2022 Swindle - Daily Results and Reports
Results for Wednesday 30th November 2022
24 players turn out today, but two doubles matches, so not all players joined in the swindle. The 3 important players for the 2022 title (Dennis, Kev and Ash) played but didn't manage to get in the top slots. (See the end of year report for more information about 2022).
Richard S had an excellent game coming in with 42 points - which rather helped him win his doubles match along with partner Dave Oakley - and taking top place. Cut shown, but of course next year it starts from scratch so it was win (doubles), win (swindle), and win (no cut) again for R.
New lad from North of the Great Wall, Ken, had already begun to show just what a threat he is going to be having returned to the game from a long break, and been rewarded with a hefty handicap, today made a hefty score to take 2nd place. Well done Ken.
And the Don took 3rd with an excellent 40 points.
Good scores for the last swindle game of 2022.
(See the end of year report for more information about 2022).
Richard S had an excellent game coming in with 42 points - which rather helped him win his doubles match along with partner Dave Oakley - and taking top place. Cut shown, but of course next year it starts from scratch so it was win (doubles), win (swindle), and win (no cut) again for R.
New lad from North of the Great Wall, Ken, had already begun to show just what a threat he is going to be having returned to the game from a long break, and been rewarded with a hefty handicap, today made a hefty score to take 2nd place. Well done Ken.
And the Don took 3rd with an excellent 40 points.
Good scores for the last swindle game of 2022.
(See the end of year report for more information about 2022).
Results for Friday 25th November 2022
20 players today, incl two singles matches. 2 of the singles players also played the Swindle so we had 18 swindlers for the penultimate game of the year.
Robbo swiftly organised the draw and went out, having previously asked for the results to be picked up as he had to be off early. Sounded simple - so a simple yes.
The one thing we can say for sure about the game was that the scoring and results were considerably more interesting than England’s game against the USA!
Quite a few players on hefty cuts, but also the colder, wetter conditions have definitely reduced the scoring. Anyway all in and the scores presented were reviewed.
Definitely two 36s and two 35s with 3 places to award.
Battle between Andy and Sharpie for best 35 and 3rd went to Andy on BB9.
Battle between Spiggy and Ash for best 36 to separate 1st from 2nd went to Spiggy on BB9.
All decided.
Later on an email from Spiggy. ‘I think Ray may have given me 5-2 on the 10 instead of 5-1!’
Check. Yeap. So Score 35. Not 1st. Not 2nd, But 3rd as Andy (who was 2nd ) had a better B9. So Spiggy now 3rd. All informed and cash and cuts re-allocated.
Ray demoted to assistant marker for 3 games!
A bit later still Andy’s email arrives. ‘I think I should have had a penalty on the 17th as I hit someone else’s ball, realised and then played out the hole and was given a 5-2. I think having checked I should maybe have had a two shot penalty? Yes Andy you should and, unless you went back to the same spot to play your ball - hole doesn’t count!
So further re-checks. All change.
Ash now 1st on 36 with £9 and cut of 3
Spiggy moves up to 2nd place (BB9) with a cut of 2.
Sharpie now moves up into 3rd place with £3 and cut of 1.
So : Spiggy has to give Ash £3 and Andy has to give Sharpie £3.
I wonder how often this is the reality of actual scoring and results - we probably don’t know usually.
Anyway I reflected for all of 20 secs and decided that:
And of course try harder to get it right on the cards!
Robbo swiftly organised the draw and went out, having previously asked for the results to be picked up as he had to be off early. Sounded simple - so a simple yes.
The one thing we can say for sure about the game was that the scoring and results were considerably more interesting than England’s game against the USA!
Quite a few players on hefty cuts, but also the colder, wetter conditions have definitely reduced the scoring. Anyway all in and the scores presented were reviewed.
Definitely two 36s and two 35s with 3 places to award.
Battle between Andy and Sharpie for best 35 and 3rd went to Andy on BB9.
Battle between Spiggy and Ash for best 36 to separate 1st from 2nd went to Spiggy on BB9.
All decided.
Later on an email from Spiggy. ‘I think Ray may have given me 5-2 on the 10 instead of 5-1!’
Check. Yeap. So Score 35. Not 1st. Not 2nd, But 3rd as Andy (who was 2nd ) had a better B9. So Spiggy now 3rd. All informed and cash and cuts re-allocated.
Ray demoted to assistant marker for 3 games!
A bit later still Andy’s email arrives. ‘I think I should have had a penalty on the 17th as I hit someone else’s ball, realised and then played out the hole and was given a 5-2. I think having checked I should maybe have had a two shot penalty? Yes Andy you should and, unless you went back to the same spot to play your ball - hole doesn’t count!
So further re-checks. All change.
Ash now 1st on 36 with £9 and cut of 3
Spiggy moves up to 2nd place (BB9) with a cut of 2.
Sharpie now moves up into 3rd place with £3 and cut of 1.
So : Spiggy has to give Ash £3 and Andy has to give Sharpie £3.
I wonder how often this is the reality of actual scoring and results - we probably don’t know usually.
Anyway I reflected for all of 20 secs and decided that:
- The whole Andy 4 ball have to take the England Golf Rules online quiz
- Spiggy gets 10 house points for public schoolboy honesty
- Andy has to buy a sharpie pen and write his name on his ball
- Ray has already been demoted
- Ash tried too make it all better by saying it could happen to anyone (ie him) so he gets a raspberry for being smug
- And Robbo gets a raised eyebrow look from me, for leaving me to sort out this mess!
And of course try harder to get it right on the cards!
Results for Wednesday 23rd November 2022
I think that today epitomized how mad golfers can be. Those that managed to play 18 holes might as well have had their very own Four Seasons competition because we certainly had Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer weather in the space of four hours!
There was an incredibly close finish with four people all scoring 36 points. So, yet again, the countback system settled the result. Kev took top spot with a fantastic 23 points on the back nine. It was almost impossible to separate Dennis and Gordon to decide who was second and who was third. Both had 18 points on the back nine, 13 points on the back 6 and 6 points on the back 3!!! In the end Gordon won on the back 1 with 3 points as opposed to Dennis's 2 points
With a possible two more Swindles to go Kev has narrowed the gap to just £5 so the battle for Swindler of the Year is still on.
There was an incredibly close finish with four people all scoring 36 points. So, yet again, the countback system settled the result. Kev took top spot with a fantastic 23 points on the back nine. It was almost impossible to separate Dennis and Gordon to decide who was second and who was third. Both had 18 points on the back nine, 13 points on the back 6 and 6 points on the back 3!!! In the end Gordon won on the back 1 with 3 points as opposed to Dennis's 2 points
With a possible two more Swindles to go Kev has narrowed the gap to just £5 so the battle for Swindler of the Year is still on.
Results for Wednesday 16th November 2022
Things were extremely bleak first thing this morning with the chances of any golf being played looking particularly bleak. However I tried to remain positive and upbeat as I drove in to the club. However the colour of the sky was getting blacker and blacker so I resigned myself to having a coffee and chat before returning home. As I entered the clubhouse I saw that it wasn't only the colour of the sky that was black. In fact the whole of the clubhouse was in complete darkness presumably through some sort of power cut. Amazingly a short while later the weather changed completely and the rain was replaced by cloudy skies and eventually sunny spells. The golf that followed produced some very good scores given the conditions with the highlight being a fantastic 40 points from Kim who deservedly picked up first place and £8. The only down side to his day was that he received a very hefty 9 point cut!! I n second place, and all but sewing up the Swindler of the Year position, was Dennis with 37 points and £5. Ray pipped Robbo on countback, after they both scored 36 points, to take third place and £3. A special mention must go to Ash for a brilliant come back on the back nine (21 points - the second best of the day) after his first nine of 6 points.
Results for Friday 11th November 2022
We welcomed a new boy today in in Ken Paton. He played in the final group with Don, Bill and Robbo and managed to survive 18 holes. After a slightly dodgy start he soon found his feet and said that he thoroughly enjoyed the morning. We will have to take his word for that because nobody could understand what he was saying - he comes from Newcastle!!- only joking Ken!
The trend of average scores continued today with the winning score being only 35 points. Ash pipped Roger T on count-back and Ray did similarly over Dennis to clinch third place.
Anorak facts of the day:
No pars on Holes 4, 5 and 6.
4 Point scores on a hole - DB on 7 and 2, RW on 13 and TW on 8
Birdies on a hole - GR on 3, SH on 11 and BF on 8
Best front 9 - 18 CV and RT
Best back 9 - 21 TW and RW
The trend of average scores continued today with the winning score being only 35 points. Ash pipped Roger T on count-back and Ray did similarly over Dennis to clinch third place.
Anorak facts of the day:
No pars on Holes 4, 5 and 6.
4 Point scores on a hole - DB on 7 and 2, RW on 13 and TW on 8
Birdies on a hole - GR on 3, SH on 11 and BF on 8
Best front 9 - 18 CV and RT
Best back 9 - 21 TW and RW
Results for Wednesday 9th November 2022
A gloomy day saw 19 Swindlers brave the elements in their quest to be king for the day. In the end that king was John P with a very good 38 points. He was closely followed by the ever consistent Greg with 37 points. Third place went to Gordon with 35 points - beating both Dennis and Ash on countback. The eagle eyed of you will notice an absence of 40 point scores. Tactical the cynic might say!! No real change in the race for the Swindler of the Year, but some of the chasers are nearing the end of their cuts so take a look over your shoulder Dennis! Don't get that trophy engraved just yet Roger.
Results for Friday 4th November 2022
A couple of late drop outs reduced the field to 19 and with 10 of them playing off cuts it was all to play for. The aim for many was to eat into Dennis's lead, but unfortunately none of them made any impression at all.
It has been very noticeable of late that scoring has dropped with the change in weather so it was an excellent effort by our Captain to score 40 points and win the day very comfortably. The only downside for Dave was that he received a 6 point cut!! In second place was the ever consistent Greg with 36 points and in third place was Sharpie who played particularly well on the front nine to end up with a very creditable 35 points.
It has been very noticeable of late that scoring has dropped with the change in weather so it was an excellent effort by our Captain to score 40 points and win the day very comfortably. The only downside for Dave was that he received a 6 point cut!! In second place was the ever consistent Greg with 36 points and in third place was Sharpie who played particularly well on the front nine to end up with a very creditable 35 points.
Results for Wednesday 2nd November 2022
With the majority of Seniors at the Orsett awayday the bare minimum required for a swindle enjoyed a pleasant morning playing at Warley. Unfortunately the standard of golf was fairly average to say the least. Kim and I had a close fought match against John Carter and Mike Pearce. Standing on the 18th tee we were one up and quietly confident that we could get te half needed to win the match. However John had other ideas and made a great birdie to leave honours even. And, with that birdie John (30 points) took second place behind Dennis (37 points) the runaway leader on the day.
Another big field on Friday may see Swindler of the year positions change again!!
Another big field on Friday may see Swindler of the year positions change again!!
Results for Monday 31st October 2022
Today was a day when some "firsts" were achieved.
1 We reached a total of £1000 collected (and given out) for swindle prize money.
2. The lowest front nine score of the year (five points) was carded
3. 2 for 6 was achieved on the 8th by the same person who got 2 for 6 on the (shortened) ninth earlier in the year - a Warley Park Seniors record. Congratulations Simon.
4. It was the first time this year that we had 25 swindlers playing on a swindle day.
Shirt sleeves, sunshine, dry, 19 degrees and no wind. You could be forgiven for thinking it was July or August instead of it being November tomorrow. Perfect weather for golf and our fourball of Henry, Captain Dave, John C and myself certainly enjoyed our morning. The highlight was undoubtedly all four of us avoiding getting a blob on Warley's Amen Corner - Holes 4, 5 and 6. Having checked the cards (very sad I know) we were the only group to achieve this feat!!
Taking the prize money today were Chris in third place with 36 points, just pipping Captain Dave on countback, Robbo in second place with 37 points and Bill, continuing his winning streak from Friday, with 40 points. A great effort from Bill considering he was playing off a three point cut.
1 We reached a total of £1000 collected (and given out) for swindle prize money.
2. The lowest front nine score of the year (five points) was carded
3. 2 for 6 was achieved on the 8th by the same person who got 2 for 6 on the (shortened) ninth earlier in the year - a Warley Park Seniors record. Congratulations Simon.
4. It was the first time this year that we had 25 swindlers playing on a swindle day.
Shirt sleeves, sunshine, dry, 19 degrees and no wind. You could be forgiven for thinking it was July or August instead of it being November tomorrow. Perfect weather for golf and our fourball of Henry, Captain Dave, John C and myself certainly enjoyed our morning. The highlight was undoubtedly all four of us avoiding getting a blob on Warley's Amen Corner - Holes 4, 5 and 6. Having checked the cards (very sad I know) we were the only group to achieve this feat!!
Taking the prize money today were Chris in third place with 36 points, just pipping Captain Dave on countback, Robbo in second place with 37 points and Bill, continuing his winning streak from Friday, with 40 points. A great effort from Bill considering he was playing off a three point cut.
Results for Monday 24th October 2022
After a lot of heavy rain over the previous 24 hours the course was considerably wetter and consequently balls were not running anywhere near as far as before. This, coupled with a strong breeze, made scoring difficult for most which made the scores of the top three even more impressive. Winning on the day with a fantastic 43 points was Kim. The good news for him was that he received £10 prize money. The bad news was that he received an EIGHT point cut. Ouch!!!
After his debacle at Belhus, Kev almost trebled his points score (39) to come second winning £6 and receiving a two point cut. ThIs now puts Kev only two points behind Dennis in the race to become Swindler of the Year. And don't forget Tim who is just biding his time at the moment, but it is likely to strike at any time.
In third place was John Carter who scored a very creditable 38 points off 14. It was good to see him pick up some prize money(£3) for the first time in a while. Actually we didn't see this as he wasn't there when the results were announced!!
The final Swindle will be on Wednesday 30th November so there is still (some) time for everyone to make a late run.
Captain Dave will also be thinking hard over the next month about who he will select as Bandit of the Year. There are plenty of names in the running for this very prestigious award and it will certainly be a difficult choice.
Who would you choose?
After his debacle at Belhus, Kev almost trebled his points score (39) to come second winning £6 and receiving a two point cut. ThIs now puts Kev only two points behind Dennis in the race to become Swindler of the Year. And don't forget Tim who is just biding his time at the moment, but it is likely to strike at any time.
In third place was John Carter who scored a very creditable 38 points off 14. It was good to see him pick up some prize money(£3) for the first time in a while. Actually we didn't see this as he wasn't there when the results were announced!!
