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Brnhill 21st March 2025 |
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| Jan24 | South Herefordshire |  |
| Feb21 | Wenvoe Castle |  |
| Mar21 | Brynhill | |
| Apr25 | Monmouth | |
| May16 | Radyr | |
| Jun27 | Clevedon | |
| Jul25 | The Monmouthshire | |
| Aug?? | tba | |
| Sep5 | Woodlake | |
| Oct3 | Brickhampton | |
| Nov7 | Tall Pines | |
| Dec5 | Forest Hills | |
| 2025 | Dean Harris | |
| 2024 | Steve Bunn | |
| 2023 | Darren Collier | |
| 2022 | Adie Shilston | |
| 2021 | Derek Freeman-Jones | |
| 2020 | Derek Freeman-Jones | |
| 2019 | James Farley |  |
| 2018 | John Essom | |
| 2017 | Jitesh Mistry |  |
| 2016 | Ged Wrench | |
| 2015 | Darren Williams | |
| 2014 | Jon Ager | |
| 2013 | Gary O'Connell |  |
| 2012 | Steve Graham | |
| 2011 | John Thomas | |
| 2010 | Simon Howlett | |
| 2009 | Mark Graham | |
| 2008 | Manny Virdi |  |
| 2007 | Stephen Morgan | |
| 2006 | Peter Horlock | |
| 2005 | Gordon Wallace | |
| 2004 | Matt Freeman | |
| 2003 | Mark Pipes | |
| 2002 | Stuart Perry | |
| 2001 | Richard Bradshaw | |
| 2000 | Paul Newton | |
| 1999 | Tony Griffiths | |
Dean Harris
Stephen Morgan
Tony Griffiths
Rob Wall
Stephen Morgan
Simon Howlett
Adie Shilston
Stuart Perry
James Farley
Jitesh Mistry
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| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| 28 | 29 | 30 | ||||
Archive for the ‘2014’ Category
Captain’s Ramblings:
The second outing (perversely “Round 3”) of the Nomads’ 2014 season, took place at Forest Hills Golf Club on 28th March. Early risers will have tentatively drawn back their curtains and observed the conditions with some trepidation – a typical murky late-March day in the Forest of Dean, with a threateningly resolute shroud of low grey cloud swathing the countryside, and more than a hint of ‘moisture’ in the air. Nevertheless the lure of wielding ‘spoon’ or ‘mashie niblick’ amongst the green swards, not to mention a full English breakfast, dragged most of the forty indefatigable characters originally signed up away from their warm beds and/or cosy partners (and gainful employment). Wayne Stewart made a brief appearance for breakfast, without brandishing a stick in anger, signing up a few more sponsors for his forthcoming half marathons in Berlin and Madrid – all wished him well, and hoped he reached his target of raising £1,000 for Target Ovarian Cancer, a charity close to his heart.
With victuals duly served and gratefully consumed, proceedings got underway with the customary morning loosener of nine holes of ‘Texas Scramble’, with most teams managing to accumulate enough decent shots between them to achieve a gross score flatteringly close to par. The team of Darren Williams, Gary O’Connell, Ramesh Mistry and Mark Cornock tore up the course with a remarkable five ‘birdies’ in the first five holes, holding their nerve to secure victory at 5-under. Tony Burris, Alan Jones, Horace Denny and Gurdeep Litt turned in a creditable 2-under to secure 2nd place, with Manny Virdi, Derek Freeman-Jones, John Essom and Mark Ridsdale narrowly beating Rowland Joyce, Adie Shilston, Damian Orton and Jon Ager for 3rd place at 1-under. One or two howls of foul play and derision, not to say physical pain, were heard when 3rd place was announced, with Derek Freeman-Jones’ 2nd shot at the first hole having struck Damian Orton on the knee as he waited patiently on the second tee. Drinks were duly purchased, and humble-pie eaten, with no permanent damage sustained.
After a staggered lunch consisting of a veritable cornucopia of sandwiches and the obligatory chunky chips with lashings of ketchup, the afternoon events were hastily initiated under ever-darkening skies.
