Message from the County Secretary/Treasurer – Peter York

 

We are about two thirds through our season, with our chances of winning any League titles looking on the slim side. We still have a chance at 1st and Seniors levels but need strong finishes and a bit of help from the opposition.

 

This year we have been extremely busy in implementing the up-dated Unified Handicapping Scheme and have started the very long task of re-assessing the SSS of all the courses in BB&O. Shortly we will also be heavily involved in the implementation of a Central Handicap Database once one or two proprietary glitches have been overcome.

 

Our Golf Partnership continues its outstanding work and is used as the role model for all the new Partnerships in the Country. We are seeing some excellent results from the initiatives in place and we hope that this will translate into new golf club members in the near future. Our Club and Coach programme has also been very successful with any number of talented youngsters being identified. All this work cannot be done without the commitment of our team of volunteers, all of whom put in an unbelievable amount of time and effort to develop the Game in the three Counties. Our thanks to all of them.

 

Well done to all the players mentioned in these Jottings and especially to Ashley Walton (Frilford Heath), County Champion for the second time. We wish him well in the pursuit of the County Champions’ title at Woodhall Spa later in the year.

 

BB & O County Matches

 

After our first game against Essex had been washed out we had to wait until 27th July for our opener against Hertfordshire at Porters Park. With both Captains missing a number of players to the English Amateur it gave both sides a chance to test some new blood. On a very hot day we got off to the ideal start winning the first 3 foursomes and only lost the last after the opposition chipped in 3 times. We continued the good form in the afternoon singles and took 6 of the 8 games to win the match 9-3.

 

Team at Porters Park: Adam Birdseye (Hazlemere), Craig Buttivant (Gerrards Cross), Matt Jones (Buckinghamshire), Tim Newton (Reading), Malcolm Reid (Royal Ascot), Ashley Walton (Frilford Heath), Joe Winfield (Woburn), Dean Wright (Reading).

 

 

The Team at Porters Park

 

Our re-arranged match against Essex took place at Bentley on 10th August. We had high hopes of taking this match after an excellent performance in the foursomes. At one stage we looked like we would win all 4 but a disappointing finish left us just 1 point up at lunch. Again we did not capitalise on a good start in the afternoon and we eventually lost out 4˝-7˝. We now need a series of results to go in our favour to stand any chance in the League.

 

Team at  Bentley: Adam Birdseye (Hazlemere), Carl Corbin (Wokefield Park), Sean Elliott (Frilford Heath), Adam Glass (Caversham Heath), John McNally (Stoke Park), Malcolm Reid (Royal Ascot), Ashley Walton (Frilford Heath), Adam Wootton (Oxford City).

 

BB & O Colts Matches

 

At long last a win against the mighty Essex Colts team. Although we know they were unable to field their strongest side we still needed to pull out all the stops to register our first win against them at Harleyford on 1st June. We were even at lunchtime but managed to turn round a number of games, in which we were down, in the afternoon singles to win 8-4. This was our first win against Essex since 2002, coincidently at Harleyford.

 

Team at Harleyford: Brandon Caddow-Young (Mill Ride), Mathew Johnson (Chipping Norton), John McNally (Stoke Park), Tim Newton (Reading), Matt Rendell (Reading), Joe Winfield (Woburn), Tom Wilde (Beaconsfield), Dean Wright (Reading).

 

After a great start to the season we came down to earth with a bang as we lost 5-7 to Bedfordshire at The Millbrook on 28th June. We lost the foursomes 1-3 after looking for most of the morning as if we would be level at least. This proved too big a deficit to pull back and with the honours shared in the afternoon we lost the match. We are still in with a shout for the title as each County has lost at least 1 match.

 

Team at The Millbrook: Brandon Caddow-Young (Royal Ascot), Nick Joy (Hazlemere), Tim Newton (Reading), John McNally (Stoke Park), Ben Patterson (Frilford Heath), Matt Rendell (Reading), Tom Wilde (Beaconsfield), Dean Wright (Reading).

 

 

The Team at The Millbrook

 

BB & O Juniors Matches

 

Under 12s/Under 13s

 

We played Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire in this match at Temple on 20th July. This was a nervous time for a lot of the players as it was their first County game. Nevertheless they all enjoyed themselves, which is the main thing. We lost by one point to Hertfordshire and drew with Bedfordshire.