The final Swindle will be on Wednesday 30th November so there is still (some) time for everyone to make a late run.
Captain Dave will also be thinking hard over the next month about who he will select as Bandit of the Year. There are plenty of names in the running for this very prestigious award and it will certainly be a difficult choice.
Who would you choose?
Results for Friday 14th October 2022
A big drop out rate for today, but still 16 fit (ish) players. A warm and bright Oct day. Great for golf. No confusion today with the balls Robbo - the bag was deep and not see through! Somehow though the old favourites still had their balls pulled first! Having played with Les and Sharpie on Weds I somehow managed to select them again, this time with Greg - we have such good games together we're thinking of starting a separate 'insider' swindle group! We welcomed back Ash fresh from his golfing success in Spain. Well, actually it was just the one bottle of wine, nothing more after the big start he reported.
And the day was not without excitement as we noted the introduction of the new 'buggy taxi service' that transports golfers back to the clubhouse at great speed to fulfil outstanding contract requirements!!
The scores were good, although the magic 40 was miraculously just missed by the top 2 players! John Clare (39) took 1st place on BB9 from I (Gordon) (39), with Mike Tringham in 3rd with 38.For legal reasons I make no assertions, but it was interesting to note whilst standing on the 18th tee waiting to drive off that there was a considerable delay and discussion on the green before John putted for his 39 point score. A lot of calculating 'could' have been taking place is such a long period!!
Well played all.
G
And the day was not without excitement as we noted the introduction of the new 'buggy taxi service' that transports golfers back to the clubhouse at great speed to fulfil outstanding contract requirements!!
The scores were good, although the magic 40 was miraculously just missed by the top 2 players! John Clare (39) took 1st place on BB9 from I (Gordon) (39), with Mike Tringham in 3rd with 38.For legal reasons I make no assertions, but it was interesting to note whilst standing on the 18th tee waiting to drive off that there was a considerable delay and discussion on the green before John putted for his 39 point score. A lot of calculating 'could' have been taking place is such a long period!!
Well played all.
G
Results for Wednesday 12th October 2022
Another pleasant day for playing golf saw 18 of us put our balls in the bag and promptly take them out again.Apprently the bag was too small and I had put the balls in the bag in certain positions so that i kmew where each person's ball was. The second attempt saw the return of the see through bag and it was to nobody's surprise that I came out in the first threeball!!
All I can say is "Don't forgot to bring a suitable bag tomorrow Gordon"
As for the golf coming out on top of the pile with 40 points was everyone's favourite policeman. Apparently he scored 15 points on the last four holes - a superb effort Roger. Being his second score of 40 or more he receives a 5 point cut!! Second and third place went to two canny golfers( Bill and Sharpie) who managed to avoid scoring 40 points( both got 38) and therefore only get cuts of two and one respectively. A quick mention goes to Greg who also scored 38 points but lost out on countback.
All I can say is "Don't forgot to bring a suitable bag tomorrow Gordon"
As for the golf coming out on top of the pile with 40 points was everyone's favourite policeman. Apparently he scored 15 points on the last four holes - a superb effort Roger. Being his second score of 40 or more he receives a 5 point cut!! Second and third place went to two canny golfers( Bill and Sharpie) who managed to avoid scoring 40 points( both got 38) and therefore only get cuts of two and one respectively. A quick mention goes to Greg who also scored 38 points but lost out on countback.
Results for Monday 10th October 2022
At 7.30 a.m things certainly didn't look promising as far as playing golf was concerned. The Captain and Vice Captain refused to allow the weather conditions affect their dress code for the match against Canons Brook and turned up in shorts and polo shirts whereas others due to play in the Swindle were kitted out in full waterproof gear.
The starts for both the match and the Swindle were delayed long enough for all the Arsenal supporters( who seem to have grown recently) to ask Robbo what he thought of the match yesterday!!
The decision to wait half an hour certainly paid dividends as the weather for the rest of the morning was positively delightful.
Eight Swindlers set off from Warley 10 to 18 and then played Childerditch. I must say we had all forgotten how tricky some of the holes are across the road are. Robbo had pulled a calf muscle at the weekend and so shared a buggy with Sir Simon and left Ian and Mike P to walk. Ian and Simon won our mini match with the highlight being Ian's consecutive birdies on the fifth and sixth Childerditch holes. He would surely have won the day had he not lost his ball on the final hole.!!
This allowed Robbo and Simon to nip ahead.
The good news for Wednesday is that no rain is forecast.
The starts for both the match and the Swindle were delayed long enough for all the Arsenal supporters( who seem to have grown recently) to ask Robbo what he thought of the match yesterday!!
The decision to wait half an hour certainly paid dividends as the weather for the rest of the morning was positively delightful.
Eight Swindlers set off from Warley 10 to 18 and then played Childerditch. I must say we had all forgotten how tricky some of the holes are across the road are. Robbo had pulled a calf muscle at the weekend and so shared a buggy with Sir Simon and left Ian and Mike P to walk. Ian and Simon won our mini match with the highlight being Ian's consecutive birdies on the fifth and sixth Childerditch holes. He would surely have won the day had he not lost his ball on the final hole.!!
This allowed Robbo and Simon to nip ahead.
The good news for Wednesday is that no rain is forecast.
Results for Friday 7th October 2022
The beautiful Autumn weather continues and so do the large numbers taking part in the Swindle. We welcomed Paul Fileman today and although he didn't play as well as he would have liked (his words) hopefully he enjoyed the company of Dennis, Joe, and Kevin B.
Speaking of Kevin B, having completed his period of swindle probation, he promptly played a fantastic round of 42 points and took top spot on the day (Cut 4). Second was Gordon with 39 points - Cut 2 (I am going to do a Dennis today and get 39 points I seem to recall him saying coming down Slippery) and third was Robbo with a steady 38 points Cut 1.
Dennis continues to hold a substantial lead in the race to be Swindler of the Year but look out Den because Kev, Tim and a few others are still looking to catch you!!
Speaking of Kevin B, having completed his period of swindle probation, he promptly played a fantastic round of 42 points and took top spot on the day (Cut 4). Second was Gordon with 39 points - Cut 2 (I am going to do a Dennis today and get 39 points I seem to recall him saying coming down Slippery) and third was Robbo with a steady 38 points Cut 1.
Dennis continues to hold a substantial lead in the race to be Swindler of the Year but look out Den because Kev, Tim and a few others are still looking to catch you!!
Results for Friday 30th September 2022
Some localised fog threatened to delay proceedings this morning but fortunately it lifted just in time. Steve "Ding Dong" Bell failed to make it due to feeling a little under the weather but everyone else managed to negotiate the traffic and mist to arrive in time for the draw. Or so we thought!!! Someone was adamant that they had seen Terry Medley in the car park but clearly they hadn't. Eventually the draw took place and one three ball and four fourballs were soon heading off to the 1st tee.
After a very pleasant morning it was really nice to see some new names picking up the majority of the prize money with excellent stableford scores. Andy S (46 points winning£10) just pipped Mike P (45 points winning £6). Both have been added to the list of potential Bandits of the Year. Greg continued with his consistent scoring (39 points) to pick up third place and £3.
The condition of the course is slowly improving and it was certainly very noticeable how quick the putts were if you ended up in the wrong place on the green!
Only one swindle next week so let's have a big field so that we have Dennis looking over his shoulder!!!
After a very pleasant morning it was really nice to see some new names picking up the majority of the prize money with excellent stableford scores. Andy S (46 points winning£10) just pipped Mike P (45 points winning £6). Both have been added to the list of potential Bandits of the Year. Greg continued with his consistent scoring (39 points) to pick up third place and £3.
The condition of the course is slowly improving and it was certainly very noticeable how quick the putts were if you ended up in the wrong place on the green!
Only one swindle next week so let's have a big field so that we have Dennis looking over his shoulder!!!
Results for Wednesday 28th September 2022
A beautiful morning for playing golf saw 19 Seniors congregate for the usual 0740 draw. The see through bag is now a distant memory having been replaced by Robbo's latest hotel find!
The course craters are gradually being filled in although it would have been nice if we could have been informed that they would be doing so on the 5th hole in the middle of our rounds. On the other hand there may have been some who were delighted to find that the hole had been shortened by 100 yards.
Coming out on top today with his 10th score of 39 points was Dennis. He picked up £10 and rocketed ahead of everyone else in the race to become Swindler of the Year.
Second and third place both scored 37 points and had to be separated by countback with Les just pipping Kim.
Another large field are due tp play on Friday so let's hope the weather is kind to us once more.
The course craters are gradually being filled in although it would have been nice if we could have been informed that they would be doing so on the 5th hole in the middle of our rounds. On the other hand there may have been some who were delighted to find that the hole had been shortened by 100 yards.
Coming out on top today with his 10th score of 39 points was Dennis. He picked up £10 and rocketed ahead of everyone else in the race to become Swindler of the Year.
Second and third place both scored 37 points and had to be separated by countback with Les just pipping Kim.
Another large field are due tp play on Friday so let's hope the weather is kind to us once more.
Results for Friday 23rd September 2022
A larger than usual number of Seniors gathered together this morning hoping that the weather wouldn't put a dampner on things. As it turned out there was only a little light rain for the first five or six holes so we were quite fortunate that the weather forecast got it slightly wrong. Generally scores were slightly below average, but congratulations go to Ray winning with a fantastic 41 points for which he was rewarded with a a 6 point cut.
In second place was Winesy who has to be the golfer of the week. Having received a 4 point cut for his efforts on Wednesday he promptly receive a 6 point cut today for his second place with 40 points!! Has anyone ever had 10 points worth of cuts in one week before? Well played Pete.
Making up the top three was Henry with his 37 points. He was relieved to hear that he only received a one point cut.
In second place was Winesy who has to be the golfer of the week. Having received a 4 point cut for his efforts on Wednesday he promptly receive a 6 point cut today for his second place with 40 points!! Has anyone ever had 10 points worth of cuts in one week before? Well played Pete.
Making up the top three was Henry with his 37 points. He was relieved to hear that he only received a one point cut.
Results for Weds 21st September 2022
Never a truer word was spoken when Dennis said "You never want to win in the swindle when there are only seven people playing"
Just ask Winesy!! Today there was the bare minimum of seven players and he came second.
Result - Winesy paid in £1. Took out £2 prize money. Net gain £1 and Cut 4 - one for coming second and a further three for his third score of 40 or more!!
Ian, our highest ever Swindle score with 55 points earlier in the year, came out on top this morning with a mere 44 points. I had the pleasure of playing with him and he certainly needs to be added to the list of people to be considered for bandit of the year. I don't envy the person making that decision Captain Dave.
In all seriousness he hit the ball off the tee as well as anyone I have seen this year and if he gets his short game tidied up I have no doubt his handicap will come rocketing down.
Just ask Winesy!! Today there was the bare minimum of seven players and he came second.
Result - Winesy paid in £1. Took out £2 prize money. Net gain £1 and Cut 4 - one for coming second and a further three for his third score of 40 or more!!
Ian, our highest ever Swindle score with 55 points earlier in the year, came out on top this morning with a mere 44 points. I had the pleasure of playing with him and he certainly needs to be added to the list of people to be considered for bandit of the year. I don't envy the person making that decision Captain Dave.
In all seriousness he hit the ball off the tee as well as anyone I have seen this year and if he gets his short game tidied up I have no doubt his handicap will come rocketing down.
Results for Monday 19th September 2022
A smallish field of 10 swindlers went out today and with seven of them on cuts the scores (apart from two) were quite low. Top of the pile and playing off his club course handicap was Spiggy with a very good 40 points. Kevin B would have been second with an equally impressive 39 points but it was only his 3rd swindle. Sadly for him he still gets a cut of 1! As a result of Kevin not being able to pick up any prize money 2nd place went to Captain Dave with his 35 points. With a large field anticipated on Friday and big prize money on offer look out for those returning to their full handicap allowance.
Results for Friday 2nd September 2022
Another fantastic day for playing golf. As is usual now there were a few late changes to the number of Seniors who were able to play. It may be that yesterday's match meant that for some playing three days in a row was just one step too far for their bodies!
The change in numbers proved far too much for the Swindle Organiser who somehow managed to draw out one group of three and four groups of four when there were 17 players. Chaos followed on the first tee when attempting to change the groups to three lots of three and two lots of four.
Fortunately for Robbo he drew himself out in the original first group of three with John Clare and Sir Simon so they set off smartly and left the others to do the re- arranging!! However, that was as good as it got for the three of them as they came in with very poor scores compared to most of the field.
"Serves you right" I hear from some of the more disgruntled members (Ed.note. Hanging around in 3 balls at the end!) On a more serious note there was clearly some fantastic golf played during the morning. Capt Dave, Sharpie and Bill all came in with 41points and didn't even get into the podium positions. Small consolation is that they didn't receive any hefty cuts!
That was not the case for those finishing in the top 3
1st Kev alias Pedro 44 points Cut 6! (3+3) £9
2nd Kim 43 points Cut 6! (2+4) £5
3rd Gordon 43 points Cut 6! (1+5) £3
Tough on all of them, especially Gordon winning £3 and getting cut 6, but do we feel sorry for them?
The change in numbers proved far too much for the Swindle Organiser who somehow managed to draw out one group of three and four groups of four when there were 17 players. Chaos followed on the first tee when attempting to change the groups to three lots of three and two lots of four.
Fortunately for Robbo he drew himself out in the original first group of three with John Clare and Sir Simon so they set off smartly and left the others to do the re- arranging!! However, that was as good as it got for the three of them as they came in with very poor scores compared to most of the field.
"Serves you right" I hear from some of the more disgruntled members (Ed.note. Hanging around in 3 balls at the end!) On a more serious note there was clearly some fantastic golf played during the morning. Capt Dave, Sharpie and Bill all came in with 41points and didn't even get into the podium positions. Small consolation is that they didn't receive any hefty cuts!
That was not the case for those finishing in the top 3
1st Kev alias Pedro 44 points Cut 6! (3+3) £9
2nd Kim 43 points Cut 6! (2+4) £5
3rd Gordon 43 points Cut 6! (1+5) £3
Tough on all of them, especially Gordon winning £3 and getting cut 6, but do we feel sorry for them?
Results for Wednesday 31st August 2022
Another decent sized field took to the course in lovely conditions for playing golf. When will the weather break we ask ourselves and should we now be trying to find our jumpers, umbrellas, winter shoes and winter wheels? Thankfully the forecast suggests that the answer to the question is " not for a few weeks ".
