“Boss Man” Takes Charge in Welsh Final Round Thriller

Although at 6400 yards from the yellow tees and 5700 from the red, the course is not the longest, for those who had not played it before scoring proved to be a tricky business. The greens were difficult to read and several holes had blind shots. A decent shot from the fairway would sometimes find its way into a water hazard that wasn’t visible to the player. The net result was that only three players managed to break the 30 mark. The best of these belonged to Sam Hubbard with 33. John Meagher and Martin Kent (otherwise known as boss man) finished with 30.

This was a definitely a course that would be easier to play second time around but with the Wales National sitting alongside it was always going to have just the one round on our itinerary.

The second morning we set off in damp conditions, which was a slight disappointment, but as one member of the group pointed out the rain was of the straight down variety, which is always far better! However, as the round progressed the rain eased away and we could concentrate on the golf rather than the umbrellas.

The Wales National has an excellent layout with some tremendous holes, including its own style Amen corner around 13, 14 and 15, where water comes into play on each hole. This is then followed by tough closing holes on 16 and 17. The course certainly provides a great test of golf. There are several holes that ask the question of taking the risk or reward route (just ask Colin about that!). Unfortunately, with the heavy overnight rain it had not been possible to cut the greens and this made finding a consistent putting stroke a tough ask. Paul Speakman and Gerry Gentle shared the best score of the day with 36 a piece. Sam Hubbard continued to show her form from the opening round with 34 and Christine Fisher had an excellent day finishing on 33.

At the half way stage Sam with 67 points had established a commanding 5 shot lead over Paul and John. Christine was a further shot back in fourth position and was well placed to qualify for the finals needing just 2 more tour points. Gerry and Martin were both one further behind on 60 but with two more rounds to play on the National things could change quickly.

After the second round, in the evening, the majority of the group ate at a nearby restaurant. Despite the usual slow service when a large group arrives the food was delicious and many a bottle of Sauvignon was consumed, an excellent evening amongst some very entertaining stories. These included an electric trolley ending up in the middle of a pond and still running when it was eventually recovered and light fittings being smashed on a practise swing in a lounge. Photo and video evidence of both are available upon request!

This was not a Greencard incident but some great stories of golfing accidents were shared in Wales

The following day the promised sunshine arrived, the greens had been cut and it was a pleasure to take on the challenges posed by the National. It was to be a day when several members of the group enjoyed birdies and the occasional eagle.   Martin’s enjoyed a tap in eagle at the par 5, 7^th hole on his way to 36 points and proved to be the top score in round three. Sam posted a 32, which was enough to keep her at the top of the leaderboard. Pauline Crosthwaite had a much better day with 31, a score shared by Marian Raybone, Brenda Fletcher and Paul Speakman.

Going into the final round Sam held a three shot lead over Martin with Paul a further three behind. It was going to take a monumental effort for someone to win this outside the top three players. The weather forecast was again a good one for the day and apart from one short downpour it was correct. The greens had been double cut and were running well. At the half way stage Martin had scored 19 points to Sam’s 17 and the gap had been reduced to a single point. Paul had fallen away slightly with 15 at the turn and was now 8 points off the pace.

Away from the final fourball there were some good scores being posted. Despite, nearly repeating one of the stories from earlier in the event when he had to chase a runaway electric trolley that found itself upside down in a bunker on the 13^th hole, Gerry played very well, particularly around the greens and ended the round with an excellent 35 points. This would ultimately move him into third place in the overall standings. Keith had his best round of the event with 33, while Peter Sumner and Pauline both finished with a 32.

As we gathered around the 18^th green to watch the leaders come in, we really didn’t know who had taken the victory. Martin’s approach rolled just past the flag and he had a tap in par. Meanwhile Sam had ended up just short of the water on the right of the green. Her chip wasn’t one of her best, however, she still managed to secure a point.

As the cards were signed and handed in, it soon became apparent that Martin had enjoyed one of the rounds of the year finishing with 38 points, a great effort with a handicap of 5 around the National. Sam therefore needed 36 to claim the win and despite being top of the leaderboard from round one, she just fell short with 32, but claimed the runners up spot.

From Left: Gerry Gentle, Martin Kent (See what we mean about “Boss Man!” Sam Hubbard

 Congratulations to Martin for a super win and to John Meagher and Christine Fisher who both secured enough tour points to qualify for the finals week in November.

This was a great weekend, and I would like to thank all those who attended.