Tylney Park Golf Club Friday 12 July 2024

by Barrie Smith

This years summer trophy was held at Tylney Park and whilst I had stayed at the hotel, many years ago, I had never set foot on the course.

All of the previous week the weather forecast had not been great, however on the day itself the weather gods looked down on us with sympathy and it was just a little chilly but dry.

Kevin and I had a buggy for the day and our playing partners in the morning were Tim and Steve Adams. There was some concern that we would be able to get around the full 18 holes in time for lunch and then Steve had to move up from the last group to the first group. In reality we managed to get around the course swiftly and have around 45 mins for lunch.

It’s fair to say that my morning round went well. The first hole was a definite challenge, being a dog-leg left with water and a fair number of large trees. Luckily the pin was on the front of the green and I managed to walk off with points on my card. The greens generally were quick, compared with some of the courses we play.

My first big score came on the 5th hole, par 3. My tee shot bounced in front of the green and ran beautifully up to the pin on the back of the green and left me about a 4ft putt which I proceeded to make. Nearest the pin was on the 8th and, needless to say, I didn’t trouble that. My round continued steady and by the end of the front 9 I had 19 points.

The back 9 got even better. We had a bit of fun on the 11th hole, the longest drive. Tim hit a cracking drive, however we all thought that it was just off the fairway because the grass was cut the opposite way. Off course, when we arrived at the ball, it was clearly on the fairway and about 50yds longer than the rest of us.

My total at the end of the round, and the half way point, was 39 and I had a great lunch knowing I was a little ahead of the field. Tim kindly reduced my handicap to 17 over lunch so I headed out in the afternoon knowing that I wouldn’t get a shot on the easiest hole.

Kevin and my playing partners in the afternoon were Graham and Colin, who were also in a buggy. What could possibly go wrong! It was noted that there were a few parking shenanigans, however no golf balls were damaged at any point surprisingly.

Whilst my scoring dropped off a little in the afternoon round, I was very happy with the way I played managing to par the hardest hole in both the morning and afternoon rounds.

I finished up on 31 points and a total 70 points for the summer trophy. Congratulations to Tim for winning the afternoon round and coming runner up on 67 points overall.

Thanks to all of my playing partners on the day.

Congratulations to Tim on winning the longest drive and nearest the pin, proving that he can hit a ball a vary long way and also get one remotely close to the pin on the par 3’s! Also congratulations to Colin for winning the Penfold Par 3 with 16 points. I won pretty much everything else, which seems to be the way with the Summer Trophy, and it boosted my wine cellar somewhat.

Looking forward to the next event and hoping that we return to Tylney Park in the future.

RESULTS

Winner                                  Barrie Smith             70 pts

Runner up                            Tim Houghton         67 pts

Third                                      Alan Papps               65 pts

Morning stableford           Barrie Smith

Afternoon stableford        Tim Houghton

Nearest the pin                  Tim Houghton           21’ 9”

Longest Drive                     Tim Houghton

Eclectic                                 Barrie Smith               43 pts

Penfold par 3                      Colin Staunton-Lambert       16 pts