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The Nottinghamshire Golf & Country Club

I’m very pleased to report that an excellent couple of days were enjoyed by 15 LEGS members as we revisited the venue for our 2023 trip, The Nottinghamshire Golf & Country Club. After recent monsoon conditions in most of the UK, it was a relief to play 2 days’ golf in dry conditions. Unfortunately, such weather had not been seen locally during the days leading up to our trip and we had one early casualty. Bob Broomhall was unable to make the trip due to extensive local flooding, particularly in his pub’s cellar, kitchen & car park. Good luck Bob in getting your situation resolved sooner rather than later.

Tuesday 24th – The Signature Course

A reversal of order from last year saw us start on the “easier” course.
This certainly looked the case when one of my group, Andrew Stevenson, made a tap in birdie at the 4th hole - stroke 2 par 4 – so a 5 point hole !
This repeated his feat of finishing with a 5 pointer on our 36th hole last year.

After a close contest, the winners on our 1st day were;

• 1st Richard Sharpe 39 (rewarded with a 3 shot cut for day 2)
  
• 2nd Trevor Horwood 37 (-1 for day 2)
  
• 3rd David Steel 36 (-1 for day 2)
  
• Nearest the pin at 6th – Bernard Henry
  
• Nearest in two at 15th – Clive Haywood
  
• Nearest in 3 at (par 5)18th – Captain Pete
  
• Not surprisingly, the winning team was led by Handicap Secretary Andrew, joined by David, Trevor & Bernard. Their average score was 34 points, almost 2 better than the 2nd placed team.

Following a few post-round refreshments and dinner, Martin Lavansch shared his musical songbook with us once again. As well as attracting a guest singer from another group for his rendition of “American Pie”, Martin's efforts raised £132 for this year's Captain’s Charity.

Day 2 - The Championship Course

The higher slope rating and our memories of this course last year, meant that we had more of a stiff challenge today. In recognition of the degree of difficulty, our Handicap Secretary had reluctantly agreed that everyone should begin with 2 shots more than on day 1 – obviously allowing for the 3 winners’ reductions.
The day got off to another memorable start for my group when our Treasurer, Jeff Wood, holed a putt from off the 1st green for a birdie at the par 5 – yes, another 5 point hole! Not to be left behind in the drama, in the last group, David Steel holed out from a greenside bunker for a birdie 2 at the par 3 over the lake – yes, another lake !

After 18 holes in the sunshine, the winners were;

• 1st Pete Schofield 37
• 2nd Stephen Long 36
• 3rd Jeff Wood 35 (on countback from playing partner and passenger home, Tom Inskip)
  
• Nearest the pin 12th – Clive Haywood
  
• Nearest in two at the 6th – Andrew Stevenson
  
• Nearest in 3 at (par 5) 18th – Stephen Long
  
• The team prize went to the Captain’s team of 3, Pete, Jeff & Mike Webb.

Their average score of 32 was only 1 point better than the runners-up.

The improvement from our Captain on day 2 gave him a 36-hole total of 69 points. However, this was insufficient to overhaul our winner Trevor Horwood with 71 points – a great tour debut performance to take home our “LEGS Away” trophy.

Finally, my thanks go to our Handicap Secretary, Andrew Stevenson. Despite being under the weather, he repeated last year’s off course performance by supplying our prizes of copious bottles of wine, with at least one going home with each of the 15 players. He also and did a superb job on his laptop to produce our day 2 starting order and a different set of day 2 teams, as well as the final results.

To echo last year’s sentiments, the consensus of opinion was that we had played on 2 varied and challenging golf courses teaming with wildlife, and fortunately not spoiled by the recent biblical downpours but blessed with some sunshine instead.

Planning for a similar trip next year is already underway - hopefully with more members, and their guests, able to join in the fun.

Colin Oates

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Kettering

In compete contrast to 2023, we were blessed with a fine September day at Kettering Golf Club this year. The course was in good condition with the greens a bit ‘hairy’ but nonetheless quite challenging. We were quite a depleted group of just seven, with Andrew Stevenson having to withdraw at the last minute due to illness. We wish him a full and speedy recovery. When discussing these low numbers, it was suggested that it could be a) September with a few people away on vacation, b) the proximity to our annual Tour or c) the course location. In the event, we provisionally decided to separate the September event and the Tour in 2025 by two weeks, i.e that the Tour will take place 9th / 10th September 2025 and the golf day on 25th September.

Should anyone have any other views as to this low attendance at Kettering, please let Graham know and he can take it forward.

Anyway, we had a good fun day, with the welcome and hospitality of the club appreciated by all.

