The outing was held at Tracy Park Golf & Country Club, near Bath on Wed/Thurs 10/11 August 2011.
The following HAGS/PWDGS members attended:
John Boyd, Mike Corbyn, Jeremy Crockett, Nigel French, Alan Green, Mike Harley, John Herbert, Tony Lawrence, Harry Martin, Alan Milne, Roger Thomas, Leslie Thompson, Bryan White and Eric Wood.
The following report is by Nigel French:
Well, that was a humbling experience for all concerned. Two days golf with no-one managing to score more than 29 stableford points.
Still, the hotel/resort was pleasant enough, although the absence of a spa/swimming pool was regretted by some. The rooms were comfortable, even if the plumbing was a bit flaky in some cases. The dinner was good; breakfast was adequate.
The courses were in reasonably good condition, albeit the greens were rather slow and some of the bunkers on the Cromwell course were a disgrace, but both courses were devilish tricky to be played blind (even with GPS or Strokesaver assistance), which no doubt accounted for the poor scoring - lack of talent and advancing years might also have had something to do with it ?!
Nevertheless, the outing was apparently enjoyed by all who attended and the camaraderie and banter were of the usual high standard.
For the record, the competition results were as follows:
Day 1 Individual Stableford - Cromwell Course
Winner : Les Thompson 29 pts
Runner-up : Nigel French 27 pts
Nearest pin no 10 : Nigel French
Nearest pin no 12 : No winner
Day 2 Individual Stableford - Crown Course
Winner : Jeremy Crockett 24 pts
Runner-up : Alan Green 23 pts (CB)
Nearest pin no 6 : Alan Green
Nearest pin no 16 : Nigel French
Overall winner and
winner of HAGS/PWDGS Trophy : Alan Milne 54 pts
Joint Runners-up : Nigel French/ Les Thompson 50 pts
Accounts
"Break points" earned from previous outings amounting to £61 were used to defray the cost of the outing. The resultant savings, equivalent to just under £4.50 per head, were put towards the cost of drinks before and with dinner. Contributions were collected of £5 per golfer for prizes and £10 per person for pre-dinner drinks, wine and coffee/tea. A small balance of £43.10 will be carried forward to next year.
HAGS/PWDGS 2012
Arrangements and possible venues for next year's outing were discussed. It was agreed to go upmarket (ie pay a bit more) for a truly four/five star golf and resort experience (Old Thorns, venue in 2007, was mentioned as an example). Because the first two weeks of August 2012 will be the last two weeks of the 2012 London Olympics (closing ceremony on Sunday 12 August), it was agreed in principle to hold the HAGS/PWDGS golfing olympics on Wed/Thurs 15/16 August 2012.
As to golf, the suggestion of returning to a Texas Scramble format (last used in 2009) for one of the two rounds received general support, subject to a version of the format being used that would, as far as possible, avoid an unduly slow round. Another option might be some other form of team competition. Suggestions are welcome.
Meanwhile, please make a note of the above dates in your diaries now.