W.W.G.S.

 

2024 Season Report

For the 2024 season the Wanderers had 25 full members, some played more games than others with one member being unable to play all season due to an injury (Craig) though we did average around 15 members playing per round. We usually gain a few and lose a few over the closed season but this year we kept last season's membership, even adding one new member (Ian Lawson, who had played a few times as a guest). All members both old and new appear to have enjoyed the season's events. As usual it wouldn't have been a Wanderers season if the weather hadn't played a part somewhere through the year but thankfully we had nothing like the disruption we saw in 2023 as only one match had to be rearranged due to a waterlogged course (Teesside).

Courses -

After twenty four seasons as a Society it is becoming increasingly difficult to find new venues in the local area to visit, that said we still managed to add one new course to our list (Thirsk & Northallerton, part of our Weekend Away Borders trip, see below).

Handicaps and scoring -

Our handicap system we based on the WHS system that we adopted a few seasons ago was tweaked over the winter and appears to be working OK though there are still some things that require some attention for the 2025 season.

Competition results

Two's Pot competition -

This year all we could muster was a paltry 13 two's between the 25 of us! A case of must try harder next year. All those who did card a two won a share of the pot which this year was £8.00 each two carded and the winner of the Twos Pot for 2024 was Andy Dodd who had 3 two's this year.

Longest Drive & Nearest the Pin categories -

This season the Longest Drive category was won by Andy Trewick with three round wins. Dave Watts and Gary West were the runners up with two wins each. The Nearest the Pin competition was won this season by Dave Sanders who won three rounds, his nearest challenger was Rico Liverani with two wins.

Birdie Bowl competition -

For 2024 we decided to alter the format of the Birdie Bowl. Instead of only counting nett birdies we used Stableford gross birdies, meaning more players had a chance to win this category. Out of a total of 682 nett birdies the winner and recipient of the Birdie Bowl for 2024 was Rico Liverani with a total of 65 gross birdies.

Three Rivers Challenge -

A couple of years ago, during the COVID 19 pandemic in order to produce a winner for the Borders Championship we resurrected a competition format that had been used a few years ago, the Three Rivers Challenge. The winner of this category was the player with the highest combined Stableford points total for the “River” rounds i.e. Wearside, Tyneside and Teesside. With a combined score of 105 points the winner and Three Rivers champion for 2024 was Steve Grant.

Borders Championship -

For the first of this season's Society Majors, the Borders Championship, this year we decided to head south to sample the beautiful North Yorkshire countryside, basing our visit in Northallerton, a town I know well having been based there for work for many years. The courses we played were Thirsk & Northallerton plus we revisited Romanby, a course we first played a good few years ago. Both were in excellent condition and were a very tough test of anyone's game. The first match on the Saturday was at Thirsk & Northallerton and was won by Dave Sanders with 33 points. The Sunday match was won by John Ford with 34 points. The overall winner and Borders Champion for 2024 was John Ford with a total of 64 points.

Tim Aberdeen Shield -

In another attempt to ensure all matches would be played promptly once again we changed the format for our second Major, the Tim Aberdeen Shield. This time for the initial knockout round the top 16 players from last season's Championship were entered into the first round ties. On completion of the first round the competition continued on a knockout basis till there were only two left. After a hard fought battle at Dunstanbrough Castle between our two finalists Steve Grant & Rico Liverani Steve came out the winner and new Tim Aberdeen Memorial Shield Champion.

Main Championship -

In recent years there have been as many as seven players going into Finals day with a chance of lifting the Claret Jug but this season it was a clear two horse race. One player went into the match with a thirteen point lead and only one realistic opponent. As with the Aberdeen Shield final it was a battle between Rico and Steve, with Rico holding the upper hand going into the final round. After a hard fought match Steve managed to overturn the thirteen point deficit and by the end of the round he eventually won by just two points giving him a total of 352 points giving him the Claret Jug to join his Aberdeen Shield and Three Rivers Challenge wins earlier in the year. Runner up Rico finished just behind with 350 points. In third place (after a “rounds won” countback) was Alan Welsh on 331 points with Andy Dodd in fourth.

