/////////////////////////NEW//////////////////////////NEW////////////////////////////NEW//////////////////////////////

Old Whitgiftian Golfing Society Annual Singles Knockout Competition.

NOTICE OF AGM

OWGS Annual General Meeting 2012

_{NOTICE is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of the Old Whitgiftian Golfing Society will be held at the OWA clubhouse on Friday 2nd March 2012, at 7.30pm.  Please note that the AGM will be brief and will again be followed by the Annual Dinner.}

Annual Dinner 2012 

Including wine at the table, the cost will be £35, the same as last year. A vegetarian option is available; if you would like this, please indicate on the reply slip.

After dining, we will hold the draw for our Annual Knock-out Competition.  If you wish to enter, please indicate on the reply slip, or e-mail Peter Gale at the address below, or contact Tony Nowers (tonyandmollynow@talktalk.net).

We will also be holding the Raffle for Halford Hewitt funds.  Please bring along items of interest which can be placed on the raffle table.

Please advise of your attendance by e-mail or by returning the slip below before Saturday 25th February, with the appropriate payment.

The slip below also enables you to tell us your current playing handicap, club and whether you are a member of a county golf union, all of which could be useful to us in arranging playing partners, fixtures, or green fees. In particular, if you believe that your contact details may have changed over the last few years in any respect, please complete the relevant sections, so that we can make sure you are kept fully informed on OWGS matters!

 =============================

To: Peter Gale, 2 Briar Hill, Purley, Surrey, CR8 3LE         

e-mail: peterbgale@sky.com

•        I am able to attend the AGM & Dinner on Friday 2nd March, 2012
and enclose my cheque for £35 made payable to the OWGS.  YES / NO
•        I would prefer a vegetarian option                                 YES / NO
•        I would like to enter the singles knock-out                      YES / NO

Name                …………………………………………………………………………………...
Address        …………………………………………………………………………………...
E-mails        …………………………………………………………………………………...
Tel nos.        (H)………….…  (M) ………..…  (W).…………….

Current playing handicap ……….Club……………………………………….

I am a member of my county golf union ……………………....YES / NO

2012 News

Whitgift drew Edinburgh Academy in the first round of the Halford Hewitt, to be played at Royal Cinque Ports, Deal, on Thursday 29 March, starting at 8.55am. Supporters will be very welcome. The full draw can be seen at www.halfordhewitt.org. (2nd February 2012)

Great news to start the new year. As some of you may have seen in your morning papers, Andrew Stracey has won the President’s Putter. After three unsuccessful appearances in the final, the last of which was in 1986, Andrew won the prestigious competition at the weekend, at Rye, and in doing so became the oldest ever winner. The competition dates back 92 years, and is open to any Oxford or Cambridge golfing ‘blue’, ie those who represented their university in the annual golf match between the two universities. There have been some notable winners in the past, including ex-England cricket captain Ted Dexter (who beat Andrew in the 1983 final!). Congratulations, Andrew. (9th January 2012).

Happy New Year to all our readers! Congratulations to Tony Harris and Jeremy Stanyard on reaching the final of the society's 2011 knockout competition, and on managing (just) to play the final in 2011 - on December 29th! Luckily it was a fairly mild day. Tony emerged the victor. Well done, and thanks to all those players who took part in the competition. This year's draw will be made at the AGM, which takes place on Friday March 2nd, a slightly earlier date than in recent years. (3rd January 2012)

2011

The OWGS Grafton Morrish team had a successful weekend in Norfolk, reaching the quarter final of the main competition at Hunstanton and Brancaster, before going out to eventual finalists Merchant Taylors'. Captain Nic Gates commented 'The win against Winchester is one that Webster and I will remember until we're old and grey, I can't recall hitting a 3 iron and receiving applause before, and the win against a very strong KCS is one that Hayes and Williams will treasure, given their opponents. Blundell and Marchbank had a most successful pairing at number 2, and it was good that everyone got back into the winning habit.' Well played, all. (10th October 2011)

