Mendip Golf Club Activities 2011

The Mendip Clinch Pickeridge Bowl Final

The Mendip clinched the Pickeridge Bowl final at Burnham & Berrow GC when the veteran Richard Streeter won the 18th to gain the half point needed to win by the closest of margins 3 games to 2.

The opening game between County players James Popham and George Morgan saw Popham race into an early lead only for Morgan to claw his way back into the game on the back 9 and forge of lead of 2 after 14 holes. A missed green on 15 for Morgan saw him unable to match Popham's par and with the Enmore player putting his approach on 16 close enough for the putt to be conceded, the game was now all square. An excellent long iron into the difficult par 3 17th saw Morgan ahead again but a wayward tee shot on 18 was costly and a solid approach from Popham tied the game. The next game saw a wonderful fightback from Ryan Brewer who was 3 down with 5 to play but came down the last all square. A 3 putt from Pete Davis was costly and Brewer had snatched an unlikely victory. With the experienced duo of Matt Parham and Paul French having tied up their games for The Mendip it came down to the Richard Streeter game against Enmore Park Captain Kevin Budd, the latter coming down 18 with a 1 hole lead. A bunkered approach from Budd gave the advantage to Streeter who was on the green. A good bunker shot from Budd to 10ft was matched by an excellent putt from Streeter which was conceded. Budd's putt narrowly missed to end that game all square and enable The Mendip to take the title.



PITTS TAMES BREAN FOR FIRST SOLO VICTORY

Kevin Pitts made the perfect start to the new Gloucester and Somerset PGA medal season as he claimed his first solo win.
He has shared top place before but this time his four-under-par round of 67 at Brean, a course he had never seen before, was enough for an outright success.
He made five birdies and dropped just one shot to pip Ross Langdon (Henbury) by a stroke in a strong field of 24 players from the two counties.
Brean, situated a couple of miles from the famous Burnham and Berrow links, is not long by modern standards but there are many water hazards so good course management is paramount.
A breezy day greeted the field and a few light showers fell during play as Somerset county amateur Ashley Mansell took an early lead on 69. Langdon, who made a big impression in his first season last year, soon arrived with 68 making three of his five birdies on the last six holes. Vice captain Pitts, current captain Ed Goodwin (Cirencester) and chairman David Haines, Brean’s director of golf were in the final group. Pitts posted gains at the fourth, fifth and the notoriously difficult par five seventh where he chipped in. A three-putt on the 15th was followed by successive birdies.



MENDIP ARE CHAMPS!

The Mendip Mens 1st Team had reason to celebrate at the end of their 2011 season when they gained promotion to Division two as Champions of Division three in the Bristol and District Golf League. The Mendip Men battled it out against Long Ashton, Mendip Spring, Tall Pines, Wells and Chipping Sodbury over the Summer Months and topped the table with 14 points. Well done to all the members of the team that took part throughout the year and good luck for 2012.



GILL IS CHAMP AGAIN!

The Mendip’s Lady Club Championship was rescheduled after its cancellation on the 17th July due to poor weather conditions for August 16th. This gruelling 36 hole event was again met with some rain but the ladies persevered with Gill Brown becoming the Ladies Club Champion 2011 with a score of 170 gross. Second was Fran Davies with 175 Gross. 1st Nett was Edwina Willis with 148, 2nd was Chris Down with 154 Nett. Best Nett Round 1 was Sandy Nott with 78 and the best Nett for Round 2 was June Millington with 77.
Winner of the Champion Chasers Trophy was Liz Rose with 36pts. Runner up Sally Burke 30pts.


