24 Hours Golf Challenge
On Thursday 2nd July Bill Whittle, Steve Hirst and myself will be attempting to play golf for charity non-stop for 24 hours. Yes, that’s right – including through the night in the dark. We’ll be teeing off at about 6pm on Thursday hoping to complete 7 or 8 rounds by the same time 24 hours later. We’ve been trying to get a suitable date and now our training starts in earnest although what training can you do for 24 hours golf? You would always be able to walk one more step or make one more swing so I think this will be more of a mental challenge – having the willpower to carry on when everything is aching and you’re battling sleep deprivation.
We’d like your help, obviously in the form of sponsorship for our chosen charities which at the moment are the Birmingham Children's Hospital and Cancer Research but you can get involved on the day(s) as well. We’ll be a three-ball which leaves a fourth place available for someone to join us for each round in return for a sizeable donation to the cause. We’d also like some of you to caddie for us during the day (and night) or at least be there to help us look for our golf balls!!
More details in the coming weeks – if you see us playing more golf than normal, or veering off onto other fairways – it’s all part of the training!
This week’s Tuesday social had a twist – as part of National Golf Month I invited members to bring a guest along to play in the 9 hole hole event. I’ve done this once a year every season and always have a good response from the visitors - not many clubs have such an event to get involved with as our Social golf night. 43 members also took part – the results:
- Pete Lowndes 21 £14
- George Johnson 20 £12
- Kevin Hunt 20 £11
- Roy Douglas 19 £10
- Wayne Bailey 19 £9
- Colin Ward 19 £7
- Gary Murphy 17 £6
- Nigel Metcalfe 17 £5
Ladies winner – Bethan Ashley-Brown 23 points - £8 voucher
Visitor winner – Richard Palmer 17 points - £10 voucher
The greens had been top-dressed on Tuesday which has the opposite effect than everyone expects – they get smoother and quicker straight away. The entire country is weeks behind in growth, as could be seen at Wentworth for the PGA Championship. The greens looked decidedly dodgy and there were a lot of short missed putts through the week. Frustration showed with Rory as he threw his 3 wood down the 17th fairway in the first round. Hopefully this isn’t a trait he’s going to get known for – he threw a 3-iron into a lake a month ago – it seems he wins by miles or throws a club at the moment. I’m sure Nike won’t appreciate him chucking their clubs all over the place, as if it’s their fault.
Rory’s back in action this week for the Irish Open and then he’ll be preparing for the US Open which is going to be a viewing treat this year. The US Open has been famous, or rather ‘infamous’, in the past for their standard course setup of ridiculously thick rough, rock hard greens and lightning surfaces. At Bethpage golfers were aiming for the bunker by one of the greens as anything hitting the green ended up lost over the back and they have had to hand water greens in between groups to keep the surfaces intact. This year however, the event moves to Chambers Bay, a public course on the West Coast which unusually is a links course, complete with towering dunes, wispy grass and a railway track alongside the course, just like Open Championship venues. It looks amazing and is the first time a course like this has hosted the US Open.
The International Qualifying took place at Walton Heath on Monday – 82 golfers moved across from Wentworth to try and secure one of the 12 available spots. If you get the chance next year, this is a great day. There’s no more than 500 people watching the players, no marshalls, no ropes - you just walk down the fairways and mingle with the players. Padraig Harrington missed out by a shot as did Peter Uihlein who won the 2010 US Amateur at Chambers Bay. One of the successful few on Monday was Jason Palmer from Kirby Muxloe in Leicestershire. He graduated from the Challenge Tour onto the European Tour this year and he chips one-handed – he’s sure to get some air time in the States!
Our US Open sweep has opened in the shop. Pick a number corresponding to a player at random from the top 50 in the event and you could win £50, £30 or £20 if they finish 1st, 2nd or 3rd plus there’s £10 each day for the worst score in the field. We run the sweep three times so you’ve got plenty of chances to enter.
Junior member Hannah Golding qualified to play in the Midlands North Region final at Rothley Golf Club in Leicestershire last week by virtue of her scores in the EGU medals last year. Rothly Park is a very tough course and Hannah played fantastically well and finished 3rd, out of a field of 108, with a net score of 71. This is one under the Standard Scratch of the Course,
The Competition scratch score was set at 75 thereby reducing her handicap from 18.9 to 17.7. The first top ten in each Region qualify to play at the England Golf Grand Medal Final which will be held on Thursday 13 August at Frilford Heath Golf Club and consists of 18 holes of stroke play. This handicap competition sees 60 finalists, each of whom have qualified via one of the 6 Regional Finals compete to find the country's leading lady handicap golfer. This is an absolutely amazing achievement from a young girl who is only 12 years old. Well done Hannah!
My youngest, Simon aged 11, has been getting back out on the golf course lately after a couple of years away from the game. His time has taken up training and playing centre back for Stafford Town Pumas for the past couple of years and they gained promotion this year by finishing second in the league. Unfortunately the worst thing about team games is that you’re never really a master of your own destiny and the Stafford Town teams have been rearranged for next season’s larger pitches and teams meaning Simon and most of his team won’t actually gain promotion. Their loss is our gain as he turns his attention back to golf – at least with golf everyone tries to encourage young golfers to play and get involved and it’s not all about winning – in fact Simon likes to play for fun instead of competitions, maybe there’s a thread back to Rory’s club throwing antics here again!?
Why am I telling you this? Because it was he who spent four hours on Bank Holiday Monday emptying the trolley shed, sweeping out all the debris and replacing the trolleys – and you may get the chance to offer your appreciation. It wasn’t what he expected to do when he offered to come into work with me but the fact I told him to wear his ‘scruffs’ gave him a hint. Funny thing was, Will Johnson saw him covered in dirt and said ‘I remember having to do that job for my dad!’ - (Bob Johnson was the pro at Brocton Hall before myself). Please excuse us if your trolley is now in a different place than when you left it.
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