Dave Ballard reports that this is the 16th green on Sabi River Sun Golf Course in South Africa and yes, that is a real live Hippo watching on! The hole is known as ‘Hippo Hollow’, one you won’t be retrieving your ball from! 

14 enthusiastic golfers arrived for the final qualifying event of this year’s competition at Lakeside Lodge with it still all to play for at the top of the leaderboard.

On arrival at the clubhouse the golfers were welcomed by Brian and Geoff who were taking on the role of hosts for the day in the absence of Les who was on his holidays. The usual pre-round coffee and bacon rolls were thoroughly enjoyed by all.

As the first tee time approached and with most of the golfers on the putting green the heavens decided to open and there was much scurrying for waterproofs. Fortunately the shower didn’t last very long at all and the weather remained kind for the rest of the day, in fact we were treated to a fine autumn afternoon.

Lakeside Lodge is a good complex with plenty of facilities including lodges for those looking for a golfing break. The course provided a fair challenge with plenty of opportunities to score but also opportunities to lose plenty of balls out of bounds and in the water! A further challenge on the day was locating your ball if it landed in the leaves, a particular gripe from some of the golfers! Unfortunately the greens on the back 9 were not as good as the front and Geoff’s description of the course as ‘patchy’ certainly applied to some of those greens.

As master of ceremonies ,Geoff started by announcing the winner of the nearest the pin prize on the 5th hole. Unfortunately however, Geoff explained that not one golfer managed to hold the green, clearly this was due to the difficulty of the hole not the quality of the golfers! Geoff did mention that as they approached the 5th tee Steve Preston got quite excited in that ‘they were in with a chance today as he couldn’t see a marker on the green’. Geoff had to point out to Steve that this was because they were the first group out and no one had yet played the hole!

With all the scores counted in, Geoff announced the final positions, noting that the standard of golf on the day was pretty good. No disasters from the course or the bunkers were reported although there was a rumour of some frustrated club thumping.

The results on the day will be announced at the Supper but we can announce that Nearest the pin is carried forward to next time!!

Many thanks to Brian and Geoff for hosting the day and of course, Les for his organisation of all the events.

The final event of the year is at Elton on Friday 11th of November with the Supper in the evening. Invites should be in your inboxes.

From Tbilisi in Georgia (that’s the one near Russia, not the home of The Masters).

Welcome to the penultimate event of this year’s competition at Melton with still all to play for as it’s tight at the top of the leader board.
A smaller field of players today, only 11, as Steve Preston had car troubles, or was it that he didn’t want to write the report?
Into the clubhouse for the usual pre-round coffee, bacon rolls and banter. Courtesy of Steve a spare bacon roll was up for grabs, which I’m pleased to say Martin thoroughly enjoyed.
The new Follies shirts also arrived. Andy looked very smart in his along with his new(ish) white shoes, nothing wrong with white shoes I might add.

Not too many incidents or accidents reported today but here’s what few there were.
On the 5th, nearest the pin, Trevor got on the front of the green, quite a way from the pin and as expected, was soon beaten by the following group, first Les got closer then Dave West got within a few feet of the pin to take the prize.
On the same hole Martin tee’d off and his ball clattered into a nearby tree, the ball then rebounded back down the path towards the tee box and after 1 bounce, 2 bounces, then off a trolley it came to rest 10 yards behind the tee. Once the laughter had subsided, we stood waiting behind the trees for his next shot, heard the contact and after a few seconds the ball came trickling down the path and ended up alongside the front of the tee box, maybe it was that second bacon roll kicking in!
In the lead group Colin Keal thought he’d claim nearest the pin on the 7th, sadly nearest the pin was on the 5th, nice try though.
No ‘bunker flunker’ today but Darren may have started a new trend of ‘ditch flunker’ with 3 shots to get out of his second ditch of the day.

Tragedy back in the clubhouse where Trevor was gutted to find there were NO CAKES!

With all the scores in Les announced the final positions. Trevor 2nd and Paul 3rd but then a slightly miffed Dave Ballard inquired about his score?
What score?
Ooops, Les apologised and revised the positions and the final standings were

1st – 39 points Les Wells
2nd – 37 points Dave Ballard
3rd – 35 points Trevor Chapman

Nearest the pin – Dave West

Well done to everyone, hope you all enjoyed the day.

