Thorpeness Golf Club
Newton Green
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Email address: info@suffolkladiesgolf.org.uk
Grateful thanks are due to Waldringfield Golf Club for hosting at short notice The Division 4 Meeting which had been scheduled for Cretingham. When the River Deben burst its banks in the storms a couple of weeks ago, it seemed prudent to change the venue..
As things turned out on the day, the weather was good, Waldringfield’s course was inviting and the winning scores were excellent.
Patricia Wellstead (Haverhill) - pictured left with County Captain, Sheila Jarvis - walked away with the Olive Carruthers Cup. Her score of 39 points put her two ahead of Mary Krajewski (Fynn Valley) and Maggie Manby (Newton Green). Maggie lost out for second prize on countback. Newton Green’s Sheila Walter came fourth with 35 points.
It will come as no surprise that the Newton Green team - comprising of Maggie Manby, Sheila Walter and Pat Walsh (pictured below) claimed the Division 4 Shield with 106 points between them.
Please note that Cretingham is now open again and we hope the river stays in its proper place for the rest of the summer. Thanks to them for offering their course. We'll look forward to our next visit.
Vicki Inglis added the Matchplay Championship to the Strokeplay Championship at Ipswich today, polishing off three days of impressive golf and, with her opponent Vanessa Bell, producing the best final match seen for some years.
Vicki really never looked back after her semi-final opponent, Amanda Norman, had a dodgy start. Amanda knocked a couple off the accrued deficit but Vicki made a final flourish with a birdie at the short sixteenth to take the score line to 4/3 and secure a place in the final.
The other semi-final was between Vanessa Bell, playing off scratch, and Wendy Day. This was a fascinating encounter as they were both appearing in the Championship for the first time since returning to the amateur ranks. Wendy capitalised on two Bell errors at the third and fourth. A half followed and then Vanessa cut loose with four birdies on the trot to be out in 35, one under par. A couple of holes were halved in the last five played, but the other three went Vanessa’s way and she came out top by 5/4.
And so to the final, showcasing two powerful golfers who matched each other in length and purity of ball strike. Vanessa didn’t get off too well when she missed a comparatively short putt to win the first. She hit the longer drive at the next, but bunkered her second. A steady par five put Vicki in the driving seat and there she stayed, winning the short third where Bell was bunkered off the tee, halving four thanks to a pristine approach and a par saving putt from Bell and making a winning par at five when Bell seemed to have the upper hand but couldn’t capitalise on it.
Vanessa pegged one back with a solid par at the 154-yard short uphill sixth and nicked another one with a birdie four at the long par five seventh. The Inglis reply was to make birdie at eight off a mammoth drive dead centre which Vanessa matched for length. Vanessa won nine where Inglis dropped a shot but remained one up at the turn.
Ten was halved in par and on the 438-yard eleventh, Vicki was four feet through the green in two, hit a delicate chip to ‘gimme’ distance for a birdie and increased her lead to 2 up. Vanessa should have won twelve but her four-footer slid past the hole. She made sure of thirteen, however, when Vicki left her approach short, her lead shrinking to one hole again.
Fourteen and fifteen were halved in par but Vanessa made a fine birdie at sixteen to draw level. A half at seventeen brought these two fine golfers to the eighteenth tee with all still to play for and, if there had already been plenty of drama, still more was to come.
Vanessa had the honour and drove the ball long as usual, over the right-hand bunkers, flirting with the bushes but landing safely. Vicki went straight and strong down centre fairway. Vanessa’s second shot unaccountably flew right-handed out of bounds near the clubhouse. She dropped another, playing four, and hit it hard and quite low through the green and into the clumpy grass at the back. Vicki’s second landed safely pin high but at some distance across the green. With absolutely nothing to lose, Vanessa lined up her chip and holed it! Suddenly Vicki, from looking an easy winner, had to buckle down and make sure of just two putts. This she did and the title was hers.
It was a great finale to a good weekend's golf.
Results:
Semi-finals: Vicki Inglis (Woodbridge) bt Amanda Norman (Felixstowe)4/3;
Vanessa Bell ( Ipswich) bt Wendy Day 5/4.
Final: Inglis bt Bell 1 up.
