Portal - Championship Course, Cheshire
Sunday 11th August 2013
this event was won by
kevin givnan
winner - kevin givnanKev had a round to remember, and after much banter on Twitter from the rest of the lads about his consistent 2nd place finishes, Im sure he was glad to ram the words down their throats with a superb performance.
A record high score win with 43 points took Kev far and away from his nearest rival on the day. The round was full of long straight drives meaning that he left himself short irons into the greens, which he took full advantage of. He scored 24 points on the front 9 and but for a couple of poor holes on the back 9 he would have scored even higher - which he felt he should have done. A well deserved win and a handicap culling awaits 'Im sure. Well played Kev. |
review of the day and finishing table
"man down"...
After a great event the previous Sunday at Worsley Park we moved to Portal for a highly anticipated days golf.
However, there were quite a few regular faces absent due to it being a busy holiday period, and a few lads had work that they could not get out of. That said, we did well to get a group of 15 [originally 16, but unfortunately Scott Seddon injured his should a day or so before the event - Get well soon mate]
Portal was a venue we picked early on as a "must play" local course and the deal we negotiated of £30 a man including food just ticked that box even more. We played the 6500+ yard Championship course [off yellow tees] and it was in superb condition. A couple of patchy/bobbly greens, but it was well looked after with tidy fairways and rough and well kept bunkers and greens. The scenery is absolutely stunning as you look out over Delamere Forest and beyond. The conditions building up to the day were a bit iffy, but turned out to be very pleasant on the day. A sprinkling of sun, but dry throughout our round, despite a heavy downpour as we devoured our bacon butties.
The course played long in parts, with some long par 4's and only three par 3's. However, the open rough areas and minimal amount of trees meant that you weren't overly punished for the odd wayward shot [or frequent one, depending on who you are!] Overall, I think most people were reasonably happy with their scores. As always, there was cases of "what could have been", but everyone enjoyed the day and the course and it was another superb success for the society.
A late change in groups meant we had a 3 ball, and therefore they had to go off first - giving Marc Lloyd a reprieve from having to tee off first. However, we have now set in our rules that he should be first off the tee at each event where possible. We think its only right its set in our "constitution".
The day was set off by Kev Givnan and he led from the front from that very first shot to produce a superb, Bunkers record of 43 points [as described above]. Hats off to him for battling the "bridesmaid" banter [always coming 2nd] and turning in a great victory. Also in that group, the usual steady Rob Botterill had an unusual 'off day'. The standard straight drives deserted him slightly meaning that he often had tricky shots into the greens. His putter was also cold as ice and this contirbuted to his finishing score of 20. Although not the lowest score overall on the day, he was the lowest scoring Bunkers member and as such found himself wearing the loser t-shirt and took his place on THE WALL OF SHAME [click here]
Ant Holland started off slowly but soon found a bit of form off the tee with his trust 4 iron. This combined with somenice putting resulted in some decent scoring in the middle portion of his round and an overall good score on the front 9. However, the back 9 started OK and faded out resulting in several "blob" which ruined his card.
Group 2 was sent away by Marc Lloyd, who opened with a birdie and par and set off on a great front 9. The words "this is my best round yet" were spouted and his big Cheeshire cat grin told the story of how much he enjoyed the day. A slight fading on the back 9, but overall a solid 27 and his highest Bunkers score yet. Andy Roper continued with his "Yo-Yo" golf. It seems to be either feast or famine for the Chairman at the minute. Some high scoring holes but with 5 blobs on his card, its a case of what could have been with his score of 30. Kerian Murphy rolled up having got in from a stag doo at 4am and the first 9 holes reflected this as he scrambled and fought his way around the course. But, to be fair he turned it round [or started sobering up] and produced a very good back 9 to finish with 22 points. Dave Ashley was as solid as ever and his constant banter kept the group going when they went through their rough patches throughout the round. Some wonderful strikes and some phenomenal luck on the par 3 14th to find his ball held on the fringe of the green and not in the water by a tuft of grass. Dave won the longest drive on the 18th, despite saying "it wasn't my cleanest of strikes!"
Group 3 saw the debut of John Gaskell to the group and I think everyone was pleased to see him part of the day. On the course, John started very slowly and was probably dreading a low single digit score, but come the turn he started to hit some cracking shots and showed real promise. Bear in mind he only took up the game 3 or 4 months ago and its a positive opening to his Bunkers account, considering its a very tough course for a beginner.
