Hello and welcome to this week's newsletter,
Slade Tour
As many of you know last week I was away in Kent on the Slade Tour. As ever the tour was action packed both in the day and at night. Day one was North Foreland right on the coast. The course was good and the views better. I partnered Martin Ward and in blustery conditions we managed a modest 35 points, enough to take money from our playing partners for the day, Terry and Patrick, as well as finishing middle of the pack but we were nowhere near the winners Andy and Ron with 43 points.
Day two and after a big night which included some epic frames of snooker, mainly won by fouls including air shots from Batty, we caught up with a familiar face in Ray Goodsall at his new club Canterbury. Ray was in good spirits as we met up with him afterwards and he has found a hidden gem in Canterbury. It's a Colt design and I can't remember a bad hole on the course. I partnered George Reynolds and we played well but didn't take advantage of the course or conditions and came in with 38 points, enough to beat our playing partners of Gary and Dave but not enough to beat the formidable pairing of Wis and Graham who came in with 43 points.
Day three was Hever Castle and the day is always exciting as the draw is done with the top players going out with the bottom of the pile. I was drawn with Eric Fordham and we got off to a good start but couldn't maintain it on a difficult back 9 and we came home with a fair to middling 33 points, good enough to beat our playing partners Dave and Sicknote. The winners of the day which had a big effect in the overall competition were Gary and Kieran. They managed 40 points which from memory was good enough to win by three.
I'd like to thank Nick Wombwell for a great year as captain, he's certainly brought out the best in the Slade this year, which appears to be mainly golfing and socialising and to Keith Wardley for doing a top job as tour organiser despite not letting Ron know about the tractor rush hour at Hever Castle
Outstanding Round Hands Walder the Friendship Cup
The Friendship Cup for members with handicaps of 20 or less produced some outstanding golf at the weekend with 19 players shooting nett par or less. The winner was Matthew Walder, who only joined Saffron Walden GC last year, getting his first official handicap in April 2016.
His gross 79, nett 66 left him 3 shots ahead of the field, but this almost didn't happen when 2 shots in a bunker on the 1st hole gave him a poor start. However his driver and putter were both working exceptionally well, putting all but 1 green in 2 or less. "It's the best round I've ever played" said an ecstatic Walder.
The minor places were all decided on countback, with Ben Head (nett 69) landing second, Daniel Coverdale 3rd and Colin Macdonald 4th.
Michael Noakes Trophy
Friday was a big day for the Saffron Walden Golf Club Seniors as it was the Michael Noakes Trophy and Simon, Michael's son, kindly sponsored this event and he did so with numerous prizes.
Nearest The Pin
5th - Bryan Lewis
7th - Peter Taylor
11th - Alf Magona - Birthday Boy - 80 yesterday!
12th on 2 - Richard Barker
18th - Seniors Captain - Peter Still
3rd place - Bill Stanford, Geraldine Still & Nick Rouse on 73 points
2nd place - Hugh Jenkins, Roger Smout & David Wiseman on 75 points
1st place - Bryan Lewis, Keith Peacock & Roger McNaught on 75 points
Results - Winter League Pairs
Runner up - S Elvridge & H Jenkins
Winners - T Jones & G Jones
Tough Start for the Ladies of Saffron Walden in Defence of their Grace Norman Title
The ladies of Saffron Walden Golf Club, holders of the Cambridgeshire Grace Norman Trophy, began the defence of their title with a tough match away at Royston. With strong winds and a very exposed course, playing conditions were challenging for both sides, but home advantage won through, especially as the SWGC were giving shots in every match. Justine Voss and Linda Kelsey, giving 11 shots, battled valiantly to halve their match on the 18th hole. The other 2 pairs fought hard but were unable to prevail the double handicap of playing conditions and giving shots.
Jean Wilkinson Team
The Ladies' Jean Wilkinson Team played their first home league match against old rivals Royston on Wednesday 3rd May at Saffron Walden.
The Team of seven ladies from three handicap bands played in cold, blustery conditions, winning four matches (all 2&1) to Royston's three. The return match will be played on Thursday, 13 July. Congratulations to Helen Porter, Sue Ward, Elaine Purcell, Christine Noakes, Janina Jones, Angela Reed and Olivia Hall.
A new member of the Team and a reserve player for the match is 11 year old Alex Sparrow seen here with Lady Captain Melissa Jones.
Thank you to reserves Vilma Krinks, Eileen Farrow and Alex Sparrow, caddies Delia Roberts, Maggie Fenton, Justine Voss, Linda Kelsey, Eileen Farrow and supporters Jean Bradley, Rita Craig, Mary Toll, Ann Clackson, Jaine Fieldhouse, Betty Williams and Sue Amiss.
Our next home match is against St Ives on Saturday, 20 May.
PXG Demo Day
The recent demo days have become very popular and brought lots of you to try new equipment for the season ahead! Our next Demo Day is to introduce one our new brand for this year PXG. This is being held on Monday, 22 May 10-3pm.
Click here to book your slot.
Free Custom Fit & Lesson Offer
This new offer is available over May/June and is great for those who are looking to improve their game ready for the season ahead. For those thinking about purchasing any new equipment from Callaway, Mizuno, PING & Titleist it's important to get the correct clubs for you-as every swing is different.
This is why we're offering FREE custom fitting on all new equipment purchased and a FREE lesson afterwards to iron out any swing faults!
It's a great package, so if you have any further questions please pop in the pro shop to talk to the team.
