SATURDAY 5TH JUNE 2010
Hi All,
Well, what a long time since your Captain last had a ramble. Apologies to the avid ‘Blog Followers’ who have been reminding me (repeatedly!) of how long it has been since my last ramble. It’s been a very busy few months with Club matches, Mail on Sunday & Daily Mail Foursomes competitions, Surrey 5′s and invites to other clubs Captain’s events and of course fitting in all of our own competitions. It hasn’t become any easier but I’m sure that you’ll all be pleased to hear that your Captain is having a great time, playing golf every day and not giving work the merest thought!
The Junior Open returned to Foxhills last week after an absence of 9 years. The handicap event was won by our own Peter Blyfield with a net 60 and runner up in the scratch event was Matt Barnes with a gross 75 – well done to both of our boys and to all of the other Foxhills juniors who played so well.
I’m off to Farnham now to play a mixed match but your Captain will be back on line soon.
SATURDAY 13TH FEBRUARY 2010
Hi All,
Somehow another four weeks have slipped by without a ‘ramble’ from your Captain. Not much has been happening at the Club since the snow melted but today around 60 hardy souls contested the England versus Rest of the World Six Nations Challenge. Fifteen fourballs teed off on Longcross as the ‘shotgun’ sounded at 8-30 this morning and after some closely contested matches, I’m pleased(??) to report that the Rest of the World managed to shade the overall match by a score of 9 – 6. I’m sure that everyone will agree that it’s not about the winning (particularly if you have just Captained the losing side!), it’s all about the taking part! The best news of all is that we raised nearly £600 for GOSH bringing our running total to around £11,300. More soon.
SUNDAY 17TH JANUARY 2010
Hi All,
The snow has gone but I guess the courses are going to be too wet for the next few days until all of the melted snow has drained away. The Midweek Medal is scheduled for this Thursday, let’s hope that the courses are fit for play by then and we can all get back out.
I took my ‘old Mum’ to the Old Tyme Musical on Friday night in the clubhouse with entertainment by the Walton & Weybridge Operatic Society starring our June from Membership. Ramon served us a lovely meal and my Mum & my Auntie Jean sang their hearts out all night – a great evening enjoyed by all. I’ve got to go now – there’s a paint brush with my name on it! More soon.
THURSDAY 14TH JANUARY 2010
Hi All,
There isn’t much to report this week as the courses have been closed since last Wednesday and most of us have been snowed in for some of that time. I took the car out for the first time on Saturday to come to the Club but I only managed to get halfway up Foxhills drive. My apologies to anyone who was delayed in the drive at around midday on Saturday – it was all down to Your Captain! Fortunately, a few willing helpers managed to push me enough to turn around and I headed for home leaving complete chaos behind me. My only defence is that I very soon had the drive completely cleared of snow and ice after that episode!
Of course, just as it felt like we may be getting back to some sort of normality, more snow arrived yesterday morning but the forecast is that it will all start thawing from today. Hopefully it won’t be long before we can all get back out onto the courses. More soon.
WEDNESDAY 6TH JANUARY 2010
Happy New Year All,
I left the club at about 9-30 last night following our Committee meeting to find the car covered in snow. It took me an hour to drive home – a journey that normally takes about 10 minutes!
The Tombstone Challenge took place again on New Years Day. It was a cold, sunny day and the course was frozen but around 30 pairs braved the elements and everyone who played thoroughly enjoyed their day. Four pairs managed to complete 18 holes which meant that they carried their remaining shots down the 19th hole. The Woolger’s finally planted their Tombstone in the middle of 19th fairway to finish 4th leaving 3 pairs reaching the 19th green. The Turner’s finished 3rd, leaving their Tombstone on the front edge of the green only 6 inches further from the pin than the runners-up, Vice President Judy Searle and Your Captain. Very slightly closer were this years winners, Hilary Hart & Mike Wraight – somebody really should look at their handicaps! Congratulations Hilary & Mike. We then all adjourned to Bar X1X where some members broke their New Year resolutions while others shared a pot of tea and the prizes were presented. All agreed that it was a fun day with almost the perfect result! We also raised another £260 for GOSH bringing our running total to £9,880 – a great start to our year for which I’d like to thank you all.