In terms of the scores on the day, Jeff Wood took first prize (again!) with a creditable 36 points. Well done Jeff. The spirit of Andrew Stevenson returned a bit later to delight in docking Jeff another 3 points next time! Graham Shennan was second with 30 points (deducted 2 next time out) and Colin Oates third on 28 points (minus 1). Tough course or mediocre golfers? You choose.

Colin won the NP on the 15th and auctioned his prize, Tom Inskip was NP2 on 13th and no one made the green in two on 17th, the prize again being auctioned.

As usual, the much coveted Last Legs prize was closely fought with Captain Pete Schofield taking it on countback with 23 points.

There was no dedicated Fines Master for the day so we all had a go and, unsurprisingly, we were all guilty of some serious misdemeanours!

In terms of AOB, Colin would send a Tour update note to all in the next day or so. Graham reminded all that the final two golf fixtures for 2024 were on Thursday 24th October at Bedford & County and Wednesday 13th November at Pavenham Park which is also our AGM.

Jeff wrapped things up by advising that, thanks to fines, generous donations by non-attendees and the auctions, we had raised £115 for our Captains Charity. Thank you all for your kind generosity.

Hope to see you all at Bedford & County.

Graham

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Knebworth

We had a brilliant day ay Knebworth, with the course in very good condition and the weather less wild and wet than we feared. The wind did however present some challenges, particularly on the first few holes of the exposed back nine. The club were most welcoming and had been very accommodating in the run up to the day with a few enforced last minute changes being smoothly dealt with. The fish and chips were epic as usual.

We were delighted that our President, George Clarke, was able to join us for drinks and dinner and to participate in the prize giving, which was carried out in Captain Pete’s (expensive!) absence by the events other Sponsor, Mike Webb. George was in great form and very proud that LEGS is where it is some 38 years after it was formed, he and Mike being amongst the founder members. He looks forward to joining us next year.

We were also very pleased to welcome our two guests, Alex Daalhuizen, Jos’ son and Rob Sifton invited by Andy Pohler. We hope they enjoyed the day and the company.

Despite the wind, there were some excellent performances and scores on the day with Jeff Wood coming out on top with 38 points. Well done Jeff and we are all so sorry that you will be cut by 3 shots next time! Colin Oates was runner up with 37 points and will be cut by 1 shot. Third was Tom Inskip on 35 and he will also lose 1 shot next time.

Nearest-the-pin on the 10th was won by Andy Pohler, nearest-the-pin-in-two on the 2nd by Colin Oates however, having won 2nd place, his prize was awarded in time-honoured, and made-up-as-we-go fashion, to our best guest score which was Alex Daalhuizen with 28points. Last LEGS was deservedly won by Graham Shennan with 20 points.

Secretary Graham reminded all that our next fixture is at Kettering on Wednesday 18th September and urged those wishing to play to sign up soon as we currently have four tee times and, should we need more, we need to give as much notice as possible. The final two golf events this year are at Beds and County on Thursday 24th October and at Pavenham Park on Wednesday 13th November, which is also our AGM.

We all offered our condolences to Paul Jones on the sudden loss of his Mother this week.

David Steel did and excellent job as Fines Master gaining an easy £10 from Graham who forgot to introduce him! A number of others were appropriately ‘battered’ including Jeff Wood for lying (down!) on the green and blowing his, just short of the hole put, into the cup. It did take him 5 minutes to get back onto his feet though – perhaps a new record time? He also was spotted paying local children to throw his wayward shots back onto the middle of the fairway on several occasions. Richard Sharpe was fined for antics with a hairdryer (‘you know what he’s like’ quipped David…. we all nodded our understanding).

Jeff advised that, thanks to the fines and generous contributions by non-attendees, the day had raised £251 for our Captains Charity.  Thank you all and we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at Kettering.

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Bedfordshire

We had a great Captains Day at Bedfordshire GC where we were made to feel most welcome. The course was in excellent condition with fast and true greens. The weather was great, albeit very warm. Captain Pete very generously sponsored the mid-round refreshments and we all participated eagerly! Thanks Pete, lovely gesture. After a cool drink on the balcony we had an excellent dinner of … you guessed it… pie! Just right for a baking hot afternoon! The food was in fact first class and enjoyed by all.

There were 15 golfers on the day including our guest Andy Wright, who said how much he enjoyed it. We had a few late changes with Trevor and Clive unable to stay for dinner, Mike Webb and Jeff had to withdraw and Sharpie joined us for dinner only. We all chipped in a few ££ to purchase a piece of string and a Mulligan token, which certainly proved useful for yours truly!