Nine intrepid OWGS members ventured into little-known Suffolk for an autumn tour and were blessed with the Indian summer weather and three glorious golf courses, at Woodbridge, Aldeburgh and Thorpeness. In all, four rounds were played over three days. Thanks are due to Alan Scovell for organising the tour, and it was fitting that he took the playing honours over the three days, although the lasting golfing memory for some (myself included - Ed) will be the Hon Sec's attempt at breaking an Aldeburgh clubhouse window that was situated directly behind him off the tee, a feat only made possible by a cannon off the retreating rear of the Captain. (6th October 2011)

The low cloud and mist often associated with the autumn meeting were absent at this year's event. Sunstroke was a more likely threat. Glorious conditions at Hever Castle saw Jim Brewer come out top with 35 points, beating Mike Spanswick on countback. Alan Scovell was third on 34 points. A field of 25 took part and enjoyed what appeared to be an early Xmas dinner after the golf. Many thanks to Terry Newman for hosting us and Mike Spanswick for the organisation. (5th October 2011)

The Challenge Cup final will be contested by Jeremy Stanyard and Tony Harris, both of whom have battled through the previous four rounds of the knock out format. (27th September 2011)

The Barnett Trophy match between the OWGS and the School was contested at The Addington on Sunday 18th September. Even a strong OWGS team, including six players with Halford Hewitt experience, failed to stop the school extending their run of victories in the annual competition with a 3-1 win. One of the school's team was overheard bemoaning the fact that he had only had the chance to play three times in the previous week; perhaps the OWGS team was undercooked by comparison! The match was played as foursomes, in preparation for the school's forthcoming fixtures in the Headmasters' Conference tournament. (27th September 2011)

The annual 'supper' match vs Croham Hurst on 5th August resulted in a comfortable 4-1 win for the OWGS, particularly good news given that convention dictates that the losing side buy the port! (15th August 2011)

Many thanks to Brian O'Luanaigh for organising, yet again, the annual match vs KCS at Royal Wimbledon, played on 20th July. As always, the course was a challenge, but a pleasure to play. KCS ended up the winners of a close tussle, 3-2; a back injury to one of our pair playing in the final match did not help the OWGS cause. Brian presented the KCS team with the new match trophy, acquired by Brian himself and engraved in memory of Chris Edge, who established the fixture in our calendar three years ago. (22nd July 2011)

Third time lucky! After finishing third in the first two meetings of the year, John Butler took first prize at John Gould's successful and enjoyable Captain's Day meeting at the Addington. Playing in the last group to finish, John (38 pts) pipped Robert Hollidge and Alan Cowing, both on 37 points. The leading guest (Simon Beck) and the leading schoolboy (Joe Carmody-Firth) also scored 38 points, and were part of an impressive Whitgift School fourball (alongside Tom Bloxsome and James Beck) who comfortably took the team prize! The Captain, who provided the prizes, welcomed the presence of the school's team, and the members' guests attending, amongst a total field of 35 players. (14th July 2011)

A team of six represented the OWGS at the Surrey Schools Old Boys golf tournament for the first time on Friday 1st July, at Clandon Regis. Robert Hollidge led a side which had comfortably the lowest total handicaps of any of the eleven schools taking part. Unfortunately however, this was a full handicap competition, and almost inevitably, some of the high handicappers came in with better stableford scores. We finished ninth out of eleven, but can take some comfort from shooting a lower total gross score than the eventual winners (KCS)! (12th July 2011)

NEILL WILLIAMS - ENGLISH MID AMATEUR CHAMPION

Great news from Ipswich. Neill recorded a closing 68 to finish with a 54-hole total of 206, and win the English Mid Amateur Championship (for those over 35). Having learned on the 16th hole that he needed a birdie to win, he finished his round with an eagle on the 17th and a birdie on the last. No pressure there, then! Congratulations, Neill. A fuller account can be found at http://www.englishgolfunion.org/newsdesk.asp?code=000100020001000300050001&id=4961. (4th July 2011)

Brian O'Luanaigh reports that the OWGS had an enjoyable Monday evening in a twenty a side match organised by Mike Berners- Price at Tandridge. It was supposed to be twenty two a side but sadly two of our members Charlie Walker and Alan Longhurst had a shunt on the motorway and could not attend. (I understand both are well and certainly hope so - Ed). The result was 6-4 to Old Alleynians - but see the Cyril Gray score below! (29th June 2011)

DOUBLE SUCCESS AT THE CYRIL GRAY!

