XMAS CUP OF GOOD CHEER

Yes, it is that time of year again, time for hanging your stocking over the fireplace, decorating the Xmas tree, over indulging on food and mulled wine, and no doubt demonstrating some dad dancing at the office Christmas party!!!   However more important than all of those………it brings on the battle of Bere in the form of the Christmas Cup of Good Cheer.  This traditionally brings the curtain down on another successful ROGS golfing season.

Led superbly throughout 2010 by Captain Bru, it was now time to hand over the reigns to myself to lead the merry band of men fresh challenges over the next year, and no doubt copious amounts of humorous stories that will keep us all entertained in 2011.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank the outgoing captain for all of his hard work through 2010, however I have been told by the editor that I have got limited column inches so won’t bother!!  In all sincerity Shaun, thank you for a fantastic and memorable season, a hard act to follow.

With over 30 members turning out to brave the elements the course was in superb condition given all of the snow that we have had over the week, the weather stayed dry, albeit left the greens and fairways a little moist.  This was the annual ‘Battle of Bere’, where the incoming President’s handpicked team took on my illustrious troop of fine gentlemen!!  The President took the early scalp of yours truly, however I had no doubt that I could rely on the others my team to pull us through, especially with the local course knowledge of various members of the club being on my side, this trust was to prove slightly misjudged as the three other members of the team that lost their matches were all members!!  However, I am pleased to say that the Captains team prevailed 11 points to 4!!

Special mention goes to one four ball how somehow managed to play the wrong course on the back 9, there names will go un mentioned to preserve their dignity, however two of them were a local painter & decorator, and a retired pilot, any ideas on who mystery people could be should be posted directly to either Gordy Tucker or Keith Nurrish!!

Unfortunately due to some early festive frolics, the individual results are not exactly complete…..however the following is what I have managed to piece together through the haze of a fun packed evening.

In third position was Chris ‘Comb over’ Sumner’ with 33 points, the runner up was Sir Geoffrey Adams with 38 points, however the event was won by ‘Honest’ Price with a massive 43 points, who now finds himself playing off of 17 for his efforts!!  Nearest the pins were won by Peter ‘P.I’ Foster and Tim ‘Baa Baa’ Porter, with the nearest the pins in 2 won by ‘Honest’ and Rob ‘Ace of Base’ Acey, the longest drive was won yet again by ‘Howlin Mad’ Flower who topped his 3 wood in excess of 300 yards!!  The 2’s kitty of £30 was shared 4 ways by Paul ‘Ebby’ Ebsworth, my vice captain for this year Brett ‘The Bridesmaid’ Standerwick and enjoying two 2’s was Keith ‘Biggles’ Nurrish……well played Keith!!

May I also take this opportunity to thank every body that donated draw prizes and bought tickets on the night, where all of your efforts raised a fantastic £550, which will be donated to my chosen charities for the forthcoming year which is Poole Hospital Coronary Care Unit.

I hope that you had a wonderful Xmas, a refreshing New Year, and trust that you will all be on a water and elderflower detox from now until the first ROGS match of the new season on the 25th February back at The Dorset Golf & Country Club for 27 holes in the pairs competition.

Captain Tiny

Summer Knock Out

Mr. Day has been victorious in the Summer K.O. against Mr. Teed.   The match took place at Rushmore Park and must have been a very good game as it took 21 holes to conclude the match and sort the man from the boy!  (No offence Mark but you did beat me in the semi).   Commiserations to Mark but well played to reach the Final. 

I’m sure you’ll all join me in congratulating John – well done on a good win.

ZOOM TROPHY

For my final outing of the season it was fantastic to see nearly 35 members travelled to Wareham GC which an old favourite to the ROGS where we are always made so welcome.  The course was in superb condition for the time of year, and we were again really fortunate with the weather.  Many thanks to Roger Duncanson who very kindly donated all of the prizes for the day.

The nearest the pin prize on 3rd hole went to Brett ‘The Bridesmaid’ Standerwick, on the 4th it went to Darren ‘Parker’ Parker, on the 11th it went to Tim ‘Baa Baa’ Porter, and on the 15th it went Jim ‘The Oil Baron’ Wetherill.  The nearest the pin in 2 prize on the 5th went to Pete ‘Magnum’ Foster.  We also had 2 nearest the line drive prizes also, on the 2nd it went to ‘Parker’ Parker, and on the 18th it went to one of biggest power houses in the society ‘Sir’ Geoffrey Adams…….well done to you all.