 

Team at Temple U12s: Sam Brass (Castle Royle), David Evans (Woburn), Damien Hewitt (Bearwood), Zac Jenkins (Mill Ride), Seb Jones (Bearwood), U13s: Alex Bruce (Sand Martins), Tom Butterworth (Harewood Downs), Matteo di Carlofelice (Mentmore), Duncan Toms (Reading), Alex Wills (Harewood Downs).

 

Under 14s

 

On July 29th the team travelled to Aldenham, and despite two defeats by strong Hertfordshire and Middlesex teams the BB&O boys showed some excellent promise for the coming years. For most players this was their County debut and they handled themselves very well both on and off the course. Everyone enjoyed themselves and were very tired at the end of the day but were all a great credit to the County.

 

Congratulations to Joe Townsend who won both his foursomes and both his singles to gain maximum points and against players whose handicaps were all considerably lower. Well done also to the team Captain - Alfie Bull who was unbeaten in the foursomes and notched up a good scalp with a win against the Hertfordshire player who recently won the U14 Boys Scottish Stroke Play Championship. An excellent performance also from Matteo Di Carlofelice who won a foursomes match and both his singles with a very disciplined performance.

The Team at Aldenham: Alfie Bull (Beaconsfield), Ben Beach (Burnham Beeches), Alex Bruce (Sand Martins), Matteo di Carlofelice (Mentmore), Will Cooper (Woburn), Luke Fitzpatrick (Beaconsfield), Curtis MacGeever (Newbury Racecourse), Lyle Phillips (Goring & Streatley), Joe Townsend (Burford), Christian Vollaire (Stoke Park).

 

 

The Team at Aldenham

 

The team played the second match of the season at Hadden Hill on 4th August to another strong Hertfordshire side and a good team from Bedfordshire.

 

We had a clean sweep in the foursomes against Bedfordshire 5-0 but a lack of concentration by our team in three matches on the 9th green left us adrift of Hertfordshire 1-4. We carried on the good performance in the afternoon against Bedfordshire with a fine 8-2 victory in the singles but the deficit on Hertfordshire was too much to make up and we lost to them.

 

Every member of the team scored points on the day and what was particularly pleasing was that some of the players who had difficult results in  the previous singles came back to take maximum points. Well done to Christian Vollaire and Curtis MacGeever for showing character and doing just that and also to Will Cooper and Lyle Phillips for their two foursomes victories. Congratulations also to Jordan Williams and David Langley who made their debut for the team with two excellent singles victories and a point each in the foursomes.

 

The Team at Hadden Hill: Alfie Bull (Beaconsfield), Ben Beach (Burnham Beeches), Alex Bruce (Sand Martins), Matteo di Carlofelice (Mentmore), Will Cooper (Woburn), David Langley (Winter Hill), Curtis MacGeever (Newbury Racecourse), Lyle Phillips (Goring & Streatley), Christian Vollaire (Stoke Park), Jordan Williams (Hadden Hill).

 

 

The Team at Hadden Hill

 

Under 16s

 

In the first of our League Matches we had mixed fortunes at Richings Park on 28th May. A fine win against Bedfordshire 10˝-1˝ was offset by a heavy defeat 2˝-9˝ to Hertfordshire.

 

Team at Richings Park: George Abbott (The Oxfordshire), Ryan Armstrong (Woburn), James Brockington (Henley), James Cooper (Wokefield Park), James Foster (Newbury & Crookham), Robert Grant (Mentmore), Chris Neville (Newbury & Crookham), Ben Roche (Woburn).

 

We beat Middlesex 7-5 but lost to Hertfordshire 5-7 at Mid Herts on 25th July. Somehow Middlesex beat Hertfordshire 6˝-5˝ no wonder the Junior Managers were confused!

 

Team at Mid Herts: George Abbott (The Oxfordshire),  James Brockington (Henley), Jake Canning (Richings Park), Findlay Ingram (Calcot Park), Jordan Mann (Sand Martins), Dean Newbold (Frilford Heath), Joe Richardson (Frilford Heath), Ben Roche (Woburn).