In terms of results,

• Trevor Horwood was first with an incredible 45 points. He did not use his Mulligan token nor his string. He will be cut 3 shots next time out! The Trophy which was sponsored by Richard Ebbs and Andrew Stevenson will be engraved and presented to Trevor in due course.
• Clive Haywood was second with 40 points and will be cut 2.
• Andrew Stevenson was third with 36 points and will be cut 1.
• Nearest the pin in two on the 3rd was won by Stephen Long.
• No one made the 11th green in two and the prize was auctioned.
• Nearest the pin on the 6th was won by Graham Shennan
• Tom Inskip won the much coveted Wooden Spoon and will be increased by 1 next time. In fairness, Tom did well to be with us at all given he had a medical procedure the previous day.

In terms of AOB:

Our next fixture is at Knebworth on Thursday 22nd August with first tee time 1028. We have 11 signed up so far including 2 guests. We are trying to work out how to get the fish and chips into a pie!

Our members were encouraged to give feedback to Bedfordshire GC by emailing Helen Nellis directly as per our earlier message. Deadline is Monday 24th July. Please do not copy others into your responses.

If anyone wishes to order some LEGS merchandise, please contact Paul Jones directly. He is due back from his travels shortly and will pick it up appropriately.

The Boddington Cup will be played for at one of the next four fixtures when hopefully we have a few more golfers.

Captain Pete auctioned a St Neots GC four ball voucher which they generously donated.

Captain Pete also presented Bob Broomhall with two bottles of wine for both arranging and winning quizzes over the winter. No, not what you think! Different quizzes!

In terms of finances, Andrew stood in for Jeff and reported that we had raised £390 on the day which increased to £500, thanks to some very generous donations.

All in all a very enjoyable, fun filled and productive Captains Day.

Many thanks to you all for your generosity.

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Mid Herts

We had a great day at Mid Herts golf club, one of the oldest golf courses in the country. It was in excellent condition with fast, well-tended greens, tricky bunkers and very challenging, wispy grass and gorse rough. The staff were very attentive and couldn't do enough to ensure we had an enjoyable and successful day. The weather was kind to us and remained dry until just after we finished. After an excellent steak pie dinner (Captain Pete likes his pies!!), a few items of business were run through, including;

• A warm welcome being extended to our two guests on the day, Eric Lavansch and Mark Westwell, both of whom seemed to have a good fun time.
• Howard Smith relayed his best wishes to all and was sorry to have missed the day, as this is his club. He hopes to join us for some golf in July/ August
• Paul Jones was thanked for arranging the new items on clothing so cost effectively and quickly and a selection was modelled on the day by a number of good looking athletes (see below).
• Graham confirmed fixtures to date arranged for 2025 including South Beds on 19th March, Wellingborough on 16th April, St Neots on 22nd May (still awaiting final confirmation) and Mid Herts on 19th June.

Captain Pete gave a bit of a heads up on his thoughts for Captains Day at Bedfordshire GC on 18th July. We have 12 signed up so far and any wishing to attend were encouraged to sign up on the website. Graham will do a two week beforehand reminder as usual.

Mike Webb had recently met President George who was doing well and hoped to see us at Knebworth.

Prize giving followed with the Trophy for the winner, sponsored by Ray Beckman and Bob Davy, presented by Ray to Richard Ebbs who scored a fabulous 41 points. Well done Richard. Andrew took great delight in informing him of his 3 stroke cut next time! Second place went to Clive Haywood with an excellent 39 points (cut 2) Third place was Richard Shortland on 36 points (cut 1) Astonishingly, Richard Ebbs also was nearest the pin in one on the 16th and nearest the pin in two on the 14th. One of the two wine prizes for these was auctioned. Eric Lavansch was nearest the pin in two on the 17th.

The much coveted Last LEGS Trophy was a closely run thing with Trevor Horwood the deserved winner on countback with 22 points (plus 1 next time).

Martin Lavansch performed an excellent and very funny stint as Fines Master, his standout award being to Mike Webb for being ... Mike Webb! A short while later, Mike tried to cross fine the Fines Master for not having been fined (memory going) and general chaos ensued.

Jeff confirmed that thanks to the fines, and some generous non attendee donations, we raised the princely sum of £216 towards the Captains Charity fund. Many thanks to you all.

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St Neots

Having experienced significant rainfall in the preceding 36 hours and being aware that the St Neots course was closed on the day prior to our event, it was with some relief that we were advised that all was in order for our day, early that morning.

In the event, the course was in excellent condition and the weather held fair, if a little blustery, all day. We were made most welcome by all associated with the club who could not do enough to ensure we had a great experience.