Although, arguably the best drive of the day was from Dean ‘Tiny’ Merritt down the hill on the 14th, where CSI are still piecing together what happened to assist he and his accomplice Julian ‘Howlin Mad’ Flower to roll a golf buggy over on it’s side??!!

Onto the results, in third place was Jim ‘The Oil Baron’ Wetherill with a score of 36 points, followed closely by Richard ‘Titch’ White on countback, again with 36 points, the winner for his second victory of the year was Brian ‘The Wiff’ Wiffen with a magnificent 39 points…….congratulations Brian!!

The 2’s kitty rivalling the Euromillions was all to play for having been a triple rollover, the only putt sunk was on the 15th by ‘The Oil Baron’ who won a massive £119 for his efforts and very generously bought everybody a drink in the clubhouse afterwards……well done, and thank you from us all Jim. 

We also collected another £70 in blob money for my two charities this year.

It was also all to play for in the Drax Arms consistency trophy with 5 or 6 players having a realistic chance of winning at the start of the day.  It was a tense finish, however congratulations to John ‘The Bull’ Pitts, who beat the ‘The Bridesmaid’ Standerwick, who threw down his veil in frustration having been beaten by a solitary point over the entire season…….Congratulations John!!

Lastly I would like to thank all of the members, their partners & committee members for giving me all the help and support over my captaincy year which has been a huge honour.

I look forward to seeing you all at the ‘Cup Of Good Cheer’ which is going to be played at Dorset Golf & Country Club, first tee off 10:04.

Captain Bru

 

ROB HALL HACKERS TROPHY

For our penultimate outing of the season nearly 30 members travelled down the coast to Bridport & West Dorset GC which is the oldest course in Dorset being founded in 1891.  A cliff top course with spectacular panoramic views across Lyme Bay and towards Chesil Beach to Portland. 

In testing conditions where the wind was almost strong enough to blow ‘Tiny’ Merritt over, the course was challenging to say the least!!  This led to a wide variety of scores ranging from 17 to 35 stableford points. Special mention for the third month on the trot goes to Pricey who is working beautifully to get his handicap up in preparation for Octobers Portugal trip, where I believe he will be teeing off as odds on favourite!

The nearest the pin prize on the 6th hole was won by Sir ‘Charles’ of the Way, with the other nearest the pin on the 18th was won by John ‘Rusty’ Ruskin.  The nearest the pin in 2 on the 18th was won by Doug ‘Kind Of Spoof’ Marsh.  The longest drive was won for the third outing on the trot by our president Howlin’ Mad Flower.

On to the results, in third place was Brett ‘Big Man’ Standerwick who is having a fantastic season with a score of 32 points, followed closely by John ‘Have I showed you my i-Phone?’ Day with 33 points, the winner who sees his handicap slashed to 10 from 13 was Doug ‘King Of Spoof’ Marsh with a magnificent 35 points…….congratulations Doug!!

No surprises to learn that there were no 2’s this month, therefore the money will be a treble roll over to next month with a kitty rivalling the Euromillions to play for.  We also collected another £71 in blob money for my two charities this year.

I look forward to seeing you all at my last event as captain this year which is for The Zoom Trophy which is going to be played at Wareham GC, first tee off 11:00.

Captain Bru

CAPTAIN’S CUP

For our sixth outing of the new season and for our captain’s cup nearly 30 members played the testing Isle of Purbeck GC which is ranked 62nd best course in England affording spectacular panoramic views across the Solent to the Isle of Wight.  The course is build on heathland and are set within a nature reserve where many rare plants can be seen as well as rare birds, and fair to say many a ROGS member nestled in the gorse and heather looking for stray Titliest.


The weather dried up beautifully, and there were a wide variety of scores ranging from 17 to 37 stableford points. Special mention for the second month on the trot goes to Pricey who is working beautifully to get his handicap back up in preparation for Octobers Portugal trip!!


The nearest the pin prize on the 9th hole was won by Peter ‘Captain Manwaring’ Cheeseman, with the other nearest the pin on the 15th won by Brett ‘Big Man’ Standerwick.  The nearest the pin in 2 on the 18th was won by Sir Charles of the Way who put his second shot to within 4 foot of the flag!!  The longest drive was won yet again by our president Howlin’ Mad Flower using his 3 wood I am told!!