The Cyril Gray team has a successful outing at Worplesdon last week, winning the plate competition after a first round loss to a strong Canford team in the main competition. Furthermore, Whitgift won the Cyril Gray seniors' competition, for teams of two with a combined age of 140 (check the school roll - ed)! Chris Varcoe and Mike Wilkinson represented the OWGS. Captain Tony Mason's report on the team's achievements is inserted below. Congratulations all round. (29th June 2011)

==========================================================================================

Cyril Gray Trophy – 23^rdto 25^thJune 2011

On a wet Wednesday in June, the CG team, including two new participants, turned up for a soggy practice round at the glorious heathland course at Worplesdon. Despite the weather and some of the greens being almost flooded at times, it was obvious that the putting surfaces were in excellent condition, as was the course as a whole.

Fortunately the following day marked a turn around in the weather, which was just as well as the team was first off in the draw against a strong Canford side at 8.20am. They had won the competition twice in the previous four years. The early start proved too much and sadly the match was lost with new boys, Martin Hayes and Alan Scovell, being the only winners out of the three foursome pairs. This meant a further 18 holes in the afternoon in the first round of the Plate against Wellingborough. Some subtle alterations to the pairings (Tim Leonard referred to it as the ‘Chaos Theory’) resulted in an easy victory. Martin Hayes and Nigel Durance won 5&4 and Tony Mason, last out with Alan Scovell, finished first, having trounced the opposition by the almost indecent margin of 9&8 (almost? – ed). With two matches won, Tim Leonard and Peter Blok were called off the course at the 15^thwhen they looked to be assured of another win.

A single match on the Friday against St Paul’s starting at noon was something of a relief, allowing these ageing OW golfers a little more sleep and a chance to restore some life into aching bones and joints! The opposition were a much tougher proposition than the previous afternoon. Hayes and Durance won 3&2 but the second pairing of Leonard and Scovell lost by the same margin. It was all down to Mason and Blok in the final match. Playing steady golf, they were never down in the match and finally closed it out with a good par 4 on the tough 17^thfor a 2&1 victory. With the rest of the day off, the team was now looking forward to a semi final match against the old enemy – Dulwich!

Dulwich were led off by those wily campaigners Mike Kirby and David Somerville but they were no match for the inspirational pairing of Hayes and Durance, who, playing excellent golf, prevailed 3&2. In the last match Mason and Blok romped home 6&4 which meant that Leonard and Scovell did not have to finish their tight match, which was treated as a half.

And so to the final against Rossall, who had endured a long and close fought match in the morning against their semi-final opponents, Brighton. The first two matches were close all the way until Hayes and Durance finally pulled away to record a fine win by 3&2. Mason and Blok in the final match were struggling against steady opponents and were 5 down at the turn. However they fought back, to be only one down with one to play.

At that moment, Leonard and Scovell in the second match were approaching the 18^thgreen where Alan hit a magnificent bunker shot 55 yards which was close enough to the pin for Tim to lay his putt dead for a fine victory, thus clinching the Plate Final. Mason and Blok were relieved to be called in from the 18^thfairway and to be able to deem their match a half.

A great team performance with some good quality golf played by all the pairs throughout the three days. Everyone contributed to the team and played their part and the eventual pairings (which remained the same for the last three matches), combined well, but none more so than Martin and Nigel who played superb golf and proved to be unbeatable in the four matches they played together.

As a small addendum, Chris Varcoe and Mike Wilkinson, played in the Cyril Gray Seniors Stableford competition on Saturday morning in a scratch stableford foursome (they didn’t understand it either!) for pairs with a combined age of at least 140 (!) and won with a very creditable, if not brilliant, score of 26 points. This made it a double Whitgift celebration at the presentation ceremony – except by that time Wilkinson and Varcoe had gone home!

Congratulations to the team and my personal thanks to all of them for making it such an enjoyable four days – it would be good to go one better next year and not lose any matches at all! 

