Nigel Grundy 1944 - 2023

We are very saddened to hear of the passing of Nigel on the 23rd March 2023. 

Nigel loved his golf and was a very active of the Seniors Section for many years, several of them as treasurer. After he started to struggle with his health a switch to the less hilly, Newton Green, enabled him to continue playing for a few more years.

Our thoughts are very much with his wife Fiz and family at this difficult time.

We will advise funeral details once these become available.

May Nigel now Rest in Peace.

Wednesday Swindles

Please note that swindle cuts will be for one week only. Although, serial winners may be treated more harshly!
Wednesday 1st March – Constable

    1st     Robin Owen                                                        46 pts
    2nd    Brian Butcher                                                      42 pts
    3rd    Paul Sheffield / Adrian Beckinsale                           41 pts
Monday 6th March – Gainsborough
 1st     Roger Fleuty                                                           39 pts
 2nd    Gordon Bryan and Kevin Walsh                                 38 pts
  3rd     Allen Smith, Ian McKay,  Del McWilliams,  Colin Dallas and Brian Willsher       37 pts
Friday 17th March – Gainsborough
 1st      Trevor Waterhouse                                36 pts
 2nd     Shikhar Chatrath / Roger Davies             35 pts
  3rd      Alan Finlayson                                     34 pts
 Wednesday 22nd March – Constable
1^st Ian Archer and Paul Sandfield   37 pts
2^nd Graham Vandervord and Mal Jones   35  pts
3^rd Alan Finlayson  32 pts 
Friday 31st March – Gainsborough
Not played at the time of going to press

Swindle dates for April
5^th April                     Constable
14^th April                     Gainsborough (The planned swindle for this date has been cancelled  to  enable     members to attend Mike Moore’s funeral)
19^th April                     Constable
26^th April                     Gainsborough

Inter Club Matches
If you haven’t already done so, and wish to play in future matches, please make sure you register your interest via ClubV1.
The earlier part of last season saw a high number of people withdraw from the teams after selection, or at short notice. On occasions, we were left with the bare minimum and no reserves. It would be really helpful to the organisers if you were able to keep your availability regularly updated on ClubV1.

Inter Club Match v Brett Vale – Away – 7th March 2023
Stoke by Nayland 5½ Brett Vale 2½
Match 1 Lost 6 & 5
Played in a very convivial atmosphere. Norman and Malcolm struggled with the very fast greens. Captain had made 3 birdies but resisted the temptation to blame the loss on his partner.
Match 2 Won 1 hole
Match started poorly for Dick and Phil finding themselves 3 down. Turning point came with a series of pars and a birdie from Dick. Twodown at the turn they were still in trouble. Dick put the boys 1 up on 15 with Phil halving the last 3 holes to win the match.
Match 3 Won 4 & 3
A comfortable win from Shikhar and Trevor. Asked for comment Trevor said, ‘well my partner turned up’.
Match 4 Lost 4 & 3
Phil and Tony went down to a strong Brett Vale team. Tony felt his provisional ball was in play far too often. Phil just shrugged.
Match 5 Won 2 holes
Phil and Brian dovetailed well to win a very competitive match where they found themselves two down before their comeback. Brian said his partner was on fire on the back nine after he had words at the 9th.
Match 6 Won 1 hole
Jonathan had a number of birdies on the front nine. He was pleased when Dave came in on the last 4 holes to save his back and clinch a close fought match.
Match 7 Won 1 hole
Colin and Steve were chasing the game the whole match. Tactical change of skipper to Colin resulted in the turnaround. Birdies on 16 and 17 put them 1 up. The half on the last saw this close win.
Match 8 All square
Graham and Andy spent the match chasing the game, being four down at one stage. Three birdies from Andy turned the match to earn a well-deserved half. Boys said their highlight was watching, on an adjacent fairway, a masterclass in chipping when the SBN captain shanked a ball into the trees.

Many thanks to Phil Brennan who acted as reporter for today’s opening Inter Club match of the year. Thanks Phil.

Team …………….
     1   Malcolm Norton & Norman Davidson
      2  Dick Lumsden & Phil Brennan
      3  Shikhar Chatrath & Trevor Warehouse
     4  Phil Hickley & Tony Denmead
     5  Phil Boyland & Brian Roloff
      6  David Seymour & Jonathan Perry
      7  Colin Dallas & Steve Mitchell
     8  Graham Cork & Andy Cracknell

Inter Club Match v Stowmarket - Away - 14th March 2023

Regrettably, this match was cancelled at short notice, due to a waterlogged course. The majority of the team had either arrived, or were well on their journey.
It has been rescheduled for August 8^th when priority will be given to the original team.

