Macs Own Golf Blog

Golf for everyone - or maybe not!

2009-01-13T12:25:00.004Z

Over the 17 years I have been playing our beautiful game, I have always been advocate of golf for everyone. As a result I have played with all golfers irrespective of Age, Handicap and Sex, and in some cases all 3 have been a factor!

In April this year, prior to my resignation, I came into direct conflict with the Lady Captain when I proposed that Juniors at the MOG should be permitted to play at any time of day – the Lady Captain objected as in her words “they don’t pay the same amount for membership as me and therefore should not have the same rights” (and she had a free year, so some irony there)! She was supported in the denial of my proposal by the other old school committee members, irrespective of their Captains wishes, a certain lack of support, shock horror! Just to note that no other golf club in the area (including Bishops Stortford) adhere to such an archaic and bigoted approach to their juniors or other members.

Now to my point – on the 30th December I was invited my 3 members at the MOG as a guest, which I accepted. We ensured that our tee time was clear of any other members and stayed well clear of any opportunity for conflict. During my round it was fantastic to meet up with so many members, who made Steph’s and my time at the MOG so enjoyable. However, it seems that my presence caused a stir amongst the Resident Evil at the Manor that is the Lady Captain and her cronies! And as a result I received the letter below from the MOG Management (click on image to enlarge), it saddens me yet again at the depths the Resident Evil will stoop to besmirch my name!

I am now adhering to a new golfing premise where golf should be for all except those of an evil or twisted personality – and if the cap fits play Bridge!

2008-12-17T14:09:00.003Z

WISHING ALL THE MEMBERS AND STAFF

AT THE MANOR OF GROVES

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

From Colin & Stephanie McDonald

Brampton Park Mixed Open

2008-09-29T11:12:00.003+01:00

The sun does shine on the righteous after all! The Brampton Park Mixed took place on Sunday 28th September and along with our good friends Mark and Judith Heffer (Manor of Groves) Steph McDonald (Manor of Groves) and Myself (Unaffiliated) had a most excellent day. The course was in excellent condition, and the groundworks being carried out in no way detracted from the golf. Mark and Judith came home with a creditable 36pts (given some scores that was more than creditable, I hear Mark say), and Steph and I came home 3rd on countback with 39pts.

Brampton Park is a really enjoyable course and the members and staff are most welcoming, I highly recommend a visit.

BANNED FROM GROVERS DAY

2008-09-22T09:31:00.002+01:00

Happy times for MOG Golfers!

2008-09-11T12:31:00.001+01:00

Golfing 4 days to remember! Friday 5 September – Cannons Brook Mixed Open – 2 pairs from the Manor took part. The only word that can possibly describe the first 8 Holes is Sodden! The first 3 greens were almost under water, however we battled through and to great aplomb! The Manor held their own with congratulations going to Colin & Steph McDonald for the Best Back 9 with 22pts; but surpassing that efforts was Mark & Judith Heffer who with 40 pts took the overall first prize!

Saturday witnessed Colin McDonald & Mark Riley pair up in the Sam Ryder Trophy at Veralum Golf Club. Yes that is the Sam Ryder of Ryder Cup fame; the event is a pairs scratch competition for players of 9 handicap and below; the competition is 36 holes with 18 Holes Foursomes in the morning and 18 Holes Betterball in the afternoon. Although not successful the pair thoroughly enjoyed the day and will be back next year to improve!

Sunday and that man Riley (nearly club champion) was at it again with a successful defence of the autumn chalice. Congratulations buddy, with 40 pts! Sunday also witnessed another successful defence as Steph McDonald aided by Gwen Weller swept all aside in the Rose Nugent Bowl!

Monday and onto Hanbury Manor where Steph McDonald and Mark (Sparky) Wheeldon represented the MOG in the Mercedes Challenge. Mark’s day was not completely successful, however, he thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Steph on the other hand; aided by the ‘old man’ on the bag! Finished a creditable 2nd with 36pts of a reduced handicap.

Hey Bandito! Does that ring a bell... well here is something for all the Handicap Committees out there to consider.

2008-08-27T12:36:00.003+01:00

CONGU Unified Handicapping System 2008 - 2011

THE OBJECTIVE OF ALL UHS HANDICAP SYSTEMS - is to give a player a handicap that reasonably reflects their current playing ability.

WHY????
To give all players in the Club a handicap that gives each player as fair a chance as possible in all forms of competition.

