Carden Park - Cheshire Course, Chester
saturday 14th September 2013
this event was won by betterball
Kevin Givnan & allan gunn
winning pair:
|
review of the day and photographs further below
"play your card-ens right..."
There was a concern that after the delightful surroundings of Mere a week earlier that the group would be brought back down to earth with a bump. However, Carden Park provided an equal if not better experience and with the added good forune of a great days weather plonked right in the middle of a week of appalling conditions - it was all set to be a wonderful day out.
The format for the day was amended slightly due to the event being moved from a Sunday to a Saturday at quite short notice. The format was decided as a betterball event with the pairings being drawn on the day after our breakfast. It seemed to be an idea that went down well with the lads and the banter and anticipation of the days play was increased as people found out who they were with. Cue some serious expressions and some of the group showing steely focus on the practice area pre round.
The conditions for the most part were dry and sunny with the odd cloud but a constant steady wind made judging some shots tricky and some hole played particularly long into the breeze - especially the par 3 8th hole and its 206 yards into the wind. The course was a lovely parklined track with the back 9 being tight and treelined in parts. Some of the views over Cheshire and beyond were stunning and the elevated 18th tee was a standout shot - although the last 4/5 holes were all right up there with the finest collection of holes we have played this season. The greens were very tricky and fair. They rolled true and fast but had some tricky undulations and run offs that, if not judged properly, would see your golf ball trickle a long way past on the other side. Those who played well around the greens were going to be best rewarded and so it turned out to be the case.
Chris Berry and Phil Taylor took us off first in a two ball [videos of both their first tee shots are below] and the pair had a wonderful front 9 with some strong scoring throughout and a lot of 3's with the odd 4 thrown in for good measure. The back 9 wasn't as kind and the tight nature of the course caught the pair out a couple of times as tee shots careered into the trees. However, they produced a very strong card - posting a final score of 43 to take the runners up prize.
Next up Dave Lumley and Peter Woolley played strongly throughout and scored well. They dovetailed well, scoring alternately on each hole and were steady around the greens with some nice putts being stroked home by Dave in particular. Peter felt like he had a bit of an "off day", pulling a few shots left - especially on his second shot with longer irons and at times it was close as to whether he was going to have "a Roper moment". However, despite him feeling a bit disappointed personally, he actually scored well and formed a good team partnership with Dave. Even so, the pair fell short of the prizes to finish 3rd with 40 points. It was a case of what could have been as Dave produced a wondeful drive and approach shot on the 2nd hardest hole on the course at 16 - only to three putt and let valuable points slip away.
Their group opponents were Steve Evans and Andy Roper and the pair thought they were in for a promising days play after 3/4 holes as they started well and scored strongly. Attempted whitty quips and critiques of Peter and Daves mistakes was replaced by motivational speeches that Malcolm X would have been proud of as the pair fought to keep moral up before Roper boomeranged his clubs further than his tee shots!!! Silly mistakes by both players cost them on the day. Steve couldn't seem to buy a putt at times and his usual consistency with the short club let him down on the day - despite a quick glimmer of light with a birdie on 14. [video below]
Andy scored terribly on the holes where he should have brought the pair greater scores and although he played some nice shots over the 18 holes [the tee shot on 8 being a stand out - video below] he was inconsistent and his putting was out of sorts. However he finished on a high at 18 after a sweet 3 wood and a nice wedge to finish 8 foot from the pin to take the nearest in 2 award. The pair finishing on a disappointing 37 points to take 5th place and they cried into their Guinness in the club house.
The next group was on the face of it going to be a fight for 1st and 2nd place for the days prizes. Dave Ashley and Phil Williams must have thought they were in with a chance of the top spot when the draw was made - alas the golfing gods put pay to that and with a swipe of his mighty hand removed the grinning and banter from the pair of them.
When they stepped up to the first tee Dave and Phil smiled at each other, the sun was shining and Phil hit a solid tee shot. Three points later what could possibly go wrong.
An inability to hit the ball on Phil's part and with Dave buckling under the pressure of carrying Phil's "holiday weight", a lack of consistency coupled with a failure to hole anything over 5 foot meant it was a slog and a half for this god fearing duo. Lost balls and shanks aside, a few unexpected good holes and an attempted assassination of poor Steve Evans meant the wooden spoon was kept at bay at least for this week.