The prizes were presented by Mr Detmar Hackman of Sabona Rheumatic Relief Company Limited, the County sponsor to whom the Association is very grateful.
(Left to right) Vicki Inglis with the Churchman Challenge Cup and the Woodbridge Challenge
Bowl, Detmar Hackman and Vanessa Bell
holding the Maggie Ivor-Jones Plate and the Lady Eddis Silver Box.
Strokeplay Championship:
Champion: Vicki Inglis (Woodbridge) The Woodbridge Challenge Bowl;
2nd: Vanessa Bell (Ipswich) The Maggie Ivor-Jones Plate
3rd Blaize Esmond (Aldeburgh)
1st Handicap: Alice Barlow (Newton Green) The Berendt Handicap Jug;
2nd Handicap: Sarah Beeton (Woodbridge)
Matchplay Championship:
Champion: Vicki Inglis (Woodbridge) The Churchman Challenge Cup;
Runner-up: Vanessa Bell (Ipswich) The Lady Eddis silver box
Semi-finalists: Amanda Norman (Felixstowe) and Wendy Day (Ipswich).
The County Captain, Sheila Jarvis, announced her team to contest County Match Week to be held at Ipswich Golf Club from 11th – 15th June. She said she was very happy with her team and was looking forward to the Week. She felt that Suffolk had a really good chance of winning this year. The team is as follows:
Vanessa Bell (Ipswich); Charlie Damonsing (Felixstowe); Wendy Day (Ipswich); Blaize Esmond (Aldeburgh); Sarah Howe(Ipswich); Vicki Inglis (Woodbridge); Lils James (Rookery Park); Lily Kent (Ipswich); Sharon Luckman (Felixstowe); Amanda Norman (Felixstowe); Sarah Saggers (Ipswich),
The final match in the Seniors Matchplay Championship featured Barbara Cole (Bury St Edmunds) and Chris Jamieson (Bungay). They set off quietly behind the two semi-finals of the Ladies Championship and, although Barbara won the first hole, Chris returned the score to all square after three. Nip and tuck when Barbara went ahead again, but then was pulled back once more.
However, Barbara gradually got the upper hand, moving to one up, then two and then three at thirteen and this she hung onto until Chris ran out of holes on sixteen, giving Barbara a 3/2 victory.
On a beautiful day the two combatants appeared to enjoy their contest thoroughly and it is hoped that the Seniors Championship will become a regular fixture in the County calendar.
The two top seeds, Vicki Inglis and Vanessa Bell, moved gently through to the quarter final round where Vicki found herself facing Liz Laflin. Liz had put paid to Sarah Saggers’ hopes on seventeen, not that you’d have known it from Sarah’s cheerful demeanour amongst the few spectators on the course after lunch.
Vicki vanquished the sixteenth qualifier, Helen Bray, while Vanessa accounted for Charlie Damonsing. The problem of playing the wrong ball in the Strokeplay Championship which cost her two penalty shots and ultimately the title was obviously forgotten as she worked her way smoothly round the golf course. An elegant figure with an exhilarating swing and the lowest handicap in the field, it is a toss up whether anyone can beat her.
Sharon Luckman put out Lils James in the first round while Amanda Norman gave Sarah Beeton absolutely no quarter and these two long-standing friends and clubmates found themselves on opposing sides in the quarter finals.
The other two matches were perhaps the most cracking games. Wendy Airey and Lily Kent fought toe to toe to be all square after eighteen, having dropped a shot apiece. It took three holes of sudden death to separate them. Wendy came out the winner though, as her caddy, said, it was a shame someone had to lose. Blaize Esmond had a comfortable first round result against Charlotte Double and met Wendy in the quarters..
The other great game was between Sarah Howe and the youngest player in the field, Alice Barlow. Sarah was just too good but, once again, Alice gave a wonderful account of herself, following yesterday’s achievements with more sterling golf..
So we were into the quarter finals. Inglis and Laflin were round in record time as usual and, though Vicki was three up after twelve, Liz can never be counted out. She hung on and made Vicki work for the victory that came on sixteen. The Norman/Luckman game was always going to be tight. One down after three, Amanda pulled back to square and a beautiful six iron finished four feet from the pin at six for a birdie chance. The putt lipped out but it was good enough to give her a one-hole advantage. She then made steady progress to four up after twelve but Sharon dug her heels in and kept things going as far as the sixteenth green.
