STRI inspection

The STRI carried out their regular inspection of the course on Wednesday. An agronomist arrived with a load of equipment to test the greens, to discuss the regular maintenance programme and to inspect the course, particularly the rough, fairways and bunkers and for the first time I sat in and indeed helped operate the stimpmeter to measure green speeds (I had expected something pretty sophisticated from the name, but its just a metal bar down which you roll a golf ball a few times in a few places, and average the distance it rolls).

This time he brought a new toy, a K-9 like instrument that accurately measures the smoothness of the greens. Of course, occasions like this usually involve a lot of people watching a few actually doing the work.

The 18th green came in for particular attention - after the readings were taken it was cut for a second time, readings taken, then given a treatment of vibrating rollers and re-read and then brushed and re-cut with readings taken. The second cut made little difference; the rollers made it smoother and faster; brushing and re-cutting made it slower.

The written report will give the details of the findings - in summary, the findings were that different greens were consistent and OK but the weather had prevented the density of the grass being as good as it should be at this time of year; the planned maintenance schedule is dealing with this and other issues (like thinning out the rough).

The exercise is useful, as much as for the continuity of the analysis as the day itself, but it was as good to hear a couple of visitors from Royal Birkdale (whose game we crossed a few times) say how much they enjoyed and liked the course.

Invitation Day

Friday: sunny and calm.

Saturday: cold, wet and windy.

Sunday: sunny and (fairly) calm.

Spot the difference.

Yes, it was an important day at the golf club, Invitation Day. We had a full day of tee bookings and when, as the rain fell harder and we discussed mid-morning whether or not to play I was impressed that no-one had pulled out so far. But the weather did remind me of summer holidays at Bamburgh when I was a kid: looking up at the sky and saying isn’t it clearing up over there? And then continuing to say it, incorrectly, pretty much all day. And that is what I kept on saying while we waited to go out (fortunately, my fellow 1.40 tee time players decided not to play so we went off at 3.00, fortunately because it was clearing up and we actually had three holes at the end without much rain). Four groups decided not to play: eighty six did; not everyone finished but 172 people started. That says a lot about our members and guests (I’m not sure what, but a lot). And there were some good scores, with three teams, including two who played in the worst of the weather, getting 41 points.

I hope everyone who took part will look back on it as an enjoyable experience, one of those that are better looking back on: I know my guest, who had driven up from Kent, will not forget golf in the North East.

Can you blame a captain for the weather? Not really. But it didn’t stop people trying. “Jonah Woodman” Trevor called me on the lovely summer’s evening on Friday as the Junior team was (just) beaten in the league knock out by Linden Hall. Hmmm.

NNJL vs Magdalene Fields

I hadn't managed to get to a junior league match this year, but went to watch the team play Magdalene Fields. I'm not sure either side will want to see me again as whenever I approached a group they seemed to either lose the ball or hit it out of bounds (especially, unfortunately, our team).

Eventually that improved and the team played well (a special mention to Sam Aldred who won 6&4) but with the result being a 2 - 2 draw.

My main question? How, when even Trevor was dressed warmly, did so many of them manage in just a t-shirt?


(A couple of years ago, Newcastle's Centre for Life carried out a study to see whether there was a genetic reason Geordies wear few clothes on a night out, but never published the results. I spoke to one of the analysts there to find out the results; they concluded there was no genetic reason, mainly because the North East comprised such an amalgam of people from various backgrounds (thanks to various invasions and incursions) that there was no unique genetic factor. They put the habit down to other factors: "adaptive not genetic". People get used to the cold; people in the North East are more overweight than the average Brit (natural insulation) and for thinner people, active metabolism keeps them warm. And lastly: peer pressure.)

NNL Knockout Round 1

What a difference a week makes: last week we lost a close but disappointing league match against Dunstanburgh, this week we won (5-0) the first round of the knock-out against them.

It could have been home advantage; it could have been the M&S shrimp sweets Keith fed our team. It could even have been ability. Whatever the reason we're through to the second round which also happens to be the quarter final.

The evening started with a hailstorm (what do you do if the green is covered in hailstones?), passed through showers clouds and the odd rainbow and finished well.

Armstrong Trophy as it happened

Round 1: Bye


Round 2: Gordon Stephenson. I got 5 Shots. I lost the ball on the first hole: 1 down. (But I never do well if I play the first hole well). Got it back on the 2nd (drive onto the green). Tight match - all square after 9 and then after 11. 1 down after 12th (to a birdie) and then halved holes up to 16. Yas hit unlucky second into the hill, lost ball, so all square. 17th: My drive: onto the green; Yas into the field. I got the birdie. 18th: Decent drive; Yas hit iron. His second: a few feet from hole, as was my third (a bit closer) having just avoided bunker with 2nd. All down to the last put: his for birdie was about an inch short. Mine for par (and a half on 18 and a win) went in.

Yas' drive on the 3rd: a part of the course you don't see very often.

Round 3: Johnny Moffet. Only two questions, really: could I last beyond the 10th hole and would we finish before the rain came. 16 shots should help - but inevitably I lost the ball on the first hole. I got a three with the second, not good enough. Drive at the third into the gorse on the third: 2 down. A couple of pars net birdies helped make it all square after 6: result! Then a hole where I didn't get a shot.. lost to a birdie and to one on the 9th. 2 down after 9: pretty good, and then a par at the 12th and a rare dropped shot by Johnny left me one down. But a drive into the gorse (followed by a second shot with the second ball into some other gorse) on the 13th and into the bank on the 14th left me 3 down with four to play. And then the rain came. I played 15 well but not well enough and we walked in, Johnny having played par golf to then.