The other half of this foursome was Kev Givnan and Alan Gunn. Kev struck the ball well from the off and solid drives off the tee and strong iron play put him in a place where he was always there or there about for a putt for three points. When he failed Alan was carefully tracking behind. What he lacked in distance off the tee was irrelevant as he hit green after green with a series of superb approach shots. With on song putting and a "bogey golf" philosophy he and Kev achieved a bag full of three pointers and some superb four pointers to give them a whopping final total too good for anyone else. A final putt holed from a good 25 foot on the 18th by Alan had the pair whooping and fist pumping like a pair of annoying Americans on the 18th at Augusta. Meanwhile Phil and Dave's first tee smiles had become grimaces but their woes aside, they held great admiration for the new golden couple of Bunkers.
The final group walked to the practice green after food. One pair got in "the zone" and began putting without saying a word. The other pair walked to Andy Roper and asked "Whats handicaps he playing off today mate?"....The tone was set.
Contrary to how Lloydy felt when the draw was made, it wasn't a dead cert that he and Daz Rogerson would come last. The 21 and 24 shots they both had respectively should have seen them produce a steady score - but the defeat was on the cards within moments of the draw.
Lloydy had visualised his tee shot on the first like Phil Mickleson at St Andrews. The technique had been honed and the club had been carefully selected to adjust to the prevailing winds. He stood ove the ball, set up his posture and had his final swing thought before drawing the club away smoothly and BOOM......it was drilled 5 yards forward and just up to the red tee pegs. You feared a bad day was on the cards after his recent self admission of a "meltdown" at Rainford where his "head had gone". However, fair play to him, despite all this he absolutely stiffed his second shot to within 6 inches and 1 putted to walk away witha nett birdie and a smile that lit up Cheshire.
This turned out to be a short term highlight on an otherwise grey day for Marc though as shout outs ranging from "Your talking put me off la" to "my putter/3wood/5/6/7/8/9 iron is shit" [delete club as appropriate]. The clubs took the brunt of the anger and finally the blame was settled on mother nature for having the audacity to put the sun in the sky as this affected his range judgement. It wouldn't be a Bunkers day out without Lloydys shout outs though. Despite all of the above, he had some highlights and with a bit more positive thought and relaxation he could turn this recent run of bad form around.
Daryl has been a guest at Bunkers now for 3 rounds and has endured some really tough rounds, on all occassions the wind has been present and as anyone knows, this is a test of ability for anyone - let alone a new comer to the game.
Despite a tricky round where the score was entirely there for him he still managed to produce a few 3's on the card to suggest his game is going in the right direction.
After all of that - Lloydy and Daz had the misfortune of holding up the losers t-shirt and wooden spoon and find themselves on THE WALL OF SHAME
Keith and Rob had a strong front 9 and Keith personally had a very strong round that could have been much better but for a few missed putts. After some recent "traumas" both on and off the golf course, he was happy to get things moving forward again. I think most of us are just glad he's sorted his work stuff out so we don't have to listen to the sob stories and his incessant whining!!!
Rob had another steady round to again strengthen the shouts of "Thats boring Rob" as he found fairway after fairway. Come on Rob, join a few of us in the trees from time to time will ya!!!
However, hats off to him for producing the shot of the day on the par 4 3rd hole and chipping in from a full 50 yards away. Cue Poulter style fist pumping by the group and a beaming smile from the man himself. Top golf Rob. However, the pair ended on 39 points to come in 4th place overall.
The format for the day was amended slightly due to the event being moved from a Sunday to a Saturday at quite short notice. The format was decided as a betterball event with the pairings being drawn on the day after our breakfast. It seemed to be an idea that went down well with the lads and the banter and anticipation of the days play was increased as people found out who they were with. Cue some serious expressions and some of the group showing steely focus on the practice area pre round.
The conditions for the most part were dry and sunny with the odd cloud but a constant steady wind made judging some shots tricky and some hole played particularly long into the breeze - especially the par 3 8th hole and its 206 yards into the wind. The course was a lovely parklined track with the back 9 being tight and treelined in parts. Some of the views over Cheshire and beyond were stunning and the elevated 18th tee was a standout shot - although the last 4/5 holes were all right up there with the finest collection of holes we have played this season. The greens were very tricky and fair. They rolled true and fast but had some tricky undulations and run offs that, if not judged properly, would see your golf ball trickle a long way past on the other side. Those who played well around the greens were going to be best rewarded and so it turned out to be the case.