OK folk's that's it for yet another year, on behalf of the whole Society I would like to congratulate our new double Champion Steve and all our other category winners. I would also take this opportunity to thank the two Paul's (Marshall & Baker) of DESCO Ltd for their support and sponsorship of our match at Wearside this year, without their intervention there would not have been a round at Wearside this year.

WW 2024/16 - Houghton, 19/10/24

Well In the week before Finals Day all eyes were on the sky's hoping the forecast rain would stay away and allow us to end the season out on the course and not in the clubhouse. Thankfully the weather played ball and we even finished with some lovely autumn sunshine, though there was a chilly breeze to go with it.

Given the late time of year the course was in very good condition with some holes shortened but only one temporary green in use. We did however have to tee off from mats on all holes but that didn't cause too much of an issue.

As is traditional we started in reverse Championship order though two of our party (Gordon and Bryan) had to retire after four holes due to recurringback injuries.

Once the matches were completed we gathered in the clubhouse for the usual Finals Day formalities and post match meal, it became obvious there had been a great battle for the Championship. This resulted in quite a change at the top of the standings but more about that in the season report HERE.

Right, now for the scores on the day, following card scrutiny here are the top three -

In third place with 39pts came Andy Dodd.

In 2nd place with 40pts came Ian Lawson.

And the winner with 42pts (47 with win bonus) was Steve Grant.

For further details please click HERE to see the the full match results or HERE to see the Final league table.

Tim Aberdeen Shield

The final of the Aberdeen shield took place at Houghton the week before Finals day between Rico and Steve with Steve coming out on top giving him his first Major since winning the Presidents cup in 2013. Please click HERE for full details .

Final

Match	Player	H/C	Result	vs	Result	H/C	Player
Final	Steve Grant	22	4&3	V		16	Rico Liverani

 

WW 2024/15 - Newbiggin, Report missing

WW 2024/14 - Gosforth, 22/09/24

As the season rapidly draws to an end we gathered at Gosforth golf club for the second last round of the 2024 Championship, a season that has so far gone a lot smoother than 2023 thankfully. The day of our visit dawned overcast and chilly but thankfully dryer than most of the rest of the country were suffering from. A good turn out of 16 players out met in the clubhouse where the discussion was mostly about Sunderland's victory over the Smoggies and Fulham's win against the Mags the previous day, as a friend often says to me "A bad day for North East football", depending on the colours you support of course!

On the whole the course was in decent condition but the greens were especially poor having recently been scarified. Some of the tee boxes were poor as well, this may have been down to the recent weather and the fact we are coming to the end of the season. Overall I was a bit disappointed I expected better given that at £35.00 this was one of the more expensive rounds we have played this season.

Right, now for the scores, following card scrutiny here are the top three -

In third place with 36pts came Andy Dodd.

In 2nd place also with 36pts but a better back nine holes score came Gordon Grant.

And the winner with 40pts (45 with win bonus) was Rico Liverani.

 

WW 2024/13 - Beamish, 06/09/24

Well we have had a good run of decent weather over the past few rounds, but as they say "all good things must come to an end" and so it did at Beamish. There was a warning for poor weather on Sunday morning but instead of the forecast overnight rain we woke up to dense fog. after trying for over an hour I eventually managed to get through to the course Pro and thankfully he confirmed the course was fully open and playable so the match could go ahead.

When we gathered at the club the fog was still there but not too bad but just as we were about to start play the rain came meaning it was going to be a wet round and we were going to need the waterproofs for the first time this season. The upside of the rain was it helped to disperse the fog, the downside was the wet grass meant very little run on the fairway but at least the round went ahead without too many problems.

On the whole the course was in very good condition though some of the greens were a bit patchy in places but maybe we have been spoiled recently as the greens at Teesside, Stocksfield and Wearside have been excellent.