Scores across the board seemed to reflect the relatively benign conditions in the early part of the round, with Andy Alexander, Matt McGirr, Damian Orton, Derek Freeman-Jones and Gary O’Connell amongst many recording a plethora of pars in the first three or four holes. The earlier groups must have got as far as the start of the back nine before one or two, fortunately distant, rumbles of thunder heralded a rapid deterioration in the weather. The resulting hail brought about considerable debate in some quarters as to the legitimacy of sweeping a path of hailstones from the intended path of a putt – well – it was either that or face the accusation of slow play, standing on the green waiting for it to melt! Luckily the conditions quickly took a turn for the better, only for a second hailstorm to catch the last few groups who also had to contend with the fading light.
Fresh from his first ‘podium’ finish last time out at Clevedon, it was Andy Alexander who was able to maintain his form, consistency and concentration for the entire round to secure a well-deserved victory with a stableford score of 39 points – amassing a gross score of 85, including 9 pars – four on the front and five on the back. Close on his tail was Matt McGirr, who used his considerable local knowledge and not a small amount of skill to achieve second place on 38 points, with easily the best gross score on the day of 77, including 9 pars and 2 birdies, also collecting the prize for the longest drive for a mighty blow on the lengthy uphill fifth hole. John Essom also ‘troubled the judges’ for the second round in succession, gaining third place with 37 points – no doubt he will face a further handicap cut to give others more of a chance next time. In a rare, but generous, occurrence, afforded by the good turn-out, prizes were also awarded for fourth and fifth places, with Gurdeep Litt narrowly beating Damian Orton, on countback, both sharing 36 points. (I wonder if Damian’s score would have been better had he not been carrying a swollen knee from earlier events!)
In a similar show of generosity, prizes were awarded for ‘nearest the pin’ on all three of the par-3s, with Adie Shilston picking up the prize on the 8th, Damian on the 14th, and Darren Williams on the 17th. Guy Greening showed his familiar accuracy taking the best aggregate scores across the par-3s with a birdie on the 8th, and pars on the 14th and 17th. Adie Shilston was also commended for what was probably the ‘shot of the day’ – a sort of crazy golf effort on the 17th, played from high up on the left-hand bank, which sailed over the first group of trees, ricocheted off another tree, bounced down the path, turned sharp-right, and trickled over the foot-bridge, ending up just next to the bunker at the back-left of the green.
Once again, the ‘divisional’ prizes for those not amongst the top honours, were handed out along handicap lines with Mark Parkhurst (34 pts), Adie Shilston (35 pts), Darren Collier (35 pts) – his first sniff of prize, and Mark Cornock (32 pts), winning their respective ‘divisions’.
With proceedings continuing late into the evening, Jon Ager said a few words and distributed prizes during the evening meal, in pauses between mouthfuls. A glass was raised in honour of Ben Green, in whose memory the day’s trophy was named, with the hope that all attending, particularly the local lads who had turned out, had enjoyed fond memories of Ben, although most agreed that, had he been with us, it was unlikely he would have been anywhere near a golf course, given the weather conditions.
Carolyn Griffiths was awarded the last remaining prize – the raffle – being the proud recipient of a set of novelty golf balls (probably NOT the last of a job-lot!). The usual ritual was observed of posing for, or avoiding, Jitesh’s photographs, camera/iphone batteries failing or otherwise, and Andy Alexander gave a brief, impromptu, victor’s speech magnanimously accepting the plaudits, saying how much he had enjoyed the day, and thanking the organisers for their efforts behind the scenes.
Jon finally wrapped up events thanking Steve Graham for standing in a scorer in Simon’s absence, appealing for those with (or without) some celtic ancestory to put themselves forward to the Celts Newton Cup team in April, thanking all for a successful day, and hoping to see as many, if not more, for the next round to be held at Cottrell Park in May.