Chris Berry and Phil Taylor took us off first in a two ball [videos of both their first tee shots are below] and the pair had a wonderful front 9 with some strong scoring throughout and a lot of 3's with the odd 4 thrown in for good measure. The back 9 wasn't as kind and the tight nature of the course caught the pair out a couple of times as tee shots careered into the trees. However, they produced a very strong card - posting a final score of 43 to take the runners up prize.
Next up Dave Lumley and Peter Woolley played strongly throughout and scored well. They dovetailed well, scoring alternately on each hole and were steady around the greens with some nice putts being stroked home by Dave in particular. Peter felt like he had a bit of an "off day", pulling a few shots left - especially on his second shot with longer irons and at times it was close as to whether he was going to have "a Roper moment". However, despite him feeling a bit disappointed personally, he actually scored well and formed a good team partnership with Dave. Even so, the pair fell short of the prizes to finish 3rd with 40 points. It was a case of what could have been as Dave produced a wondeful drive and approach shot on the 2nd hardest hole on the course at 16 - only to three putt and let valuable points slip away.
Their group opponents were Steve Evans and Andy Roper and the pair thought they were in for a promising days play after 3/4 holes as they started well and scored strongly. Attempted whitty quips and critiques of Peter and Daves mistakes was replaced by motivational speeches that Malcolm X would have been proud of as the pair fought to keep moral up before Roper boomeranged his clubs further than his tee shots!!! Silly mistakes by both players cost them on the day. Steve couldn't seem to buy a putt at times and his usual consistency with the short club let him down on the day - despite a quick glimmer of light with a birdie on 14. [video below]
Andy scored terribly on the holes where he should have brought the pair greater scores and although he played some nice shots over the 18 holes [the tee shot on 8 being a stand out - video below] he was inconsistent and his putting was out of sorts. However he finished on a high at 18 after a sweet 3 wood and a nice wedge to finish 8 foot from the pin to take the nearest in 2 award. The pair finishing on a disappointing 37 points to take 5th place and they cried into their Guinness in the club house.
The next group was on the face of it going to be a fight for 1st and 2nd place for the days prizes. Dave Ashley and Phil Williams must have thought they were in with a chance of the top spot when the draw was made - alas the golfing gods put pay to that and with a swipe of his mighty hand removed the grinning and banter from the pair of them.
When they stepped up to the first tee Dave and Phil smiled at each other, the sun was shining and Phil hit a solid tee shot. Three points later what could possibly go wrong.
An inability to hit the ball on Phil's part and with Dave buckling under the pressure of carrying Phil's "holiday weight", a lack of consistency coupled with a failure to hole anything over 5 foot meant it was a slog and a half for this god fearing duo. Lost balls and shanks aside, a few unexpected good holes and an attempted assassination of poor Steve Evans meant the wooden spoon was kept at bay at least for this week.
The other half of this foursome was Kev Givnan and Alan Gunn. Kev struck the ball well from the off and solid drives off the tee and strong iron play put him in a place where he was always there or there about for a putt for three points. When he failed Alan was carefully tracking behind. What he lacked in distance off the tee was irrelevant as he hit green after green with a series of superb approach shots. With on song putting and a "bogey golf" philosophy he and Kev achieved a bag full of three pointers and some superb four pointers to give them a whopping final total too good for anyone else. A final putt holed from a good 25 foot on the 18th by Alan had the pair whooping and fist pumping like a pair of annoying Americans on the 18th at Augusta. Meanwhile Phil and Dave's first tee smiles had become grimaces but their woes aside, they held great admiration for the new golden couple of Bunkers.
The final group walked to the practice green after food. One pair got in "the zone" and began putting without saying a word. The other pair walked to Andy Roper and asked "Whats handicaps he playing off today mate?"....The tone was set.
Contrary to how Lloydy felt when the draw was made, it wasn't a dead cert that he and Daz Rogerson would come last. The 21 and 24 shots they both had respectively should have seen them produce a steady score - but the defeat was on the cards within moments of the draw.
Lloydy had visualised his tee shot on the first like Phil Mickleson at St Andrews. The technique had been honed and the club had been carefully selected to adjust to the prevailing winds. He stood ove the ball, set up his posture and had his final swing thought before drawing the club away smoothly and BOOM......it was drilled 5 yards forward and just up to the red tee pegs. You feared a bad day was on the cards after his recent self admission of a "meltdown" at Rainford where his "head had gone". However, fair play to him, despite all this he absolutely stiffed his second shot to within 6 inches and 1 putted to walk away witha nett birdie and a smile that lit up Cheshire.
