Team Event Results, July 29th

The Boss's latest machiavellian plot divided opinion. Some people enjoyed the lack of pressure, knowing that their score on a given hole was irrelevant to the team score. I confess I was one! Others missed the sense of jeopardy. Masochists, I call them!

Results were as follows:-

    Team D, Team E - 70 points
    Team G - 65 points
    Team H - 63 points
    Team B, Team C - 61 points
    Team A - 60 points
    Team F - 56 points

The winning team members all bagged £6 being Jimbo, Daves Reynolds and Smith and PBI in Team D, and David Coutts, Steve Mummery, Pablo and Chris Butler in his capacity as a ghost player for Team E.

No fewer than 5 players scored 9 points across their 3 nominated holes, which seems pretty spectacular to me! The 3 players that weren't already on winning teams and therefore trousered a whole £2 each were Martin Davies, the Brynmeister and Al Wright.

The day's best stapleford score, a splendid 42 points, was scored by Richard Taverner who took home £6 for his trouble. And remember, no cuts on team competition days so any winnings carry only upside!

The ding-dong battles at the top of both leaderboards continue, with Jeff inching past Pablo back into 1st place on red, and Jimbo almost overhauling Mike in blue.

Hall Trophy

Iain Pritchard had to retire hurt after 9 holes and ceded the game to Andy Wray, but was gracious enough to acknowledge that Andy was playing a blinder and was going to win anyway. Andy goes through to play Kelvin in a tasty-looking quarter final.

Robert Andlaw Trophy - Message from The Sommelier

We are supporting two great charities this year, Pancreatic Cancer UK and the Club’s Charity, Rennie Grove Hospice, with proceeds being split equally. I have been asked to clarify what would constitute an acceptable donation.

Let me be clear, I want everyone to enjoy the event and not to feel under any pressure to donate more than that with which they feel comfortable. However, for guidance purposes:-

    9 hole Greensomes,  £5
    28 hole Matchplay,  £10
    Nearest pin on Par 3’s (for prizes) £1 a hole

Obviously, it is also my wish to generate a tidy sum for the charities so please be generous with your contributions. £20 would take care of the whole day with entry into all the NP’s. That said, anything you feel comfortable with would be acceptable. 

I have also been asked how payment can be made with many expressing preference for electronic payment. To that end, I have set up a special account exclusively for charitable payments, details as follows

    D N Reynolds
    First Direct
    40-47-70
    42561565

Please do not forget to include you name as a reference if you choose this method of payment. 

The alternative is to pay in cash.

We have a new leader!

Having been re-instated on the leaderboard, Pablo took full advantage of Jeff's absence to post 41 points and take over the lead at the top of the red leaderboard. With both of them averaging over 35 points, we now have a battle royale on our hands. And Pablo even managed to avoid a cut! That's because scoring was stellar this week, in-form Jimbo scoring an amazing 45 points to take the win and £23. And a 4-shot cut for the rest of the season.

2nd place wasn't too shabby either, Rory returning 44 points, a mere 15 shots better than his last outing. Must have been something to do with the free balls that nice man from Titleist gave him for having his swing tested in the nets. Rory picked up £17 and a 1-shot cut for 4 weeks. I don't think his handicap will feel the strain too much!

3rd place was shared by Chris Butler and Dave Robson with 43 points, for £8 each. Honourable mentions to Pablo (see above) and Andy Wray, for each breaking 40 points and winning diddly squat.

Both nines were won on countback in 22 points, the front to Stuart Insall and the back to Peter Miller, whose cause was greatly helped by birdieing the 16th.

As well as a new leader on the red leaderboard, Jimbo continues his surge in blue and is now up to 2nd place, hot on the heels of long-time leader Mike Vallance.

In the Hall Trophy, PBI triumphed over Martin Davies and is the first through to the semi-finals, where he will play Chris Hunt or Graham Waller. Whoever wins from that pairing will have their work cut out - Pete has form in this tournament, and is hard to beat when he's within sniffing distance of a final.

Finally, please have a look at the rules for next week's team competition. The Boss has surpassed himself this week and given everyone something to think about!

Wednesday Swindle July 15th

We may still be in the middle of the longest heatwave for yonks, but it was a curious day. The first half was cloudy and relatively(!) cool, but there was a stiff breeze which made play quite tricky at times. Some of the greens had been watered as well, which seemed to make some of them a bit slower whilst others were really quick. Then in the afternoon the sun came out again and it was warm work.

