Your Xmas Present 2024

All the Wednesday Group scores for 2024 have now been passed to Axel Flaig for scrutiny! Hopefully APGC will decide on any general play handicap adjustments before our first outing on the 8th Jan so they can be included in your start year 2025 swindle handicap. Most of you now know that your 3 year winnings/game played ratio for 2022-2024 are also taken into account and your WHI (Yellow Tee) handicap will be adjusted accordingly.

These handicap adjustments are as follows:    

-2 : Mark Whittington, Dave Clarke, 

-1 : Dave Smith, Chris Manners, Ali Robertson, Glen Rootman, Paul Matthews, Alan Wright,                  Steve Mummery, Jeff Titman, Kim Nguyen, Bob Bright, Paul Berendt, Bryn Jones,                              Kelvin Smith, Dave Robson.

+1 : Colin Stickland, Alex Hall, Andy Wyatt, Gus Merelie, Mike Crofts, Peter Miller,                                   Martin Davies, Dominic Johnson.

+2 : David Cheek, Trevor Hones, Sameer Chelache.

+4 : Jim Morrison

Any player not on the list above has 0 adjustment to take into account. There is an appeals process but it very difficult to work out!! Have a good Xmas and looking forward to our first outing on the 8th Jan. 

That's it for 2024!

For the final swindle of the year 20 brave souls fought their way around a blustery course. In a team competition of 6 separate 4-balls (there were 4 ghosts...) the aggregate scores ranged from 71 to 85. The winning team was Andy Wyatt, The Boss, Kelvin the Bionic Man and Trevor Hones. For the record, The Boss was a ghost for another team and helped them to finish 2nd. Kelvin was also a ghost for another team and helped them to avoid finishing last. Pick your sides! The winning team took home a handsome £7.50 each. Alan Wright matched Andy at the top of the scoring charts with 37 stapleford points and won himself a fiver. The final prize of 2024, a fiver for nearest the pin in 3 on the 10th, went to Robin Bull.

Remember that the league tables were finalised before the prize-giving dinner, but the averages have continued to be updated so if you want to see your final positions, just follow the link at the top left of this screen.

So that's it for 2024. Have a great Christmas everyone, and thanks for making the Wednesday Swindle the best group of the lot at APGC. See you in 2025!

                    

via GIPHY

December 11 - Results

Despite an early Christmas present from the Boss in the shape of pick and place everywhere, scoring once again proved difficult in heavy and cold conditions. The average score was just a smidge over 30 points. Clearly teeing the ball up on a convenient tuft of grass helped, but not that much! Consequently 38 points was enough for a clear win for the bionic man - £21 and a 4-shot cut to Kelvin. Gus played very steadily (though I say it myself!) for 36 points and £10 in 2nd place, and Andy Wyatt played nicely for the second week running for 34 points and 3rd place, worth £6.

The front nine was won convincingly with 20 points by Dave Smith, and the back nine by PBI with some good ball striking for 17 points. A fiver for each of them.

A few players baled out before the end this week, such was the cold. Given all the wet weather lately we really can't complain, but let's hope for an uptick in temperatures sometime soon!

And it's goodbye from him...

 

After a mere 13 years playing the Wednesday Swindle, JC has finally had enough and is clearing off northwards. No, not to his ancestral home in haggis-land, but to the wilds of Norfolk. He celebrated his final appearance in the august company of Dave, Steve and Alan and signed off with a respectable 32 points. Not bad considering the number of nips from his hip-flask along the way. Afterwards in the bar a tearful JC departed with the words, "Guys, it's been a privilege and a pleasure. For all of you".

Cheers JC!

Results for Dec 4th

Spurred on by finishing 0.01 behind Paul Matthews in the final RED league table, Mark Whittington put in a strong performance to score a gross 79 and post 39 points, winning by a stroke ahead of the Brynmeister on 38 points. £22 and a 2 stroke cut to a swindle handicap of 8 for Mark; £13 and a single stroke cut for Bryn. Don't worry boys, handicaps will be reset in the New Year!

Trailing in a distant 3rd on a still very respectable 35 points were 5 players; Eugene, Paul M, Andy Wyatt, Dom and Ali. Well played to all of them, and £2 each saw them all break even on the day. Chris "I'll have you Butler" and Dave "Spoons" Reynolds bagged a fiver each with 19 points on the front and back nines respectively.

A reminder that the league tables are now frozen, but the ongoing averages will still be updated and can be viewed via the link on the top left of this page.

Christmas and New Year Swindles

The course is closed on Christmas Day but will be open on New Year's Day. PBI has signed up to play but at the moment he is Billy-No-Mates. If any others want to keep him company, get yourselves signed up. Alternatively leave him to play on his own and he's guaranteed to win £2 and get a cut 😉

Aldwicks Collection for Club Staff

Anyone still wishing to put in to the annual gratuities collection for the staff at the club, please email or phone Alex Hall and he will give you the details to send your contribution by bank transfer.

Alex is also still collecting £2 contributions to Ian McDowell's leaving present.

Hall & Reynolds

 Available for weddings, birthdays and Christmas parties. Reasonable rates. Discounts for the over 70s golfers.

November 20th - The Ice Man Cometh!

Johnny Harris would probably still have been wearing shorts but to many a swindler it was definitely brass monkey weather. Heavy conditions underfoot made scoring a bit of a challenge (the average points score across the field was only 29) so under the circumstances Paul Matthews' 38 points was a great performance. Not least because it inched him back into a 0.01 point lead over Mark on the RED leaderboard, with just one more week to count. They are both down to play in the team event next week, so in a battle royale befitting of this prestigious competition the equation is simple - Mark needs to outscore Paul if he is to take the 2024 title. No pressure there then!

Paul took home £21 for the win on the day; Gus snuck second place for £11 with 36 points (despite 3 blobs - really must learn to avoid those!) and "Mr Dependable" Stuart Insall delivered his customary 35 points for 3rd and £6. Unbelievably, count-back failed to separate both JC and The Boss on 19 points for the front 9 and PBI and Peter Creighton on 17 points for the back 9. A handsome £2.50 to each of them.

The BLUE leaderboard is also on a knife-edge. Don is in a pretty strong position at the head of the table since it would take a 9 point swing on the day for him to be overtaken. Unlikely but not impossible. Right behind Don though, Stuart, Tom and Kelvin are separated by only 0.04 points. Squeaky bum time! In a twist of fate, at the time of writing Don, Stuart and Kelvin have all been drawn in the same group for next week, whilst Tom's fate is out of his own hands as he's not down to play. Bring it on! 

Final note - for anyone still wishing to contribute cash to Ian McDowell's leaving collection, Alex has kindly volunteered to take your money and pass it on to the Treasurers, so just collar him next time you see him.

Collection for Ian McDowell

After 14 years with BGL, the last 7 of which were at APGC, Ian McDowell is moving on to pastures new at Porters Park Golf Club.

Club Captain Carl Lawson is organising a collection for a leaving present for Ian. If you would like to contribute £2, just go to your HowDidiDo account and sign up to the event Ian McDowell - club collection. The money will be taken from your PSI account.

If you like to do things the old fashioned way, just give your coinage to one of the swindle committee members and we'll make sure it reaches Carl.