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Seniors enjoy a busy week

After a weather disrupted blank week the previous week the Seniors at Brean golf club certainly made up for it with 3 fixtures in the past 7 days.

First to taste success was the ever competitive Roger Phillips as he won the Monthly Stableford. On a day of tough scoring his card of 34 points was good enough to take top spot ahead of Dave Benjafield on 33. Third place went to Colin Roberts who was a further point behind the runner up.

George Stratford was victorious in the second individual event of the week as he topped the leaderboard at the conclusion of the Wally Pape Bogey Trophy. The format means each player plays matchplay against the course and on the day the course definitely won! No player beat it and Stratford ended at 1 down but won by 3 clear holes from John Sherwood on -4. Tony Tissington was third also on -4 but with a poorer back nine than Sherwood.

A busy week was capped off by a fine away performance for the Seniors team at Windwhistle on Friday. Having never really enjoyed too much success at the South Somerset venue in the past they came away with a very respectable 3-3 draw in some very welcome and much improved weather.

Results 08.05.12 Seniors Stableford
1, Roger Phillips 34pts
2, Dave Benjafield 33pts
3, Colin Roberts 32pts

10.05.12 Wally Pape Bogey Trophy
1, George Stratford -1
2, John Sherwood -4
3, Tony Tissington -4

First Avalon defeat of season for Brean

The Division Six Avalon League team from Brean Golf Club ended up on the wrong end of a whitewash on their visit to Wells on Saturday. It spelt the end of the unbeaten start to the season enjoyed by both Brean teams up until this point. The defeat was compounded by the need for one of the Brean players having to leave the course partway round due to feeling unwell which ended up in an overnight stay in Bath hospital but thankfully he is now recovering.

Two rounds of the Super Series were the ‘dish of the day’ at Brean over the Bank Holiday weekend. Phil Aspinall took the win on Saturday after a solid round of 38 points in trying conditions as the course was still very wet following the recent rainfall. Second place went to David Hunter on 36 ahead of Steve Jones on 34. Aspinall topped up his winnings by recording the only two of the day at the 17th to scoop the entire pot on offer. Sunday turned out to the best day weather wise for some time and the scoring was also much improved with the 40 point barrier being broken. Mats Mattsson was the man to do it with 41 points giving him a comprehensive 4 point winning margin. Second and third place was decided on countback with Roy Baker edging out David Bidgood on the back nine after they both carded 37. Again only one 2 was scored and Steve Bateman was the grateful recipient of the Two’s pot on this occasion.

The Seniors had a blank week as firstly their home match with Fosseway and then their Hall of Fame Qualifier scheduled for Thursday were victims of the wet weather.

Results 05.05.12 Super Series
1, Phil Aspinall 38pts
2, David Hunter 36pts
3, Steve Jones 34pts

06.06.12 Super Series
1, Mats Mattsson 41pts
2, Roy Baker 37pts
3, David Bidgood 37pts

Captain’s Charity fund gets an early season boost

Petal – The Christine Woodberry Memorial Trust is the chosen charity for the year for Brean Golf Club. This local charity which provides assistance direct to the families of cancer sufferers was selected by Stewart Garrett and his Lady counterpart Gail Mason and they gave the fund a hefty boost with a successful staging of the annual Charity Day last week. The 18 teams taking part were grateful to the greenstaff who worked wonders after days of heavy rain and huge amounts of water to get the course into a playable condition. For most of the event the players stayed dry but one hefty shower gave them a good soaking towards the end of the round although this didn’t dampen the sprits of many. The winning quartet were the team sponsored by Burnham Portable Toilets consisting of Steve and Jackie Richards, Andy Towens and Martin Preddy who racked up a very impressive 84 points including a colossal 47 on the back nine alone! This gave them a one point winning margin over 2011 winners the Jones Boys. Brothers Paul and Steve were joined by father David and Uncle Eric as they almost repeated the win of 12 months earlier ending just one point shy. Third place went to the Brean Seniors+1 team as Roger Blackwell, Mike Allen and Barrie Yearsley were joined by club Professional Andrew March on their way to 81 points with Blackwell and March both crucially birdying the last hole to elevate them up the standings. Petal’s Flowers, a team from the benefitting Charity made up of Richard Tye, Paul Plume, Mark Coombs and Brian Warner, ended in 4th spot on 80. Following an excellent meal and prizegiving plus a successful Auction in the Tavern it was announced that the estimated figure raised solely on the day was around the £2000 mark which is a superb effort by all concerned.

Elsewhere at Brean the Avalon League Division Two side racked up another big home win on the weekend as Taunton Vale were the latest team to suffer defeat at the hands of the Brean team. The visitors avoided the whitewash but still ended on the wrong end of a 4-1 scoreline, a result which sends Brean well clear at top of the table after barely a month of the season. Team Captain Steve Bateman’s decision to play so many matches early in the campaign certainly seems to be paying dividends at present with the number of points they have on the scoreboard already. The Seniors matched the achievements of the main club as they moved comfortably into the next round of the Seniors Somerset Bowl as their Minehead counterparts were dispatched by a 4-1 scoreline. The wet weather and a subsequent buggy ban imposed and Woodspring left the Seniors short handed last Thursday and not surprisingly they suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of their hosts.

Brean’s Professional’s also suffered with the weather as their planned trip to the Forest of Dean for the Forest Hills Pro Am was called off early on Wednesday morning with the course declared unplayable. They will now return in early July when hopefully Summer will have by then arrived! They return to G&S PGA Medal action with the last 18 hole Medal of the season taking place at Isle Of Wedmore GC. Andrew March will be looking to get himself within striking distance for a shot at the Total Triumph Order of Merit title going in the final event the Total Triumph sponsored 36 hole Championship at Clevedon the following Wednesday.

Winning ways continue at Brean

Both of Brean’s Avalon League teams were celebrating success on Saturday as both notched excellent victories. The Division Six side opened their 2012 campaign with a whitewash of Frome at home. The hosts were not put off by the inclement weather and played some superb golf to take maximum points on the day. The other side who play in Division Two continued their fast start to their season. In their first fixture away from Brean in 2012 they defeated Isle of Wedmore by 3 games to 2 and this result now sees them riding high at the top of the league table albeit having played more games than most of their rivals.

The Seniors section keep up the winning trend as they built up a healthy advantage in the first leg of the Kingbrean Trophy contested in the annual fixtures against Kingweston. Brean were at home for the first leg and all but whitewashed their opponents. Only one game ended all square and with the home side winning the rest they take a sizeable 4 point lead into the second leg later in the year.

Two rounds of the Super Series were the competition for those not involved in the matches over the weekend and with blustery showers and a strong breeze not too many ventured out. Chris Leaman was the winner of Saturdays event with 35 points ahead of Club Captain Stewart Garrett on 34 and runaway series leader Nigel Hodges taking third with 31. Sunday’s victor was Club Champion Roy Baker who managed to beat his handicap by a shot as he compiled 37 points. Roger Vaughan was the runner up on 35 ahead of last year’s Club Captain Dave Bradley on 34.

Results 21.04.12 Super Series
1, Chris Leaman 35pts
2, Stewart Garrett 34pts
3, Nigel Hodges 31pts

22.04.12 Super Series
1, Roy Baker 37pts
2, Roger Vaughan 35pts
3, Dave Bradley 34pts

Up and coming golfers lead the way at Brean

Three of the up and coming golfers at Brean claimed a win each over the weekend in the Monthly Stablefords and Medals for April. John Doughty posted the best score of the day on Saturday in the Stableford as he took Division Two with 38 points. The following day Phil Hodgson won Division Two with a nett 67 whilst Dave Bidgood carried off his second win in seven days with a comprehensive 7 stroke margin in landing the Division Three award. All three players will now see their handicaps being reduced as a result of their excellent efforts over the weekend.

Other winners in the Stableford were Jason Kidley in a small top flight with 34 points whilst a player at the other end of the age spectrum in super senior Wally Pape took the honours in the Third Division after carding 36 points. The windy conditions on Sunday saw many people struggle to beat their handicap and only one player bar the winning young guns of Bidgood and Hodgson managed to do it. Mike Parfitt had to be content with second spot three shots behind Hodgson in the second flight after his nett 70. Mike Hurman was victorious in Division One after a nett 75 edging out Chris Fairchild on a countback.

The Club Team opened their defence of the Somerset Bowl with a tight victory over Wells at Worlebury on a rainy Bank Holiday Monday afternoon. With the tie evenly balanced at 2 games each Brean were staring down the barrel of a first round exit as the final game sat at 3 up to the opposition with just three holes to play. Eamonn Wynne and Steve Bateman produced some stunning golf to win the last three holes to take the whole game into extra time and completed the dramatic fightback by winning their game at the 19th hole to send Brean through to the next round. Back at Brean at the weekend the Avalon team could only manage a 2.5 each draw in their game against Long Sutton which although slightly disappointing did maintain their unbeaten home run this season.

The Seniors also have an unbeaten record at home but they have only played the one inter club match to date. This came last Thursday when Taunton Vale were the visitors to the Somerset coast. The visitors were soundly beaten by their hosts by 4.5 games to 1.5 and some superb golf was played throughout the match by both teams. Captain Tony Roper was well under his handicap in his game but it was still only good enough for a half as their opponents matched them shot for shot all the way.

Results 14.04.12 Monthly Stableford Div 1
1, Jason Kidley 34pts
2, Murray Parsons 32pts

Div 2
1, John Doughty 38pts
2, Neil Barker 37pts
3, Phil Hodgson 36pts

Div 3
1, Wally Pape 36pts
2, Tony Groves 35pts
3, Roger Broom 31pts

15.04.12 Monthly Medal Div 1
1, Mike Hurman 87-12-75
2, Chris Fairchild 87-12-75
3, Murray Parsons 86-9-77

Div 2
1, Phil Hodgson 85-18-67
2, Mike Parfitt 87-17-70
3, Tony Richards 86-13-73

Div 3
1, Dave Bidgood 92-24-68
2, Tony Romeo 100-25-75
3, Mike Bidgood 103-25-78

Winning start for Brean 8.4.12

The Avalon League fixtures got under way on Saturday with Brean opening up their Division Two campaign with a home tie against Vivary Park. After gaining promotion last season Brean took to the higher division like a duck to water as they whitewashed their opposition 5 games to nil to take the maximum league points on offer. Only one of the 5 games made it to the 18th in what was a very impressive display by the team. Next week they face Long Sutton at home.

Senior Roger Blackwell produced an excellent round to take the Seniors Stableford and the Millennium Trophy which accompanied it. He notched 42 points as he finished 5 clear of the rest of his competitors and reduced his handicap by a stroke as well. Second place went to Seniors Captain Tony Roper with 37 with George Thomas taking third after a countback on 36. The Senior section get their inter club matches underway next week and they warmed up for it as a team selected by Captain Roper took on a Past Captains side with honours finishing even at 3 games all.

Club Captain Stewart Garrett was in excellent form on Saturday when he won the Super Series Stableford. His card was littered with birdies as he totalled 40 points on his way to top spot. Runner up was the consistent Nigel Hodges on 38 ahead of Roger Phillips on 37.

Brean’s PGA Professionals again filled the upper reaches of the leaderboard in the G&S PGA Medal at The Mendip last week. Andrew March continued his superb form as he notched up his 4th victory of the season after his 3 under par 68 secured him a 4 stroke victory. He now moves within striking distance of the leader at the top of the Total Triumph Order of Merit with just 3 events left. David Haines ended in a tie for 4th spot after posting 73. He also made a move up the rankings and now sits in 6th place keeping the club’s name well represented on the leaderboard.

Results 03.04.12 Seniors Stableford/Millennium Trophy
1, Roger Blackwell 42pts
2, Tony Roper 37pts
3, George Thomas 36pts

07.04.12 Super Series
1, Stewart Garrett 40pts
2, Nigel Hodges 38pts
3, Roger Phillips 37pts

Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance receive over £5k from Brean Golf Club

Last Friday evening over 100 members of Brean Golf Club gathered in the Tavern at the Leisure Park for the club’s annual presentation evening. The attendees enjoyed a superb buffet and they settled back to enjoy the presentations and cabaret which followed. The prizewinners for 2011 collected their rewards for their excellent golf over the last 12 months with Roy Baker being the main recipient with 10 awards including Club Champion and not surprisingly Golfer of the Year. Neil Barker was named the Most Improved Player as he took home a haul of 8 trophies over the year in his first full season at the Club.

At the end of the presentation of the prizes the 2011 Captain’s, Dave Bradley & Jenny Vaughan, took the stage to announce the final figure raised for their chosen Charity. Last year they decided to raise funds through various different functions and events for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance. Their representative Nick Pearce was on hand to receive a cheque for just over £5000 which really is a marvellous effort by the club especially in such difficult economic times. Nick thanked the club for their generosity and commented on what a great spirit was shown by the entire club in raising the funds. He said the money would be put to good use in keeping the Air Ambulance in the skies and saving lives but hoped it wouldn’t be needed to be used at Brean!

(photo of Nick receiving cheque from Dave and Jenny courtesy of Mo Hunt.)

Romeo storms to Winter League win 1.4.12

A stunning back nine holes by Tony Romeo in the Winter League Final at Brean was good enough to see him collect the title. The top twenty players lined up in the culmination of 5 months of competition and an extremely close finish ensued. With the leading players in the qualifying table receiving extra bonus points to add to their finals day score it was going to take an extra special effort to overhaul the leaders. After nine holes Romeo wasn’t really in contention but he racked up a massive 27 point haul on his inward half to snatch victory on countback from Roy Baker and Barrie Tucker. Both Baker and Tucker had extra points added to their score as 4th placed qualifier Baker notched 41 plus his 2 bonus points for total of 43 and the leading qualifier Tucker could only muster 38 to go with the maximum 5 additional points he had already gained. Neither player could match that amazing back nine score of Romeo so he was duly crowned the Champion for the year. Craig Wheelaghan took 4th on 40 points edging out Nigel Hodges with 37+3 after another countback.

Brean Professionals were again prominent in the results of last week’s Gloucester and Somerset PGA Medal at Filton. Andrew March continued his best ever season with a second place finish after a one under par 69 whilst David Haines recovered well from a poor start to card a 72 and take 5th spot on his own. March’s result sees him move back into second position in the Total Triumph Order of Merit but he is still some distance behind the leader and Haines is making a late charge up the rankings with just 4 events left to play.

Results 31.03.12 Winter League
1, Tony Romeo 43pts
2, Roy Baker (41+2) 43pts
3, Barrie Tucker (38+5) 43pts
4, Craig Wheelaghan 40pts
5, Nigel Hodges (37+3) 40pts

If you need any more information please contact me.

We hosted our annual presentation night last Friday evening and soon I will do a report on the charity cheque presentation we made. I am however waiting for a photo to go with this to be e-mailed to me. As soon as I have it I will send it on to you all.

Terrific total takes the Scramble 25.3.12

Roy Baker, Ian Adams, Roger Phillips and Tony Romeo combined perfectly as they romped to a spectacular success in the Gordon Phippen Trophy Scramble at Brean on Sunday. They ended over 3 shots clear of the rest of the field in the popular event after carding an excellent score of just 54.1. Runners up were Andy Thomas, Paul McLanaghan, Stuart Wills and Martyn Cahill on 57.3.

Captain Stewart Garrett has got off to a winning start in his year in office and with it has gained the bragging rights for the year over the two other sections of the club. Firstly the Men beat the Ladies last weekend to win the Bone of Contention and this week the Seniors succumbed to them by 3.5-2.5.

Brean’s PGA Professionals have maintained winning ways in G&S PGA Medals in recent weeks as Andrew March followed up David Haines’ win 7 days previous at Shirehampton with one of his own at Tall Pines. He beat par by 4 in his 66 to secure his third win of the season and move back into third position overall in the Total Triumph Order of Merit as it moves into the final stretch of events. Haines continued his good form as he finished in tie for fourth after his 68.

Back at Brean the focus next weekend turns to the Winter League Final. The last qualifying event took place in some very un Winter like conditions on Saturday with Craig Wheelaghan topping the scorecharts in the sunshine with 42 points. Ian Adams was second on 40 and Vince Ford third with 39. The top 20 players in the final table now move forward to next Saturdays Grand Final after which the winner will be crowned.

Results 24.03.12 Winter League
1, Craig Wheelaghan 42pts
2, Ian Adams 40pts
3, Vince Ford 39pts

25.03.12 Gordon Phippen Trophy
1, Roy Baker, Ian Adams, Roger Phillips & Tony Romeo 54.1
2, Andy Thomas, Paul McLanaghan, Stuart Wills & Martyn Cahill 57.3
3, Steve Foy, Steve Bateman, Dave Hunter & Dennis May 57.5

Tucker tops the Medal 18.3.12

Barrie Tucker returned both the lowest gross and nett score of the day as he collected the Seniors March Medal at Brean Golf Club last week. Tucker took 80 shots to navigate the course and when his handicap of 12 was deducted his nett 68 was two better than anyone else in the field could manage. Three players all finished on 70 and a three way countback was required. Roger Phillips was declared as the runner up ahead of Seniors Captain Tony Roper and the in form Wally Pape this time had to settle for fourth position.

Brean’s Director of Golf David Haines made a long overdue return to the G&S PGA winners circle as he shared victory at last weeks Medal at Shirehampton. He handed in a 1 under par round of 66 to tie with Cirencester Professional Ed Godwin for his first victory of the season. The points he earned gave him a timely boost up the Total Triumph Order of Merit standings with the end of the season fast approaching. His Brean colleague Andrew March recovered from a poor start at Shirehampton to finish in a tie for 7th after his 72 but he did consolidate his 4th position in the Order of Merit table.

Results 13.03.12 Seniors Medal
1, Barrie Tucker 80-12-68
2, Roger Phillips 91-21-70
3, Tony Roper 87-17-70
4, Wally Pape 90-20-70

Wally just keeps on winning 11.3.12

The Seniors Chairman Wally Pape has been in top form in the past week at Brean Golf Club. The octogenarian is probably one of the most active members at the club and supports both the Seniors and Main club events on a weekly basis enjoying plenty of success. Last week he competed in the Seniors Stableford and although he beat his 20 handicap by 3 he could only take the runners up spot as Pete Douglas pipped him with 41 points with Peter May taking third on 38. Two days later Pape wasn’t to be denied as he took the win in the Division Three March Medal after again beating par by three with his nett 68. He edged out Nigel Hodges on a countback to claim first prize. Pape’s only disappointment though was that his handicap didn’t get reduced back into teen figures after his two rounds but on this form it surely won’t be long before that happens.

Best score of the day in the March medal went to Division Two winner Chris Stephens. He carded a nett 66 to beat Phil Hodgson into second and prevent Hodgson from making a winning debut in the second flight. A small entry contested the Division One award and Barrie Tucker was victorious after a nett 68. Shelia Rouse took the honours in the Ladies Medal.

Another foggy morning greeted the players for Sunday’s Loxton Trophy but play began on time for the shotgun start. 18 pairs were randomly drawn and they set out to lay claim to the silverware in the betterball medal format. The victorious pair were Murray Parsons and Alan Marshall who carded a very impressive nett 64 considering the conditions. Three pairs handed in nett 65’s and the countback decided that Neil Barker and Phil Aspinall would take the runners up spot with the better back nine ahead of the Baker/Hodgson and Pitt/Doughty partnerships.

24 Brean golfers enjoyed a week in the Spanish sun last week as they made their annual trip to Europe to play for their European Tour Shield. Shrek’s Shankers had been holders of the Shield for a few years but this year relinquished it to the Steve Bateman, Captain of the Bater’s Masters team, after 4 closely contested days of golf.

Results 08.03.12 Seniors Stableford
1, Peter Douglas 41pts
2, Wally Pape 39pts
3, Peter May 38pts

10.03.12 March Medal Div 1
1, Barrie Tucker 80-12-68
2, Murray Parsons 83-9-74

Div 2
1, Chris Stephens 81-15-66
2, Phil Hodgson 86-19-67
3, Trevor Pitt 87-16-71

Div 3
1, Wally Pape 88-20-68
2, Nigel Hodges 89-21-68
3, Gordon Wheelaghan 95-26-69

Ladies Medal
1, Shelia Rouse
2, Annie Williams

11.03.12 Loxton Trophy
1, Murray Parsons & Alan Marshall 64
2, Neil Barker & Phil Aspinall 65
3, Roy Baker & Phil Hodgson 65
4, Trevor Pitt & John Doughty 65

Super Sutton wins March Hare

Mike Sutton’s superb card of 43 points won him the Charles Cooke March Hare at Brean on Saturday. His opening nine holes didn’t suggest that victory was on the cards but he finished like the proverbial hare as he racked up an amazing 27 points on his homeward nine. This result gave him a two point winning margin and reduced his handicap by two shots in the process. Runner up Trevor Pitt failed to score on the final hole but even if he had matched Sutton’s total he would have struggled if a countback was needed. Third place was taken by Pete Dunn on 39 whilst Vince Ford edged out Andy Chan after a countback for 4th.

Brean’s Director of Golf David Haines competed in the Algarve last week in a North Region PGA Pro Am. Playing over some of the best courses that the region has to offer he finished in a very creditable tie for 3rd place after the 72 holes were completed. He handed in three sub par rounds of 71 alongside a 78 which was over the toughest layout of the quartet at Villa Sol. With Haines being abroad he was unable to play in the G&S PGA Medal at Long Ashton last Wednesday but his Brean colleague Andrew March did take part and finished in 5th place after a 72 to consolidate his position in 4th place on the Total Triumph Order of Merit.

Results 03.03.12 Charles Cooke March Hare
1, Mike Sutton 43pts
2, Trevor Pitt 41pts
3, Pete Dunn 39pts
4, Vince Ford 38pts
5, Andy Chan 38pts

Foy ‘n’ Roy in Mike Teal Trophy triumph 26.2.12

A late change to the intended pairings due to the non arrival of a few players for the Shotgun start saw Graham Foy and Roy Baker hastily paired together in the Mike Teal Trophy at Brean on Saturday. They made light of the late notice and dovetailed perfectly in the betterball format to total an impressive 46 points on their way to a 4 point victory ahead of Barrie Tucker and Nigel Hodges. Tucker and Hodges just edged out their playing partners for the day, Roger Phillips and Mike Sutton, to secure for the runners up position on the back nine.

The Winter League stableford on Sunday was played on temporary greens thanks to an overnight frost. Fog also affected the early starters but Craig Wheelaghan had no problem as he notched 47 points to take victory. Roger Phillips on 46 took second and Nigel Hodges with 45 was third.

Wheelaghan junior was again to the fore the previous Sunday when he claimed the Presidents Putter which is awarded to the best score in the February Medal. He carded an nett 64 to top Division Three by 3 shots from the ever improving Dave Bidgood. Bidgood edged out another fast improver on countback in Phil Hodgson but Hodgson achieved his aim of a teen handicap by the end of February thanks to his score and will now line up in the Second Division next month. The other two Divisions were both won with nett 69’s as Barrie Tucker took the top flight and Pete Dunn was victorious in the Second. In the Ladies Presidents Putter Jenny Vaughan secured a runaway victory as her nett 70 left her opponents trailing in her wake.

Long hitting senior Peter Douglas was the only player to play under his handicap in the Seniors February Medal. He finished at one under with a nett 70 and just a single stroke lower than runner up Mike Allen. The ever consistent Roger Phillips was third on 72 after a countback with two others on the same number.

David Haines made a welcome return to form in the G&S PGA medal at Naunton Downs last Wednesday. Despite not having played the course before he matched the par of 71 in tricky conditions to finish in a tie for second, his best result of the season so far. This result moves him back into the top ten in the Total Triumph Order of Merit. His Brean colleague Andrew March took 3 shots to get down from the edge of the final green otherwise he would have joined Haines in 2nd but as it was finished 1 stroke back on 72 and in 5th place.