Right, now for the scores, following card scrutiny here are the top three -

In third place with 35pts came Rico Liverani.

In second place with 37pts came Jim Rooks.

And the winner with 41pts (46 with win bonus) was Andy Trewick.

 

WW 2024/12 - Wearside, 26/08/24

As our spiritual home Wearside has been a regular on the Wanderers calendar since the Society began but when we tried to book this seasons visit as the saying goes "there was no room at the Inn". Thankfully the two Paul's (Marshall & Baker) managed to work their magic and persuade the club to let us play on the August Bank Holiday. Not only that they (via DESCO Ltd) generously agreed to sponsor the round meaning free golf for all our party! This meant our visit record remained intact plus we had secured the correct location for the third and final round of the Three Rivers Challenge, more on that later.

August Bank Holiday has in the past been known to provide us with poor weather but thankfully this year all was well, being fine, calm, dry and mostly mild until the end of the round when a chilly breeze came up. The course was in excellent condition, especially the greens. There has been a lot of work gone on over the past couple of years and their efforts appear to be paying dividend.

We had a couple of birthday celebrations in the club house after the game, firstly Mark "Mr Klipper" Wilson who's birthday was Monday and "Big Al" Welsh who's birthday was later in the week so congratulations to them both, hope the hangover wasn't too bad.

Right, now for the scores, following card scrutiny here are the top four -

In fourth place with 32pts came Dave Sanders.

In third place also with 32pts but a better back nine score came John Ford.

In 2nd place with 34pts came Eddie Harrison.

And the winner with 39pts (44 with win bonus) was Steve Grant, he originally carded 38 but after checking it was confirmed as 39.

Three Rivers Challenge

Wearside was the third and final round of the Three Rivers Challenge, comprising of matches played at the Tyneside, Teesside and Wearside courses. Here are the final top 3 -

In third place was Bernie Fitzsimmon with a total score of 79pts

In second place was Rico Liverani with a total score of 97pts

The winner and Three Rivers Champion for 2024 with a total score of 105 points was Steve Grant.

 

WW 2024/11 - Stocksfield, 11/08/24

As you may remember Stocksfield was one of the rounds that were badly affected by the inconsistent weather last year. Most of us only managed to play nine holes before the weather took a turn for the worse with thunder & lightning and a torrential downpour. After a bit of negotiation the club kindly offered to provide those who played a free return visit. Unfortunately there was not enough time left in the season to play again in 2023 so we returned this year. Thankfully the weather for this years visit was perfect, with warm, dry and calm conditions so things turned out well after all.

On the whole the course was in excellent condition, the fairways were beautiful (if you managed to find them that was!) and most of the greens were beautiful. There were a few greens on the back nine that were a bit ropey and look like they may have been tined recently but they were still playable. The 11th green did however hold a strange attraction for Alan's trolley as when we were playing the 9th hole it made a break for freedom and ended up parked squarely in the centre of the green! Thankfully no damage was done (to the green or his trolley). Mark in his infinite wisdom was calling to me to "catch up with & stop it". There was no chance of that, anyone who knows me knows I couldn't catch cold.

Now for the scores, following card scrutiny here are the top three -

In third place with 33pts came Dave Sanders.

In 2nd place with 34pts came Ian Lawson.

And the winner with 35pts (40 with win bonus) was Alan Welsh, his second round win in a row, will he get the hat trick at Wearside?

 

WW 2024/10 - Teesside, 03/08/24

We were due to play Teesside three weeks ago on the day of the European Championships final but the weather gods decided we needed to watch the footy instead of loosing golf balls. On that day the course was waterlogged and closed, as it turned out that did us a favour as the weather for our rearranged visit was excellent, warm & dry all day with only a bit of a breeze cooling things down a little towards the end of the game.

As we have become used to at Teesside the course was in beautiful condition with carpet like greens, even the rough wasn't too bad as long as you didn't stray too far from the fairways.