On to the results, in third place was Guy ‘The Spy’ Storey with a score of 35 points, followed closely by Dean ‘Tiny’ Merritt with 36 points, the winner who sees his handicap slashed to 14 whilst shrugging off his bridesmaid tag and blossoming into a bride was Brett ‘Big Man’ Standerwick with a magnificent 37 points…….congratulations Brett!!


No surprises to learn that there were no 2’s this month, therefore the money will be a double roll over to next month with a kitty of approximately £100 to play for.  We also collected another £57 in blob money for my two charities this year.


I look forward to seeing you all at our next event which is for The Rob Hall which is going to be played at Bridport GC, first tee off 10:44.


Captain Bru

JIM CORBIN CUP

For our fifth outing of the new season a good turn out of nearly 30 members travelled down to Taunton Vale GC affording spectacular views over the Quantocks and Blackdown Hills.  A short, but testing 18 hole course with a stretch in the middle of nervy holes across plenty of water.

It turned out to be a very high scoring affair, with plenty of the ROGS members scoring more than the par of 36 stableford points, albeit some other members working on getting their handicaps back up in preparation for Octobers Portugal trip (mentioning no names Pricey!!)

The nearest the pin prize on the short 4th hole which is a beautiful hole with water guarding the green was won by ‘The Bridesmaid’ Standerwick, with the other nearest the pin on the 17th won by Sir Geoffrey.  The nearest the pin in 2 on the 9th was won by soon to be member John ‘Biggsy’ Beasley who puts it all down to the time he spent honing his skills abroad for over 35 years!!  The longest drive was won with a 340 yard (wind assisted of coarse!!) bomb by our president Howlin’ Mad Flower!!

However, in third place was John ‘The Pitbull’ Pitts with a fantastic score of 42 points, followed closely by Brett ‘The Bridesmaid’ Standerwick on a magnificent 43 points, the winner who sees his handicap slashed 4 shots from 20 to 16 was Russell ‘Bobber’ White with an awesome 45 points…….congratulations Bobber!!

Despite the high scoring, there were no 2’s this month, therefore the money will be rolled over to next month with all to play for.  We also collected another £48 in blob money for my two charities this year.

I look forward to seeing you all at our next event which is for my cup, The Captains Cup which is going to be played at Isle Of Purbeck, first tee off 12:00.

Captain Bru

Bowood Manor ~ Summer Tour

This year’s mini tour saw 30 of us travel up to Bowood estate in Wiltshire. Now I could tell you in detail about the superbly manicured championship course or the 200 acres of beautifully crafted “capability brown” landscapes. Maybe the luxurious hotel and spa with tranquil views needs a mention, but i feel one line sums it all up perfectly “if Carlsberg did short golf breaks!”
We received a very warm welcome from all the Bowood staff, particularly the delightful barmaid Laura who took the wise-cracks and jibes from certain members over the weekend with poise and professionalism (in layman terms” she gave as good as she got”)

ON TO THE GOLF: after the first 2 rounds with much hilarity and jostling for position it came down to a two horse race between pricey and big man Brett. With mad howling flower and Mark ( I like wearing pink jackets) Teed set up to do a chuckle brothers support act in the final Sunday fourball. The captains challenge had ended on day 2 with an all points u-turn after a slight altercation with a bush…………. 14 trees and 3 lakes.

DAY 3: away from the main event the usual in group skirmishes were taking place. One of which will go down in Wiltshire legend as “the battle of Bowood moor” between Bobber, Dunco, Jamie and myself. Two hours of fierce knock for knock fighting followed before the Dunco/Bobber cavalier bravado slowly diminished when the half way house ran out of sausage rolls. Leaving roundhead Jamie and Oliver Crumblewell to luckily scythe a path to glory.

BACK TO THE CLUBHOUSE: All eyes were fixated on the leader board, Gordy Tucker had posted the mark with a late tiger charge and score of the tour of 40 points. Was there to be another juicy climax, alas pricey pulled off the performance of his life with strokes to spare, leaving Brett with only dreams of taking home the top trophy in Vilamoura this year as he had already done in 2007.

An enjoyable long weekend was had by all and I’m pleased to say I’ve already had an email from our elite organiser bobber to confirm the same venue is booked for 2011.

Capt bru
p.s On hearing those noisy, somewhat tipsy individuals from Dorset will be visiting again , Laura has decided to emigrate to New Zealand .

PRESIDENTS CUP

For our fifth outing of the new season a slightly disappointing 20 members made the 60 miles trip to Wells GC, a course that the ROGS had previously never played before situated close to Glastonbury and Wookey Hole caves nestled in the beautiful Mendip Hills.

