A collection of match reports during the 2007 season

WW07/15 - Wearside Finals Day & Season Report, 21/10/07

Wearside Golf Club has had its problems this past year, be it on the course or on the financial side but that did not spoil our Finals day. Other than on the the greens the course was in very good condition, the weather was fantastic and the clubhouse hospitality was excellent. All in all the whole day was a great success. I would like to thank Paul Marshall for his excellent comedy act, he has missed his true calling, he should be on the stage ---- (sweeping up that is). I am sure everyone appreciated the effort and thought put into your presentation, even Tony Arkley who just happened to be the butt of most of this year's jokes, once again thanks Paul. I would also like to thank John for his assistance with the proceedings and his speech that almost had me in tears!. Finally I would like to thank the companies listed above for their generous sponsorship donations that allowed us to lay on such an excellent range of prizes and to provide everyone with a reminder of the day.

The weekend before Finals Day John Ford and Derek Griffiths had a Titanic battle in the final of the Chairman's Cup at Mount Oswald Golf Club. After the first four holes Derek was four up but John battled back and they were all square going down the eighteenth. John took the Cup on the final hole winning by one, congratulations go to John and commiserations to Derek. As for Finals day, considering the course condition the scoring on the day was excellent with four players scoring in excess of forty points. The winner of the final round of the 2007 Championship was Tony Arkley with 46 points, his second round win of the season. Second place went to the outgoing 2006 Champion Ian Heptinstall with 44 points. In third place was Steve Merritt continuing his run of improvement with 42 points. The Nearest the Pin category was won by Davey Sanders with 7.3m, this was his second category win but it was not enough to take the title, that went to John Ford with 2 round wins and a distance of 1.7m all the way back at the fourth round of the championship at Castle Eden in May. The Longest Drive category and Championship went to Tim "Boom-Boom" Aberdeen with yet another awesome three wood strike that out drove the previous mark by over 35m. Congratulations to both John and Tim on their category wins. Now for the main Championship, this year has seen the closest finish yet with FOUR points covering the top three players after fifteen rounds. In third place was myself on 357 points. Second place went to Tim Aberdeen who despite his best efforts could not quite make up the nine point deficit finishing on 359 points. The winner and Society Champion Golfer for 2007 is Mick Lumsdon with 361 points. Congratulations go to Mick and all our other Champions, Derek Griffiths (Borders Champion), John Ford (Chairman's Cup and Nearest The Pin) and Tim Aberdeen (Longest Drive).

Well that's it for another year, after fifteen rounds the 2007 Wearside Wanderers Golf Championship is over and in Mick Lumsdon we have a new Champion to add to the roll of honour. Personally, now we have grown to 24 full members, this season has occasionally been a logistical nightmare but now its all over I can't wait for next season to come and it all to start again. Talking of next season, if anyone has any views, comments or suggestions on how to improve our society or the championship please drop me or another committee member a line and your comments will be considered at our annual committee meeting at Christmas. I am especially looking for suggestions for new courses to play next year, we may even consider visiting venues further away (Cumbria, North Yorkshire?). One suggestion already made was we should maybe gather once a month throughout the winter for a friendly game just to keep the old swing going. If anyone has any comments on this suggestion please let me know. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my fellow committee members for their support and assistance throughout the season, it would have been impossible to run the society without their help. Finally I, on behalf of the committee, would like to thank you all for your support and commitment throughout the year and and wish you and your families all the best for the winter months. With luck we will all gather next spring to make the Wearside Wanderers 2008 Championship the most exciting season yet.

WW07/14 - Bedlington, 21/10/07

Fourteen rounds down and only one left to go, it just seems like five minutes since we gathered at Wearside for the Texas Scramble game in March. It has been a long and mostly enjoyable haul and I hope you have gained at least some pleasure from your endeavors. Bedlington was in very good condition for the time of year, the only downside was the occasional drizzle showers that made the speed of the greens a little difficult to judge but at least it stayed consistent all day. Even though Bedlington is a long course the wide fairways and relatively short rough make it a forgiving course, allowing even wayward shots to stay in play.

