| Date | Venue | Trophy | Winner |
| 22nd February | Stoneham GC | GRS Trophy | Ian Spalding |
| 29th March | Merrick Park GC | Whitebread Pairs | Charlie Way and Doug Marsh |
| 26th April | Ashley Wood GC | Members’ Challenge | Neil Middleditch |
| 31st May | Southampton Municipal | Landlord’s Cup | Jamie Lake |
| 28th June | Upavon GC | Captain’s Cup | Julian Flower |
| 26th July | Bramshaw GC | Rob Hall Hacker’s Trophy | Roger Johns |
| 30th August | Wareham GC | Jim Corbin Cup | Gordon Tucker |
| 27th September | Lyme Regis GC | President’s Cup | Jamie Lake |
| 25th October | Sherborne GC | Zoom Trophy | Martin Debenham |
GRS Trophy Stoneham GC 22nd February 2013
The ROGS arrived on a lovely cold crisp day and no rain forecast, that’s a result straight away! So off we go on my first chosen course, which for the time of year was in great order and obviously a tough test of golf, because nobody managed to beat net par!
The overall winner was Ian Spalding with 34 pts, well done ‘Spaldy’ on your first win. Second place was ‘Bazza’ Watts with 33pts followed by myself in third, also with 33pts. I was well ‘stoked’ with that, on what is one of my favourite courses!
Nearest the pin on the 10thgoing to ‘Bazza’ and the 16th to ‘Spaldy’.
Nearest the pin in 2 was ‘Magnam PI’ aka Pete Foster.
The longest drive to the ‘Twead’ with 3 twos to- ‘Charlie of the Way’, ‘The Flower ‘, and ‘Bazza’ (who obviously had a very good day.)
Only one guest, Dave Adams our very own ‘Sir Geoffrey’s’ son.
After a minutes silence for our greatly missed friend ‘Rusky ‘, and a welcome to our newest member Terry Peterson, we enjoyed a very pleasant meal washed down with a few tipples.
So we head to Merrick Park in March to play the pairs game, see you there.
Captain 5 Ball
29th March Merrick Park GC Whitebread Pairs
Once again the ROGS turn out on a cold and crisp day, this time at MERRICK PARK, and what a good day it was with the course in very nice condition for the time of year.
We played for the Whitbread Shield which is a pairs comp, and for the 3rd year in a row Charlie Way won, this time his partner was Doug Marsh, in 2nd place was Dean Merritt and Pete Cheeseman well done gents .
We also kept our singles scores for the consistency trophy , 1st was Charlie with 42 points, 2nd Doug with 37 on count back from Pete also with 37, nearest the pin on 8 was Ebby, nearest the pin on 10 was Doug , nearest the pin in two on the 5th was Deno , longest drive was Pricey, there were 5 twos Ebby, Brett, Charlie, and myself with two.
What a great day for the ROGS, the standard of golf was top draw with virtually everyone scoring 30 plus points, everyone that is except our very own mickey taking Mark Tead with only 19, not his best day but he took it very well when I presented him with the fun bomb blow up trophy!
We finished the day with a lovely meal and off we went.
Next meeting in April is on the 26th at Ashley Wood.
Captain 5 ball.
Rog Johns.
Ashley Wood 26th April 2013 Members’ Challenge
ROGS outing number 3 brought the gaggle of semi pro golfers, locally known as the ROGS, to the Chalky Downs of Ashley Wood.
We had another excellent turnout of 25 members and 2 guests ready to face the elements. The brave squadron suffered Sun, Wind, Rain and Hail in the conquest to be crowned ROGS Members Challenge Champion.
The day was hard fought with a magnificent score of 42 points giving Mr Neil Middleditch the top step of the podium, second place with a score of 38 was Geoff Adams and third (on countback) with a score of 37 was Russell White (Titch).
Winning guest was Ken Adcock on his first ROGS outing.
Nearest the pin on the 4th hole was won by Julian Flower.
