Aldwickbury Park Early Birds

  Yes, this was the weather situation as we teed off this morning, it was wet, wet and wetter! Although for those of us non fair-weather golfers, the reward for going out was about 7 holes without rain! It was raining lightly for a couple of holes then let up for the rest of the front 9 before it gradually got heavier and heavier throughout the back 9. As I write this missive, it is near pitch-dark at 15:53! A typical new years eve I guess.  It was suggested that today it was like millionaires golf but it was immediately pointed out that it was nothing like that as millionaires tended to play in fair weather conditions on immaculate golf courses. Well it was like millionaires golf in one regard, there were VERY few people out playing today. We went out in 3 groups today having several late drop-outs. 11 intrepid early-birders started and finished the round today with POTY to play for the last group went out seeking glory. It was a bit tense to start with with Pete Laurence employing in

Christmas eve 2022, no more lockdowns, no more social distancing, our first "normal" Christmas since before we knew what Covid was. What better way to kick off the festive season than with a near perfect round in somewhat sloppy conditions.  Yes, this report is dedicated to James Miller who managed to go round the course in 72 (+1) Duncan was keeping an eye on his brother as he posted his scores on this round, calling out that he was -1 after 8 holes but he didn't call out that he was -2 after 6 holes but dropped a shot on the tricky par 3 7th hole! This was the only blemish on his front 9 which included 2 birdies and 6 pars.  James went on to post 7 pars on the back 9 with 2 bogeys on 12 and 16. I'm assuming there were chips involved on these holes James? So -1 out and +2 in proving that the back 9 IS harder than the front 9! (discuss)  Well done James, others did play but even the best of them didn't come close today! There was talk that perhaps James should be

What better weather for the Christmas Cup than sub zero temperatures, no wind and a chilly sunlit morning. IT WAS FREEZING when we started and the ground never defrosted for the entire round. This made for some very entertaining, if somewhat frustrating, golf shots. Hit the fairway and watch it run for miles, hit the green at your peril!  13 players started this year, with Richard Hyne deciding that playing in these conditions was not going to be fun. The hardy 13 started out at 08:28 and the first four ball were the first to discover just how hard the round was going to be when they hit the front of the first green only to see the ball nearly off the back of the first green! You needed a hole made by someone else in order to be able to insert a tee into the tee box and in the shade it was COOOLLLLDDD!! So we all settled in to our "rhythm" and tried to ignore the score! Paul Gardner's game was clearly made for this weather. The gentle tap tap down the middle of the fairwa