The only disappointment was the low turn out but it's understandable as we had to rearrange the match at short notice and we are in the middle of the holiday season. At least the ten of us who did play certainly seemed to enjoy the visit.

Now for the scores, following card scrutiny here are the top three -

In third place with 35pts came Dave Sanders.

In 2nd place with 40pts was Rico Liverani.

And the winner with 41pts (46 with win bonus) was Alan Welsh

 

WW 2024/9 - Ryton, 28/7/24

I thought we had played Ryton as a Society previously but after checking my records I can confirm this is our first Society visit to Ryton. That makes it the 103rd different course we have played since the Society was formed back in 2002. Ryton is a pleasant parkland course on the banks of the River Tyne that rewards accuracy and given it's low WHS raiting I was expecting some high scores. As it turned out the best the sixteen of us could manage was a lowly 32 points. Quite surprising really especially considering the perfect weather and a course in very good condition. Ryton has a few holes which criss cross each other and I was expecting a lot of shouts of "Fore" from our party but we must have been on good form as the only shouts I heard were from players on Tyneside Golf Course above us on the other side of the railway line.

Now for the scores, following card scrutiny here are the top five -

Three players tied for 3rd place with 28pts (Dave Sanders, Andy Trewick & Mark Wilson) third place on countback went to Mark.

In 2nd place on countback, with 32pts (37 with the tie bonus) was Paul Baker.

And the winner with, also with 32pts (37 with win bonus) was Dave "Bubba" Watts..

 

WW 2024/8 - Morpeth, 30/6/24

As you may remember we were due to play the first round of last season at Morpeth but due to the course being waterlogged and virtually unplayable it was postponed. We had planned to play later in the season but we couldn't agree a suitable date so carried the visit over to this season. As it turned out this was a good choice as we got to play when the course was in excellent condition and at last years rates so it was a win, win situation.

At 14 players our numbers were slightly down on what we usually get, possibly due to some football match going on in Germany that evening but those who did turn out appeared to enjoy the course as I've heard no negative comments as yet. They recon golf can be a dangerous game (just ask Steve Grant, he will tell you!) but normally the risks are confined to the course. You think you are safe standing beside your buggy in the car park when a ball goes whizzing past you towards the group on the first tee. Dave Coates was warming up in the nets and miss hit a shot that ricocheted of the framework causing the group on the tee to scatter. He never did find his ball, though it was reported as last seen bounding down the A1 towards Newcastle!

Once out on the course the excitement was confined to the job in hand and there were a couple of comments made. Firstly our regular guest player Mickey Bell managed to card an Albatross 2 on the worst hole on the course to do so, the blind 13th hole so he never had the chance to celebrate the shot. The second shot of note was on the following hole, the scenic par 3 14th hole where John put his ball to within a yard of the hole. On another day we may have been getting a free drink out of him!

The final thing of note was none of the Society Members managed to stay on the green for the Nearest the Pin hole, only our guest player Mickey Bell managed it so he takes an honoury NP win for this round.

Now for the scores, as has happened a couple of times recently I thought there had been an error made when marking the cards but this time it was resolved quickly.

Therefore the top three were confirmed as -

Three players tied for 3rd place with 30pts but the winner on countback was Steve Grant.

In 2nd place with 32pts was Mark WIlson.

And the winner with a total of 33pts (38 with win/tie bonus) taking his second round win in three games was John Ford.

 

WW 2024/7 - Tyneside, 16/6/24

Tyneside is a regular on the Wanderers calendar a proper, old fashioned and mature parkland course claims to be the oldest inland course in the North East of England. As has become the norm over the past couple of seasons all eyes were on the weather leading up to the match with heavy rain and a high possibility for thunderstorms forecast for Saturday and Sunday. As it was we managed to get just over half way round the course before the first of a few heavy showers started but thankfully no thunder or lightning meaning we were able to complete the round without any interruptions.