There's always next year.The rain on its way..

Seahouses Friendly

As I drove into the car park, Radio 4 said it would be cloudy at first, then sunny and dry. Well, they got that one wrong. Aside from that, and the result, the day went well.

Seahouses seem to pick Captains who are good at golf*, and Chris Taylor played beautifully, complemented by Dave Watson; John Cairns and I admitted defeat on the 14th. As did the next group out, Keith Whitfield and Michael Robson who might have had a chance if they'd had full handicap difference: otherwise Scott and Gary just played too well (lambs to the slaughter acording to Michael). All the other groups had close games going down to the 18th, so we had to wait in the bar for the last group (who'd had to start late) to struggle down in the rain to find out the result. And could you pick a better last group then Derek Haggerstone & Ian Coulthard v Rob Ritchie and Steve Wharmby? They halved their game, not quite good enough for us to halve the match: we lost 3.5 - 4.5.

The salver we won last year was unfortunately stolen in the burglary earlier in the year so we re-presented to Seahouses the valuable china plate Scott prepared last year. And then listened to Rob explain some of the finer points of womankind followed by Derek reintroducing us to Luigi. And then? Back to the bar.

* As did Bamburgh Ladies: Nicky Rose shot a 70 on Saturday, a new ladies course record.

NNL Match 4

Dunstanburgh away is always a hard game because although the course is fair it’s also tough. So a 4 – 8 loss wasn’t too much of a surprise given not everyone was fully fit and a couple of people were drafted in.


As always we had decent support but unusually so did the opposition: Dunstanburgh also tend to have a lot of spectators. I usually watch the last couple of matches because most people watch the first ones: it seems unfair to leave them without support. (I’m not sure I could keep up with Peter and Mark anyway). Peter Hinson was in the last group this time and it was a very exciting one to watch attracting a bit of a crowd towards the end. It could have gone either way and he was just a bit unlucky (apart from when John, his opponent, was strafed by an RAF helicopter as he putted on the 12th) especially with is lie on the 18th.

A drab start turned into a perfect summer evening; the course looked excellent. I have always liked the 13th but was told by the Dunstanburgh members I spoke to that it wasn’t popular as it wasn’t a “proper” golf hole. That’s maybe why I like it.
Next Wednesday sees us play Dunstanburgh at home, but in the first round of the league knock-out. This link gives the results after 5 rounds of the league.

The McAdam Foursomes - my one and only round

Our McAdam Foursomes match was tricky: Johnny Moffet and Joe Clements had won the event in 2009, they continue to improve and are in form at the moment. We had however agreed to play (at the last available time) after Joe had played two rounds in the Dalgleish Cup so he should have been tired. We also agreed to use buggies which took some of the time and hassle out of it. And my partner, Mike Robinson, had just had an auspicious day. Luke Donald had just become the world's No1 golfer. And some time ago, in the last century, Mike had beaten him in both a singles and a Foursomes match.

It was a great game; perhaps not up to Donald's standards but quite a few shots were pretty good. It was a beautiful evening, at no time was there more than one hole in it and specifically we were all square after 9 and on the 18th tee (and the 15th and 17th tees as well). But I lost my drive and although we could have managed a three with the second ball a steady par gave Johnny and Joe a desreved victory on the 18th. The timing was impeccable: it then started to pour.

The Lake Trophies: At least Some People Enjoyed Themselves

Yet again the wind was strong. It's OK, it can be quite fun, playing in the wind when it's dry but it does get tedious.

Why is it so windy? I remember from A-level geography that the UK's weather is unpredictable and varied primarily because it is at the junction of different air masses as well as being at the edge of a major continent. The north-east's weather is largely determined by the polar continental mass and we have strong winds both from our exposed position and the path of depressions.

But an overriding factor is the polar jet stream. For reasons I can't easily explain but apparently linked to temperature variations in the Pacific Ocean ("el nino/southern oscillation") causing atmospheric changes across the globe, it has been further south than usual, especially this year. The jet stream brings high winds and turbulence. Its location can be followed here and its a good indicator of our weather. Sure enough on Saturday it was above us before drifting away on Monday.

I asked the Met Office about wind speeds at Boulmer (the nearest station to us). The average wind speed in 2010 (9.6 knots) was close to the latest 30 year average they've calculated (1971 to 2000). The first four months of this year (also 9.6 knots) were about 15% less than the long term average. But the wind in May (11 knots) was about 30% higher than long term average. It was in fact the highest average wind speed ever recorded there in May.

Whatever the reason, congratulations to Angus Smith and Alan Patterson who won with 41 points; they must have put all thoughts of La Nina and her impact on the jet stream behind them.

Mixed Sevensomes

The idea for a couple of summer mixed greensomes had been to benefit from the calm sunny summer evenings for which the course is so well known. It was in fact fairly calm. Warm and sunny it wasn't but nevertheless seven people turned up to play. We had tried a number of formats in winter, but not a sevensome (if there is such a word). But rather than split the group we decided to do this, splitting into three teams with a random draw. All seven of us drove, which created an awesome sight at each tee (I think "awesome" is the appropriate word).
A combination of fading light and players on 10,11 & 12 made us play 13 holes only. Steady faultless play from Bill and Fiona gave them victory; I think Nicky and I could just have won if we had averaged out the last five over nine and the first eight over nine, or indeed had we played better. John, Tony and Margaret suffered from harsh handicapping after the success of the three-person teams in winter.We have another couple of these games planned later in summer. I was a bit worried about introducing yet another event in a fairly crowded golf calendar, but I think they've worked well - those who've played have enjoyed them and they've introduced a few people who didn't know each other before.