Seniors
On Thursday of last week, the Seniors entertained a depleted Seniors team from South Pembs GC (writes Chip). Unfortunately the visitors could only field six pairs of players which resulted in four of our pairs without a match. Not the ideal scenario. However, they played among themselves and the day ended satisfactorily, with Trefloyne winning the encounter by five matches to one.
As is the norm, the two captains and partners start the proceedings, with the visiting duo leading the way. Teeing-off first were Fred Mountney and Angus Hayward against our Graham Harrison and Derek Jones. Graham and Derek surpassed all expectations and trounced Fred and Angus 7 and 5.
Terry Harvey and Steve Jones were next off against Mac McCormack and Bill Wright and won comfortably 4 and 3. I was told the visiting pair were put off by Steve's wiggle when addressing the golf ball!
After a most enjoyable game where the lead changed hands almost at every hole, Richard Davies and Barry Wood went down by one hole to Brian Williams and Harold James, thanks to Harold holing a 15-foot putt on the 18th. What a ding dong battle this was.
Next to grave the fairways were Trevor Lewis and Bob Burks, who were up against Vince Simes and Ken Chichester. Trevor and Bob gave our visitors a golfing lesson to win 5 and 3.
Hot on their heels were Pat Casement and John Shepherd, who were opposed by Brian Phillips and Roy Harris. Both Pat and John played consistently well to win 4 and 2.
Bringing up the rear, Terrance Morgan and Jack Zeraschi were up against John George and Dai Evans. A cracking match ensued, with the host pair triumphant by 3 and 2.
Results: G. Harrison and S. Jones bt F. Mountney and A. Hayward 7 and 5; T. Harvey and S. Jones bt. M. McCormack and B. Wright 4 and 3; R. Davies and B. Wood lost 1 down to H. James and B. Williams; T. Lewis and B. Burks bt V. Simes and K. Chichester 5 and 3; P. Casement and J. Shepherd bt B. Phillips and R. Harris 4 and 2; T. Morgan and J. Zeraschi bt J. George and D. Evans 3 and 2.
By the time you have read this report, we will have played our return encounter against Derllys Court, Bancyfelin (Monday, June 1) and the report will appear in the next edition of this newspaper.
Finally, my wife is convinced that my car won't start unless my clubs are in the boot! Do other wives agree?
Results
Men, Saturday, May 23, stableford: 1. Simon Arthur, 42 pts (£15 pro-shop credit); 2. Jeremy Morris 40 (£10 pro-shop credit); 3. John Calleja 37 (£5 pro-shop credit); birdie 2 - Nic Hand (£12.50 pro-shop credit).
Tuesday, May 26, pro-shop stableford: 1. Garfield Price (£12 pro-shop credit); 2. Graham Harrison (£8 pro-shop credit); 3. Elliot Scotcher (£4 pro-shop credit); birdie 2 - Garfield Price (£7 pro-shop credit).
Thursday, May 28, seniors stableford: 1. Garfield Price 35 pts (£7 pro-shop credit); 2. G. Hopkins 34 (£4 pro-shop credit).
Saturday, May 30, stableford: 1. Gary Heesom 40 pts (£8 pro-shop credit); 2. Allan Gawith 33 (£5 pro-shop credit); 3. Alun Phillips 32 (£3 pro-shop credit); bag draw - Nick Griffiths (£12 pro-shop credit).
Ladies: 1. Ann Dassen 33 pts (£5 pro-shop credit); 2. Liz Crockford 25 (£3 pro-shop credit); bag draw - Chris Collinson (£6 pro-shop credit)
Juniors, Sunday, May 24, stableford: Yellow tee winner - Billy Truman; blue tee winner - Ben Turner.
Sunday, May 31, stableford: blue tee winner - Tom Law 15 pts (countback).
Dates to note
Tuesday, June 9 - mid-week medal and ladies GUW Medal.
Thursday, June 11 - Glenda Pearce evening league (moved from Thursday, June 4).
Saturday, June 13 - AJO Bowl, round one, at Tenby; Trefloyne stableford competition, white tees.
Sunday, June 14 - Junior Texas Scramble. Tee times between 1-2 pm. From now on, the junior competition tee times will always be between 1-2 pm and entry fees £1.
Ireland trip
Three teams of two made the trip to Ireland for the third year, to take part in the Portlaoise four-day competition (writes M. E.).
The first three days are qualifying rounds; day one was at Portarlington, day two at the Heath, day three at Rathdowney, then if you qualify, day four is at the Heritage Golf Club, a top European course designed by Seve Ballesteros, which held the Seve Cup two years ago.
The Trefloyne teams comprised Meurig Evans, Mark Ensor, Brian Anderson, Paul Manwaring, Martin Yates and Mel Neale.