HOW???
(Responsibilities of the Club [Clause 6.2 p18]):
ENSURE THAT THE SPIRIT AND INTENT OF THE UHS IS PROPERLY APPLIED AT THE CLUB

So if your sick and tired of hearing the question WHERE HAVE YOU LEFT YOUR HORSE? then remind your handicap committee of the objective of the UHS System and get them to implement the necessary changes to ensure a level playing field for all Members.

Riley and McDonald are at it again!

2008-06-20T11:16:00.003+01:00

The pair do it again, following their previous success in the Tansatlantic Challenge, the pair have now qualified for the National Finals of the Global Golfers Jamaica Challenge.

Finishing in the top 5 at the regional qualifier at the The Hertfordshire, the pair will now compete at the Forest of Arden on the 20th October from where the top 6 pairs from 35 will jet off to Jamaica on the 30th Oct.

There has been much talk recently - some quotes to ponder!

2008-06-16T12:13:00.005+01:00

You cannot have a proud and chivalrous spirit if your conduct is mean and paltry; for whatever a man's actions are, such must be his spirit.

Strong reasons make strong actions.

Something else to ponder:

Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth.

Mens Order of Merit - 2008

2008-06-03T22:20:00.002+01:00

The update mens order of merit is listed on the right. Things tighten up with one qualifier left before the Club Championships, we now have 6 players within 10pts of our current leader Mark Heffer.

Next qualifier is the Monthly Medal on the weekend of the 14/15 June (please note that the Summer Texas Scramble is being played on the 15 June).

Good luck to you all!

Congratulations to Guilia Lawless and Denise Beasley

2008-05-31T16:39:00.006+01:00

There is no stopping these 2 ladies, in the next round of the Daily Mail Foursomes these fine ladies won through 7&6 at home today.

The Ladies now progress to the next round where they are closer to achieving a massive success for the MOG Ladies section.

Go ladies go!

Focus on the 2nd

2008-05-30T12:37:00.004+01:00

Now that I have some free time on my hands, I thought I might wander around the course with my trusty camera and see what I could snap. Before I realised I snapped some 200+ photographs of our fast and ever improving golf course.

So what I hear you say, well being the open kind hearted individual that I am I thought I might share them with you in a new series focusing on individual holes at the MOG.

This first article delves into the the 2nd hole and in particular the Green. the 2nd Hole is some 428yards long with a tee shot from an elevated Tee to an uphill fairway. Thats the easy bit! The second shot requires good club selection with a grassy bunker front right and 2 bunkers left of the green. The green itself is 2 tiered with some excellent hidden hole positions on both levels. (Double click on a picture to enlarge)

Front Left of the Green

Front Right of the GreenGreenside with a view of the 2 tiers
Panaramic view from behind the green

Mens Order of Merit - Update

2008-05-28T10:53:00.003+01:00

As the busy month of June looms large the Mens Order of Merit is nicely poised. With an excellent month, our Vice Captain, Mark Heffer is now closely on the tail of our leader Brett Trevillion. Other big movers this month are Gary Anderson, Steve Patten and Sean Ward.

Gentlemen remember to enter the Club Championships, the entry is now posted in the Mens Changing Room, there are double points available for the top 20 in both the Handicap and Scratch championships.

Aldenham Ladies Open

2008-05-26T17:31:00.002+01:00

Two ladies from the Manor took part in the Ladies Open at Aldenham Golf Club near Watford on Thurs 22 May.

Both ladies thoroughly enjoyed the day and performed very well, in the morning fourball better ball they finished 2pts behind the winners with a very respectable 39 pts.

The afternoon competition was a 9 hole greensomes where the ladies came to the fore with an impressive 21 pts finishing first. Congratulations to Judith Heffer and Stephanie McDonald.

Stableford Winners Cup

2008-05-21T14:53:00.002+01:00

On Sunday 18th May, the Male members who had over the previous 12 months won a Monthly Stableford were seen doing battle in the Stableford Winners Cup.

17 Men did battle with 33pts being a very popular score, with no less than 5 of the field finishing with this score.

The Runner up with an impressive 34pts in windswept conditions was Steve Dalby.

But not even Steve's sterling efforts could match Tony Ward who had a very impressive 38pts. It is my pleasure to annouce the winner of the Stableford Winners Cup Tony Ward, pictured below receiving his trophy.

Captain Resigns

2008-05-20T08:00:00.001+01:00

Dear Members

It is with much regret that I have to inform you that as at 19 May 2008 I am no longer your captain. My resignation was tendered to the committee yesterday morning following a weekend where I felt that elements of the club were not aligned to my ethos of open, friendly and competitive golf.