As I type this on Wednesday morning, it’s still snowing with around 6 to 8 inches of snow on the ground already so it doesn’t look like we’ll be playing golf for a while! Happy New Year to you all.
WEDNESDAY 30TH DECEMBER
Hi All,
I hope that everyone had a great Christmas and that you will all be glad to return to the club now that the snow has finally disappeared. Your Committee took to the fairways once again yesterday to contest the annual challenge match against the Juniors. The Juniors fielded a very strong team but the Committee rested some of their ’big guns’ as we have the big match against the Ladies fast approaching on January 10th. However, even with a number of reserves playing, we gave a very good account. Hilary & I would have undoubtably won our match against Jack Church & Paul Wilmore if only Jack hadn’t played his trump card just before we teed off – he handed me another £75 for GOSH that had been raised at a family darts match – many thanks again Jack. After that, Hil & I thought it only fair to let the boys win on the 18th! It rained from start to finish and the course was probably set up a little too short which obviously favoured the Juniors but even so, we only lost 3 matches to 1 with 1 halved. Well done to the Junior team but please remember that you are only looking after the trophy until the next match! Happy New Year to all, I hope to see you on New Years Day for the Tombstone Challenge.
MONDAY 21ST DECEMBER
Hi All,
I played my Golf Society Xmas ’Bash’ last Wednesday at Richings Park. We were surprised that the course was open as it was frozen but I guess that they weren’t going to turn our business away unless they really had to! We’d only played 9 holes when the snow started falling, reminding me why I’ve become a ‘fair weather’ golfer in recent years. Foxhills has been covered in snow since, which looks lovely but it doesn’t make for good golf!
The 2010 diaries have arrived and are available for collection from Membership.
In case I don’t find a chance to ‘ramble’ again this week, I’d like to wish everyone a very merry Christmas and I’m looking forward to seeing you all on New Years Day for the Tombstone Challenge.
MONDAY 14TH DECEMBER
Hi All,
As expected, the Xmas party was a great success and enjoyed by all in attendance. GOSH benefited once again with ‘Heads or Tails’ raising £1,100. The hotel voucher was won by Linda Rich, who certainly felt that it was £10 well spent! Once again, Russell Bodycombe came up trumps with a package for Arsenal v Man United on January 31st. During a frantic auction, the bids reached an unexpected level with the package finally being bought by Orla Sweeney for £1000!! Many thanks to Orla, we hope you enjoy your day at the Emirates. Most of the outstanding payments have now been collected and banked and our total raised to date is now £9,600 which is a fantastic start to our year. To those who have ‘dug deep’ so far, many thanks on behalf of GOSH.
Despite rumours to the contrary following my withdrawal from the Turkey Trot yesterday, your Captain was not suffering from a hangover, it was for entirely innocent reasons! More to come soon.
SATURDAY 12TH DECEMBER
Hi All,
My apologies for the long delay since my last ramble – I’ve had a lot going on away from Foxhills but things are starting to settle down a little now. I played at Walton Heath a couple of weeks ago in the Surrey Golf Union Xmas Fayre. We drove through torrential rain but it stopped 10 minutes before we teed off and it started raining again as we approached the 18th green! As usual, Foxhills were well represented both in attendance and in the prizes. Chris Leahy was 5th with 38 points, Mark Metcalfe 2nd with 40 points and Andy Goldie won, also with 40 points. Your Captain managed to finish 6th with 37 points and of course, the prizes only went down to 5th - I must be the unluckiest golfer ever!
On Wednesday I was invited to lunch with the Ladies and also to present the prizes for their Xmas ‘bash’. I enjoyed a lovely lunch with around 50 Ladies and we raised £125 for GOSH thanks to Nancy Bennett who took round the collecting ’tin’. So far, we have raised about £7,500 which is a fantastic amount for this stage of the year – thanks to all who have ‘dug deep’.
