The Wood Trowel.....

The Wood Trowel weekend is perhaps one of the highlights of the golfing year and while there was a change of date that decision was made with best interests of the event at heart and hopefully the same set of circumstances will not arise again in the future.

The Saturday fields were well patronised and a stableford score of 33 by countback was the cut line. The dinner attracted a total of 84 club members and all appreciated the meal as presented by Amanda & Andrew, the Lamb Shanks certainly rate a special mention although personally I had the stuffed Chicken Breast which was also delicious (but the Lamb Shanks did look great!!!).

Having attended a number of Trowel dinners I would say that this was definitely one of the more relaxed and convivial gatherings I have been associated with and it covered a wide cross-section of the membership. I would like to think that the positive atmosphere present during the evening would continue to flow on to other Club events as we move through the year. As always there was a hotly contested putting competition with the eventual winner being Aidan Millar who took away the standard bottle of gin.

As the hour grew later there was much conjecture as to the form for the following day and extravagant claims were made by the participants all to be taken with more than a grain of salt. It may have all had to do with the amount of wine consumed before during and after the meal.

Starting at 11.00 and playing in threes the field under the direction of starter Alan Scott were all on their way by 12.20. The conditions for the day were near perfect apart from the easterly that blew a little strongly now and then. As the afternoon wore on the number of spectators grew initially around the Pagoda and subsequently around the 18th and Club House surrounds.

News of scores good and bad were passed up and down the line as the round progressed and the furore by way of applause or otherwise from the 18th indicated a good shot or perhaps not such a good shot. Traditionally the scores on Sunday do not match those of the qualifying round no doubt pressure has much to do with the situation and certainly this year was no different to others.

When the scores were finally counted the overall winner was David Robinson who without the burden and responsibility of leadership recorded a creditable 39 points. David has won the Trowel once before, last century, when he tied with Chris Johns (1994). Personally I think he owes his success to the efforts of his caddy and wife Stephanie Beth who put up with him for the 18 holes. Well done and congratulations David a deserved victory.

Closely following on David's heels were JB Sanders and Grant Adamson on 38 points. Just remember that JB has a handicap of 1 so to achieve his score he effectively carted a gross 71 (1 under par) and not much room for error. I understand with a couple of putts dropping his score could have been even better. Rumour has it that Grant's score may have fluctuated a bit during the course of the day but an early night ensured he finished strongly with a good recovery. The much fancied and supported Brian Ronan recorded another solid round to finish in 4th on 37 points. It has been a big few weeks for Brian and he has responded to the pressure admirably, again very well done. Not far behind on 36 points were the pair of Jeff Suddens and Barry Fletcher a fine effort by both players.

The day ended with a few drinks and nibbles (c/o Andrew & Amanda) at the bar and the exchanging of war stories about what might have been but wasn't. All in all the weekend was a great success but as always we will review what we did to see if we can improve. Once again thanks to all the people who contributed Bryan Andrews, Ian Wagstaff, Neil Ockwell and Struan your efforts were all appreciated. We look forward to doing it all again in twelve months time!