Wendy Airey played some exciting recovery shots against Blaize Esmond, the defending champion, who carried on in her usual unflappable manner. She was three down after six but eventually pulled back to all square at fourteen. Then it all went a bit wrong. Taking four at fifteen was one too many and a dropped shot at sixteen found Wendy two up with two to go. Airey played a fine chip at seventeen. Blaize could only manage a half and Wendy was through to the semis.
In the bottom match, Sarah Howe ploughed steadfastly onward, unfazed it seemed by Vanessa Bell’s prodigious length off the tee, but in the end, Bell was just too strong and, although Sarah’s fine shot to the short fifteenth was inside that of her opponent, it wasn’t enough to take her further.
It was a great day’s golf. Tomorrow it would be really good to see more spectators on the course for the semis and the final.
Results:
1st Round: Vicki Inglis (Woodbridge) bt Helen Bray (Ipswich) 4/3; Liz Laflin (Stowmarket) bt Sarah Saggers 2/1; Sharon Luckman (Felixstowe) bt Lils James (Rookery Park) 4/3; Amanda Norman (Felixstowe) bt Sarah Beeton (Woodbridge) 9/8; Blaize Esmond (Aldeburgh) bt Charlotte Double (Ipswich) 6/5; Wendy Airey (Ipswich) bt Lily Kent (Ipswich) 21st; Sarah Howe (Ipswich) bt Alice Barlow (Newton Green) 2/1; Vanessa Bell (Ipswich) bt Charlie Damonsing (Felixstowe) 4/3.
Quarter Finals: Inglis bt Laflin 3/2; Norman bt Luckman 3/2; Airey bt Esmond 2/1; Bell bt Howe 4/3.
Semi finals starting time:
9.00: Inglis v Norman
9.07: Airey v Bell
The final will start at 1300.
Maturity brings with it the difficulties of maintaining physical and mental stamina and two rounds of matchplay obviously taxed the resources of the ladies playing in the first Senior Ladies Strokeplay and Matchplay Championships, particularly when it came to sudden death play-offs. Nevertheless, there were some good games amongst the eight players.
In the first round, Barbara Cole accounted for Anne Archer, the top qualifier. Denise Martin and Judy Hamshere went to sudden death with Hamshere giving Martin best at nineteen. Joan Garrett played too well for Ann Graves and Chris Jamieson moved past Julie Byford into the semi-finals to face her.
While Barbara Cole waited patiently in the club house to find out who her final opponent would be, Jamieson and Garrett came off the eighteenth green all square and trudged across to the first tee for a shot at sudden death. Here, Chris proved herself a worthy runner-up in the Strokeplay Championship, bagging the remaining place in the final.
Results:
Quarter Finals: Barbara Cole (Bury St Edmunds) bt Anne Archer (Ipswich) 1 up; Denise Martin (Rushmere) bt Judy Hamshere (Bury St Edmunds) 19th; Joan Garrett (Bury St Edmunds) bt Ann Graves (Woodbridge) 1 up; Chris Jamieson (Bungay) bt Julie Byford (Bury St Edmunds).4/3.
Semi Finals: Cole bt Martin 3/2; Jamieson bt Garrett 19th.
The final will tee off at 9.20
A two round total of 156, eight over the standard scratch score and one better than her nearest rival, Vanessa Bell, took Vick Inglis into the winner's spot for the second successive year.
It was not the easiest day to play golf over the Purdis Heath course. With a stiff breeze blowing, the undergrowth was lush and verdant, the trees beautiful in all their springtime glory and the greens, too, were showing signs of the recent, prolonged spells of rain. Tales of woe abounded from the field as a whole but, although there were obvious difficulties, something better than two rounds of 83 was required to qualify for the match play stages of the County Championships. That is considerably better than a few years ago when two eighty-eights would do it.
In the morning, Vicki went out in par 36 with a birdie at seven. She was back in 40, playing exactly to her handicap. The afternoon proved a little more tricky, but out in 41 and back in 39 was good enough.
