May 2007 - South Yorkshire
Winner Darren Marks at Woolley Park Golf Club
Friday 18th May
Lees Hall Golf Club was the venue for the first day. After a slight mix up over the bacon butties pre-ordered at the clubhouse, and having to scoff them rather quickly, we set out onto the course. The course was largely laid on a hill, and so made some holes quite interesting, especially with the wind, which was fairly strong at times. Everyone thought the course was good, and so we may well go back there some time.
See Friday's scores:
Rob, Darren, Dinesh
Hari, Nitin, Hitesh
Greg, Ken, Ed
Bip (Snr), Dale, Bip, Hitan
After checking into the Travelodge near Barnsley, we met up in the attached Brewers Fayre restaurant for a quick drink before venturing out into Barnsley. The few pubs that we went into were OK, but by 10pm it was curry time. Bipin tried his usual tactic of trying to get a discount before we even walked through the door, and seemed to succeed to a certain extent. Mind you, the curry was pretty hot, and I think they were trying to offset their costs against the entertainment value of watching us trying to eat it! Still, nice curry.
The draw was made for the next day, but as has happened in previous years, it was FA Cup Final day the next day, so much debate was had about who should go out first, and whether everyone should just be drawn out of a hat equally. In the end it was agreed that Darren, Hitan, Nitin and Dinesh could go out in the first group. The rest were drawn out of a hat (well, ash tray actually).
Many bets were also placed, which were all recorded to avoid any later disputes. The usual sweepstake for the total number of shots for all players on the competition day was also started. For 16 players, we had total shots ranging from 1450 to 1701. Bipin (jnr) was quite scientific about it, guessing the number of shots each player would get, then adding them up to get 1700!
Saturday 19th May
After a decent cooked breakfast in the hotel, some of the players decided to make their way over to Woolley in the hope of being allowed out early, in order to ensure they made it back by FA Cup kick off. To our surprise we were told that we could go earlier than booked, so it was then a question of phoning everyone else and getting them to the club as quickly as possible. This sent the draw into chaos, with players going out in groups as they arrived. It didn't really matter though.
The course was good, but the long rough at the sides of the fairways caused a lot of problems, and some quite long delays while people searched for their ball. The weather was very changeable, with 20 minutes of bright sunshine followed by 20 minutes of heavy rain throughout the time we were out. Once everyone had arrived back at the clubhouse, Darren was surprise to have won as he felt he didn't play that well!
The results of the main competition can be seen below.
The winners of the prizes were as follows:
PS. Bipin (jnr) won the sweepstake for the total number of shots with his scientific method of calculation (guessed 1700, total shots 1688)!
See Saturday's scores:
Darren, Hitan, Nitin, Dinesh
Bipin (snr), Bipin, Ken, Hitesh
Ed, Adam, Hari, Dale
Rob, Greg, Maurice, Matt
Back at the Travelodge we met up in the bar and asked one of the barmen where would be a good place to go to for the evening that wasn't too loud (we're getting on a bit now). He suggested we go to some of the pubs in Hillsborough. Didn't sound like a good idea, but we thought he must know what he was talking about. Anyway, we booked 3 taxis to take us there. By the time the second taxi turned up at the first pub, the guys in the first taxi were already coming back out of the pub, as it was very rough!! We went and found a (slightly) less rough pub and had a drink, but didn't stay there long, then got more taxis into Sheffield. Much better, even if very loud.
Across the road was a mexican restaurant, so about 10pm we decided to go and have a meal in there. The meal was very nice, but I think we got charged rather a lot!
Sunday 20th May
Barnsley Golf Club is a good established municipal golf club. The course was in decent condition, and looked nice. The first hole is a short par 4 and it is tempting to go for the green. Some were fairly close to getting there as well.
See Sunday's scores:
Darren, Matt, Hitesh
Rob, Hitan, Bipin (snr), Hari
Adam, Greg, Dinesh
Bipin, Ed, Nitin, Dale