Having returned from holiday I found out that the white tees are now the black tees and the yellow tees are the white tees. All very confusing especially when, for the first time ever, when I went to set my Garmin up I was asked which tees I would be playing off! I wonder if that happened to anyone else?
The cynic in me is starting to believe that people are beginning to work out the swindle places and prize money. Ask Dennis and he'll tell you that there is no point in being first, second or third if there are less than ten people playing. Someone else (who shall be nameless) says he will think very seriously about getting 40 points or more now as the average cut is working out at 5 or 6 points!!! Some might believe that Tim has the answer - get to the top of the money winning table and then disappear off to Cyprus for a couple of months!!! Finally, are you better off (like today) getting 39 points and hoping you are in the prize money and only receiving small cut? It certainly looks like being the closest finish for many a year to the Swindler of the Year competition.
It was great to see Bob Phillips topping the leaderboard for the first time his year just pipping Mike P on countback. Another solid round saw Sharpie snatch 3rd place. Congratulations to all three.
Having returned from holiday I found out that the white tees are now the black tees and the yellow tees are the white tees. All very confusing especially when, for the first time ever, when I went to set my Garmin up I was asked which tees I would be playing off! I wonder if that happened to anyone else?
The cynic in me is starting to believe that people are beginning to work out the swindle places and prize money. Ask Dennis and he'll tell you that there is no point in being first, second or third if there are less than ten people playing. Someone else (who shall be nameless) says he will think very seriously about getting 40 points or more now as the average cut is working out at 5 or 6 points!!! Some might believe that Tim has the answer - get to the top of the money winning table and then disappear off to Cyprus for a couple of months!!! Finally, are you better off (like today) getting 39 points and hoping you are in the prize money and only receiving small cut? It certainly looks like being the closest finish for many a year to the Swindler of the Year competition.
It was great to see Bob Phillips topping the leaderboard for the first time his year just pipping Mike P on countback. Another solid round saw Sharpie snatch 3rd place. Congratulations to all three.
Results for Friday 26th August 2022
18 golfers to play and after Thursday's rainfest that caused the 2nd day of the East Sussex trip to be cancelled, we had a lovely sunny day! Some were back on BIG handicaps and of course it showed.
Ian P was doubly pleased as for the 1st time (he says) in years he got to go out first. Didn't see him again as the early three balls were in and back well before the 4 balls all rolled in. Most of those that stayed on had a possible stake in the prizes.
We were pleased to welcome back into the fold Alan Hewlett who had absented himself for a few years for a number of reasons, but now felt that he was ready to play again. He's trying things out at the minute and if all good will get his cards in to secure a formal HC again. Good luck Alan.
Andy S also made this one ready to complete his 3rd swindle and start to get in the mix properly. His performance on the day suggests we have another 'Mexican person' perfecting his future successes.
But on the day it was some of the old favourites that took the top spots.
Another very solidly good 41 from Greg got him 3rd spot and a cut of 4.
Ash and Dennis both 'fresh' from their stunningly good scores at East Sussex (19 and 24!) came in together with 43 points, but Dennis pushed Ash into 2nd on a better B9. Robbo would have enjoyed the opportunity I had to cut Dennis by 10 shots and Ash by 6 shots in one go!!
Robbo is back over the weekend and hopefully will be able to adjust the Main Table before the next Swindle, which based on numbers won't be until Weds.
Ian P was doubly pleased as for the 1st time (he says) in years he got to go out first. Didn't see him again as the early three balls were in and back well before the 4 balls all rolled in. Most of those that stayed on had a possible stake in the prizes.
We were pleased to welcome back into the fold Alan Hewlett who had absented himself for a few years for a number of reasons, but now felt that he was ready to play again. He's trying things out at the minute and if all good will get his cards in to secure a formal HC again. Good luck Alan.
Andy S also made this one ready to complete his 3rd swindle and start to get in the mix properly. His performance on the day suggests we have another 'Mexican person' perfecting his future successes.
But on the day it was some of the old favourites that took the top spots.
Another very solidly good 41 from Greg got him 3rd spot and a cut of 4.
Ash and Dennis both 'fresh' from their stunningly good scores at East Sussex (19 and 24!) came in together with 43 points, but Dennis pushed Ash into 2nd on a better B9. Robbo would have enjoyed the opportunity I had to cut Dennis by 10 shots and Ash by 6 shots in one go!!
Robbo is back over the weekend and hopefully will be able to adjust the Main Table before the next Swindle, which based on numbers won't be until Weds.
Results for Monday 17th August 2022
Eleven swindlers, with Dennis (protecting his handicap, now back to 25) Greg and Mike T. breaking their necks before the rain (which never came) and finishing one hour before the 2nd group of me, Simon, Les and Winesy. We had a good close match with myself and Simon going one up thanks to Simon’s 5 for 4 on the 17th. and 3 points on the last.
Don, (with 38 points and a back nine of 23 ) took the honour by 5, with John C , Ian H, Richard F. making up their fourball.
Les squeezed into 2nd place on BB6, with Greg 3rd.
Ray
Don, (with 38 points and a back nine of 23 ) took the honour by 5, with John C , Ian H, Richard F. making up their fourball.
Les squeezed into 2nd place on BB6, with Greg 3rd.
Ray
Results for Friday 12th August 2022
On yet another swelteringly hot day 15 Seniors braved the conditions with the golf bringing mixed results. The difference between the best and worst score wasn't quite as wide as it was when Ian produced his amazing score on Wednesday, but was still 22 points. It was certainly a day when Gordon needed to be here to get one over Dennis in their personal battle.(see today's results).
It was actually an achievement that everyone finished their round today in the very hot conditions. Having spoken to most people a lot of them said they were definitely flagging from around Hole 13 onwards. The scores reflected that and for the only the 2nd time recently some prize money went to someone with a score of less than 36 (Greg 34 points £2). The runner up was Ray winning £5 with 38 points. Robbo took first place winning £8 with 41 points.
Let's hope we have some rain soon and the temperatures drop so that playing conditions are a little more pleasant.
It was actually an achievement that everyone finished their round today in the very hot conditions. Having spoken to most people a lot of them said they were definitely flagging from around Hole 13 onwards. The scores reflected that and for the only the 2nd time recently some prize money went to someone with a score of less than 36 (Greg 34 points £2). The runner up was Ray winning £5 with 38 points. Robbo took first place winning £8 with 41 points.
Let's hope we have some rain soon and the temperatures drop so that playing conditions are a little more pleasant.
Results for Wednesday 10th August 2022
Robbo was back, so all back to normal! 17 seniors and a hot dusty course to beat down. One or two, or at least one in particular, did that beyond their dreams for today! The 1st 3 ball had Richard F going out to complete his 3rd swindle. He has been playing off 28 whilst securing his handicap. Perhaps we weren't very generous, but he'll soon get a HC that is perhaps a bit fairer for his current level of golf - that's shorthand for 'get ready for yet another bandit! The 2nd 3 ball had the miss-match of Dennis and Gordon - both playing off 14 and of course still locked into deadly 'box of balls at end of year ' battle, based on the number of highest score swindle wins over each other - Dennis's day today - just! Can't recall order after that. But at the end was the group containing both the shinning star and the falling star. Ash at score 22 was beaten by his brutal 10 handicap today. But rising to a level never seen before in a swindle (or perhaps any game we have seen played at WP?) was Ian Harris (or Stig as Dennis calls him) who came in with a truly amazing 55 POINTS - YES 55. A gross round of 78. All for £8 and a cut of 4 - and not even a hole in one ! Brilliant day Ian. I played with Mike Tringham who played a very good game to earn his 2nd place with an excellent 41 points. And in 3rd was this year's bandit 'Vice' Kevin - nothing unusal to report there!
NB Robbo was back with his usual solid score - 37 in this case ; and managed to get out 55 when announcing the winner without choking too much....!
G
NB Robbo was back with his usual solid score - 37 in this case ; and managed to get out 55 when announcing the winner without choking too much....!
G
Results for Wednesday 5th August 2022
Robbo was absent from duty ( he said something about taking a sand wedge and a few balls to Frinton with the grandchildren?) so another chance for a cock up. Yeap! Count 19 or 20 ? All in the clubhouse and golf ready. 1st 3ball taken out of bag - Simon's in it - 'Oh no I can't be first I'm not ready!? Anyway 3 sent out. Next 3 4 balls picked and gone, but 'what's this' 5 balls left in the bag? Urgent dispatch of an extra player to join the 1st 3 ball. Decided to leave the other 4 behind and take their balls with me! All fixed!
Not sure if its late nights, early mornings, or just the weariness of seniors, but the scores on the day were decidedly low compared to recent outings. They have the look of winter golf scores achieved in tropical weather!
So with 35 points Tim stepped in to take the first place £10 and a cut of 3 (which just takes him into 1st place overall - but he's not now around for a month so change expected).
Ray and Steve Benton's cards had a bit of a battle to settle 2nd from 3rd places, with Ray just edging out Steve on a better back 6, earning them cuts of 2 and 1.
We welcomed Andy Sargent to his 1st swindle with us. He claimed afterward that he had enjoyed it and would be coming back for more. Even though he'd met the Vice and Dennis!
G
Not sure if its late nights, early mornings, or just the weariness of seniors, but the scores on the day were decidedly low compared to recent outings. They have the look of winter golf scores achieved in tropical weather!
So with 35 points Tim stepped in to take the first place £10 and a cut of 3 (which just takes him into 1st place overall - but he's not now around for a month so change expected).
Ray and Steve Benton's cards had a bit of a battle to settle 2nd from 3rd places, with Ray just edging out Steve on a better back 6, earning them cuts of 2 and 1.
We welcomed Andy Sargent to his 1st swindle with us. He claimed afterward that he had enjoyed it and would be coming back for more. Even though he'd met the Vice and Dennis!
G
Results for Wednesday 3rd August 2022
Into the second half of the year and the race to become Swindler of the Year is hotting up nicely. The inclusion of additional cuts for 40+ scores is ensuring that no one is running away from everyone else and, at the same time, results in the prize money being shared around between almost everyone.
Over the course of the first half of the year the average scores have been nothing short of miraculous. A total of 26 people have had a score of 40+ , 17 of those have managed it twice and 7 had managed it more than twice.
With today's 43 points Dennis has managed it 6 times and his prize is £8 and a massive 9 point cut for his next 4 games. Kim and Robbo both got 40 points, with Kim getting second place due to a better back 9. £4 and cut 5 Kim! Robbo third and £2 cut 3.
A largish field on Friday will bring a chance to close on the leaders (Dennis Kev and Tim) or maybe for them to pull ahead.
Over the course of the first half of the year the average scores have been nothing short of miraculous. A total of 26 people have had a score of 40+ , 17 of those have managed it twice and 7 had managed it more than twice.
With today's 43 points Dennis has managed it 6 times and his prize is £8 and a massive 9 point cut for his next 4 games. Kim and Robbo both got 40 points, with Kim getting second place due to a better back 9. £4 and cut 5 Kim! Robbo third and £2 cut 3.
A largish field on Friday will bring a chance to close on the leaders (Dennis Kev and Tim) or maybe for them to pull ahead.
Results for Friday 29th July 2022
A large turnout on yet another good weather day. It would seem that the hard ground and quicker greens are causing some, more problems than others, as the scores show.
We welcomed Kevin Benmore to his first game with us today, and hope he enjoys the golf and the banter. Richard Fisher played his 2nd game and is now able to get his HC cards in.
The current top 3 swindlers were kept out of the prizes today with a win by Gordon with 41 points (and Cut 7 as 3 prev 40+s), a very good 2nd by John Clare with 40 (only a 3 cut as no other 40s) and Chris V in 3rd with 37 (BB9) (a cut of 1). These 3 players all came from the same 4 ball group- won't mention the 4th players scoring, but thanks for marking the card Kim!
I assume that the day was largely uneventful for the other groups as there were no stories circulating that I picked up on.
Chris and I were playing our singles semi final during the swindle and I have to mention that going into the 17th 1 up I was feeling reasonably confident. But Chris's sinking of a 40 foot putt for a birdie rather deflated that confidence! But I did manage to scrape it on the 18th. But an all-round excellent game, so well played to both of us.
G
NB Spiggy tells me he has played 15 games and is thus eligible for winning the Swindler of the Year title. Go on then Spiggy.....!
We welcomed Kevin Benmore to his first game with us today, and hope he enjoys the golf and the banter. Richard Fisher played his 2nd game and is now able to get his HC cards in.
The current top 3 swindlers were kept out of the prizes today with a win by Gordon with 41 points (and Cut 7 as 3 prev 40+s), a very good 2nd by John Clare with 40 (only a 3 cut as no other 40s) and Chris V in 3rd with 37 (BB9) (a cut of 1). These 3 players all came from the same 4 ball group- won't mention the 4th players scoring, but thanks for marking the card Kim!
I assume that the day was largely uneventful for the other groups as there were no stories circulating that I picked up on.
Chris and I were playing our singles semi final during the swindle and I have to mention that going into the 17th 1 up I was feeling reasonably confident. But Chris's sinking of a 40 foot putt for a birdie rather deflated that confidence! But I did manage to scrape it on the 18th. But an all-round excellent game, so well played to both of us.
G
NB Spiggy tells me he has played 15 games and is thus eligible for winning the Swindler of the Year title. Go on then Spiggy.....!
Results for Wednesday 27th July 2022
A small field of 10 enjoyed a pleasant morning's golf in perfect conditions. Scores were very good and headed by Winesy with a magnificent 42 points (cut 4 I'm afraid Pete!).
Following on from his success in the Oscar Bates was Don with yet another 40 score (also cut 4 !) Watch out Don - you will soon be seen as a contender for 'Bandit of the Year' by some if you keep up getting these high scores!! Getting his money back in 3rd place was John Carter. If memory serves me correctly that is his first winnings of the year! Hopefully this is just the start and there will be some big winnings coming your way from now on!
For those not playing today a new nickname was given to one of our Seniors - Clue - Two shillings and sixpence.
Anyone who can work out who this is and what his nickname is can post it on Whatsapp
All will be revealed by our current Vice Captain on Captain's Day.
Ed. We're intrigued!
Following on from his success in the Oscar Bates was Don with yet another 40 score (also cut 4 !) Watch out Don - you will soon be seen as a contender for 'Bandit of the Year' by some if you keep up getting these high scores!! Getting his money back in 3rd place was John Carter. If memory serves me correctly that is his first winnings of the year! Hopefully this is just the start and there will be some big winnings coming your way from now on!
