Test Valley Golf Club Monday 27 March 2023

by Stephen Nower

In some ways I was looking forward to the event at Test Valley as I have always enjoyed the course. However, after my last outing with the society I had my reservations as I had taken about 46 putts and only scored 22 points.

The morning saw us play a version of Texas scramble which involved us all teeing off and then playing our own ball from the best drive. I was in a team with Mike and Terry and we seemed to dovetail really well. Whenever we needed a good tee shot from someone (as you had to all be used once every 3 holes) we seemed to get one. Overall we managed a net score of 63 strokes which saw us win the competition.

However, towards the end of the 9 holes there was a bit of drama. As we were about to putt out on the 8th hole our concentration was disturbed by the arrival of three fire engines! We played the 9th to then find everyone stood in the car park as apparently a dishwasher had caught fire, which in turn meant our dinner of steak and ale pie was not going to happen.

The golf club were then in my opinion fantastic. They ordered us pizza and gave us all a complimentary drink. They also pushed our tea times back to allow us the time to have lunch and then get ready to go out on the course. (Although they did forget Mike’s cheese free pizza!)

In the afternoon I was again paired with Mike but we were joined by Phil and Kevin. I started off pretty well with a couple of bogeys and a couple of pars, but then at the short par 3 5th managed to put my tee shot in the adjacent field and blobbed the hole. I got a stroke of luck on the short par 4 7th hole when my tee shot ran through the bunker, but basically played solidly and scored 18 points on the front nine.

I started the back nine in a similar fashion, playing solid but not spectacular golf. Again I got a stroke of luck on one of the best holes, the 15th. I teed off and blocked my drive right out towards the 16th tee (sorry Barry, it nearly hit him!) but ended up having a shot it without bringing the lake into play. Whilst I missed the green I got up and down for a par. I also got up and down on the 17th for another par, and finished with a bogey on the 18th. Overall this gave me 37 points, which after my last outing, I was very happy with.

Given the weather we had before the day the course was in good condition, and the weather we had on the day was fantastic. Overall I think we all had an enjoyable day, even without the steak and ale pie!!

RESULTS

Winner              Stephen Nower       37 pts

Runner up        Graham Pearce       33 pts

Third                  Bruce Riddington    33 pts

Nearest the pin      Nick Aitken             9’ 5.5”

Bramble shamble  Stephen Nower, Mike Clothier and Terry Harmsworth     63 strokes