Results 19.02.12 February Medal/ Presidents Putter
Div 1
1, Barrie Tucker 81-12-69
2, Murray Parsons 82-9-73
3, Steve Peates 81-7-74

Div 2
1, Pete Dunn 88-19-69
2, Mats Mattsson 87-17-70
3, Alan Marshall 89-17-72

Div 3
1, Craig Wheelaghan 87-23-64
2, Dave Bidgood 92-25-67
3, Phil Hodgson 87-20-67

Ladies Medal/Presidents Putter
1, Jenny Vaughan
2, Shelia Rouse
3, Gail Mason

21.02.12 Seniors Medal
1, Peter Douglas 85-15-70
2, Mike Allen 90-19-71
3, Roger Phillips 93-21-72

25.02.12 Mike Teal Trophy
1, Roy Baker & Graham Foy 46pts
2, Barrie Tucker & Nigel Hodges 42pts
3, Roger Phillips & Mike Sutton 42pts

26.02.12 Winter League
1, Craig Wheelaghan 47pts
2, Roger Phillips 46pts
3, Nigel Hodges 45pts

Victory for Vine on Valentines Day 19.2.12

Ron Vine scored a convincing victory at Brean last Tuesday in the Seniors February Stableford. Most of the 30+ strong field found scoring to be tricky and none of them managed to match their handicaps by the end of the round. The one exception in the entire field was Vine as he racked up 42 points to win by a massive 7 points. His handicap tumbled as well as he was reduced by two shots following his score. The distant second place went to Wally Pape on 35 and Pete Douglas took third on 34.

Club Champion Roy Baker returned to the winner’s enclosure, following a recent slump in form by his high standards, in the Winter League competition on Saturday. He carded 39 points to win on the day but still trails the overall leader Barry Tucker in the points table. Second place went to Phil Hodgson who still beat his handicap despite not scoring on 4 holes during his round. His 37 points took the runners up money but didn’t quite achieve his goal and reduce his handicap into teen figures. In third place on 36 points was Tony Romeo.

Andrew March finished fourth in the G&S PGA Medal at Saltford last Thursday but actually slipped one place down the Total Triumph Order of Merit. His one over par round of 70 left him in the money but the three players who beat him by a single shot were also his main rivals in the points race. This leaves him in a comfortable fourth place with 9 Medals remaining in the season but still within striking distance of the top three.

Results 14.02.12 Seniors Stableford
1, Ron Vine 42pts
2, Wally Pape 35pts
3, Peter Douglas 34pts

18.02.12 Winter League
1, Roy Baker 39pts
2, Phil Hodgson 37pts
3, Tony Romeo 36pts

Scores soar as the freezes continues at Brean 12.2.12

With the continuing sub zero temperatures being endured the golfers at Brean are still thriving on the luxury of the oversize holes afforded by the temporary greens. Saturday’s Winter League stableford event saw another glut of low scoring with Vince Ford leading the way on 47 points. His impressive effort left him one point clear of Barry Tucker who in turn edged out Club Chairman Graham Exton by a single point as they filled the minor placings. Tucker is now the man everyone has to catch at the top of the points table after his latest score opened up a healthy lead.

The following day Tucker was again to assume the ‘bridesmaids’ role in the AGM Shotgun Foursomes event. He and his partner Ian Adams handed in a very useful looking 46 points and that looked good for the win for quite a while. They didn’t however take into account the storming round being compiled by Steve Payne and John Brewer. They were racking up the points at a fair rate of knots and could even afford to not score on one hole as they totalled an excellent 47 points to take the victory. Third place went to Chris Fairchild and Steve Peates on 45 points with two other pairings handing in 44 points.

The Club AGM took place following the Foursomes event and Dave Bradley handed over the Club Captaincy to Stewart Garrett for the next 12 months. Gail Mason succeeds Jenny Vaughan as Ladies Captain whilst Tony Roper takes over the Seniors reins from Jim Longford. All three incoming Captain’s have a tough task to follow after the success enjoyed by the club in 2011 but are sure to be up for the challenge.

Results 11.02.12 Winter League
1, Vince Ford 47pts
2, Barry Tucker 46pts
3, Graham Exton 45pts

12.02.12 AGM Shotgun Foursomes
1, John Brewer & Steve Payne 47pts
2, Barry Tucker & Ian Adams 46pts
3, Chris Fairchild & Steve Peates 45pts

Roger returns a half century to win 5.2.12

Temporary greens have dominated proceedings at Brean in the last week or so thanks to the sub zero temperatures and regular frosty conditions. These greens with the larger holes in always allow some high stableford scores to be posted especially when they are starting to thaw. This was certainly the case on Sunday in the Winter League competition as Roger Phillips totalled an amazing 50 points in his circuit of the course. Not surprisingly this gave him a comfortable win ahead of 2 players on 46 points. Craig Wheelaghan was the runner up in front of Graham Foy after a back nine countback. With the qualifying period moving into its final stretch these high scores will help all these players move nicely upwards in the rankings.

The previous day the temporary greens were still very solid and a smaller than usual entry contested the Monthly Stableford before the snow came. Two players returned 42 points in Division Three with the in form Craig Wheelaghan again gaining the advantage after a countback. Vince Ford was the unlucky party this time to lose out over the back nine scores and Tony Romeo claimed third on 40. Captain Elect Stewart Garrett is another player currently in good form as he carded 41 points managing to do what his rugby playing countrymen could not at Murrayfield later in the day and hold on for a victory. Club Chairman Graham Exton took second on 40 points whilst in what was a good day for Club Officials Club Captain Dave Bradley finished third with 37. The Division One stableford went unclaimed as no one entered from that handicap category.

The Gloucester and Somerset PGA Medal at Forest Hills fell foul of the freezing conditions last Wednesday as it was abandoned due to the frozen ground. David Haines and Andrew March are hoping for better luck this Wednesday as they travel to Thornbury GC.

Results 04.02.12 Monthly Stableford Div 2
1, Stewart Garrett 41pts
2, Graham Exton 40pts
3, Dave Bradley 37pts

Div 3
1, Craig Wheelaghan 42pts
2, Vince Ford 42pts
3, Tony Romeo 40pts

05.02.12 Winter League
1, Roger Phillips 50pts
2, Craig Wheelaghan 46pts
3, Graham Foy 46pts

Bateman and Hodges race to Rally win 29.1.12

Brean Golf Club went ‘on tour’ over the weekend due to the annual Car Rally taking place at the Leisure Park. Events were arranged for both Saturday and Sunday at two different venues and were well supported by the members.

The Car Rally Trophy played on Sunday had a new venue this year as 40 golfers travelled to Thornbury Golf Club where they received a warm welcome. The players played an individual stableford over 18 holes and then gathered in the clubhouse for the blind draw to see who would partner who in the competition. Steve Bateman led the way individually with a sparkling card of 43 points including a couple of two’s with Chris Fairchild, Steve Jones and Steve Peates all topping the 40 point mark as well. Fairchild was one of the early cards drawn out and was immediately followed by Paul Jones who totalled 39 points giving the pair an impressive score of 80. This looked to be the likely winners until Nigel Hodges who also had 39 points was joined by Bateman which gave them an unassailable total of 82. Third place went to two players who both handed in steady scores of 37 points in the shape of Trevor Pitt and Steve Mason, who in turn were one point ahead of Pete Dunn and Martin Brown in fourth. A good day was had by all and the new venue was deemed a success by all who played.

The previous day saw almost 30 players make the short trip up the road to Burnham and Berrow and tackle the Channel Course for the Boycie Trophy. The event organised by Mike ‘Boycie’ Sutton was an individual stableford event and cold dry conditions greeted the players. The winner on the day was Captain Elect Stewart Garrett who played some steady golf to accumulate 38 points helping by a couple of nett eagles on his opening nine holes. Joining the members was Professional Andrew March and he took second spot with a sub par round of 37 points. Jerry Brueford came third on 35 points and Jenny Vaughan defied injury to claim fourth with a very respectable 34 points over the tough layout.

Two days earlier March relinquished his leadership of the Total Triumph Order of Merit after just one week as Ross Langdon (Henbury) overtook him after Langdon posted 65 to win the G&S PGA Medal at Weston. March was back in 9th spot on 72 just ahead of Brean colleague David Haines on 73. Both players were left to rue dropped shots due to a lost ball each during their rounds. This week they move onto Forest Hills GC in Coleford.

Results 28.01.12 Boycie Trophy
1, Stewart Garrett 38pts
2, Andrew March 37pts
3, Jerry Brueford 35pts
4, Jenny Vaughan 34pts

29.01.12 Car Rally Trophy Blind Pairs Stableford
1, Steve Bateman & Nigel Hodges 43+39=82
2, Chris Fairchild & Paul Jones 41+39=80
3, Trevor Pitt & Steve Mason 37+37=74
4, Pete Dunn & Martin Brown 34+39=73

Tony tames Brean in the the breeze 22.1.12

Tony Romeo mastered the stiff breeze blowing at Brean Golf Club as he accumulated 38 points on his way to winning the Winter League round on Saturday. He secured a two shot victory over the experienced Roger Phillips and rising star Phil Hodgson. Phillips just edged out his younger counterpart on a back nine hole countback to take the runners up prize on 36 points.

Weather also dominated the re-arranged Seniors Stableford played last Tuesday. After strong winds put paid to the original staging it did go ahead at the second attempt but on temporary greens after a heavy overnight frost. With the larger holes in the temporary greens scoring was slightly easier for the field and 5 players topped the 40 point mark. Two managed 45 and the computer decreed that by countback Mike Allen was victorious over Seniors Chairman Wally Pape over the back nine holes. Keith Saunders took third on 42.

Brean professional Andrew March was in scintillating form in last weeks Gloucester and Somerset PGA Medal at Minehead. He carded seven consecutive birdies on the front nine before adding another birdie and an eagle in the first 6 holes of his back nine. This saw him stand at 10 under par with 3 holes remaining and thoughts of a 59 entered his head. A poor finish though saw him drop three shots in the closing three holes and he signed for a 7 under par 65 which was still good enough however for a convincing 6 stroke victory. This win sees March move to the top of the Total Triumph Order of Merit at the halfway point of the season. David Haines showed some improved form but like his Brean colleague he suffered a poor finish which kept him out of the prizes.

Results 17.01.12 Seniors Stableford
1, Mike Allen 45pts
2, Wally Pape 45pts
3, Keith Saunders 42pts

21.01.12 Winter League
1, Tony Romeo 38pts
2, Roger Phillips 36pts
3, Phil Hodgson 36pts

Jones’ win double

Steve Jones had a successful weekend at Brean Golf Club as he claimed win’s on both days. On Sunday he teamed up with Brian Read in the Pairs Aggregate Medal and repeated his Stableford win the previous day. They combined for a level par score of 142 in the testing format which needs both partners to be playing steadily and avoid any big numbers to have any chance of victory. Second place would have gone to Roger Phillips and Tony Romeo but as Romeo forgot to sign his card his partners nett 67, the best of the day, was in vain as they were disqualified. A countback was required to separate the next two pairs and decide who would be the runners up. Steve’s brother Paul partnering Roger Vaughan prevailed over Trevor Pitt and Phil Aspinall who also posted a sub 70 score.

The previous day the temporary greens were deployed for the first time this Winter for the Monthly Stableford. With the larger holes in the greens scoring was expected to be good and the players didn’t disappoint. Jones again led the way with 44 points on his way to Division One success and the best score of the day. The other two divisions were won with 43 points as Chris Stephens won Division two and Tony Groves took the third flight. Murray Parsons, Mark Elvins and Tony Romeo were the runners up respectively in the first, second and third categories.

The Seniors 2012 campaign got underway with the January Medal last week. Keen runner Jim Wotton was quick out the blocks with a nett 68 to take the win ahead of George Thomas on 70 and Roger Blackwell in third on 72.

Andrew March bounced back from his disappointing finish the previous week to take second spot in the G&S PGA Medal at Burnham and Berrow. His level par score of 71 gave him second spot one stroke behind Burnham amateur Ellis Cook. March did however take maximum points in the Total Triumph Order of Merit and moved back into a share of 2nd place. David Haines also finished in the top ten after a 75.

Results 12.01.12 Seniors Medal
1, Jim Wotton 88-20-68
2, George Thomas 92-22-70
3, Roger Blackwell 89-17-72

14.01.12 Monthly Stableford Div 1
1, Steve Jones 44pts
2, Murray Parsons 41pts
3, Barry Tucker 36pts

Div 2
1, Chris Stephens 43pts
2, Mark Elvins 42pts
3, Tom Broom 41pts

Div 3
1, Tony Groves 43pts
2, Tony Romeo 42pts
3, Kevin Davies 41pts

15.01.12 Pairs Aggregate Medal
1, Steve Jones & Brian Read 142
2, Roger Vaughan & Paul Jones 145
3, Trevor Pitt & Phil Aspinall 145

McLanaghan claims first silverware of 2012

The first pieces of silverware of the new year were on offer at Brean Golf Club as the January Monthly Medal has the added prizes of the New Year Trophy and the Deacon Trophy included with it. The New Year Trophy is awarded for the best overall score on the day whilst the Deacon Trophy goes to the leading player in Division Three. The fast improving Paul McLanaghan collected both the New Years Trophy and the Deacon Trophy after an excellent nett 64. Pete Dunn could feel slightly unlucky as his nett 65 brought him runners up spots in the two trophies as well as the Division behind McLanaghan. Club Champion Roy Baker carried on where he left off in 2011 as he won Division One from that seemingly perennial bridesmaid Stuart Wills. Both players had nett 67’s but after a countback yet again Wills had to settle for second spot in an event, something that happened all too often for him last year. Mike Chaloner took the Division Two Medal with a nett 69 one shot ahead of Ben Kingston on 70.

Sunday’s event was the Percy Underwood Trophy which sees the highest handicap player drawn with the lowest and so on through the entrants before they compete in a Foursomes Stableford format. Favourites after the draw was made were Roy Baker and Phil Hodgson and they certainly lived up to that billing on the course as took the victory after carding 38 points. Runners up were Club Captain Dave Bradley and Tony Higgins on 36.

The Seniors have yet to get their 2012 fixtures underway as the strong winds and heavy rain lead to the postponements of their planned events of last week.

Despite finishing inside the top ten Andrew March was left to rue a poor finish to his round in the first G& PGA Medal of 2012 at Minchinhampton Old course last week. Three closing bogies dropped him down the leaderboard and with it also two places down to 4th in the Total Triumph Order of Merit. This week both he and fellow Brean pro David Haines will be hoping for better luck in their Medal at Burnham and Berrow, a venue they both know well.

Results 07.01.12 Monthly Medal (New Year Trophy) Div 1
1, Roy Baker 71-4-67
2, Stuart Wills 74-7-67
3, Paul Jones 79-9-70

Div 2
1, Mike Chaloner 87-18-69
2, Ben Kingston 83-13-70
3, Chris Stephens 86-15-71

Div 3 (Deacon Trophy)
1, Paul McLanaghan 84-20-64
2, Pete Dunn 85-20-65
3, Graham Foy 87-20-67

08.01.12 Percy Underwood Trophy
1, Roy Baker & Phil Hodgson 38pts
2, Dave Bradley & Tony Higgins 36pts

Joy for Quartet in Grumpy Trophy

The Christmas Scramble was the last piece of silverware up for grabs at Brean Golf Club in 2011. The event winners claim the Grumpy Trophy and the happy foursome were Chris Payne, Roy Baker, Tony Groves and Brian Read who handed in a nett score of 55.3. Second place was taken by Stuart Wills, Martyn Cahill, Andy Thomas and Paul McLanaghan with 56.1 ahead of Ian Adams, Tony Romeo, Roger Phillips and Barry Tucker in third.

The winter weather played a major part in all the other events contested in the past week. A heavy wintry shower fell during the Seniors Medal and this saw 14 out the 17 man field give up and seek sanctuary in the clubhouse. The only three ball to complete the whole course therefore took the leading three spots. Roger Blackwell was the victor on nett 78 ahead of Tony Roper and Roy Snell in second and third.

Very cold temperatures greeted the participants for the Winter League on Saturday and the conditions prevented good scoring on the day. The only player to beat his handicap was Jim McLauchlan who won with ease on with 39 points. Two players handed in 35 points and needed to be separated by a countback. Kevin Davies was given the verdict over Ron Vine for second with the better back nine.

Results 11/12/11 Christmas Scramble
1, Chris Payne, Roy Baker, Ton Groves & Brian Read 55.3
2, Stuart Wills, Martyn Cahill, Andy Thomas & Paul McLanaghan 56.1
3, Ian Adams, Tony Romeo, Barry Tucker & Roger Phillips 56.3

15/12/11 Seniors Medal
1, Roger Blackwell 95-17-78
2, Tony Roper 101-17-84
3, Roy Snell 110-25-85

17/12/11 Winter League
1, Jim McLauchlan 39pts
2, Kevin Davies 35pts
3, Ron Vine 35pts

Brean Pro’s just fail in bid to retain title.

Brean’s two PGA Professionals David Haines and Andrew March just failed in their bid to retain the Gloucester and Somerset PGA Pairs Championship. Having won the event in its last staging in 2009 (2010 was cancelled due to bad weather) they battled against a strong field and an even stronger wind at Burnham and Berrow last week. They ended their round with a score of one over par 71 which was a single shot behind the eventual winners. They both now take a break from competitive action for Christmas before their PGA Medals resume again in January.

Back at Brean the final Monthly Medal of 2011 was contested. Paul McLanaghan had the best score of the day with his nett 66 winning the Division Three Medal. He was one lower than Wally Pape who had to settle for second place. 67 was the winning score in Division Two as David Hunter took the honours ahead of Tony Richards and Graham Exton both on 68. In the top Division Mike Hurman ended victorious after his nett 68 gave him a one shot success over Stuart Wills.

The Seniors continue to compete in their Winter League which takes on many different formats over the Winter months. This time it was a Threeball Betterball event where two scores counted at each hole. Clear winners by a 7 stroke margin were Barry Tucker, Bob Hurrell and Tony Anderson as they returned an excellent total of 131. Runners up on the day were the trio of Dave Benjafield, George Thomas and Mike Haskins whilst Bill Griffin, Roger Phillips and John Kerr rounded out the top three on 139.

Results 06.12.11 Seniors Threeball Betterball Winter League
1, Barry Tucker, Bob Hurrell & Tony Anderson 131
2, Dave Benjafield, George Thomas & Mike Haskins 138
3, Bill Griffin, Roger Phillips & John Kerr 139

10.12.11 December Medal Div 1
1, Mike Hurman 80-12-68
2, Stuart Wills 76-7-69
3, Paul Jones 79-9-70

Div 2
1, David Hunter 84-17-67
2, Tony Richards 81-13-68
3, Graham Exton 85-17-68

Div 3
1, Paul McLanaghan 87-21-66
2, Wally Pape 87-20-67
3, Phil Hodgson 92-23-69

Peates picks up the prizes 4.12.11

The Christmas Ransome competition at Brean produced a very close finish on Saturday. Two pairs handed in almost identical nett scores of 65.7 and a countback was needed to separate them. The two pairs involved were a pair of Steve’s in the form of Bateman and Peates along with Roger Vaughan and Eamonn Wynne. The two pairs had actually played alongside each other for the round and it turned out that the two Steve’s had the marginally better homeward run and took the first place ahead of their rivals, allowing Peates to retain the title he won last year albeit with a different partner. Third place went to Ian Adams and Barry Tucker who were just .3 of a shot shy of the leading duo’s.

In the December Monthly Stableford it was Steve Peates who was on top form again. He carded a superb 43 points in tricky conditions, the highlight of which was an eagle two at the par 4 16th. In a case of déjà vu for Roger Vaughan again filled the ‘bridesmaids’ position behind Peates with a 38 point haul. In the other two Divisions 38 points was the winning number. Matt Haskins beat Club Captain Dave Bradley by one to win Division Two and Tony Romeo ended two better than Kevin Davies in winning the third Division.

The Seniors also contested their Monthly Stableford last week and it also required the countback rule to be used. This time 40 points was the winning score returned by Jim Wotton and the ever consistent Barrie Yearsley. Even though Wotton failed to score on two holes on the back nine his barrage of nett birdies and eagles allowed him to secure top spot. Tony Anderson handed in 39 points and took the third position.

Andrew March regained second spot in the G&S PGA Order of Merit after he posted an excellent 4 under par round of 68 in their final Medal of 2011 at The Players Club last week. This score was good enough to see him share third spot on a day of low scoring and also leapfrog 3 places back up the points table going into the Christmas break. His Brean counterpart David Haines also finished in the top ten after his steady level par round of 72. He also holds a similar position in the Order of Merit and is hoping for a fast start in 2012 when the Medals re-commence to move himself up the table.

Results 01.12.11 Seniors Stableford
1, Jim Wotton 40pts
2, Barrie Yearsley 40pts
3, Tony Anderson 39pts

03.12.11 Christmas Ransome
1, Steve Peates & Steve Bateman 65.7
2, Eamonn Wynne & Roger Vaughan 65.7
3, Ian Adams & Barry Tucker 66.0

04.12.11 Monthly Stableford Div 1
1, Steve Peates 43pts
2, Roger Vaughan 38pts
3, Barry Tucker 35pts

Div 2
1, Matt Haskins 38pts
2, Dave Bradley 37pts
3, Pete Dunn 37pts

Div 3
1, Tony Romeo 38pts
2, Kevin Davies 37pts
3, Jim McLauchlan 35pts

Tucker’s in tip top form 20.11.11

Barry Tucker is in a rich vein of form at the moment and it seems that if you manage to beat him then you have great chance of being a winner at Brean. His latest victory came in the latest round of the Winter League as he scorched to a 45 point total and reduced his handicap to 11 in the process. Second place went to the ever improving Phil Hodgson who like Tucker saw his handicap drop by 1. He carded 41 points which edged him ahead of two players finishing on 40. Mike Sutton took third over Ian Adams as he had the superior back nine score.

Tucker took two runners up spots in the two Seniors events last week as well. Firstly he followed Ron Vine home in the Seniors Medal and then after teaming up with Mike Haskins he again finished second in the Seniors Betterball Bogey Winter League event. Vine handed in an excellent nett 66 to secure the Medal ahead of Tucker on 68. Only two other players broke 70 on a day when scoring was tough as Charlie Doherty edged Wally Pape on countback for third. Two days later in the Winter League Jim Wotton and John Sherwood beat the course impressively by 10 in the Betterball Bogey. One behind that was Tucker and Haskins with a +9 score and also a card showing an amazing clean sweep of birdie two’s on the four par three’s. Third place went to Tony Roper and John Bowman on +8.

Turkeys have been up for grabs in two recent events at Brean. In the Turkey Betterball Bob Masterman and Graham Foy sorted their Christmas lunch as they dovetailed to perfection to accumulate 47 points. Two points behind them were Foy’s son Mike Carter and his partner Roy Baker with Stuart Wills and Martyn Cahill two points further behind them in third. The second event was the Turkey Greensomes and this was won by Eamonn Wynne and Steve Bateman with 45 points. Runners up were the pairing of Brian Read and Andy Chan who finished one point shy of the winning total. The previous events winners Graham Foy and Bob Masterman took third on this occasion.

Fog caused the planned PGA Medal at Cotswold Hills to be re-located a few miles down the road to Cirencester last Wednesday. Andrew March was unaffected by the change of venue as he recorded another top 4 finish after a round of 2 under par 68. This kept him in second position in the Order of Merit but moved his closer to the summit. Fellow Brean Pro David Haines was 4 shots further back on 72 but still inside the top ten.