We are now coming towards the end of the Championship and on the day Mick Lumsdon took a massive stride towards the title by winning the round with an excellent score of 39 points. In second one point behind was Derek Griffiths, third place was taken by our 2006 Champion Ian Heptinstall with 37 points (after a back nine countback). One item I must note was Jim Rooks keeping up his run of breaking records, on the 497 yard par 5, 7th hole he scored a gross 3 / nett 1 which gave him 6 points, the first time this has happened since setting up the society, well done to him. The Longest Drive category on the day was won by Paul Baker, his second round win and keeping him in the hunt, there was no Nearest the Pin winner at Bedlington. As I have said previously Mick has extended his lead in the overall Championship, he now has 361 points, a further nine points behind are Tim and myself both on 352. Tim still leads the Longest Drive category with 3 round wins and John Ford has one hand on the Nearest the Pin category with two wins.

WW07/13 - Mount Oswald 2, 21/09/07

For the first time in the societies history we almost had to cancel a round of the championship due to bad weather but thanks to the quick thinking of Tim Aberdeen all was not lost and we managed to get a game in after all. The conditions at Durham City when I turned up were atrocious, it had rained solidly for almost two hours and the greens were flooded but at that point the course was still open for the hardy few who braved the elements. Soon after we had all arrived the course was closed and we were looking at the possibility of canceling the round or re-arranging for the following Friday. Then with the weather showing signs of improving Tim suggested contacting Mount Oswald to see if they could fit our party in. This turned out to be an excellent decision as within half an hour of arriving at Mount Oswald the sun was out and we ended up with a glorious warm and sunny afternoon.

As for the golf, we went from a potential major disappointment to a total triumph and along the way ended up with the highest scoring round in our societies history, this is indicated by the fact that the lowest score (by a Championship registered player) was 35 POINTS! Our winner on the day was Jim Rooks with another new Society record score, an amazing 50 points, shooting a nett 56 in the process, this was closely followed by another two players with scores that would have won easily on any other day. In second was John Ford, equaling the previous record score on 47 points, this was an excellent score considering his handicap was 17 (6 over par gross 76 / nett 59). Third place went to Davey Sanders with 45 points, Davey also took his first round win in the Nearest the Pin category with 9.10m. The Longest Drive category was won by Kevin Hall, this was his second round win bringing him level with Dennis Williams in second place in the competition behind Tim Aberdeen. The Nearest the Pin competition is still lead by John Ford with Paul Marshall in second.

Now for the main Championship things are really beginning to heat up as the leaders are now separated by only one point. Mick Lumsdon has 353 points, Tim Aberdeen is in second with 352 points, and In third place waiting to pick up the pieces if those above stumble is myself (Ian Gunn) on 347 points. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the guest players who turned out to brave the elements, I hope you all enjoyed the day and you are more than welcome to return again if you wish. It was particularly nice to see a past society member Andrew Teasdale again, lets hope he can get out more often next year.

POSTSCRIPT- Due to an error I have only just today been alerted to there has been a change at the top of the Championship. Mick Lumsdon actually scored 39 points at Mount Oswald 2 last week. This means Mick leads the championship outright by one point on 353 (and also means he looses another stroke off his handicap for Bedlington). Tim is second on 352 and I am third on 347. This only came to light after checking both the "Scorers" and "Markers" cards, both cards had been signed as correct but with different stroke scores and hence different points totals.

WW07/12 - Tyneside, 09/09/07

Tyneside Golf course was just as I remembered (not bad considering it was about twelve years since I last played it), an old fashioned traditional mature course. The course has many different styles of hole from short but difficult par three's to very long and intimidating blind par four's. The greens were lightning fast but true and generally the course was in good condition with just the odd bare patch on the fairways underlining the fact we have not had any significant rain for almost a month. There were some excellent scores carded (including two 40+ points tallies), the winner on the day was Anth Hall with 41 points, congratulations to him on his first round win this year. In second was Mick Lumsdon just behind Anth with 40 points and in third after a countback was Mick Pinfold with 38 points. The Longest Drive category was won by John Ford and the Nearest the Pin was won by Mick Pinfold with 8.79m. Mick's mark only just beat mine (8.81m) but in all honesty I would not have deserved to win today. I could have a contender for Shot of the Year though. My pitching wedge shot was a little long (to say the least) and was heading for the tennis court of the house behind, the ball bounced once at the back of the green, hit a tree full on about 12ft up, bounced back and ran down onto the green towards the hole to cry's of "you jammy bas--rd" from Tim & Steve (and me crying with laughter).