For those not playing today a new nickname was given to one of our Seniors - Clue - Two shillings and sixpence.
Anyone who can work out who this is and what his nickname is can post it on Whatsapp
All will be revealed by our current Vice Captain on Captain's Day.
Ed. We're intrigued!
Results for Friday 22nd July 2022
After the recent scorching temperatures 13 swindlers were delighted with the more benign weather conditions this morning. Due to the annual cricket match between Brentwood and past English international players Ash and teed off (with Kim/Spiggy) slightly early in order that they could get to all the food and drink on their pre-booked table in the marquee at Bentwood CC. before everyone else ate and drank it!!!!! The early start clearly wasn't an issue for Ash(£7) as he scored an extremely impressive 42 points and made the rest of us look very ordinary. However, as this was his third 40 points, or more, score he received a hefty six point cut!! Dennis(£4), you won't be surprised to hear, managed to avoid getting 40 points and only received a two point cut for his 38 points. Robbo(£2) was third and cut 1.
Results for Wednesday 20th July 2022
The recent unbelievably hot weather has taken its toll on the Seniors Section. Today saw a very low turnout in the swindle with only 9 participants. Winesy brought a guest along who many of the Seniors will know - Bob Doe. By all accounts he enjoyed coming back and playing with a few old faces. He clearly inspired Winesy who romped home in second place with a fine 38 points( £3 and cut 1). Coming out on top with a marvellous 40 points (his third) was Razor (£6 and cut 5) Congratulations to both.
Results for Wednesday 13th July 2022
15 swindlers today all on time for a 7.48 tee off. Very hot when we turned for the back nine. Adrian’s first counting swindle and 41 points for second place. A very good first place for Bill and another place for Sir Simon.
Ray
Ray
Results for Wednesday 6th July 2022
Eight swindlers today in two four balls. Myself (Ray), JC, Bill & Capt. Dave had a very pleasant round. We all had our moments, with John C having the better score of 36 points. The other four ball produced the predictable winners with JP 41 points and Kev a magnificent 44 points off 20. The round started badly for Joe who drove into the ditch on the first and in trying to retrieve his ball started to slide on all fours into the mud. I heard JP helped pull Joe out, wiped him down and cleaned him up. No extra points for being a hero. JP did say they gave Joe a wide birth for a few holes until the pong receded.
Ray
Ray
Results for Monday 4th July 2022
The recent glorious weather continued today and with it came a large swindle field and large prize money. Ash was back having spent the weekend treating his hamstring and it was nice to see Senor Benton and Dave Oakley putting in rare appearances.
I must sound a bit like a broken record but, as is commonplace now, the top three all had 40, or more, points.
For the second swindle in a row I played with Sir Simon and for the second swindle in a row he scored 40 points.
I thought that I had seen it all last Friday when he got 3 for 5 on the 8th hole, but today he went one better with a 2 for 6 (courtesy of a lovely chip in from 50 ish yards) on the temporary par 3 9th!!! Despite this wonderful shot he could not quite match the 42 points of ex-captain Steve who picked up some prize money after 14 previous attempts. Simon did have the consolation of beating both Rex and Dennis on countback to finish second. Rex was third and all three deserve our congratulations and some hefty cuts!!
I must sound a bit like a broken record but, as is commonplace now, the top three all had 40, or more, points.
For the second swindle in a row I played with Sir Simon and for the second swindle in a row he scored 40 points.
I thought that I had seen it all last Friday when he got 3 for 5 on the 8th hole, but today he went one better with a 2 for 6 (courtesy of a lovely chip in from 50 ish yards) on the temporary par 3 9th!!! Despite this wonderful shot he could not quite match the 42 points of ex-captain Steve who picked up some prize money after 14 previous attempts. Simon did have the consolation of beating both Rex and Dennis on countback to finish second. Rex was third and all three deserve our congratulations and some hefty cuts!!
Results for Friday 1st July 2022
Fifteen swindlers took to the course in almost perfect golfing weather and as you would expect the scores were generally very good. Twelve of the fifteen managed 30 points, or more, with the winning score being in the forties for the 35th time from 45 swindles this year. Congratulation to Kim who seems to be running into good form lately and also to Sir Simon who picked up some swindle prize money for the first time this year. Having played with him it is really nice to see the improvement in his game of late and although it can be slightly galling for me when he calls out such scores as 8 for 2 and 3 for 5, I am genuinely delighted for him. You can see the pleasure he gets from being competitive once again. John P made up the podium places with a very good 38 points which could have been even better had he not blobbed two of the last three holes!!
Whilst most had a good day the same could not be said for everyone so spare a thought for poor old Ash. The stress of Wednesday's awayday must have got to him. The day actually started very well for him as he remembered to bring his clubs, bag, trolley and shoes. In addition, his ball came out of the bag first and so he was in the first group out and duly parred the first hole. That, however, was when things started to go wrong. Four bobs on the next eight holes left him with only 9 points on the front nine. Things improve slightly over the next eight holes with only two further blobs. So standing on the eighteenth tee he had only amassed 22 points and was probably feeling quite disappointed.
At this point he decided to play the game, against Spiggy, of how many old tees can you pick up from the area around the tee box. Having acquired as many as they could from the yellows they suddenly both made a dart for the red tee. Unfortunately for Ash he hadn't realised that he had left his trolley facing downhill and it was on its way down towards the pond. He suddenly abandoned the tee game and went off at a sprint down the hill towards his trolley. He was gaining on it as both trolley and Ash were just over halfway down the hill. He was now quietly confident that he would get to it before it reached the pond. Then disaster struck. Now travelling at his school athletics speed he suddenly pulled his hamstring. Manfully he tried to continue running but alas in vain. As the pain forced him to stop running he had to stand and watch as his trolley disappeared into the front of the pond!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A day he (or us) will not forget in a hurry.
The good news is that he was able to recover all his valuables and clubs. Last seen he was heading home to clean and dry all his gear and put ice on his hamstring. Hopefully you will be fighting fit with clean gear next week Ash.
Whilst most had a good day the same could not be said for everyone so spare a thought for poor old Ash. The stress of Wednesday's awayday must have got to him. The day actually started very well for him as he remembered to bring his clubs, bag, trolley and shoes. In addition, his ball came out of the bag first and so he was in the first group out and duly parred the first hole. That, however, was when things started to go wrong. Four bobs on the next eight holes left him with only 9 points on the front nine. Things improve slightly over the next eight holes with only two further blobs. So standing on the eighteenth tee he had only amassed 22 points and was probably feeling quite disappointed.
At this point he decided to play the game, against Spiggy, of how many old tees can you pick up from the area around the tee box. Having acquired as many as they could from the yellows they suddenly both made a dart for the red tee. Unfortunately for Ash he hadn't realised that he had left his trolley facing downhill and it was on its way down towards the pond. He suddenly abandoned the tee game and went off at a sprint down the hill towards his trolley. He was gaining on it as both trolley and Ash were just over halfway down the hill. He was now quietly confident that he would get to it before it reached the pond. Then disaster struck. Now travelling at his school athletics speed he suddenly pulled his hamstring. Manfully he tried to continue running but alas in vain. As the pain forced him to stop running he had to stand and watch as his trolley disappeared into the front of the pond!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A day he (or us) will not forget in a hurry.
The good news is that he was able to recover all his valuables and clubs. Last seen he was heading home to clean and dry all his gear and put ice on his hamstring. Hopefully you will be fighting fit with clean gear next week Ash.
Results for Friday 24th June 2022
Half way through the year and the race for Swindler of the Year is hotting up nicely. Dennis and Kev lead the way at present, but with larger numbers playing now the chance to close the gap is there.
Today saw Mike T as a 2nd time swindle winner, with a very impressive score of 40 points. The standard of Seniors golf has certainly improved this year, exemplified by the fact that Mike was the 20th Swindler to score 40 points or more in 2022 - a marked rise in the number who achieved this feat in the previous few years. In second place was Cinderella Ash who outdid the pantomime star by turning up at the ball without any shoes. He ended up playing in a pair found in lost property!! Maybe he should go out and buy a pair of his own if it helps him to play like he did today!! There was, however, a case of Swindle tactics being used by Ash on the 18th green when he avoided the magic 40 points, by missing a 2 foot putt!! Fellow Swindlers should take note of this and ensure that it doesn't happen again by using the Ash gimee. Completing the top three was Robbo with a steady 37 points.
Only one Swindle next week where the competition is bound to be "healthy" as both Kim and Dennis will be back playing off their full Course handicaps of 17 and 25, respectively. Both played their 4th round on a cut today and somehow managed to avoid picking up any prize money. The eagle eyed of you will have noticed that Kim achieved this despite having the best back 9 of the day!!! Dennis managed it by having 32 points after 16 holes and only 33 points at the end of his round!!
More Swindle tactics you may think!
Robbo
Ed: NB see late photographic evidence below.
Today saw Mike T as a 2nd time swindle winner, with a very impressive score of 40 points. The standard of Seniors golf has certainly improved this year, exemplified by the fact that Mike was the 20th Swindler to score 40 points or more in 2022 - a marked rise in the number who achieved this feat in the previous few years. In second place was Cinderella Ash who outdid the pantomime star by turning up at the ball without any shoes. He ended up playing in a pair found in lost property!! Maybe he should go out and buy a pair of his own if it helps him to play like he did today!! There was, however, a case of Swindle tactics being used by Ash on the 18th green when he avoided the magic 40 points, by missing a 2 foot putt!! Fellow Swindlers should take note of this and ensure that it doesn't happen again by using the Ash gimee. Completing the top three was Robbo with a steady 37 points.
Only one Swindle next week where the competition is bound to be "healthy" as both Kim and Dennis will be back playing off their full Course handicaps of 17 and 25, respectively. Both played their 4th round on a cut today and somehow managed to avoid picking up any prize money. The eagle eyed of you will have noticed that Kim achieved this despite having the best back 9 of the day!!! Dennis managed it by having 32 points after 16 holes and only 33 points at the end of his round!!
More Swindle tactics you may think!
Robbo
Ed: NB see late photographic evidence below.
Eds Note: I played with Ash - he said he had forgotten his shoes and had 'borrowed' some from the changing rooms. Forgetting shoes is an Ash thing so I wasn't surprised. When we came into the club house afterwards though I noticed that Ash didn't have any shoes on - photo evidence below. It then came out that he hadn't just forgotten his golf shoes - he hadn't brought ANY shoes. Now that could spark alarm bells, but he assures me that he thought he had his golf shoes in his car so just drove without wearing any! That has surely got to be a 1st, even amongst us poor lot!?
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Eds Note: In case you haven't noticed Don has joined the Seniors - swindle : Don likes to be noticed; nice chap that he is. So we have given him a few mentions here and there - even updated the contact list more quickly so he could be listed to receive all the phone calls he was expecting congratulating him on being signed to the elite squad. As befitting a future star of the results list Don has been given a special swindle badge and welcome photograph! That's it Don - back into obscurity now.
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Results for Wednesday 22nd June 2022
Given one task to complete is always a challenge for a senior. Make it two and it starts to border on the impossible. The thought of three doesn't bear thinking about. The usually cool, calm and collected Gordon exemplified this perfectly today. Attempting to play in the swindle, play in a singles knock out match, and put in a social card for handicap purpose all at the same time proved just a bit too much for him. As I walked past him after my round all he could manage to say was "Never again!!!"
Me thinks we may have to reconsider how we manage putting social cards in!!
It was actually a perfect day for playing golf but only Kev managed to really take advantage of the conditions scoring an excellent 45 points. Another reduction in his club handicap in the making? It was actually a surprise to me that this was his first score of 40, or more, in the swindle so only a three point cut to go with his winnings of £7. Ray just edged out Henry to secure second place and take home £4.
Let's hope for a stress free Swindle on Friday.
Me thinks we may have to reconsider how we manage putting social cards in!!
It was actually a perfect day for playing golf but only Kev managed to really take advantage of the conditions scoring an excellent 45 points. Another reduction in his club handicap in the making? It was actually a surprise to me that this was his first score of 40, or more, in the swindle so only a three point cut to go with his winnings of £7. Ray just edged out Henry to secure second place and take home £4.
Let's hope for a stress free Swindle on Friday.
Results for Monday 20th June 2022
The largest Swindle field of the year gathered bright and early in the clubhouse for the draw which, surprisingly, went off without a hitch. However, the large numbers did present a problem as the last fourball drawn out had to wait for almost an hour to tee off. Should the large numbers become more commonplace we may need to consider having two draw times - maybe something like one at 0730 for the 0740 0748 0756 and 0804 tee times and one at 0800 for the 0812 0820 0828 and 0836 tee times.
The golf itself produced some very good scores with half of the field getting 35 points or more. Only one person (Henry) scored better on the front nine than the back nine, which won't come as a surprise to anybody, but what might is that two players scored 9 points and 10 points respectively on Warley's Amen Corner (Holes 4,5 and 6). Congratulations to Henry and newcomer Adrian (who has now played his 3 intro swindle games).
Congratulations should also go to Don, for a very impressive 41 points in his first Swindle. Sadly for him he still gets cut and doesn't pick up any prize money.
Further congratulations go to Sir Simon for a very impressive 38 points which, I am guessing, is his highest stableford score since his comeback.
Winners on the day were Steve B with a magnificent 44 points (£12 cut 5) Sharpie 40 points (£8 cut 4) and Roger P 40 points (£4 cut 2).
We also welcomed guest Richard Fisher who was 'trying us out' before he decides whether to join WP or not.
Results for Wednesday 15th June 2022
A lovely day at WP with 12 swindlers. We had a nice four ball with Sharpie, Mike Tring & Adrian Webster (for his second swindle ). All played well (except yours truly ) with Sharpie getting 42 points. Unfortunately, I was his partner in our friendly match and we lost 2 & 1. The second group out of Capt. Dave, JP, Winesy & Mike Pearce managed three scores of 40 or better between them. The last group was Dennis, Kev, John Clare & Ian H. Highlight was Kev's eagle on the 16th. However, as his second shot onto the green was blind, nobody saw it disappear into the hole! After a few minutes looking for it Den looked in the hole and there it was.
True to form in golf on Monday Dennis and I were top of the table and 2 days later bottom of the table!
Ray
Results for Monday 13th June 2022
A slightly earlier start than usual due to the match v Top Meadow saw 13 Swindlers all away from the first tee by 07.48. Looking at the scores there was a definite pattern of lower scores on the front 9, but was this down to the early start, or was it due to the difficulty of the holes? Maybe a bit of both for most, but the returning Henry managed to put a spanner in that theory by scoring 19 points on the front 9 and only 11 points on the back 9.
