First time win for Tim Rees

A quieter week at Freshwater started with the Mid Week Stableford on Wednesday and a first time win for Tim Rees carding 30 points in difficult conditions off his 25 handicap, second place went to John Davis (16) on 26.

The Saturday Medal saw a tight finish in Division 1 with Keith Wright (8) coming out on top on count back with a nett 65 from Barry Crook (12) in second, Richard Frost finished third with a 67 playing off 6. Division 2 was even tighter with three players tied on 68 14 handicapper Gary Cooke took first place on count back, with second place going to Cliff Sanders off 20 (whose round included a hole in one at the Third) and Tony Black (15) finishing third.

The Sunday Stableford also went to count back; Tony Keen (10) came out the winner with 35 points ahead of Russell Macgregor (18) in second with the same score and Brian Friend (16) third with 34 points.

Daughter outshines father.

A very busy week at Freshwater Bay Golf Club culminated in a father and daughter walking away with the prizes in their respective medal events played for on Sunday 23^rd. John Burke (12) won the monthly medal with a nett 63 only to be eclipsed by his daughter Lucy (20) winning the Junior’s Pemberton Cup with a nett 61. Second place in the Pemberton went to Kasey Tuckey (9) with a 65 while Steve Cooke was third with a 69 playing off of 12. In the Monthly Medal second place was claimed by Les Mew (14) returning a nett 65 and holding off third place John Riddlesdell (19) on count back.

The Junior Championships were held at the beginning of the week with Ryan Harmer finishing second in both the handicap and scratch events, Ryan shot net 62 64 for a 126 total in the thirty six hole handicap event only to be beaten by Conor White on 122, Conor having shot an awesome nett 54 in the first round followed by a solid 68. In the scratch Hampshire regular Brandon Thompson led after the fist day wih a gross 69 and then followed it up with a 75 to take the Junior Salver by 6 shots from Ryan who carded a steady 74 76 fo150 total.

Wednesday saw Division 1 of the Mid Week Medal comprehensively won by Chris West (12) with a net 63 closely followed by two low single figure players tied on 65, Derek Wright (3) came out in second place beating Simon Smith (5) on count back. Division 2 was equally as closely fought with Bob Godden coming out the winner with a 68 off of 21 handicap followed by Kevin Jones (22) second with a 69 and Mike Dowsett (18) third with a 70 holding off Ken Bebbington (17) on the back nine.

The Veterans White Tee Medal played on Friday 21^st was won by Keith Brown (19) scoring a nett 70 with Tim Deville (24) second on 71 and Bob Godden (21) third with a 72.

A small field in the Better Ball Stableford on Saturday never the less produce some good scoring with father and son pairing of Tim and Ryan Harmer taking the honours with 42 points ahead of Gary Holmes and Dave Cooke in second place with 40 points.

To round the week off 56 members and guests entered the annual Golfer non Golfer event with a shot gun start and for those brave enough several “hands” of Macca bingo after the barbecue. The game is simplicity itself with the golfer playing the ball to the green and the non golfing guest doing the putting. First place went to Rita Smith and her partner Laurie Burgess (who also won the prize for the least number of putts) with a nett 32, second was Tim Harmer this time playing with his younger son Alex who managed to hold off Gary and Sue Holmes on count back with both pairs recording a nett 33.

Forty points for sixth place in singles stableford!!

Last week at Freshwater Bay Golf Club started off with some extreme scoring from the Second Division players in the Mid Week Stableford with no less than six players topping the magical 40 point mark and getting their handicaps chopped to boot. Coming out top of the shop was Barry Finch (28) retuning an immense 49 points, Tony Hammonds (26) came second with 44 while Frank Gregory returned 42 points off of 27 for third place. A mention in dispatches for the other players returning 40 or more points but not collecting any prizes, Andy Rann 4^th, Dave Richards 5^th and Ken Bebbington 6^th.

The first division was much more civilized with 5 handicapper Simon Smith finishing first on 39 point ahead Dave Wilkins (16) in second place on count back from Kevin Garrett (5) also on 38 points.