Our winner on the day was Dave Robson with an excellent 40 points - his second win of the campaign. Last time he got cut 5 strokes - this time it's only a 4-shot cut. Consider yourself lucky Dave! And £22 quid winnings to boot.

Behind Dave with yet another superb score, this time 39 points for a £14 prize, was Jimbo who has now climbed on to the Blue Leaderboard after averaging over 38 points in his last 8 rounds. Making hay while the sun shines was never so apt!

Joint 3rd for £6 each with 38 points were Gary Fowler and new boy Mark Thompson. Gary also had 2 birdies - one of them on the 18th, to applause from the gallery. Eugene also had 2 birdies. The "birdie king" title will be hotly contested this year.

Front nine honours and the fiver went to another new boy Geoff Curran with 20 points, while the back nine went to Pablo also with 20 points.

Leaderboards

Jeff has a new challenger in Red after Pablo's medical exemption for Q1 was considered and approved by t'committee. Watch out Jeff! In Blue, Steve Mummery is in fine form and a string of good scores has seen him cruise in to 2nd place, threatening Mike Vallance's lead.

Andlaw Trophy

Another reminder that the Andlaw Trophy will take place on Wednesday August 19th. Even if you've entered your name to play that day on the normal entry sheet, please go to this form and say whether you want to play 18 or 27, and whether you're a Jet or a Shark.

Happy Birthday Bryn!

First things first, it was a pleasure and a privilege to help Bryn celebrate his milestone birthday with a glass of fizz and a slice (or four) of cake. Congratulations Bryn, we salute you!

As far as the day's golf went, it was a scorching day so it was a case of parasols up, plenty of hydration and no rushing around the course. This formula seemed to work for some, as there were some stellar scores. Joint winners with a magnificent 43 points were Martin Davies (winning for the second consecutive week) and the Sommelier, Dave Reynolds. Both will be playing off a maximum of 22 for the rest of the season - with £17 in pocket to cushion the blow.

In joint 3rd was a clutch of 3 golfers. Tom, Jimbo and Gary all scored 41 points and win £4 each. Not a princely sum, but not at all bad considering none of them got cut!

The front 9 was won in a frankly ridiculous 23 points by the Hickmeister. Eugene hit 3 birdies on the opening nie holes for a gross score of, by my reckoning, 35 strokes. Unbelievable golf! Shame the back nine wasn't quite as good... the heat clearly got to him! Back nine honours together with the fiver went to Andy Wray with 21 points. Andy also triumphed over Peter Miller in the Hall Trophy, in a 9-hole shoot-out following their tie last week. Andy goes on to play Iain Pritchard. Also victorious in the Hall Trophy was Tom Walters, who beat erstwhile champion Kim Nguyen.

Andlaw Trophy 19th August

Dave Reynolds is again organising this year's charity event, named in honour of our late friend Robert. The format will be the same as last year, with this year's theme being West Side Story. So please let Dave know if you will be playing, either 9 holes plus 18 holes or just the 18 hole matchplay. Please also let him know if you consider yourself a jet or a shark. Please enter your details here.

 Swindle results 1st July

The fine weather saw 36 players applying their skills - good scoring resulted and a bit of a birdie-fest to boot. 10 made of which 5 were on the 12th hole. The winners circle today was a domain for the 40 pointers.

44pts clinched it - well done to Martin Davies, not surprisingly his best round of the year, gross 89. The 3 shot cut was worth it for £24 winnings. 

Another best round of the season by David Cheek, gross 86 and 41pts for £17 in second place. 

3rd place was shared by PBI (also best 2026 round) and Jeff Titman (again!) on 40pts, - £8 each

The front 9 was won by Jim Morrison on 23 points after finally owning up to his 80th birthday in 2025! Winners circle beckoning off his new handicap! Chris Manners won the back 9 in Par with 22pts off HC 8. The usual £5 winnings were gratefully received.

Hall Trophy

Good wins by Graham Waller (over Eugene) and PBI (over Mike Crofts) saw them both advance into the quarter finals. The match between Peter Miller and Andy Wray was all square after 18 holes and the final outcome will be decided over 9 holes at a later date. 

As we move into the second half of 2026 a pat on the back to:

Gary Fowler heading the birdie table on 12

Eugene & Chris Manners - joint lowest gross score 77

Jeff Titman - top of the winnings table.

Stuart, Mike Crofts, David Cheek and Eugene - highest Swindle outings on 20. 

 

 Swindle results 24th June 

With the thermometer ticking past 34 degrees the sensible came up with an array of excuses to justify their withdrawal. The remaining 23 on 'ealf & safety considerations played out the team event over 9 holes although 4 Toughies braved 18 holes. 