Top of the leader board has now gotten even closer, anyone’s trophy.
1st = John Dexter 115
= Dave Ballard 115
3rd Graham Tooke 114

Les reminded me that there is also a trophy for ‘Rookie of the Year’ up for grabs and this too is very close with Paul B, Darren and Andy still all in the mix with just the one event to go.

Clearly a lot riding on the final event of the year which is on Friday 14th October at Lakeside Lodge, Pidley.

That’s near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire Trevor.
Good luck to everyone.

Thanks again to Les for organising these events, a lot of work both behind the scenes and on the day.

Due to email issues Les was not aware that due to 21 Follies wishing to play this event, best attendance for some years, a few more tee times were required from his original booking back in November. Unfortunately the Club did not have consecutive tee times available so the first 2 groups were required to tee off earlier than planned. However, this was soon sorted when Les arranged for our groups to stand back and let the member group in the middle of our tee times go through at the first opportunity. A further issue arose when trying to book a buggy for Roy Fletcher and Colin Humphries, there were none available! Apparently the Club had 6 new buggies standing idle that 1 member had block booked for the whole year and refused to let anyone else use them! How strange and selfish is this!

Anyway, with these issues out of the way the 21 Follies arrived in the sunshine, but with it not being too hot and there being very little wind, it was ideal conditions for a round of golf. After the traditional meet and greet session together with bacon rolls and coffee, the event got underway. The course was in great condition considering the drought conditions this summer. It presented a different challenge to recent events and that is good to have a mix of courses throughout the year that may suit the games of the lower handicappers more so than others. 

Some outstanding moments from the day:

Paul Flanders had a nervy start to his round, in particular taking a massive swing and pirouette sending the ball a couple of feet to his left hand side. He did recover to card an 8 going on to a respectable 33 points on the day.

During each event there is normally one runaway trolley to report, and it was Roy’s turn this time. However, as there were no buggies to hire, he certainly can be forgiven for this. In fact he and Colin must be applauded for walking one of the hilliest courses we play without any moaning, comment or even heavy breathing, unlike Jon Kelly! A regular banana break and some of Colin’s wife’s ginger cookies helped them to skip round the course like young bucks!

Dave Ballard and Graeme Phipps both hit the green on the nearest the pin par 3 12th hole. While Graeme was using a rake to measure which ball was closest to the pin and Dave was retrieving his putter ready for his attempt for a birdie, John Dexter takes his second shot, only to shank it straight into the chest of Dave. Ouch! After much measuring, Graeme concedes the distance to Dave. Unlucky Graeme, Dave got the prize, but you got the birdie! 

Certainly 4 or 5 holes required long and accurate drives, evidenced in particular by Colin Humphries, Roy Fletcher and Andy Mchattie seen searching in the hay on several occasions!

As some of the greens were lightning fast, Gabe Stokes thought he might dampen his putt by leaving the cover on! Not sure this will catch on Gabe, but may lengthen the life of your putter! 

John Dexter sets himself for his drive, the club is on its way to the ball but no, it hits the ground hard before connecting with the ball. Onlookers watch on in amazement as this creates a great draw shot that travels some 200 yards, ending up in the middle of the fairway! Not one for the text book, but very effective none the less.

Finally and probably the best of the day, Trevor Chapman staking his claim for the annual bunker flunker award on the par 3 12th. Unfortunately his tee shot crept into one of the two green side bunkers. However, he then managed to visit both bunkers a total of 4 times which involved 9 bunker shots finally escaping with the use of his putter! To vent his frustration, he then proceeded to kick the rake out of the bunker! 

Some nostalgia from the day:

Richard Parker noted that his playing partner on the day Paul Flanders had recruited him to Pearl some 25 years ago this month. Les Wells then recruited him to the Follies at a Pearl training course the same month!

To celebrate his return to the Follies after a 29 year absence, Sean Melia donated a prize for nearest the pin in 2 on the 13th hole. Clearly Sean has been a very busy man! 

On the day:

1^st Darren Pears 39 points

2^nd Graham Tooke 38 points

3^rd Les Wells on countback from John Dexter 36 points

Nearest the Pin on the 12^th – Dave Ballard, 3 feet from the hole just edging out Graeme Phipps by less than a handle of the rake.

Nearest the Pin in 2 on the 13^th – Richard Parker, 6 feet from the hole just edging out Les Wells and Dave Ballard by a few feet or so.

Well done Darren, first win in your rookie year. Be prepared for a cut in handicap as a result!