My group consisted of Mark & myself in a buggy with Bernie and "Bubba" walking. Our match didn't go without incident as Dave carded an excellent Eagle 3 on the 493 yard Par 5 10th hole which led to him doing his customary "victory dance" round the green! The other incident of mention also involved Dave. On the par 3 12th hole he hit his tee shot off to the left, thinking he had lost his ball he played a provisional that also went left but not as far. Someone threw Dave's original ball back onto the green just as his provisional headed over and we thought it was his provisional that had hit a tree and bounced onto the green. On reaching the green Dave putted out only to find it was his original ball not knowing the ball had been thrown back onto the green. As Dave had played out with his original ball two was the correct score.

Now for the scores, as at Thirsk two weeks ago there was an error made when marking the cards this time it wasn't me at fault. In the clubhouse Dave Watts was declared the provisional winner after the game but following card checking there was actually a tie for the winner.

Therefore the top three were confirmed as -

In 3rd place with 33pts was Andy Dodd.

In 2nd place on countback with 38pts (43 with win/tie bonus) was Dave Watts.

And the winner with also with a total of 38pts (43 with win/tie bonus) but a better back nine hole score was Eddie Harrison.

 

2024 Borders Championship (Weekend Away).

For 2024 we decided to venture south but only 50 miles or so to take a trip to North Yorkshire for the first time since 2015. For this year's Weekend Away trip Mark arranged a visit to North Yorkshire playing Thirsk and Romanby golf clubs and stopping in Northallerton.

In the week leading up to the trip the weather had been poor to say the least. With just four days to go both courses were closed and our trip was in serious doubt, we were even looking into alternative courses just in case. As it turned out the weather played ball on both Saturday and Sunday so both events went ahead as planned.

Round 1 - Thirsk & Northallerton Golf Club

Following the gathering in the clubhouse and the playing order draw we went out on to the course to play the first round of the 2024 Borders Championship. This was our first Society visit here and starting with a long, tough par 4 it quickly became obvious that Thirsk was not going to be an easy course. Given the amount of rain we have had in recent weeks the course condition was excellent, with well manicured fairways, if you managed to find them, if you didn't the rough was brutal in places. The greens were excellent, running true if slightly slow possibly due to the recent heavy and prolonged rain.

Borders Championship round 1, Thirsk & Northallerton, Top 3 -

1) Dave Sanders (on countback) with 33 points.

2) Gary West (on countback) with 33 points.

3) Steve Grant with 32 points.

After a short drive from Thirsk to Northallerton we checked in to our base for the trip, the Northallerton Inn on the High Street in the town. While the rest of my group sat outside in the glorious sunshine enjoying a beer or two I was inside checking the scores and preparing the cards for the next days match during which time the rest of the group arrived then went out on the town for a few bevies

The Senior members of our party (Rico, Derek, John & myself) decided to have a quiet evening by eating in the hotel restaurant. I have to say the food was excellent especially the fish & chips I had. Things didn't quite go to plan regarding the quiet night however as after a few beers and two bottles of a very nice Malbec the conversation turned to Dereks love life. Rico allowed Derek to sign him up to a dating website with hilarious results. Even the guy behind the bar was in stitches listening to some of Rico's answers. Thankfully the restaurant wasn't very busy so we didn't disturb too many other customers.

Later in the night some of the lads who went round the town returned and apparently they all had a great time Dave Coates was even propositioned by a pair of swingers, whatever they are?

Sunday morning dawned even better than Saturday with clear blue skies and beautiful warm sunshine, hopefully a good omen for the day ahead Following a hearty breakfast we packed our bags and clubs into our cars then headed to Romanby Golf & Country Club, a couple of miles away.

Round 2 - Romanby Golf Club

On arrival at the course we were joined by two players who weren't at Thirsk the day before, one guest & one member, Mickey Bell & Paul Baker. Then the rest of the group arrived after the party back home the night before. Once assembled we all headedout on the course for the second round of our Weekend Away trip to contest the Borders Championship, our oldest competition.