I must get ready now for the Golf Members Xmas party tonight, watch out for more ramblings during the coming week.
FRIDAY 30TH OCTOBER
Hi All,
Another golfing week is almost over and hasn’t it been superb weather? We played a mixed match at Burhill on Sunday, the first fixture between our clubs. The weather was superb and the Old Course was in great condition. We fielded a strong team including our current Club Champions, which was reflected in the result. We halved four matches and won the other four, resulting in a 6 – 2 victory for Foxhills. We finished our day sharing a fine meal with the new friends that we had made. We are all looking forward to welcoming Burhill to Foxhills next Autumn for the return match.
I played at Chipstead yesterday, a lovely course up on the North Downs and today I’m playing a first round Fleming Foursomes match with Shirley at Sunningdale Ladies. I suppose I’ll have to fit some work into the diary next week! More soon, happy golfing.
SUNDAY 25TH OCTOBER
Hi All,
The last major of Foxhill’s season was completed yesterday when the RAT final was played. I’m pleased to report that after a great match during which all played some good golf, Martin Williams and his partner managed to edge out Ron Andrews & Barry Thatcher by 2 & 1. The competitors then adjourned to Bar X1X for refreshment and Ron presented the trophy and prize money to the winners amid rapturous applause. Some members are already saying that the RAT is rapidly becoming the most coveted prize in our golfing season.
More later, I’m off to Burhill now for a mixed match.
SATURDAY 24TH OCTOBER
Hi All,
It’s Saturday morning and guess what – it’s raining! The final of the RAT is due to be played this morning but it has been delayed until this afternoon when the rain is forecast to have stopped. I know that the Captain should remain impartial at times like this however, I have to admit that my support lies with Martin Williams and his partner but my best wishes go to Ron Andrews & Barry Thatcher as well – may the better pair be triumphant this afternoon.
Yesterday was the AGM day of the Waffrons League and we had a great day’s golf at Leatherhead followed by a very short AGM and superb dinner. Congratulations to Martin Sargeant who played in the winning team and also to Mike Wraight whose team finished second. This is our first season in the Waffrons League and although our results have been poor, I’m glad that we’re involved. We also joined the Inter County Scratch League this year which means that our very low (mainly juniors) and our medium handicap men can play competitive golf against other clubs. We all feel that our handicaps travel well, next season will give us a chance to prove it! My thanks go to Andy Goldie and Colin Smith for all the hard work that they’ve put in this season getting teams together.
I’d better stop now, Martin needs my support in the RAT this afternoon! More ramblings soon.
TUESDAY 20TH OCTOBER
Hi All,
There were some great scores in the Autumn Classic on Sunday. I had breakfast in Bar X1X on Sunday morning and we were trying to guess the winning score. I thought that 40 points would probably win the Mens and the Ladies but maybe it would be higher in the Juniors. As it turned out, 40 points was quite ordinary in the Mens with Frank Wilson winning with 46 points and Martin Aylett second with 44 - well done Frank and Martin. Ben Goldie won the Juniors with 44 points on countback from Paul Wilmore – well done both. In the Ladies Veronica Beaney won with 39 points - congratulations Veronica. I still think 40 points was a good score on the day so my congratulations go to anyone who managed to achieve that score.
On the fundraisng front, my thanks go to Jack Church and his family. Jack asked me if his Mum could take one of the GOSH collecting boxes to his Dad’s darts match and they collected nearly £100 on the day. They’ve taken another box for the next match so many thanks to Jack and his family.
WEDNESDAY 14TH OCTOBER
Hi All,
What a great result our Ladies achieved on Sunday, winning the Centenary Bowl for the third time in six years.
We decided to delay the celebrations until we arrived back at BarXIX and we only made our way home after a respectable number of bottles of champagne had been emptied!