Both Dennis and Ray had slightly disappointing starts to 2022, but are now both in rich veins of form and were well clear of the rest of the field today with 41 points each. Each of them scored 22 points on the back 9 and so the winner was the person with the better back 6. Dennis just came out on top with 16 points as opposed to Ray's 15 points. As a result Dennis was cut 3 and 5 more for his fifth score of 40, or more, and Ray was cut 2 plus another 2 for his second score of 40, or more. John P took third place with a more than acceptable 37 points.
Dennis has now taken the lead in the race to be the swindler of the year so all those with designs on securing this honour will need to up their game. At present his closest challengers are serial bandits Kev and Tim, but a couple of podium finishes will see up to five more challengers closing the gap!!
Both Dennis and Ray had slightly disappointing starts to 2022, but are now both in rich veins of form and were well clear of the rest of the field today with 41 points each. Each of them scored 22 points on the back 9 and so the winner was the person with the better back 6. Dennis just came out on top with 16 points as opposed to Ray's 15 points. As a result Dennis was cut 3 and 5 more for his fifth score of 40, or more, and Ray was cut 2 plus another 2 for his second score of 40, or more. John P took third place with a more than acceptable 37 points.
Dennis has now taken the lead in the race to be the swindler of the year so all those with designs on securing this honour will need to up their game. At present his closest challengers are serial bandits Kev and Tim, but a couple of podium finishes will see up to five more challengers closing the gap!!
Results for Wednesday 1st June 2022
16 of us today with a course in excellent condition and good weather to make us all a bit happier. Plus Kevin was back from his Bermuda trip and as you know he laughs a lot.
Before Robbo left for his break he introduced a new feature for the draw - the ‘funny ball routine’ - in his case the ‘why are we one ball missing in the bag ‘ repeated 3 times - before he took the missing ball out of his hand!
Well, Les developed that routine a bit further today - having put a bright orange ball into the draw he steadfastly refused to identify it as his own when it was pulled out. Much head scratching for a few minutes trying to work out who had played a joke on us, when Les took another look …. You can guess…… Well, it brightens up the draw process!
A wide range of scores today and not particularly high at the top (once we’d cleared up a confusion about a HC in use). Bill’s winning score of 38 was in the end just good enough to keep out John Clare, who came in with a very good 37 for 2nd place. John is using the ‘play one then rest a few, before playing again’ routine to keep his mind and interest up and, based on today, it seems to be working! And in 3rd place was ‘can’t keep him down man’, Greg with a very solid 36.
Behind the stars of the day were 4 players with 35s. I only mention that because I know its of interest to note the scores relative to HC and B9 scores! Something Dennis and I discussed!
Kevin wanted it mentioned that he had very severe jet lag. I think he wanted some sympathy!
Before Robbo left for his break he introduced a new feature for the draw - the ‘funny ball routine’ - in his case the ‘why are we one ball missing in the bag ‘ repeated 3 times - before he took the missing ball out of his hand!
Well, Les developed that routine a bit further today - having put a bright orange ball into the draw he steadfastly refused to identify it as his own when it was pulled out. Much head scratching for a few minutes trying to work out who had played a joke on us, when Les took another look …. You can guess…… Well, it brightens up the draw process!
A wide range of scores today and not particularly high at the top (once we’d cleared up a confusion about a HC in use). Bill’s winning score of 38 was in the end just good enough to keep out John Clare, who came in with a very good 37 for 2nd place. John is using the ‘play one then rest a few, before playing again’ routine to keep his mind and interest up and, based on today, it seems to be working! And in 3rd place was ‘can’t keep him down man’, Greg with a very solid 36.
Behind the stars of the day were 4 players with 35s. I only mention that because I know its of interest to note the scores relative to HC and B9 scores! Something Dennis and I discussed!
Kevin wanted it mentioned that he had very severe jet lag. I think he wanted some sympathy!
Results for Friday 27th May 2022
A little warmer today than of late, with a light wind, so perfect golf weather. 15 down to play, and 15 gathered, but one stray appeared and one lost sheep didn’t ! Bill held up by a good old fashioned Jam and didn’t make the start (but did join in part way), but Les did, although he wasn’t expected.
As it was a Swindle and a HC Card day it was all a little more hectic than usual. And of course the smooth Robot operator was absent - although he has been known to forget to put his ball in the bag! It wasn’t the best day to capture the results for the higher handicappers as most of those were holidaying or having other fun.
Results in the swindle showed some good form. Kim had a blistering day coming in with a clear winning score of 42. Good to see Ian Harris get into the money/points for the 1st time with a very good 38 point second. And Spiggy declared in a late 3rd place with 36 after the organiser for the day spotted his mistake a bit after the event!
Some of the HC cards were a bit dodgy with names missing, handicaps not stated and some just a bit messy! But I think we got there - I hope Keith can make sense of them (Thanks). And we do need to think carefully about how we manage this process better. A job for Robbo while he is relaxing on a Greek Island beach next week?
Anyway in the HC card stakes, Gordon kept his good form going to record a 42 against his course HC (22 v 14 in swindle). So the HC day ‘should’ result in at least one popular cut! Mind you the last win of mine in a comp resulted in a 0.2 increase in my HC! The same should apply for Kim who also had 42, but not quite so good B9. Not sure about the others. Be interesting to hear where cuts do get made.
Anyway got there in the end guys. Well done.
Joe had to retire so we wish him well and hope all ok.
As it was a Swindle and a HC Card day it was all a little more hectic than usual. And of course the smooth Robot operator was absent - although he has been known to forget to put his ball in the bag! It wasn’t the best day to capture the results for the higher handicappers as most of those were holidaying or having other fun.
Results in the swindle showed some good form. Kim had a blistering day coming in with a clear winning score of 42. Good to see Ian Harris get into the money/points for the 1st time with a very good 38 point second. And Spiggy declared in a late 3rd place with 36 after the organiser for the day spotted his mistake a bit after the event!
Some of the HC cards were a bit dodgy with names missing, handicaps not stated and some just a bit messy! But I think we got there - I hope Keith can make sense of them (Thanks). And we do need to think carefully about how we manage this process better. A job for Robbo while he is relaxing on a Greek Island beach next week?
Anyway in the HC card stakes, Gordon kept his good form going to record a 42 against his course HC (22 v 14 in swindle). So the HC day ‘should’ result in at least one popular cut! Mind you the last win of mine in a comp resulted in a 0.2 increase in my HC! The same should apply for Kim who also had 42, but not quite so good B9. Not sure about the others. Be interesting to hear where cuts do get made.
Anyway got there in the end guys. Well done.
Joe had to retire so we wish him well and hope all ok.
Results for Wedsnesday 25th May 2022
A change to the weather today also brought a change to the Swindle scores. Out went the very high scores and in came the kind of scores you might expect on a chilly, windy morning and with a number of people playing off sizeable cuts. With Gordon playing in a doubles match, Kev on holiday and Greg dropping out at the last minute the rest of us had a much better chance of getting on to the podium.
As it turned out I played with Dave C on Monday in the Mulligan and again today in the Swindle. It clearly demonstrated what a strange game golf is. Same course, same player, same handicap same time of day, almost the same weather but completely different scores for Dave. I am sure he won't mind me mentioning that on Monday he lost 8 balls and ended up with a disappointing 25 points whereas today I think he only lost one ball, scored a very good 36 points and took first place!! Ray just nudged out Robbo on countback to take second place.
We also welcomed Ian P for his 1st game with us of 2022. Good to see him back.
Two swindles next week so a chance for everyone to make a move on the leading Swindlers Tim and Kev.
As it turned out I played with Dave C on Monday in the Mulligan and again today in the Swindle. It clearly demonstrated what a strange game golf is. Same course, same player, same handicap same time of day, almost the same weather but completely different scores for Dave. I am sure he won't mind me mentioning that on Monday he lost 8 balls and ended up with a disappointing 25 points whereas today I think he only lost one ball, scored a very good 36 points and took first place!! Ray just nudged out Robbo on countback to take second place.
We also welcomed Ian P for his 1st game with us of 2022. Good to see him back.
Two swindles next week so a chance for everyone to make a move on the leading Swindlers Tim and Kev.
Results for Friday 20th May 2022
The weather forecast stated that there was a 90% chance of rain and it was bang on. Once started It duly continued for most of the morning and the 'sensible' ones called it a day after 9 holes whilst the 'silly' ones ploughed on and played the full 18 holes. Robbo(40 points £7) pipped Ash (39 points £4) courtesy of a missed putt by Ash on the last and Richard (36 points) secured 3rd place to get his £1 back.
Thank you to all those who have let me know of course handicap changes. Let's hope the weather is a little kinder to us next week. If so, we hope to play either Wednesday, or Friday, for handicap purposes.
Thank you to all those who have let me know of course handicap changes. Let's hope the weather is a little kinder to us next week. If so, we hope to play either Wednesday, or Friday, for handicap purposes.
Results for Monday 17th May 2022
With many of the usual Swindle suspects playing at West Essex Roger aka Sarge to organise the draw and results for the day. There were certainly some eyebrows raised in the clubhouse after the morning's play was finished when the winner was announced!!! Only joking Roger. I have it on good authority that you played really well and miraculously managed to avoid the extra cut when scoring 40 points!!! Not only that, but you also pipped Sharpie with a better back 6. It seems that it was your day. Getting his £1 back playing off his new handicap was Irons fan Bob.
We welcomed Nigel Stewart for the first time and I am sure he would have been well looked after. Hope you enjoyed your round Nigel.
We welcomed Nigel Stewart for the first time and I am sure he would have been well looked after. Hope you enjoyed your round Nigel.
Results for Friday 13th May 2022
15 players today - 2 went out on their own as a singles. 13 played the swindle (with a singles in one group). Another morning that promised to be warmer than is was and most were COLD for at least part of the time.
Course defiantly playing well although the greens are still slow by WP standards and a bit varied.
The high scoring from Weds continued with 4 of the 13 at 39 or above.
Sharpie and Robbo argued for 3rd place, but Sharpie just got it on the BB6. Cut of just 1.
Chris V came in a v. good 2nd with 40 points and a cut of 2, with 1 extra (3) for the 1st 40 or more of the year.
Your Comms man came in with a remarkably good 48 points to earn a cut of 3, plus 3 extra (6) for being his 3rd 40, or more, score this year.
I wouldn’t normally blow my own trumpet, but on this occasion I will (and because I’m holding the pen so to speak ) as it was a special round for me. A lowest ever score of Gross 80 - 10 pars and 1 birdie. And that was with a blob on hole 4 (!!) and some 3 putting. So, as good as it was, it could have been much better!! But we all say that don't we!
A special one which I hope we all have now and again! Except Bob of course - as he says he’s got to get his HC up from it’s 20 now to 40! So a very long wait for him……
G
Course defiantly playing well although the greens are still slow by WP standards and a bit varied.
The high scoring from Weds continued with 4 of the 13 at 39 or above.
Sharpie and Robbo argued for 3rd place, but Sharpie just got it on the BB6. Cut of just 1.
Chris V came in a v. good 2nd with 40 points and a cut of 2, with 1 extra (3) for the 1st 40 or more of the year.
Your Comms man came in with a remarkably good 48 points to earn a cut of 3, plus 3 extra (6) for being his 3rd 40, or more, score this year.
I wouldn’t normally blow my own trumpet, but on this occasion I will (and because I’m holding the pen so to speak ) as it was a special round for me. A lowest ever score of Gross 80 - 10 pars and 1 birdie. And that was with a blob on hole 4 (!!) and some 3 putting. So, as good as it was, it could have been much better!! But we all say that don't we!
A special one which I hope we all have now and again! Except Bob of course - as he says he’s got to get his HC up from it’s 20 now to 40! So a very long wait for him……
G
Results for Wednesday 11th May 2022
A rare event - Robbo absent for the day. Not normally one to sit, instead he was doing SAT for the day.
A small group for Weds and a bit chilly on the course. Steve A and Dave O went out as a singles match 1st.
As had been predicted in WA the day before Steve Belly was in that same group as Dennis, and was thus able to spend some time discussing the sartorial elegance of the men's dress styles that dominated the Romantic period. Apparently they found that they had much in common.
However, in our group it was all about golf. After 2/3 holes Roger and I were beginning to wonder if we were going to be 'done over' in our in swindle match after losing holes to par. But a newly reformed, woke awaken, quiet and thoughtful Roger showed that inner steel and started to focus. The score of 45 says it all. A brilliant round for the day and I don't think we heard one roar!
John P and Greg had a battle for 2nd place with excellent 40s returned on the card, but JP playing off 3x Greg's HC got it on the usual back nine difference. I say 'on the card' because having checked the Swindle Table HCs, I found JP down as 38 and not 36! So really a 2 point clear 2nd place. A reminder to all to know your Swindle HCs and check the swindle table if unsure!
It was actually quite a good scoring day and even Dennis's 30 looks really good as he was playing 13 shots below his course HC.
Roger gets cut 3 (2+1 for 40+). John P gets cut 1 + 3 (as his 3rd 40 plus score).
G
A small group for Weds and a bit chilly on the course. Steve A and Dave O went out as a singles match 1st.
As had been predicted in WA the day before Steve Belly was in that same group as Dennis, and was thus able to spend some time discussing the sartorial elegance of the men's dress styles that dominated the Romantic period. Apparently they found that they had much in common.
However, in our group it was all about golf. After 2/3 holes Roger and I were beginning to wonder if we were going to be 'done over' in our in swindle match after losing holes to par. But a newly reformed, woke awaken, quiet and thoughtful Roger showed that inner steel and started to focus. The score of 45 says it all. A brilliant round for the day and I don't think we heard one roar!
John P and Greg had a battle for 2nd place with excellent 40s returned on the card, but JP playing off 3x Greg's HC got it on the usual back nine difference. I say 'on the card' because having checked the Swindle Table HCs, I found JP down as 38 and not 36! So really a 2 point clear 2nd place. A reminder to all to know your Swindle HCs and check the swindle table if unsure!
It was actually quite a good scoring day and even Dennis's 30 looks really good as he was playing 13 shots below his course HC.
Roger gets cut 3 (2+1 for 40+). John P gets cut 1 + 3 (as his 3rd 40 plus score).
