SENIORS COUNTY SCRATCH BOWL 

The Semi-Final of the competition was played on Monday 10^th August, between Long Sutton and Clevedon, at the neutral venue, Enmore GC.

The first and second singles out, Team Captain Roger Stone, and Phil Lock  went down 5 &4 and 6 & 4,respectively. Roger Hird playing 3^rd string had a hard match, however he managed to grab a very well earned  half. 

Team stalwart Steve Southgate again used his experience and managed a win 3&2.  

The match status stood. Won 1, Lost 2 ,Halved 1. All was now reliant on our anchor man Rob Parks, who was up against Martin Read who has been a County Seniors player for a good many years, with a vast amount of scratch playing  experience. 

Rob was well up in the match at one time, however Martin clawed back hole after hole and the match came down the 18^th all square. Rob’s second shot to the par 5,fell well short of the green, having seen his Tee shot end up with a restricted swing from beneath trees. Not undaunted, Rob left his pitch to the green short of the pin. Martin, the Clevedon Captain also couldn’t  find the putting surface in two , then went past the pin on the downhill green with his approach, but left himself an uphill putt. His first putt, most unexpectedly for such an experienced player, shot  past the hole to leave a four footer for par, which he missed.Rob’s first putt curled away from the hole on the sloping green, however it was a good putt to give him a par. 

Match all square.     As the competition rules dictated the final singles game has to go on to sudden death. 

Both Rob and Martin hit good drives up the first, however the advantage was Rob’s as Martin’s ball ended up very close to a tree and he could only push his ball out to the left and way short of the green in two. Rob’s second shot was arrow straight but unfortunately ran through the green. Martin found the putting surface in three. Rob’s chip back  ran past the pin to 8ft for a return putt. Martin’s first putt was left short. Both players holed out for fives. The second sudden death hole was the par 3, 146 yard  second at Enmore. Both players teed off into a blinding setting sun. Rob’s ball ended up pin high just off the green to the right, whilst Martin’s ball had found the green but was some twenty feet away from the hole. Martin putted first and left his putt short, Rob chipped onto the green his ball ending up a few feet short of the hole. By now both players were finding the evening dampness slowing down the greens .Both players holed their putts for par.

As the light was now beginning to fade, both players hit straight drives down the third hole, Rob’s ball ending up some twenty yards past Martin’s leaving a simple chip to the green. With Martin safely on the green in two, Rob’s approach chip unfortunately fell short of the green, only just staying out of the front left side bunker. Both had now played two so Rob had to be dead with his chip to the pin. Unfortunately his chip ran past the hole giving Martin a chance for a birdie, which he missed. Rob now had to sink his putt to get a half. All the supporting  players who had followed the deciding match into sudden death, held their breath whilst Rob eyed up his putt. Striking a firm putt Rob’s head dropped as he missed the hole. Martin holed for par.

All was over:     Clevedon now go on to meet Worlebury in the Final. Worlebury  had previously beaten Burnham and Berrow in the other semi-final .

 I would like to congratulate all the Long Sutton Team who have done both themselves, and Long Sutton G.C. proud in their first attempt in a Scratch Competition. I’m sure we will return next year and show how much Long Sutton players can compete in County Events. 

R.J.Stone (Seniors Captain) 

 Tee times as at 4th August 2012 are here

Seniors County Scratch Bowl

The quarter final match took place on Thursday 19^th July at Taunton and Pickeridge GC between Long Sutton and Weston- Super- Mare.

The weather for a change was warm and sunny (was this the Summer at last?)

Seniors Captain Roger Stone led off, and found the opposition hard to beat. By the 12^th Roger was five down with six to play, however he fought back and reduced the deficit to two down coming off the sixteenth, but couldn’t rally anymore and went down 2 and 1

Phil Lock was second out, and as per normal used his skill to ease ahead and win 3 and 1.

Third single was Roger Hird, who managed to find the slow Pickeridge greens to his liking, and had a convincing 6 and 5 win.

The score now stood at 2-1 up.

