Captain's Newsletter - 29 Oct 2016

Ladies' AGM, Thursday 3rd November @6.30pm
Who will win the Most Improved Golfer? Clubwoman of the Year? The newest trophy, the Jean Ray Order of Merit? To find out come along – 6.30pm for refreshments and 7pm start.

Birdies Now Being Counted - Last date for birdies was Thursday 27th October. Badges will be presented at the AGM.

Hattersley Cup, Thursday 10th November - The Captain versus Vice Captain match. Tee times are now on the notice board.

Club AGM, Tuesday 15th November @7pm – Support your new Club Captain by attending the Club AGM.

SIGN UP SIGN UP
Ladies v Men's Section Pairs Matchplay, Sunday 27th November - Still places available to play in this team event. Even if you are not a 7-day member you may still play. Please add your name to the list if you are interested in being part of the team.

Ladies' Xmas Party, Thursday 8th December at Chesfield Downs – Still places available. Sign up on the Notice Board or email me and I can add your name to the list.

Committee/Volunteers for 2017 – Jackie is looking for volunteers to help with the organisation of our golf events next year. If you are able to help in any way, please let Jackie or me know.

GOLF RESULTS
Tuesday
Double on the Odds format. You really need to play well on the odd holes to win this competition. 1st place with 57 points was Hilary Clark, 2nd place with 56 points was Pauline Humphrey – just beating Jenny Feaver on countback.

Thursday

A stroke play competition to determine who is eligible to play in the Winter Knockouts. The 8 players with the lowest gross score will play in the Scratch Cup knockout. The next 8 players will play in the Handicap Cup knockout. Good luck to all the 16 who go through.

Check the Knockout Draw on the Notice Board to see whether you have been successful in qualifying for either the Scratch or the Handicap Knockout. First matches must be played any time from now up to 28th February.

AN EAGLE HAS LANDED. Congratulations to Christine Skeen who achieved a magnificent Eagle 2 on the 7th today. An excellent, skillfully placed, chip shot from 100 yards out which went straight into the hole. Yahoo!!! A 2 for 6 points!!!!!!!

Kathy Dale, Ladies' Captain

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Captain's Newsletter - 22 Oct 2016

Captains and Vice Captains at the Claret Jug
Ady Barton - Men's Captain, Kathy Dale, Jackie Reid, Nigel Jones (standing in for Craig Crowhurst Men's Vice Captain)

Claret Jug
Last weekend, Jackie Reid and I were guests of Crown Golf and played in the Claret Jug held at South Winchester golf club. The CEO of Crown Golf welcomed Captains and Vice Captains from Crown golf clubs across the country to thank them and all the volunteers for their time and commitment in making our clubs so successful and enjoyable for our golf members.

New Members
Ann Kane is fairly new to golf and will hopefully be joining Chesfield (her husband and her son both play at our club). Thank you Kathy Morris for showing her the course this Tuesday. We can all welcome her as she will be staying for cake and the Stableford League presentation this week.

Some of you will have met Nikki Brooke who joined our golf club this week. She has previously been a member at Verulam Golf Club. She will be playing with us on Thursday so you will all have a chance to welcome her into our Ladies Section,

Hattersley Cup, Thursday 10th November
The draw for the Captain’s team and the Vice Captain’s Team will be done this week. Check the notice board for your tee times.

GOLF RESULTS
Thursday
The Cup Winners Cup – Hot on the heels of her recent singles Knockout trophy win last week, this prestigious cup was won by Sarah Faircliff. Congratulations! 2nd Pauline Humphrey and 3rd Virginia Chan.

The Consolation Cup was won by Julie Price. Well done Julie ! 2nd Marica Kelland and 3rd Angela Chatterton.

Friendly Matches
Mount Pleasant at home - Some excellent matchplay from our ladies team to give us 2 wins and 2 draws. A fantastic result. The final match of 2016 season is on Monday at Mowsbury Golf club. Good luck to all the Chesfield Downs team.

National Golf Club Challenge 2016 Final
Our ladies’ and men’s team enjoyed a fantastic experience at Turnberry Golf Club last week. The weather was brutal – the rain was lashing down and the wind was howling – but we golfers are a hardy lot and of course played anyway!!

Although we did not win the trophy, Jackie Reid won Nearest the Pin and Richard Deeks won best score on Day 1. The entire event was truly superb. The halfway house has been located in the iconic Lighthouse. Amazing !! And the 9th hole over the sea to the green just had to be seen to be believed.

Kathy Dale, Ladies Captain

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Scratch Team End Of Season Report 2016

Our 2nd Season in the Hertfordshire Ovaltine League began in April with a home match v Mid Herts. Apparently so named as there was an Ovaltine Factory locally and not because all the competitors are old and drink the stuff!

We started off with a bang on a day when there was a chill breeze and hailstones beating them 3.5pts to 1.5pts.

The next 2 matches were again at home against Aldwickbury Park and Harpenden. We recorded another win over Aldwickbury 3pts to 2pts and the individual matches were very close. Pat Ward achieved 3 birdies in a row in her match to completely overwhelm her opponent and Emma Wood made her debut for the team with a fine win.