We experienced some excellent, sensible scoring golf on this interesting and somewhat challenging course.

In terms of prize winners,

• Captain Pete was overall winner on countback with 34 points and will be cut by 2 shots next time. The trophy was sponsored by Ian McLuskie and Jeff Wood.
• Tom Inskip was second on 34 points also and will be cut by 1
• Third place was Andrew Stevenson with 33 points and he will also be cut by 1
• Last LEGS was awarded to Steven Long on 21 points who will be +1
• We had two nearest the pin holes, which were not hit by anyone! Our coffers were swelled however as the prizes were auctioned.
• Nearest the pin in 2 was won by David Steel (the only one who made the green in two!)

There were a few items of AoB including,

An update on the Away Trip on 25/25 September by Colin who advised that we had three spaces available, one of which he would offer to new member Trevor Horwood and the others on a first come, first served basis. Please get in touch with Colin, or Graham, if you wish to join us.

Confirmation of 2025 golf fixtures to date being South Beds on 19th March 2025 and Wellingborough on 16th April 2025. It was generally agreed that St Neots was an excellent venue and Graham will make early contact to secure again for next year.

Our next event is at Mid Herts on Thursday 13th June and that we currently have 8 signed up players including one guest (at time of writing, we are now up to 10 + 1). We need more!!

David Steel advised that £170 had been raised by members towards a Plaque on the Beds & County Legacy wall which covers the cost. He thanks all who contributed.

Captain Pete presented Colin Oates with two bottle of wine for setting and winning one of the winter quizzes. May sound a bit dodgy but they were different quizzes!!

Given the significant last minute email traffic regarding the final decision to go ahead with St Neots, it was discussed and agreed that an ‘Immediate Action’ WhatsApp Group would be set up and Andrew voluteered do this. It was stressed that this should be for last minute, very important messages only and that members should not ‘copy all’, unless essential, to minimise risk of message overload.

Mike Webb gave a brief update on President George and would make contact again shortly and brief members as appropriate.

Alan Horn had us in stitches as he took us apart for major crimes committed on the day, in the process relieving us of a few ££.

In overall terms, the day was deemed as a great success and, including a four ball voucher donated by St Neots and raffled on the day, the princely sum of £240 was raised towards our Captain’s Charity.

Many thanks all for your ongoing generosity.

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South Beds

We were blessed with a bright, blustery, very cold but thankfully, dry day on Wednesday at South Beds, which has a year-round reputation for being playable in all weathers, and had some nice and interesting holes. The consencus was to book again going forward, this being a long standing LEGS venue. Sixteen golfers took part in groups of four, however we were quickly down one man, when Alan Horn tripped on his way to the first hole and had to retire. He was fined, of course, and we wish you a speedy recovery Alan.

There was some good golf played on the day with the greens being excellent, if very fast.

In terms of prizes,

• David Steel was overall winner, on countback, with 37 points and will be cut by 2 for next event. The Trophy was donated by Alan Horn and Ken McCarthy. Well done David.
• Captain Pete Schofield was runner up on 37 point (cut 1)
• Trevor Horwood was third with 36 points (cut 1)
• Nearest the pin on 12th was won by Jeff Wood
• Nearest the pin in two on 7th was won by Graham Shennan
• No one hit the dancefloor on the long, into the wind, par 3, 17th, however Bernard Henry kindly bought the auctioned wine prize
• Jos Daalhuizen proudly won the Last LEGS Trophy with 20 points and will gain 2 strokes next time.

Graham updated the Members on a number of items including:

• President George collapsed several times last week and spent some time in hospital. He is now at home under Doctors care and Mike Webb was asked to convey our thoughts and good wishes to him for a full and speedy recovery.
• Steven Long is running a charity golf day at The Bedfordshire on Thursday 27th June in aid of Tibbs Dementia Foundation and invited members to enter a team if they wished. Bernard already has a team entered and David Steel agreed to put forward a team also.
• We have secured Wellingborough for 2025, at an excellent rate, on 16th April which hopefully will get us past the worst of the winter on this excellent, if rather rain-susceptible course.
• Graham reminded all about the next fixture at St Neots on Thursday 23rd May and would advise when the sign up sheet was on the website.
• The contributions commited on behalf of the Beds and County legacy wall stand at £110 and it was confirmed that we would collect the monies only for this, but not fund it.

Colin Oates was Fines Master for the day and in brilliant fashion, duly castigated and reprimanded all of us for numerous misdemeanours. Tom Inskip was very honest at the end in admitting that he had not been fined, so volunteered a kind contribution. I'm sure that generosity will be remembered next time Tom!