We have played Romanby before but that was many years ago and I only remembered a few holes but as yesterday the course was in excellent condition, if anything it had been less affected by the rain than Thirsk. There are a few really tough holes on this course including the daunting par 3 11th over a lake and the immense 541yard uphill par 5 16th to name but two.

Following card scrutiny here are Sundays results -

Borders Championship round 2, Romanby, Top 3 -

1) John Ford with 34 points.

2) Rico Liverani with 33 points.

3) Jim Rooks with 32 points

Now for the Borders Championship itself, following score card checks results were confirmed as -

Borders Championship Final Top 3.

In 3rd place with a total of 57 points (26&33) was Les West.

In 2nd place with a total of 60 points (29&31) was Andy Dodd.

The winner and new Borders Champion for 2024, with a total score of 64 points (30&34) was John Ford.

 

WW 2024/6 - Romanby, 2/6/24

Sunday morning dawned even better than Saturday with clear blue skies and beautiful warm sunshine, hopefully a good omen for the day ahead Following a hearty breakfast we packed our bags and clubs into our cars then headed to Romanby Golf & Country Club, a couple of miles away.

We were joined there by two who weren't at Thirsk the day before, one guest & one member, Mickey Bell & Paul Baker. Then the rest of the group arrived after the party back home the night before. Once assembled we all headded out on the course for the second round of our Weekend Away trip to contest the Borders Championship, our oldest competition.

We have played Romanby before but that was many years ago and I only remembered a few holes but as yesterday the course was in excellent condition, if anything it had been less affected by the rain than Thirsk. There are a few really tough holes on this course including the daunting par 3 11th over a lake and the immense 541yard uphill par 5 16th to name but two.

As yesterday I had made an error when calculating the WHS handicap for one of our players, Dave Watts who was down to play off 19 but after checking he should have been off 22. Thankfully for me this did not greatly affect the results as it had done yesterday.

Therefore the top three were confirmed as -

In 3rd place with 32pts was Jim Rooks.

In 2nd place on countback with 33pts was Rico Liverani.

And the round winner with a total of 34pts (39 with win/tie bonus) was John Ford, taking his first round win since 2021 on his first outing this season.

 

WW 2024/5 - Thirsk, 1/6/24

Saturday morning dawned bright and thankfully dry and following a short drive down the A19 we gathered in Thirsk and Northallerton clubhouse ready to consume the customary pre match bacon sandwich and coffee. We also welcomed two of our guests for this weekend, Martin "Boz" Wilson and his son Joe to our band of happy hackers. This is our first visit to this venue and initial impressions of the course were favourable with the view from the clubhouse looking back down the scenic par 3 18th hole.

Following the gathering in the clubhouse and the playing order draw we attacked the course, starting with a long, tough par 4 it quickly became obvious this was not going to be an easy course. Given the amount of rain we have had recently the condition was excellent, with well manicured fairways, if you managed to find them, if you didn't the rough was brutal in places. The greens were excellent, running true if slightly slow possibly due to the recent heavy rain.

On completion of the golf we split up into three groups, some of our party had a meal in the clubhouse, some intended to wait and have an evening meal in Northallerton. The rest had to return to Sunderland for a prior engagement that night.

Following post match card scrutiny I realised that I had made an error with Dave Sanders WHS Handicap alteration. I had put him down as playing off 13 but he should have been off 14 meaning there was a tie for between Gary and Dave for the win on the day. Apologies to Dave & Gary for my mistake.

Therefore the revised top three were confirmed as -

In 3rd place with 32pts was Steve Grant.

In 2nd place on countback with 33pts (38 with win/tie bonus) was Gary West.

And the round winner, also with a total of 33pts (38 with win/tie bonus) was Dave Sanders.

 

WW 2024/4 - Whickham, 19/5/24

As we gathered in the very nice clubhouse digesting the substantial bacon or hot beef sandwiches some of our members were discussing when we last played Whickham. I have checked the archives and this was our fourth visit, the last was 11 years ago way back in 2013, we also played there in 2012 & 13. Listening to the positive comments about the course after the game I think we will be back again sooner rather than later.