HOLLAND FINDS A FIRST AT MENDIP

Long Ashton's Roy Holland claimed his first Pro-Am victory at The Mendip Golf Club Pro-Am beating a class field to the the £589.94 1st prize. His 2 under par round on a day when swirling winds made scoring tricky at the hilltop Somerset course. Birdies at the 5th, 6th, 9th, 11th and 16th were offset by 3 bogies but his 69 was good enough on the day.
Ross Jones (Bath GC) battled feeling under weather after a previous evening of sickness to claim the runner up spot on 70 (-1). The Bath Assistant obviously likes the course after a runner up spot in the West Region Assistants Championship also held here at Mendip GC. His round was an up and down affair featuring 2 eagles, 3 birdies, 8 pars, 4 bogies and a double bogey. One of his eagles came at the tricky 15th hole where Jones holed his second shot.
Guiseppe Licata (Hambrook Golf Range) and Ross Langdon (Henbury) tied for third after level par rounds of 71. Both players eagled the par 5 5th hole, Licata added birdies on the opening and closing holes in his round whilst Langdon found further birdies at the 9th, 11th and the final hole.
Langdon brought home the winning team and was full of praise for how well his team of Ian Fairclough, Paul Barker and Rob Muldowney played. They scored 129 (-13) to claim the top team prize.
Club Captain Steve Rawlings paid tribute to all of the Club's staff and made special mention to the Club's PGA Professionals John Goymer and Kevin Pitts for the work they had put in behind the scenes to make the Pro-Am such a success.


PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT FOR MILLS AT MENDIP

Welsh ace takes West Assistants title

Former Welsh amateur international Cennydd Mills is taking his golf so seriously in his first season on the West Region he is leaving nothing to chance.

He even made a 130-mile round-trip from Ridgeway Golf Club in Caerphilly to Mendip Golf Club in Somerset for a practice round the day before the West Region Assistants Championship.

And his preparation paid off as he won the title by one shot from Kevin Harper (Sidmouth), Ross Jones (Bath) and Jack Stevenson (St Mellion).

He said: "The course was new to me and I am glad I made the effort to practice as local knowledge was so important. Mendip is a course you really need to know."

"It was in great condition but has some interesting holes. The 18th is only 260 yards but I took four from the edge of the green in the second round after dropping another shot on the 16 so I thought I had blown my chances."

Harper, the defending champion, endorsed those comments. "I had no chance to practice there as I was qualifying for the PGA Powerade Assistants' Championship at East Sussex National the day before," he said.

"I was frustrated in the morning, got careless and tried to force things but I sorted it out in the afternoon although I let a few putts slip by. But winning is what matters as no-one remembers who finishes second."

He followed 74 with a two-under-par 69, a 143 score later matched by Jones (73 70) and Stevenson (72 71).

This left 28-year-old Mills as champion after rounds of 69 and 73 and he becomes the first player to qualify for the region's Race to Woodbury Park, the final Order of Merit event of the season.

He said: "It's an honour to win and a good accolade to have on my CV. I tied first in an assistants' league event at Weston-super-Mare but this is my first big win in the region."

"I won a couple of Celtic Tour events in Wales and played on the Europro Tour as well as having invitations to half-a-dozen Challenge Tour events, but now I am keen to settle down in the region and see how my coaching and playing goes."

Royal North Devon's Ross Daniel and Henbury's Ross Langdon, were two behind at lunch after par rounds of 71, but slipped out of contention.

Mendip captain Steve Rawlings, who presented the prizes, congratulated the players on their high standard of play.

West Region secretary Glenn Ross said: "Everyone at Mendip Golf Club made us feel most welcome and there can be no better place to play on such a nice day when the course is in such excellent condition."

Leaderboard
142 Cennydd Mills (Ridgeway) 69 73 £570
143 Kevin Harper (Sidmouth) 74 69, Ross Jones (Bath) 73 70, Jack Stevenson (St Mellion) 72 71 £360 each
144 James Pickard (Honiton) 73 71 £240
145 Ross Langdon (Henbury) 71 74 £210
146 James Honey (Langland Bay) 71 £180
147 Ross Daniel (Royal North Devon) 71 76 £150
148 Ben Martin (Hele Park) 74 74, Tom Hiscock (Torquay) 75 73 £112 each.



Peter Godsiff
Golf Journalist
www.petergodsiff.com
01275 332827
07974 109 306

 


Fantastic Mr French!