Fritz Follies standings top 5:

John Dexter 115

Graham Tooke 114

Dave Ballard 112

David West 108

Roy Fletcher 108

Great looking leaderboard with 14 players with an aggegate of 100 or more this season from their best 3 cards. With just two rounds to go (Melton Mowbray and Lakeside Lodge), should be an exciting finish to what has been a great season of golf, helped by the wonderful weather we have had throughout.

Our next meeting is Melton Mowbray on Friday 23rd September, look forward to seeing you all there.

Reporter Dave Ballard

Paul’s a lot more popular than I ever thought!

Another entry from our own Artful Dodger Jon

Please let me have your entries as they become available and I’ll feed them into the site between matchdays.

Matchday 5 of the Follies Trophy was looking promising with Les Wells confirming 6 groups of 3 with respective tee times by email on 19th July. However, by the actual start, Les had dealt with various comings and goings and a final order of 3 groups of 3 and 2 groups of 4 was published.

There was just one more obstacle to overcome, the Ramsey Bowls & Golf Club were hosting a very well supported bowls match which, when combined with the regular golf members making good use of the cooler weather, all on site car parking was at its limit, some of our members having to park in public areas off site, hope there were no rules broken and everyone got away without penalty; more than can be said about events that followed.
The weather was now almost perfect for golf, as were the green fairways and superb
greens, the Ramsey reservoir had indeed been made good use of. Thankfully the
heatwave having subsided, the fine Ramsey club offering very pleasant alfresco
surroundings for the traditional bacon rolls and coffee. The Ramsey club was unable
to provide in house catering for us on this occasion and so arrangements had been
made with a local cafe’ to provide and serve our breakfast and coffee.
Just prior to “breakfast” being served, Les was addressing the assembled group of
middle to senior age golfers, confirming that due to the prolonged hot and dry
weather, the fairways in some areas had developed large surface cracks which had
been deemed unnatural hazards, therefore any ball found to be unplayable in these
situations, relief could be taken of no more than 6 inches, as per winter preferred lie
rules.
At this point, with everyone quietly listening to this important detail, the young
waitress, now in the midst of the group serving coffee, immediately and vociferously
retorted “ is that a man’s 6 inches or a women’s?” The coffee (some now spilt) was
consumed with much mirth and serious debate as to whether the comment was valid.
And so to the practice putting green and first tee the party moved off, having
generally agreed that for £28.50 the bacon rolls and coffee, together with the
unsolicited humour, was a very good start to proceedings.
As the first group moved off to the tee box for a 13.00 start, the following groups
were carrying out mandatory driver practice swings. Kevin Hingle, having observed
the first group teeing off with various degrees of success, obviously thought that a
more cushioned shot was required, it seemed his approach was to leave his driver
head cover on. Unfortunately, on his practice swing the head cover was last seen
heading towards Upwood.
Back on the first tee, Geoff Delany was getting things underway, his address was
faultless, his front foot 90 degrees to the ball, his back foot heel just off the ground on
completing his drive, – sadly the vicar was not expecting a golf ball in the
vicarage, perhaps even entering through an open Velux window!
Things slightly improved for Geoff on the 2nd but he went in the long bunker in
front of the green. On his third attempt to get back on the green he decided to go
sideways but thinned it, squarely hitting a tree trunk, ending up just off the green,
claiming it was intentional by playing an “in-off”.
On the 18th he demonstrated course management at its very best, a lay up onto the
ladies tee followed by a shot to the fairway and an approach stone dead for a par. No
need for Geoff to take a risky shot over the trees!
Colin Humphries and Geoff Delany appeared to be in competition for the best golfing
titfer, could this be a new competition.