G
Results for Wednesday 4th May 2022
It seems ages since we had a swindle yet it was only 12 days ago. We certainly have a busy period coming up over the next few months with Summer knockouts, competitions, inter club matches and awaydays so there will clearly be fewer swindles. There was a good turnout today and the scores were relatively close. The first three places went to Tim, Dennis and Greg with 41, 40 and 39 points respectively. Tim and Dennis were both cut 6 shots for their efforts, but are still leading the race to be Swindler of the Year. Very well played indeed chaps. It is up to the rest of us to try and eat into their lead over the next few weeks.
Could I just ask everyone to remember to check their course handicap on the Swindle Summary Main table (hover over Swindle 2022 heading on left) (especially after a competition) before they play in the swindle to ensure that they are playing off the correct swindle handicap. Obviously, if you are on a cut you will be able to see how many more games you have to play on that cut handicap before reverting to your course handicap. I have been through everyone's course handicap for Warley 1 to 18 and updated the table accordingly. If yours changes up or down, after a competition or submitting a general play card, it would be really helpful if you could let me know direct.
Robbo
Could I just ask everyone to remember to check their course handicap on the Swindle Summary Main table (hover over Swindle 2022 heading on left) (especially after a competition) before they play in the swindle to ensure that they are playing off the correct swindle handicap. Obviously, if you are on a cut you will be able to see how many more games you have to play on that cut handicap before reverting to your course handicap. I have been through everyone's course handicap for Warley 1 to 18 and updated the table accordingly. If yours changes up or down, after a competition or submitting a general play card, it would be really helpful if you could let me know direct.
Robbo
Results for Friday 22nd April 2022
With a number of Swindlers playing at Gosfield Lakes Captain Dave oversaw the draw and results today. 12 players took part and for the second swindle on the trot no one managed more than 36 points. No surprises as to who was the winner however as Kev continued his wonderful run and opened up a large gap between him and the rest in the Swindle table.
Chris just lost out to Kev on countback to finish in second place. Countback featured again to decide third place with Sharpie just edging out John C.
No swindles next week - next one will be on Monday 2nd May( Bank Holiday).
Chris just lost out to Kev on countback to finish in second place. Countback featured again to decide third place with Sharpie just edging out John C.
No swindles next week - next one will be on Monday 2nd May( Bank Holiday).
Results for Wednesday 20th April 2022
With all alarms set to take account of the early start the swindlers made their way to the 10th tee as we played the Warley back 9 and Childerditch today. It was noticeable that the number using a buggy was very similar to those walking. Is this a sign of things to come?
For the first time in ages those collecting the prize money didn't have extremely high scores- mainly due to playing Childerditch I think!! It was great to see Rex back from his winter break and starting his first swindle in 2022. He promptly picked up the winning score. Cut 3 Rex! It was equally good to see Joe pick up some prize money for the first time this year. He finished in second place (on countback). Cut 2 Joe. In 3rd place was Kevin, who seems to pick up some prize money every time he plays!! Cut 1 Kev.
Congratulations to all the winners. Back to the normal start time on Friday and playing Warley 1 to 18. As Ash, Gordon, Kim, and I are playing at Gosfield Lakes Capt Dave will be conducting the draw and collecting the results.
For the first time in ages those collecting the prize money didn't have extremely high scores- mainly due to playing Childerditch I think!! It was great to see Rex back from his winter break and starting his first swindle in 2022. He promptly picked up the winning score. Cut 3 Rex! It was equally good to see Joe pick up some prize money for the first time this year. He finished in second place (on countback). Cut 2 Joe. In 3rd place was Kevin, who seems to pick up some prize money every time he plays!! Cut 1 Kev.
Congratulations to all the winners. Back to the normal start time on Friday and playing Warley 1 to 18. As Ash, Gordon, Kim, and I are playing at Gosfield Lakes Capt Dave will be conducting the draw and collecting the results.
Results for Monday 18th April 2022
After a ten day absence the swindle returned today and, after some last minute adjustments, thirteen of us gathered in the clubhouse for coffee and the draw.
Two more of our newer members have now completed their probationary period and Ian and Terry are now fully fledged Swindlers. Gordon and I played with them today and they both gave a good account of themselves. Sadly, they were not able to collect any prize money, but I am sure it won't be too long before they do.
As is becoming commonplace the winning score was a massive one. Congratulations go to Mark who achieved a magnificent 48 points(cut 5). Captain Dave continued his good form to take second place with 39 points (cut 2) and Dennis (cut 1), with 38 points just pipped Ray to finish in third place.
A reminder that there is an early start for Wednesday's swindle. Meet at 7.15.
Two more of our newer members have now completed their probationary period and Ian and Terry are now fully fledged Swindlers. Gordon and I played with them today and they both gave a good account of themselves. Sadly, they were not able to collect any prize money, but I am sure it won't be too long before they do.
As is becoming commonplace the winning score was a massive one. Congratulations go to Mark who achieved a magnificent 48 points(cut 5). Captain Dave continued his good form to take second place with 39 points (cut 2) and Dennis (cut 1), with 38 points just pipped Ray to finish in third place.
A reminder that there is an early start for Wednesday's swindle. Meet at 7.15.
Results for Friday 8th April 2022
Things got all too much for ex Captain Steve yesterday and as a result he had to message Robbo to let him know that he was not fit enough to play in the Swindle this morning due to injury. Rumour has it that he got a little too carried away with his celebrations whilst watching his sweepstake pick (Sung Jae Im) on TV the night before taking the lead in the Masters. As a result of jumping out of his armchair a little too vigorously he pulled a muscle in his back!!! Get well soon Steve.
There was definitely a nip in the air as we approached the 1st tee and this lasted for most of the morning. However, it did stay dry and most of players had an enjoyable morning. Maybe not Mark, who unfortunately mislaid his 5 iron somewhere on the first five holes. Let's hope that some kind soul hands it in for him. The rest of the field probably wished that Dennis had mislaid a few of his clubs, as he stormed to victory with a very impressive 44 points. The fight for the other two money winning places was a close run affair which in the end went to Kev with 37 points, and Bill, (on countback) with 36 points. Well played guys.
It was good to see Tim and Mark voluntarily putting in General Play scorecards with a view to getting their handicaps down. John C also did one, but maybe not to get his down any more just now. Let's hope everyone sees this as the way forward for setting fair HCs (higher and lower) over the coming months.
There was definitely a nip in the air as we approached the 1st tee and this lasted for most of the morning. However, it did stay dry and most of players had an enjoyable morning. Maybe not Mark, who unfortunately mislaid his 5 iron somewhere on the first five holes. Let's hope that some kind soul hands it in for him. The rest of the field probably wished that Dennis had mislaid a few of his clubs, as he stormed to victory with a very impressive 44 points. The fight for the other two money winning places was a close run affair which in the end went to Kev with 37 points, and Bill, (on countback) with 36 points. Well played guys.
It was good to see Tim and Mark voluntarily putting in General Play scorecards with a view to getting their handicaps down. John C also did one, but maybe not to get his down any more just now. Let's hope everyone sees this as the way forward for setting fair HCs (higher and lower) over the coming months.
Results for Friday 1st April 2022
If you thought it was cold today you should have been at Canons Brook yesterday!! It was like being in the middle of Siberia in deep winter. All those who played either today, or yesterday(or both), deserve a medal for outstanding bravery or maybe stupidity.
It was good to welcome Sir Simon back into the swindle this morning; also to see that our newest Senior Terry M has completed his probationary 3 rounds and is now a fully fledged Swindler. Despite the adverse conditions those who played agreed it was better than going to Tesco's, Lakeside or work!! In our fourball Roger and I took on Gordon and Simon and, as often happens in the swindle, it was a hard fought match which Gordon and Simon won on the 16th hole.
It is clearly going to take some time to master the new holes where the greens are completely different to the other 15 holes!
Gordon continued his run of good form to come out on top with 36 points, with Robbo taking the runners up position with 35 points. It is noticeable, but not really surprising, that with all holes on Warley 1 to 9 being fully open now, round scores have come down by an average of 6 to 8 points per person.
A reminder that 40 points and above incurs an additional cut now that we are playing the main Warley 1 to 18 course again.
It was good to welcome Sir Simon back into the swindle this morning; also to see that our newest Senior Terry M has completed his probationary 3 rounds and is now a fully fledged Swindler. Despite the adverse conditions those who played agreed it was better than going to Tesco's, Lakeside or work!! In our fourball Roger and I took on Gordon and Simon and, as often happens in the swindle, it was a hard fought match which Gordon and Simon won on the 16th hole.
It is clearly going to take some time to master the new holes where the greens are completely different to the other 15 holes!
Gordon continued his run of good form to come out on top with 36 points, with Robbo taking the runners up position with 35 points. It is noticeable, but not really surprising, that with all holes on Warley 1 to 9 being fully open now, round scores have come down by an average of 6 to 8 points per person.
A reminder that 40 points and above incurs an additional cut now that we are playing the main Warley 1 to 18 course again.
Results for Wednesday 30 th March 2022
With a very busy week, which includes the first golfer of the year competition, two days of Senior trials for the Warley Park Seniors Team, a match against Canons Brook, and two swindles it was no surprise that the number turning out this morning was low.
Those that did play had a thoroughly enjoyable morning, Captain Dave teamed up with Flash Gordon and played against Robbo and Paul J in what proved to be a close run affair. A par on the 16th clinched a hard fought victory for Dave and Gordon.
With 31 points after 14 holes it looked odds on that the Dennis would come out on top and take the money. However. mysteriously he then only added 4 points in the last 4 holes to record 35 points. Suspicions were aroused and would you believe that it was found that he was on his final game off 16 before returning to his full bandit handicap of 24!!!
Suffering as a result was Robbo who was second winning £2 and cut one. Completing a good day for Captain Dave saw him come out on top winning £5 and receiving a two point cut.
Those that did play had a thoroughly enjoyable morning, Captain Dave teamed up with Flash Gordon and played against Robbo and Paul J in what proved to be a close run affair. A par on the 16th clinched a hard fought victory for Dave and Gordon.
With 31 points after 14 holes it looked odds on that the Dennis would come out on top and take the money. However. mysteriously he then only added 4 points in the last 4 holes to record 35 points. Suspicions were aroused and would you believe that it was found that he was on his final game off 16 before returning to his full bandit handicap of 24!!!
Suffering as a result was Robbo who was second winning £2 and cut one. Completing a good day for Captain Dave saw him come out on top winning £5 and receiving a two point cut.
Results for Friday 25th March 2022
Today was the day that the new Warley Front 9 was officially open and 10 Swindlers turned out to try their hand at conquering the new 4th, 7th and 8th holes. It has to be said that the scores on these holes were mixed!!!
4th Two 5's Three 6's Four 7's and an 8
7th One par Six 5's Three 6's
8th One birdie Two pars Three 4's One 5 and 3 Blobs
Clearly it is going to take a little time to master the distances and particularly the Greens. In our 3 ball of Greg, Ding Dong and myself Greg overclubbed off the 8th tee and hit his ball into the bush beyond the back of the green. This will now be known as Burnham's Bush.
The weather was extremely kind to us and it was certainly a pleasure to see the course condition continuing to improve. We are not there yet but we are going in the right direction.
Congratulations to Spiggy, Robbo and Chris who took the podium positions and to Roger who had the nearest guess for the number of balls in the water by the 10 players. His guess was 7 and the actual number was 10. A cynic would say that there was something fishy, going on in Roger's fourball as they were responsible for seven of the ten balls to go into the water!!! (Ed. Let's just say that Dennis's bag was much lighter at the end of the round!).
4th Two 5's Three 6's Four 7's and an 8
7th One par Six 5's Three 6's
8th One birdie Two pars Three 4's One 5 and 3 Blobs
Clearly it is going to take a little time to master the distances and particularly the Greens. In our 3 ball of Greg, Ding Dong and myself Greg overclubbed off the 8th tee and hit his ball into the bush beyond the back of the green. This will now be known as Burnham's Bush.
The weather was extremely kind to us and it was certainly a pleasure to see the course condition continuing to improve. We are not there yet but we are going in the right direction.
Congratulations to Spiggy, Robbo and Chris who took the podium positions and to Roger who had the nearest guess for the number of balls in the water by the 10 players. His guess was 7 and the actual number was 10. A cynic would say that there was something fishy, going on in Roger's fourball as they were responsible for seven of the ten balls to go into the water!!! (Ed. Let's just say that Dennis's bag was much lighter at the end of the round!).
Results for Wednesday 23rd March 2022
Summer appeared to have arrived at Warley Park today as one twelfth (or one sixth in its lowest terms) of players taking part in the swindle arrived in shorts. By the time we reached the fourth hole we all wished we had made the same decision. It was a glorious day for playing golf and it was slightly surprising that the scores weren't a tad higher.
The course has made a remarkable recovery in just a week. There is no sign of any water or any mud and you are now beginning to get some run on the ball particularly if you keep it on the fairway. The greens are still a little slow and bumpy which may be part of the reason that the scores weren't a little higher.
Congratulations go the 'Shenfield Federer' with a magnificent 41 points and to the' Brentwood Bandido' for his usual podium finish with 38 points. Getting his money back in third place, and just pipping the David Moyes lookalike Bob Phillips, was the king of the long iron shots Mark.
The course has made a remarkable recovery in just a week. There is no sign of any water or any mud and you are now beginning to get some run on the ball particularly if you keep it on the fairway. The greens are still a little slow and bumpy which may be part of the reason that the scores weren't a little higher.
Congratulations go the 'Shenfield Federer' with a magnificent 41 points and to the' Brentwood Bandido' for his usual podium finish with 38 points. Getting his money back in third place, and just pipping the David Moyes lookalike Bob Phillips, was the king of the long iron shots Mark.
Results for Friday 18th March 2022
The best day of the year weather wise saw 15 swindlers enjoy a very pleasant morning. New boy Roger Pike played his first proper swindle and it was great to see youngster Rex in the clubhouse after we had played. Rumour has it that if there is no rain over the weekend buggies could be back on Monday!!
Bandit, Sombrero man - call him what you will -was back to his official handicap and, as you will not be surprised to hear, came out on top with the usual 40 points. Well played Kev. In second place (just) and also back to his official handicap was Robbo who pipped Ash on count-back (playing off 5 less than his official handicap) with both players scoring 39 points.
Bandit, Sombrero man - call him what you will -was back to his official handicap and, as you will not be surprised to hear, came out on top with the usual 40 points. Well played Kev. In second place (just) and also back to his official handicap was Robbo who pipped Ash on count-back (playing off 5 less than his official handicap) with both players scoring 39 points.