Regards
Jon Ager
Scores
| 1 | Andy Alexander | Scotland | 39 |
| 2 | Matthew McGirr | England | 38 |
| 3 | John Essom | England | 37 |
| 4 | Gurdeep Litt | India | 36 |
| 5 | Damian Orton | England | 36 |
| 6 | Darren Collier | England | 35 |
| 7 | Adie Shilston | England | 35 |
| 8 | Mark Parkhurst | England | 34 |
| 9 | James Colwell | England | 34 |
| 10 | Tony Burris | England | 33 |
| 11 | Guy Greening | England | 33 |
| 12 | Mark McGirr | England | 33 |
| 13 | Derek Freeman-Jones | Wales | 32 |
| 14 | Mark Cornock | England | 32 |
| 15 | Horace Denny | USA | 31 |
| 16 | Brendan Turbitt | Ireland | 31 |
| 17 | Darren Williams | Wales | 30 |
| 18 | Tony Griffiths | Wales | 30 |
| 19 | Gary O’Connell | Scotland | 30 |
| 20 | Jon Ager | England | 29 |
| 21 | Ged Wrench | England | 29 |
| 22 | Manny Virdi | England | 28 |
| 23 | Stuart Perry | England | 27 |
| 24 | Mark Willicott | England | 27 |
| 25 | James Farley | Ireland | 27 |
| 26 | Ramesh Mistry | India | 26 |
| 27 | Jitesh Mistry | India | 25 |
| 28 | Carolyn Griffiths | Wales | 23 |
| 29 | Stephen Morgan | Wales | 23 |
| 30 | Alan Jones | England | 23 |
| 31 | Nick Phillips | England | 23 |
| 32 | Steve Graham | England | 22 |
| 33 | Steve Standbridge | England | 22 |
| 34 | Chris Wilson | England | 14 |
| 35 | Rowland Joyce | England | 14 |
| 36 | Mark Ridsdale | England | 13 |
Friday, 21st February 2014
Captain’s Ramblings:
Following January’s wash-out at Cottrell Park (now re-scheduled for May, by the way), the inaugural match of the 2014 season took place at Clevedon on 21st February.
Numbers were slightly depleted, probably because of half-term holidays, with 24 hardy souls trying their luck by the shores of the Severn estuary.
As it turned out, conditions were remarkably favourable. There was a moderate breeze, and the odd sharp shower, including one of hail endured by a few of the later groups. Most of the fairways were reasonably firm, and the greens, on the whole, were fair and true, the course holding up extremely well overall given the recent biblical rainfall. One or two holes presented a stiff test. The 8th – ‘The Castle Hole’ – with a steep drop and a 160-yard carry against the wind off the tee, with trouble either side, was a differentiator. Some mastered it with ease, and others suffered the fate of having to dig around in the undergrowth and struggled to make points. The par-3 14th, also with its steep drop, proved an interesting exercise in club selection in the swirling breeze.
After the customary (and excellent) bacon rolls and coffee, Jon Ager got proceedings underway as incoming captain, with a sneaky drive straight down the middle, whilst no-one was watching (Simon and Brendan will confirm that it was legitimate!) To Jon’s great relief, this provided an adequate challenge for the bottle of whisky, with Stuart Perry and John Essom vying for the prize in the early stages, eventually won by Manny Virdi.
From the third group out, Tony Griffiths was unsurpassed, providing the solitary name on the score sheet for ‘Nearest the Pin’ on the innocuous looking 3rd hole, obviously finding his range early in the round.
Adie Shilston claimed the best aggregate score across the 3 par-3s with 8 points – the equivalent of a creditable 2 ‘net birdies’ and a ‘net par’.
‘Longest drive’ had to wait until the 5th group out to be decided, with Jon Ager setting a conquerable early marker (with some arboreal assistance). With mutterings from a few about the absence of demarcation between fairway and rough at its furthest extent, Stuart Perry and Adie Shilston unequivocally whistled past in subsequent groups. But the prize was eventually secured by Alan Jones, in his first outing with the Nomads – congratulations, and welcome, Alan!