                                                                                                            Tony Mason  28^thJune 2011 

The team was: Martin Hayes, Nigel Durance, Tim Leonard, Alan Scovell, Peter Blok and Tony Mason

Results:

V Canford  - Round 1 – Lost 2/1  Leonard and Durance  L 3&2,  Hayes and Scovell  W2&1, Mason and Blok  L3&2

V Wellingborough – Plate Round 1 - Won 2.5 /0.5 Hayes and Durance W5&4, Leonard and Blok Half, Mason and Scovell W9&8

V St Pauls – Plate Round 2 – Won 2/1 Hayes and Durance W3&2, Leonard and Scovell L3&2, Mason and Blok  W2&1

V Dulwich – Plate Semi Final – Won 2.5/0.5  Hayes and Durance W3&2,Leonard and Scovell Half, Mason and Blok W6&4

V Rossall – Plate Final – Won 2.5/0.5 Hayes and Durance W3&2, Leonard and Scovell W1 up, Mason and Blok Half

=====================================================================

In the triangular match versus the school and the masters, held at Croham Hurst on 15th June, the society won by a short head in front of the boys. The scores were OWGS 21.75pts, the school 20.75, the masters 6.25. Having seen some of the school's handicaps, Brian O'Luanaigh made the tactically astute decision to play off the yellow tees and not the whites - even so, a number of the contests were only decided on the 18th! (16th June 2011)

  Startling Bloks!! Family Blok is threatening to dominate the society's        2011 calendar after Alan's victory in the Hornsey Walker Cup at the Purley Downs evening meeting. Alan scored 36 points and beat Peter Blok only on countback. Peter, however, won the  Veteran's Cup. Both trophies were presented by captain John Gould (see above). So it's two out of two for Alan, who also emerged victorious at the President's meeting in May - what price now for the 'Grand Slam' (all four meetings in the one year)?? (What price a cut in his handicap? - Ed). John Butler again finished third, as at Piltdown, this time with 35 points. It was another glorious evening, with fabulous views from the course, marred only by four of our number having to retire to the clubhouse early with battery failure  - buggy battery failure, that is. One of the later starters, asking for a line for his drive on the 17th, was told "aim between the buggies" - sound advice, given that they lay abandoned on either side of the fairway! Many thanks to John for his organisation, and to the 27 members who supported the event. (14th June 2011)

Robert Hollidge reports a 4-0 victory in the match versus OMWs on a Shirley Park course which all enjoyed and found in good condition. (14th June 2011)

The Grafton Morrish team finished in fifth place in the Royal Wimbledon preliminary round and so qualify for the finals in October, in which they have been drawn against Winchester. Congratulations to the team! (14th June 2011)

The President's meeting at Piltdown was held on Friday 27th May, and the course looked splendid in the late afternoon sunlight. 26 players started the round and 25 finished it - hope the wrist is better soon, Chris. The event was won by Alan Blok with 40 points, followed by Michael George with 36. John Butler (34) edged out Tony Harris for third place, on countback. President Mike Spanswick hosted a very welcome curry supper after the golf. (29th May 2011)

The draw for the OWGS Challenge Cup 2011 has been made. Click here for the draw. Please note that the 1st Round should be completed by 1st June. (9th April 2011)

Sadly, it has happened again: Whitgift lost in the first round of the Halford Hewitt. It is not uncommon for golfers to explain their defeats by praising the brilliance of the opposition (Do you know, by the time we finished the match on the 10th green he’d only dropped six shots to par?), but in this case it is true: Tonbridge played brilliantly. They are very strong anyway, having won the tournament eight times in the last twenty-one years – a remarkable record considering there are sixty-four schools taking part. (9th April 2011)

The AGM was held at the school on March 25th, followed by an excellent dinner in the Old Library. The new Captain is John Gould, the new President Mike Spanswick. The new season begins with the President’s Meeting at Piltdown on Friday May 27th. This is an afternoon meeting starting at 2.45, followed by supper. Guests will be welcome, and prospective members would find this a good opportunity to sample the delights on offer. (9th April 2011)