Results for Wednesday 16th March 2022
A very pleasant morning for playing golf saw 13 swindlers take on Warley 1 to 18 course. Prior to the start of play we gathered as usual in the clubhouse for the draw and couldn't work out why only 12 people were there. The answer was supplied by newly installed captain Dave when he handed Robbo a sanitised golf ball for the draw and a sanitised £1 coin. No prizes for guessing that they both belonged to Roger who said that he would not be getting too close to people following a bout of Covid!!!
Following the recent Bogey competition there were some people who found that their handicaps has risen whilst others found out that theirs had fallen. One of those people that saw their handicap rise took full advantage of the extra shot that he received and stormed to victory with a very good 43 points and was £7 better off for it. That was the good news. The bad news for Ash was a 5 point cut!
The Menace continued his recent very good form to take second place and winnings of £4 - cut 2 Den!
Third place and £2 went to Mike Pearce with 39 points - cut 1 to 37!!
I have attempted to alter the handicaps on the swindle table for those who told me that theirs had changed following the Bogey (Gordon, Bob P, Ash and Dave H), but if anyone else's has changed please let me (Robbo) know.
Following the recent Bogey competition there were some people who found that their handicaps has risen whilst others found out that theirs had fallen. One of those people that saw their handicap rise took full advantage of the extra shot that he received and stormed to victory with a very good 43 points and was £7 better off for it. That was the good news. The bad news for Ash was a 5 point cut!
The Menace continued his recent very good form to take second place and winnings of £4 - cut 2 Den!
Third place and £2 went to Mike Pearce with 39 points - cut 1 to 37!!
I have attempted to alter the handicaps on the swindle table for those who told me that theirs had changed following the Bogey (Gordon, Bob P, Ash and Dave H), but if anyone else's has changed please let me (Robbo) know.
Results for Friday 11th March 2022
The only swindle of the week was played in much better conditions than of late. The course was certainly much drier and the temperature was definitely much warmer. Let's hope that we have finally seen the end of winter and the beginning of Spring.
Beware the injured golfer is an often used phrase and certainly applied today as Tim made his first appearance for a while and promptly took the honours with a very good 43 points. He just managed to push Dennis into second place on countback. Both were already playing off cuts and were rewarded with further cuts of four and three shots respectively!! If your fantasy teams haven't made a particularly good start maybe transferring these two in might help!
Robbo completed the top three and for the third time this year got his £1 back.
Next Friday's swindle will have the added bonus of two prizes courtesy of Kev. They were originally going to be used during our December fun swindles.
Roger played his 3rd swindle and so will be a full member on his next outing.
Beware the injured golfer is an often used phrase and certainly applied today as Tim made his first appearance for a while and promptly took the honours with a very good 43 points. He just managed to push Dennis into second place on countback. Both were already playing off cuts and were rewarded with further cuts of four and three shots respectively!! If your fantasy teams haven't made a particularly good start maybe transferring these two in might help!
Robbo completed the top three and for the third time this year got his £1 back.
Next Friday's swindle will have the added bonus of two prizes courtesy of Kev. They were originally going to be used during our December fun swindles.
Roger played his 3rd swindle and so will be a full member on his next outing.
Results for Friday 4th March 2022
Wet Wet Wet is not only a pop group!!! It is Warley Park Golf Club as well. We are now back to the Somme conditions so everyone needs to say a few prayers over the weekend for dry weather for at least the next fortnight.
Most of the chat in the clubhouse before we ventured out on to the course was about that lunatic Putin, the ineffective Biden, the upcoming Liverpool v West Ham match this weekend and the odds on Bob Phillips turning up. Clearly the most important of these subjects was Bob and it was great to see him again. Those who missed him will get the chance on Monday at the team Stableford.
In the swindle itself Greg took the honours with a fantastic 43 points. Ray was second with 42 points (including a back nine of 24 points) Robbo was third and got his pound back.
Most of the chat in the clubhouse before we ventured out on to the course was about that lunatic Putin, the ineffective Biden, the upcoming Liverpool v West Ham match this weekend and the odds on Bob Phillips turning up. Clearly the most important of these subjects was Bob and it was great to see him again. Those who missed him will get the chance on Monday at the team Stableford.
In the swindle itself Greg took the honours with a fantastic 43 points. Ray was second with 42 points (including a back nine of 24 points) Robbo was third and got his pound back.
Results for Wednesday 2nd March 2022
If you were a betting man you would have said that after more than 12 hours of rain yesterday (Tues) the golf course would be closed and, if by some miracle it wasn't, no one in their right mind would even contemplate playing given the forecast for the day!!
Well, you would have lost your money!
12 regular swindlers and one new boy (Terry Medley) contested the 18th swindle of the year and yes it was wet!!
A true baptism of fire for Terry who must have thought we were all barmy!! Given the conditions there were some quite remarkable scores. Well out in front was the Communications maestro with an extremely impressive 43 points (cut 4). It was a very close run thing for second place with 3 players scoring 39 points. A gross level par round (off 3) with 20 points on the back 9 secured 2nd place on count-back for club captain Dave. And it was good to see it was 15th time lucky for Ray who finally picked up some prize money - albeit only £1.
Rumour has it that someone called Bob Phillips is going to grace us with his presence on Friday!
I say watch this space!!
Well, you would have lost your money!
12 regular swindlers and one new boy (Terry Medley) contested the 18th swindle of the year and yes it was wet!!
A true baptism of fire for Terry who must have thought we were all barmy!! Given the conditions there were some quite remarkable scores. Well out in front was the Communications maestro with an extremely impressive 43 points (cut 4). It was a very close run thing for second place with 3 players scoring 39 points. A gross level par round (off 3) with 20 points on the back 9 secured 2nd place on count-back for club captain Dave. And it was good to see it was 15th time lucky for Ray who finally picked up some prize money - albeit only £1.
Rumour has it that someone called Bob Phillips is going to grace us with his presence on Friday!
I say watch this space!!
Results for Monday 21st February 2022
We've had Dudley, Eunice and Franklin, so what will the next storm be called and when will it arrive? Let's hope it is not until 2023!!! Despite the weather not being particularly kind to us of late some of us refuse to be beaten by it and three fourballs managed to get out this morning. In a perverse sort of way it was still very enjoyable and the testing conditions saw the scores generally being lower than of late. However, considering the strength of the wind they were still very impressive.
Robbo, having returned to his full handicap managed to come out on top, and Kev just managed to secure second place on countback from Club Captain Dave. I have to say that, having played with him today, to score 36 points off a handicap of 3 in extremely difficult conditions was a fantastic achievement. His chipping and putting, in particular, were a joy to behold.
Robbo, having returned to his full handicap managed to come out on top, and Kev just managed to secure second place on countback from Club Captain Dave. I have to say that, having played with him today, to score 36 points off a handicap of 3 in extremely difficult conditions was a fantastic achievement. His chipping and putting, in particular, were a joy to behold.
Results for Wednesday 16th February 2022
Noel Coward said "Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday Sun"
Warley Seniors say" Mad golfers and Greenkeeping staff go out in the morning mud"
Nine of those mad golfers congregated this morning and were pleasantly surprised to find the conditions weren't as bad as expected. Yes there were many areas that were extremely wet and muddy, but these tended to be between greens and tees - areas that most are unlikely to hit into. The temperature reached an astonishingly high 16 degrees and against all odds the morning was thoroughly enjoyable.
Scoring, as you might imagine, was quite difficult and so Dennis should be congratulated winning with a quite brilliant 42 points. He seems to like his new handicap!! I am not sure Gordon does!!
Captain Dave continued his consistent form and came in second with 35 points.
Just missing out on the prize money yet again was ex captain Steve. Your time will come Steve.
Warley Seniors say" Mad golfers and Greenkeeping staff go out in the morning mud"
Nine of those mad golfers congregated this morning and were pleasantly surprised to find the conditions weren't as bad as expected. Yes there were many areas that were extremely wet and muddy, but these tended to be between greens and tees - areas that most are unlikely to hit into. The temperature reached an astonishingly high 16 degrees and against all odds the morning was thoroughly enjoyable.
Scoring, as you might imagine, was quite difficult and so Dennis should be congratulated winning with a quite brilliant 42 points. He seems to like his new handicap!! I am not sure Gordon does!!
Captain Dave continued his consistent form and came in second with 35 points.
Just missing out on the prize money yet again was ex captain Steve. Your time will come Steve.
Results for Friday 11th February 2022
Today was a nearly first!! We very nearly had all those who indicated that they wished to play turning up. Alas a phone call at 0715 from Sharpie letting me know that he wouldn't be able to make it due to the fact that he couldn't get his car started meant that we were one short. (Ed: Did he plug it in ?) Who said electric cars are the way forward?
Hopefully Sharpie will be able to get it started in time for Monday's Chapman competition.
We ended up having 14 in the Swindle, 4 playing in singles matches and we also welcomed Wayne Griffiths the 2022 Club Vice Captain. He went out first with Ray and Kev and thoroughly enjoyed his game. Good job he is not old enough to be a Senior because he ended up with 40 points and would have been in the top 3!!
The swindle itself continued to be well contested with Tim Wayman coming out on top with a fantastic 44 points. In second place was Minnie Driver's new best friend, Mike T with 40 points, and 3rd was our new Seniors captain with 39 points. He hasn't yet fallen foul to the Captain's curse. Plenty of time left Dave!!!!
Hopefully Sharpie will be able to get it started in time for Monday's Chapman competition.
We ended up having 14 in the Swindle, 4 playing in singles matches and we also welcomed Wayne Griffiths the 2022 Club Vice Captain. He went out first with Ray and Kev and thoroughly enjoyed his game. Good job he is not old enough to be a Senior because he ended up with 40 points and would have been in the top 3!!
The swindle itself continued to be well contested with Tim Wayman coming out on top with a fantastic 44 points. In second place was Minnie Driver's new best friend, Mike T with 40 points, and 3rd was our new Seniors captain with 39 points. He hasn't yet fallen foul to the Captain's curse. Plenty of time left Dave!!!!
Results for Wednesday 9th February 2022
On a pleasantly mild morning 19 Swindlers gathered to play the Warley 1 to 18 course. The draw went off without a hitch (a rarity of late) and battle commenced. Back after a holiday break Dave Oakley scored a very impressive 45 points. Sadly for him it was only his 3rd swindle and so he was unable to pick up any prize money!! And to make it worse he gets caught by the incoming 'bandit' rule ie that you still get cut if your score would have put you in prize money - so as a 1st place score (without cash) that earns Dave a cut of 3 plus one extra shot for it being more than 42 - so a cut of 4 for 4 games at least!!! Look out for him in the future as he is now a fully fledged Swindler and will be looking to repeat today's score with prize money in his sights.
The remaining 18 players battled it out and, on the whole, scored well. The most notable performance of the day came from Richard. He and his playing partners followed our group all the way round and whilst we were preparing to take our second shots into the green on Slippery, we were suddenly distracted by a runaway trolley following us down the middle of the fairway. Initially there was no one following the trolley and we wondered where on earth it had come from. Suddenly, out of nowhere, we spotted Richard doing his Usain Bolt impression behind us in a vain attempt to catch his trolley!!! Fortunately, Kim came to the rescue, caught the trolley and sent it back towards Richard who intercepted it just before it got to the rough by the 14th green. No real harm done - except maybe a dent to Richard's pride!!!
Despite this episode Richard managed to regain his composure and produced the winning score on the day- a fabulous 42 points. Closely following behind in second place was our new Club Captain Dave H who played a magnificent round off 5 - 41 points which equates to a gross level par !! Completing the podium was Bill with a more than creditable 40 points.
The remaining 18 players battled it out and, on the whole, scored well. The most notable performance of the day came from Richard. He and his playing partners followed our group all the way round and whilst we were preparing to take our second shots into the green on Slippery, we were suddenly distracted by a runaway trolley following us down the middle of the fairway. Initially there was no one following the trolley and we wondered where on earth it had come from. Suddenly, out of nowhere, we spotted Richard doing his Usain Bolt impression behind us in a vain attempt to catch his trolley!!! Fortunately, Kim came to the rescue, caught the trolley and sent it back towards Richard who intercepted it just before it got to the rough by the 14th green. No real harm done - except maybe a dent to Richard's pride!!!
Despite this episode Richard managed to regain his composure and produced the winning score on the day- a fabulous 42 points. Closely following behind in second place was our new Club Captain Dave H who played a magnificent round off 5 - 41 points which equates to a gross level par !! Completing the podium was Bill with a more than creditable 40 points.
Results for Monday 7th February 2022
The biggest swindle turn out of the year to date combined with the first opportunity to play for handicap purposes proved to be too much for the majority as shown by the dramatic drop in Stableford scores. Playing on the Childerditch course and Warley 10- 18, with pick wipe and place on the fairway only, was a real test. Only two scores above 36 points were recorded and the chances are that more people will find their handicap rising rather than falling!!
Congratulations go to Gordon and Kim for their excellent performances - well played in difficult conditions.
Mention must be made of the two challengers for Bandit of the Year in both 2021 and 2022. They certainly had mixed fortunes today. Kev continues to go from strength to strength and finished in the first three for the fourth swindle in a row whilst the cut of nine over the last two swindles proved a bridge too far for John!!!
As mentioned previously it was quite hard to score points today particularly as we were playing both a swindle card and a card for handicap purposes. One person (our 2021 Seniors captain) stood head and shoulders above everyone else with their recording of both and he will be giving lessons for those interested after the next swindle!!)
Web Eds note: We welcomed (it has to be said with a bit of disarray around the draw and the 1st tee!) Roger Pike to his first outing with the Seniors. The 1st of his 3 cards for a HC completed today - we hope to see him return!).
There were two singles matches today
Kim beat Robbo 2 and 1
Ash beat Roger 5 and 3 (although Roger was keen to point out that he would have scored 39 points if it had been a Stableford competition. The only problem was that Ash would have got 44 points!!)
Congratulations go to Gordon and Kim for their excellent performances - well played in difficult conditions.
Mention must be made of the two challengers for Bandit of the Year in both 2021 and 2022. They certainly had mixed fortunes today. Kev continues to go from strength to strength and finished in the first three for the fourth swindle in a row whilst the cut of nine over the last two swindles proved a bridge too far for John!!!
As mentioned previously it was quite hard to score points today particularly as we were playing both a swindle card and a card for handicap purposes. One person (our 2021 Seniors captain) stood head and shoulders above everyone else with their recording of both and he will be giving lessons for those interested after the next swindle!!)
Web Eds note: We welcomed (it has to be said with a bit of disarray around the draw and the 1st tee!) Roger Pike to his first outing with the Seniors. The 1st of his 3 cards for a HC completed today - we hope to see him return!).
