Swindle Results March 5th

Another tough day for scoring, with an average of just 28.7 stapleford points which I would guess is the lowest for years. I'm sure playing to strict winter rules must have had an effect, at least to those of us who don't habitually stick the ball on the short stuff!

The winning score was 37 points, posted by both Dom Johnson and Mark Whittington. £16 each and cuts of 3 and 1 respectively. That takes Mark to a swindle handicap (temporarily) of 6. Next target Eugene on 5!

In 3rd place with a very steady 35 points was Ali Roberston for £8. Front and back nines were both won on 19 points by Geoff Tithecot and Kim Nguyen for a fiver each.

We have a new leader on the BLUE leaderboard, with Dom's win propelling him to the top of the standings. There to be shot at now Dom!

Hall Trophy

Just a reminder to enter this competition if you would like to. Just fill out this entry form by the end of March. Some swindlers have had trouble getting their names on the sheet - blame google! It should work if you are logged in to google but if you can't get it to work, just ask Alex or Gus to put your name down for you.

Match Report - February 26th

Swindle Results Feb 19th

A high quality performance from Kim Nguyen saw him take the win with 39 points. Kim earned £23 and a 3-shot cut, as well as climbing to 3rd on the BLUE leaderboard. 2nd with 38 points was "Pablo" Matthews for £12 and a single shot cut. A good score of 37 saw Dom Johnson into 3rd for £7, lifting him to 2nd place on the early BLUE leaderboard. Jeff Titman currently leads in BLUE with an average of exactly 34 points. Dave Robson was top but is not likely to play again for a while while he convalesces. We send him our best wishes and hope to welcome him back in April and see him reinstated on the leaderboard.

Tom Walters on 18 and Mike Crofts on 20 picked up a fiver each for front nine and back nine respectively.

Mike is still out in front on the RED leaderboard, closely pursued by Gus and with Tom Walters jumping into 3rd place.

Next week is a Team Event and the latest brain-teaser devised by the Boss reads as follows:-

1 best score on holes 1-5
2 best scores on holes 6-10
3 best scores on holes 11-15
4 best scores on holes 16-18
1 bonus point on each Par 3 if 2 players land on the green with 1st shot.
Nearest the pin on 3rd hole
Best Individual stapleford score

Don't forget to check the list of tee-times for any last-minute changes, and fingers crossed the weather holds fair after all the rain of the last few days.

Results for Feb 12th

24 swindlers completed the muddy challenge this week, with a highest score of 37 posted by both The Boss and Gus. £16 each and a 2-shot cut. In 3rd place for a fiver with 36 points was Tom Walters. The front 9 was won by Paul Matthews with 17 points and the back 9 by Richard Ballard with 18, on count-back. The average score this week was exactly 30 points, so anything over that was a decent effort in the conditions.

Handicap-Meister Alex

If you weren't there at the end on Wednesday you will have missed the news that Alex is now the official watchdog for official club handicaps for the Wednesday group. Alex is fulfilling this role on behalf of the official handicap committee. So you'd better watch out and mind your P's and Q's when Alex is about or you could be in trouble!

Finally, just another reminder to fill out this entry form by the end of March if you would like to enter the Hall Trophy this year.

Swindle Results from Feb 5th

A fantastic 39 points from Geoff Tithecott was good enough to head the field by a full 3 shots. Congratulations to Geoff for a great round. £22 won, and a 2-shot cut to 18. Runners up were Mike Crofts, Kelvin Smith and Ali Robertson on 36 points. £6 each and a 1-shot cut for 4 weeks. In Mike's case this is his 3rd cut in just 3 outings - stunning form! Having started on a swindle handicap of 22 Mike will be playing next week on 17. Fortunately for him only 3 of the strokes cut are permanent!

The front 9 was won by Martin Davies on 18, and the back 9 on 19 by Jeff Titman. Each took home £5.50.

With 4 rounds played, the averages have now been published and in the RED section the aforementioned Mike Crofts is not surprisingly well out in front with a frankly incomprehensible average of over 38 points! He's followed by Mark Whittington and Chris Manners.

In BLUE Dave Robson has only played one round but since he scored 42 points, he is currently bossing the leaderboard. Best wishes to Dave who is recovering from surgery - we hope to welcome him back soon. Dave is followed on the leaderboard by Mssrs Titman and Tithecott.

Alex's Rules Blog

Alex has fielded a few rules queries this month - see the link to his blog above right, where you can read up on a few gems!

Hall Trophy

For newer Swindlers, the Hall Trophy is a singles knockout competition which runs through the summer months for the Wednesday Swindle members only. It’s played off your full swindle handicap and can be played on a Wednesday as part of the Swindle or any other day if you wish by agreement with your opponent.

Please fill out this form by the end of March if you wish to enter, the draw will carried out at the end of March so that the competition can commence in early April.

The entry fee is £2 and the eligibility criteria is that you must have played a minimum of 5 Swindle rounds between 1st Jan 2024 and 1st  April 2025. The entry fee will be collected by Alex later in the year.

The full rules can be found at the link down the left side of the web page; any issues please speak to Alex.

 

Results from Jan 29th

Conditions were taxing to say the least for our first team outing of the year. No surprise then that scores were quite low, with 36 stapleford points being the highest anyone could muster, and the average being a whisker under 30.

The team competition was originally awarded to Jeff Titman, the Brynmeister, Richard Ballard and David Cheek on 90 points. However once the National Audit Office had scrutinised the official paperwork this score was downgraded to 88 points which meant a tie with the team comprising the Boss, Rory, Gus and Kim. £5.50 to each and every one of them.

Nearest the pin in 3 on the 12th saw a monumental scrap with 4 different leaders. It's the last name that counts though, which was Ali Robertson. And he bagged the birdie to boot. A fiver for his trouble.

Jeff and Bryn both had 36 points which left the prize for highest-stapleford-by-anyone-not-winning-another-prize to Andy Wyatt with 34 points. This is the lowest winning score in recent memory in this category but nevertheless saw Andy walk off with the biggest prize of the day, £6. Spend it wisely!

Parish Notices

So far 13 people have signed up for the AwayDay at Welwyn Garden City on March 20th. If you'd like to play, please get yourselves signed up on the website so that Keith can finalise the numbers with WGC Golf Club.

Results from Jan 22

Only the second swindle outing of the year, but continuing his stellar form was Mike Crofts, who followed up his runner up spot last week with a win this time, on 39 points. It's too early to publish the averages but if we did, Mike would be sitting on a handsome 39.5 average! Well played Mike - £23 and a permanent 3 shot cut.

We had a 4-way tie for second place on 38 points. £6 and a 4-week 1 shot cut went to Chris Manners, Ali Robertson, Geoff Tithecot and Richard Ballard.

The Sommelier picked up a fiver for the front 9 with 20 points, and the back 9 was won by The Boss, also with 20 points.

The weather is not looking too clever this week but all being well we will have a team competition on Wednesday - see the roster sheet for details.

 Alan Hall's Funeral

Gents I was hoping today to get a firm idea to pass to Alan's family on the number of attendees for Alan's funeral at St Nicholas Church, Harpenden,1pm on Tuesday Feb 4th with the wake at APGC 2-5pm.

If you are planning to attend can you please let me know this week so I can advise the family, tks.

Keith