Regiate Away
Our 3rd Surrey Hills match of the year and yet another away match – always going to be tough. We’d set our stand out last year by taking a win here but we didnt come out on top today thanks to a very determined Reigate team. The year before last we’d also seen all 5 matches bizarrely halved here. Good bunch of lads at Reigate, always a close, hard fought game played in great spirits.
Reigate Hill was in top nick today – excellent, consistent greens and overall a very healthy course. The clubhouse has had some considerable work carried out since I was last there for the Finals Day in October. They’ve knocked through the members bar wall, havling the pro shop and men’s changing room to now have a very stylish (and much larger) spike bar. Top job.
View today from clubhouse down the (now finished) 9th hole
The bunkers, if not waterlogged or ‘mud’, were very compacted and unforgiving today given the overnight and recent rain – I think Surrey National would’ve played them as GUR, but was the same for everyone I guess and GUR greens are not good for competitive matches. So with them aside, the course was playing well.
The league is quite open this year and more than recent years matches cannot be called in advance. However it is very clear that home is a big advantage. So it proved today.
An ugly hangover from yours truely started to clear after the nice breakfast. Phew. Woody and Jay were out first, followed by TeamCarter James N’ Luke, then Al Savs and The Feez, myself and Riccardo Blake with sturdy TeamYuleN’Jaggs out last.
Rookie Richie’s first Surrey Hills game on a course he’d not played before and today we played the very steady Sam and Ronnie. By his own omission, Ritchie perhaps didnt smash his usual way around a golf course but still opened with a birdie on the 2nd, and a nett birdie on the 9th and with me doing the more steady role for halves or nicking the odd hole and we hit the turn 2up. Reigate Sam played a very solid game and with some give and take we were all square on the 14th. Numpty here picked his marker up on the 15th when I had a putt for the hole (still spewing about that) and despite us coming home in about par, Ronnie woke up, and with his shots. started smashing his rescue wood from tee to green and we ended up down by two. Great game, but we were disappointed.
A popular score. All matches lost 10-8 with Steve and Jay down by 6. Every match close and, as with ours, it seems just a hole or two here or there was the difference and on our day it could well have gone the other way. Woody hit a very creditable 37 points, Jay wasn’t happy but still recorded 3 birdies… its just they were up against a pair getting up and down from everywhere!
So, final result: Reigate Hills 52: Surrey National 38.
Well done Reigate – as I’ve said, a good bunch of lads and solid hosts.
Woody looks forward to hosting them in a couple of weeks at Surrey National. Red shirts out please Surrey National! Swing by the league website – http://www.surreyhillsleague.com/table/surrey-hills-2017/ – we need the home support for a few good results.
Stableford Weekend
Canny Dave Page scooped overall win on the Stableford weekend with a fantastic 2over gross 74 (42pts returned). Well done Dave. Sam continued his good form as usual with a gross 73, matched by a steady Dan Donegan, with Dan coming in 2nd overall with 41. Good golf.
Sunday saw the Swashies stack on the top3, a certain Captain Mark Wheddon (he’s mens club captain dunchknow) taking Sunday with 40pts, with an in-form Simon Bailey copping 39pts followed closely by Al Gollampost with 38pts. Winkle cut to 12, Simon just holding onto 11 and Lampost down to 10. Well played all.
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