The Mendip Golf Club's Club Championship was played over Saturday and Sunday in perfect conditions with a good turn out of 70 competitors. The eventual winner and Club Champion with rounds of 69 and 74 was Paul French. Runner up was last years winner George Morgan who had rounds of 75 and 72 and 3rd spot went to Pete Davies with rounds of 75, 75.
The Nett Trophy which is the Frost Cup was hottly contested with Mike Smith coming out on top with a total of 140. Runner up was the Club Champion Paul French with a total of 141 and 3rd spot was shared by John Harvey, Selwyn Rees and Pete Davies all on 142. Well done to all!


Ladies 4BBB

Tuesday 14th June saw another great turn out for the ladies open 4BBB. It was a successful day for the Mendip lady members as they occupied the first four spots. In top spot was Patricia Rawlings and Stephanie Turner with 42pts. In 2nd place were Anne Hopkins and Cora Pavey, 3rd place was Edwina Willis and Gill Brown and then 4th was Fran Davies and Jan Fukuyama. The Ladies would like to thank all the visitors for their support in making the day memorable.


Jubilee Cup for Salter

May is proving to be a very busy month on the competition front. The Jubilee Cup was the big one for the Men and Overall winner was Richard Salter with a nett 66 and lowest gross on the day was County player George Morgan with an excellent 69.The Divisions were hard fought with Kevin Mattock triumphant in Div 1 with nett 69 Steve Reeder top of the pile in Div 2 with a nett 69 and finally Clifford Foott came up trumps in Div 3 with a 71,well done everyone.On the mixed scene was the Club Mixed Foursomes Which was won by Jo Espley and Ian Perkins with an 82 and in the nett competition Val Dixon and Tony Griggs won with 72.5.

The Clubs Open week is fast approaching with the opening day being June 5th. This hugely popular week of events attracts golfers from all over the Southwest so competitors are urged to enter soon!


Cox Wins Flower Cup

The first weekend in May was host to the Flower Cup another won of Mendip's major competitions.It was a great turnout with 135 men competing on what was a very windy day.The eventual winner was the in form David Cox who defied the elements with a fantastic gross 72,the other three division winners were Steve Rawlings Div 1,Tony Taylor Div 2 and Terry Jakeman in Div 3 well done guys. The Mendip Seniors were also in action during the week in the Bill Smith Cup.A hot day with a stiff breeze do not always make for good scores and with only a few competitors left on the course seven golfers were within a shot of each other on 36 and 37 points.The last card into the computer belonged to 19 handicap Eric Fisher who scored 39 points for a great victory.Meanwhile Chris Bryant's Seniors have played four more matches beating Kingsdown, Saltford and Sherborne but losing to Taunton and Pickeridge. That means an 8-1 start to the season but most were home matches.The next couple of weeks bring matches against Clevedon, Sherborne, Yeovil and Worlebury.


Somerset County Ladies

The Mendip proudly hosted the Somerset Ladies County Championship on the 28th April.Very well done to Fran Davis, Patricia Rawlins and Jinhee Page whose scores on the first day of the Somerset Championship brought the Holt Shield to Mendip for 2011.Gill Brown and Fran Davis qualified for the second round of the Championships and Elaine Kitchenham, Patricia Rawlins, Jinhee Page and Linda Brobson continued playing for the Phillips Trophy ~ Patricia and Linda got to the semi finals. Patricia gained 4th nett for the Margaret Webber Trophy. Well done to everyone from Mendip. The Overall winner ~ Somerset Ladies County Champion was Amanda Mayne from Saltford Golf Club.


Royal Wedding Success

The bunting was out for Mendip Golf Club to celebrate the Royal Wedding with a fun four ball event, this was a shotgun start on the day which meant all competitors arrived back in the clubhouse at the same time. This coincided with a BBQ, Jazz band and several attractions for the children to enjoy all of which extended the day on into the evening. The whole day attracted over 150 people and was enjoyed by all. The competition was won by Dave Burr,Dave Cox,Alan O'Leary and Paul reakes well done boys.A great deal of organisation and help went into putting the day together and the Club are very grateful to all who helped out on the day.


Is it a bird or is it a Plane?