It was one of the hottest days of the year, and the fairways were hard an running, however the greens were receptive and true which meant no blaming of spike marks or stones for any missed putts this month!! Some of the greens and tees were a little close together, and at one point on the back nine some of the members thought that they were facing the firing squad from stray Titleist!!

It was a day that proved a tight affair with the lowest score, and the highest being separated by less than 10 points! In third place was Tim ‘Baa Baa’ Porter with 35 points, in second place with 36 points was ‘Bobber’ White, and the winner with a magnificent 38 points was Pete ‘The Missing Digit’ Cheeseman…..congratulations Pete!!!

Nearest the pins went to Peter ‘Magnum P.I.’ Foster and ‘Bobber’ White, nearest the pin in 2 went to ‘Rustly’ Ruskin, and in an unprecedented tie for longest drive prize that couldn’t even be separated by the width of a ‘Tiny’ sandwich was shared between ‘Parker’ Parker and Jim ‘The Arm’ Corbin. The 2’s money was shared between ‘P.I.’ and Doug ‘King Of Spoof’ Marsh who shared £20 between them.

I look forward to seeing you at the next outing at Taunton Vale GC on the 30th July for the Jim Corbin Cup, first tee off at 12:00.

Captain Bru

LANDLORDS CUP

For our fourth outing of the new season we travelled to Knighton Heath GC, a popular course near to the centre of Poole, and the home club of various ROGS members including ‘Sir’ Geoffrey, ‘The Wiff’ and John ‘Speed Golfer’ Johnson.

The fairways were hard and running and the greens were quick, this coupled with strong winds and punishing rough made the course a real test!!  The day also proved costly for one of the ROGS members who was running a little late after going through a rigorous warm up routine on a neighbouring driving range and then filling up his diesel car with petrol costing him in the region of £400 to repair…….as well as the tank full of petrol!!  Obviously to spare the blushes of this member, his name will remain completely anonymous, however for those of you who enjoy the ‘Countdown Conundrum’, you might want to re arrange these letters to reveal the culprit WAY CHARLIE!!

It was a day that proved that course knowledge was vital, with the medal positions proving a tight affair.  In third place on count back was Roger ‘Cueball’ Johns with 34 points, in second place with 35 points was course member Sir ‘Geoffrey Adams, and the winner with a magnificent 38 points was another course member Brian ‘The Wiff’ Wiffen…..congratulations Wiff!!!

Nearest the pins went to ‘Pricey’ and fresh out of hiding Dave ‘Bin Laden’ Rushton, nearest the pin in 2 went to ‘Sir’ Geoffrey, and an impressive longest drive prize went to ‘Howlin Mad’ Flower.  The 2’s money was shared between ‘Pricey’ and ‘Tiny’ Merritt who shared £29 between them.

As you can imagine, there were quite a few blobs on the day given the weather, therefore we managed to collect £56 for my charities, which as you will be aware, this year will be split between Ragamuffins and the Friends of Bere Regis School (FOBRS).  There were also going to be fines for the offence of “incorrect tie wearing” by ‘Rusty’ Ruskin and new member ‘Sergeant Pike’ Green, who were given the option to pay the fine or have their ties severed by myself with a pair of scissors….…..they chose the latter much to the members’ amusement!!

I look forward to seeing you at the next outing at Wells GC on the 25th June for the Presidents Cup, first tee off at 12:00.

Captain Bru

WHITBREAD PAIRS TROPHY

For our third outing of the new season we travelled to Queens Park GC, a popular course near to the centre of Bournemouth, and the home club of our illustrious president Howlin’ Mad Flower!!

It was great to see a turn out in the high 20’s, with some season virgins making an appearance namely Alan Green, Capt John Spurdle and Mark ‘Sicknote’ Teed

The fairways were hard and running, and the greens were quick, this coupled with some strong winds made the course a real test, especially some of the long par 4’s back into the teeth of it!!  However, there was still some scintillating golf played especially by Pete Foster who birdied 5 out of the 18 holes, and by Alan ‘Mickleson’ Lambert who, I heard needed shoulders the size of Geoff Capes to carry his partner round the course.  The scoring at the top was extremely close, with a three was tie for third on 42 points, however, the prize went to Doug ‘King of Spoof’ Marsh and Frenchie, in second were Rob ‘Pazza’ Parry and John ‘Rusty’ Ruskin with 44 points, and the winners were Paul ‘PABS’ Ebsworth and ‘Mickleson’ Lambert with a fantastic 45 points, congratulations to both of you!! 