Nearest the pin on the 18th (nearly an Ace) was Jim Corbin.
Nearest the pin in two on the 12th was our Vice Captain, Jamie Lake.
Longest drive on the 14th was won by Mark Tweed.
Only one 2 was surrendered by the course and that was won by Jim Corbin.
A great dayu was again enjoyed by all and I look forward to battle commencing again at Southampton Municipal in May.
Jamie Lake – Vice
31st May Southampton Municipal Landlord’s Cup
The Roving R.O.G.S.
Yes we have been traveling lately , our May game was at Southampton municipal golf club one of the best Munies in the south , blessed with a gorgeous day my vice Jamie Lake won with a magnificent 42pts. 2nd was Pete Cheeseman 39. 3rd was Mark Tead 38.
So of we went to Bowood Park in Cornwall for the summer tour, once again blessed with fab weather which lasted all weekend along with good food and drink and competitive golf.
What a course, in great condition albeit with firm greens, good scores had to come sure enough. Winner of day 1 – Tim Porter 40pts. Day 2 – Barry Watts 39pts. Day 3 – Graeme Price 38pts. But winner overall was once again Jamie Lake, not placed over the 3 days but with a very consistent 36pts on all 3 days, well done Jamie all the hard work is paying off, lessons etc.,
This month we are off to Upavon nr Amesbury for my Captains’ day, another great course, report next month.
Regards Captain 5 ball.
28th June Upavon GC Captain’s Cup
Upavon was the course, just the other side of Amesbury, and what a course , very interesting, lots of undulation with a 600yd par 5, wow!
In the morning we played a fun 8 hole Texas scramble won by Merrick Smith, Charlie of the Way. Guy Storey, (our brill secretary) and the Flower. Well done team.
After a good hearty lunch (ham egg & chips) we played our normal 18 hole Stableford for the Captains Cup, winner was once again Julian Flower- 35 points, 2nd was Pete Cheeseman, and 3rd myself, both with 34 points.
Longest drive on the 5th was Sean Keen (guest)
Nearest the pin on the 8th unfortunately it was too hard and no-one got on the green!
Nearest the pin in 2 on the 11th again Sean Keen (guest)
Nearest the pin on the 18th was John Beasley.
Best of 6 guests was Brian O’Hare, with a magnificent 42 points.
There was only one 2, George Elliot (guest)
Ending the day with a lovely meal after which we ran a one off draw for the Green Island Disabled Charity raising a total of £240, well done the Rogs!
What a great day, thank you all for turning up for my Captain’s Day, it could not have been better!
Regards
Captain 5 Ball
26th July Bramshaw GC Rob Hall Hacker’s Trophy
A top day at a top course.
ROGS at Bramshaw. What a great day, the course was in great condition, the food was fab, and the weather was very good, what more do you need ! Good golf of course, and that’s what we had, as close as it gets with three people on 36 pts for 3rd. The tie was won by Merrick Smith, 2nd was the General Gordy Tucker 37pts. The winner also on count back with 37pts was myself (captain).
NP on the 4thwas my vice Jamie Lake. NP on the 9th was Guy Storey. NP2 on 18 was Charlie Way. And longest drive was Deano Merritt fresh from his little tuck. Best of three guests was Matt March.
A memorable day in more ways than one, but most of all for one of our founder members Russ French who was one of the guys with 36 pts which means he has cut his handicap from 28 to 27! It’s taken a while, but well done Russ.
Regards from the ROGS.
30th August Wareham Golf Club Jim Corbin Cup
Once again the ‘Golfing Gods’ shone on us with another dry day. With the course in excellent condition we had some good high scores – winner was Gordy Tucker 44 pts. 2nd was Terry Peterson 41 pts.3rd was Russ French 39pts, (another good day for the ever improving ladies captain!)
NP on the 8th was VC himself Jamie Lake, NP on the 11th was ‘the Arm’ Jim Corbin, NP2 on the 18th was Magnum PI Pete Foster, LD on the 6th was Julian the Flower. We had one guest, Brian Reed all the way from Jersey. There were no twos so we have a roll over for the first time this year.