No it’s Mendip Club Captain, Steve Rawlings, taking part in a charity Skydive for Meningitis UK. Last Sunday, Steve leapt from 12,000 feet in Gloucestershire having raised over £1200 for his chosen charity.

It was a fabulous experience for a wonderful cause and Steve would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to the many members of Mendip Golf Club and all the friends and family who gave so generously.

Next up is his Charity Golf Day at Mendip on Thursday 23rd June. If you would like to enter a team or perhaps sponsor part of the day, you can do so by contacting the Secretary by email on: secretary@mendipgolfclub.com or calling 01749 – 840570.


Parkstone for Payne!

The Weekend saw over 100 of the Mendip Men competing for the April Tankard. There was an added interest though as it was also the qualifier for the PGA Pro-Am regional final,the overall winner would go on with Mendip professional Kevin Pitts to compete in this national event. After a fanatastic round Ron Payne won division 3 and came out as the overall winner, he will be joining Kevin at Parkstone in August to see if they can qualify for the grand final.The other division winners were Tom Hurst in Division 1 and Derek Ball in Division 2 well done guys.The ladies had another good result at home versus The Bristol on the 7th April winning 6-1 a great start to the season.


Champion Chandler!

Over 110 Men turned out for the first Major Competition of the New Season last week at The Mendip Golf Club. The Burnell Cup which is an Individual Stableford Competition is the first opportunity for the men to get their hands on some silverware so tensions were high. Top man on the day, playing off 4, scoring 38 points was Rob Chandler. The remaining scores were then broken into Divisions with Tom Hurst winning division one with 37 points, second went to Dave Cox on the same score and third was Matt Lambert with 36 points. Division two winner was Keith beasley with 35 points, second went to Richard Thorner on the same score and third was Trevor Davies with 34 points. Third division was won by Neil Clarke with 37 points, second went to Ray Ashman with 36 points and third was won on the same score by Alan Clarke. Two Spots were of very good value with only 7 being recorded, the lucky guys were Martin Myers, Duncan Offer, Rob Chandler, Mark Bowers, Tom Hurst, Keith Beasley and Trevor Davies.

Meanwhile five pairs of Mendip ladies travelled to Saltford Golf club to compete in the Fowler Brooches. Carol Curtis and Elaine Kitchenham came 5th with 35 points. The winning score was 37 for Burnham and Berrow, Burnham also won the Bath shield for the two best scores.
The Ladies Alliance B team were on form last week when they played Weston Super Mare B team at Weston Golf Club. They won six of their seven matches, starting their playing season well with twelve points on the board.


Goymer Collects Win Number Three!

Mendip professional John Goymer posted his third win of the G&S PGA season at Shirehampton after his 2 under par round of 65. He relegated Andrew March and Giuseppe Licata to the runners up spots by a single stroke as he added to his successes earlier in the campaign at Stinchcombe Hill and Thornbury. The Shirehampton fixture was moved back in the calendar from its regular October slot in an attempt to escape from the fallen leaves at the tree lined Bristol course high above the River Avon. This certainly helped the speed of play as every group completed the course in under 3 ½ hours! The club kindly provided the course with its small but well protected greens at its full length for the Pro’s which was appreciated. Although it isn’t the longest venue we play it still has plenty of tough shots to negotiate on the way round as well as providing a stern test of the Pro’s fitness on the hilly terrain.
Goymer got off to a fast start as he birdied the first and followed it with the only birdie of the day at the tough par 4 3rd hole after an excellent approach to within 3 feet of the hole. He failed to get up and down after missing the green at the 6th which costhim a shot but he regained it soon after with a 3 at the ninth. A misjudged second shot at the long 11th led to another bogey before a run of four threes in a row from the 13th moved him back to 3 under par. A visit to the trees from the 17th tee left him too much to do to save par before he secured victory with a sand save par at the closing par 3 hole. This proved to be the winning moment as it edged him one shot in front of his playing partner Andrew March who was unable to match Goymers up and down from the same bunker and ended one stroke shy. March and Goymer traded birdies all morning with March having one less than the winners haul of 5. March collected shots at the 2nd, 9th , 10th and after a viciously curling putt on the 13th but gave three shots back to the course at 3, 4 and crucially the aforementioned 18th. Also beating par by a single shot was Giuseppe Licata who with his share of second spot leapfrogged Ed Goodwin back into third place in the Order of Merit. Licata played some good golf from tee to green but was unable to convert enough of his many birdie chances to clinch a repeat victory he had at the venue last season. He managed to open and close his round with birdies but in between only picked up a stroke at the par 5 12th hole. Roy Holland continued his consistent season with a fourth place finish after a 69.