 

Under 18s

 

We played Bedfordshire at the Bedfordshire GC on 24th May in an 18 holes singles match.. Everyone played very solidly to finish with an emphatic win 7˝-2˝

 

Team at Bedfordshire: James Brockington (Henley), Robert Harry (Frilford Heath), Michael Johnson (Maidenhead), Ben Kirby (Woburn), Dean Newbold (Frilford Heath), Steve O’Connor (Tadmarton Heath), Asa Phillips (Goring & Streatley), Joe Richardson (Frilford Heath), Oli Tite (Witney Lakes), James Tobia (Woburn).

 

We then took on Hertfordshire at Buckinghamshire GC a couple of days later on 27th May. We shared the morning foursomes but had a resounding win in the singles to take the match 9˝-5˝.

 

Team at Buckinghamshire: James Brockington (Henley), James Bromham (Richings Park), Robert Harry (Frilford Heath), Michael Johnson (Maidenhead), Mark Kirby (Richings Park), Dean Newbold (Frilford Heath), Asa Phillips (Goring & Streatley), Joe Richardson (Frilford Heath), Oli Tite (Witney Lakes), James Tobia (Woburn).

 

BB & O Seniors Matches

 

The Seniors opened their campaign with a win against Bedfordshire at John O'Gaunt on 30th June. Despite the absence of 3 key players we were able to call in other experienced individuals from the grey gene pool to still put out a strong team. I can't speak for the others but at least I was under par in my match against one of the top players in the world (in my opinion anyway). Then I get dropped for the next match to make way for David Lane.

 

Team at John O’Gaunt: Bob Clarke (Mentmore), Rod Crisp (Ellesborough), David Doodson (Temple), Neil Franklin (Beaconsfield), Robert Gill (Gerrards Cross), Ian Hunter (Maidenhead), John Summers (Frilford Heath), Tommy Wells (Burnham Beeches), Jim Wilson (Frilford Heath), Peter York (Harewood Downs).

 

 

The Team at John O’Gaunt

 

Once again we failed to make home advantage count as we lost to Essex at The Berkshire on 7th July. We were doomed after the first 6 games failed to gain a full point and whilst our tail wagged, it was too late, as we went down 4˝-5˝. We will need to win our last 2 matches convincingly and - you never know - it may come down to my half against Beds which decides the League!

 

Team at The Berkshire: Jim Cameron (The Oxfordshire), Bob Clarke (Mentmore), Rod Crisp (Ellesborough), David Doodson (Temple), Neil Franklin (Beaconsfield), Robert Gill (Gerrards Cross), Nick Moore (The Berkshire), John Summers (Frilford Heath), Tommy Wells (Burnham Beeches), Jim Wilson (Frilford Heath).

 

 

The Team at The Berkshire

 

BB & O Championship & Trophy Meetings

 

Seniors Championship

 

The BB&O Seniors Championship was played at Denham Golf Club on Thursday 15th & Friday 16th May 2008. Play is split over two days and after the Thursday round just 15 players had broken 80 on a damp and breezy morning. Defending Champion John Summers (Frilford Heath) headed the field after a 73 with David Lane (Goring & Streatley) close behind on 74. Gilbert Runnicles (Gerrards Cross) was a further shot back. The second day was set up for an exciting finish with just 7 players in with a realistic chance. The weather improved on Friday but the scoring did not reflect the better conditions. David Lewis (Beaconsfield) set the early pace with a score of 154. As the leaders approached the final holes, John Summers had fallen out of contention after a poor front nine. His playing partner Gilbert Runnicles then took the lead after another solid round saw him finish on 151. It was left to the reigning English, Canadian and Portuguese Seniors Champion David Lane, to utilise his vast experience as he established a healthy lead with 3 to play. Despite a couple of minor errors in the last few holes he was able to hold on to his lead and finished 3 ahead of Runnicles to claim his 9th BB&O Seniors title.

 

Summers took the 55-59 Age Group Trophy, while Runnicles took the 60-65 Trophy. David Lane took the 65-69 Trophy and Bill Perkins (Maidenhead) took the over 70’s Trophy. In the Handicap section the 145 of Simon Tredray (East Berkshire) took first place with Richard Eltham (Maidenhead) in second and Paddy Nolan (Ellesborough) in third. Maidenhead took the Team Prize by 4 shots from Beaconsfield.

