Results for Thaxted Park - 15 April 2024
Thaxted Park Golf Day 15 April 2024
It was a lovely day for golf when 16 of us took up the challenge of Monday away day golf at Thaxted Park. The course was in excellent condition provided you stayed on the fairway which isn’t always easy because of the sloping terrain and the hard ground that edges the fairways. The trick is to allow for the slopes but that can be a pretty big trick for Ascot Park golfers! Tricky is a good word for describing the greens too; they are in great condition but there’s barely a straight putt to be seen and it’s quite possible to slide a pacy downhill putt right off the green. It didn’t matter really. We had fun.
Stableford scores were predictably low with Gary Hancock, 34 points, Andy Brauer 33, and Mike Stunden 32, taking out the wines in the 18 Hole competition. Graham Wharton, the only other player to get to 30, also won wine for the best 1st 9 Holes (after Gary, Andy and Mike). Neville Shugg was surprised to pick up the wine for the best 2nd 9 Holes. He had a pretty sad day with just 24 points altogether but 15 of them were on the back 9, making him the best of those eligible for that prize.
If you needed proof that the real winner of the day was the Golf Course, 3 of the 7 NTP’s or Long Drives went unclaimed and only 5 players were rewarded with golf balls for scoring a birdie or 4 points on a hole. Well done to those golfers: Sue parker, Barry Barnes, June Kennedy, Sandy Wong and Andy Brauer. In fact, Andy was the only one to score an actual birdie and that was almost an accident; he thought the hole was a long Par 5 but it had been shortened as part of a course redesign, so the long drive he attempted faded off his intended line to land on the edge of the new Green!
Two teams shared first place for best team average Stableford score. Congratulations to Team B, Neville Shugg, Chris Yates, Andy Brauer, and MikeS, and to Team D, June Kennedy, Gary Hancock, Sue Parker and Barry Barnes. They all won either Ascot Park pens or golf balls. The fact that their average score was just 27.5 Stableford points adds further strength to the view that it was Thaxted Park first, players second.
The Ladies Long Drive went unclaimed after no-one managed to hit the fairway. Annette Huxholl did best with her drive just clearing the hazardous gulch in front of the tee but only finishing in the two metres space between the hazard and the fairway. We gave her a ball anyway for being the closest to the fairway!
They looked after us well on course and in the clubhouse where we gathered tired but happy. The general consensus was that Thaxted Park might be a challenge, but it’s a fun challenge and worth repeating next year. It hasn’t escaped AndyB’s notice that, comparatively, Northies struggled this year so he has already tweaked the handicapping formula for this course to increase their handicaps.
The Ascot Park website has a full run-down of results and prizes for those who are interested.
AndyB
It was a lovely day for golf when 16 of us took up the challenge of Monday away day golf at Thaxted Park. The course was in excellent condition provided you stayed on the fairway which isn’t always easy because of the sloping terrain and the hard ground that edges the fairways. The trick is to allow for the slopes but that can be a pretty big trick for Ascot Park golfers! Tricky is a good word for describing the greens too; they are in great condition but there’s barely a straight putt to be seen and it’s quite possible to slide a pacy downhill putt right off the green. It didn’t matter really. We had fun.
Stableford scores were predictably low with Gary Hancock, 34 points, Andy Brauer 33, and Mike Stunden 32, taking out the wines in the 18 Hole competition. Graham Wharton, the only other player to get to 30, also won wine for the best 1st 9 Holes (after Gary, Andy and Mike). Neville Shugg was surprised to pick up the wine for the best 2nd 9 Holes. He had a pretty sad day with just 24 points altogether but 15 of them were on the back 9, making him the best of those eligible for that prize.
If you needed proof that the real winner of the day was the Golf Course, 3 of the 7 NTP’s or Long Drives went unclaimed and only 5 players were rewarded with golf balls for scoring a birdie or 4 points on a hole. Well done to those golfers: Sue parker, Barry Barnes, June Kennedy, Sandy Wong and Andy Brauer. In fact, Andy was the only one to score an actual birdie and that was almost an accident; he thought the hole was a long Par 5 but it had been shortened as part of a course redesign, so the long drive he attempted faded off his intended line to land on the edge of the new Green!
Two teams shared first place for best team average Stableford score. Congratulations to Team B, Neville Shugg, Chris Yates, Andy Brauer, and MikeS, and to Team D, June Kennedy, Gary Hancock, Sue Parker and Barry Barnes. They all won either Ascot Park pens or golf balls. The fact that their average score was just 27.5 Stableford points adds further strength to the view that it was Thaxted Park first, players second.
The Ladies Long Drive went unclaimed after no-one managed to hit the fairway. Annette Huxholl did best with her drive just clearing the hazardous gulch in front of the tee but only finishing in the two metres space between the hazard and the fairway. We gave her a ball anyway for being the closest to the fairway!
They looked after us well on course and in the clubhouse where we gathered tired but happy. The general consensus was that Thaxted Park might be a challenge, but it’s a fun challenge and worth repeating next year. It hasn’t escaped AndyB’s notice that, comparatively, Northies struggled this year so he has already tweaked the handicapping formula for this course to increase their handicaps.
The Ascot Park website has a full run-down of results and prizes for those who are interested.
AndyB
Full Score Results and Prize Winners available by clicking on the buttons Below