Steady Steve Southgate played very well to only drop five shots, which gave him a good win 3 and 2.

Anchor man, Rob Parks found it hard to play his usual steady game and went down 7 and 5, however the match was already won and Rob's result was not required.

Well played the Sutton Scratch Team, winning 3 – 2. We now go into the Semi Final against Clevedon GC at a venue yet to be decided.

R J STONE Seniors Captain

 Seniors Matches 2012

SENIORS SCRATCH BOWL

The first round of this new County event took place on Friday 25th May.

Sutton Seniors had been drawn against Saltford to be played at a neutral track namely The Mendip. The day was rather warm with an increasingly strong easterly wind blowing.

The competition is a 5 man team playing singles off scratch.

Rob Parks led the field for Sutton, and had a convincing six and five win.  Phil Lock went out second and also managed a good win, two and one.  Roger Stone the Seniors Captain, after a very topsy turvy round managed to get a hard earned Half.

Sutton now leading two up with one half.

Graham Load went off fourth and came up against stiff opposition namely the 2012 Seniors County campionship runner up, Dave Phillips, and although Graham fought hard ,he unfortunately went down four and three.

Steve Southgate, newly joined from Windwhistle, was the anchor man.  Using his experience gained in Rosebowl matches from his former club, he had another hard fought match, and unfortunately lost on the last hole.

The result now stood at 21/2----21/2 and under the competition rules the last pairings had to go up the nineteenth for a sudden death play off.

This is where Steve drew on his past experience and with grit and determination, won on the first hole of extra play.

A good start for the Sutton team, who are not used to playing in Scratch competitions.

The next round will be against either Weston-Super-Mare or Taunton Vale to be played at Clevedon GC.

Senior Captain's Hole In On

During the inter club Seniors match at home against Windwhistle on Thursday 24th May, Roger Stone the Seniors Captain achieved a hole in one on the 9th hole.

This hole had been nominated as the nearest the pin hole for the match.

On completion of the match the Seniors Whisky Decanter was duly opened for the first time in 2012,and a tipple was enjoyed by all.

LS Seniors won the match 51/2  ----- 1/2

SENIORS INVITATION DAY

Thursday 17th May was a rather dull day weather wise, however the Long Sutton track was produced in excellent condition, after very much hard work from our greens staff.  It was commented on how nice it was to be greeted by such young ladies from the Ladies Section ably led by The Ladies Captain Julie.

Forty nine players which included 25 visitors, two from as far away as Belgium gathered to pit their skills in a Pairs Stableford competition with both scores to count on all holes.  Early leaders were the Seniors Captain Roger Stone with his partner from Worlebury GC Malcolm Simpson, with 65 pts, however the lead was not held for too long as scores of 66 and 67 pts came in.  Scores of 68pts then came in with a flurry.

At the after lunch presentation of prizes, players commented on the good food, and the excellence of the course, which had recovered well after the recent bad weather.  A thoroughly enjoyable day was had by all.

Results :1st Gavin Baker and Brian Thair 68pts,

                 2nd Chris Gingell and Phil Bowditch 68pts C/B Last 6 holes

                 3rd Rod Tucker and Bernie Goad 68pts.

                 Nearest the pin 9th hole  Tony Thair 

                 Two Spots  There were 9 2's (A good indication of how well the greens are improving) 

17th November 2011

Whisky Trot Stableford - 57 members went out in great weather to compete for the traditional prize.

Click here for full reports

Senior Captain's Report ~ end of year 2011

I have had a year to remember and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

At this time last year I remarked how close knit and friendly the Long Sutton Seniors section is, and this sentiment has been re- affirmed by my experiences as Captain this year.

I owe a great debt of thanks to the Seniors Committee without whose help and guidance my job would have been all but impossible and in particular to Immediate past Captain Mick and those who preceded him for the systems and procedures established in the past which made my task that much easier.

This support and hard work is a credit to the Senior section and is reflected by the high regard with which the section is held within the main club.