It pains me a great deal that I am not able to see my term as captain through to its conclusion, this is not a decision I take lightly. Events and circumstances have conspired against me and as such I find myself in an untenable position.

I wish my successor every success and I only hope that he is better placed to fight for the members in a more successful way than I was.

Yours

Colin McDonald

A little light relief!

2008-05-16T11:49:00.002+01:00

A Woman was out golfing one day when she hit the ball into the woods.
She went into the woods to look for it and found a frog in a trap.
The frog said to her, 'If you release me from this trap, I will grant you three
wishes.'
The woman freed the frog, and the frog said, 'Thank you, but I failed to mention that there was a condition to your wishes.
Whatever you wish for, your husband will get times ten!' The woman said, 'That's okay.'

For her first wish, she wanted to be the most beautiful woman in the world.
The frog warned her, 'You do realize that this wish will also make your husband
the most handsome man in the world, an Adonis whom women will flock to'.
The woman replied, 'That's okay, because I will be the most beautiful Woman and
he will have eyes only for me.'

So, KAZAM-she's the most beautiful Woman in the world!

For her second wish, she wanted to be the richest woman in the world.
The frog said, 'That will make your husband the richest man in the world. And he
will be ten times richer than you.'
The woman said, 'That's okay, because what's mine is his and what's his is
mine.'

So, KAZAM-she's the richest woman in the world!

The frog then inquired about her third wish, and she answered, 'I'd like a mild
heart attack.'

Moral of the story: Women are clever. Don't mess with them.

Attention FEMALE readers : This is the end of the joke for you. Stop here
and continue feeling good.

Male readers :
Please scroll down.

...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
The man had a heart attack ten times milder than his wife.

Moral of the story : Women are really dumb but think they're really
smart.

Let them continue to think that way and just enjoy the show.

PS: If you are a woman and are still reading this; it only goes to show that
women never listen ...now run along and put the kettle on, there's a love.

Weekend Results - Lady Captains Cup & the U14 Martin Moran Shield

2008-05-13T12:49:00.006+01:00

Congratulations to our Lady Captain Jean Clarke, not the done thing winning your own competition you know Jean (this is not a precedent I wanted set this year Jean). A good turnout for the ladies (must be something about the Sunshine and warmth) and all thoroughly enjoyed the day. Jean is pictured here receiving the Lady Captains Cup from Lady Vice Captain Guilia Lawless.

The other competition over the weekend was the U14 Martin Moran Shield, unfortunately not such a good turnout. But again in beautiful sunshine and guided along by the newly elected Junior Organiser Paul Jarvis, his son Maxwell won the day. Congratulations to Maxwell, pictured here with Junior Captain Lloyd Purnell.

Latest Poll Result

2008-05-13T12:35:00.003+01:00

So its just me that has issues with the 13th then! So the vote is done and rightly so, the 7th has been voted the hardest Par 3 on the Course.

Poll Result: Is the rough too punishing at the MOG?

2008-05-06T12:19:00.000+01:00

Thanks to all those who took part in our latest Poll. We seem to have a split vote this time around with the overall outcome being as followed:

36% voted NO the rough is not too punishing
27% voted FAIR is well off line
27% voted NOT FAIR if only just offline
10% voted YES the rough is too punishing

Response to Comments posted in the Green Keeper Book

2008-05-01T09:28:00.001+01:00

MEMORANDUM

DATE: 1 May, 2008

TO: All Members

FROM: Mark Wells / Damien Bowe – ISS Waterers Landscapes

Golf Course Update

We are very pleased to see that the new Green Keepers Comments and Message book is being used to full effect. Please continue to give us your constructive feedback on the general condition of the course and also any constructive ideas to improve the course that you may have.

In response to recent comments placed in the message book on W/E of 26th 27th April we have the following update.

Comment 26/04/08
Rough is too long, Fairways have been made too small, Greens are uneven and slow.

Reply 28/04/08
Rough has been left to grow in on several holes for the following reasons.

Hole 2 Area to right of second fairway rough has grown up on mound to create definition between fairways this rough will be kept to within mounds and semi rough kept to a height of 50mm.

Hole 3 Area to left of fairway, rough has been grown in to stop ride on mowers being damaged by hedgerow. It has however been noted that the rough may have crept to far into play we will therefore be cutting the rough back to within 2m of hedgerow to increase play width.