There has been a change at the top of the Championship leader board, Mick's win has meant he has leapfrogged over Tim giving him a four point lead with three rounds to go. As consolation, Tim still leads the Longest Drive competition with three round wins (his nearest challenger Dennis Williams has two wins but did not play Tyneside). John Ford still leads the Nearest the pin category from Paul Marshall, both have two round wins but John leads by virtue of the closest measure.

WW07 Borders Championship Week, 27-31/08/07

This years Borders Championship was set in the Dumfries and Galloway region towards the west coast of Scotland and was based in Newton Stewart. Seven members of the society contested this years Championship and after eight rounds at some of the most spectacular golf courses in the UK the eventual winner and 2007 Borders Champion was Derek Griffiths. As last year we were given a warm welcome by Jacqui at The Stables Guest House and her breakfasts were as spectacular as I remembered. The Bruce Hotel provided us with the majority of our evening meals and the quality and choice was as good as last year. The other establishment we sampled was the Unicorn Chinese restaurant, managed by fellow golfer Kenny Ho, he turned out to be quite a character and kept us amused all night in his own inimitable style.

This year we added a Links course to our itinerary, I chose Wigtownshire Golf Course for our first round, this was a typical links course, very fast and windswept and a totally different challenge to our usual courses. On Tuesday we had two rounds at Newton Stewart Golf Club, a parkland course with some beautiful views and many very interesting holes. The highlight of the week for me was on the Wednesday at Moffat Golf Club, a heathland course that has to be one of the most spectacular courses in Scotland, I have taken some photos and posted them on the gallery page of this website but in all honesty it does not do it justice. We also had a VERY close view of the underside of an RAF Hercules transport plane as it flew over the course at no more than 200ft (the pilot even gave us a wing wave as he flew away).

Thursday took us to Kirkudbright Golf Club, another parkland course with stunning views and interesting holes. Finally on Friday we played Dumfries and Galloway Golf Club, this was a top quality course , the greens were the best we played all week and the course was in excellent condition and topped off the week in style. All in all this proved to be our best week yet, the weather was good, the food was excellent and the golf was fantastic, lets hope for the same next year.

WW07/11 - Mount Oswald 1, 18/08/07

What a pity Mount Oswald golf course is living on borrowed time, the course and hospitality puts many of its more illustrious (and MUCH more expensive) counterparts to shame, including Wearside!. Our last two courses have shown the difference between a championship standard course in poor condition and a municipal style course that is well looked after and cared for, I know were I would rather play. The scoring on the day was spectacular, this was best indicated by no less than nine of the fourteen players returning a nett par or below (par being 70 at Mt. Oswald). The winner on the day was John Ford with a new Society record score of 47, this beats Rico's 45 at Catterick last year (and Eddie Harrison's 46 at Mount Oswald last year though he was playing as a guest and not Championship registered). John carded a gross score of 80 giving him a superb nett score of 59. In second place on the day and regaining his Championship lead was Tim Aberdeen with a very respectable 43 points, third spot was taken by Joe Marshall a further one point behind. Joe Marshall also took his first round win in the Nearest the Pin category with 3.44m, the Longest Drive category was won by Dennis Williams, he now has two round wins and is closing in on the current leader Tim who has 3 wins. As I have said Tim Aberdeen has regained his Championship lead in style, with 335 points he now leads Mick Lumsdon in second by 5 points. Four points cover the race for the final podium position, I have 320 points, John Ford has 319 and Paul Marshall has 317 points.

WW07/10 - Wynyard Park, 05/08/07

Wynyard Park was in the best condition we have ever seen but it still fell way short of the standard you would expect if you had payed the visitors rate of £50+ instead of the £20 we payed. The bunkers had a dusting of sand on top of hard clay and some were still waterlogged over a week since the last heavy rain, the greens were bald in places and some fairways were poor, given this the scoring on the day was very good. Due to holiday, injuries (Anth Hall managed to break a bone in his foot jumping off his wheely bin, don't ask what he was doing though!) and other commitments we had our lowest turnout of the season so far but the eleven players who did turn out were rewarded with the best golfing weather of the season so far.