My thanks goes to each of the committee individually and as a group for their work, and for their sense of humour - sometimes even in the most trying of circumstances.  I must also thank Ken Jacobs, for his contribution both as past captain and as our Fixtures Secretary this year, who is standing down as a committee member. Many thanks Ken.

My thanks also to those who have helped our section as scorers - a sometimes trying task, but always carried out with patience and humour.

 May I also take this opportunity to thank Roger Stone for his sterling support this year. I am very grateful for his advice and hard work as vice captain and I know I will leave my Captaincy in capable hands

We are very fortunate to have a club management group who take the responsibilities of club ownership so positively and progressively. Many seniors have visited other Somerset clubs and further afield and I am sure would agree that though there are many good clubs there remains a number - an increasing number - whose facilities cannot match the on and off course facilities at Long Sutton.

My thanks go to Graham and Felicity and in particular Kate for their attention during my year and the pleasant and efficient way that our section has been treated. Kate has been providing all our table welcome cards and publicity details for our events through the year and this has been noted by our many visitors and guests who once again have been afforded the best quality catering facilities in the county.

The course is improving year on year and I would wish to record the thanks of the Senior section to Peter Tulk and the staff for the work and dedication they put in to enable the course to improve and progress. I have had many complimentary remarks this year from visiting teams and guests .We can be justly proud of our club!

The Seniors Open held in August this year was very successful with nearly 200 participants of which 126 were visitors. Congratulations to organiser Jeremy Evans on a tremendous effort not forgetting John Nicholson whose work on previous Open events laid the foundations for what is now one of the largest Open events in the county.

Our Invitation Event was well supported this year. Next year this event will be concluded with a lunch in order to fully entertain our guests and provide a more fitting finale to what is an already enjoyable day.

The Celts versus England match was well supported and was followed by a voluntary light lunch of Haggis suitably piped in by Ian Davidson – again it is intended to repeat this very enjoyable format.

For the first time our Seniors and Veterans Championship concluded with an informal evening social occasion at which the respective Champion players were presented with their trophies. Nearly 100 people attended the event and enjoyed a barbecue at the club This will now become a permanent addition to our Seniors event programme.

The Seniors friendly match programme was completed and the final record shows that of 30 matches played, 15 were won, 12 lost, and 3 were halved. 60 different members appeared in these matches This figure is most pleasing to report because it means that almost half of our section enjoyed the entirely recreational nature of our matches. I know that our opponents enjoyed the seniors company and I would like to thank all for giving their time and being good ambassadors for the section. Next year I would hope that even more of our membership would find the time to participate in these matches.

On the more competitive side the Senior team did very well in The Somerset Bowl. The club beat 4 teams in their progression to the final of this year’s competition losing by the slimmest of margins 3-2. 15 players represented the club throughout the competition and my thanks and congratulations goes to the team for their efforts.

The Redwood Cup matches were keenly fought as usual with the Seniors holding a narrow 1-point lead entering the second leg. Sleepless nights preceded the return, but our Senior team rose to the occasion winning the overall event- 20 and a half points to 10 and a half points. Normal service resumed!! In all the joint participation numbered 126 for this event - a very pleasing number.

The Ladies section have given of their time freely to both the main club and more particularly to the Senior section this year in several competitions and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their continued support.

The joint Charity Day with the ladies raised £269.60 for the Seniors this year and in all the total raised for my nominated charity SAAF reached £1000. Our section also passed on a gift of £333.75 to the St Margaret’s Hospice from our charity funds.

At this point I wish to thank all seniors for their generous support for Charities in general and mine in particular. I am mindful of the fact that at times I had a captive audience as I cast my net, but I do thank them all and am very grateful for their forbearance. The Seniors also gave of their time for Charity Events - our Open and St Margaret’s Hospice. This was very much appreciated.

The Senior section funds remain in good order and the committee was very pleased to support 5 free competition entries and a generous subsidy of £5 per head at the Christmas lunch. I feel we have passed on a healthy position to the upcoming Captain and his committee.