On Sunday, with the weather very windy, the crossing was transferred from the cat to the ferry and as the boys were a little nervous, a drink was required just to settle them - we were all amazed how it levelled the ship!
On arrival at Rosslare, our man was waiting with the bus; then we were away.
We arrived at Portlaoise at 8.30 pm, a five-star hotel, and I mean five-star; the hospitality of the staff was amazing. We checked in, then we had to introduce the new boys to town for a warm-up. It was nice and quiet at Grellands pub, so we didn't stay too long because the boys had a long day ahead of them, so we were back at the hotel at two.
On Monday, everyone was up for breakfast. Paul went back to bed for his beauty sleep, the rest of us had a stroll around town, the bus picked us up at 11 and took us to Portarlington for the first day of the competition.
This is a top quality golf course, with over 100-year-old oak trees lining the fairways. Every hole on this course provides a problem, with well kept bunkers all in the right place. On the par five, you need two good hits, only to be faced with a 160-metre shot to the green with a pond in front and an oak tree protecting it.
Meurig and Mark were first to tee-off and had an interesting start, Meurig slicing his first and having to take a drop. Not the start you want, but there were plenty of holes to go. The boys were in the group behind and playing a solid game.
This is one of our favourite courses, with everyone enjoying the day.
All the boys had played well; Meurig and Mark scored 33 points, Brian and Paul 31, Martin and Mel 35. You need at least 35 points on each day to qualify, so Martin and Mel were looking good..
So it was back to the clubhouse with our Irish friends for a meal and something to wash it down with. Problem is, the Guinness over there just goes down with ease; it was eight pints before we went out for the evening.
Monday night, Grellands pub had put on a free BBQ for us, so it was back to the hotel, wash and change and out. Again the black stuff was going down with ease. Then the tide mark challenge started. I think it ended up in a draw between Meurig and Brian, so Wales and Scotland did ok. We knew it was time to go back to the hotel as the bar man had left before us - mind you it was gone two.
Tuesday morning came around quickly and there were some groaning noises coming from the bed next to me - at least Mark was alive! Breakfast was a little slow going down, so it was good that the bacon melted in your mouth and the orange juice went down by the jug.
Day two was at the Heath, which is a common land course that has sheep roaming around. This can be a scoring course on a nice day, but very difficult in the wind. It was a pleasant day, with some light showers, and the course looked magnificent.
Meurig and Mark were first off again, knowing they needed a reasonable score for a chance to qualify.
They both played well with important tee shots when they needed them and a good steady round, but Meurig was struggling with important short putts that can be so damaging. Nevertheless, he made two birdies and Mark played some good up and downs for par to keep the scores going in the right direction.
Brian and Paul were following, but it seemed the medication from the night before wasn't doing do them any good; but they battled on.
On the 17th, the weather really took a turn for the worse, with rain hammering into your face. It is a 170-metre par three. Brian looked at Paul, only to see him take a driver out. This really confused him and he asked Paul if he knew it was a par three, Paul said yes, so Brian asked why a driver, Paul replied saying he was going to lay up. Brian walked away shaking his head. Fair play, Paul did lay up - he hit it 10 metres, so now it was 160 to the front, Brian was speechless when Paul changed his club for a nine-iron and hit it past the green for a chip back. Paul said he hit it well.
Martin and Mel followed and were hoping that they could add to their good start, but again the medication didn't help. These courses are also difficult the first time you play them, with the greens in top quality, fast, but true.
Even though golf is never the same two days in a row, they played well to keep in with a chance.
At the end of day two, Meurig and Mark had scored 38 + 33 = 71; Brian and Paul 31 + 31 = 62; and Martin and Mel 35 + 33 = 68.
Then it was to the club for food and the black stuff, but now our Irish friends were getting silly and bringing two pints at a time. There was a lot of banter about the shots we left out there, but I think the sheep played a big part in it, so after a few drinks at the heath it was up to Tracy's bar. Brian sang a song and emptied a large section of the pub, but the Irish boys didn't mind as they were not drinking anyway.
We have been to this pub three years in a row now and I can't remember leaving once; sure we were last out though.
Again Wednesday morning came quicker than ever and breakfast took a long time to digest. Mark was so impressed with the standard of the hotel, he kept visiting the toilets that morning.
We were in Rathdowney on day three, a very hard course with long par fours and very narrow tree-lined fairways, There had been heavy rain the night before, so there was preferred lies everywhere. If this had not been such a big competition, the course would have been closed, but we have played it before and it is a real test even in the dry.
On this occasion, with heavy showers forecast, it was going to be about getting around with the least amount of mistakes.