Paul Flanders, having been allocated to group 5 (my group), unfortunately was
finding the initial holes a little difficult with a 9 on the first hole. Obviously still
suffering a little stress, it was only thanks to intervention from Roy Fletcher on the
par 3 second, that he avoided a penalty before striking the ball off the tee. Roy
explaining that the ball should be in between the tee box markers when teeing off.
His woes continued on the 3rd tee when an airshot was noted but not recorded, thanks
to gracious behaviour from Brian Bates, when the word Mulligan was heard. In
fairness to Paul he did ask what a Mulligan was. (I hope this divulgence does not
affect scoring Les!).
The remainder of Paul’s round was a reminder that there really is a golfer lurking here
by playing some fine golf.
It was becoming obvious as “our” round progressed that Roy Fletcher was again in
hot form, consistently scoring with some excellent golf. What an example for all of
us from this fine 88 year old gent.
Conversely, Gabe was intent on securing the bunker flunker on the 13th. Having
driven well, there was excitement as his ball looked promising to take nearest the pin
only to roll through the green, coming to rest just past a rear bunker. His pitch back
on was short and 8 shots later with his ball eventually back on the green, he asked
Brian to “pick-up”. Surely a record!
It has to be recorded that on the 18th Gabe laid up next to the footbridge, resting on a
footpath allowing relief without penalty. He duly hit his 2nd in the ditch, finally
getting on the fairway in 4. His approach shot was promising but went through the
green leaving a 55 foot putt for 6 to finish the round — he made it! (check the card Les
6 not 5).
Unfortunately I have no distance information but Trevor Chapman was quietly
pleased to confirm that on the 5th he had a roller for a 4 and on the 16th he putted out
from a bunker, nice work Trevor.
The very pleasant gathering on the 19th was eagerly awaiting Les’s computations
when stories were heard about potential discrepancies with calibration of certain
Garmin range finding watches. Both Richard Parker and Andy McHattie agreeing
something was wrong causing incorrect club selection to the detriment of their
rounds. I am sure the FF Golf Society can approach Garmin for suitable
compensation.
Results and standings.
1st Roy Fletcher 43 pts
2nd Dave Ballard 41 pts
3rd John Dexter 40 pts on countback from Jim Daley & Graham Tooke
Nearest the Pin : Les Wells – note that Graham Tooke was leading for one shot as I
followed his tee shot in the next group
Fritz Follies Trophy Standings – top 10:
Member name Total
Dave Ballard 111
Graham Tooke 110
John Dexter 109
David West 108
Roy Fletcher 108
Jim Daley 107
Geoff Delany 104
Colin Humphries 103
Jon Kelly 101
Les Wells 101
Let’s hope for good weather and we can all look forward to the next outing at Stoke Rochford on 19th August.
Submitted by Gabe Stokes with additions from Graham Tooke, Les Wells and Trevor Chapman.

In fact, it’s been open a while but with one thing and another, entries have been slow. However, that’s about to change as Follies get out and about and do things that have been denied to us for the last couple of years. Chris has made a fast start with Das Shirtie above.

Please let me have your entries as they become available and I’ll feed them into the site between matchdays.

Matchday 4 of the Follies Trophy ran alongside this year’s President’s Cup and attracted a bumper turnout of 18 Follies at Elton Furze.

Today saw the welcome return of Sean Melia – a mere 29 years since he last appeared back in September 1993. Apparently he’s been busy !

Roy Fletcher, having left his bottle of water still cooling at home in his fridge, purchased a bottle at the bar and carefully put it in his cooler bag with his banana. Disaster struck somewhere on the first 9 when cooler bag & contents went AWOL. He did get his bag back from the pro shop at the end of the round – it having been handed in – but it was empty.

A disturbing sight greeted the opening group on the 13th but we knew there was no-one ahead of us and no Follie would ever behave in such a fashion.

There was only one disqualification in the President’s Cup when Colin Keal picked up on the 6th – I’m told most seasons half a dozen or so typically pick up. Maybe most of us are learning…

David Oliver walked the back 9 with the final group as he is recovering from a back injury. Gabe confessed afterwards that he had found David’s course knowledge very useful and made good use of his advice.

Chris Munro also appeared at the final hole to oversee his special prize to the winner of the Net aggregate of all the Par 3s and witnessed Trevor checking Jon’s card and revising upwards the total on both the front and back halves.

Jim Daley quite rightly was very pleased with his excellent birdie on the 13th.

However, 10 minutes after playing the 18th, a dispute between Graham & Jim was still in progress regarding score card issues. Thankfully David was on hand to resolve things amicably.

One of my least favourite golfing things reappeared early on – the air shot. Surely, we won’t see that ever again… There was no sign of my favourite – Nearest The Pin in 2 on 16th. Maybe next year someone will sponsor such a thing…

Results:

President’s Cup
Trevor – net score of 68.40
just ahead of Dave Ballard 68.60, Jim Daley 68.80, Les Wells 70.60 and Geoff Delany 71.40.

Nearest Pin 5th
Dave West.

Chris Munro special prize – Net aggregate of all the Par 3s
Colin Keal – net 8
just ahead of Dave Ballard net 9.

Follies Trophy
Trevor Chapman 39
Dave Ballard 37
Graham Tooke 36 on countback
Darren Pears 36
Jim Daley 36

Next up is Matchday 5 on Friday 22nd July at Ramsey Golf Club.