In a departure from the usual protocol, the ‘division’ prizes – top player in each ‘division’ NOT in the overall top three – were decided along handicap lines this time, with the six players with the lowest handicaps challenging for ‘Group 1’ and so on. Prizes, and congratulations on creditable performances, went to:
‘Group 1’ (Handicaps 0 – 15.4): Manny Virdi (36 pts)
‘Group 2’ (Handicaps 15.5 – 17.4): Adie Shilston (36 pts)
‘Group 3’ (Handicaps 17.5 – 22.0): Mike Simpson (34 pts)
‘Group 4’ (Handicaps 22.1 – 28): Jed Wrench (with 3 players in this ‘group’ tied on 29 pts, the prize was awarded to Jed, as highest handicapper in the competition – NOT for his sartorial display!)
With the overall average score for the day being just over 29 pts, the three main prizes deservedly went to three players who had clearly mastered the tricky conditions. Andy Alexander secured his first ‘podium’ finish in 3rd place with 37 pts, narrowly defeated by Mark Gardiner, in 2nd on ‘countback’ who, as far and away the lowest handicapper of the day, produced another fine performance, with a gross 77, including an eagle 3 on the tricky 16th over the water. But John Essom romped to victory, and first prize, on 39pts with an imperious 24pts on the back nine, surpassing a good few players’ scores over the entire round!
The day’s festivities were rounded off with the usual banter over a beverage or two, during which James Farley’s shot of the day was revealed – a putt from well off the green leaning over a barbed-wire fence with the ball lodged just in-bounds underneath it, which rolled obliging into the hole.
A hearty meal of Chicken and Ham Pie, and fruit crumble were consumed with alacrity, before the formalities were wrapped up with the distribution of prizes, including the monthly raffle which was won by Alan Jones – a lucrative first outing, Alan!
Jon finally reminded everyone that next month’s outing was at Forest Hills on 28th March. Jon said that he hoped as many people as possible would attend, in honour of Ben Green, a much loved friend and former member who passed away suddenly in 2012.
Jon and Darren will shortly be issuing invitations to the Newton Cup, to be held at Woodspring Golf Club, Long Ashton on Friday 25th April 2014.
See you next time!
Scores:
| 1 | John Essom | England | 39 |
| 2 | Andy Alexander | Scotland | 37 |
| 3 | Mark Gardiner | England | 37 |
| 4 | Adie Shilston | England | 36 |
| 5 | Manny Virdi | England | 36 |
| 6 | Darren Williams | Wales | 34 |
| 7 | Mike Simpson | England | 34 |
| 8 | James Farley | Ireland | 31 |
| 9 | Derek Freeman-Jones | Wales | 30 |
| 10 | Darren Collier | England | 29 |
| 11 | Ged Wrench | England | 29 |
| 12 | Stuart Perry | England | 29 |
| 13 | Tony Griffiths | Wales | 29 |
| 14 | Chris Pulfree | England | 28 |
| 15 | Dave Curtis | England | 28 |
| 16 | Gary O’Connell | Scotland | 28 |
| 17 | Simon Howlett | England | 28 |
| 18 | Steve Graham | England | 26 |
| 19 | Alan Jones | England | 25 |
| 20 | Jon Ager | England | 25 |
| 21 | Jitesh Mistry | India | 24 |
| 22 | Mark Graham | England | 24 |
| 23 | Brendan Turbitt | Ireland | 22 |
| 24 | Steve Standbridge | England | 18 |
As some of you may be aware I am running the Berlin Half Marathon in March and then the Madrid Half Marathon in April. I will be running both races in support of Target Ovarian Cancer in memory of my Mum who died of Ovarian Cancer in September 2012. I have set up a Just Giving page for online donations and I was hoping that some of you would sponsor me by going to the link below:
http://www.justgiving.com/
Any donation would be really appreciated but If you are old fashioned and would rather sponsor me on a paper sponsorship form please let me know and I can add your name to the paper one. Hopefully, I can also get a paper copy to the next Nomads day out in February.
As an added incentive if you can correctly guess my two finishing times added together then there are 6 bottles of wine to the person who can get closest.
24th January 2014
Event was cancelled due to heavy rain and flooded course. Has been re-scheduled for May 23rd 2014.