Finally, Jeff Wood confirmed that we had raised the excellent sum of £165 on the day which contributes further to Captain Pete's charity fund.

Thank you all for your generosity.

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Wellingborough

The first LEGS golf event of the year was an excellent affair. With the soggy and muddy conditions at all golf courses, Wellingborough declared push trolleys only and no buggies for golf. This kept our numbers down to 11 golfers including guest Trevor Horwood and 12 for dinner, we welcomed Mike Stockford for dinner, lovely to see you, Mike. Trevor enjoyed his day with us and has now joined as a member. Welcome aboard Trevor!

We all arrived with the threat of more rain. We were blessed however with dry, mild and very light winds, a lovely way to kick off our golfing year at one of our favourite venues.

The day started with the usual tea/coffee and bacon rolls and then we ventured out onto the course.

We spiced up the golf by playing a 5 club challenge, which allowed our carry bags to be a bit lighter for 18 holes. This year we have also introduced 3 nearest the pin holes to increase the chances for everyone of winning a bottle of wine.

The course was soggy in places but the greens were very good indeed, being true and reasonably firm and dry. After a lovely dinner Captain Pete let everyone know that President George is well, sends his best wishes and spread the amazing news that his granddaughter Tala has been invited to play in next months Pro-Am at Sunningdale, what an achievement!

We recognised the fabulous bowls event organised by Sue Webb back in February as well as the 2 quizzes in December and January. Bottles of wine were handed out to the quiz setters in appreciation of their hard work.

The golf was reasonably tough but the scoring was robust.

• The winner was Stephen Long with a very good 33 points, well done.
• 2nd was Tom Inskip closely behind on 32 points, well played and;
• 3rd was Captain Pete on 30 points, a solid start to his Captain's year perhaps.
• Nearest the pin was Andrew Stevenson, very good indeed. Nice pic Pete!
• Nobody was nearest the pin in 2 on the 8th so the wine was auctioned, thank you David Steel and;
• Nearest the pin in 2 on the tricky 18th was Mike Webb, well done.
• Richard was a deserved winner of the Last LEGS Trophy...

Our Fines Master, for the first time was Tom Inskip who was very entertaining and a good amount was raised as a result of the fun, thank you Tom. Treasurer Jeff updated us on the finances from the quizzes, the bowls and today's event.

In summary, Wellingborough raised the grand sum of £220, including generous donations from non-attendees, £200 was raised at the AGM, £150 from Henry's quiz, £22 profit from the bowls evening and £210 form the winter quizzes. In total £802 raised in the year to date. Thank you all for your generosity this is an unbelievable start for LEGS 2024 and Capt Pete's charity.

In AOB we discussed helping to purchase a plaque for the wall at Bedford & County GC. David Steel will craft a note to all about this. We also agreed where a club declares winter rules for our game we will follow what these local rules are.

We have secured the 2025 Wellingborough booking to be in their early summer season (April) at a much reduced summer rate. We will save £15 per person on their prices making it an affordable top notch course for us. Playing in April should hopefully increase the chances of better course conditions and so more people might be able to play perhaps with trolleys and buggies. Our next event sees us return to South Beds on April 17th, please sign up on the website it should be a good one.

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2024 Dates

• 20/03/2024 | Wellingborough
• 17/04/2024 | South Beds
• 23/05/2024 | St Neots
• 13/06/2024 | Mid Herts
• 18/07/2024 | Bedfordshire (Captains Day)
• 22/08/2024 | Knebworth
• 18/09/2024 | Kettering
• 24/10/2024 | Bedford & County
• 13/11/2024 | Pavenham Park (AGM)

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Bowls Night

The bowls night on 23rd February at Kempston was an enjoyable evening and a lovely chance to meet up with all our partners. 25 intrepid souls came along for the fun. Captain Pete opened the evening welcoming all including the many guests courtesy of Mike and Sue Webb. Everyone tucked into the finger buffet and drinks before venturing into the rinks. We played across 4 rinks for about 2 hours. Many a stray bowl was witnessed, which was all part of the fun. Our heartfelt thanks go to Sue Webb for all the excellent organisation and also to the volunteers who steered us through it.

 

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2023 Season Summary

• Golfer of the Year: David Steel
• Most Consistent Player: David Steel
• Most Accurate Player: Colin Oates
• Most Improved Player: David Steel

 

• Visit 2023 matches web page >>
• Download Full Season Match Report >>
• Download Treasurer's Report >>

• Download 2023 AGM Meeting Minutes >>

• Download Henry's Forecast Quiz >>

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