 When I became Captain last year I knew that what I was about to undertake was a privilege. I have been proud to act as Captain this year. It has been more than a privilege to represent the Seniors and I would thank them for sharing their friendship and time with me.

John Williams

Congratuations to Brian Clarke for winning Frome Seniors Open with 37 points.

The Final of the Seniors Somerset Bowl was held on Tuesday 6th September 2011.

The predicted weather forecast was one that no golfer was looking forward to, especially having to play a Finals match. However the majority of the rain had passed Taunton Vale Golf Course by, in time for the start of the final against Wells Seniors. Although the rain had abated, the extremely windy conditions made the going extremely tough.

The lead pairing of Rod Tucker and Glyn Ottery had a hard fought match against a very strong pair from Wells. After a topsy turvey match they had to succumb to 2 and 1 defeat.

Second pair out Captain John Williams and his partner Roger Stone quickly found themselves forging ahead and by the turn were 3 up. The back 9 saw a charge from the opposition and by the finish of the 17th the score was all square, with the Wells pairing having thrown in two birdies in three holes, two of which were chip ins from off the green. At the 17th green having seen the second chip in from the opposition, drop for a par, John Williams said to his partner "It's Hero or Zero Roger" then boldly drained a 25 foot putt to halve the hole. The 18th was halved so off down the 19th hole the match went. The Wells drive only went about 170 yards, but John Williams managed one of his rather long drives and ended up about 80 yards from the green. Wells second shot ended in the fringe to the left of the pin. Roger managed to get his approach shot onto the green about 15 feet from the pin. A poor chip from the Wells player still left a nine foot putt for par. The Wells single figure player produced his worst putt of the round missing the hole and leaving a one foot putt for a bogey. John Williams rolled his putt to a foot to leave Roger to get the par and a 19th hole victory.

Third pairing consisting of John Whitehead and Dick Butcher played well through their round and fought bravely to give Sutton our second win having won 2 and 1.

MATCH STATUS    Lost one ------ Won two

By now we had heard that our fifth pairing of Nigel Griffiths and partner Alex Lyon, after a very topsy turvey game had unfortunately gone down 2 and 1.

MATCH STATUS---------Lost 2--------Won 2,

All now down to our fourth pairing of Mick Capps and partner Malcolm Dennes. They were having another hard game against a strong Wells pairing the game was ebb and flow. Arriving at the 18th tee the Sutton pair were one up all seemed in the bag ..but golf being golf, things can change dramatically and unfortunately on the 18th green the Wells pair dashed the hopes of the following supporters and managed to win the hole.

Down the 19th for the second time in this cut throat match. Both pairings fired off long drives and were fairly equidistant from the green for the second shots to be played. Mick managed to get his approach to the right of the pin some 15 feet away, there was little in it after the Wells approach also landed on the green.

It was the Wells player to putt first. A deathly hush fell around the green, from both supporters and fellow players.

As we say, it’s not over until the Fat Lady sings. To the delight of the Wells team and their supporters the putt fell, ........A Birdie .

Now it was down to Malcolm to show his true steel and try to match the Birdie putt. This was real pressure, not usually faced in inter club matches, however this was the Bowl Final. Malcolm eyed up his 15 foot putt drew back his putter and sent the ball smoothly towards the hole ...... the ball hit the back of the cup jumped up into the air and unfortunately failed to fall into the hole.

It was all over ....... Wells had won 3 Games to 2. Having been into the Final on three separate occasions this was to be the year for Wells

At the presentation in the Taunton Vale clubhouse the Somerset County Golf President praised the excellent standard of golf played by both teams and added that this was one of the most tense matches that he had witnessed and concluded that it was great to see that such a high standard of golf was played in such a friendly manner amongst the older generation of the Somerset County.

Congratulations to the Sutton team and with this experience WE WILL RETURN NEXT YEAR

Roger Stone

Seniors Through to The Somerset Bowl Final

The seniors were drawn against Clevedon  the hot favourites in the semi-final at Cannington GC on Tuesday 23 August.

After a poor start with our lead pairing of Rod Tucker and Peter Burch going down 5 and 4 things were not looking too good.