Yet another good ROGS day rounded off with a very nice meal. I was really pleased with the day as there is always a bit more pressure to make sure it’s a good day when it’s your home club and I think Wareham did us proud.
Our next outing for some members is the annual trip abroad, and our next monthly game is Fri 27th Sept at Lyme Regis, a great cliff top course with fab views all down Chesil beach, hope to see you all there.
Regards Captain 5 ball
Rog Johns
27th September LYME REGIS GC President’s Cup
What a fabulous day out with the ROGS, yet another dry one. One of my very favourite courses in Dorset and I thought in excellent condition. With so many of the ‘ROGS’ returned from Turkey {as late as midnight the night before battle commenced} we had some good high scores – winner was our Vice, Jamie Lake 41 pts. 2nd was Magnum PI Pete Foster 40 pts. And 3rd was Julian Flower with 38 pts.
Jamie’s win puts him in the driving seat for ‘The Consistency Trophy’ with just one game left, well done Vice.
NP on the 8th was Pete Cheeseman, NP on the 13th was Julian, NP2 on the 17th was PI Foster, LD on the 7th was our President – Brett Standerwick.
We had a rollover for the twos, {first time for ages} lucky winners were – ‘The Cheese, and our very own ‘Ronnie Biggs’ – John Beasley, well done to all who made the trip.
As always we were made to feel very welcome and the day ended with an extremely good meal.
Well the last outing of my season as Captain is Fri 25thOct at Sherborne, it’s gone way too fast but it’s been fun, hope to see you all there.
Regards, Captain 5 ball, Rog Johns
TURKISH DELIGHTS IN BELEK 19 – 26 September 2013
As we made our way from Antalya Airport towards our holiday resort in Belek, word spread around the group that a message had been received from our advanced party Judith and Geoff that reception had told them we were all going to be upgraded to superior accommodation.
Little did we know firstly how fantastic the Cornelia Diamond Golf Resort and Spa Hotel would be, but as you can see from the picture below once we had arrived we realised this was going to be an absolutely fabulous one week’s 5 star luxury experience.
With the upgrade, some chose to share with another couple of people a villa with direct pool access and terrace. Others chose to be in an upgraded bedroom with balcony. The first thing that probably hit the lads was that in each room there was a free mini bar that was replenished every day! The ladies probably noticed the huge box of beauty goodies, luxury dressing gowns and slippers that awaited them in the bathroom.
On the first night, after arriving late, it was impossible to take in what the hotel had to offer, but we all enjoyed the midnight feast that was on display in the restaurant from 11:30pm – 12:30am.
The next day, after being amazed at the display of breakfast food available, the ladies took advantage of the time to look around and see what the hotel had to offer. Besides about four swimming pools, kids facilities, live evening entertainment, sports facilities, a spa with indoor pool, you could enjoy 9 different restaurants and bars, ten pin bowling, the lovely beach, the list was endless.
Belek is a golfers paradise, there are fourteen golf courses built in a large natural pine forest which runs down to the sea. Between the sea and the start of the forest there are approximately 30 hotels with others under construction.
The forests surrounding Belek have a unique character; there are 574 different plants of which 29 can only be found in the area. Within the forests there are 109 different species of birds. The backdrop of the whole area is the Taurus Mountains which rise 3086 metres above sea level.
On Friday The ROGS played for The Bantry Bay Trophy at the TAT International Course Par 72 5747 metres.
This course was designed by Hawtree and opened in 1997 and covers 13 acres. The river Besgoz winds its way through the three loops of nine holes, we played the Forest and Mediterranean. Just for interest, there are 22 fairway bunkers and 46 greenside bunkers and it has been recorded that the ROGS contingent went in most of them! Sir Geoffrey managed to almost destroy one of the markers on the first tee by driving his buggy over it.