Bob Hands Over £10,000!

On March 11th, preceding another successful Quiz Night held at The Mendip Golf Club, the 2010 Captain Bob Clark presented a cheque for £10,000 to Miss Zoe Steer of Diabetes UK. In the presentation Bob thanked the many hard working people of his Committee, the many donors of gifts and prizes for raffles and the auction, the Club Members, Officials and friends who took part on the Charity Day, 2010 Lady Captain Nola Russell and Senior Captain John Richardson and The Mendip Golf Club for helping him raise this amazing sum for his chosen charity. Throughout Bob's year many Challenge matches were played alongside Professional John Goymer whilst Vice Captain Steve Rawlings teamed up with Professional Kevin Pitts. Matches were played against Mendip Members and he thanked all of those that took part and gave so generously. Bob finished the presentation with thanks to Zoe for attending and wished good fortune to Diabetes UK in their research work.


Captain’s Charity Stunt!

The Mendip Golf Club Captain, Steve Rawlings, will be taking part in a Tandem Skydive from 10,000 feet on Sun 3rd April to raise funds for his chosen charity Meningitis UK. The event will take place at Cirencester Airfield and Steve hopes to raise at least £1000 for this worthwhile cause.

Meningitis UK have been raising funds to find a vaccine for the most devastating strains of this virus which has the potential to kill in under 4 hours!!

This is part of a series of fundraising events he has planned for his year of Captaincy. Other events include a Golf Day and a Dinner with Celebrity Speaker.

Anyone wishing to make a donation can do so through the Just Giving website www.justgiving.com/Mendip-Golf-Club

Results ~ Mens Winter Qualifier Division one 1st Peter Davies, 2nd Richard Kefford, 3rd Paul French. Division two 1st Phil Moody, 2nd Simon Wynn, 3rd Eric Jordan. Division three 1st Alan O'Leary, 2nd Dan Chapman, 3rd Ian Fairclough. Mixed Bring and Win Winners Phil Moody, Margaret Moody, Jenny Merrett, Tony Griggs. 2nd Chris Williams, Steve Rawlings, Di Stanton, Rob Stanton. 3rd Mike Curtis, Carol Curtis, Hilary Rowden, Hugh Rowden. Ladies Greensomes 1st Mary Ware & Trish Murphy, 2nd Lulu Carolan & Jill Jestico, 3rd Margaret Godsiff & Anne Hopkins.


At The Races!

The Mendip Members and their guests gathered in The Clubhouse last week for a Night at The Races which was a complete sell out. June, from Aces Casino, organised the night brilliantly with humorous You Tube clips between the races including a talking Meerkat that seemed to know Alan Fussell and used his name frequently. We had a party of Ascot ladies dressed in their finery with Carol Vincent voted best turned out and winning a bottle of champagne. Eight races were run, including a camel race, which kept the tote busy all night. The runners for two races were auctioned with the lucky winning owners taking home a substantial wad at the end of the evening. The funds raised from this and previous quiz nights will be used to finance future events and we hope to become more ambitious with the social calendar as the year progresses. Thanks should be recorded to the following who sponsored each of the eight races ~ Fourth Avenue Autos Ltd. Phillips Tyres Ltd. Frampton's Transport Ltd. Allen Residential Build Base Limited. Mr T. Chesmere Development. Chantry Development.



Juniors on top!