There was a bad start for Meurig and Mark with their first no score of the competition, but they then picked up a few threes early on to settle them. Now it was a case of only thinking about the shot you wer playing and not getting annoyed with the puddles on the fairways costing you yardage. Meurig and Mark played a steady game and knew they were close to qualifying; it was a long wait now for all the scores to come in.
Brian and Paul found conditions just as hard. Missing breakfast didn't help Brian, but then he did well to walk around.
Martin and Mel also found the going hard, with it being so wet underfoot and difficult to find a dry part to drop your ball. But all the boys did well to get round.
Meurig and Mark scored 34+38+33 =105; Brian and Paul scored 28+31+31 = 90; Martin and Mel scored 31+33+35 = 99.
One thing was for sure, the next part of the tour was not going to change. It was off to the bar for food and a pint; we all deserved it today. There was a good crowd in the bar waiting for the scores and 10 pints later they were there and the cut-off came in at 104 -Meurig and Mark made it with 105 points.
Thursday morning we were moved to the Heritage golf complex. If this hotel is not six-star, then nothing is. We walked in and nobody said a word for 10 minutes!
Day four was at the Heritage - what a course. Meurig and Mark's tee time was 1.20, so there was time to relax and take it all in. We had a look at part of the course and what was nice, Brian, Martin, Paul and Mel were invited to play for free after the last teams had got away.
It was a pleasant day, but the course was very challenging and really long. Twelve of the holes had water involved, fairways had streams crossing them, dog-leg par fives had up to 11 bunkers protecting the greens; every hole was a challenge, but very enjoyable.
Meurig and Mark had a reasonable round, scoring 31 points, with the winners of the competition scoring 40.
The presentation was held at the club, with the winners of each day being presented with magnificent prizes. This tournament attracts entries from Sweden, Portugal, France, England, Wales and Ireland. It is run by Laois Council and it just gets better and better, so it is back to saving up for next year.
Oh forgot to say, we were last out of the bar, some time Friday morning!
A Note From
Your Pro
With temperatures hitting well over 20 degrees this week, it is exciting to see the golf course in such great condition, with many of you enjoying the delights Trefloyne has to offer. I have also been fortunate to welcome some old friends from Tenby Golf Club this week who have been taking advantage of our reciprocal green fee of £18.
Free Ladies Taster: This Sunday at 2 pm, I will be holding my first Taster Afternoon for ladies interested in experiencing the game. There are a few slots still available, so please drop me a line in the Pro-Shop to secure your place. For those ladies attending the taster day there will be a course of six lessons offered at a heavily discounted rate of just £6.
Junior Futures Afternoon: Futures Afternoon continues to grow as more and more of our aspiring golfers are beginning to compete on a more regular basis. Huge congratulations to Thomas Law, Ben Turner and Elliot John who braved the heat and played a nine-hole stableford, which was eventually won by Thomas with 15 points, on count back from Ben.
Tee For Two: Please remember our couples taster afternoon is due to take place on Sunday, June 14, at 2 pm. Spaces for this exciting new concept are limited, so please register early.
Junior Membership Coaching: Our next junior coaching sessions (funded by Golf Development Wales and open to all Trefloyne junior members) will take place as follows: 2nd squad (handicap 21-36) - tomorrow (Saturday) at 2 pm; Feeder squad (all blue tee handicaps and new golfers) Saturday at 3.30 pm.
AJO Memorial Bowl: I am very excited to be playing in my first AJO Memorial Bowl this year and look forward to my first trip back to Tenby for quite some time. Just a quick reminder to all members that the list is now in the Pro-Shop for both the home and away legs.
Tip of the Week: As the weather starts to improve so does the speed of the greens. Downhill putts during the summer can often cause problems to the most accomplished of golfer. When setting up to a downhill putt, place the ball at the toe of the putter rather than the centre. When making your stroke, try to hit the ball from as close to the toe as possible. This offers a 'dead' strike to the ball, reducing the energy being transferred and therefore the possibility of the putt going long. Not as easy as it sounds; I would recommend a few sessions of practice before putting this into play on the course!
FUN NIGHT
Despite the weather being wet and miserable and many of the regular players away on holiday, there was a good turnout for the second Friday Fun Night.
A nine-hole flag competition, with the majority of players finishing between the eighth green and the ninth hole, was enjoyed by all.
The men's first prize went to Nick Johns, the ladies' first to Sue Ensor and second to Ann Dassen. First junior was Greg Palin, who had two shots to spare (well done Greg!), while the second prize went to Elliot Scotcher. Blue tee junior prizes went to 1. Elliot John and 2. Ben Turner.
The next Fun Night will be on Friday, June 19, and will be a three-club competition. New members are welcome, as this is an ideal time to meet other members.