 

Scratch

 

 

Day 1

Day 2

Total

 

Seniors Champion

David Lane

(Goring & Streatley)

74

74

= 148

 

2nd

Gilbert Runnicles

(Gerrards Cross)

75

76

= 151

 

3rd

John Summers

(Frilford Heath)

73

80

= 153

 

4th

David Lewis

(Beaconsfield)

76

78

= 154

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Age Group Winners

 

 

 

 

 

 

55-59

John Summers

(Frilford Heath)

73

80

= 153

 

60-64

Gilbert Runnicles

(Gerrards Cross)

75

76

= 151

 

65-69

David Lane

(Goring & Streatley)

74

74

= 148

 

70 Plus

Bill Perkins

(Maidenhead)

83

80

= 163

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Handicap

 

 

NET

NET

 

 

1st

Simon Tredray

(East Berkshire)

69

76

= 145

 

2nd

Richard Eltham

(Maidenhead)

79

67

= 146

 

3rd

Patrick Nolan

(Ellesborough)

78

69

= 147

on countback

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scratch Team Event

 

 

Day 1

Day 2

 

 

 

Richard Eltham

(Maidenhead)

84

72

 

 

 

Ian Hunter

(Maidenhead)

76

79

 

Best two

 

Bill Perkins

(Maidenhead)

81

80

 

from three

 

 

 

157

151

= 308

each day

 

 

David Lane (Goring & Streatley) receives the Seniors Trophy from Iain MacCaskill

 

 

John Summers (Frilford Heath)

Age group 55-59

 

Gilbert Runnicles (Gerrards Cross)

Age group 55-59

 

 

Bill Perkins (Maidenhead)

Age Group Over 70

 

Penfold Trophy

 

The BB&O Penfold Championship was played at Calcot Park Golf Club on Saturday 17th May 2008. This event also serves as the qualifying round for the BB & O Amateur Championship and the top 48 players and ties gain automatic entry to the Amateur and the next 60 play in the Penfold Trophy for the remaining 23 spaces. There were 109 entries and players of 2.1 and below were entered for the Amateur Championship and players of 5.3 and over were balloted out. Once again a number players ‘forgot’ to enter in time and seemed surprised when their entries were declined.

 

After the morning round Joe Winfield (Woburn) was in the lead after a 2 under par round of 68. Paul Heselden (Harewood Downs) and Harry McCreanor (Datchet) were just 1 behind after solid 69s and there were another 23 at 77 or better. With so many qualifying spaces available there was much debate as to where the cut would fall. Needless to say, once again, the Secretary was to get it right!

 

The average afternoon scores were virtually identical to the morning with 25 players scoring 77 or better, but the best of the day came from one of the early starters - Darren Gatward (Calcot Park) who used his local knowledge to complete an excellent 3 under par 67 for a total of 141. His only real challenger was morning leader Joe Winfield, but he could not quite manage Gatward’s finish over the closing stretch and was to fall 1 short of the target. Harry McCreanor finished a further 2 shots back to take 3rd place. The qualifying score was 155 those up to 156 on countback are reserves for the Championship.

 

Scratch

 

 

AM

PM

Total

1st & Trophy Winner

Darren Gatward

(Calcot Park)

74

67

= 141

2nd

Joe Winfield

(Woburn)

68

74

= 142

3rd

Harry McCreanor

(Datchet)

69

75

= 144

 

 

 

 

 

 

Handicap

 

 

NET

NET

 

1st

Paul Kowalik

(Calcot Park)

67

70

= 137

 

Sam Williams

(Castle Royle)

72

67

= 139

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best Scratch

 

 

AM

PM

 

 

Paul Heselden

(Harewood Downs)

69

 

 

 

Michael Johnson

(Maidenhead)

 

71

 

 

 

Darren Gatward (Calcot Park)

 

Amateur Championship

 

The BB&O Amateur Championship was played at Castle Royle Golf & Country Club on Thursday 12th & Friday 13th June. The format for this Championship is the top 48 (based on exact handicap) are entered automatically and there are 24 qualifiers from the Penfold Trophy.