Weekend saw The Mendip Juniors face a tough pre-season friendly against the Men’s Avalon team for the Paul Reakes Trophy. They needn’t have worried as they proved themselves too strong with a fine display of golf by all the team, winning 4.5 / 1.5. It does need to be pointed out that this was with a little help from parents and even a 6’8 surrogate dad!! It was a fun day in good company with refreshments provided after six well-fought, close matches.

Darrin & Jack Vowell bt Terry Russell & Adrian Sond 2&1
Steve & Matt Rawlings bt Pete Davies & Rich Jeffery 3&1
Tim & Dan Chapman halved with Rob Chandler &
Andy Parfitt – Mark & Digby Edgley bt Steve Stephenson & Rick Kefford 1up
Mark Colbourne & Pat Berwick bt Tony Taylor & John Abdy 2&1
Dave & Ben Cox lost 1 down to Alan Fussell & Paul Reakes.

Other Results ~ Ladies 3 Clubs and a Putter ~ Winner Jo Espley in The Silver Division and Wendy Norman in the Bronze. Mens Triple Six Results ~ Winners Rob Baker & Dave Baker with 42 points (B9), Second Richard Streeter & Ian Perkins with 42 points, Third Dave Kent & Peter Davies 41 points (B9).


Mendip Clean Up Again!

Mendip professionals John Goymer and Kevin Pitts led the way in the G&S PGA Medal played at Thornbury. They were the only players in the field to break 70 over the excellent layout just outside of Bristol and as a result returned back to Somerset with the majority of the prize fund between them.

The second staging of a PGA medal at the venue was far less dramatic than the inaugural one as the players made sure they read the local rules before playing to ensure no mistakes were made this time around. The course was stretched to its full length by the greenstaff who had done a superb job to present it in the condition they did. For a few of the players it was their first visit to the course and afterwards they all had nothing but praise for the venue and facilities that Thornbury have to offer.

Goymer was one of those who had not played the course before but that didn’t stop him compiling a winning score. He opened with 6 straight pars before he made back to back birdies at the 7th and 8th. His card was still blemish free when he added his third birdie of the round at the par 4 16th. The 17th is a demanding hole with plenty of trouble all around and with the added difficulty of the breeze against the players so it was no surprise that Goymer gave a shot back at this hole. Turning back in the opposite direction for the final hole he made no mistake in returning to 3 under par with a closing birdie and with it recorded his second victory of the season.

Pitts made it a good day all round for the Mendip club as he took his second runners up finish of the season, strangely enough both have been behind his Mendip colleague Goymer. 7 pars were sandwiched on the front nine with birdies at the 1st and 9th as he reached the turn at 2 under par. He then covered the back nine in level par after offsetting bogies at the 10th after 3 putts and also the 13th with birdies at the 12th and 15th.

Two players shared third position on 70. The reigning Strokeplay and Matchplay Champions were those two players in Daryl Kelley and Giuseppe Licata. Both players scorecards each showed one poor hole that prevented them from breaking 70. Kelley racked up a triple bogey 7 at the 10th whilst Licata also had trouble at the 17th after finding the trees and taking a double bogey 6. Daryl did however manage to accumulate six birdies on his way round to take the birdie sweep money on offer, four of them came in his closing 5 holes.

With the entire current top ten in the Order of Merit taking part it was always likely that positions would change with the result. Goymer and Pitts made big moves upwards as they try to catch the leading pack which now sees less than 10 points cover the players in positions 3rd to 8th It was a case of as you were at the top though as Ross Langdon retained the same lead over Mark Sanders after they both went round in 72.

The action moves to Thursday next week when the G&S PGA tackle Saltford GC.


Pro-Shop Stableford Results

5th February 2011

Division one 1st Matt Rawlings 37 points, 2nd Rob Chandler 33 points
Division two 1st Alan Fussell 33 points, 2nd Nigel Hill 31 points
Division three 1st Dan Chapman 36 points 2nd Craig Maundrill 35 points

12th February 2011

Division one 1st Duncan Offer 39 points, 2nd Paul Merrett 36 points (B9)
Division two 1st Marcus Hasell 38 points, 2nd Steve Cox 36 points (B9)
Division three 1st Craig Maundrill 34 points (B9), 2nd Dave Pilbeam 34 points (B6)

2 Spots ~ Rich Jeffery, Dave Pilbeam, Jeff Hodder, Chris Lindley

Lots Going On at The Dip!