Results 13.11.11 Turkey Betterball
1, Bob Masterman & Graham Foy 47pts
2, Mike Carter & Roy Baker 45pts
3, Stuart Wills & Martyn Cahill 43pts

15.11.11 Seniors Medal
1, Ron Vine 81-15-66
2, Barry Tucker 80-12-68
3, Charlie Doherty 81-12-69

17.11.11 Seniors Winter League Betterball Bogey
1, Jim Wotton & John Sherwood +10
2, Barry Tucker & Mike Haskins +9
3, Tony Roper & John Bowman +8

19.11.11 Winter League
1, Barry Tucker 45pts
2, Phil Hodgson 41pts
3, Mike Sutton 40pts
4, Ian Adams 40pts

20.11.11 Turkey Greensomes
1, Eamonn Wynne & Steve Bateman 45pts
2, Brian Read & Andy Chan 44pts
3, Graham Foy & Bob Masterman 43pts

Win double for Williams

Annie Williams has been the one to beat in the recent Ladies competitions at Brean Golf Club. Over the course of last week or so she has secured both the November Medal and Stableford events with steady rounds and almost added a third in the Lady Secretary’s Shanker. On this occasion she had to settle for the runners up spot as Shelia Rouse took victory by 2 shots in the restricted clubs event.

In the Men’s November Medal it was Club Champion Roy Baker who topped the scorecharts by some distance. He scorched around in just 67 shots and this gave him an almost unbeatable nett 62 in the first Division. Runner up to Baker for the second competition running was a frustrated Stuart Wills whose nett 67 on any other day would have probably given him victory. More low scoring came in Division two as Members Secretary Mike Carter led the way. He returned an excellent nett 65 and took a narrow one shot victory from the in form Neil Barker whose handicap continues to fall. Experience won the day in the third Division as Seniors Chairman Wally Pape took the Medal. His nett 67 was three ahead of Kevin Davies in second.

In far from Winter conditions the second weekend round of the Winter League took place. Barry Tucker claimed the victory on the day with a superb haul of 44 points in the warm and often sunny weather. That man Neil Barker took second yet again with 41 points despite hitting the wrong ball on one hole and scoring no points on it. Third place went to Mike Sutton after his solid round of 40 points.

David Haines ended up as the leading Brean Professional at the G&S PGA Medal at Bath last week. He handed in a 73 which saw him take a share of 6th place on the day. Andrew March finished outside the top ten for the first time this season after a disappointing 77 but still holds onto second spot in the Order of Merit.

Results 05.11.11 Ladies Stableford
1, Annie Williams
2, Tina Bateman
3, Debbie Windmill

06.11.11 Monthly Medal Div 1
1, Roy Baker 67-5-62
2, Stuart Wills 73-6-67
3, Murray Parsons 78-8-70

Div 2
1, Mike Carter 82-17-65
2, Neil Barker 84-18-66
3, Graham Foy 86-19-67

Div 3
1, Wally Pape 87-20-67
2, Kevin Davies 92-22-70
3, David Bidgood 97-26-71

Ladies Medal
1, Annie Williams
2, Jenny Vaughan
3, Shelia Rouse

12.11.11 Winter League
1, Barry Tucker 44pts
2, Neil Barker 41pts
3, Mike Sutton 40pts
4, Tony Romeo 39pts

Lady Secretary’s Shanker
1, Shelia Rouse
2, Annie Williams
3, Gail Mason

Brilliant Barker beats Hodgson’s heroics

Neil Barker added another trophy to his growing collection in his first year as a member with a win in the November Monthly Stableford at Brean. The win also netted him the Sam Smalldon Memorial Trophy on offer for the lowest score of the day. He carded 45 points and with it won Division Two into the bargain. The Division Three winner, Phil Hodgson, was the overall runner up to Barker with a score of 44pts. Hodgson, another in his first year at Brean, saw another chunk removed from his handicap and it won’t be long before he is lining up in Division Two at this rate. The top flight winner was Club Champion Roy Baker. He totalled 41 points and although it was the lowest winning total he did have the largest winning margin on the day. He was three clear of Stuart Wills whilst Roy Fletcher and Peter Searle, somewhat unluckily, had to settle for runners up spots in Division’s Two and Three respectively after amassing 43 points each.

Scoring was just as low two days earlier when the Seniors also played their Monthly Stableford competition. Two scores finished well ahead of the rest of the field as Barrie Yearsley took victory with 44 points just ahead of Barry Tucker on 42. George Thomas was the best of the rest in third on 36. The older contingent of the Seniors section took centre stage earlier in the week with their annual Pitch and Putt Trophy for the over 70’s. Played over two circuits of the course at the Leisure Park the winning score was a gross 52, 2 under par. The owner of this score was ‘debutant youngster’ Tony Tissington having only just turned 70 in the last few months and after a brief stewards enquiry as to his age he was awarded the silverware. Runner up, and just unable to defend the title he won 12 months earlier, was John Scullion whose card of 53 was actually lower than his winning score in 2010. Third place went to Roy Snell on countback from Bill Griffin on 54.

Andrew March closed the gap at the top of the G&S PGA Order of Merit after his fourth straight top 7 finish in this seasons Medals at Bristol & Clifton last Wednesday. He now sits just one point behind leader Ross Langdon going into this weeks Medal at Bath GC.

Results 01.11.11 Veterans Pitch and Putt Trophy
1, Tony Tissington 52
2, John Scullion 53
3, Roy Snell 54
4, Bill Griffin 54

03.11.11 Seniors Stableford
1, Barrie Yearsley 44pts
2, Barry Tucker 42pts
3, George Thomas 36pts

05.11.11 Monthly Stableford (Sam Smalldon Memorial) Div One
1, Roy Baker 41pts
2, Stuart Wills 38pts
3, Paul Jones 38pts

Div Two
1, Neil Barker 45pts
2, Roy Fletcher 43pts
3, Chris Stephens 40pts

Div Three
1, Phil Hodgson 44pts
2, Peter Searle 43pts
3, Kevin Davies 40pts

Brean Golf Club 30.10.11

As the clocks changed early on Sunday morning marking the end of Summertime it was time for the Winter League competition to commence. After a successful first event last year the format remains unchanged with the players competing for the top twenty spots in the Grand Final shootout next March. In the first qualifying event John Doughty had the best round of the day with an excellent 44 points. This effort meant his handicap has now been reduced by a shot to 17. Second place went to Kevin White who was left to rue not managing to score a point on the 4th hole during his round. Defending Champion Pete Dunn got his defence off to a good start with 42 points and third position whilst Gordon Wheelaghan produced his second good round of the weekend with 41, taking fourth spot.

Andrew March consolidated his second position in the G&S PGA Order of Merit as he finished 6th in the Medal at The Kendleshire GC. His round of 72 left him 6 behind the winning score but he collected plenty of OOM points to add to his season’s total. Fellow Brean Pro David Haines faded after a bright start but still ended up just inside the top ten Pro’s. This week Bristol & Clifton GC is the venue for the G&S PGA Pro’s Medal.

Results 29/10/11 Pairs Aggregate Stableford
1, Jim Wotton & Trevor Pitt 68pts
2, Tony Vearncombe & Gordon Wheelaghan 66pts
3, Graham Foy & Graham Exton 65pts
4, Tony Richards & Roy Baker 63pts

30/10/11 Winter League
1, John Doughty 44pts
2, Kevin White 43pts
3, Pete Dunn 42pts
4, Gordon Wheelaghan 41pts

McLauchlan’s back to form but Lee is just Ace

Senior Jim McLauchlan bounced back to top form by winning the Bogey Trophy at Brean. Recently his game has been in the doldrums but in the last two weeks signs of his old form are returning. Last week he formed part of the winning trio in the Bowmaker and just seven days later he finished top of the pile in the Bogey Trophy. He finished at plus 3 alongside two others players but after a countback he was declared the winner. Alan Marshall had to settle for second and Kevin Davies took third. Marshall also suffered in the Two’s competition as well. He posted his two early on and sat back to wait and see if anyone else would take a share of the pot. No one did make a two but news filtered through that Lee Trumper had had a Hole in One at the 8th which meant, as per the club rules, he claimed the whole pot and left Marshall with nothing! It was Trumper’s first ever ace and he used his 7 iron to secure it.

The breeze was up the following day for the Tom Childs Memorial Flag. This is where the competitors aim to get their flag as far around the course with their shot allowance. Club Chairman Graham Exton reached the first green with the 4 shots he had in hand on the course to win the cup. Roy Baker out drove Steve Jones for second after they both had just one extra shot down the first. Three players ended their rounds in the hole on the 18th meaning a tie for 4th between Graham Foy, Jason Kidley and Tony Romeo. In the Ladies event Annie Williams found her way to the 18th green with her shot allocation as she secured the silverware.

In what was a late result from the previous weekend Paul Jones had a best of the day 45 points on his way to taking the Division One prize. His card showing 6 an amazing 6 birdies also reduced his handicap to 9. Another 40+ haul took victory in Division two as Brian Read had 42. Roger Phillips edged out Phil Hodgson on countback to win the Third Division on 39.

The Seniors had to endure some tough conditions for their Medal last week. Charlie Doherty was the only one in the field to match par and with it claimed at 4 shot victory over Roger Blackwell and George Thomas. Two days after the last round on the Eclectic was played. This time the leader did break par as George Stratford scored a nett 69. Mike Allen was runner up on 71 and Cliff Crawford third on 74.

Brean Professional Andrew March continued his excellent start to the G&S PGA season as he took victory in the Medal at Stinchcombe Hill in Dursley last Wednesday. He beat par by a single shot with his round of 67 and tied at the top with 2 other pro’s. This result now sees him occupy second place in the Order of Merit just ahead of his Brean colleague David Haines who is 5th. Haines also finished inside the top ten at Stinchcombe after his 1 over par 69 left him tied 7th.

Results 16/10/11 October Stableford Div One
1, Paul Jones 45pts
2, Stuart Wills 40pts
3, Roy Baker 39pts

Div Two
1, Brian Read 42pts
2, Mike Carter 37pts
3, Pete Dunn 36pts

Div Three
1, Roger Phillips 39pts
2, Phil Hodgson 39pts
3, Paul McLanaghan 36pts

18/10/11 Seniors Medal
1, Charlie Doherty 83-12-71
2, Roger Blackwell 91-16-75
3, George Thomas 97-22-75

20/10/11 Seniors Eclectic Rnd 4
1, George Stratford 92-23-69
2, Mike Allen 90-19-71
3, Cliff Crawford 90-16-74

22/10/11 Bogey Trophy
1, Jim McLauchlan +3
2, Alan Marshall +3
3, Kevin Davies +3

23/10/11 Tom Childs Memorial Flag
1, Graham Exton on 1st green
2, Roy Baker 1st fairway
3, Steve Jones 1st fairway
=4th Graham Foy, Tony Romeo & Jason Kidley in hole at 18th

Ladies Flag
1, Annie Williams on 18th green

Bowmaker trio Two good for the rest

Pete Dunn, Pat Mullholland and Jim McLauchlan were the comfortable winners of the Bowmaker Trophy at Brean on Saturday with an impressive score of just 126. They were helped to that total by the fact that both Dunn and McLauchlan recorded Two’s at par three holes during the round. Their winning margin was 4 shots from Graham Foy, Nigel Hodges and Gordon Wheelaghan who in turn were 2 clear of the third placed team. Two trio’s handed in the third placed score of 132 with Tony’s Vearncombe and Slade along side Club Chairman Graham Exton edging it on countback from Phil Hodgson, Roy Baker and Mike Porter on the back nine.

The annual Club triangular match was played on Sunday with the main Club team taking the honours, continuing their season of success. In second place were the Seniors with the Ladies in third. The Seniors also had to settle for second place in their last home inter club match of 2011 and as they were only playing against Oake Manor it meant defeat was tasted by them. The Oake Seniors ran out winners on the day by 4 games to 2 as they found the Brean course very much to their liking. The Ward Tankard competition gets the Seniors thinking as the format only permits them to take two clubs and a putter rather than the normal allowance of 14 to complete the 18 holes. Much deliberation goes into which ones to take and Seniors Chairman Wally Pape certainly chose wisely as he accumulated 37 points proving that so many clubs aren’t always needed! He won by 3 from Mike Allen who in turn was one ahead of George Thomas who ended third.

Andrew March reached the Semi Finals of the Gloucester and Somerset PGA Matchplay Championship last week. He won his opening game at Henbury GC by 5&4 which was the joint biggest win of the event. His Quarter Final tie against Russ Berry was closer but March still ended victorious by a margin of 2&1 and set up a Semi Final match the following morning. This game unfortunately didn’t go the way of the Brean Pro and he lost out to Ed Goodwin (Cirencester) who eventually went on to secure the Championship with a victory in the Final.

Results 13.10.11 Seniors Ward Tankard
1, Wally Pape 37pts
2, Mike Allen 34pts
3, George Thomas 33pts

15.10.11 Bowmaker Trophy
1, Pete Dunn, Pat Mullholland & Jim McLauchlan 126
2, Graham Foy, Nigel Hodges & Gordon Wheelaghan 130
3, Tony Slade, Tony Vearncombe & Graham Exton 132
4, Phil Hodgson, Roy Baker & Mike Porter 132

Marshall and Barker take route 66 to the Silverware

Alan Marshall and Neil Barker both handed in winning scores of nett 66 on Saturday which meant they claimed the two Cups on offer in conjunction with the October Medal. Marshall’s score won him Division Two and the Fred Baker Trophy which went with it whilst Barker took the Stanley Trophy for his Division Three success. Andy Chan led the way in the top Division with a nett 71 edging out Stuart Wills on countback. Martyn Cahill and Tony Hicks were the respective runners up in Division’s Two and Three.

Sunday’s competition was the John Smiths Trophy and this always brings some interesting results with its blind pairs format. Each player completed an 18 hole stableford card and then waited to see who they would be drawn with in the clubhouse following play. Mike Carter had the best individual score of the day with 38 points but unfortunately for him he was drawn with his father Graham Foy who could only manage 29. This left them in the runners up position behind Pete Barton and Steve Peates. Barton contributed 37 points in what was the second best score on the day and the consistent Peates added another 34 to that for a comfortable winning total of 71.

The Seniors found scoring tough in their Monthly Stableford and 34 points from Barrie Yearsley was good enough to take the win. Mike Allen and Charlie Hastie battled it out for second with Allen taking it on the back nine countback after they both had 32pts.

Winter is fast approaching and Brean’s two professional’s have started their Gloucester and Somerset PGA Winter Medal season. The first event of the season was last week at their home venue of Brean and both handed in scores which saw then comfortably finish in the top ten. Haines posted an one under par 70 to finish fourth whilst March was two shots further back on 72 in a tie for 7th. This week sees the G&S PGA Matchplay Championship at Henbury in which March will be flying the flag for Brean as Haines is unable to play due to other PGA commitments.

Results 04.10.11 Seniors Stableford
1, Barrie Yearsley 34pts
2, Mike Allen 32pts
3, Chalrie Hastie 32pts

08.10.11 Monthly Medal Fred Baker & Stanley Trophies Div 1
1, Andy Chan 83-12-71
2, Stuart Wills 78-7-71

Div 2
1, Alan Marshall 84-18-66
2, Martyn Cahill 87-19-68
3, Dave Bradley 88-18-70

Div 3
1, Neil Barker 86-20-66
2, Tony Hicks 87-20-67
3, Jim Mclauchlan 90-21-69

09.10.11 John Smiths Trophy
1, Pete Barton & Steve Peates 37+34=71
2, Mike Carter & Graham Foy 38+29=67

Brean Golf Club take the Somerset Bowl to complete Double

It had been 21 long years since the Somerset Bowl last resided at Brean Golf Club but the team of 2011 changed that fact with a battling 3-2 victory over their Wheathill counterparts at Enmore Park GC in the Final on Sunday. Brean were looking to complete a League and Bowl double after securing their Avalon League title some weeks ago and hoped to cap a truly successful 2011 season for the club. In glorious Summer conditions both sides were provided with an immaculate venue in the foothills of the Quantocks on which to do battle and it went down to the final green of the final match before the destination of the trophy was eventually decided.

Brean got off to a dream start as Club Captain Dave Bradley and Paul Jones produced some scintillating sub par golf to destroy their opponents in the top game as it ended with a victory for them on the 11th green. The next three games looked to be where the tie would ultimately be decided as holes were traded at regular intervals and leads changed hands with it. Wheathill took the second game to level the tie when Eamonn Wynne and Steve Jones lost a ball and with it the match at the 16th to go down by 3&2. Almost immediately the final game of the match reached its conclusion with Roger Vaughan and Steve Peates winning by a comfortable 6&5 margin to restore Brean’s slim advantage. The third game was being shaded by Wheathill with holes running out but Brean now looked favourites as Team Captain Dave Barthram and Club Champion Roy Baker had opened up a 4 hole lead with just 5 left to play. A scrappy 14th hole was claimed by Wheathill but they then found water at the next to open the door for the Brean pair. It was an opportunity that they failed to take as Barthram missed a putt to win the Bowl but they did however move to dormy 3 up. With Wheathill knowing nothing less than hole victories were needed to prolong the match they produced some spectacular golf. A 12ft putt was holed at the 16th for a winning birdie and at almost the same time they clinched the third game as Murray Parsons and Mike Hurman lost by 2&1 to square things up at 2-2. Things got even better for Wheathill at the 17th as they went within inches of holing out for an eagle 2 from 110 yards. The ensuing birdie again won the hole and they went to the last with just the one hole in it. With the honour, Wheathill’s player hit a long drive which was probably slightly too long as it left his partner blocked out from the green by a large conifer. Barthram found the middle of the fairway with a superb drive and Baker followed it with an excellent 7 iron to the edge of the downhill par 5 green. Wheathill’s second and third shot’s both were affected by trees and by the time their fifth shot was still above ground they conceded Brean their 6ft uphill birdie putt and with the overall match much to the delight of the Brean players and the large band of travelling supporters who had congregated next to the final green. The whole match was played in very good spirit and could easily have gone either way during the afternoon’s play. Both sides were congratulated on their excellent seasons golf by the SGU President Stephen Butterfield who then proceeded to present Brean’s Club Captain Dave Bradley with the Somerset Bowl which sparked more celebrations from the gathered Brean contingent including Leisure Park Director Richard House. Bradley afterwards also thanked the players who were unavailable for the Final but who had more than played their part in helping the Club enjoy such a successful year.

In other events played at Brean this week The Charity Open was contested and saw a notable achievement for one of the leading quartet. Tony Groves holed in one at the 8th hole for his first ace in 31 years on his way to helping his team to 87 points. Dave Lockwood, Brian Read and Steve Peates made up the winning team who held a 3 point advantage over the runners up. Taking second place were Captain Elect Stewart Garrett along with two Nigel’s in Ellis and Hodges and Lee Trumper. A countback was needed before it could be declared that Ian Adams, Barry Tucker, Roy Baker and Chris Payne were third on 81.

Two of the most Senior Seniors scored victories last week as Seniors Chairman Wally Pape took the September Medal with a nett 70 whilst Pat Mullholland’s good form continued as he won the third round of the Seniors Eclectic also with a nett 70 just two days later.

Results 27.09.11 Seniors Medal
1, Wally Pape 90-20-70
2, Colin Roberts 88-17-71
3, Peter Douglas 86-14-72

29.09.11 Seniors Eclectic Medal Rnd 3
1, Pat Mullholland 89-19-70
2, John Bowman 97-24-73
3, Mike Allen 92-19-73

01.10.11 Charity Open
1, Tony Groves, Dave Lockwood, Brian Read & Steve Peates 87pts
2, Nigel Hodges, Nigel Ellis, Stewart Garrett & Lee Trumper 84pts
3, Ian Adams, Barry Tucker, Roy Baker & Chris Payne 81pts
4, Wally Pape, Mike Parfitt, Alan Marshall & Roger Vaughan 81pts

Cahill floors the opposition

Martyn Cahill achieved his goal for the season last Saturday as the Burnham based flooring contractor saw his handicap reduced down into teen figures. His previous handicap of 22 was severely reduced as a result of his blistering total of 44 points in the September Monthly Stableford. This comfortably won him Division Three from Gordon Wheelaghan but next month his new handicap of 19 will see Cahill line up in Division Two for the first time. Winner of that Division this time around was Club Chairman Graham Exton who beat super Senior Pat Mullholland on countback after they both had 36 points. Lee Trumper came up trumps in the top flight with a card of 40 points. He also saw his handicap cut by a stroke to 10 as his score left him 5 clear of his nearest challenger on the day Steve Jones.

Pat Mullholland had already tasted success in the week before he just missed out in the Stableford win. He comfortably secured the Veterans Trophy for members over the age of 70 as he accumulated 44 points on his circuit of the Brean course. This was good enough for a massive 7 point victory over John Sherwood with Tony Tissington taking third both on 37 points. The Seniors team chalked up an impressive away draw when they visited Minehead last week. Taking on the Warreners over their home track in West Somerset is always a tough proposition but the Brean members managed to return home after a 3 all tied game.

Seven couples entered the annual Husband and Wife Greensomes competition where a Cup is on offer but domestic relations are often tested! Winners this year were the Blackwell’s by a clear margin from the chasing pack. Liz and Roger combined well to card 37 points which was helped no end by an excellent inward half of 21 points as the weather improved. Second place went to Shelia and Ken Rouse on 31 whilst Donna & Jason Kidley were third one point further behind. It is reported that all seven marriages thankfully survived the event as well!

The Club’s various teams continued their busy end to the competitive season with two separate events taking place on Sunday. Neither side were successful though as Brean failed to secure the Quad Cup on home turf and the Avalon Championship winning side had to settle for runners up spot by one point in the Avalon League Champions Final at Long Sutton. Everyone at Brean is now looking forward to next Sunday when hopefully they can end the season on a high by lifting the Somerset Bowl in the Final at Enmore Park.

Trevor Pitt won Sunday’s Pro Shop Stableford in some testing conditions with a score of 39 points ahead of Tony Higgins on 34. The first of the Summer Knockout Final’s was also decided at the weekend with Wayne Barrett beating Peter Dunn to win the Singles for Division Two players.

Results 20.09.11 Veterans Trophy
1, Pat Mullholland 44pts
2, John Sherwood 37pts
3, Tony Tissington 37pts

24.09.11 Monthly Stableford Div One
1, Lee Trumper 40pts
2, Steve Jones 35pts
3, Paul Jones 31pts

Div Two
1, Graham Exton 36pts
2, Pat Mullholland 36pts
3, Roy Fletcher 34pts

Div Three
1, Martyn Cahill 44pts
2, Gordon Wheelaghan 36pts
3, Steve Payne 35pts

25.09.11 Husband & Wife Greensomes
1, Liz & Roger Blackwell 37pts
2, Shelia & Ken Rouse 31pts
3, Donna & Jason Kidley 30pts

Pro Shop Stableford
1, Trevor Pitt 39pts
2, Tony Higgins 34pts
3, Barry Tucker 31pts

Vaughan’s victorious

Roger and Jenny Vaughan battled their way through some wet and windy conditions at Brean to take the victory in the Open Mixed Greensomes event. Their score of 42 points was 6 points ahead of their nearest challengers who were the visiting pairing of Martin & Debbie Bargery from Windwhistle Golf Club. The Vaughan’s collected the appropriately named Anniversary Bowl for the win in the same week when they celebrated their second wedding anniversary. Another piece of silverware headed in their direction as they also secured the Jubilee Plate which was contested by the all Brean pairings in the field. Runners up in this were Steve and Gail Mason on 35pts one ahead of the Bateman’s on 34.