Inter Club Match v Newton Green - Constable - 22nd March 2023
SbN 6½ – Newton Green 1½
The match took place in blustery conditions on a Constable course which was somewhat damp underfoot and greens that had only recently been hollow-tined and top-dressed so a little bumpy. Fortunately the promised heavy showers didn’t materialise – we only had to suffer some early drizzle and everyone finished in warm sunshine. An excellent Turkey carvery and cheesecake desert was served to hungry recipients after the match.
Match 1 SbN pair: John Parkinson and Andy Cracknell (WON 4 & 2)
Stand-in Captain John (only 1 birdie) was over-shadowed by Andy ‘I must get my handicap sorted’ with an Eagle on the 16th and ‘I can’t remember how many birdies’ in a largely one-sided match. Despite giving their opponents a good number of shots, SbN romped home with some gas still left in the tank.
Match 2 SbN pair: Rob Swann and Phil Hickley (WON 3 & 1)
Despite being 3 up after 8 holes, the SbN pair were never in complete control, largely helped by Phil’s putting stroke which might have looked more at home on the hockey field. SbN were pulled back to only 1 up on the 13th (courtesy of yet another 3 putt from Phil) but a confident 4 nett 3 from Rob on the 14th gave the side fresh momentum. A series of pars form Phil from the 15th stabilised the match which was closed out on the 17th.
Match 3 SbN pair: Brian Willsher and Trevor Waterhouse (WON 2 & 1)
The SbN pair were 4 up with 4 to play and coasting to an impressive victory but then their steel backbones turned to jellyfish before they limped over the finishing line with a 2 & 1 victory. Brian’s love of sand-dressed greens knows no bounds – he holed a number of clutch 5 & 6 footers throughout. So much so, he’s thinking of taking a bag of sand round with him to spread on his putting line in future rounds.
Match 4 SbN pair: Skikhar Chatrath and Tony Emms (LOST 1 hole)
A close game throughout finished with a disappointing 18th hole from the SbN pair. ‘A Tree, an errant chip-shot and a ‘hugely aggressive’ lag-putt’ on a heavily-dressed 18th green did for Tony’….according to playing partner Shergar.
Match 5 SbN pair: Ian McKay and Norman Davidson (WON 3 & 1)
So….do the new Rules of Golf 2023 allow for a golfer to book a lesson half way round to sort out a few technical faults that can be adopted for the second nine? Apparently so. Ian’s guidance did the trick so that Norman could at least contribute something during the day, other than buying a round of drinks for their opponents. Otherwise it was another master-class from our rules-guru Mr McKay who barely got his shoes muddy, never deviating from the centre of the fairway.
Match 6 SbN pair: Steve Mitchell and Phil Brennan (WON 3 & 2)
Substitute Phil provided ample assistance to ‘3 birdie’ Steve in a close match where lots of holes were halved. The SbN thoroughbreds showed their resolve by grinding out a lead which they held onto before closing out the match on the 16th green.
Match 7 SbN pair: Jonathan Perry and Kevin Walsh (MATCH HALVED)
A friendly match which was dominated by SbN who reached the turn 3 up. The Newton Green pair then decided to turn-up and had halved the match by the 16th green. A nervous finale then saw both the 17th and 18 holes won to leave the match all square. Despite the desire to settle the match by going down the 1st, the two pairs decided to call it a day with honours even.
Match 8 SbN pair: Colin Dallas and David Seymour (WON 3 & 1)
There was much to report from the last match out. Dave, single-handedly kept the SbN team in the game despite going 2 or 3 down going into the back nine. Then Colin found his game at last and parred in to close out the game. But what spurred him on? Could it have been the significant altercation coming from the two groups following the Seniors match. Why so? Seemingly one group decided it was appropriate to tee off on the ninth while the group in front were at the bottom of the hill………much to the consternation of those waiting to play from the fairway. Everyone other than the Police were called to separate the warring groups and restore order…..Perhaps unidentified SbN Seniors were following and keen to get in for their lunch….?

Many thanks to Phil Hickley on reporting what was clearly a great result. Thanks Phil.

Inter Club Match v Belton Park Golf Club - Constable 28th March

This ‘one-off’ match both started and finished in the cold and rain. Played on a very heavy course by many unenthusiastic participants. Indeed, some of the SbN members were feeling a change in temperatures of 25C, having been basking in 30c the previous week in Morocco.
As many pairings opted to ‘call it a day’ at the turn, the result was declared an honourable draw.
Inter Club Match v Colchester - Constable - 29th March 2023
Result SbN 5   Colchester 3
Full details will appear on the website shortly.

April Fixtures:

5th April                                     The Warren                               Gainsborough
17th April                                   Colchester                                 Away
28th April                                  The Warren                               Away

Seniors Club Competition results

Monthly Stableford - Constable - 8th March 2023
Regrettably, this competition was a victim of the weather. After deliberations between the Captain and the Club, the decision was taken to cancel the event.
Texas Scramble - Gainsborough - 15th March
47 players in today’s Texas Scramble ………
Congrats to the Clark / Finlayson / Mitchell / Hatch team who succeeded by just the one shot in an extremely closely contested competition – great to see Terry M back on the course again.

1st      Mark Clark / Alan Finlayson / Terry Mitchell / Lionel Hatch                          58
2nd     John Parkinson / Reg Reid / Collin Broadhurst / Norman Davidson               59
3rd      Malcolm Norton / Eric Fisher / Kevin Walsh / Alan Line                               60

Senior Captain/Vice Captain challenge
As you may know, the Captain has introduced a new challenge for 2023. Any pair wishing to take on this dynamic duo should contact Malcolm Norton, who will add your name to his list of opponents. There is no entry fee, although a donation to the Captain’s chosen charity for the year, EACH, would be gratefully received.

Not played in March

Happy Birthdays in April  to the following Seniors Members  (apologies if I have omitted anyone)–
Ronald Griffin, Kevin McKenna, Kenneth Eccles, Michael Hartley, Geoff Ball, Terry Mitchell, Christopher Bridge, Tony Reeves, Trevor Waterhouse, Pete Robins, Ross Buchanan, Graham Vandervord, John Gove, Mark Clark, Andy Caldwell and Alan Finlayson.

Many Happy Returns to You All

UPCOMING EVENTS  -  April

April 12^th               –Monthly Stableford, Constable
April 21^st           - Senior past Captains match, Gainsborough
April 28^th               -Rules Evening with Steve Bonnington – Head Referee Essex Golf Union

Lastly and very importantly, please keep submitting your cards to maintain your qualifying handicaps, most important for competitions and team events. You need to have 12 in a calendar year