Our biggest win of the season came when we won 4.5pts to 0.5 pts over Harpenden. What a result! Even your Captain managed a half in this match after chipping in at the 18th! The girls from Harpenden didn’t enjoy their day very much!

As we approached the second half of the season we had to go and play some away matches, the first of which was at the lovely Aldwickbury Park (slippery greens!) I think in revenge for their loss at our place they played exceptionally well on home soil and came out winners 3.5 to 1.5. Tea was excellent though!

Next we were off to Harpenden. They were certainly looking to bounce back at us after a heavy loss at Chesfield but again we got the better of them and won 3pts to 2pts. We were really motoring on 4 wins from 5 matches!

At this stage of the season we were top of our group on equal points with Veralum and for our next match we travelled to Mid Herts on a windy day on a course none of us knew very well. In spite of that the highlight of the day was a hole in one on the 12th from Lauren. Great achievement! Unfortunately we lost 3pts to 2pts but the food on offer on the day was probably the best of the season! Maybe they will be in our group next year…

With a play off position still possible our final 2 matches were against our closest rivals Veralum, home first in early September then away later in the month. The away match was closely fought but home soil was the advantage they needed and they came out winners 3 pts to 2 pts. The final match of the season saw some new faces in our team with Angela Chatterton making her debut for Chesfield. Unfortunately we were unable to overcome them and they won by 4pts to 1pt.

The Group table finished as follows

1. Veralum 6.5 points
2. Chesfield 4 points
3. Aldwickbury Park 3.5 points
4. Harpenden 3.5 points 
5. Mid Herts 2.5 points

Veralum made the play offs against Essendon but were beaten on the day. You can see all the results and next years draw on the HCLGA website. Bishops Stortford won the title.

The overall performance from the Chesfield Ladies this season was absolutely amazing – they always say that the 2nd season is harder than the first as you want to achieve more and I believe that we certainly did that this year. A huge thanks go to all the squad including those who stood for reserve for a great year. We finished off our season with a get together to play the Par 3 and have a sociable breakfast. Sorry that the whole squad couldn’t make it but we had a lovely morning and thanks again to everyone.

Visit the 2016 Gallery to see more photos from the Scratch Team season.

Kathy has kindly offered to take over the Captaincy again next year so good luck to her and all the players for a successful 2017.

Sarah Faircliff, Scratch Team Captain 2016

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Captain's Newsletter - 15 Oct 2016

PLEASE SIGN UP - Sign up sheets are on the Notice Board for:

• Ladies AGM, Thursday 3rd November – we are expecting Brigid and Patti Vincent to attend to see us all and collect their prizes. 6.30 for 7pm start. 
• Hattersley Cup, Thursday 10 November – Play for the Captain’s team or the Vice Captain’s Team
• Winter Invitation, Thursday 24 November - 9 hole competition, prizes, lunch, and charity raffle.
• Ladies Christmas Party, Thursday 8 December – just 30 places, so sign up asap.

SAVE THE DATE

• Tuesday 25th October - Stableford League presentation to winners with refreshments for everyone in the Conservatory after golf
• Thursday 24th November. Our 9-hole Winter Invitation – Invite your friends and guests for golf. Or join us for lunch after golf
• 4-6th June 2017 Away Weekend has been booked for Hellidon Lakes – Thank you to Lin Goodey and Katy Cook for organising this for us all

Friendly Match
Saturday 15th October we are playing against Mount Pleasant at home. This is our penultimate match of 2016 season. Good luck to all the Chesfield Downs team.

National Golf Club Challenge 2016 Final

Good Luck to all those going to Turnberry Golf Club to represent Chesfield Downs this week. Enjoy the golf on the Championship Ailsa Course, and stay out of those bunkers! They are deeper than I am tall!

GOLF RESULTS
Ann Grist Trophy - Sarah Faircliff is the winner of the singles Knockout competition - beating Lauren on the 18th hole. A very close match. Congratulations Sarah.

7-Day – Help for Heroes. An excellent day as always. A fantastic event to play in.

Tuesday – After an hour delay due to thick fog, we played 12holes of 5 Clubs and a Putter. “Which clubs are the right ones to choose?” Hazel Brunnen made the correct choice and played to her handicap. 1st Hazel with 24pts, 2nd on countback was Marion Dix with 21pts.

Thursday

We played the Stableford Final for the Lauren Pitcher Plate. The greens had been ironed and were very fast. 1st place and entry to the Cup Winners Cup next week is Margaret Fredjohn with 38 pts Congratulations!

The Autumn Stableford showed us some exceptional scores. 1st place goes to Nicola Adkins with 43pts, 2nd place on countback with 38pts is Alison Webber and 3rd also on 38pts is Margaret Gentle.

Kathy Dale, Ladies Captain

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Captain's Newsletter - 8 Oct 2016

Presentation to Hilary – Flowers and wine and a farewell card from us all. Good luck for the future as we say goodbye to Hilary and wish her well with the move.