Seventy Two Seniors turned out for The Stableford on 4th February where two divisions competed. Division One winner was Bob Smallcombe with 33 points, second went to James Wyllie with 32 points and third was Martyn Hirst also with 32 points. Division Two winner was Brian Cornell with 36 points, second went to Roger Ashton 33 points and third was David Stevenson with 33 points. Rob Stanton, Chris Bennett, Bob Smallcombe, Fraser Davidson, Ray Bowden and Dave Kitchenham all recorded 2 spots to share the big money pot. Last Week's Pro Shop Stableford was played in tough conditions as the scores displayed. Division one winner was Duncan Offer with 32 points and second went to Brain Say on countback with 31 points. Division two winner was Ken Langridge with 36 points and second was Simon Whittle with 32 points. Division three was won by Trevor Foster with 34 points and second place went to Dave Pilbeam with 31 points. Only one two spot was recorded which gave John Adby all the money! The ladies also gathered last week for a fun Texas Scramble, winners being Jenny Merrett, Vi Hayes and Steph Turner. Second place went to the team of Patricia Rawlins, Grace Evans and Mary Ainsworth. The Mendip ladies were unlucky the week before when Fran Davies, Jenny Merrett, Jan Fukuyama, Linda Brobson and Jo Espley played Orchardleigh ladies at Orchardleigh in The Mail on Sunday. It was a bitterley cold day, but the Mendip ladies put up a good show and only lost 3 & 2 against a strong team with a home advantage. The men faired the same in their Mail on Sunday competition when they played against Cumberwell at Home. A good fight was put up but unfortunately they ended up losing 3 & 2. Professionals Pitts and Goymer continued there steady form on The G&S PGA Medal calendar where Forest Hills was the venue last Week. Pitts shot a 74 to earn himself 6 OOM points and Goymer shot one more, 75, for 4.5 OOM points. This week visits Thornbury Golf Course in Bristol.

Birdie King!

The G&S PGA Medal tour travelled to Weston last week on a bitterly cold day by the sea. Mendip Professional Kevin Pitts was not phased by the weather as he recorded a tidy round of level par (70) putting him in a tie for 3rd and also collecting the Birdie Sweep with 6 in total. This earnt Pitts 5.5 OOM Points and now moves him into the top ten of the table. The G&S AGM was held after the event where Kevin was announced G&S PGA Vice Captain 2011 to Captain Ed Goodwin. Follow G&S PGA at www.gandspga.co.uk.


Winter Qualifier Results

Last Week saw The Mendip Men out in force competing in the Winter Qualifier. Division one winner was Rob Chandler, second went to Paul Reakes and third was Neil Hillier. Division two winner was Jon Tweed, second went to Roger Wickett and third spot was Nick Hall. Division three winner was Trevor Foster, second went to Alan Fussell and third place was taken by Ian Fairclough.

Triple Six Results
The Mendip Men were out in force last week when they played The Triple Six Trophy. The competition which has an interesting format of 6 holes four ball better ball, 6 holes Greensomes and 6 holes Foursomes really tests the players consistency over the full course. The cream certainly rose to the top for this event with Duncan Offer and George Morgan taking pole position with 41 points. Second went to Brian Say and Pete French with 39 points (B9). Third spot was taken by Ian Perkins and Richard Streeter also with 39 points. Two spots were of good value on the day and were collected by Kevin Mattock, Trevor Foster, Steve Stephenson, Pat Meatyard, Fraser Davidson, Adrian Sond, George Morgan, Duncan Offer, Dan Middle, Jon Tweed, Tim Chapman and Danny Chapman.