42 points was also the winning score in Sunday’s Super Series Stableford. This was handed in by Tony Romeo but could have been even better as he failed to score on the closing hole. Strangely enough the runner up in this event, just like the mixed competition, also scored 36. Tony Higgins was the man who took second spot after shading a countback with Club Champion Roy Baker for the position. The previous day Series leader Ian Adams again topped the scorecharts with 41 points ahead of Barry Tucker on 38 and 3rd placed Nigel Hodges who remains the closest challenger to Adams in the points table.

On the first day of the weekend Brean took on Woodspring in the first ever mixed match against them. Although Brean ran out convincing winners by 5.5 games to 1.5 the match was played in a great spirit and enjoyed by all whether they won or lost. With this in mind the two clubs hope to make this an annual contest and have already arranged a return fixture later this year on the outskirts of Bristol. The Club team also tasted success in a similar style fixture with their Welsh counterparts from Caerleon. Holding a slender one point advantage from the home tie they crossed the Severn Bridge for the deciding leg. They managed to hold their hosts to a tied game of 3.5 games each and therefore retained the annual cup that they play for.

Terry Sanders returned from a week on a cruise ship to sail away with the Seniors Chairman’s Cup last Thursday. He totalled an excellent 44 points on his way to success ahead of his good friend Charlie Doherty who was second on 39. George Thomas rounded out the top three on 38.

In a busy spell of action for the Brean club the Monthly Medal was also contested. Nett 68 was the best round of the day and this was the winning number in both the Second and Third Divisions. Dave Lockwood was the leader of the second flight whilst Vince Ford took Division Three honours. The players in the top division struggled to match the scoring of the others as Mike Hurman managed to win with only a 73 and Annie Williams won the Ladies competition.

Results 15.09.11 Seniors Chairman’s Cup
1, Terry Sanders 44pts
2, Charlie Doherty 39pts
3, George Thomas 38pts

17.09.11 Super Series
1, Ian Adams 41pts
2, Barry Tucker 38pts
3, Nigel Hodges 38pts

18.09.11 Super Series
1, Tony Romeo 42pts
2, Tony Higgins 36pts
3, Roy Baker 36pts

Open Mixed Greensomes
1, Roger & Jenny Vaughan 42pts
2, Martin & Debbie Bargery 36pts
3, Steve & Gail Mason 35pts
4, Danny & Ruth Dowell 35pts

Jubilee Plate
1, Roger & Jenny Vaughan 42pts
2, Steve & Gail Mason 35pts
3, Steve & Tina Bateman 35pts

Roper reigns in the Seniors Open 8.9.11

Tony Roper was out in the first group of the 2011 Brean Golf Club Seniors Open and handed in a score that wasn’t to be beaten all day. This wasn’t that surprising though as he amassed an amazing 44 points on a windy and sometimes wet damp on the Somerset coast as the 73 entrants took up the challenge. His effort meant he handicap was reduced by 2 shots to 16 and he was awarded the Bill Martin Trophy along with a sizeable voucher for the leading score on the day. With players only able to win one prize the next two scores overall took the other two cups on offer for their respective age groups. The Nicoll Trophy for players aged 65-69 went to Barrie Yearsley who was the only other player to top 40pts as he returned 41. Tony Anderson took the final piece of silverware as he claimed the Veterans Trophy (70+) after scoring 38 points. Most of the other prizewinners came for the home club as local knowledge in the tricky conditions stood them in good stead with the leading visitor being Dennis Brown from Woodspring on 36.

Two days later much calmer conditions prevailed for the September Seniors Stableford and another excellent score topped the leaderboard. None of the leading players from the Open event could re-produce their top form and it was a new name at the head of the results. John Bowman produced a storming homeward nine holes littered with birdies and eagles on his way to a wonderful 43 points and the victory. As is often the case the winner’s handicap was dropped by a couple of shots much to Bowman’s delight as this is a goal of his. Second place went to the consistent Barry Tucker on 40 just ahead of his good friend and another regular prizewinner Roger Phillips on 39.

Nigel Hodges is becoming something of a Super Series expert of late. He secured his third outright victory in just 5 starts in the current series with a haul of 39 points last Sunday. However he still doesn’t lead the points table though as Ian Adams maintained his leading status as he finished just one point behind Hodges in second. Three players tied on 37 for third with the countback showing that Graham Foy ousted Club Chairman Graham Exton and Barry Tucker for the last share of the prizemoney.

Results 04.09.11 Super Series
1, Nigel Hodges 39pts
2, Ian Adams 38pts
3, Graham Foy 37pts

06.09.11 Seniors Open Bill Martin Trophy (Overall)
1, Tony Roper 44pts
2, David Jones 38pts
3, Pete Douglas 37pts
4, Mike Porter 37pts

Nicoll Trophy (65-69)
1, Barrie Yearsley 41pts
2, Alan Marshall 37pts

Veterans Trophy (70+)
1, Tony Anderson 38pts
2, Tony Groves 37pts

Leading visitor – Dennis Brown (Woodspring) 36pts

08.09.11
Seniors Stableford
1, John Bowman 43pts
2, Barry Tucker 40pts
3, Roger Phillips 39pts

Yet more success for Brean Golf Club 4.9.11

2011 is turning into a memorable year at Brean Golf Club with plenty of notable achievements already secured and the Somerset Bowl Final still to follow early next month. The latest success is the news that the Avalon League Division Three title is heading Brean’s way. Although they didn’t play this weekend they learned that their nearest rivals for the title, Burnham and Berrow, had failed to gain enough points from their final game of the season to overtake them at the top of the table. Brean finished just half a point ahead of their near neighbours and now move back into Division Two next season after a two year absence. Also positive news came through for Brean’s second team in the Avalon League’s who were also waiting to hear another result from elsewhere to determine their fate. The good news filtered through that the result went their way and they maintained their Division Six status for 2012 in what has been a very tight league this year.

Phil Hodgson continues to produce some excellent golf since he joined Brean a few months ago and last weekend claimed the prestigious D&C Open crown. He produced a nett 63 which was the best round of the day in the Individual Medal event by 3 shots and with it he took his first win as a Brean member. Hodgson’s steady card in what was actually his first ever Medal competition relegated Tony Richards into second place with his nett score 66. Four players tied for third on 69 with Pete Barton winning on a countback from Roger Phillips in fourth and John Owen settling for fifth. Steve Bateman was the fourth card of 69 but his gross 74 took the 1st prize in that category.

The Seniors had a mixed week of results with two games ending in 5-1 scorelines. Firstly they were victorious by that margin in an away fixture at Cannington but on the receiving end of the same score in another away fixture at Woodspring. Barrie Yearsley won the Seniors Medal last Tuesday with a superb nett 67 which saw him reduce his handicap by a shot. Second place went to Bill Griffin on 70 and last year’s Seniors Captain Dai Wood was third on 71.

Results 30.08.11 Seniors Medal
1, Barrie Yearsley 79-12-67
2, Bill Griffin 84-14-70
3, Dai Wood 92-21-71

03.09.11 D&C Open Nett
1, Phil Hodgson 91-28-63
2, Tony Richards 78-12-66
3, Pete Barton 81-12-69
4, Roger Phillips 89-20-69
5, John Owen 90-21-69
6, Paul McLanaghan 91-21-70

Gross
1, Steve Bateman 74
2, Roy Baker 78
3, Murray Parsons 79
4, Regan Phipps 81

Brean make their mark at County level

Brean Golf Club had double reason to celebrate on Sunday as they made their mark in two separate events around the county. Firstly the club’s team continued their excellent run in the Somerset Bowl as they won their semi final tie at Clevedon against Farrington. Hot on the heels of that good news came more in the form that Mike Sutton had the Category Four County Championship at Worlebury for the second time in four years.

Team Captain Dave Barthram declared all ten of his Brean players as heroes as they defeated a strong Farrington side by 3 games to 2. The honour of holing the winning putt this time went to Chris Payne as he rolled in a birdie on the 18th and with it secured victory with the final shot in the final game on the course. They now along, with their many supporters, will wait to see who they face in the Final in September when they have the chance to end the 21 year wait since the only previous time that the Somerset Bowl has resided at Brean Golf Club. The Avalon team are also waiting for another result to determine whether they will also be celebrating promotion from Division Three of the Avalon League. They tied their final game of the season 2.5 each away at Worlebury which just edged them back in front of near neighbours Burnham and Berrow in the promotion chase. If Burnham lose heavily in their final game then Brean could be playing Division Two golf next season. The other Brean team are also sweating on other result to determine their League status for 2012 but for the opposite reason. Their final outing of the year ended in a heavy defeat against a relegation haunted Frome side who were on top form in a 4.5 to 0.5 win. If results go the wrong way Brean could sink to the Seventh Division despite having led the table earlier in the year.

Mike Sutton is becoming something of a specialist when it comes to the annual Somerset Category Championships. Following his victory in 08 at Stockwood Vale he produced another excellent round in breezy conditions at the hilltop course above Weston Super Mare as his nett 71 saw him crowned Champion again. Already he is looking forward to defending his title next year at Tall Pines but judging by his recent form he may have moved up a category as his handicap drops.

With all the action happening elsewhere the events at Brean were somewhat low key. One round stood out from the rest over the Bank Holiday weekend though was that of Ian Adams and his superb 44 points in the Super Series event on Saturday. This won by a comfortable margin and also reduced his handicap by 2 shots in the process. He also strengthened his position at the head of the Super Series points table ahead of Nigel Hodges. Second place on the day went to Gordon Mitchell on 38 ahead of Phil Hodgson who finished in the prizes in just his second competition. With the course slightly shortened on the Sunday Trevor Pitt took victory with a card of 42 points ahead of Paul Jones on 39 in the Pro Shop Stableford

Tony Tissington led the way in the Seniors Monthly Stableford last Tuesday after a score of 40 points. Seniors Chairman Wally Pape was close behind on 39 as he was declared the runner up and Barrie Yearsley rounded out the top three on 38.

Results 23.08.11 Seniors Stableford
1, Tony Tissington 40pts
2, Wally Pape 39pts
3, Barrie Yearsley 38pts

27.08.11 Super Series
1, Ian Adams 44pts
2, Gordon Mitchell 38pts
3, Phil Hodgson 37pts

28.08.11 Pro Shop Stableford
1, Trevor Pitt 42pts
2, Paul Jones 39pts
3, Brian Read 35pts

European Tour Star helps the Pro’s to victory

European Tour player David Dixon accepted an invitation from his good friend and Brean Head Professional Andrew March to join their team in the annual Pro’s Day at Brean. Playing a Melody four ball format the pair were joined by Brean’s Director of Golf and PGA Professional David Haines and Club Champion Roy Baker as they took on the challenges from numerous members quartets. Dixon bagged 5 birdies during the round despite a niggling arm injury and he helped the Pro’s team reach an impressive 9 under par for their round before he headed off to Gleneagles to continue his European Tour season later this week. None of the member teams managed to beat that excellent score although one did come very close. Steve Bateman, Steve Peates, Eamonn Wynne and John Cullinan scored a nett 63 which gave them the Shield for the leading amateur team on the day. Following his round Dixon was very complimentary about the ever improving course at Brean and said he looked forward to returning when the next phase of the extension comes into play. Everyone at Brean would like to thank Dixon for taking time out to play and wish him well for the rest of the season.

Both of Brean’s Avalon League teams were in action at the weekend with varying levels of success. Firstly the Division Three side scored a home victory over Stockwood Vale but the 3-2 winning margin was not quite what they required to help their promotion charge and then the Division Six side suffered a disappointing 4-1 reverse at the hands of Worlebury on Sunday.

Ron Vine headed the leaderboard in the Monthly Stableford on Saturday with a best of the day 40 points. This secured the Division Two victory with a two point winning margin over Alan Marshall. Neil Barker continued his steady improvement and reduced his handicap by another shot on his way to 39 points and with it the Division three win. Richard Broom was the runner up on 35. With the Avalon team in action the entry for the top division was decimated with Paul Haddon taking the honours with just 24 points. The Ladies result had a familiar look to it with Shelia Rouse’s winning streak showing no signs of letting up. This time 34 points took the win from Irene Trumper on 31 and Annie Williams on 30 in third.

The Seniors have started their Eclectic Medal competition and played the first two rounds last week. 68 was the winning score on both occasions with Roger Phillips edged out Barrie Yearsley on countback on Tuesday and Peter May made a welcome return to form as he won on Thursday. The Seniors team also notched up an impressive away win at Windwhistle as they triumphed by 3 ½ games to 2 ½ at the south Somerset venue.

David Haines suffered a disappointing end to his West Region Order of Merit season as he finished well down the field in the final qualifying event at Saunton. At a venue he had expected to do well at he could only manage a two round total of 155. His Brean colleague Andrew March fared slightly better finishing on 151, after one round each on the East and West courses, despite struggling on the greens. Haines did however just manage to snatch the final place for the season ending Race to Woodbury Park PGA event as in the final reckoning he finished in 50th spot on the Order of Merit. March missed out on this event after finishing his season in 89th position.

Results 16.08.11 Seniors Eclectic 1, Roger Phillips 38pts 18.08.11 Seniors Eclectic 1, Peter May 38pts 20.08.11 Monthly Stableford Div 1 1, Paul Haddon 24pts Div 2 1, Ron Vine 40pts 2, Alan Marshall 38pts 3, Brian Read 37pts Div 3 1, Neil Barker 39pts 2, Richard Broom 35pts 3, Roger Phillips 34pts Ladies 1, Shelia Rouse 34pts 2, Irene Trumper 31pts 3, Annie Williams 30pts 21.08.11 Pro’s Day David Haines, Andrew March, Roy Baker and David Dixon 62 1, Steve Bateman, Steve Peates, Eamonn Wynne & John Cullinan 68-5-63 2, Ian Adams, Roger Phillips, Barry Tucker & Tony Romeo 74-7.8-66.2 3, Tony Higgins, Kevin Phelan, Ben Kingston & John Doughty 75-8.2-66.8

Update from Richard House (MD) 8.8.11
The storms we have experianced the last few days have had a dramatic impact on the new holes due to open in the Spring of 2012 - with the fairways at last showing signs of growth. Robin is also preparing to seed the new greens and hopes to get this done before the end of the month.

Broom cleans up Stableford - 7.8.11

A smaller than normal field due to an invasion of Bristol and Clifton GC by Brean Members for the Bristol Tankards event contested a Pro Shop Stableford at Brean last Saturday. Roger Broom led the way with 39 points and this gave him a one point success over Trevor Pitt and John Owen. Pitt secured the runners up spot as he had a better back nine score than Owen.

The Ladies section hosted their Invitation Day on the same day and scoring was close as another countback was required to separate the leading two pairs in the betterball stableford event. Cards of 38 points were handed in by Irene Trumper and I Swift and also Debbie Windmill and her partner J Chapple. With the countback applied the winners were declared as Trumper and Swift ahead of Windmill and Chapple. Third place was taken by Liz Blackwell and her guest for the day S Wright on 33 points.

In a late result from the previous weekend Brean’s Division Three Avalon league team scored a convincing home win over Worlebury. In the first meeting of the season between the two clubs the home side won by 4 games to 1 and will now hope to continue that form when they face the return fixture in a few weeks on the hilltop course above Weston Super Mare. They are also looking forward to their upcoming Somerset Bowl Semi Final tie where they will face Farrington at Clevedon GC on a date to be confirmed.

Results 06.08.11 Pro Shop Stableford
1, Roger Broom 39pts
2, Trevor Pitt 38pts
3, John Owen 38pts

Ladies Invitation Day
1, Irene Trumper & I Swift 38pts
2, Debbie Windmill & J Chapple 38pts
3, Liz Blackwell & S Wright 33pts

Scots win inaugural International match at Brean 31.7.11

The Scotland team came out victorious in the first ‘international’ match to be played at Brean. In this new event each member represented their appropriate country of the 4 home nations with a couple of guests slotted in to even the numbers up. The Scots, led by Captain Elect Stewart Garrett, ended up with the highest average stableford score and were crowned champions ahead of runners up Wales, England took third and Ireland collected the wooden spoon. The event ran alongside the Monthly Stableford which attracted a large entry and Paul Jones returned the best score of the day to win Division One with 41 points. This score reduced his handicap by one into single figures and gave him a two point success of Roger Vaughan. Irish eyes were smiling in Division Two as Eamonn Wynne took the top spot with his card of 40 points. He too, like Jones, saw his handicap reduced by a shot and this takes him into the top Division for next month. Division Three’s winner was Graham Foy who continued his recent good run of form. His card showed 39 points and despite letting a few shots slip over the inward nine holes he held off Paul McLanaghan by one point. The Ladies event also attracted a large field and Captain Jenny Vaughan (or McVaughan as she was for the day!) won with 33 points ahead of Debbie Windmill on 30.

The Ladies team also secured a victory on Friday night in their annual match against the Senior section of the Club. They won by 3 games to 1 in an enjoyable match for both sides. The Seniors had also played earlier in the week away at Fosseway and luckily for them the result was a more positive one than achieved against the Ladies. They won by 4games to2 and with it retained the trophy they play for annually over two legs against the Fosseway club. In a busy week for the Senior section they also contested their Texas Scramble competition. 13 teams lined up to do battle in the three man scramble format and scoring was excellent on the day. In third place with a nett 58.2 were Jim McLauchlan, George Thomas and Mike Allen who were pipped by Barry Tucker, Colin Tincknell and Ian Welch for second spot with 57.5 which looked to be a winning score. They hadn’t accounted for Barrie Yearsley, Charlie Hastie and John Sherwood though as they posted a spectacular gross 66 which gave them a winning nett 56.5 and a clear victory.

Results 28.07.11 Seniors Texas Scramble
1, Barrie Yearsley, Charlie Hastie & John Sherwood 56.5
2, Barry Tucker, Colin Tincknell & Ian Welch 57.5
3, Jim McLauchlan, George Thomas & Mike Allen 58.2

30.07.11 Monthly Stableford Div One
1, Paul Jones 41pts
2, Roger Vaughan 39pts
3, Stuart Wills 37pts

Div Two
1, Eamonn Wynne 40pts
2, John Mardon 38pts
3, Eric Jones 37pts

Div Three
1, Graham Foy 39pts
2, Paul McLanaghan 38pts
3, Steve Payne 36pts

Ladies
1, Jenny Vaughan 33pts
2, Debbie Windmill 30pts
3, Tina Bateman 30pts

International Match
1, Scotland 33.13pts
2, Wales 32.57pts
3, England 31.13pts
4, Ireland 29.00pts

Baker is the Champ and the Hero in the same day 24.7.11

Roy Baker was the toast of Brean Golf Club on Sunday as he firstly won the Club Championship and then later in the day holed the winning putt to send the Club into the Semi Finals of the Somerset Bowl. He added the Club Championship to his growing list of successes since joining Brean with two solid rounds over the weekend. He was one of the early starters on Saturday in the first round and made that advantage count as he returned a 1 over par 72 which led for the rest of the day. Steve Peates ended day one as his closest challenger after a 74 and a trio of players comprising of defending Champion Steve Bateman, Andy Thomas and Jordan Harris sat two shots further back waiting to pounce on any mistakes the leading players might make on the final day. The decent weather continued into day two but scoring proved to be slightly tougher with a bit more breeze around as the leading players started their second circuit. Playing in the final group alongside Baker were Peates and Bateman who hoped to put some early pressure on the leader. Baker made a mess of the par 3 8th hole running up a triple bogey 6 which blew the event wide open again and by the early stages of the back nine Bateman was level at the top of the leaderboard. It looked as though he may yet defend his title and Peates was still not out of the equation just a few shots back. A huge drive finishing just short of the 13th green was followed by a pitch and a putt for a birdie for Baker as he moved back into a one shot lead which he then held for the next two holes. Peates’ challenge unfortunately faded away after a disastrous 9 at the 15th but he still managed to take third spot overall. Baker decided to lay up short of the lake at the driveable par 4 16th and his decision looked to have backfired as Bateman sent his tee shot to the back of the green whilst Baker’s approach still left him some way from the pin. Bateman secured a simple birdie before Baker proceeded to immediately cancel it out by holing his lengthy putt and maintain his slender advantage with two to play. He gained another couple of shots on his challengers at the closing two holes to secure a three shot victory which sounds comfortable but in reality was much much closer than that. One thing Baker can be certain about though is that Bateman and the rest will be out to relieve him of the title in 12 months time when yet another close battle can be expected.

In the Ladies event Captain Jenny Vaughan started as the favourite and she certainly lived up to that billing with two excellent rounds over the weekend to claim her hat trick of Ladies Championship titles. She returned an 88 on the opening day and improved by 4 on the second day to pull away from the rest. Strangely whilst the men found scoring on the second tougher many of the ladies actually handed in better scores and two who did just that were Shelia Rouse and Irene Trumper who took second and third respectively behind Vaughan.

In the Mens Club Championship nett event Graham Foy showed the rest a clean pair of heels as he had superb scores of 69 and 65 over the two days on his way to a convincing four stroke success. Chris Stephens was the runner up after a 71 and a second day 67 with John Cullinan taking third one shot further back.

After the Trophy presentation and a brief rest quite a few of the competitors moved onto Weston Super Mare Golf Club where they had to face Mendip Spring GC in the Quarter Finals of the Somerset Bowl. With the deadline for the game being the same afternoon it had to be played at this time which was far from ideal but the Brean players ignored their tiredness to secure a stunning victory and move the club into the Semi Finals of the event. Fittingly new Club Champion Baker holed the putt to give Brean their third and the decisive point of the tie. They now wait to see who they will meet in the Semi Final as they try to emulate the success the 1990 side which tasted success as they won the Bowl for the only time in the club’s history to date.

Barry Tucker won the Phil Fudge Trophy played in conjunction with the Seniors Monthly Medal last week. His nett 70 headed Pete Lock and Barrie Yearsley by 2 shots with Lock taking the runners up spot on countback. Two days earlier the Seniors team suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Farrington as they only won one match in seven at the venue.

Brean Professionals David Haines and Andrew March finished well down the field in the West Region Players Championship at Cumberwell Park last week. Both players suffered from a lack of birdies over the two days which prevented them from challenging the leaders. They both hope to correct this problem next week when they tee up in the next event in the West Region PGA Order of Merit at the Forest Classic in the Forest of Dean.

Results 21/07/11 Seniors Medal/Phil Fudge Trophy
1, Barry Tucker 83-13-70
2, Pete Lock 90-18-72
3, Barrie Yearsley 84-12-72

23 & 24/07/11 Club Championship Men
1, Roy Baker 72+74=146
2, Steve Bateman 76+73=149
3, Steve Peates 74+81=155
4, Jordan Harris 76+84=160
5, Roger Vaughan 79+83=162

Club Championship Ladies
1, Jenny Vaughan
2, Shelia Rouse
3, Irene Trumper

Club Championship Nett
1, Graham Foy 69+65=134
2, Chris Stephens 71+67=138
3, John Cullinan 69+70=139
4, Pete Dunn 69+71=140

Porter wins the Pairs 17.7.11

The Open Championship Pairs event is always a popular one at Brean and despite poor conditions many turned out to support it. Each entrant draws a player who competed in the final round of the Open Championship at Sandwich and then their scores are added together to find a winning pair. With both courses suffering from windy conditions on the day most pairs were hampered by one high score. The winning pair managed to avoid the high scores and they were Mike Porter and Phil Mickelson on 139 with porter contribution being 71 shots. Three pairs tied on 141 with Steve Jones and Lucas Glover taking the runners up spot by virtue of Jones’s best of the day nett 67 at Brean.

Scoring was very good when the Seniors Stableford was up for grabs last week. A large field of 39 players teed it up but just two players broke the 40 point barrier. Both Bill Griffin and John Sherwood returned 41 points and had to separated by countback and Griffin’s superior inward nine score was enough to secure the victory. With Sherwood having to settle for second, Barry Tucker completed the top three on 39 points.

