 points.

I’d predicted earlier in the week that local knowledge would inspire Tony Wilson to the title on the day – and so it came to pass! 20 points on the way out was a great effort on such an unforgiving day, but 22 coming home was truly inspired golf. Tony himself said it seemed that he could do no wrong – pretty unusual for even Tiger Woods on a golf course! Tony’s winning card shows points on every hole, nothing worse than a seven (on the hardest hole on the course, the 530-yard 5^th) and no fewer than seven 3-point holes (including 4 of the last 5). Just 83 shots all afternoon, 42 points (five clear of his nearest challengers) and a much-deserved trophy for the mantelpiece were Tony the Tiger’s reward for one of our most enjoyable afternoons of golf of recent summers.

If you’d like to join us for our next Golf Day, at Downshire on Sunday afternoon, 12^th July, please get in touch.

Paul Trott

paul@trottfamily.freeserve.co.uk / 0799 0977 261