 

The field was competing for just 16 places (and ties) for the final 36 holes on Friday. On the first day Adam Glass (Caversham Heath) posted an excellent 2 under par total of 142 and was soon joined by Tom Wilde (Beaconsfield) who is also a member of Castle Royle. Ashley Walton (Frilford Heath) recovered from a poor morning round to score a best of the Championship 5 under par 67 as he and Sandy Bolton (Kirtlington) finished just a shot further back. Two others were on 1 over par and two more on 2 over par. The County Captain correctly predicted the cut (as usual - he had several guesses) at 150 and 17 players, including 2 from the Penfold Trophy, advanced to the second day.

 

The 3rd round is considered to be moving day and as such, once again, some moved forward and some backward. Ashley Walton - no relation to - and Darren Walton (Woburn) both finished under par and Tom Wilde (Castle Royle) added another solid 73 to his previous efforts. With 18 holes to play Ashley Walton held a lead of 2 from Wilde and 4 from Adam Glass, Sandy Bolton and Darren Walton. After 9 holes in the afternoon it was far too close to call and the lead went to and fro. Another 6 holes still had not given us a clue to the eventual winner but as each came to the 17th tee it was Tom Wilde who held a 1 shot advantage from Ashley Walton and Adam Glass with Darren Walton a further shot adrift. On the 18th tee any one of 5 players still had a chance. This last half an hour proved the most exciting finish for many a year as each player vied for the accolade of Amateur Champion. It was the only past Champion, Ashley Walton, who was able to hold his nerve, as he finished with 3 straight pars. Everyone else dropped at least 1 shot over the finish thus enabling Walton to win his second Amateur Championship with the only under par total of 287. He will now go on to represent BB&O in the EGU County Champions Tournament at Woodhall Spa in September.

 

 

 

 

Day 1

Day 1

Day 2

Day 2

Total

72 Holes Scratch

 

 

AM

PM

AM

PM

 

Amateur Champion

Ashley Walton

(Frilford Heath)

76

67

70

74

= 287

Runner Up

Tom Wilde

(Beaconsfield)

70

72

73

73

= 288

3rd

Darren Walton

(Woburn)

73

73

71

72

= 289

4th

Adam Glass

(Caversham Heath)

72

70

75

72

= 289

5th

Adam Wootton

(Oxford City)

71

74

72

73

= 290

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 1

Day 1

Day 2

Day 2

 

Best Scratch

 

 

AM

PM

AM

PM

 

 

Sandy Bolton

(Kirtlington)

70

 

 

 

 

 

Craig Buttivant

(Gerrards Cross)

 

69

 

 

 

 

Matt Briggs

(Stoke Park)

 

 

72

 

 

 

Adam Birdseye

(Hazlemere)

 

 

 

69

 

 

 

Ashley Walton (Frilford Heath) receives the Amateur Championship Trophy from Iain MacCaskill

 

Club Foursomes

 

The BB&O Club Scratch and Handicap Foursomes Championships were held at The Lambourne Club on Wednesday 18th June. This year the format changed in that Clubs could enter two teams and were able to win either, or both, of the Championships. 55 teams were entered and play was in two balls instead of the normal threes. This meant that play was much faster and this appealed to everyone concerned.

 

After the morning round Ashley Walton and Ben Paterson (Frilford Heath), playing off a combined handicap of Plus 1, were the only team to get into ‘red figures’ and their gross 71 net 71˝ saw them lead both Championships. They enjoyed a 4 shots advantage in the Scratch from four Clubs tied on 75. In the Handicap Championship, it was a closer call, with their lead just 1 over the Gerrards Cross pair of Gilbert Runnicles and Adrian Donkersley. There were 2 other teams just ˝ shot further back and this looked likely to be the closest of the two contests.

 

The afternoon saw the wind pick up and the temperatures were not what you would expect in the middle of June. Consequently the scores did not improve much, although Adam Wootton and Ian Bound put up a real challenge - in defence of the Oxford City title - and had an excellent level par round of 72 to set the Scratch target at 150. However the newly crowned Amateur Champion and his partner continued their steady progress and with a solid 76 were able to take the Title with 3 shots to spare.

 

In the Handicap section Rob Christian & George Schultes of Beaconsfield had set the early target on 149 but the Frilford pair came in with a net 148 to take the lead. Out on the course Colin Lumley and Alan Paterson were playing very steadily again and despite a double bogey at the 14th they followed up with 4 pars to finish with a net 148 and took the Title on countback.

 

Scratch

 

 

AM

PM

Total

1st & Trophy Winner

Ashley Walton & Ben Paterson

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