Vanessa Bell, playing off scratch, returned a steady 77 in the morning. She slipped to an 80 after lunch when perhaps a shortage of competitive golf might have played a part. It was nevertheless a decent outing for the amateur recently returned from the professional ranks.
Blaize Esmond, the defending matchplay champion also posted 77 in the first round. Hitting the ball solidly all day, she sank a determined long putt on 17 to secure a par and the afternoon 82 was good enough to put her third on the qualifying list. Playing alongside her was Lily Kent. Lily went out in 48 in the morning which was a disappointing start for a young player with high hopes. Then she began to motor and came back in 34, three under par with birdies at 10, 11 and 18, the last one being echoed by Blaize, for a score of 82 which she replicated after lunch to finish sixth on the list of qualifiers.
Amanda Norman’s second round 75 was the best score of the day. Sharon Luckman qualified fifth and Sarah Howe looked very comfortable, smiley-faced as usual, in seventh place.
Thirteen-year-old Alice Barlow (Newton Green) deserves a special mention. She returned an 85 at lunchtime and bettered it by three in round two, grabbing the tenth qualifying spot for her first shot at the Ladies Matchplay Championship. She takes on Sarah Howe in the first round and it’s really nice for her to be playing a young lady.
County Captain, Sheila Jarvis, must be relieved that all her ‘possibles’ for the County first team are safely through to the Match play stages. There will be plenty to interest the spectators over the next two days.
Qualifying scores:
156: Vicki Inglis (Woodbridge) 76/80;
157: Vanessa Bell (Ipswich) 77/80;
159: Blaize Esmond (Aldeburgh) 77/82;
160: Amanda Norman (Felixstowe) 85/75;
164: Sharon Luckman (Felixstowe) 83/81, Lily Kent (Ipswich) 82/82;
165: Sarah Howe (Ipswich) 85/80;
167: Liz Laflin (Stowmarket) 86/81, Sarah Saggers (Ipswich) 86/81, Alice Barlow (Newton Green) 85/82;
169: Wendy Airey (Ipswich) 86/83;
170: Lils James (Rookery Park) 87/83, Sarah Beeton (Woodbridge) 85/85;
171: Charlotte Double (Ipswich) 87/84, Charlie Damonsing (Felixstowe) 80/91;
173: Helen Bray (Ipswich) 92/81
1st Nett score: Alice Barlow 147;
2nd Nett score: Sarah Beeton 150.
Matchplay 1st Round (Saturday 12th May):
8.24: Inglis v Bray;
8.31: Laflin v Saggers;
8.38: Luckman v James;
8.45: Norman v Beeton;
8.52: Esmond v Double;
8.59: Kent v Airey;
9.06: Howe v Barlow;
9.13: Bell v Damonsing.
Round 2 begins at 12.54
The following qualified for the Matchplay Championship:
88: Anne Archer (Ipswich), Chris Jamieson (Bungay);
90: Joan Garrett (Bury St Edmunds);
92: Judy Hamshere (Bury St Edmunds);
93: Denise Martin (Rushmere);
94: Ann Graves (Woodbridge):
95: Juliet Byford (Bury St Edmunds)
95: Barbara Cole (Bury St Edmunds)
Some of us have equipped ourselves with a GPS or DMD (distance measuring device) of one sort or another, measuring length of shot to the green. Much deliberation took place about the rights and wrongs of allowing their use in competition and, eventually, they were sanctioned, proving to be of great benefit to many, though some still regret the passing of hand and eye judgment.|
Now, when it is possible to buy a similar app for a mobile phone, things have gone a step further. If you are considering one for your phone, take this on board! You will be able to use it on the golf course in competition only if you have no other app on the phone that could be construed an 'aid to an improved score’.
Even if you have not used them, should you have other apps available, for instance, wind speed and its direction, or presumably any links to golfing advice, you will be disqualified.
It seems that the best thing to do would be not to take the mobile phone with you and, in fact, as far as the County Championships are concerned if, if you need one for emergencies, it should be in your golf bag and turned off.
It remains to be seen whether using mobile phones as a DMD will be acceptable for use at County Match Week, but EWGA are ‘strongly recommending’ that they will not.
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