Handicaps - Some ladies have had their handicaps adjusted by the Continuous Review of Handicaps. You will have been contacted by Sally Weekes if you are affected.

Dates for your Diary
Tuesday 25th October - Stableford League presentation to winners with refreshments for everyone in the Conservatory after golf.

Thursday 24th November - Our 9-hole Winter Invitation. Invite your friends and guests for golf. Or join us for lunch after golf.

Finals of the Knockout Competitions
Mary Warmoth Cup - The final of the pairs Knockout competition was played this week Jenny Feaver and Sally Weekes against Lauren Pitcher and Kathy Dale. An extremely tight match with never more than one hole between the two pairs. The match went all the way to the 18th green and was ultimately won just 1up by Kathy and Lauren. An excellent Final.

Ann Grist Trophy - Lauren is playing Sarah Faircliff in the final of the singles knockout - can Lauren do the double????

Friendly Match
Saturday 15th October we are playing against Mount Pleasant at home. This is our penultimate match of 2016 season. Good luck to all the Chesfield Downs team.

GOLF RESULTS
7-Day – October Medal – 1st Pat Ward and 2nd Lin Goodey

Tuesday
Team Alliance - With only 3 players in this team and Rogie having to use her score twice, she rose to the challenge and led her team members to victory. Congratulations to Rogie, Barbara Baldwin and Kay Baker who made such an excellent team.

Thursday
Our Medal Final was played this week. All winners of monthly medals were eligible to enter this competition. Emma Wood who usually plays in our 7-day competitions, took a day off work to play and it was great that she did. Emma wins the Kathy Dale Trophy with a nett 71. Great result. She will be presented with her trophy at the Ladies AGM on 3rd November. 2nd place (hot on the heels of her Hole in One) is Lin Goodey, with nett 75. And 3rd place is Rogie Taylor with nett 76.

The winner of the Autumn Medal with a fabulous nett 68 is Sally Weekes, cutting her handicap by 2 strokes. In 2nd place, also with a fabulous nett 68, is Katy Cook who has likewise had a 2 stroke handicap cut. “My first ever sub 100 score” said Katy. A real celebration! 3rd place goes to Angela Chatterton with nett 69 and in 4th place with nett 71 is Mary Harrison. With such excellent scores our top 4 golfers had scores under nett par and have had their handicaps cut. Congratulations to each of them.

Kathy Dale, Ladies' Captain

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Captain's Newsletter - 1 Oct 2016

The Great Chesfield Downs Cake Off
An excellent event this week. The men members and Chesfield Downs staff did us proud producing some amazing cakes. We were delighted to welcome the volunteers from the Garden House Hospice plus members, friends and guests to help us in our great decision. We had a tricky job to view, taste and decide which of the wonderful cakes we thought should be the winner. We each chose our best 4 cakes to find the absolute favourite.

A selection of cake to taste and judge

They were all brilliant, but the overall winner by a big margin was the Lemon Drizzle cake with raspberries and mini meringue tops created by Richard Williams, our Assistant Manager (you will usually see him behind the Reception desk).

Winning Cake made by Richard Williams

Thank you to all the men who entered - a very impressive contest.

A huge thank you goes to Jean Ray for this great idea and for organising the whole event for us. We raised a fantastic £330 for the Hospice which added to our total creates almost £7000 raised so far this year. Thank you everyone.

  

Visit our gallery page to see more photos from the Cake Off.

A Hole In One for Lin Goodey!
Congratulations to Lin on achieving this amazing feat on the 9th hole in our September Medal competition on Thursday.

This rare accomplishment has been registered with HowDidIDo and we are waiting to see whether Lin will receive her prize of a Boss watch. Lin has very generously made a donation to my Captains Charity – Thank you Lin and well done on achieving a place on the Hole in One Honours Board!!!

Squad Coaching Sessions
Jo Oliver will run coaching sessions for Friendly, Pearson & Scratch team members, alternate Tuesdays after golf from 1st November. Look out for the sign-up sheet – 7 spaces available each session £7pp. Thank you to Margaret Gentle for arranging this for our team members and to Jo Oliver for her continuing support of the Ladies Section.

GOLF RESULTS
7-Day

Round 6 of the Weekend Eclectic completed. Just one more round to play to find the winner.

Tuesday

The 6th and final round of the Stableford League was played this week. Winners of this competition will be presented with their prizes on Tuesday 25th October when we will cheer them in with cakes for us all after golf in the conservatory.

Thursday

England Golf Medal for September was played in windy and autumnal conditions. Winner of Div 1 is Julia Goodwin nett 75, 2nd Kathy Dale nett 76, and 3rd Pat Ward also on nett 76. Winner of Div 2 is Margaret Gentle with an excellent nett 70. Followed in 2nd place by Lin Goodey with nett 72 (and of course her hole in one!) and 3rd place is Pauline Humphrey nett 73.

Our 9-hole Stableford was won by Ann Cullum with 18 points, 2nd Pam Blake and 3rd Shirley White.

Kathy Dale, Ladies' Captain

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