The Seniors Open played on Friday 14^th August saw the early birds taking home the worms with both the division winners coming from the first two groups out. Gerry Bolton came out the overall winner of the John Cottle Trophy with 40 points. He also picked up first place in Division 1 closely followed by Noel Dobbs of Shanklin on 38 and Richard Price of Freshwater 37 points with both players off of 17. The 2nd Division was an all Freshwater affair with Peter Dawson (21) finishing first on 38 points ahead of Frank Gregory (25) in second on 37 and Ian Andrews (24) on 36 points in third. The best away prizes for those not featuring in the major prizes went to two 16 handicappers with David Stevens of Shanklin finishing on 37 points, four points clear of Bill Pratt in second from Ryde. Longest drive went to Freshwater’s Peter Scott while both the nearest the pins were won by David Jennings also form the home club

Saturday the 15^th saw the Jim Sleight Trophy which is open to all Freshwater members with thirty seven entries, Gary Cooke (15) came out the winner in a close fought battle with 41 points, Tony Keen (10) in second on count back with 40 ahead of Dave Cooke (19) in third while John Veal finished fourth on 39 points playing off 16 handicap.

The high scoring continued in the Sunday Stableford with Nat Riddett (5) taking first place in Division 1 breaking par to return 42 points, Tony Keen (10) came second again on count back this time from John Veal. In Division 2 John Riddlesdell was first playing off 19 handicap scoring 37 points and beating John Wisker (22) on the back nine, Russell Macgregor (18) finished third with 36 points.

Over £1,500 raised on Charity Day for Hospice@Home

Freshwater Bay Golf Club held their annual Charity Day on Sunday 9^th in aid of The Earl Mountbatten Hospice @ Home with the princely sum of £1,536 being raised from entry fees and a raffle thanks to the generosity of local sponsors. The prize giving started with nearest the pin on the 1^st won by Derek Wright and 14^th by Anne Farrelly, best away was won by Brian Wright from Osborne with 40 points. Best Ladies score was Jan Godden also on 40 points and best Seniors was won by Ray Cooke with 41 points. The aggregate pairs was closely fought with third place going to Shaun Clarke and Conor White on 82 points, first and second was decided on count back for 83 points with brothers Derek and Brian Wright finishing second to Steve Sargeant and Ray Cooke. The team competition was played Am-Am style with prizes awarded to the best groups of six holes as well as the winners overall with Tony Hammonds, Nick Riby, Shaun Clarke and Conor White finishing second on 126 to the 128 scored by John Riddlesdell, Chris Boulter, Ray Cooke and Steve Sargeant. In the singles Rick Penn was third with 43 points beaten on count back by Derek Wright recording the same points but off of 3 handicap with a gross 66. Pride of place and the Island Golf Centre Trophy went to young George Faulkner amassing 44 points and winning a Powakaddy bag that was just as high and twice as wide as him. Following the prize giving and raffle the 104 entrants danced the night away to the dulcet tones of Dougie Stephens whilst retelling tales of triple back to back birdies and other daring do’s.

On Saturday a small (due to away matches against Bramshott Hill) but hardy contingent entered the Stableford with six handicapper Richard Frost scoring an excellent 41 points to take first place and second place going to junior Ryan Harmer with 40 points who joined the ranks of single figure handicaps.

In the Veterans Stableford on Friday Club Captain Barry Hunter (15) took the honours with 41 points from Chris West (13) in second on 39. Two players finished on 37 points with Frank Gregory (270 taking third from the unluckiest of all golfers John Wisker (22) on the back nine

Ladies take Captains Cup

This week at Freshwater Bay began with the junior’s Walton Colts Cup on Tuesday 28^th July, Ryan Harmer (10) came in second with a nett 69 to Connor White (27) with a solid 67. Connor also took pride of place in the mid week stableford the following day with 35 points holding off Andy Ran and Chris Griffiths in second and third places respectively on 34 and 33 points.

In dank conditions on Saturday four teams of ten players defended the honour of their sections in the Captains Cup. Due to the weather conditions the event had to be reduced to 10 holes but still some excellent individual scores were returned with George Faulkner carding 25 points, Maureen Couse and Anne Smith both scoring 24, while Joan Martin and Ryan Harmer returned creditable 21 point rounds. Overall the Ladies team ran out the winners by 2 point margin totaling 180 to the Juniors 178, the Men’s Team were adrift with 160 and the Seniors brought up the rear on 132.

Sunday saw a greensomes competition incorporating the Dadson Trophy, with Club Secretary Terry Riddett (8) coming out of retirement to partner his son Nat (5) to take the tournament with 41 points ahead of first time entrants Les (14) and Stephen Mew (24) on 40.