PGA Medal at Minehead

Ross Langdon and Mark Sanders find themselves locked together at the top of the Gloucester and Somerset PGA Order of Merit following the latest Medal on the Winter schedule which was played at Minehead. With Sanders unable to play, Langdon collected 6 points which moved him to 54.5 points which sees them jointly top the table. Although it wasn’t Langdon’s best day of the season it was some reward for the long distance he travelled from his Gloucester base to play in the event.

The Medal was won by Somerset amateur Matt Kippen who covered the newly lengthened layout in 69 shots including 4 birdies and an eagle along the way. The course, as always, was in good order and the greens were especially quick even with the rain that fell during the day. With the forecast of heavy rain (which luckily didn’t materialise) some interesting flag positions were found by the greenkeeper which certainly kept the players thinking. One local player even remarked that he had never seen the flag in such a position at the front of the long par 3 closing hole! This hole is troublesome at the best of times but with a stiff breeze into the players faces it proved even harder and afterwards a quick count found that the field of 16 had dropped in excess of 25 shots to par on that hole alone. Pars certainly felt like birdies there!

The leading professionals on the day were Brean’s Andrew March and The Mendip’s John Goymer who both matched the par of 72. It was March’s first top three finish of the season and his card showed birdies at the 1st, 5th and 8th but dropped shots at the 4th, 9th and, yes you guessed it, the 18th after finding the edge of the dune on the right. Playing alongside March in the final group Goymer’s card was bogey free until he reached the newly lengthened 16th. He had picked up shots at the 6th and 11th but was to give one back at the par 5 after a wayward tee shot left him in an awkward spot. The 18th hole also claimed him as a victim meaning he would not manage to break par. The pair did, however, collect the most OOM points on the day and with it moved in the right direction up the table.

In what turned out to be a good day for The Mendip club, Goymer’s colleague Kevin Pitts shared 4th spot on 73 and was one of the few Pro’s to par the 18th. The other player on this score was Burnham and Berrow’s Shane Kaye who now finds himself in 4th spot on the Order of Merit, his highest position since he won the opening event of last season.

Next week sees a new venue being added to the fixture list as the players tackle the Old Course at Minchinhampton.

Follow the boys progress at www.gandspga.co.uk and visit our FACEBOOK Page
The Mendip Golf Club Professional Shop

Captain's Drive In!
Last Saturday we were blessed with fine weather to see in the 2011 Men’s and Ladies Captains, Steve Rawlings and Chris Williams. A field of 112 enjoyed a shotgun start with Mulled Wine and other refreshments on the course.

Despite the keen wind, it was a glorious day with some very competitive scoring.
When the golf was finished both Steve and Chris returned to the 1st Tee for the traditional Drive – In. In spite of certain distractions, they both managed to competently drive up the middle!!

Afterwards everyone adjourned to the clubhouse for a hearty lunch followed by the official donning of the Green Jackets! In his speech, Steve Rawlings paid tribute to the condition of the course and on behalf of both Captains expressed his thanks to all the members for their kind good wishes. He also announced that the chosen charity for the coming year, will be Meningitis UK.

The Prize Winners then collected their prizes, although the 3rd placed Men’s team donated their prizes to charity, before the Charity Car Park Space winner was announced as John Crick.

Mixed Team: 1st - Ian Perkins / Jo Espley / Richard Streeter / Edwina Willis

Ladies Team: 1st - Liz Carter / Chris Olds / Joan Clark / Kay O’Connor

Men’s Teams:
1st - Pete Restorick / Hugh Glanfield / Chris Roe / Chris Jackson
2nd - John Abdy / Tony Taylor / Nigel Cheshire / Mike Snaith
3rd - Bob Clark / Terry Russell / John Goymer / Steve Rawlings

Nearest the Captain’s Drive: Men’s - Phil Bendall / Ladies - Margaret Moody


Quiz Night, Great Success

Friday 7th January saw twenty one teams gather in The Clubhouse for The Quiz Night. Alan Fussell and his team provided us with a fantastic evening and we are all certainly looking forward to the next. Keep an eye on the front page of the website for forthcoming events. Next Up ~ Race Night!

Pictured Below with Quizmaster Alan is winning team Ian Fairclough and Simon Wynn with their Partners.