Watson Plate - Wergs Golf Course: April 2014

This April we managed to dodge the rain and gather 8 teams together for another challenge on a Wolverhampton course. This course was chosen by Roger Bishop , who was technically the organiser, but smart enough to delegate the administration to his willing slave Mark.

The more members that step forward taking their turn on organisation the easier life becomes and so before we begin the report on Wergs many thanks to Tom Hingley who is currently handling the North v South clash at Oxford on July 12th and Colin Morris who has taken responsibility for Eastbourne Downs on October 18th. More of this later.

Wolverhampton is blessed with a number of good golf courses but Wergs GC was a new one to many of us even in the North section of players. So the week before the competition I sneaked on to take notes, aided and abetted by Doug Heal, Roz White and Clare Kapur. I played the 18 and then tried to find Roger Bishop's address so I could send the boys around to break his legs - suffice to say I found the course long and tricky and began to realise why Roger had chosen it (because he is long and tricky....). We never actually saw Doug , he spent the whole round on another fairway and playing the lumberjack, while the talent (Roz and Clare) fought out a private battle. Clare played excellent golf that day and at least showed that if you hit the fairways and sank your putts this was a course that could be conquered.

So , to the competition itself. In reverse order:

NO ACCOUNTS - Rich Marston, Mark Thompson and Nigel Phillips. 97

A tough day. They started poorly and ended 6,6,7,7 but weirdly played the 8th to the 14th as well as the other teams. When it went wrong it went wrong. They used 4 of Rich's drives on the front nine and appeared to be perfectly happy when they got to the green, but had fun getting there.

ROWE OF HOUSES - Dave Rowe, Chris Leech and Kersten Jebbett. 94

Now Dave can hit the ball a long way and I felt this course would suit him, but they did use up most of Chris's tee shots on the front nine. They were in contention for the first 6 holes and then it got away from them. perhaps not surprisingly no-one in these last two teams had played the course before, which in this case I did feel gave an advantage. But whether you know the course or not rarely effects the Longest Drive and Miss Jebbett (her third competition trophy) used her hockey skills to smash it past everyone else! Well done Jebbers.

SWEET CHARIOTS - Gil Wright, Andy Sweetman and Jan Fuller. 92

Up there with the leaders until the last 4 holes which cost them 25 shots. How Andy didn't win the Longest Drive on the 14th I shall never know. They used 4 of Jan's tee shots on the first nine, Andy got going and carried the team through the middle part of the course only for the team to slip away in the last 45 minutes. Gil was woeful off the tee having been trained by Doug the week before. He found the middle of all the fairways but not in order of the holes and nearly brained a sheep. Had better days but never had better company while in melt down. Jan and Andy represent the Mother Theresa golf school so Gil was given constant therapy and support (although he could hear them both praying in the bushes when he got out Mr Spanky...).

SISTER CLARES CELL - Clare Kapur, Mike White and Barry Fuller. 89

One of the pre-match favourites. Clare and Mike knew the course and Clare had been magnificent the previous week. Barry is Barry , a dangerous loose cannon that probably has a hip flask secreted in his golf bag. I suspect their biggest obstacle was not laughing too much (and using most of Clare's tee shots on the front nine). Only a rogue 7 on the 8th put them over 40 for the front nine and Clare blazed her way to Nearest the Pin without serious competition. But Barry was left with the last four tee shots including the dangerous 17th with its "do I go left of the trees or right of the trees or just into the trees". He did well infact, but the 7,6,6,6 finish took them out of contention.

UGGED UP - Rob Smith, Mark Shaw and Kevin Westwood. 88

A very impressive front nine, they went out in 41 and had 4 pars. Kev managed to hit his tee shot on the 14th far enough to then kick it 3 times and punt it past Andy to claim Longest Drive - but they then got 8 on the hole! This 8, on a hole which was only Stroke Index 16, killed off the chances of winning (they parred the hardest hole on the course!).Rob was defending his championship but this time not to be.

BISHOPS CROOKS - Roger Bishop, Doug Heal and Chris Langridge. 86

Talk about hitting the ball a long way and a course made for this lot. Started as one of the favourites and if the Sky cameras had been there nothing would have dented that for the first hour. Their first five holes were all pars and they went out in 40. Only 3 pars on the back nine and too many 6's cost them. Plus the fact they handed in a dodgy card because they were mathematically challenged. Take care filling in those cards and adding up folks! The Rules Committee were spared an impromptu session because other teams beat them.

WIZARDS OF ROZ - Roz White, Tom Hingley and Colin Morris. 86

43 out and 43 back in. Consistency. A potential win derailed by a 7 on the second and an 8 on the last. Again I would have expected this team to be thereabouts. Tom has been knocking on the trophy door for a while and has become a "senior bridesmaid". Colin has his slide rule hit straight take your time mantra. And Roz is Roz. Only two poor holes and a very impressive middle section.

PLANTS POTS - Dave Plant, Fay Wright and Dean Harris. 84

Wow! Below 85 on this course in this format is a very impressive performance. Dave is quite capable of a high standard, regularly stars for Oxley Park seniors and can be sneaky long. They had 7 pars on the front nine, went out in 38 and had so many 3's and 4's that a fairly poor last four holes could not stop them from getting their names on the Watson Plate. If they had handled the last four holes better they may have set a record for a winning margin, but I guess they couldn't be bothered. Parring half the course was good enough. A healthy split of tee shots, decent putting and three cal temperaments , simple as that. Well done to the Plant Pots!!

The next Palermo Verrico Watson Plate is October 18th at Eastbourne Downs, Colin will be collecting money immediately the North v South has been concluded at Oxford on July 12th. Infact it would be good if those taking part could pay him at that event to get the finance rolling. Anyone who has not paid Tom for Oxford needs to do so pronto. Talking of Oxford please find below the latest Society handicaps as of June 2014 based on either club handicaps currently held or Palermo performances and a mixture of both if it applies to you. These are the handicaps that will be used at Oxford or in any singles comp arranged in the North or South. These are the regular players over the past couple of years in no particular order:

Andy Sweetman 20

Clare Kapur 15

Nigel Phillips 28

Jolly Phillips 28

Chris Leech 23

Colin Morris 26

Kersten Jebbett 32

Jan Fuller 32

Roz White 17

Tom Hingley 22

Mark Thompson 26

Chris Langridge 26

Rob Smith 21

Dave Rowe 24

Rich Marston 25

Barry Fuller 28

Doug Heal 26

Kev Westwood 23

Fay Wright 27

Dave Plant 18

Mike White 23

Gil Wright 24

Mark Shaw 26

Roger Bishop 21

Dean Harris 22

Chris Rose 25

Vicki Rose 34

These are the usual suspects and a true reflection of where they stand with their own golf clubs or on a points system on Palermo performances of late. In some cases it is a mixture of the two. In many cases it merely reflects the amount of golf individuals play. The Committee has spoken. Go out, swing and enjoy.