Nearest the pins went to John ‘Speed Golfer’ Johnson and Chris Sumner, nearest the pin in 2 went to Dave ‘One More for the Road’ Clunies-Ross, and an impressive longest drive prize went to ‘Sicknote’ Tweed.  The 2’s money was shared between Sir Geoffrey Adams, ‘PABS’ Ebsworth and Pete Foster who shared £27 between them.

As you can imagine, there were quite a few blobs on the day given the weather, therefore we managed to collect £58 for my charities, which as you will be aware, this year will be split between Ragamuffins and the Friends of Bere Regis School (FOBRS).

The final of the ‘Ebsworth Builders Matchplay’ winter knockout competition was played this month between Brett ‘Big Man’ Standerwick and Peter ‘The Missing Digit’ Cheeseman at Hampworth Golf Course.  The game lived up to all the pre match hype with the result being decided on the 20th hole, where after counting their shots on their fingers, Brett had a par 4, and Pete took slightly more with 4 ¼!!  Congratulations Brett!!

I look forward to seeing you at the next outing at Knighton Heath GC on the 28th May for the Landlords Cup, first tee off at 10:30.

Captain Bru

GRS TROPHY

For our second outing of the new season we travelled to Rushmore GC, and testing challenge situated a stones throw from where Madonna and Guy used to have their country retreat, and where Rob ‘Ace of Base’ Acey was frequently spotted practising the lyrics for his now famous rendition of “Like a Virgin”…..…..available now at most HMV and WH Smiths stores locally, and to download off of the web.

It was great to see a turn out in the mid 30’s, especially as the weather forecast was not at it best with the high probability what we would all be getting a little damp at some point throughout the day.

The forecast was unfortunately correct, and we did suffer some severe downpours throughout the day, however this certainly did not detract from the excellent standard of golf played on the day, where a score in the high 30’s did not even get into the medal positions!!  In third position was Roger ‘Dunco’ Duncanson with an impressive 40 points, in second position fresh off of a Spanish golf trip and a seaweed and juice detox plan was Rob ‘Pazza’ Parry with 41 points, and the winner already lined up to be David Hayes’ next opponent was Jamie ‘The Real Deal’ Lake with a fantastic 42 points, congratulations Jamie!!  A special mention also goes to ‘Frenchie’ who scored an impressive 34 points and took down numerous scalps along the way.

Nearest the pins went to Pete Foster, ‘Dunco’, Julian ‘Howlin Mad’ Flower and John ‘Rusty’ Ruskin, an impressive longest drive prize went to Paul ‘PABS’ Ebsworth with a choked down, ¾ length swing 3 wood kept under the wind with a touch of draw off of the third bunker on the right of the fairway…….so he tells us!!  The 2’s money was shared between Martin ‘I am already in training for the summer and winter tours’ Debenham, and Roger ‘Where’s my house sign’ Johns who shared £34 between them.

As you can imagine, there were quite a few blobs on the day given the weather, therefore we managed to collect £64 for my charities, which as you will be aware, this year will be split between Ragamuffins and the Friends Of Bere Regis School (FOBRS).

The final of the ‘Ebsworth Builders Matchplay’ winter knockout competition will played this month between Brett ‘Big Man’ Standerwick and Peter ‘The Missing Digit’ Cheeseman at Hampworth Golf Course who are both playing off of the exact same handicap which should provide a thrilling contest.

I look forward to seeing you at the next outing at Queen’s Park GC on the 30th April for the Whitbread Pairs, first tee off at 12:00.

Captain Bru

MEMBERS CHALLENGE

With Xmas barely over and my hangover still lingering we had over 2 dozen members attend the first meeting of the new season which was for the Members Challenge Trophy.

In some of the most testing weather conditions ever experienced by the fine bunch of men, the question on everybody’s lips was not where I am going to hit my first tee shot of the new season, nor was it how many points is it going to take to win the trophy, but will Simon ‘The Worm’ Scott wear a jumper in nearly sub zero temperatures??  The answer to the aforementioned was yes………but only a thin one!!

Some comical headwear was worn by various members to keep out the elements, the prize for the worst having to go to Mike ‘The Quiff’ Parker who wore something resembling a cross between a tea cosy and grannies hot water bottle!!