Recent weeks have seen Brean’s Avalon League Division Six promotion charge suffer after a couple of disappointing results. This week saw another one added to that list as they succumbed to Stockwood Vale at home by 4 games to 1.

The poor weather meant only a hardy few ventured out in the Pro Shop Stableford on Saturday and congratulations go to Ron Vine for his 37 points in tough conditions which saw him take the victory ahead of Roy Baker on 34.

Results 12.07.11 Seniors Stableford
1, Bill Griffin 41pts
2, John Sherwood 41pts
3, Barry Tucker 39pts

16.07.11 Pro Shop Stableford
1, Ron Vine 37pts
2, Roy Baker 34pts
3, Neil Barker 30pts

17.07.11 Open Championship Pairs
1, Mike Porter & Phil Mickelson 139
2, Steve Jones & Lucas Glover 141
3, Brian Read & Darren Clarke 141
4, John Mardon & Chad Campbell 141

Revenge victory for Garrett 10.7.11

Brean’s Captain Elect Stewart Garrett won his first Monthly Medal for a couple of years and with it exacted some revenge on his good friend Mike Sutton. Two days earlier Sutton had knocked Garrett out of the Sumer Singles in a close game but couldn’t match Garrett’s scintillating round that won him the Monthly Medal. His nett 65 was two clear of Sutton’s effort and with it brought a handicap reduction to 18 for him. Another player in good form was Paul Jones in Division One. He needed just 76 strokes to complete the course and when the ten shots of his handicap were deducted it left him well in front of his nearest challenger Stuart Wills who returned a 69. Scoring was not as low in the second Division but it did have the closest finish of the day. A countback was required to determine the winner which was declared as Trevor Pitt ahead of early starter Jim Puddy after they both had had 70. Shelia Rouse’s domination of the Ladies section continued as she claimed another Medal victory to add to her growing collection of awards.

Scoring didn’t reach the same heights in the previous day’s Super Series Stableford as 39 points was enough to give Nigel Hodges his second win in third events so far. This sees him open a decent lead at the top of the table over Ian Adams who was also the runner up on the day after carding 38 points. Adams prevailed in a countback ahead of Pete Dunn who also had 38 points and took third.

Brean’s Division Six title hopes took a dent when they travelled to visit Minehead in West Somerset and returned home pointless after being soundly beaten by a strong home side containing mainly low handicpappers.

The Seniors enjoyed a successful Fun Day last week with almost 50 players taking part in a Texas Scramble event. In a blind pairs competition with a twist event the leading ‘pairs’ were the trio’s of Bob Masterman, Pat Mulllholland and Jim McLauchlan paired with Pete Douglas, Tony Tissington and John Lyons. The Seniors team’s good run of form was stopped last week but not by another club. Mother Nature decreed that the home match against Tall Pines was to be declared an honourable half following a hefty thunderstorm which flooded the course and drenched the two teams in the process.

Results 05.07.11
Seniors Fun Day
1, Masterman, Mullholland & McLauchlan + Douglas, Tissington & Lyons 116.7
2, Pape & Baker + Young, Anderson & Walker 122
3, Wood & Saunders + Ponter, Sherwood & Thomas 122.5

09.07.11 Super Series
1, Nigel Hodges 39pts
2, Ian Adams 38pts
3, Pete Dunn 38pts

10.07.11 Monthly Medal Div One
1, Paul Jones 76-10-66
2, Stuart Wills 76-7-69
3, Tony Richards 81-12-69

Div Two
1, Trevor Pitt 88-18-70
2, Jim Puddy 84-14-70
3, Graham Exton 88-16-72

Div Three
1, Stewart Garrett 85-20-65
2, Mike Sutton 91-24-67
3, Nigel Hodges 93-24-69

Ladies Medal
1, Shelia Rouse
2, Annie Williams

Derby Success for Brean 26.6.11

It proved to be a good couple of days for Brean’s Avalon team as they gained two convincing home victories by the same 4-1 scoreline last weekend. The first team to succumb to Brean’s excellent play were league leaders Vivary who had to settle for second best on Saturday. The following day saw the eagerly waited local derby with neighbours Burnham and Berrow and after running them close in the away fixture Brean’s hopes were high. On a glorious day the home side ran out comfortable winners losing just one game to their rivals even though many of the visiting team had played at Brean the previous day in the Open Stableford. These two results were much needed in Brean’s season and moved them up the table.

The Open Stableford event attracted a large entry with a decent number of visiting players taking part. As mentioned before many Burnham players took the opportunity to sample the challenge of Brean as their course was closed for the EGU Brabazon trophy. They acquitted themselves well and filled the lower reaches of the prizewinners but it was Brean members who filled the top four prizes as they were the only players to break the par score of 36 on the day. Dick Harvey was the clear winner with a card of 40 points which was also good enough to see his handicap reduced by a shot to 16. A countback was required to separate the next three finishers after they all tied on 37 points. Ron Vine headed the trio, with Graham Foy taking third and Barry Tucker having to settle for 4th spot. Burnham’s Jim Vearncombe took 5th on 36 ahead of a logjam of 4 others on the same score.

Roger Phillips didn’t have one of his best of days in the final round of the Seniors Captains Cup but his consistency of his first two cards carried him to success on a total of 142. Every year this event seems to throw up close finishes and this year was no exception as Jim McLauchlan ended one shot shy of Philips in second place overall. Scoring was not great in the last round and no one in the field beat par. Nearest to it and taking the win on the day was Barrie Yearsley with a nett 73 ahead of Pete Douglas on 74 and the aforementioned McLauchlan on 75 rounding out the top three. The Seniors team collected a piece of silverware the previous week as they won the KingBrean Cup. After struggling to a tied game in the home leg of the annual match with Kingweston Jim Longford’s men superbly won the away leg by 3.5-2.5 and with it the overall tie.

Results 21.06.11
Seniors Captains Cup Rnd 3
1, Barrie Yearsley 85-12-73
2, Pete Douglas 88-14-74
3, Jim McLauchlan 94-19-75

25.06.11 Open Stableford
1, Dick Harvey 40pts
2, Ron Vine 37pts
3, Graham Foy 37pts
4, Barry Tucker 37pts
5, Jim Vearncombe 36pts
6, Adam Smith 36pts
7, Neil Barker 36pts
8, Jackie Richards 36pts
9, Troy Crandon 36pts

Jim leads the way 12.6.11

Jim McLauchlan leads the way after the first round of the Seniors Captains Cup at Brean. His nett 68 was two ahead of the chasing pack and gives him a useful advantage ahead of the remaining rounds of the event. Runner up was Pete Douglas on 70 whilst Jeremy Savill took third on 72. The second round of the three round event takes place this week. In the June Seniors Medal 68 was again the winning score. This time two players returned that number and a countback was required to separate them. Mike Allen was declared the victor after a superior back nine holes with Jim Wotton having to settle for second place. Third place went to the in form Wally Pape on 71 as he emerged successful from another countback with Keith Saunders who matched his total.

Brean suffered their first home defeat of the season in Division Six of the Avalon League. Weston Super Mare were the opponents who made the short trip to extract revenge for their defeat in the recent reverse fixture winning by the same 3 games to 2 margin as the first game.

Simon Williams took maximum points in the latest round of the Super Series. He totalled 42 points to win by two from John Mardon in both the first Division and also overall. The second division was won by John Owen on 37 points as he recorded his first success since re-joining Brean. The runner up in that Division was Nigel Hodges on 36.

In just under a month’s time on Thursday July 7th the Srixon and Cleveland Tour Tech truck will be visiting Burnham Golf Range. This will have all the latest equipment on board and experts can fully custom fit clubs on the day. For more information or to book an appointment please contact Burnham Golf Range on 01278 787979.

Results 07.06.11 Seniors Captains Cup Round 1
1, Jim McLauchlan 88-20-68
2, Pete Douglas 84-14-70
3, Jeremy Savill 94-22-72

09.06.11 Seniors Medal
1, Mike Allen 86-18-68
2, Jim Wotton 87-19-68
3, Wally Pape 89-18-71

11.06.11 Super Series Div One
1, Simon Williams 42pts
2, John Mardon 40pts
3, Steve Bateman 38pts

Div Two
1, John Owen 37pts
2, Nigel Hodges 36pts
3, Pete Dunn 35pts

Away win for Brean 29.5.11

The Avalon B team who are currently in the upper reaches of Division Six continued their good form on Sunday afternoon. They made the short trip to Weston Super Mare and came home with a 3-2 success which strengthened their league position as they try to regain Division Five status.

The Seniors battled against the seemingly ever present breeze in their Monthly Medal last week and only one player broke par. This player was George Thomas who returned a creditable nett 70 in trying conditions and with it reduced his handicap by a shot. Second place two strokes back was the consistent Roger Phillips whilst Barry Tucker had the best gross score of the day but had to settle for third in the handicap part of the competition.

The first event in the West Region PGA season was held at Oake Manor GC in Taunton last week. Both Brean Professionals were hoping to get their ‘Race to Woodbury’ campaign off to good starts but unfortunately neither managed the results they were hoping for. David Haines made the cut but then suffered a couple of poor holes on the second day as he finished well down the leaderboard. He did fare better than his Brean colleague Andrew March though who had a nightmare opening 8 holes and failed to qualify for the second day. The event’s format sees some amateur golfers play alongside the pro’s in the final round and Brean GC featured well up the leaderboard in this event as Roy Baker carded 34 points to finish in an excellent 6th position.

Results 24.05.11 Seniors Medal
1, George Thomas 92-22-70
2, Roger Phillips 93-21-72
3, Barry Tucker 86-13-73

15.5.11

Following on from the successful Pro Celebrity Am they hosted last Tuesday Brean Golf Club held their annual Open golf week. With a variety of events on offer over the 5 days many players tested their skills against the course and attempted to tackle the stiff breeze that blew throughout the week. First into the winners enclosure for the week was Stuart Wills in the Individual Stableford event. He carded 34 points to win by one from Steve Mason.

Next up was the usually popular Three Man Scramble which unfortunately didn’t attract its normal size field this year. The winners ended up as Roger and Jenny Vaughan alongside Andy Thomas as they completed the course in a very respectable nett score of 59.7.

The best entry as usual came in the Open Three Ball Bowmaker on Saturday. Home players were again to the fore in the prizewinners with the experienced trio of Wally Pape, Alan Marshall and Mike Parfitt handing in a winning total of 129. This gave them a three shot cushion over runners up Gordon Mitchell, Eric Jones and Wayne Barrett who in turn beat the team of Jim Wotton, Phil Aspinall and John Mardon into third on countback. Fourth place went to Paul and Steve Jones along with Mike Sutton on 135.

The final event of the week was the Fourball Betterball and a formidable partnership of youth and experience came up trumps. Student Roy Baker partnered Senior Roger Phillips to victory as their score of 64 included a better back six score than the 64 compiled by Roger and Jenny Vaughan. Another countback was also needed to decide third and fourth place and again it came down to the back six holes. This time Club Captain Dave Bradley and greenkeeper Bob Champion edged out Past Captain Steve Bateman and his wife Tina after they both finished on 68.

Results 11.05.11 Open Stableford
1, Stuart Wills 34pts
2, Steve Mason 33pts

13.05.11 Open Scramble
1, Roger Vaughan, Jenny Vaughan and Andy Thomas 59.7

14.05.11 Open Three Ball Bowmaker
1, Mike Parfitt, Wally Pape & Alan Marshall 129
2, Gordon Mitchell, Eric Jones & Wayne Barrett 132
3, John Mardon, Jim Wotton & Phil Aspinall 132
4, Paul Jones, Steve Jones & Mike Sutton 135

15.05.11 Open Fourball
1, Roy Baker & Roger Phillips 64
2, Roger Vaughan & Jenny Vaughan 64
3, Dave Bradley & Bob Champion 68
4, Steve Bateman & Tina Bateman 68

Locals lead the way in Pro Celeb Am

Teams consisting of local players took the main prizes in the annual Charity Pro Celebrity Am played at Brean Golf Club. The 2011 version of the popular event attracted a superb entry of 31 teams who contested the event in aid of three different charities. The charities to benefit from the day were The Injured Jockeys Fund, St Margaret’s Hospice Taunton and The Alzheimer’s Society and all the participants combined to help raise funds for the worthy causes with many of the teams on the day being led by a National Hunt Jockey/ Trainer or a selection of local PGA golf professional’s.

Event co-ordinator Deidre Wheadon did an excellent job in bringing what is thought to be a record number of teams for the long running event to the start line but it proved that local knowledge was the key to reaching the winning post in first spot. The winners were declared as the Brean Golf Club team ably led by Club Captain Dave Bradley. He was joined in what proved to be a formidable quartet by Tony Richards, Pete Dunn and Paul Jones as they amassed a total of 90 points. All four played well as birdies and eagles flooded their scorecard which not surprisingly saw them run out comfortable winners of the Tom Childs Memorial Trophy. The runners up spot proved to be a much closer run thing and it saw the two Brean PGA professionals going head to head. With a better back nine score the Andrew March led Brean Golf Club Ladies team including Jenny Vaughan, Shelia Rouse and Gail Mason came out on top after the countback on 83 points. Having to settle for third was David Haines and his team representing Burnham Golf Range made up of Mike Porter, Terry Edwards and Brian Warner. Watermark Financial Solutions have featured in the prizes prominently in recent years and they continued that trend by taking fourth on 82 points with Mark Woods being joined this time by Jim Vearncombe, Robin Griffiths and Richard Catton. Rounding out the prize positions was a team named ‘Billy the Kids’. The team moniker has horse racing connections and was led by Jockey David Crosse along with Brean members Eamonn Wynne, Tony Higgins and Jason Kidley as they handed in a card totalling 80 points.

The winners all received their spoils at the presentation in the Tavern at the Leisure Park with the day being concluded by David Haines performing his amazing Golf Trick shot show for all present which finished just before darkness. The day ran smoothly and despite a spell of wet weather for the afternoon starters a good day was had by all. Special thanks must go to many people for making the event the success that it is. Firstly Brean Leisure Park, the House family and Bob Nicholson for running the event and the hospitality extended to all present, Deidre Wheadon for the smooth organisation, Robin Williams and his team of greenstaff for the superb presentation of the golf course (which was met with unanimous praise from all the players), the Jockeys and PGA Pro’s who took part, Roger Williams for performing the starter’s duties and finally to all the sponsors for supporting what has now become one of the most popular events on the golfing calendar in the area. The countdown has already started to next year’s event!

Results
1, Brean Golf Club Dave Bradley with Pete Dunn, Tony Richards & Paul Jones 90pts
2, Brean Golf Club Ladies Andrew March with Jenny Vaughan, Shelia Rouse & Gail Mason 83pts
3, Burnham Golf Range David Haines with Mike Porter, Terry Edwards & Brian Warner 83pts
4, Watermark Financial Solutions Mark Woods with Jim Vearncombe, Robin Griffiths & Richard Catton 82pts
5 Billy the Kids David Crosse with Eamonn Wynne, Tony Higgins & Jason Kidley 80pts

Brilliant Brean whitewash Frome

Brean’s Avalon League team which play in Division Six of the league setup continued their strong start to the season with an emphatic 5-0 win over Frome. In windy conditions over the Bank Holiday weekend all the matches ended in favour of the home pairings and with it gave them maximum points on the day.

The Seniors team were again busy and can report some improving results. First up came a home draw with the strong Minehead Warreners with 3 games being won by each side. The following day saw a re-arranged fixture again at home to Woodspring. This match was due to be away but was reversed by their opponents who probably had wished they hadn’t as Brean won by 4 games to 2.

The Super Series was again the card and pencil competition at Brean over the weekend. Division One had a close finish as the top three players all handed in 40 points. John Mardon had the better back nine and secured the victory ahead of Roy Baker and Jason Kidley. Winter League winner Pete Dunn was again in the winners circle in Division two. His score of 37 points gave him top spot ahead of Jim Wotton on 36. Dale Stock was third on 33.

Brean’s two PGA professionals have been in action again with the G&S PGA and both recorded top four finishes in the final 18 hole Medal of the season at Isle of Wedmore. David Haines was third after his 71 whilst Andrew March was one place further back two strokes behind his colleague. This week sees them both attempt to win the G&S PGA Strokeplay title over 36 holes at The Players Club near Bristol.

Results 30.04.11 Super Series Div One
1, John Mardon 40pts
2, Roy Baker 40pts
3, Jason Kidley 40pts

Div Two
1, Pete Dunn 37pts
2, Jim Wotton 36pts
3, Dale Stock 33pts

Fairchild wins Medal but Parsons is the Master

The April Medal at Brean was played in glorious sunshine last Sunday and Chris Fairchild played some golf that matched the weather. Having one of those nice but extremely rare days that golfers experience when everything goes right he needed just 79 blows to complete the course. After deducting his handicap of 13 the nett 66 was easily the best of the day and brought him success in Division Two by 7 shots from Pete Dunn. The Brean Masters title was also up for grabs and this was contested by all the Medal winners of the previous year plus any previous Brean Masters winners. The winner for 2011 was Murray Parsons as he collected the award in addition to his Division One win. His nett 69 was only just enough though as it needed a countback for it to oust Jason Kidley from top spot. Division Three was a much higher scoring affair as Ian Adams won with a nett 74 ahead of Martyn Cahill. The Ladies were also competing for their Masters title and this went to Shelia Rouse. She didn’t manage to win the Medal though as that honour went to Ladies Captain Jenny Vaughan after her excellent nett 70.

The previous day with the players still adjusting to the return to the grass tees for the Summer no one topped the 40 point mark in the Pro Shop Stableford. Both Division winners scored 39 apiece as Stuart Wills took Division One and Mike Chaloner Division Two. Wills saw his handicap reduced to 6 and Chaloner to 17 as a result.

The Seniors held their Monthly Stableford last Tuesday in damp and drizzly conditions. Charlie Doherty led the way on one of his rare appearances in the Seniors events with a card of 40 points and with it took the Millennium Trophy which was also being played for. Roger Blackwell had to settle for third after Barrie Yearsley edged him out on the back nine for second after they both had 36 points.

Both Brean professionals finished high up in the latest G&S PGA Medal at The Mendip Golf Club. David Haines recovered from a poor opening 8 holes to end up level par for his round with a storming back nine score and shared second spot. Andrew March carded a disappointing bogey at the closing hole to end in 4th place, one behind Haines and two behind the winner with a 1 over par 72. Both players maintain positions inside the top ten of the Order of Merit with just 3 events remaining in the season.

Results 05.04.11 Seniors Stableford/ Millennium Trophy
1, Charlie Doherty 40
2, Barrie Yearsley 36
3, Roger Blackwell 36

09.04.11 Pro Shop Stableford Div One
1, Stuart Wills 39
2, Mark Elvins 35
3, Barry Tucker 35

Div Two
1, Mike Chaloner 39
2, Neil Barker 34
3, Rob Perry 34

10.04.11 Monthly Medal/Brean Masters Div One
1, Murray Parsons 77-8-69
2, Jason Kidley 80-11-69
3, Steve Peates 81-7-74

Div Two
1, Chris Fairchild 79-13-66
2, Pete Dunn 91-18-73
3, Graham Exton 88-15-73

Div Three
1, Ian Adams 94-20-74
2, Martyn Cahill 99-24-75
3, Mike Sutton 103-26-77

Ladies Medal/Brean Lady Masters
1, Jenny Vaughan 84-14-70
2, Shelia Rouse 117-34-83
3, Irene Trumper 109-24-85

Winter League is Dunn and dusted.

Peter Dunn emerged as the winner of the Winter long battle for the inaugural Winter League title at Brean Golf Club. Having finished the qualifying period in third spot he had the advantage of having 3 extra points added to his Finals day score. He responded by producing a best of the day card of 39 points to give him a clear winning margin of 5 points over Roy Baker. Baker has led the points table for much of the winter but couldn’t quite complete the job in the Final and carded 32 points. He was able to add the 5 bonus qualifying points he earned to that so ended on 37 for the day. The ever consistent Roger Phillips took third on 35 whilst Captain Elect Stewart Garrett rounded out the top four on 34. The consolation event for the non qualifiers was won by Steve Bateman with 41 points.

Jim Longford’s Seniors got off to a winning start in their first Inter Club Match of the season. They welcomed their Vivary Park counterparts to Brean and after a morning of persistent rain it stopped just before the scheduled tee off time to allow a pleasant and enjoyable afternoons golf. The final result saw the hosts manage 3.5 points to the visitors 2.5 and so recorded Longford’s first success as captain after losing out to the Main Club team recently.

Brean Director of Golf David Haines took second place in a G&S PGA Medal at Filton last week. Some excellent short game play over the closing holes saw him match the par of 70 and finish just one behind the winner. This result helped him move back up the Order of Merit as the race enters its final month. Fellow Brean Professional Andrew March was also in the top ten at Filton after his 75.

Results 02.04.11 Winter League Final
1, Pete Dunn 42pts
2, Roy Baker 37pts
3, Roger Phillips 35pts
4, Stewart Garrett 34pts

Consolation Stableford
1, Steve Bateman 41pts

Superb score wins Scramble 27.3.11

A Texas Scramble format always invites low scoring but the figures posted in the Gordon Phippen Trophy were exceptional last Sunday. The team comprising of Mike Parfitt, Wally Pape, Alan Marshall and Mike Porter returned to the clubhouse quietly confident that they might taste success in the event. It is not surprising they felt that way as their nett score of 56.1 was almost 15 under par. What they hadn’t taken into account was the quartet of Eamonn Wynne, Club Champion Steve Bateman, Roy Baker and Roger Vaughan who blitzed their way around the course on their way to a nett total of 54.8 and took the Trophy by just over a shot. Two other teams also posted scores in the 56’s and must feel very unlucky have been outside the prizes.

The previous day the Main Club team took on the Seniors in their annual season opening match. The Seniors side may have suffered from being over golfed as many of the team had just been away for the week in Devon on a golfing break and they ran out of steam against a strong club side. Captain Dave Bradley maintained the winning run under his leadership as his team completed a comprehensive 5-1 victory over his elders.

Saturday also saw the final round of the Winter League take place. After this was completed the 20 leading qualifiers were decided and go forward to an 18 hole shootout next weekend to decide the inaugural Champion. Mats Mattsson produced a stunning round as he amassed 46 points on a day when just about everything went right for him. This score also saw his handicap tumble by 2 shots to 15. Mike Chaloner edged out Pete Dunn on countback for second place behind Mattsson in Division Two after they both had totalled 41 points. Division One honours went to Barry Tucker after his round of 40 ahead of youngster Jordan Harris making his first appearance of the year and taking the runners up position on 38.

Results 26.03.11 Winter League Div One
1, Barry Tucker 40pts
2, Jordan Harris 38pts
3, Simon Williams 35pts

Div Two
1, Mats Mattsson 46pts
2, Mike Chaloner 41pts
3, Pete Dunn 41pts

27.03.11 Gordon Phippen Trophy
1, Eamonn Wynne, Steve Bateman, Roy Baker & Roger Vaughan 54.8
2, Alan Marshall, Mike Parfitt, Wally Pape & Mike Porter 56.1
3, Murray Parsons, Tony Richards, Jim McLauchlan & Tony Roper 56.3
4, Tony Groves, Dave Lockwood, Brian Read & Steve Peates 56.9

£6000+ Charity Cheque handed over by Brean Golf Club

Brean Golf Club held their annual Presentation evening last Friday in the Tavern at the Leisure Park and this year it also doubled as the Presidents night hosted by the House family. Around one hundred people attended the occasion to see the many prizewinners from the last twelve months receive their awards as well as an excellent meal and night of entertainment. Big winners on the night were the Jones family as a large proportion of the prizes went to either Steve or Paul Jones. The evening also marked the presentation of a cheque for the money raised over the last twelve months by Brean Golf Club members. Steve Bateman, the outgoing Captain, had chosen the Children’s Hospice South West as the beneficiaries for his year and their representative Gordon Bleaken came along to the evening as his guest. Gordon took the opportunity to explain the work that the Hospice do and how any money raised will be used to help their efforts in providing respite care for families with terminally ill children. He was amazed and delighted to receive a cheque for a stunning £6140 from the club and thanked the members of Brean Golf Club for their sterling fundraising work in what has been a difficult year for many in the current economic climate. Brean may only be a small golf club but they certainly have a big heart as year on year they manage to raise significant amounts for their chosen charities.