The winning team Trevor Pyne (21pts), Kim, Bryn and Richard Tavener (£5 each) scored 27 points just pipping Ali, Peter Miller, David Cheek and score helper Stuart by 1pt.

The front 9 (20pts) was shared by PBI & Tony who at least made a profit of £1 on the day. The Hickey Meister won £1 for nearest the pin in 2 on the 7th hole on count-back, alas -£1 on the day.

Kelvin scored an impressive 38pts and won £5 for his back 9 of 19pts. It was noted he was in a buggy! The other three 18 hole Toughies merit a mention so well done Eugene, Gary (co Buggy) and Mike Crofts. They all looked somewhat cooked on their return. 

That completes 6 months Swindling - 4 days lost to bad weather, 22 days played. The Committee has reviewed player performances and the Mid Year Review is upon us.

Shots Back from 1st July are:

1 shot back to D Coutts, R Scales, A Wright, C Stickland, M Davies, T Hones & P Matthews.

2 shots back to P Ibbetson, D Smith, A Merelie and yes the Boss (thoroughly merited!).

Bryn heads off to Portugal to celebrate his 90th Birthday on the 28th June with all his family. Enjoy.  

It didn't rain!

Happy days, with just a gentle breeze, a few clouds and the odd bit of sunshine adding up to a lovely day for a round of golf. Course conditions were still testing at times for the wayward though, with some of the rough having thickened up. What is it with the 5th hole? The fairway slopes to the right and they've gone and left a 6 foot strip of deep grass between the fairway and the light rough. I just don't get it. My ball did though!

There were 3 scores in the 40's this week, with Charles Angus leading the way on 42 for £23 and a 3-shot cut. Should have been more I hear you say! Peter Miller was 2nd with 41 points - not even his best score of the season! £13 and a cut of 1 shot for his next 4 rounds. Don was 3rd with 40 points for a £7 prize and in joint 4th with 36 points for a handsome £2.50 bonanza each were Jeff and Kelvin.

The front 9 was shared on 20 points by Ali and Peter Evans, who couldn't be split even on countback. The Boss had an inexplicable burst of generosity and awarded them £3.50 each in recognition. The more traditional £5 pot for the back nine went to Chris Manners with 18 points.

Leaderboards

No change at the top of Red, though Ali is starting to creep up the table and is now into 3rd. In Blue the big mover was Peter Miller, up into 2nd place after yesterday's fine round. He's not too far back on long time leader Mike Vallance. Watch out Mike!

Hall Trophy

There were 3 matches yesterday. According to Trevor Hones, Iain Pritchard was rolling the putts in from all over the shop and duly prevailed in their match. According to Gary Fowler, he was missing his own putts from as little as 2 feet, and duly lost to Chris Hunt. In the day's other match, Pete Ibbetson took out Dave Smith. You can keep up to date with the draw by clicking on the 2026 link on the left hand side of this page.

Team game next week - check out the rules in the normal way.

Swindling in the Rain

It wasn't just raining cats and dogs, but otters, dolphins and multiple other water-dwelling mammals. As I sat in my car in the club car park with my bag still in the boot, 15 minutes before my scheduled tee-time watching hailstones bouncing off the windscreen and the car park turn into a river, I could be forgiven for thinking a round of golf probably wasn't going to happen. Players streamed off the course, thunder sounded above and the forecast was for lots more of the same so I headed home.

And yet... swindlers are made of stern stuff. 20 players made it round 18 holes. I wasn't there so I don't know for sure how wet they got, but the weather cleared a little, and there was even some watery sunshine. Until about 4pm, when the heavens opened again and it looks like a couple of players decided discretion was the better part of valour after the 15th hole.

So hats off (or on, if they're waterproof) to all the players who completed the course. Top of the pile was Chris Hunt with 39 points for £22 and a 3-shot cut. Tony Coomber (who was due out at the same time as me - madman!) shot 37 to finish in 2nd for £11.

The front-nine fiver went to David Cheek on 19 (David then baled - sensible chap!) and the back nine to Trevor Pyne with 21. 

Hall Trophy Results

Two matches were completed. Malcolm bowed out 2 down to Martin Davies, and last year's champion Ali surrendered his title, losing to Andy Wray in a nailbiter that went all the way to an extra hole. That must have been an interesting contest since Ali outscored Andy by 4 points on stapleford. That's matchplay for you!

Finally a reminder that next week is cards-in week so make sure you register, and if you're not playing next week, please do a card the next time you play.