Our second pair of Captain John Williams and partner Roger Stone rallied well and gave their opposition little chance, winning 4 and 2.

Reports came through that our banker final pairing of Nigel Griffiths and Alex Lyon had gone down 2 and 1.

Match state LOST 2 WON 1

All was now down to the 3rd and 4th pairings

Match 3 with John Whitehead and Dick Butcher, reached the 18th all square and with Dick leaving his winning putt hovering over the hole the match was all square.

In the Bowl matches all games have to end in a result so up the 1st hole again they went . Both teams got to the green in two shots so it was up to the putting again and this time Sutton came up trumps.

Match now 2 wins 2 Losses

Match 4 with pairing of Mick Capps and partner Malcolm Dennes had to really dig in, again their match reached the 18 and ended up all square.

Up the 1st again with the pressure building all was reliant on the game to get to the Final.   NO PRESSURE FOR THIS PAIRING.

Both pairs again reached the green in regulation however the Clevedon pair missed their putt for par, so it was down to Mick to sink his putt for par   and victory.

All fell quiet around the green and the suspense grew. With a nice smooth putt Mick sank his nine foot putt and gave the Sutton team the closest of wins 3 games to 2.

Well done all the team and we now go on to meet Wells GC in the final Venue and date TBC.

Roger Stone

During the Seniors Qualifying Medal on the 11th August, Ian Davidson achieved his Second Hole in One in competition , with a superb shot on the 17th hole.

The Quarter Final match between LS Seniors and Isle of Wedmore Seniors took place on Thursday 28th July at Taunton and Pickeridge Golf Club.

IOW Seniors fielded a very strong team obviously expecting to win.LS Seniors were also up for it and equally fielded a strong team.LS had to give shots in three of the five games. The day turned out to be hot and humid, however that did not deter any of the team to give 100% to the challenge.

The first pairing of Rod Tucker and Dave Scott had to succumb to a defeat one down on the last hole to a long downhill birdie putt from their opponents.

Pairing two were Peter Burch and Mike Poole who had another difficult pair to beat however having been two up at one stage lost by the narrowest of margins two and one.

Thing could be looking slightly not to plan at this stage!!!!

Seniors Captain John Williams and his Vice Captain Roger Stone were the third pairing and they were playing well but found themselves three down at the turn, then their charge started and they fought back, and in the next four holes managed to get to one up. They then lost the 15th but threw in another valiant charge and were back all square at 16. A solid par at the 17th saw them one up again. Dormy!!! With the opposition in the front bunker for two, at the sloping 18th, and John managing to find the green in two, it then remained for the Wedmore pair to try to get their par, which they missed and conceded the hole to give the Sutton pairing a two up victory. 2 - 1 down at this stage in the match.

Pair four consisting of two ex Seniors Captains Mick Capps and Malcolm Dennes, made good use of their one shot that they received in their game and with some solid golf and a resounding five and four win, took the overall match to 2 losses and 2 wins. Match now 2 - 2 one to play.

All now fell to the final pairing of Nigel Griffiths and Alex Lyon playing off 11 and 12 handicaps respectively to pull the victory from the magician’s hat. They more than came up with the goods giving the Wedmore pairing a thorough beating of six and five. Match victory 3 games to 2.

A good win, Well played to all the team.

The Seniors now look forward to taking on the 2009 winners and current hot favourites in 2011, Clevedon, to be played at Taunton Vale by the 28th August.

This is the first time that LS Seniors have reached this far in this prestigious competition.

Roger Stone

The Annual English vs Celts competition was held on Thursday 14th July on a beautiful sunny day.

Prior to the result being announced, Ian Davidson piped in THE HAGGIS and then said the necessary words before downing the traditional Pipers Dram.

The result was a turn around from last year's result, with the English giving the Celts a 10 to 8 match win, with an overall points win of 12  up.

Eight Seniors took part in the Wheathill Seniors Open today 7th June the results are as follows.

