Tough Day at the Lakes

 So

The first Roll Up of the new era and it was blistering hot. I think the scores speak for themselves. Mark my playing partner and myself gave each other a sly look on the 10th Tee and agreed we had had enough.

By the time I was supposed to finish I had gotten home had a sandwich and a shower and fallen asleep. Great Decision.

I wil change the next roll up to stableford if I can a bit more forgiving.

Dont forget from tomorrow you can sign up for the Inagural Bill Woodbridge Memorial Trophy

 Dear Golfers

We are trying to get going again in something like the style we had before Lock Down but its not going to be the same and most of us wouldn't feel safe if it was.

We tried a couiple of competitions in July and they seemed to go OK, we have more in August and lets hope they go as well. In addition we have tried to start the Roll Up again for weeks where there are no competitions. 

We cant block out Tee times at the moment and I'm not sure we will ever be able to do again but what we can do is get in a day early before any members or visitors can book Tee times and tie up the slots we want.

So for the next Tuesday (18th not 11th) we can book tomorrow before anyone else. If you book a Tee time from 8 till 10 anyone else who wants to join in the comp can see the slots available and who is playing them and book up to join them. We think thats the way forward and means you can play with different people who you may not have seen otherwise.

From the IG app you can sign yourself and any other members in but as far as I know you cant pay on their behalf. This is not an issue for August as these roll ups are free but it will matter in September when we start to charge a £1fee. I suppose those with a Pay Pal account can settle up on their behalf and sort out a cash repayment later.

Anyone has any suggestions about how this could be made easier please let a committee member know.

Hopefully I'll be keeping up the blog from now on any feed back would be good

Kevin

So a small turnout today for the Hot Toddy trophy. I managed 18 holes but not in the competition. The white tees were miles back well done to everyone who got round.

I don't really understand about why you couldn't enter on Intelligent Golf the competition was loaded but there must have been something amiss with the entry  rules.

13 played so we have allowed for just one division.

Prizes £15, £10, and £5

Winner Barry James 76
Second Mike Twyman on 76 (after countback)
Third Brian Floyd on 77

Clearly a lot going on with the Carona Virus and us over 70's being sent into lockdown, I had a quick word with Charlie Stockford and I think he will make our options clearer in the next few days.
In the meantime we carry on as best we can and wait further developments


Kevin

I managed to get round 18 holes yesterday my first Medal since 2018, AND I came third in Div2 AND I marked the card of the winner. What a day!

So congratulations to Bob Kirkwood he played very straight and didn't make any big mistakes, very difficult in that wind yesterday.

I know there were questions about why handicaps hadn't changed after the game and my understanding is that on advice from the Handicap Secretary the course as played had been too short and so the game was changed to Non Qualifying

So after all that fun on the course we had a committee meeting and I am very pleased to say (among lots of other stuff of course) we agreed to rename the Invotec Trophy  The Bill Woodbridge Memorial Trophy in memory of Bill Woodbridge (rather obvious really)

More information on Bill was posted here a couple of weeks ago but we will make that more visible soon.

Kevin

Kevin

So a cold day but except for a small amount of rain a nice enough day

21 played so enough for prize money for 2 divisions but only first and second places
First £5, Second £3

So in division 1 both with 36 points

And in division 2  first with 36 points second with  a very unlucky 34

There was also a Uboat match played out today I cant remember who played but Mike Twyman had a big smile on his face when I saw him

Sorry for the delay in posting the results from yesterday, IG had decided not to talk to me until this morning

So a wet course but once again very fair greens and considering everything some good scores.



Yesterdays result

Nett Results

Division 1

1st Alec Tyrell (20) 34
2nd Barry James (11) 33
3rd Rod Bools (17) 33

Division 2

1st Brian Floyd (32) 31
2nd Patrick Hiles (36) 26
3rd John Watt (24) 25

Prizes for both divisions
£8 1st
£5 2nd
£3 3rd

Kevin

Still Waters Run Deepest

Bill Woodbridge (95) was laid to rest yesterday and his wake was held in the Sports Bar. Many of you will have come across “Old Bill”. He loved to sit on the bench at the 10th during comps and greet members crossing from the 9th green to the 10th tee. Last summer he would wait for the seniors to come through and often would jump in a buggy and play a few holes with them. He was always cheerful and lived and breathed golf at Witney Lakes.

Yesterday I found out something about this frail, slight old man who would struggle to bend down and pick up his ball and certainly had difficulty in lining up a put. He was in fact a GIANT of a man because on the 6th June 1944 that frail man was a 18 year old Royal Marine Commando and was one of the first to step forward on Gold beach.

June 1944

The first operation No. 47 (Royal Marine) Commando was involved in was Operation Neptune the Normandy landings better known as D-Day 6 June 1944. No. 47 landed at Gold Beach at 09:50 hours 6 June near the town of Asnelles. Five of the Landing Craft Assault carrying the Commando ashore were sunk by mines and beach obstacles with the loss of 76 of the 420 men in the Commando. These losses delayed No. 47's advance to their primary objective the port of Port-en-Bessin. Leaving the beaches after noon they fought through La Rosiere and dug in around Escures for the night prior to their planned assault on Port-en-Bessin on the 7 June.

His family didn’t know, they found out when clearing his things finding his medals and memoirs, I guess he just kept it to himself.

Next time you’re in the bar, raise a glass to him, or spare him a thought as you cross from the 9th to the 10th. I’m guessing his spirit won’t be far away!

RIP Bill, it was a honour to have known you.

Rod Bools

Seniors Captain

Good afternoon Golfers of Witney

We are trying to get the Blog and the results service going again, some technical hitches but hopefully it wont be long.

This afternoon we celebrated the life of Bill Woodbridge, known to most of us as "Old Bill" who in later years stood at the tenth tee and went round the back nine with whoever had the best buggy.
In earlier days he had been a good golfer and even in his 90's had played a pretty straight ball. He was 95 when he died last month and his family were very keen to tell us how much they appreciated the friendship he had enjoyed with all the seniors. We will find a way to commemorate him soon, watch this space.

Today only the back 9 were open but 7 brave souls (or is that soles) still managed the 3 clubs and a putter roll up, and in fact the course wasn't at all bad considering the weather; and the greens were still pretty good.

So the clear winner with 15 points was Martin Buckingham who gets £5 for his efforts. One prize only.

Weather could be tricky Thursday lets hope it gets better soon

Kevin

Fellow Golfers

As you will have seen from his email Rod has revamped the program to fit in with some changes in the year In particular the Club Champs is in June to fit in with a request from the Club Company and the Senior Open is a bit later than usual to fit in with holidays etc.

I am close to getting back to golf and with Cliff Smith taking over the reins as treasurer hopefully we can help Rod get things a bit smoother in the future.
In all of this change Intelligent Golf is going to be playing a bigger and bigger part so it would be a good idea if you aren't already familiar with it to get to know the ropes.

Lets hope the weather gets better and we can all get some proper golf in


Kevin