The event was won by Julian Flower who put up a magnificent display of golfing prowess by scoring 40 points off 6 handicap. Second was Martin Debenham on countback with 35 points and third was Dean Merritt with 35 points.
Dinner each night proved to be a real experience with so much food on offer. The displays of fruit, Cheese, salads, fish, Turkish delight, cakes, puddings and some 30 or more individual dishes for main course were incredible. It took about 15 minutes to decide what you wanted and Rogs and Rogettes were often seen wandering around aimlessly looking confused. Roger Duncanson even got disorientated in the huge restaurant and returned to the wrong table wondering where his fellow diners had disappeared to. Little did he realise until later, he was on the other side of the restaurant. In future, he used the huge display of bread as a guide and never lost his way again! The friendly waiters and waitresses went out of their way every day to keep our glasses filled with drinks and our table cleared ready for the next course. Several of us tried the ‘alternative’ restaurants including Turkish, Seafood and French. We weren’t disappointed.
For those who had chosen a shared villa, the direct access to one of the pools was absolute luxury. You came out onto your patio and just jumped into the water and swam. Many a hilarious time was had trying to get from the patio directly onto an inflatable lilo without getting wet.
Experienced ‘liloettes’ tried in vain to give instruction and a dunking was the ultimate penalty. Little Jasper (Graham and Lucy’s little boy) loved his swimming ring. With a melting smile, he managed to attract all the motherly instincts from the ladies and more or less smiled his way through the whole week. It was an absolute pleasure in our small way to help Lucy and Graham with feeding, burping, pushchair rocking and general ‘coo chi coo’ and other Jasper appreciation amusements.
On Saturday The ROGS played the French Open on the Cornelia Faldo Course. Par 72 5468 metres Gaius and Tiberius. The Prince Course was designed by Nick Faldo and opened in 2006. He comments as follows, “The course will be strategically very strong and, because of this, will be very playable. Golfers of every standard will find it enjoyable, inspiring and full of interest” Well hay ho to that!!!! Apart from the very narrow fairways, numerous well placed bunkers, trees everywhere, water and tricky greens most of us found it quite easy, especially Tich White, who had an amazing score of 39 !!! Second was Julian Flower with 31 points and third was Graeme Price with 30 points.
Hole number 7 is called “Faldo’s Choice”. A par four on which you either play safe towards the higher ground or go for the green in one shot. Either way, the green slopes from left to right towards 3 deep bunkers. Pricey chose to take the narrow route just leaving his ball short of the green and then proceeded to putt the ball in for an eagle. The very next day he played the same shot going for the green, missed it on the left and chipped within 3 inches for a birdie. Incidentally, on that morning, Pricey opted to where long white “Harare” socks which he picked up from Primark (three pairs for £1) but fortunately the other pairs never appeared on the remaining days.
On Tuesday 24th The ROGS played for the Middleton Cup on the same Cornelia Faldo Course and this time Deano Merritt came out on top with a good score of 35. Second was Julian Flower with 34 points and third was Brett Standerwick with 30 points. My playing partners encountered a friendly tortoise on the 14th and the poor chap was trying to cross the fairway near the green, Pricey was in the light rough and about to take his shot when the tortoise made a run for it. Fortunately, being on the fairway proved to be a wise move and he made it safely across.
Julian seemed to feel sorry for the onsite shoe cleaner who offered to refurbish his shoes, but then proceeded to charge Julian 25 Euros for the pleasure of new studs and polish. The same cleaner was seen later leaving in his Mercedes!!
More of the same fun was enjoyed by the ladies, with one exception. We had our own golf competition on the hotel’s 9 hole Crazy Golf course. It looked simple to start with, but some of us really struggled to get round with a reasonable score. On one of the most difficult and almost impossible holes some of us took up to the 20 shots to get that little ball in the hole. After rolling backwards and forwards several times the elation of finally getting the ball in the hole was euphoric. Never mind, we can’t all play like Paula Creamer, but we had the most hilarious time and Lucy came out the victor. After the men had laid bets on who was going to win, Graham was no doubt relieved he was ‘quid’s in’.