There were two singles matches today
Kim beat Robbo 2 and 1
Ash beat Roger 5 and 3 (although Roger was keen to point out that he would have scored 39 points if it had been a Stableford competition. The only problem was that Ash would have got 44 points!!)
Results for Wednesday 2nd February 2022
As we moved into the second month of the 2022 swindle nothing much changed. Despite being cut 4 shots on Monday for his wonderful 48 points John P continued to dominate proceedings and had back to back wins with another sparkling 44 points. This has earned him a further 5 point cut!!!! A very early contender for Bandit of the Year methinks.
The rest of us had our own little swindle and the scores were incredibly close with only 3 shots separating 2nd and 10th place. This included no less than 5 players on 36 points. In the end Robbo (returning from a bout of Covid and a bad back) squeezed into second place and our resident Frenchman Henri just pipped the Shenfield Nadal on countback to secure third place.
Although you still get plenty of mud on your ball the course has improved significantly over the past fortnight and we will be looking to try and play for handicap purposes at least once a week as from next week. We will try and vary the days so that everyone gets the opportunity to try and get their handicap down.
There was one doubles match today and as Joe put it Ash and John P just nicked the match against him and Ray by 6 and 5.
The rest of us had our own little swindle and the scores were incredibly close with only 3 shots separating 2nd and 10th place. This included no less than 5 players on 36 points. In the end Robbo (returning from a bout of Covid and a bad back) squeezed into second place and our resident Frenchman Henri just pipped the Shenfield Nadal on countback to secure third place.
Although you still get plenty of mud on your ball the course has improved significantly over the past fortnight and we will be looking to try and play for handicap purposes at least once a week as from next week. We will try and vary the days so that everyone gets the opportunity to try and get their handicap down.
There was one doubles match today and as Joe put it Ash and John P just nicked the match against him and Ray by 6 and 5.
Results for Monday 31st January 2022
Never before have we managed to play 11 Swindles in January!!!!
Although very windy and quite chilly 16 stalwarts set off in four 4 balls, fourteen of them trying to outdo two of the candidates for Bandit of the Year 2021. Sadly, they failed miserably, with John (someone needs to think up an appropriate nickname for him) Powell carrying on from where he left off at Top Meadow, winning by a country mile from Kev (cut for the fourth swindle in a row) Sandford. After a check of handicaps, Sharpie pipped Captain Dave on count-back. Congratulations to the winners particularly John for a fantastic 47 points. Unbelievably, that only puts him in 3rd place for highest swindle score of the year- and we are still in January!!
Thanks to Ray for organising on the day.
Although very windy and quite chilly 16 stalwarts set off in four 4 balls, fourteen of them trying to outdo two of the candidates for Bandit of the Year 2021. Sadly, they failed miserably, with John (someone needs to think up an appropriate nickname for him) Powell carrying on from where he left off at Top Meadow, winning by a country mile from Kev (cut for the fourth swindle in a row) Sandford. After a check of handicaps, Sharpie pipped Captain Dave on count-back. Congratulations to the winners particularly John for a fantastic 47 points. Unbelievably, that only puts him in 3rd place for highest swindle score of the year- and we are still in January!!
Thanks to Ray for organising on the day.
Results for Wednesday 26th January 2022
A few Covid substitutions and 15 (reasonably) fit people arrived to play golf. A just about warm enough dry day, although some areas still being churned up on the course. But the greens were good and thus results were also good.
Steve A and I played our singles, played in the swindle and also played in a match in the 4 ball - is that a first? Anyway Steve managed magnificently in keeping track of all 3 elements of our game.
Ash was undoubtedly the star and we could only watch as he burned bright in his long hitting, straight game. Hardly a foot wrong and only just missed out on equalling Steve Bs recent 49. It took 10 pars and 2 birdies to get there. One of the birdies was on the 4th temp par 3, but Ash's drive was so close he nearly won 1st position at the bar! As Robbo said a game or two back, that's become the new target out there - although perhaps not for him as he would need the equivalent of 15 pars and 3 birdies to get to 49 (I think)!
Anyway a very well done to Ash in 1st place with a cut of 4 (3+1) . 2nd with another good score was Mark with 42 (cut 3 - 2+1) and 3rd was me, ie Gordon, with 41 (cut 1), who just pipped Kevin on a BB9.
[As I'm writing this one up I will just mention the singles match, as behind the 2&1 win for G, was a dramatic change of fortunes. Steve absolutely sprinted away to get 5 up after 6 holes, leaving G somewhat dispirited! A bit of a fight back reduced the deficit to 2 at the 10th and then an unaccountable lost ball caused a drop back to -3. A bit of mild irritation at that one and a refocus finally secured a change in the lead at the 16th. So although very close it was a bit of a roller coaster! A lesson for me as well as anyone else - never give up!]
G
NB It was good to see that the ditch on 15 is finally being filled!
Steve A and I played our singles, played in the swindle and also played in a match in the 4 ball - is that a first? Anyway Steve managed magnificently in keeping track of all 3 elements of our game.
Ash was undoubtedly the star and we could only watch as he burned bright in his long hitting, straight game. Hardly a foot wrong and only just missed out on equalling Steve Bs recent 49. It took 10 pars and 2 birdies to get there. One of the birdies was on the 4th temp par 3, but Ash's drive was so close he nearly won 1st position at the bar! As Robbo said a game or two back, that's become the new target out there - although perhaps not for him as he would need the equivalent of 15 pars and 3 birdies to get to 49 (I think)!
Anyway a very well done to Ash in 1st place with a cut of 4 (3+1) . 2nd with another good score was Mark with 42 (cut 3 - 2+1) and 3rd was me, ie Gordon, with 41 (cut 1), who just pipped Kevin on a BB9.
[As I'm writing this one up I will just mention the singles match, as behind the 2&1 win for G, was a dramatic change of fortunes. Steve absolutely sprinted away to get 5 up after 6 holes, leaving G somewhat dispirited! A bit of a fight back reduced the deficit to 2 at the 10th and then an unaccountable lost ball caused a drop back to -3. A bit of mild irritation at that one and a refocus finally secured a change in the lead at the 16th. So although very close it was a bit of a roller coaster! A lesson for me as well as anyone else - never give up!]
G
NB It was good to see that the ditch on 15 is finally being filled!
Results for Friday 21st January 2022
Only the bare minimum for the swindle today as some Seniors decided to top up on the brownie points. A huge improvement in playing conditions didn't make any real difference to the scores. All seven started off with the intention of taking over from Ding Dong as the highest individual swindle scorer of the year, but all failed miserably!!!!
Dennis continued where he left off at Brentwood on Wednesday with a decent score of 39 points which was far and away the best score of the day and got him £5 and a cut 2.
Runner up was Robbo who managed to win £2 and get cut 1 for the third time this year.
The good news for some is that trollies are back on as from tomorrow.
Robbo
Dennis continued where he left off at Brentwood on Wednesday with a decent score of 39 points which was far and away the best score of the day and got him £5 and a cut 2.
Runner up was Robbo who managed to win £2 and get cut 1 for the third time this year.
The good news for some is that trollies are back on as from tomorrow.
Robbo
Results for Wednesday 19th January 2022
Eight of us turned up this morning. Good weather early on. The first four ball was myself with Mike Tringham, Kevin & Belly. The writing was on the cards when Kev & Belly both parred the first. Belly didn't stop there paring 3,5,7,8,9 for a first nine total of 25. He continued on the back nine with five pars and a birdie on the 13th ( 4 for 5 ). Having reached 49 on the 18th tee box he unfortunately drove into the pond . Having chipped on the green for three he putted to three foot and then missed; for what would have been a magnificent 50. A gross 77, net 56 round . Mike kindly bought the coffees.
(Thanks to Ray for organising on the day and writing up)
(Thanks to Ray for organising on the day and writing up)
Results for Monday 17th January 2022
Unbelievably, considering the weather we have had, we have still managed to have six swindles this month. If we keep going at this rate there is a chance that we will end up playing 100 swindles by the end of the year!!! Leading in the swindle appearances for 2022 is Ray with six with a whole host of others chasing him with five.
The late entry last night of Sharpie paid dividends for him as he made the most of his first appearance of the year to win with 40 points. Spiggy continued his very consistent start to the season with a second place by edging out Robbo on countback, both players having scored 39 points.
The late entry last night of Sharpie paid dividends for him as he made the most of his first appearance of the year to win with 40 points. Spiggy continued his very consistent start to the season with a second place by edging out Robbo on countback, both players having scored 39 points.
Results for Friday 14th January 2022
Following the experiences of many of the players in Wednesday's swindle it was no surprise at all that there were a few drop outs for today. There was the bare minimum required to play a swindle (seven) and so shortly after 8a.m. we set off to play Warley 1 to 18. It has to be said that following the cold temperatures during the night the ground was quite frosty and a lot easier to walk on. In addition, it was another beautiful sunny morning which resulted in much more pleasant conditions to play in. It was still tough going, but better than staying indoors watching day time television!!
Congratulations go to Spiggy who played extremely well to record an excellent 40 points.( £5 winnings and cut 2); Robbo just managed to nick second place off Gordon with a birdie on the last. His reward was £2 winnings and cut 1)
Let's hope the forecast of no rain for the next 10 days is accurate and the course continues to dry out.
Congratulations go to Spiggy who played extremely well to record an excellent 40 points.( £5 winnings and cut 2); Robbo just managed to nick second place off Gordon with a birdie on the last. His reward was £2 winnings and cut 1)
Let's hope the forecast of no rain for the next 10 days is accurate and the course continues to dry out.
Results for Wednesday 12th January 2022
Blue skies, no wind, no fog and not cold. Perfect weather to play golf on a mid January morning you would think. How wrong can you be? With yet another day of rain yesterday the course was even wetter than on Monday and, as a result, the majority of the 14 swindlers who played found it extremely difficult to score points. The major contributing factors to the lower than average scores were lost balls as a result of the leaves, the sun or being plugged in the soggy conditions. Highlight of the day in our fourball was the new Seniors captain sinking a 20 foot par putt on the last. There were mixed views about whether we should be playing on the course in its present state when we got back in the clubhouse. Some were happy to get out of the house and get a bit of exercise whilst others stated that they wouldn't be returning to play until the conditions improved considerably!!!
Congratulations go to Dennis, Dave and Kev for finishing in 1st 2nd and 3rd place respectively. Their scores were extremely good considering the difficult course conditions Well played guys. [Ed note: Having played with Dennis and seen first hand the 3 bunker shots that came out 1st time I've cancelled my gift order for Hamlet cigars for him and he won't now have time to smoke them as was the case in 2021.....!].
Congratulations go to Dennis, Dave and Kev for finishing in 1st 2nd and 3rd place respectively. Their scores were extremely good considering the difficult course conditions Well played guys. [Ed note: Having played with Dennis and seen first hand the 3 bunker shots that came out 1st time I've cancelled my gift order for Hamlet cigars for him and he won't now have time to smoke them as was the case in 2021.....!].
Results for Monday 10th January 2022
With the latest deluge of rain forcing the closure of Warley 1 to 9 holes the swindlers took to Childerditch once again. As a result the scores were not quite as good as they have been recently, but they were still fairly impressive. A good turnout saw 14 play the Swindle and 8 battle it out in the Winter Doubles competition.
Having just returned from a month or so in Portugal, last year's star player Greg wasted no time in picking up where he left off and won the Swindle with a wonderful 41 points. Close on his heels were Mark and Gordon who scored 39 and 38 points respectively. Unfortunately our new captain Dave just failed to pick up any prize money having lost out on countback for the second swindle in a row. (Ed Note: Get used to it Dave - Captain's curse).
Robbo
Having just returned from a month or so in Portugal, last year's star player Greg wasted no time in picking up where he left off and won the Swindle with a wonderful 41 points. Close on his heels were Mark and Gordon who scored 39 and 38 points respectively. Unfortunately our new captain Dave just failed to pick up any prize money having lost out on countback for the second swindle in a row. (Ed Note: Get used to it Dave - Captain's curse).
Robbo
Results for Friday 7th January 2022
Some people are just glutton for punishment!! Despite the adverse conditions and weather on Wednesday the hard core swindlers were back in the clubhouse at 0745 prompt ready for the draw for the second swindle of the year.
Well, almost all of them. There was one notable absentee - a certain Ash Patel. No, he hadn't forgotten his shoes, nor his trolley and not even his clubs. You guessed it- he had forgotten to wake up!! Only a call from Chris V managed to stir him from his slumbers, but by then he was far too late to contemplate playing. I expect that the next time we see him he will produce a note from his wife saying that he had forgotten to set his alarm clock!!
A couple of other late drop outs, both for very valid reasons, left a field of ten to compete for the big bucks. The scores were extremely varied to say the least as the conditions yet again caught a few people out whereas others flourished in them. Gordon and I had an extremely enjoyable and very close match against Bill and John C . It went to the last hole where Bill sank an excellent birdie putt from 15 feet to win it.
As if that wasn't good enough, his birdie took him to 47 points - a score that many people don't get in a lifetime!! It was an absolutely fantastic round in which he didn't have a blob and scored at least two points on every hole. Needless to say he was a long way in front of anyone else. Robbo scraped into second place with 40 points, one ahead of our new club captain Dave Handley who scored 39 points. This was also an exceptional round as he was playing off a handicap of 5.
It already looks as if 2022 is going to be an interesting Swindle year.
Well, almost all of them. There was one notable absentee - a certain Ash Patel. No, he hadn't forgotten his shoes, nor his trolley and not even his clubs. You guessed it- he had forgotten to wake up!! Only a call from Chris V managed to stir him from his slumbers, but by then he was far too late to contemplate playing. I expect that the next time we see him he will produce a note from his wife saying that he had forgotten to set his alarm clock!!
A couple of other late drop outs, both for very valid reasons, left a field of ten to compete for the big bucks. The scores were extremely varied to say the least as the conditions yet again caught a few people out whereas others flourished in them. Gordon and I had an extremely enjoyable and very close match against Bill and John C . It went to the last hole where Bill sank an excellent birdie putt from 15 feet to win it.
As if that wasn't good enough, his birdie took him to 47 points - a score that many people don't get in a lifetime!! It was an absolutely fantastic round in which he didn't have a blob and scored at least two points on every hole. Needless to say he was a long way in front of anyone else. Robbo scraped into second place with 40 points, one ahead of our new club captain Dave Handley who scored 39 points. This was also an exceptional round as he was playing off a handicap of 5.
It already looks as if 2022 is going to be an interesting Swindle year.