Baker blitzes them 20.3.11

Roy Baker tasted success in yet another Brean competition as he amassed 45 points in the National Pro Am qualifier on Sunday. With his handicap being 5 it meant he was 4 under par gross as he completed the course. This total even included a 3 putt for bogey at the 7th and a closing bogey but they were offset by his 6 birdies thanks to some golf that was as stunning as the weather. This result earns Baker a place in the Regional Final of the competition where he will partner professional David Haines for a chance to reach the National Final played in warmer climes later in the year. Second place went to Barry Tucker on 41 who edged out Phil Aspinall into third on a countback.

The annual match for the ‘Bone of Contention’ between the men and ladies ended in a comfortable victory for the Men. This allows them bragging rights for the year although the Ladies will be out to win it back next year.

The penultimate round of the Winter League took place on Saturday with Richard Broom having the round of the day. He carded 43 points to easily win Division Two by 4 points from Neil Barker and with it move himself into contention for a top 20 slot for the Final to be played in early April. John Mardon was the victor in the top flight with 40 points. Four players scored 38 points and a countback was required to separate them for the prize positions. Pete Barton took second ahead of Eamonn Wynne whilst Barry Tucker and Mark Elvins just dipped out of the money.

Brean professional Andrew March came very close to winning his second G&S PGA event of 2011 in the latest Medal at Shirehampton. He failed to get up and down from a greenside bunker at the par 3 last hole and his closing bogey meant his round of 66 was one more than the winner and his playing partner for the day John Goymer from The Mendip Golf Club.

Results 19.03.11 Winter League
1, John Mardon 40pts
2, Pete Barton 38pts
3, Eamon Wynne 38pts

Division Two
1, Richard Broom 43pts
2, Neil Barker 39pts
3, Nigel Hodges 37pts

20.03.11 National Pro Am Qualifier
1, Roy Baker 45pts
2, Barry Tucker 41pts
3, Phil Aspinall 41pts
4, Jason Kidley 40pts

Roberts rips it up! 13.3.11

Colin Roberts only decided to enter the Monthly Medal at late notice but he was glad he did after he reduced the Brean course to just 80 blows on a glorious early Spring day. When his handicap was deducted from his score it left him with an unbeatable nett 62 as no other player in the large field managed to get within 6 shots of his effort. The other two players to post nett 68, Roy Fletcher and Dave Bailey, were both in the same Division as Roberts so had to settle for second and third respectively. The only other player in the event to break 70 was the ever consistent Roger Phillips in Division Three. He won with a nett 69 ahead of Mo Sanders on 71. The closest result of the day came in the top Division with 4 players finishing with scores of nett 72. Murray Parsons took the Medal with the better closing nine holes score ahead of Runner up Mike Hurman with Tony Richards and Andy Chan in third and fourth.

Another low score was handed in by the winners on Sunday as Phil Aspinall and Jason Kidley combined to total just 60 strokes in winning the Loxton Trophy. Runner up in the betterball drawn pairs event was Graham Foy and Murray Parsons after their nett 64. Eamonn Wynne and Matt Haskins took third on countback after a 67.

It was a double header of action for the Seniors last week with both their March Stableford and Medal taking place. First up was the Stableford played on temporary greens thanks to an overnight frost. As always when these greens are in play scoring was exceptionally low and topping the leaderboard with a mammoth 50 points was George Thomas. Jim Wotton took second after 47 and another George rounded out the top three in the form of George Stratford with 46 points. Two days later with the main greens back in play scoring was somewhat harder for the more testing of the two formats. Peter Douglas prevented George Thomas from completing the double as he posted a nett 69, one better than the in form Thomas. Also on the same score as Thomas but losing out on a back nine countback and having to settle for third was John Sherwood.

As reported last week 32 players headed to Spain for what they expected to be 4 days golf last week. Unfortunately the rain in Spain fell completely on the golf course and two days of the planned 4 were washed out. It is hoped a day can be arranged soon to complete the round of singles matches in this country with Shrek’s Shankers holding a commanding lead going into this stage of the annual match for the European Tour Shield.

Results 08.03.11 Seniors Stableford
1, George Thomas 50pts
2, Jim Wotton 47pts
3, George Stratford 46pts

10.03.11 Seniors Medal
1, Pete Douglas 83-14-69
2, George Thomas 91-21-70
3, John Sherwood 95-25-70

12.03.11 Monthly Medal Div One
1, Murray Parsons 80-8-72
2, Mike Hurman 84-12-72
3, Tony Richards 84-12-72

Div Two
1, Colin Roberts 80-18-62
2, Roy Fletcher 86-18-68
3, Dave Bailey 81-13-68

Div Three
1, Roger Phillips 89-20-69
2, Mo Sanders 94-23-71
3, Ian Adams 92-20-72

13.03.11 Loxton Trophy
1, Phil Aspinall & Jason Kidley 60
2, Graham Foy & Murray Parsons 64
3, Eamonn Wynne & Matt Haskins 67
4, Brian Read & Mike Hurman 67

Fletcher prevents the Broom’s from clearing up

Roy Fletcher produced a stunning round last Saturday to lift the Charles Cooke March Hare stableford competition. His score of 49 points came late in the day but moved him to the top of the leaderboard edging out the long time leader Roger Broom who had returned 47 points including two of the staggering 17 two’s recorded on the day. A slight frost overnight on the Friday had seen some temporary greens deployed which contributed to the glut of two’s and aided low scoring. Another Broom in the form of Roger’s brother Richard was involved in a countback for third spot with Mike Parfitt and Neil Barker. Barker had the best back nine of the trio to take third ahead of Broom with the unlucky Parfitt settling for fifth on the day.

On Monday morning 32 Brean golfers flew out to Spain to contest their annual European Tour Shield challenge match. On the previous day many of those travelling players warmed up nicely with good rounds in the Monthly Stableford and provided each Division’s winner. Brian Read was the only player to reach the 40 point mark as he took Division Two and with it saw his handicap reduced as many other players struggled to compile a good score. Steve Bateman needed a countback to secure Division One success ahead of Roger Vaughan after they both had carded 37 points. Mike Sutton continued his consistent run of form of late as he entered the winner’s enclosure in Division three. His return of 34 points was three better than runner up Tony Romeo. The Ladies result had a familiar look to it as Shelia Rouse maintained her current dominance of Ladies golf at Brean. She accumulated 33 points over her round and headed home Tina Bateman and the rest of the field by 3 points as she added another success to her collection of victories in recent months.

More Brean success was tasted overseas in the last week as Director of Golf David Haines was a joint winner of the golfbreaks.com Pro Am at Emporda in Spain. He opened the three round event with a slightly disappointing round of 79 in wet and windy conditions but roared back into contention with the best round of the tournament on day two. A six birdie haul in a 4 under par round of 68 moved him to within a shot of the lead with 18 holes to play. A final day 73 over the tough Spanish course was enough for him to share the spoils in top spot and record his first win of 2011.

Results 05.03.11 Charles Cooke March Hare
1, Roy Fletcher 49pts
2, Roger Broom 47pts
3, Neil Barker 45pts
4, Richard Broom 45pts

06.03.11 Monthly Stableford Div One
1, Steve Bateman 37pts
2, Roger Vaughan 37pts
3, Roy Baker 34pts

Div Two
1, Brian Read 40pts
2, Mike Porter 37pts
3, Mats Mattsson 35pts

Div Three
1, Mike Sutton 34pts
2, Tony Romeo 31pts
3, Nigel Hodges 30pts

Ladies Monthly Stableford
1, Sheila Rouse 33pts
2, Tina Bateman 30pts

Roper’s double success

Tony Roper had double reason to celebrate this week as he finished top of the pile in two events at Brean Golf Club. Firstly he won the Seniors Stableford with a haul of 47 points compiled on the temporary greens following an overnight frost and then he combined with the outgoing Club Captain, Steve Bateman, to win the AGM Foursomes on Sunday.

Roper overcame a foggy morning as he amassed his winning Stableford score which was helped by a run of 4 consecutive 3’s through the tough stretch of holes 7 to 10 which gave him 15 points towards his total. Runner up was George Stratford after his round saw him return 44 points. Most popular man in the bar afterwards was Allen Fellingham who had a Hole in One at the par 3 10th during the event. Due to the misty conditions he didn’t actually see the ball disappear into the hole though.

Roper returned to the winners circle as he teamed up with Bateman to post a score of 34points in the foursomes event. Poor weather restricted the entry and also made scoring difficult as Chris Fairchild and Gordon Wheelaghan took the runners up spot with 32 points.

Sandwiched between these two competitions was a round of the Winter League. Jared Poole repeated his feat of last weekend as he won Division One with a similar score to his previous one albeit in somewhat easier conditions as the sun shone and hardly any wind blew. Division Two honours went to Mark Elvins with a best of the day 47 points which saw his handicap reduced as a result. The two second place finishers both had 43 points with Dave Bailey taking second in the top Division and the fast improving John Doughty assuming that position in the Second tier.

In the between the on course action the past week has seen much change off the course with new Captains taking up office for 2011. At the AGM Steve Bateman handed over the Club Captaincy reins to Dave Bradley and Jenny Vaughan took up the Ladies role. Jim Longford takes over from Dai Wood as the leader of the Seniors section for the 2011 season. Earlier in the week the Seniors held their popular Presentation lunch where Roger Phillips was the major collector of prizes after a very successful year on the golf course in 2010. The Captains this year have chosen The Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance to be their designated Charity and the members will do their best as always to make it a successful year for them.

Results 08.02.11 Seniors Stableford
1, Tony Roper 47pts
2, George Stratford 44pts
3, Barrie Yearsley 43pts

12.02.11 Winter League Div One
1, Jared Poole 43pts
2, Dave Bailey 43pts
3, Roger Vaughan 39pts

Div Two
1, Mark Elvins 47pts
2, John Doughty 43pts
3, Jim Wotton 41pts

13.02.11 AGM Foursomes
1, Tony Roper & Steve Bateman 34pts
2, Chris Fairchild & Gordon Wheelaghan 32pts
3, Stuart Wills & Martyn Cahill 32pts

Almost perfect Poole wins Stableford

On a day when the blustery wind affected many players scores single figure handicapper Jared Poole came in with an excellent score of 42 points. He could even afford a last hole mishap where he scored no points and still win by 7 clear points in the top Division of the Monthly Stableford. Runner up was Poole’s good friend Dave Gummer on 35. The prospect of taking up the Captaincy reins certainly hasn’t affected Dave Bradley’s golf as yet again he featured in the prizes. With his handicap having been cut in recent weeks he made light of it as he handed in another haul of 40+ points. He totalled 41 which secured the Division Two win by 4 from Roger Phillips. The scoring of the Third Division didn’t match the other two as 33 points was good enough to see Tony Romeo win. Nick Windsor beat Martyn Cahill on countback for the Runners Up spot.

Sunday saw another round of the Winter League taking place. Best score of the day came from Trevor Pitt with his 40 point score. This won the second Division ahead of Stewart Garrett who had 39. A countback was needed to separate the top two finishers in Division One as Graham Exton and Steve Mason both recorded 38 points. Mason was adjudged the winner after his better back nine holes score. Current Club Captain Steve Bateman and Kevin Davies took third places in their Divisions with scores of 36 and 38 respectively.

There was yet more success for Andrew March in the G&S PGA Medal played at Forest Hills last week. Continuing his good start to 2011 he recorded his first win for many seasons after a level par 72 at the Forest of Dean venue left him in a three way tie at the top. This moved him up to 6th place in the Order of Merit and to within striking distance of the top four which includes his Brean colleague David Haines, who missed the latest event through illness.

Results 05.02.11 Monthly Stableford Div One
1, Jared Poole 42pts
2, Dave Gummer 35pts
3, Steve Jones 34pts

Div Two
1, Dave Bradley 41pts
2, Roger Phillips 37pts
3, Nigel Ellis 36pts

Div Three
1, Tony Romeo 33pts
2, Nick Windsor 32pts
3, Martyn Cahill 32pts

06.02.11 Winter League Div One
1, Steve Mason 38pts
2, Graham Exton 38pts
3, Steve Bateman 36pts

Div Two
1, Trevor Pitt 40pts
2, Stewart Garrett 39pts
3, Kevin Davies 38pts

Fairchild’s fantastic in the frost.

Chris Fairchild mastered the tricky frosty conditions as he won the Boycie trophy over Burnham and Berrow’s Channel Course on Saturday. With the annual car rally taking place at the Leisure Park two away trips were organised for the members over the weekend. Saturday saw close to 30 visit their near neighbours to contest a stableford event over 18 holes. A sharp overnight frost meant some unpredictable bounces were in store for the players and scoring was always going to be difficult. Fairchild, who has been in good form of late, returned an excellent card of 37 points which saw him take first place by a single point. Three players all handed in 36 points and a countback was required to decide the other prizewinners. Professional David Haines came out on top on the back nine ahead of Roy Baker with Steve Foy ending up 4th. The following day almost 50 members travelled to Oake Manor to contest the Car Rally Trophy. This sees all the players return a stableford card and then the pairs are drawn following the completion of play in the clubhouse. This year’s winners were Paul Jones and Dave Bradley who combined to score 73 points. Thanks go to both Mike Sutton and Dave Lockwood for their hard work in the organisation and making these two events possible over the two days.

The only Brean action took place earlier in the week when the Seniors Stableford was held. Some inspired putting saw Mike Allen emerge as the winner on 39 points ahead of the consistent George Thomas on 37. Third place went to Geoff Seaman who could have quite easily been the winner had it not been for a poor closing two holes. Thomas topped up his prize winnings as he recorded the only two of the day at the 8th.

David Haines is closing in on second place in the Gloucester and Somerset PGA Order of Merit as they reach the mid way point of their season. He finished in 4th place around the Old Course at Minchinhampton this week after a level par 71 and is now just two points away from second position. It was not such a good day for his colleague Andrew March who finished well down the field but remains inside the OOM top ten.

Results 18.01.11 Seniors Stableford
1, Mike Allen 39pts
2, George Thomas 37pts
3, Geoff Seaman 36pts

22.01.11 Boycie Trophy (Burnham & Berrow Channel Course)
1, Chris Fairchild 37pts
2, David Haines 36pts
3, Roy Baker 36pts
4, Steve Foy 36pts

23.01.11 Car Rally Trophy at Oake Manor
1, Paul Jones & Dave Bradley 73pts

Young stars in Stableford win 9.1.11

Len Young was the first winner of 2011 in the Seniors section as he racked up 42 points to win the January Stableford last week. His score was four better than anyone else and earned him a 2 shot handicap reduction. Pete Douglas beat George Thomas on countback for the runners up position after they both scored 38 points.

Another Senior handed in the best score in the Winter league round played last Saturday. Jim McLauchlan totalled 41 points and with it took the honours in Division Two. Captain Elect Dave Bradley was again in the frame with his card of 40 taking second spot. The winner of Division One came from the other end of the age range with student Roy Baker claiming the success. His 40 points relegated Ron Vine to second on 39.

The Percy Underwood Trophy involves the pairs being determined by handicap. The highest handicap is paired with the lowest and so on which gives a fairly even field. The winners this year were a pair of Barry’s in Tucker and Fisher as they combined to score 42 points over the 18 holes. Runners up spoils went to Mie Hurman and Graham Foy ahead of Tony Richards and Kevin Davies in third.

Brean’s Director of Golf David Haines featured in the prizewinners at the first G&S PGA Medal of 2011. He carded a 1 over par 72 to take a share of third spot over the Burnham and Berrow links. Fellow Brean professional Andrew March was also in the top ten after his 75.

Results 04.01.11 Seniors Stableford
1, Len Young 42pts
2, Pete Douglas 38pts
3, George Thomas 38pts

08.01.11 Winter League Div 1
1, Roy Baker 40pts
2, Ron Vine 39pts
3, Graham Exton 36pts

Div 2
1, Jim McLauchlan 41pts
2, Dave Bradley 40pts
3, Mike Chaloner 39pts

09.01.11 Percy Underwood Trophy
1, Barry Fisher & Barry Tucker 42pts
2, Mike Hurman & Graham Foy 40pts
3, Tony Richards & Kevin Davies 39pts

Cahill cleans up the Christmas Open 2.1.11

Martyn Cahill was the winner of the Christmas Open at Brean Golf Club over the holiday period. The running stableford was restricted to just three days play thanks to the snow but when the course re opened a good sized entry resumed golfing activities. Cahill’s winning round came of the final day as his card of 42 points left him one clear of the field. A mammoth 25 points on the back nine played a major part in his success and with it his handicap was reduced by a shot to 24. Second placed Brian Read also compiled his best effort on the final morning but it just left him one shy of Cahill’s total. Third place needed a countback to determine the outcome with Stewart Garrett just pipping Dave Bailey after they both scored 40 points.

The first silverware of 2011 was awarded on Sunday as the Monthly Medal was accompanied by the New Year and Deacon Trophy. Steve Jones was a regular winner in 2010 and started the new year off in the same fashion after a nett 65. This gave him the New Years Trophy for the best overall score as well as the Division One Medal ahead of Tony Higgins after his nett 70. Roy Fletcher matched Jones’s score but couldn’t beat his back nine score so had to settle for the Deacon Trophy for the best score in Division Three. John Doughty took the runners up spot on 67. Last year’s winner Nigel Ellis put up a good defence of his title as he won his Division but his nett 67 wasn’t good enough to retain the cup. Captain Elect Dave Bradley maintained his recent good form by taking second spot with a nett 69.

Results Christmas Open
1, Martyn Cahill 42pts
2, Brian Read 41pts
3, Stewart Garrett 40pts
4, Dave Bailey 40pts

02.01.11 Monthly Medal/ New Year Trophy & Deacon Trophy Div One
1, Steve Jones 77-12-65
2, Tony Richards 82-12-70
3, Tony Higgins 83-12-71

Div Two
1, Nigel Ellis 86-19-67
2, Dave Bradley 88-19-69
3, Dave Lockwood 86-16-70

Div Three (& Deacon Trophy)
1, Roy Fletcher 87-22-65
2, John Doughty 88-21-67
3, Kevin Davies 88-20-68

19.12.2010 Roper wins again!

Tony Roper repeated his success in the November Seniors Medal by winning the December version last week. His score was somewhat different though with his latest triumph containing 15 more strokes than his previous one! The reason for this was the unexpected but short lived return to the main greens last Thursday and with it the smaller regulation size holes. Add into the equation a strong cold wind blowing across the course his nett 74 was actually a very good effort. Two players handed in nett 77’s with Roger Phillips beating Colin Roberts on countback for second. Len Young rounded out the top four after a nett 78. Two days earlier the temporary greens were still in use for the Seniors Turkey Trot. The popular Texas Scramble format saw the winning trio emerge as Pete Douglas, Jeremy Savill and John Heath.

As with every other golf course around the area the recent snow has put paid to much else happening now on the course before the end of the year. Burnham Golf Range though has remained open throughout the cold spell and will continue to do so until the golf balls run out (it is not easy collecting white golf balls at present!). Those golfers still wanting their ‘golf fix’ over the festive period are most welcome and are advised to contact the Range on 01278 787979 to check opening times.

Results 14.12.10 Seniors Turkey Trot Texas Scramble
1, Pete Douglas, John Heath and Jeremy Savill

16.12.10 Seniors Medal
1, Tony Roper 92-18-74
2, Roger Phillips 96-19-77
3, Colin Roberts 95-18-77
4, Len Young 102-24-78

Sub par Spectacular at Brean 12.12.10

Despite a couple of frost free days the damage done by the preceding fortnight of freezing temperatures saw the temporary greens employed again for the weekend’s action. This allowed for a glut of low scoring on the oversize holes with all three divisions in the Monthly Medal being won with sub 60 nett scores. 58 was the winning nett score in Division one with Steve Peates edging out Paul Jones after a countback. Barry Tucker was only third after a 59! Division Two winner Mark Elvins had the lowest return of the day with a nett 57. This left him two clear of runner up Chris Stephens and third place Jim Wotton with Mike Parfitt having to settle for 4th place despite matching their score. Division Three saw the countback system into overdrive again as it needed the first 6 holes to separate the cards of eventual winner Tony Groves and runner up Graham Foy. Barry Fisher continued his good form with a nett 60 in third spot.

The Christmas Scramble for the Grumpy Trophy was the prize on offer on Sunday. Barry Fisher again was in the winner’s enclosure as he accompanied Steve and Tina Bateman and Graham Exton to first place. They totalled a nett score of 51.3 and were over 2 shots clear of the rest of the field. Tony Roper, Alan Marshall, Mike Parfitt and Mo Sanders finished in second position with 53.6 ahead of a quartet made up of Roger and Jenny Vaughan along with Stuart Wills and Martyn Cahill on 54.5.

Results 11.12.10 Monthly Medal Div One
1, Steve Peates 65-7-58
2, Paul Jones 68-10-58
3, Barry Tucker 71-12-59

Div Two
1, Mark Elvins 74-17-57
2, Chris Stephens 74-15-59
3, Jim Wotton 77-18-59

Div Three
1, Tony Groves 78-20-58
2, Graham Foy 78-20-58
3, Barry Fisher 81-21-60

12.12.10 Christmas Scramble (Grumpy Trophy)
1, Steve & Tina Bateman, Barry Fisher and Graham Exton 51.2
2, Alan Marshall, Tony Roper, Mike Parfitt and Mo Sanders 53.6
3, Roger & Jenny Vaughan, Stuart Wills and Martyn Cahill 54.5

Sutton storms home to success 5.12.10

Mike Sutton produced a blistering back nine holes of golf to secure victory in the Monthly Stableford at Brean at the weekend. As usual when the temporary greens are in use scoring was very low with the oversize holes encouraging the players. Sutton, benefiting from his recent eye operations, amassed a massive 48 points on the temporary greens and the 25 points he scored on the inward half was just enough to pip his playing partner Gordon Wheelaghan on countback. Wheelaghan must feel slightly unlucky as in any other division 48 points would have easily taken the top spot, mind you the same could be said for the third placed player as Kevin Davies’s 46 points didn’t even get him in the prize money! 46 points was the leading score in the second division as Captain Elect Dave Bradley handed in that amount. He ended the event three clear of Pete Dunn in second on 43 who in turn relegated Mike Parfitt to third after a countback. Eamonn Wynne was the victor of the top division with 45 points and had the biggest winning margin of the day. He finished 4 points clear of Club Captain Steve Bateman on 41.

The previous day saw the unusual format of the Christmas Ransome played. Each pair plays 6 holes in each of the Scramble, Greensomes and Foursomes formats to decide the winners. Not surprisingly two of the lower handicaps led the way in Steve Peates and Roy Baker. Their winning score was built upon an excellent opening nine holes of just 30 strokes and eventually they prevailed by over 4 shots from the rest of the competitors. Runners up were the pair of Mark Fountain and Chris Stephens who needed a countback with their playing partners Mark Elvins and Don Blackwell to decide the placings.

The rest of the club proved inactive in the week as the Artic conditions stopped almost all the players from venturing out despite the 4 hardy (some might say daft!) souls who turned up for the Seniors Stableford last Thursday which was subsequently cancelled due to lack of entries.