Hole 4 Area to right of fairway has been left to grow rough to prevent long hitters gaining an advantage when cutting corner. However the rough in this area will be kept to within the tree lines and will not increase inwards. We will also be making the fairway wider on the corner by 15m.

Hole 5 Area between the trees to right of the fairway has been left to grow as rough and will be kept within tree line. The landing area on the fairway at the 100 marker will be made wider to allow for better approaches to be played into the green.

Hole 6 Area to left of fairway was allowed to grow to create definition between holes. However it has come to our attention the good drives could reach the longer rough, we have therefore cut back the longer rough and now the area will be cut as semi rough at a height of 50mm.

Hole 15 We have noted that the approach to this green is currently cut to far to the left thus any shots that are short and right of pin are finding the longer rough. We are therefore making the approach wider and bringing it to a more central position.

Hole 18 The area to the back of the 18th green has been allowed to grown in by 2m this will be kept as rough with the slopes as semi rough.

Greens
As you may all be aware we have undertaken a vast amount of work to the greens over the last few weeks with hollow coring, topdressing and fertilising. This is much needed to give us stronger root growth which intern will bring us much better greens. We will continue to aerate the greens over the coming months and I will communicate this via the notice board. We will be cutting the greens more frequently over the coming months as the warmer weather increases growth. The greens will become faster over the coming weeks as our cutting regimes increase.

I would like to thank you all for your constructive comments and also your understanding while we make changes to improve the golf course.

Please feel free to talk with me on my weekly visit to the Manor of Groves should you have any further queries.

Regards

Mark Wells
Area Manager
ISS Waterers Landscapes

2nd Hole voted most difficult by members

2008-04-28T12:54:00.004+01:00

Many thanks to those members who participated in this weeks poll. For those that voted the membership is split, but the hardest hole of the 4 in contention is the Par 4 2nd.

1st Par 4 2nd - 38%
2nd Par 4 8th - 30%
3rd Par 4 12th - 25%
4th Par 4 15th - 7%

This weeks poll asks the question - is the rough at the MOG too punishing?

Mens Spring Cup - Ladies Spring Trophy Results

2008-04-26T18:23:00.009+01:00

Saturday 26th April, the sun did shine and the golfers at the MOG took to the golf course in wonderful sunshine in their effort to capture the Spring Cup for Men, the Spring Trophy for the Ladies and the Junior Spring Cup.

Gripes and groans were heard all around the course as the men entered battle to capture the Spring Cup and the honour of playing in a PGA Pro/AM at Old Ford Manor with our Pro Ben Goodey.

**Men's Spring Cup (PGA Pro/AM Qualifier)**
1st	Tony Cook	66 (78-12)
2nd	Mark Heffer	67 (80-13)
3rd	Colin McDonald	69 (79-10)

Congratulations to Tony Cook (pictured here with the Club Captain Coln McDonald) who now goes forward to Old Ford Manor with Ben Goodey.

The Ladies came in close on the heels of the men and with some excellent scoring.

**Ladies Spring Trophy**
1st	Denise Beasley	64 (83-19)
2nd	Tina Holyoake	74 (90-16)
3rd	Steph McDonald	74 (98-24)

Congratulations to Denise (picutred here with the Ladies Captain Jean Clarke) on an excellent score and well deserved.

Mail On Sunday Classic Cup

2008-04-25T08:59:00.000+01:00

Congratulations to the Manor of Groves team for their magnificent 4-1 victory at Aldwickbury last Sunday in the Mail on Sunday Classic.

The Team now face Welwyn Garden City at home in the next round to be played by the 11 May.

Good luck to:
Graham Purnell
Rhys Purnell
Lloyd Purnell
Glen Cutmore
Dave Bristow

Medal Winners Cup - 2008

2008-04-22T11:37:00.002+01:00

Saturday witnessed the first Board Competition of 2008 in the form of the Medal Winners Cup. Entries to this competition is restricted to those members who where successful in the monthly medals during the previous year.

With a reduced field the entrants headed out in windswept and gloomy conditions. Given the conditions the scoring was excellent and the eventual outcome was a success for Paul Gillard with a score of Net 69.

Congratulations Paul.

Daily Mail Foursomes - Ladies

2008-04-21T10:05:00.003+01:00

Congratulations to Denise Beasley and Giulia Lawless on a fantastic 5&3 win away at Potters Bar.

We all wish our Ladies good luck in round 3.