The winner on the day was Joe Marshall taking his second round win of the season with another 40 points score, second was the dark horse Mick Lumsdon with 38 points, there was a four way tie for third place, Paul Marshall taking it on a back nine countback. The Nearest the Pin category was won by Paul Marshall taking him to two wins, equaling John Ford but John still leads by having the closest distance from the pin. The Longest Drive went to defending champion Paul Baker, Tim still leads this category. Speaking of Tim he has lost his overall Championship lead to Mick Lumsdon who now leads by one point with myself a further ten points behind. The next round is at an old favourite for many of us, Mount Oswald Golf Club in Durham. It was here I played my first full round of golf a very long time ago scoring 126 if I remember rightly. This may be our last time here as there is a rumor that the site has been sold to a property developer for housing (UPDATE- Mount Oswald finally closed for good in December 2013).

WW07/9 - Matfen Hall, 22/07/07

The defending "Bandit of the Year" returns, after a frankly embarrassing score at Stocksfield I finally managed to string a decent round together, scoring 43 points in the process. I must admit this was mainly thanks to our generous handicapping system. Matfen was in very good condition considering the amount of rain we have had over the past few weeks. There were some wet patches on the fairways but the greens were excellent and the rough was pure evil. To prove how much rain we have had recently I have never seen the river Pont so high or running so fast before. As I have said the winner on the day was myself, defending Society Champion Ian Heptinstall finished second with 39 points and Rico finished third with 33 points (an excellent score considering his 13 handicap). We now have a confirmed leader in the Nearest the Pin category, John Ford with two round wins takes the lead. Dennis won the Longest Drive on the day but Tim Aberdeen still leads this category. In the main Championship Tim's lead over Mick Lumsdon has been reduced to 11 points with myself in third a further 7 points behind.

WW07/8 - Stocksfield, 08/07/07

After waiting almost half a season for one, just like busses three come along straight after, I am talking about 40+ points scores of course. For the first time in the Societies history we had a three way tie for the winner, Paul Marshall, Dennis Williams and Derek Griffiths all scored 41 points, well done to all of them. Paul came out on top after a countback on the back 6 holes with Dennis second and Derek third. The Longest Drive winner (but only by a gnats todger, sorry John) was Rico, there was no winner of Nearest the Pin category. The weather at Stocksfield was a vast improvement on last weekends South Moor monsoon, the sun was very pleasant and the course was generally in very good condition if a little waterlogged in places. Sadly once again Joe Hammal could not participate as buggies were not allowed on the course due to the conditions, one day Joe, one day! In the main Championship at just over the halfway point Tim has extended his lead slightly to 15 points, in second now we have Derek Griffiths overtaking Mick Lumsdon who slips one spot to third. Tim still leads the Longest Drive category and Tony Arkley leads the Nearest the Pin championship.

WW07/7 - South Moor, 30/06/07

The weather at South Moor left a lot to be desired even though it was a vast improvement on last weekend when the match was originally scheduled to be played. With a bit of luck that will be our "wet weekend" for this year. Even considering the amount of rain we have had over the past few days, South Moor was once again in excellent condition, god knows how quick the greens would have been if it had been dry.

Before I get on to the results I must inform you all that we, the committee have had to penalize three of or members for a breach of the R&A Rules of Golf (Definition:- "stipulated round" and rule 3-4) . Tim Aberdeen, Jim Rooks and Davey Sanders misread the course layout and played the 7th hole twice instead of playing the 18th, There were mitigating circumstances in that none of them had played the course before but there is a course map on the back of the scorecard and the website has a course guide that many of the others had printed off in preparation for the weekend. If this had happened in an official club competition it would have led to their disqualification from the competition. After a discussion between the available members of the committee we decided that this was not in the spirit of our friendly society, so as a compromise we have decided only to dock the 18th hole scores of the three players in question. Back to the scores, we finally have a score over 40 points, past champion and present Vice Chairman Joe Marshall has returned to form in spectacular style scoring an excellent 43 points, in second was Mick Lumsdon with 36 points and third was Derek Griffiths a further 2 points behind. The longest drive (on the correct 18th fairway!) went to Kevin Hall and Nearest the Pin went to Paul Marshall with 4.28m. The Championship standings have changed slightly, Tim still leads on 230 points but with a slightly reduced margin from Mick Lumsdon in second on 216, Derek Griffiths has moved into third position with 210 points. The longest Drive competition is still led by Tim and Tony Arkley still heads the Nearest the Pin category.