As for the course it was in very good condition, with some very tricky doglegged, tree lined fairways, even the par 3's were long and quite tough. Though overcast and quite cool the weather was quite pleasant and the sun even made an appearance towards the end of the round.

We were due to welcome two of my fellow founder members back to the group for the first time this season but unfortunately both John & Paul M. had to drop out. At least the 16 members who did play seemed to all enjoy this pleasant but tough parkland course.

Now for the all important results, following card scrutiny the top three were confirmed as -

In 3rd place with 36pts was Steve Grant.

In 2nd place with 37pts was Rico Liverani.

And the round winner with a total of 39pts (44 with win/tie bonus) was Bryan Mountford.

 

WW 2024/3 - Garesfield, 6/5/24

In the week running up to this match the weather had been very pleasant with sunny, mild days and only the odd shower. True to form the heavens had opened overnight on Friday making this course very damp in places, thankfully it remained playable so our match went ahead with a couple of light showers. Overall the course was in very good condition it was still a little damp in places and as usual at this time of year the rough was difficult to get out of, but at least for the most part there was no need for waterproofs!

Due to various reasons we had a relatively poor turnout of only 13 members for this pleasant but tough parkland course, a location we have visited on numerous occasions over the years.

As for the important part, the results, following card scrutiny the top four were confirmed as -

In 4th place on countback with 31pts was Paul Baker.

In 3rd place also with 31pts was Mark Wilson.

In 2nd place again with 31pts was Eddie Harrison.

And the round winner with a total of 34pts (39 with win/tie bonus) taking his first Society victory was Ian Lawson.

 

WW 2024/2 - High Throston, 21/4/24

For the first time since Tyneside in September last season we had a match that wasn't affected by the weather conditions though the course was in good condition it was still a little damp in places and the rough was difficult to get out of, but at least there was no need for waterproofs! That said the weather still had a trick or two up its sleve in the shape of a very cold breeze blowing straight off the North Sea making for a cold visit to this hillside course.

A very healthy turnout of 18 members and 1 guest gathered in the very pleasant and much improved clubhouse before we all headed out onto the course, some regretting not donning the thermal's!

As for the important part, the results, historically Throston has produced some very high scoring rounds but this time the scores were more modest possibly due to the early season visit. Following card scrutiny the top three were confirmed as -

In 3rd place with 35pts was Andy Dodd.

In 2nd place with 36pts was Paul Baker.

The round winner with a total of 38pts (43 with win/tie bonus) was Dave Coates.

Please click HERE to see the the full match result or HERE to see the latest league table.

 

WW 2024/1 - Sharpley Spring, 7/4/24

After last year where the weather dominated our season I was rather hopingthings would improve, sadly I was wrong. Sharpley usually drains quite well but even this course has been overcome by the seemingly never ending wet winter/spring. The course was very wet in places and caused us a few problems. Firstly due to the wet conditions no buggies were allowed and secondly the slippery conditions caused Les to take a tumble, thankfully no major harm was done other than wounded pride and muddy trousers!

The match eventually got underway playing in very strong winds and the occasional squally shower. Given the conditions we had a very healthy turnout for our season opener with fifteen Society members and one guest player braving the elements to play a course that we have seen in much better conditions over the years. No doubt had the weather been better we would have had more.

Now for the important part, the results, given the wet course conditions the scores were very good so following card scrutiny the top three were confirmed as -

In 3rd place with 34pts was Eddie Harrison.

In 2nd place with 38pts was Dave Sanders.

The round winner with a total of 41pts (46 with win/tie bonus) was Andy Trewick.

The Aberdeen Shield final that was postponed at the end of last season due to bad weather was finally played at Dunstanburgh Castle Golf Club the previous weekend. The two finalists, defending champion Alan Welsh and Dave Coates fought a hard battle with Alan coming out the victor 3&2. A full report will be published soon.