Results 04.12.10 Christmas Ransome
1, Steve Peates & Roy Baker 65-4.3-60.7
2, Mark Fountain & Chris Stephens 76-11-65
3, Mark Elvins & Don Blackwell 77-12-65

05.12.10 Monthly Stableford Div One
1, Eamonn Wynne 45pts
2, Steve Bateman 41pts
3, Barry Tucker 39pts

Div Two
1, Dave Bradley 46pts
2, Pete Dunn 43pts
3, Mike Parfitt 43pts

Div Three
1, Mike Sutton 48pts
2, Gordon Wheelaghan 48pts
3, Kevin Davies 46pts

Fisher fends off freeze to take first

Barry Fisher won the Lukee Christmas Cup on Sunday at Brean with a card of 44 points. It was the only event that beat the weekend freeze and he secured victory by a single point over Mike Porter. The competition saw 40 players start out in the shotgun start but not all of them completed the round due to the sub zero temperatures. Porter edged out Steve Jones on countback for second after they had both accumulated 43 points. With the temporary greens in use scoring was low throughout the field and 42 points from Tony Groves was only good enough for 4th spot.

Result Lukee Cup 28.11.10
1, Barry Fisher 44pts
2, Mike Porter 43pts
3, Steve Jones 43pts
4, Tony Groves 42pts

Almost two thirds of the field in the Seniors Medal broke par in a day of low scoring brought about by the need for temporary greens due to the frost. They feasted on the larger sized holes and a nett 64 wasn’t even good enough to gain a top 3 finish! Leading the way with an excellent nett 59 was Tony Roper as he only needed 77 shots to cover the course. One shot adrift in second was George Thomas and rounding out the podium places was Roger Blackwell with a nett 62.

With the weather being slightly kinder over the weekend the main greens were back in use for a full weekend of action at Brean. The Winter League event on Saturday was won by Club Captain Steve Bateman with 41 points as he reduced his handicap closer to 3. Runner up was Roy Baker on 40. In the second Division Tony Romeo found some form on the greens thanks to some recent club alterations he has had made. His total of 39 points saw him lead home a trio on 38 with Graham Foy beating Vince Ford and Stewart Garrett on countback.

The Ladies also had a close finish with a tie being declared between two pairs in the Christmas Blind pairs competition. Tina Bateman and Shelia Rouse shared the victory spoils with Jenny Vaughan and Gail Mason after their scores couldn’t be separated.

More Turkey was on offer on Sunday with the Turkey Greensomes taking place. Again the countback rule was called into operation with three pairs all handing in 43 points. All three cards showed identical scores on each nine so it then had to be decided on the pair with the best score over the final six holes. This proved to be Dave Hunter, benefiting nicely from a recent lesson, and his partner for the day Tony Higgins who relegated Captain Elect Dave Bradley and Tony Richards to second position. Third place was taken by one of last weeks winners in Wally Pape and his partner Roy Baker.

Director of Golf David Haines almost completed a win double at Cotswold Hills in last weeks G&S PGA Medal. After winning at Bath the previous week he had to settle for second after a 73 in awful conditions at the Gloucestershire venue. Fellow Brean professional Andrew March finished 7th after a 76.

Everyone at Brean Golf Club would like to past on their best wishes to the various members who have recently had to spend time in hospital for differing reasons and wish them well in their recovery as well as looking forward to seeing them back at the Brean very soon.

Results 16.11.10 Seniors Medal
1, Tony Roper 77-18-59
2, George Thomas 81-21-60
3, Roger Blackwell 78-16-62

20.11.10 Winter League Div One
1, Steve Bateman 41pts
2, Roy Baker 40pts
3, Jason Kidley 36pts

Div Two
1, Tony Romeo 39pts
2, Graham Foy 38pts
3, Vince Ford 38pts

Ladies Christmas Blind Pairs
1=, Tina Bateman & Shelia Rouse
2, Jenny Vaughan & Gail Mason
3, Joan Lawrence & Janet Lyons

21.11.10 Turkey Greensomes
1, Dave Hunter & Tony Higgins 43pts
2, Dave Bradley & Tony Richards 43pts
3, Wally Pape & Roy Baker 43pts

Champion is Champion just! 14/11/2010

Bob Champion won the latest round of the Winter League with a haul of 44 points but only just after the score was matched by Nigel Hodges. A countback of the back nine holes gave the youngster, who works on the greenstaff at Brean, top spot and with it reduced his handicap by a shot to 15. Hodges effort saw his handicap reduced by two from 26. Division One was won by Eamonn Wynne with 40 points ahead of Dave Bailey on 37.

Turkey will definitely be on the Menu this Christmas for Roger Vaughan and Wally Pape as they won the first of the Turkey competitions this year. They combined to total 45 points but still needed a countback to edge out Brian Read and Steve Peates. Third place went to Ian Adams and Roy Baker on 43. A special mention should go to Club Captain Steve Bateman who battled on alone after his partner dropped out at short notice. He finished with 41 points and was just outside the prizes.

The Ladies have been busy over the last couple of weeks with many competitions taking place. The honours have been shared around with different players tasting success in three events. First up was Jenny Vaughan whose card of 32 points secured the Stableford for November. Tina Bateman and Irene Trumper then paired up to win the Ransome with a nett score of 80 in the tricky format. Last to enter the winner’s enclosure was Joan Lawrence as she claimed the Ladies Bogey Trophy after she matched the course over the 18 holes.

The poor weather put paid to much Seniors golf taking place with the only winner over the last week or so being John Scullion as he won the Veterans Pitch and Putt Trophy with a score of 56.

Brean’s Director of Golf David Haines won his first G&S PGA Medal of the season last week with a two under par score of 69 at Bath GC. This result moves him up to third place in the Order of Merit with two Medals remaining before the Christmas break.

Results 13.11.10 Winter League
Div One
1, Eamonn Wynne 40pts
2, Dave Bailey 37pts

Div Two
1, Bob Champion 44pts
2, Nigel Hodges 44pts

Ladies Ransome
1, Tina Bateman & Irene Trumper 97-17-80
2, Gail Mason & Shelia Rouse 101-19-82
3, Joan Lawrence & Cynthia Phillips 114-21-93

14.11.10 Turkey Betterball
1, Roger Vaughan & Wally Pape 45pts
2, Brian Read & Steve Peates 45pts
3, Ian Adams & Roy Baker 43pts

Ladies Bogey
1, Joan Lawrence 0
2, Shelia Rouse -6
3, Gail Mason -7

On Saturday evening Brean hosted a Nightgolf event. After the success of last year’s competition it was repeated as the teams played over 9 lit holes in a Texas Scramble format. The weather was cold and a nasty hailstorm struck the venue as play neared its conclusion. The winners were the quartet of Brian Read, Les Clutterbuck, Wayne Barrett and Captain Elect Dave Bradley with a nett score of 29.1. Taking his second runners up spot of the day was Stewart Garrett alongside Nigel Ellis, Steve and Tina Bateman as they finished just 0.3 of a point behind.

Three Seniors finished well clear of the main field in the November Stableford last week. Roger Phillips is never far away in these events and he was victorious after handing in a card showing a 41 point haul. Runner up, just as he was to be two days later in the main club stableford, was Wally Pape on 37 as he pipped Captain Dai Wood on countback over the back nine holes.

Results 04.11.10 Seniors Stableford
1, Roger Phillips 42pts
2, Wally Pape 37pts
3, Dai Wood 37pts

06.11.10 Monthly Stableford Div One
1, Jared Poole 38pts
2, Roger Vaughan 37pts
3, Jason Kidley 36pts

Div Two
1, Steve Mason 42pts
2, Wally Pape 40pts
3, Trevor Pitt 37pts

Div Three
1, Roger Broome 37pts
2, Stewart Garrett 36pts
3, Graham Foy 31pts

06.11.10 Nightgolf
1, Brian Read, Les Clutterbuck, Wayne Barrett & Dave Bradley 29.1
2, Stewart Garrett, Nigel Ellis, Steve & Tina Bateman 29.4
3, Roy Baker, Keith Porter & Steve Mason 30.0

Many of the usual Sunday players were absent this week as the two Avalon league teams from the club ventured to The Dorset for their annual end of season bash. For those that remained at Brean a new competition started in the Winter League. The qualifying period will last from now until the end of March and the leading 20 players will then contest a Finals Day soon after. Making the best possible start to the event was John Doughty who carded a superb 42 points to take a clear victory over the rest. Club Chairman Bob Masterman overcame an off day with his putter to still post 37 points and edge out Ian Adams for second place. Trevor Pitt rounded out the top 4 after a 36 point total.

It was also Winter League action for the Seniors this week as they held their opening round. The format of this was a Bloodsome and this is a format where friends can easily be lost as your playing partners choose which players tee shot you will take! Some interesting and unusual locations around the course were played from and the winners were eventually declared as Ken Ponter and Tony Roper with a nett score of 82. Seniors Captain Dai Wood partnered Don Ashman to second spot one stroke behind and Roger Blackwell and Jeremy Savill secured third with an 85.

David Haines and Andrew March both scored 73 in the latest Gloucester and Somerset PGA Medal at the Kendleshire. Both scores were compiled in differing ways with Haines’s card being a steady affair compared to the rollercoaster that March endured. However they both added up to the same total and they shared 6th spot in a large field 5 strokes behind the winner.

Results 26.10.10 Senior Winter League Bloodsome
1, Ken Ponter & Tony Roper 82
2, Dai Wood & Don Ashman 83
3, Jeremy Savill & Roger Blackwell 85

30.10.10 Pairs Aggregate Stableford
1, Murray Parsons & Eamonn Wynne 36+38=74
2, Stuart Wills & Martyn Cahill 34+39=73
3, Mike Porter & Pete Dunn 39+31=70
4, Steve Jones & Paul Jones 34+36=70

31.10.10 Winter League
1, John Doughty 42pts
2, Bob Masterman 37pts
3, Ian Adams 37pts
4, Trevor Pitt 36pts

24.10.10

Eric Jones secured victory in the Tom Childs Memorial Flag Competition at Brean on Sunday as he managed to get his golf ball further around the course than any of the other 51 entrants. The format allows each competitor to have 71 shots (par for the course) plus their handicap allowance as they attempt to move their ball as far as possible before the shots run out. Jones blitzed around the 18 holes in nett 65 and then used his 6 remaining shots to finish in the hole at the first on his second circuit. Club Captain Steve Bateman ended just a few feet away from the hole after a superb second shot and Dave Jones was third a few yards back down the fairway despite having one more shot than the runner up in extra holes. The Ladies event didn’t reach the full distance and the winner was Joan Lawrence. Following her Stableford success last week she moved her ball to the hole on the 17th which none of the other Ladies could match.

In a weekend of varied competitions the previous day had seen the Bogey Trophy competed for. In this each player plays Matchplay against the course and on the day the course definitely won! It had a helping hand from the weather though as Thunder and Lightening in the morning saw the players leave the course. The deluge that accompanied it meant most of the players also refused the chance to resume their rounds when then Lightening had passed and settled for the sanctuary of the clubhouse. Some of the later starters escaped the worst of the wet weather and not surprising they featured prominently in the winners circle. Jordan Harris finished with a score of 0 to take the silverware followed by Dave Bradley and Julien Stephens in second and third on -1.

The weather has also played a part in the Seniors competitions over the past seven days. The temporary greens were called into action for the first time in a long while after an overnight frost and this affected play in the Seniors Eclectic’s final round. Leader Tony Roper had a best of the day nett 68 and must now wait to see if he has done enough to hang onto his lead overall. His nearest challenger Roger Phillips was the runner up on the day with 71. The Seniors Medal was won by Charlie Doherty with an excellent nett 71 on a day when most players struggled. He won by two shots from Mike Allen who in turn was two clear of Roger Phillips in third.

Brean’s Director of Golf David Haines shared second place in the latest Gloucester and Somerset PGA Medal at Stinchcombe Hill in Gloucestershire last week. His 2 under par score of 66 tied with three others but was three more than the winners score. The result did however take him into an early tie for the lead in the Order of Merit, which he has won on two previous occasions. Andrew March finished well down the field after a 72.

Results 19.10.10 Seniors Medal
1, Charlie Doherty 84-13-71
2, Mike Allen 91-18-73
3, Roger Phillips 95-20-75

21.10.10 Seniors Eclectic
1, Tony Roper 86-18-68
2, Roger Phillips 92-21-71
3, Peter Douglas 85-13-72

23.10.10 Bogey Trophy
1, Jordan Harris 0
2, Dave Bradley -1
3, Julien Stephens -1

24.10.10 Tom Childs Memorial Flag
1, Eric Jones in hole at 1st
2, Steve Bateman 1st green
3, Dave Jones 1st f’way (3 shots)
4, Roger Phillips 1st f’way (1 shot)

Ladies Flag
1, Joan Lawrence 17th hole

Gummer glory at first attempt 17.10.10

Dave Gummer wasted no time in making his mark at Brean after joining the club for the winter months. In his first event, the October Monthly Stableford, the Enmore Park member showed every one else a clean pair of heels with a haul of 43 points to take the top spot in Division One with ease. Runner up was Gummer’s playing partner Jordan Harris who carded 38 points. Graham Exton was another player who reached 40 points as he was successful in Division Two. He just managed to hold off a late challenge from Jerry Brueford who returned 39 points late in the day. Division Three victor was Kevin Phelan with 35 points ahead of Roger Broom in second. The ladies event was won by Joan Lawrence who compiled an excellent card of 35 points. Sheila Rouse shrugged off a poor start to take second position 3 points behind her.

Entries were slightly down for the Stableford as a dozen of the members were at Tall Pines trying to bring the Quad Cup back to Brean. They almost managed it with the result hanging in the balance right up until the final game was completed but in the end they were just pipped by the Weston team. Brean finished level with Isle of Wedmore but were awarded second place thanks to winning more holes as a team. Next year they will have their turn to host the event so hope to go one better then.

On the previous day the Bowmaker Trophy was decided by the rule book. The scoring system meant varying numbers of players were required to score at each hole depending on its stroke index. This caught out a few sides including one who would have won if they had counted another score at their final hole. As it was the winners were declared as Club Captain Steve Bateman, Treasurer Dave Barthram and Menbers Secretary Tony Roper on 131 who were two clear of their nearest challengers Julian Stephens, Mark Fountain and Jordan Blackwell.

The Seniors have played two more events in their busy calendar in the last week. The first was their Stableford and it served up a very close result. Roger Phillips and Pete Lock both recorded 35 points and a countback was employed to try to separate them. Phillips just prevailed as he had the slightly better homeward nine score. The second event was the Ward Tankard and this competition only allowed each competitor to use two clubs and a putter. Dave Benjafield showed that carrying 14 clubs around was a waste of effort as he totalled an impressive 40 despite the restrictions to take the silverware. Runner up was Wally Pape on 38 ahead of Mike Allen on 37 in third.

Both David Haines and Andrew March came up short in their attempt to win the Gloucester and Somerset PGA Matchplay title last week. The eventual winner, Giuseppe Licata from Hambrook in Bristol, was the man who accounted for both Brean players as he defeated March by 2&1 in the Quarter Final and Haines by a similar margin in the Semi Final.

Results 12.10.10 Seniors Stableford
1, Roger Phillips 35pts
2, Pete Lock 35pts
3, Tony Tissington 34pts

14.10.10 Ward Tankard
1, Dave Benjafield 40pts
2, Wally Pape 38pts
3, Mike Allen 37pts

16.10.10 Bowmaker Trophy
1, Steve Bateman, Dave Barthram & Tony Roper 131
2, Julian Stephens, Mark Fountain & Jordan Blackwell 133
3, Terry Morgan, Clive Goode & Jason Kidley 135

17.10.10 Monthly Stableford Div One
1, Dave Gummer 43pts
2, Jordan Harris 38pts

Div Two
1, Graham Exton 40pts
2, Jerry Brueford 39pts

Div Three
1, Kevin Phelan 35pts
2, Roger Broom 34pts

Ladies Stableford
1, Joan Lawrence 35pts
2, Sheila Rouse 32pts

10.10.10 Richards rips it up!

Tony Richards was in scintillating form on Sunday at Brean as he claimed the top prize in the Under Armour Open. Part of the first prize, donated by the clothing company, was two tickets to see one of Wales’ upcoming Home Rugby Autumn Internationals and Richards will now enjoy that after he amassed 45 points. Along with the tickets he also saw his handicap slashed by 2 shots as for much of the day was leading by a massive 10 points. One of the later starters Chris Fairchild almost matched Richards’s haul as he totalled 43 points and on most other days would have easily claimed the top spot. He also saw his handicap reduced by a couple of shots just like the victor. Third place on 35 points went to Barry Tucker.

The previous day the Monthly Medal was played for and most players really struggled to master the windy conditions. The only player to break the 70 barrier was Tony Hicks who is making a habit of winning Medals. Their was no need for a countback on this occasion as he finished a full 10 shots clear of the runner up John Doughty in his division. Hicks was another to find his handicap reduced by a large amount after his win. The blow of losing three shots on his handicap was softened somewhat by the £50 he collected for posting the only two of the day. Jim McLauchlan took the honours in the second Division with a nett 70 ahead of Graham Foy on 73. Division One’s Medal was claimed by Paul Jones after a 73. Shelia Rouse showed her continued improvement as she ran away with victory the Ladies Medal. Her nett 72 score left her well clear of the rest of the field.

The Gloucester and Somerset Professionals took on the challenge of the Brean course last week as their Winter Medals started. Mark Sanders ended as the winner after a 2 under par 69 in breezy conditions with Burnham’s Shane Kaye in second after his 71. Brean professionals David Haines and Andrew March didn’t have the best of days on their home course as they scored 74 and 76 respectively to finish in ties for 4th and 6th positions. This week both players will be attempting to win the Gloucester and Somerset PGA Matchplay title at The Mendip GC.

Results 09.10.10 Monthly Medal Div One
1, Paul Jones 83-10-73
2, Jason Kidley 84-10-74
3, Murray Parsons 83-7-76

Div Two
1, Jim McLauchlan 89-19-70
2, Graham Foy 92-19-73
3, Brian Read 91-18-73

Div Three
1, Tony Hicks 89-23-66
2, John Doughty 99-23-76
3, Tony Romeo 100-22-78

Ladies Medal
1, Sheila Rouse 106-34-72
2, Irene Trumper 110-24-86

10.10.10 Under Armour Open Stableford
1, Tony Richards 45pts
2, Chris Fairchild 43pts
3, Barry Tucker 35pts

3.10.10 As was the case at the Ryder Cup in South Wales, the weather dominated proceedings at Brean Golf Club with almost all the recent competitions being affected by varying elements in some way or another.

Firstly it was the Seniors Medal that was delayed due to the thick fog which restricted visibility to less than 100 yards. Eventually after about a 45 minute delay it cleared sufficiently to allow play to begin and the large field set about tearing up the course. Terry Sanders, playing in on of his first Seniors competitions, led the way with masterful display of putting on his way to a nett 67. His playing partner Charlie Doherty admired this at close hand and almost matched Sanders score. He ended one behind but was the runner up ahead of Roger Phillips in third. Phillips edged out Colin Roberts on countback after they both returned nett 69’s.

Two days later it was another round of the Seniors eclectic competition which again was affected by the mist. Although not a thick as the Tuesday the morning lacked the warm sun to burn it off so the players found it tough going in the autumnal conditions. Tony Roper was the only player to break the 70 barrier and his nett 69 gave him a two shot cushion over the consistent Roger Phillips. Peter Douglas was third on 74.

The annual Charity Open took place on Saturday in what was probably the best of the weather of the weekend. The winning team consisted of John Mardon, Trevor Pitt, Jim Wotton and Kevin Davies as they combined to total 86 points between them. The Jones quartet, Paul, Steve, Eric and Dave, were the second placed team on 85 points with Roger and Jenny Vaughan, Dave Porter and Keith Porter securing third on countback with 83 points. It proved to be a successful day all round as well over £200 was raised for the Charity.

Results 28.09.10 Seniors Medal
1, Terry Sanders 88-21-67
2, Charlie Doherty 81-13-68
3, Roger Phillips 89-20-69

30.09.10 Seniors Eclectic
1, Tony Roper 87-18-69
2, Roger Philips 91-20-71
3, Peter Douglas 87-13-74

02.10.10 Charity Open
1, Jim Wotton, John Mardon, Trevor Pitt & Kevin Davies 86pts
2, Steve Jones, Paul Jones, Eric Jones & Dave Jones 85pts
3, Roger Vaughan, Jenny Vaughan, Dave Porter & Keith Porter 83pts

28.9.10 - European Tour Star at Brean Golf Club

European Tour golfer David Dixon took time out from his busy schedule to have a game at Brean Golf Club this week. He joined his long time friend Brean’s Head Professional Andrew March, Brean Member Tony Anderson and his son Chris for an enjoyable fourball over the new layout.

Dixon, who had played the old Brean layout many times in his amateur day,s was impressed by the major changes that have taken place since his last visit many years ago. He congratulated all involved with the design of the new holes and was excited to hear of possible plansfor further extensions in the near future.

During his round he even managed to tame Brean’s signature hole, the monster par 5 seventh. Playing from the white tees he achieved the rare feat of reaching the green with two mighty blows with his driver and then proceeded to two putt for a birdie 4.

It is back to the European Tour next week for Dixon when he attempts to move himself up the Race to Dubai rankings at the prestigious Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns in Scotland.

Dixon is pictured driving off the seventh tee and also flanked by Tony Anderson (left) and Chirs (right) at the conclusion of the round.

..............................

26.9.10 - Jim is just Ace!

Senior Jim McLauchlan may not have featured in the main prizes in the Monthly Stableford on Saturday but he scooped the largest prize on offer. The Two’s pot was a rollover from the previous event and the club rule is that anyone scoring a hole in one collects the whole pot. Using his driver on the par 3 17th hole McLauchlan did just that as he scored an ace to collect a sum just over the £100 mark. Steve Bateman, Stuart Wills and Nigel Ellis also carded two’s but didn’t receive their usual payout for it thanks to McLauchlan’s feat. Luckily they didn’t go home completely empty handed as they all finished in leading positions. Club Captain Bateman won Division One for the second month running with 39 points ahead of Wills on countback. Ellis was victorious in the second Division with 40 points two clear of Tony Richards with Tony Groves taking the honours in the third Division also with 40 points. Tony Hicks was the runner up on 39. In the Ladies event Jenny Vaughan was the winner with 34 points ahead of runner up Joan Lawrence on 31.

The Super Series is nearing its conclusion and the long time leader Jordan Harris was again to the fore winning yet another round. He posted 38 points on a breezy day and led the field by a single point. Runner up to Harris was Steve Bateman and also handing in 37 points was Division Two winner Roger Phillips. Harris is now way out in front in the points table after his 6th victory of the series.

Geoff Young returned to top form as he secured the Veterans Trophy in the Seniors event played last Tuesday. He totalled a haul of 42 points over the course and won by a convincing 4 point margin. Second place was decided after a countback with Mike Millam edging out Wally Pape on 38 points. The following day the Seniors had an away game at Minehead against the Warreners and lost narrowly by 3 ½ games to 2 ½ .

The Midweek Stableford was won by Tony Richards with 35 points.