WW07/6 - Catterick, 09/06/07

Once again Catterick Golf Club proved to be in excellent condition and the staff made us very welcome, even the weather improved after a not to encouraging start. The comments from everyone after the game were mostly positive the main gripe was the thickness of the rough and its "ball swallowing" ability, the easy answer to this problem is to stay on the fairway! The greens were in excellent condition once you reached them.

As last year Catterick has provided an early contender for "Round of the Year" with Paul Baker carding an excellent three under par nett 68, winning the round with 39 points. In second was myself on 34 points, Tim Aberdeen finished third also with 34 points but losing out on a back nine countback. Tim had the consolation of taking another Longest Drive category win (much to Rico's consternation, sorry Rico 3 off the tee doesn't count), he now leads this competition with 3 round wins, his nearest rivals only have one win each. Tony Arkley took the Nearest the Pin category with 1.6m, we now have six different winners from six rounds. In the last update I implied there may be a play off at Wearside if this carries on but after consulting our constitution (section 4, Nearest the Pin competition) the following will apply:- "In the event of a tie the overall winner will be the tying player who got nearest to the hole over all rounds". This effectively means Tony Arkley is in the lead of the championship category at the present time with one round win and 1.60m, with John Ford in second (one round win and 1.68m) I hope this makes sense. Right now that is sorted back to the Main Championship standings. Catterick hasn't made a massive difference to the overall leaders other than the fact that Tim has extended his lead by another 3 points on 198. Mick Lumsdon is still second on 180 with John Ford in third another two points behind.

WW07/5 - Slaley Hall, 27/05/07

Slaley Hall's Hunting course has for many years been regarded as the best course in the North East of England and on yesterdays showing, rightly so in my opinion. Once again the conditions could have been better with the odd squally shower spoiling what was otherwise a reasonably pleasant day (it was quite warm when the sun came out). I dare say we will not play a higher standard of course for many years to come, especially not at £22 per person!

The scores reflected the standard of the course and were very tight with ties for first and third places only resolved by a "countback" on the back nine holes in both cases. The winner on the day was Tim Aberdeen with 33 points, second, also with 33 was Mick Lumsdon, third place went to John Ford who along with Jim Rooks scored 31. The Longest Drive winner was Derek Griffiths, but after consultation we have decided to disqualify him due to his deviant Magpie fixation (Only joking Derek ------------------ about the disqualification NOT your deviant tendencies!) please see the pornographic picture below as proof of his wicked ways. The Nearest the Pin category was won by Kevin Hall with 3.4m, so far after five rounds we have five different winners, the way things are going there could yet be a tie-breaker at Wearside. In the overall Championship Tim with 164 points has extended his lead to 15 points from Mick Lumsdon in second place on 149, John Ford was moved into third place a further point behind. Our next outing is to an old friend to the more senior members of the society as this is our third visit to Catterick Golf Club. Last year this was the scene of Rico's finest hour , carding a nett 62 and scoring 45 points as well, lets hope for similar heroics from one of our members this year.

WW07/4 - Castle Eden, 18/05/07

Castle Eden was in fantastic condition, the fairways were in better condition than some green we have played on and the layout proved to be tough but fair. The rough on either side of the fairway was quite long and it was easy to loose a ball, this was because the club was hosting the County Championships the following day. The only problem on the day was the weather, the strong and gusty wind caused problems though some coped better than others, hence the widely varying scores. The winner on the day was Paul Marshall with an excellent "Taylor Made" inspired 38 points, closely followed by Derek Griffiths with 36 points, third place went to Ian Heptinstall after a countback tie with Mick Lumsdon both with 34 points. The honours in the Longest drive contest went to Anth Hall and the Nearest the Pin round went to John Ford with an impressive 1.68m. The race for the overall championship has taken a new twist, still in the lead is Tim Aberdeen on 131 points but now in second place, ten points behind is Paul Marshall, with Derek Griffiths following on 119.