Division One :      Glyn Ottery      3rd Place on countback with 41 Points .    1st and 2nd place also had 41 Pts.

Team prize: 1st Place :     Glyn Ottery, Ken Jacobs, Brian Clarke combined score of 111 Pts.

Best Score over 70 yrs of age :  Ken Jacobs 36Pts.

Nearest the pin :   1st hole Peter Benn

Two spot prizes :         Peter Benn  Hole 1,        Roger Stone Hole 10.

Again the Seniors Section gave a good showing at an away open event. Well Done.

 Roger Stone

You really cannot keep the Seniors down. During the 3 Clubs and a Putter competition played on Thursday 28th April Peter Smart ,who is relatively new to the Golf Game managed a Hole in One at the 7th hole. This is his first hole in one in his short golfing career, and the Fourth Hole in One achieved by one of our Seniors in a matter of four weeks. This must stop it is costing the Seniors Funds far too much!

Whilst playing at Sherborne GC on Monday 18th April in the Yeovil Town FC 'Glovers Golf Day' your Seniors Vice Captain Roger Stone, managed a' Hole in One ' at the 9th Hole 179 yard par three

This is the third Hole in One by a member of the Seniors Section in the past three weeks!!

Colin Hardaway was playing in an Seniors Competition on Thursday 10th March 2010 when he drove off from the 7th tee. Initially he thought he had gone through the green but after he and his fellow players checked the rough  at the back of the green and the bunker to no avail he ventured back to the pin. When  he saw  that there was a ball in the hole.he said "I don't want to tempt fate",  so he asked one of the others to check the marking on the ball to see if it had a smiley face drawn on it.. It did and the news brought a great smile to Colin's face as he recorded his first hole in one.

 As it was a Bogey competition he only scored a plus instead of the 5 points he would have had in a Stableford!  Several seniors joined him back in the clubhose to celebrate the occasion in the traditional manner.

Details of the formats for the 2011 Seniors Summer Knockout Competitions are available on the Seniors Knockout Competitions page.

Captains Drive In - Saturday 13th November - Click here for full report.

County Seniors Autumn Meeting

This event was held at Worlebury G. C. on Friday 8th October 2010. Long Sutton Seniors entered three teams of four players.

This is the first time that the Seniors Section had entered this County event.

The results are as follows.

INDIVIDUAL WINNER…………David Scott LSGC - The Sir Roger Hollis Cup

Alec Lyon LSGC 3rd on countback

TEAM EVENT

Second Place LSGC ‘C’ Team Alec Lyon

Peter Benn

David Ledger

Doug Lawson

Third Place LSGC ‘A’ Team

Roger Stone

Mike Capps

Rob Ford

David Scott

WINNERS

AGE GROUP 60 – 64 Years LSGC David Ledger

                         55 -59 Years LSGC Peter Burch

Congratulations to to all the LS Seniors that took part. Remember next years event will be held at Long Sutton GC.

Roger Stone

A thankyou to Mick Capps and the Seniors for organising the second half of the Redwood Cup.

We played each other on Thursday, 23rd September and that day is going to be one of the highlights of the Ladies' year!

I am not one to gloat, or rub salt into wounds, (much), but the Ladies BEAT the Seniors overall to win the Redwood Cup! The first time the Ladies have WON since 2003 – the first time the men have LOST.

To be fair, on Thursday, the Seniors did win on the day, 71/2-81/2, but as the Ladies had 2 wins in hand from the first leg, they won overall 91/2-81/2. Thank goodness the last pair in didn't know how much depended on their result.

There were questions raised over yellow and white tees, how many adjustment shots, a Bobby Jones putter that is infallible from 20 feet when it hasn't worked for weeks, and a lady off 26 who chips in for 4 on the first!

The banter went on and on, but joking aside, thanks again to Pam Redwood for starting the whole thing off with her husband John. They wanted to get the men and ladies playing together for fun and we certainly had fun yesterday. The company was good, the food was delicious, the course a pleasure to play and the rain stayed away.

Thankyou to everyone for supporting the event, and we will do battle again next year!

Gill