Results 21.09.10 Veterans Trophy
1, Geoff Young 42pts
2, Mike Millam 38pts
3, Wally Pape 38pts

22.09.10 Midweek Stableford
1, Tony Richards 35pts
2, Kevin Boyer 27pts

25.09.10 Monthly Stableford Div 1
1, Steve Bateman 39pts
2, Stuart Wills 39pts
3, Steve Peates 38pts

Div 2
1, Nigel Ellis 40pts
2, Tony Richards 38pts
3, Mike Porter 38pts

Div 3
1, Tony Groves 40pts
2, Tony Hicks 39pts
3, Roger Phillips 38pts

Ladies Stableford
1, Jenny Vaughan 34pts
2, Joan Lawrence 31pts
3, Debbie Windmill 28pts

26.09.10 Super Series Div 1
1, Jordan Harris 38pts
2, Steve Bateman 37pts
3, John Cullinan 36pts

Div 2
1, Roger Phillips 37pts
2, Bob Champion 35pts
3, Nigel Ellis 35pts

Brean Golf Club 19.09.10

Stuart Wills and his guest Pete Lismore won the top prize at the re-arranged Members Invitation Day at Brean on Saturday. Wills has been no stranger to the winner’s enclosure in recent weeks and enlisted the help of former Brean member Lismore as they raced to success with 44 points. This left them 3 clear of the runners up which consisted of 2008 Club Captain Chris Fairchild and another ex Brean player in Steve Solomon. Third place was taken by Nigel Ellis and yet another returnee in Keith Porter on 40 points.

Jordan Harris continued his excellent Super Series form with 44 points on Saturday as he extended his lead at the top of the table. The score also saw yet another shot disappear from the youngster’s ever improving handicap which now stands at 8. Second place in Division One went to Chris Payne after 42 points, a score which would usually have been good enough to win on most other days! Division two honours went to Steve Foy with 40 points ahead of Jim Wotton on 38.

Roger and Jenny Vaughan returned from a week’s holiday to celebrate their first wedding anniversary to win the Open Mixed Greensomes on Sunday. They totalled 40 points, a number which was equalled by Chris Payne and Debbie Windmill but the Vaughan’s had the superior back nine score to end victorious. For Payne it was to be his second runners up finish of the weekend. 38 points secured third spot for Steve Peates and Lesley Moore one ahead of Steve and Tina Bateman in fourth.

The Seniors concluded their home inter club season with a match against a strong Farrington team. It proved a match too far for the hosts as they were soundly beaten by 5 games to 2. Farrington player Grenville Blemfourgh also scored a hole in one during his match at the par 3 eighth hole. The second round of the Seniors eclectic took place in horrible wet and windy conditions last Tuesday and not surprisingly scoring was not at its best. The leading score came from Roger Phillips with a net 76 ahead of a trio of players on 77.

Brean’s Director of Golf David Haines enjoyed a good result in a recent Pro Am at Remedy Oak Golf Club near Poole, his penultimate event in his West Region PGA 2010 calendar. Despite getting off to a poor start and standing at 5 over par after just 4 holes he rallied with a barrage of birdies to finish his round at level par. It could have been even better had a short putt at the last dropped for another birdie but it didn’t so he finished in share for third position on the day.

Results 14.09.10 Seniors Eclectic Rnd 2
1, Roger Phillips 96-20-76
2, George Stratford 98-21-77
3, Roy Snell 100-23-77

18.09.10 Members Invitation Day
1, Stuart Wills & Pete Lismore 44pts
2, Chris Fairchild & Steve Solomon 41pts
3, Nigel Ellis & Keith Porter 40pts

Super Series Div One
1, Jordan Harris 44pts
2, Chris Payne 42pts
3, Barry Tucker 40pts

Div Two
1, Steve Foy 40pts
2, Jim Wotton 38pts
3, Pete Dunn 38pts

19.09.10 Open Mixed Greensomes
1, Roger & Jenny Vaughan 40pts
2, Chris Payne & Debbie Windmill 40pts
3, Steve Peates & Lesley Moore 38pts
4, Steve & Tina Bateman 37pts

They can’t keep up with the Jones’s

Brother’s Steve and Paul Jones claimed most of the honours on offer at Brean over the weekend. First to taste victory was Steve who won the Monthly Medal by some distance after scorching around in a nett 64. This was his second Medal success in a row but his first since his elevation to Division One status. Runner up to Jones was the consistent Stuart Wills with a nett 68. The phrase ‘beware of the injured golfer’ was certainly true in the Second Division as Jerry Brueford shrugged off a niggling hand injury to return a nett 66. Tony Vearncombe’s nett 68 gave him his best result since returning to the game after a long layoff as he was awarded second spot. Only one player broke 70 in the Third Division and that was Roy Fletcher with a 68. Tony Romeo again featured in the prizes but this time he was 4 shots back in second. Debbie Windmill won her second successive Ladies Medal with a nett 76.

Paul Jones took his turn on the top step of the podium on the Sunday but he had more than a helping hand from Mike Porter in doing so. The John Smiths Trophy is a blind pairs event where after the players have completed their rounds the cards are drawn out at random and the highest aggregate score wins. Porter had the best round of the day accumulating 42 points over the 18 holes. This score also saw his handicap reduced by 2 shots to 16. When the draw was made Jones’s card of 32 was paired with Porter’s and this proved to be the winning score. Three pairs totalled 71 points and a countback was needed to decide the other prizewinners. Wally Pape and Tony Richards had the best back nine total of the three and with it took second. Third place went to Nick Windsor and Alan Marshall whilst Stuart Wills and Roger Phillips were the unlucky ones to miss out on the prizes.

Barrie Yearsley had the outstanding round in the Seniors Chairman’s Cup last Thursday. He handed in a 40 point haul which was 5 clear of Tony Tissington and 8 clear of third placed George Thomas.

Results 09.09.10

Seniors Chairman’s Cup
1, Barrie Yearsley 40pts
2, Tony Tissington 35pts
3, George Thomas 32pts

11.09.10 Monthly Medal Div One
1, Steve Jones 76-12-64
2, Stuart Wills 77-8-69
3, Roger Vaughan 80-10-70

Div Two
1, Jerry Brueford 83-17-66
2, Tony Vearncombe 87-19-68
3, Wayne Barrett 84-15-69

Div Three
1, Roy Fletcher 90-22-68
2, Tony Romeo 95-23-72
3, Nick Windsor 100-28-72

Ladies Monthly Medal
1, Debbie Windmill 104-28-76
2, Sheila Rouse 115-34-81

12.09.10 John Smith Trophy
1, Mike Porter & Paul Jones 42+32=74
2, Wally Pape & Tony Richards 34+37=71
3, Nick Windsor & Alan Marshall 38+33=71

Brean Golf Club Seniors Open Tuesday Sept 7th 2010

Trio on top at Brean

66 Senior golfers from all over the South West converged on the North Somerset coast to tackle Brean Golf Club in their annual Seniors Open. Considering the heavy rain which fell for most of the previous day the course was presented in excellent condition by greenkeeper Robin Williams and his staff and it was enjoyed by the competitors. A bright start to the day banished memories of the rain and raised expectations of a sunny day but from time to time to odd sharp shower fell to test the field. The day ran very smoothly from start to finish with Geoff Seaman, captain Dai Wood and their team deserving congratulations on what was a superb first attempt at running the event.

Three players carded 41 points and this proved to be the winning score. Weston Super Mare member Peter Maller was the first man back in the clubhouse on this score and despite it being equalled later on, his back nine score was never bettered as he claimed the voucher for the best visiting player. The silverware was on offer for the home members and the two other players on 41 collected a cup each, Barry Tucker took the Bill Martin Trophy and Graham Collins the Veterans Trophy for their rounds. Collins got off to the best start of the day as he accumulated 22 points in his opening nine holes but couldn’t quite match that same level of scoring on the inward half. Wally Pape had the best homeward run of the entire field as he notched up 22 points in continuing his recent good run of form securing the runners up position behind Tucker with 40 points. Pete Douglas was awarded the Nicoll Trophy for players aged between 65 and 69 for his score of 39. Three more Brean members in ‘birthday boy’ Barrie Yearsley, Mike Porter and Tony Tissington also featured in the prizes after matching Douglas’s points tally. Tony Groves gave everyone a chance by not managing to score a point in his opening three holes but stormed back to total 37 in the final 15 and claim second spot in the Veterans Trophy behind Collins.

As is often the case now at Brean Two’s were a rarity and Barry Tucker looked to have claimed the whole pot as he made a two at the 10th hole on his way to his 41 points. Last year’s Senior Captain Tony Roper was playing in the final group after acting as ‘starter’ for the morning and he made the only other two on the second hole which effectively halved Tucker’s loot.

Leading Scores
Peter Maller (WSM) 41pts
Barry Tucker 41pts
Graham Collins 41pts
Wally Pape 40pts
Pete Douglas 39pts
Mike Porter 39pts
Barrie Yearsley 39pts
Tony Tissington 39pts
John Mardon 38pts
Tony Groves 37pts
Tony Higgins 37pts

Romeo scores a victory - 5th September 2010

A huge field of over 100 golfers travelled to Brean to compete for the prestigious D&C Open trophy on Saturday. Local golfers took the majority of the spoils as they used their knowledge of the course to good effect. Leading he way was Tony Romeo with an excellent nett 66 as he collected the silverware and the first prize on offer. Three players handed in nett 67’s and Craig Popham had the better back nine of the three to secure second. Alan Marshall was awarded third place ahead of Lee Trumper whose gross 77 was the joint best of the day, also being returned by Murray Parsons. The participants then enjoyed David Haines’ Trick show before the prizegiving and a long and enjoyable social evening that followed. All the players seemed to enjoy the day and it is hoped they will be returning for the event in 2011.

The previous day many of the Brean players had warmed up for the D&C Open by joining forces to beat a team from Caerleon in South Wales in the annual encounter between the two clubs. The home side were in unstoppable form as they romped to a 5-0 whitewash and room had to be made in the trophy cabinet to house the silverware for the next 12 months.

The Past Captains took centre stage on Sunday with an 18 hole stableford event. The current captains organised the day and it was one of them, Seniors Captain, Dai Wood who handed in the best score on a tricky breezy day. He posted 36 points for the victory whilst the Ladies event was won by Annie Williams on 35

Early morning rain restricted the field in Sunday’s Super Series event but Pete Dunn ignored the inclement conditions as he amassed 42 points to win by three points. Runner up was Murray Parsons on 39 which was also enough to see his handicap reduced back to 6.

The Seniors had a full week of competition with both a Stableford and Medal up for grabs. They went in these events on the back of an away success at Cannington the previous week by 3.5 -2.5 which was secured by a team ably led by Jim Longford in Dai Wood’s absence. Scoring was very good in the Medal as three players broke 70. Barry Tucker ended the victor with a nett 67 ahead of Tony Anderson and Tim Durbin on 68. In the Stableford two days later Wally Pape staved off the threat of his handicap going up to 20 by handing in a card showing 40 points. This gave him a two point winning margin from George Stratford on 38.

In the Midweek Stableford Roy Baker was victorious with 38 points one in front of Jordan Harris.

Results 31.08.10

Seniors Medal
1, Barry Tucker 79-12-67
2, Tony Anderson 89-21-68
3, Tim Durbin 90-22-68

01.09.10 Midweek Stableford
1, Roy Baker 38pts
2, Jordan Harris 37pts
3, Tony Richards 35pts

02.09.10 Seniors Stableford
1, Wally Pape 40pts
2, George Stratford 38pts
3, Barrie Yearsley 38pts

04.09.10 D&C Open
1, Tony Romeo 90-24-66
2, Craig Popham 79-12-67
3, Alan Marshall 84-17-67
4, Lee Trumper 77-10-67

Gross
1, Murray Parsons 77
2, Lee Trumper 77
3, Stuart Wills 78

05.09.10 Super Series
Div One
1, Murray Parsons 39pts
2, Jordan Harris 37pts
3, Steve Mason 37pts

Div Two
1, Pete Dunn 42pts
2, Kevin Davies 33pts
3, Roger Phillips 33pts

Past Captains Day
1, Dai Wood 36pts
2, Roger Vaughan 35pts

Ladies
1, Annie Williams 35pts

Brean ‘A’ produce the goods

The Brean ‘A’ team who play in Division Six of the Avalon League went into their last game of the season knowing they had to win to secure their position in the same league for the 2011 season. Frome were the opponents who had travelled to Brean for the final game of the season and found the home side in top form. The home side produced a stunning performance as they won convincingly by 4 games to 1 and celebrated like they had won the league rather than avoided relegation afterwards! The other Brean side which play in Division Three also avoided the drop last week with a home victory which was lucky as their final away game at Stockwood Vale didn’t yield many points for them. Their hosts were on top form and only Steve Jones and Jordan Harris managed to half their game for Brean in a 4.5 – 0.5 defeat.

Also at Brean on Saturday, in what was a day full of competitions, another round of the Super Series and the mixed Jubilee Plate were also played. In the Super Series the scoring was excellent in the top division as three players topped the 40 point mark. Stuart Wills suffered a mini disaster at his penultimate hole but still managed to hold on for the win. His return of 42 points was also enough to reduce his handicap down to 8. Runner up was early starter Jason Kidley who had a strong finish to his round for a total of 41 whilst Tony Richards was third on 40. In Division Two Jim Wotton was the victor with a card showing 39 points and this gave him a one point winning margin over his opponents. In second place was Mike Porter on 38 which included a birdie two at the 8th hole which gained him a quarter share of the rolled over pot. The others with Two’s on their card were Wills, Richards and Wotton.

The Jubilee Plate is played as a Greensomes format over 18 holes using the Stableford scoring system. Clear winners with 41 points were the husband and wife duo of Steve and Tina Bateman. This was 5 points clear of the chasing pack as 4 pairs handed in 36 points. After much deliberation using the countback system the runners up were decided over the better back nine score with John Cullinan and Irene Trumper taking that position. Third went to Gail and Steve Mason ahead of Joan and Norman Lawrence with Roger and Jenny Vaughan taking fifth place rounding out those on 36 points.

The Senior section had a new name at the top of their leaderboard in the August Stableford. Defying the windy conditions was Charlie Doherty who was playing his first event of the year with the Seniors. He matched the par of the course with 36 points which was 4 more than second placed man Bill Griffin. Roger Phillips was third on 31.

The midweek Stableford was a victim of the persistent rain which fell for most of last Wednesday over Brean and the rest of the West Country.

Results 24.08.10

Seniors Stableford
1, Charlie Doherty 36pts
2, Bill Griffin 32pts
3, Roger Phillips 31pts

28.08.10 Jubilee Plate
1, Tina & Steve Bateman 41pts
2, Irene Trumper & John Cullinan 36pts
3, Gail & Steve Mason 36pts

28.08.10 Super Series Div One
1, Stuart Wills 42pts
2, Jason Kidley 41pts
3, Tony Richards 40pts

Div Two
1, Jim Wotton 39pts
2, Mike Porter 38pts
3, Peter Dunn 34pts

22nd August 2010
Big victory for Brean in final home game

Brean’s Avalon league team have secured their position in Division Three for next season with a resounding 5-0 whitewash of Mendip Spring in their final home game of the season. With four teams all closely bunched together in the League table a win was essential for them over the bottom side and by winning all the games Brean prevented them from gaining any league points on the day. Their final fixture of the season is next Sunday when the travel to Bristol to meet Stockwood Vale.

The annual Breanbury match contested between mixed teams from Brean and Worlebury was hosted by Brean on Sunday. It ended with honours even after both sides won 5 games apiece with Worlebury retaining the trophy as they won it last season.

The Super Series event played on Saturday produced some good scoring throughout the day. Both Divisions were won with scores of 40 points with Lee Trumper winning the first and Terry Morgan ending up victorious in the second. Countbacks were required to find the runner up of each Division though. Clive Goode just lost out to Jason Kidley in the top division after both returned 37 points and super senior Pat Mullholland edged out Roy Fletcher in the second flight after their scores of 39.

A countback was also the order of the day in the first round of the Seniors Eclectic competition. Mike Wakefield had the best back nine of the three 71’s which were handed in to claim his first win since joining Brean earlier this year. Tony Anderson and Mike Allen filled the other two podium spots with their level par efforts. Roy Snell produced the shot of the day as he holed his second shot on the par 4 fourth for an eagle but unfortunately this was the highlight of an otherwise disappointing round for him.

The two most successful players in the Midweek Stableford events this year led the way again last week. Stuart Wills pipped Roy Baker as yet another event was decided by a countback as they both accumulated 37 points. Derry Orr was third with 33.

Results 17.08.10 - Seniors Eclectic Round 1
1, Mike Wakefield 88-17-71
2, Tony Anderson 92-21-71
3, Mike Allen 88-17-71

18.08.10 - Midweek Stableford
1, Stuart Wills 37pts
2, Roy Baker 37pts
3, Derry Orr 33pts

21.08.10 - Super Series
Div 1
1, Lee Trumper 40pts
2, Jason Kidley 37pts
3, Clive Goode 37pts

Div 2
1, Terry Morgan 40pts
2, Pat Mullholland 39pts
3, Roy Fletcher 39pts

15th July 2010
Bateman and Vaughan retain their titles

Club Captain Steve Bateman and Jenny Vaughan retained their respective Club Championship titles after a weekend of action at Brean. The two day event attracted a large entry in the men’s event as they competed to qualify for the second day’s play. The top thirty players made the cut and they were led by Bateman after he took advantage of the good conditions to post a 74 on the opening morning. In second place was Murray Parsons on 77 ahead of two of the younger competitors in Roy Baker and Jordan Harris on 78. As Sunday dawned it was noticeable to all that the wind had strengthened and scoring was going to be a tougher proposition. Paul Haddon defied the blustery conditions to post the lowest score of the event with a 73, including a couple of twos, in his second round and Roger Vaughan almost matched it later in the day. He handed in a gross 74, nett 63, which was ten fewer than his first round score and this secured him the overall nett prize for the weekend. As is the norm with golfing events the leaders went out last and battled their way around the front nine holes by which time Bateman had extended his lead to 7 shots over playing partners Baker and Parsons. It looked all over but Murray Parsons never gives up and his quest was helped by holing his approach shot at the par 5 15th for an eagle which closed the gap. Two holes later Bateman found a poor lie in the bunker and racked up a triple bogey 6 which suddenly reduced his lead to just 2 with the final hole to play. He matched Parsons score on that final hole and therefore kept the title of Club Champion in his possession for another year. In the ladies event Jenny Vaughan held a slender one shot lead over Irene Trumper after day one but held on and moved clear of her rivals on the second day to retain the title she won last season. Janet Lyons had a much better second day and with it claimed the nett prize.

Hole 1 – The old 3rd hole provides a tough start to the round with the out of bounds to the left and a ditch in front of the green. Par 4

Hole 2 – The old 4th Hole with out of bounds left and long. Par 3

Hole 3 – The old 5th Hole is not a long par 4 but has a tricky three tier green to negotiate. Par 4

Hole 4 – The old 6th Hole which is driveable for the longer hitters over the ditch. Par 4

Hole 5 – The old 7th Hole which is a classic risk and reward hole as you decide how much of the dogleg you are going to cut off with your tee shot, again driveable for the longer hitters. Par 4

Hole 6 – The old 8th Hole played back towards the first tee with a new lake added to the right hand side near the green. Par 4

Hole 7 - This is a formidable long par 5 (played past the old 9th green) to a small green positioned behind the large lake, well protected by a couple of bunkers. From the back tee this is the longest hole in Somerset at 604 yards. Par 5

Hole 8 – Played from a tee in front of the new lake which borders the 7th green and is played back over the ditch to the old 10th green. Par 3

Hole 9 – The old 2nd hole but with a new back tee just over the ditch on the new land. Par 4

Front Nine Par 35

Hole 10 – A long par 3 played from the new tee in the middle of the old 1st fairway to the existing old 1st green. Par 3

Hole 11 – A long par 4 hole from a new tee (on the left of the old 12th fairway as you played the hole) across the ditch to a green which has a lake on the left hand side. Par 4

Hole 12 – Played back in the opposite direction to the 11th across the ditch. The fairway then moves to the right towards lake on the before turning back to the new green (on right of the old 13th fairway) Par 5

Hole 13 – Played from the near side of the double tee (shared with the 17th) back in the opposite direction again back over the ditch to a long narrow green. Par 4

Hole 14 – Our signature hole. A driveable par 4 hole with a large lake bordering the left side of the hole and around the front of the green. Out of Bounds is also close on the left. The safe play will be down the right of the fairway and pitch across to the green. Par 4

Hole 15 – From a tee on the new land to the existing 14th green Par 5

Hole 16 – The old 15th Hole Par 4

Hole 17 – The old 16th Hole Par 3

Hole 18 – Playing from the old 17th tee to the old 12th green. Out of Bounds to the left of this hole from the tee makes it a testing closing hole. Par 4

Back Nine Par 36
Total Par 71

May, 2009

After a break of 20 years Brean Leisure Park will re-open a 9 hole pitch and putt course on July 1st. It will be using part of the golf course which is now not in use as the park has now opened a new four hole extension to the existing course featuring the longest hole in Somerset.

The pitch and putt will utilise the old 18th green as one of the holes where players will have to chip over a pond. Another hole also requires chipping over water. No doubt many balls will end up in the water – incurring a lost ball charge!!

All are welcome to play Mum’s, Dad’s, Children, Grannies and Grandads. Charges will be £3.50 per round including hire of a putter and chipper plus ball – extra balls are £2 each. Most holes are about 60 yards, players sign on at the golf shop and are welcome to use the clubhouse (sorry no children under 14), as long as they comply with dress code. A group of four can play for just £10.00.

The course will be open daily from 8am-5pm except Bank Holidays when the course maybe used for the overflow car park.

Members of Brean Golf Club will be able to play the course free of charge.

Brean Leisure Park are hoping that many who play the new pitch and putt course may well join the main golf club where membership costs from £30 a month with no joining fee.

March 01, 2008

Brean Leisure Park has announced it will once again host the Charity Celebrity Pro-Am Golf Tournament this year on Tuesday 13th May 2008.

The tournament which is in aid of The Injured Jockey’s Fund, St. Margaret’s Hospice and The Alzheimer’s Society is an annual event which has previously included top national hunt jockeys and trainers together with other sporting personalities from golf, football and cricket. Regular participants who attend from the racing world include Carl Llewellyn, Mick Fitzgerald, Luke Harvey, Mark Bradburne, Richard Linley, Martin Bosley and Tony McCoy.

Charity fund raising events staged at Brean Leisure Park over the years have raised over £250,000 shared amongst local and national charities that include the Somerset Air Ambulance, Burnham Area Rescue Boat, Breakthrough Cancer and St Johns Ambulance. In this time the Celebrity Pro Am has raised approximately £50,000 independently.

The event typically attracts between 25 and 35 teams which consist of three amateur players plus one designated celebrity. The winning team receives golf equipment supplied by Brean Golf Club’s resident PGA professional David Haines who will be assisting with the event. The winners also take with them the memorial trophy dedicated to well known local sports fan Tom Childs who sadly passed away in 1998.

If anyone wishes to take part in this charity event, the team fee is £150 which includes all pre-play refreshments and a main meal after the tournament. Tee off times are from 10.15am with presentations at 7pm in The Tavern function suite at Brean Leisure Park.

Further information can be obtained from either Nick Burrett on 01278 752121 or David Haines at the Golf Pro Shop on 01278 752111.

September 14, 2007

Work has commenced on Brean Leisure Park’s extension to Brean Golf Club. The wet summer caused a delay but now thanks to some super autumn sunshine contractors have started shifting thousands of tonnes of earth to create of one of the most spectacular golf holes in the South West. Three generations of the House family are pictured in front of what will be the longest hole in Somerset, with the final approach to the green being over water. Bert (90), Richard (60), and Alan (approaching 30) are all involved in the golf club operation which started back in 1970 with a golf driving range and pitch and putt course. It is anticipated the new holes will be ready for play in 2009. The total project which will cost in excess of 1 million pounds had had much of the design work carried out in house by golf professional David Haines and head green keeper Robin Williams. It is also hoped to open a pitch and putt course in 2009, and a new clubhouse in 2010. New members always welcome or just play and pay! Call Alex Ferguson on 01278 752103 for further details.