WW07/3 - Whitley Bay, 07/05/07

Whitley Bay proved to be our toughest test yet, the weather conditions certainly contributed to produce some widely varying scores. On the whole the course was in excellent condition with some very interesting if testing holes (including the second longest par five I have ever played). Many of us were of the opinion that local knowledge was essential to return a decent score though some of our members proved to be the exception to the rule. The competition for the overall winner on the day was very close, Tim "Boom-Boom" Aberdeen came out on top with an impressive 38 points, closely following in second place was Mick Lumsdon with 37 points, in third was Anth Hall with 36 points. The Longest Drive competition was won by Tim Aberdeen, this was his second round giving him the lead in this category. This round of the Nearest the Pin competition was won by Paul Baker with a distance of 3.83m. Whitley Bay's results have had a major effect on the main Championship standings, after three rounds the Championship table is headed by Tim Aberdeen with myself in second and John Ford in third.

WW07/2 - Bellingham, 21/04/07

I hope everyone has got their breath back by now, yesterday provided us all with some good aerobic exercise if nothing else (no the wonder they have so many buggies at Bellingham). The course proved to be an excellent golfing challenge, no two holes were alike and was in very good condition for the time of year, the general consensus appears to be that we should return again next year if possible. On the whole we had perfect weather, warm not hot, no rain and very little wind, I would imagine the golf course would be a totally different animal in less benign conditions.

The winner on the day with an excellent return of 36 points was Tony Arkley who almost didn't make it as he had transport problems and had to borrow his daughters car. Tony's good day was augmented with a Longest Drive round win, the Nearest the Pin category went to Derek Griffiths (beating me by just under a meter), congratulations go to both of them. As for the main Championship standings, after two rounds there is a two way tie for third place between Tony Arkley and Rico Liverani on 59 points, in second place is Tim Aberdeen on 60 points and in first place is myself on 60 points. It's very early days yet and a lot can and will happen between now and the seasons end in October.

WW07/1 - Seaham, 06/04/07

What a fantastic game! (but enough about the Sunderland V Saints match) Friday's Championship opener at Seaham produced some very interesting scores. The general consensus was that the course was not in the best of condition though we are very early in the year, certainly playing off the mats caused a few problems but at least the conditions were the same for everyone. One thing that must be said is even with the condition of the course, at £22 with the food included it was still excellent value for money (once again the Whale & Chips was outstanding). The winner on the day was a newcomer to our society, Mick Pinfold with an excellent 38 points, I repeated my opening round position from last season with second place (35points) and third place went to Steve Sykes (33points). It was great to see Steve's dad Brian back out with the lads after spending last season recovering from his "hip op" (and no, that isn't a new dance) and it was good to see Joe Hammal out on the course after his recent operation. Brian also managed a round win in the Nearest the Pin Championship with a very creditable 4 putter lengths (3.5m). The Longest drive category went to another newcomer Tim Aberdeen, if the category went to the longest drive vertically I would have won as I must have launched it 150yds up and 20 yards forward. Three players carded Nett Holes in One, Derek Griffiths, Rico Liverani & Brian Sykes.

WW07 Pre-season Texas Scramble - Wearside, 11/03/07

At long last the season is underway and what a way to start it. I am sure today is the only time I will ever go round Wearside in one over par, the Texas Scramble format seemed very popular with everyone who played and we all had a great time. It was all the better considering it was a freebie, once again thanks to DESCO for their generous gesture. It was nice to be able to put a face to some of our newcomers, I hope you all enjoyed the day and are looking forward to the season ahead. Congratulations go to the winning team on the day consisting of Kevin Hall, Tim Aberdeen & Dennis Williams with a nett score of 65.4 (72-6.6 H/Cap), well done and keep up the good work. There was a suggestion put forward that we have a nine hole scramble BEFORE the main championship round at Castle Eden, I have checked the paperwork and as I suspected the club do not allow visiting parties to play this format so sadly that idea is out.