This turned out to be a short term highlight on an otherwise grey day for Marc though as shout outs ranging from "Your talking put me off la" to "my putter/3wood/5/6/7/8/9 iron is shit" [delete club as appropriate]. The clubs took the brunt of the anger and finally the blame was settled on mother nature for having the audacity to put the sun in the sky as this affected his range judgement. It wouldn't be a Bunkers day out without Lloydys shout outs though. Despite all of the above, he had some highlights and with a bit more positive thought and relaxation he could turn this recent run of bad form around.
Daryl has been a guest at Bunkers now for 3 rounds and has endured some really tough rounds, on all occassions the wind has been present and as anyone knows, this is a test of ability for anyone - let alone a new comer to the game.
Despite a tricky round where the score was entirely there for him he still managed to produce a few 3's on the card to suggest his game is going in the right direction.
After all of that - Lloydy and Daz had the misfortune of holding up the losers t-shirt and wooden spoon and find themselves on THE WALL OF SHAME
Keith and Rob had a strong front 9 and Keith personally had a very strong round that could have been much better but for a few missed putts. After some recent "traumas" both on and off the golf course, he was happy to get things moving forward again. I think most of us are just glad he's sorted his work stuff out so we don't have to listen to the sob stories and his incessant whining!!!
Rob had another steady round to again strengthen the shouts of "Thats boring Rob" as he found fairway after fairway. Come on Rob, join a few of us in the trees from time to time will ya!!!
However, hats off to him for producing the shot of the day on the par 4 3rd hole and chipping in from a full 50 yards away. Cue Poulter style fist pumping by the group and a beaming smile from the man himself. Top golf Rob. However, the pair ended on 39 points to come in 4th place overall.
videos below - click to play
Bunkers Golf Society Members £35.00 per person
Non Bunkers Golf Society Members £38.00
Deposit of £10 by 18/08/2013
FULL PAYMENT to be paid by 01/09/2013
If you are playing this event please complete the form required by clicking the "PLAY THIS EVENT" button above.
Saturday 14th September 2013.
Tee times from 1pm [arrive no later than 12pm for tea, coffee and bacon rolls]
Prices include 18 holes + Bacon Roll & Hot Drink pre play & 1 Course Meal after play.
The Cheshire Course at Carden Park Golf Resort Cheshire is reminiscent of the finest British heathland golf courses; set to the rear of the Carden Park Cheshire Estate it offers stunning panoramic views across the Cheshire countryside to the mountains of Wales.
A wealth of natural hazards through the Carden Park golf course in Chester make this a highly technical course and will test your golf skills throughout. Building to a dramatic and scenic finish, with tough 16th and 17th holes followed by the 18th tee atop sandstone cliffs overlooking the Carden Park Resort and Welsh hills. It certainly ensures a round of golf to remember.
SEE A COURSE MAP BY CLICKING HERE
DOWNLOAD A COURSE PLANNER HERE
Carden Park Golf & County club is south of Chester but prior to Wrexham in Cheshire. It is 1 hour from Skelmersdale and 45 minutes Liverpool.
The full address for Sat Navs is:
Carden Park, Broxton Road, Nr Chester. Cheshire, CH3 9DQ - Tel: 01829 731000
Saturday 14th September 2013.
Tee times from 1pm [arrive no later than 12pm for tea, coffee and bacon rolls]
Prices include 18 holes + Bacon Roll & Hot Drink pre play & 1 Course Meal after play.
The Cheshire Course at Carden Park Golf Resort Cheshire is reminiscent of the finest British heathland golf courses; set to the rear of the Carden Park Cheshire Estate it offers stunning panoramic views across the Cheshire countryside to the mountains of Wales.
A wealth of natural hazards through the Carden Park golf course in Chester make this a highly technical course and will test your golf skills throughout. Building to a dramatic and scenic finish, with tough 16th and 17th holes followed by the 18th tee atop sandstone cliffs overlooking the Carden Park Resort and Welsh hills. It certainly ensures a round of golf to remember.
SEE A COURSE MAP BY CLICKING HERE
DOWNLOAD A COURSE PLANNER HERE
Carden Park Golf & County club is south of Chester but prior to Wrexham in Cheshire. It is 1 hour from Skelmersdale and 45 minutes Liverpool.
The full address for Sat Navs is:
Carden Park, Broxton Road, Nr Chester. Cheshire, CH3 9DQ - Tel: 01829 731000
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