On Wednesday we played for the Fota Island Pint on the Carya Golf Course. Par 72 5848 metres. This course opened in 2008 and was designed by Peter Thompson. Carya was the first classic heathland course to be built in Turkey. Much of the heather was grown on site (on the 2nd hole) and the holes run between pine and eucalyptus trees and a dramatic sand ridge. The greens were enormous and landing on in two would not necessary end up with two putts, more like three sometimes four!
This course was more open than the Faldo course, but still demanded some accurate shots to accumulate a reasonable score. Julian Flower having been cut on all three days was playing off plus one and still managed a magnificent score of 34. Second was Sir G with 30 points and third was Ian “Two-tones” Jarred with 29 points. Our friend Dunco on the first tee, managed to flatten a small fence to which the Starter asked “do you have a driving licence ?”. The very same Dunco having tried to recover his ball in a bush found five other balls and came out looking like he had been attacked by an alligator.
During the final analysis it was reported that between them Guy and John Day lost 29 balls. Having found Guy’s ball in the bushes (Guy having abandoned it) Sir G played with it for the next 27 holes and presented it to Guy during the final dinner.
Wednesday evening was presentation night and hosted by Dean (Merritt) with the usual hilarious account of the week’s antics on the golf course. Fortunately, we managed to get seating in one of the outdoor BBQ areas and again the food and drink flowed. Speeches, achievements and presentations were made and applauded. At the end of the evening two birthday cakes arrived for Geoff Adams and Arlene who both celebrated their birthday on the 26 September.
Final Scores and winner of the Tourist Trophy was Julian Flower with an amazing total score of 139. Second was Dean Merritt with 127 and Tich White was third with 122 points.
The Pitbull International Pairs was won by Julian Flower and Sir Geoffrey.
We all had the most fantastic week enjoying what the hotel and golf courses had to offer. We shared each other’s company, laughter and enjoyed the sun, sea and beauty of Turkey. Guy Storey, our wonderful organiser had once again pulled the most fantastic Golf Trip and holiday out of the bag. How on earth is he going to better it?
25th October Sherborne GC Zoom Trophy
Well, my last game as Captain of the mighty ROGS , we arrived on the fun bus- my only outing on the bus, I always like to do one a year and what fun it turned out to be. Once again we got away with the weather, just one 2 min shower, virtually a completely dry season how lucky are we.
I had a great 4 ball with Pricey, Neil Middleditch , and our newly announced VC Doug Marsh, first out as is the Captain’s prerogative followed by the best turn out of the year, 34 in total.
Winner with 39pts – Martin Debenham. 2nd Ian Spalding with 36 pts. 3rd (on countback from our outgoing President Brett Standerwick ) was Julian Flower with 35 pts.
Nearest the Pin on the 7th- Bobba White
Nearest the Pin on the 15th – was my playing partner Neil Middleditch, with a fantastic shot across the valley to 6ft from the pin! Well done Neil.
Nearest the Pin in two on 18th was Dean Merritt.
Longest drive – once again the Flower!
Best guest – Mark Dowland with 32 pts.
With no twos we have a Rollover to the Christmas game on the 7th Dec
So, back to the club house for some great food (best of the year) washed down with copious amounts of beer and wine, much banter flying around and lots of fines for my charity, it was a great atmosphere. After the majority sloped off, us on the fun bus proceeded with the usual spoofing game – phew-nearly got caught for a big one! After stopping in what seemed like every pub between Sherborne and Wareham and enjoying Deano doing Karaoke I finally crawled in to bed about 2.30 am, what a day!!
Thanks to all who supported the ROGS on yet another successful season, we raised £1,600 for my charity the Green Island Disabled Holiday Trust, so it leaves me to say good luck to my VC Jamie Lake, I am sure you will have a great year.
Regards, Captain 5 ball. Rog Johns