Allan Gunn was as steady as ever and his drives were often splitting the fairways. A few lagged putts proved costly and his challenge faded towards the end of the round with a few nasty shots in to the water. Overall a good solid score of 29.
Paul Kirwin arrived and immediately "hit the bog" after a heavy night out. However, he played very steadily and produced some good 'up and downs' when he needed to. A 3 putt on 14 was costly from 20 feet and a blob on the 16th annoyed him buyt he nearly rectified that with a chip in birdie on 17. Overall, to score 34 points and take 2nd place with that level of hangover deserves special credit.
Craig Evans had a frustrating round in parts with his irons going left despite striking the ball solidly. However, his scrambling and chipping around the greens was a huge positive and helped produce a round of 32 points and another top 4 finish.
The final group was described as being memorable for the 'huffs and puffs' rather than the pars and birdies. Dave Lumley was making his debut as a Bunkers member after originally playing as a guest. Too many drives leaked to the right made approach shots trickier but he managed those well. It was the greens that let him down and his self analysis was "woeful at best and chronic towards the end"
Richie Hicks was a bit inconsistent with some good drives and a couple of really nice approach shots. The highlight was a chip from 30 yards to within 6 inches on a par 4. He finished on 30 points but it could have been higher.
Peter Woolley was generally solid off the tee with the big stick and despite a little bit of anger on a hole or two, he scored consistently where others were picking up 'blobs' A wonderful tee shot on the 16th to within 6 feet was a great shot, but was sadly his 3rd off the tee.
Phil Williams started left and went further left. After deciding "course management" and iron use wasn't helping, he went back to the driver and had some decent results notably a monster drive up the 15th. However, I'm sure he will be disappointed with his 25 points.
However, there were quite a few regular faces absent due to it being a busy holiday period, and a few lads had work that they could not get out of. That said, we did well to get a group of 15 [originally 16, but unfortunately Scott Seddon injured his should a day or so before the event - Get well soon mate]
Portal was a venue we picked early on as a "must play" local course and the deal we negotiated of £30 a man including food just ticked that box even more. We played the 6500+ yard Championship course [off yellow tees] and it was in superb condition. A couple of patchy/bobbly greens, but it was well looked after with tidy fairways and rough and well kept bunkers and greens. The scenery is absolutely stunning as you look out over Delamere Forest and beyond. The conditions building up to the day were a bit iffy, but turned out to be very pleasant on the day. A sprinkling of sun, but dry throughout our round, despite a heavy downpour as we devoured our bacon butties.
The course played long in parts, with some long par 4's and only three par 3's. However, the open rough areas and minimal amount of trees meant that you weren't overly punished for the odd wayward shot [or frequent one, depending on who you are!] Overall, I think most people were reasonably happy with their scores. As always, there was cases of "what could have been", but everyone enjoyed the day and the course and it was another superb success for the society.
A late change in groups meant we had a 3 ball, and therefore they had to go off first - giving Marc Lloyd a reprieve from having to tee off first. However, we have now set in our rules that he should be first off the tee at each event where possible. We think its only right its set in our "constitution".
The day was set off by Kev Givnan and he led from the front from that very first shot to produce a superb, Bunkers record of 43 points [as described above]. Hats off to him for battling the "bridesmaid" banter [always coming 2nd] and turning in a great victory. Also in that group, the usual steady Rob Botterill had an unusual 'off day'. The standard straight drives deserted him slightly meaning that he often had tricky shots into the greens. His putter was also cold as ice and this contirbuted to his finishing score of 20. Although not the lowest score overall on the day, he was the lowest scoring Bunkers member and as such found himself wearing the loser t-shirt and took his place on THE WALL OF SHAME [click here]
Ant Holland started off slowly but soon found a bit of form off the tee with his trust 4 iron. This combined with somenice putting resulted in some decent scoring in the middle portion of his round and an overall good score on the front 9. However, the back 9 started OK and faded out resulting in several "blob" which ruined his card.
Group 2 was sent away by Marc Lloyd, who opened with a birdie and par and set off on a great front 9. The words "this is my best round yet" were spouted and his big Cheeshire cat grin told the story of how much he enjoyed the day. A slight fading on the back 9, but overall a solid 27 and his highest Bunkers score yet. Andy Roper continued with his "Yo-Yo" golf. It seems to be either feast or famine for the Chairman at the minute. Some high scoring holes but with 5 blobs on his card, its a case of what could have been with his score of 30. Kerian Murphy rolled up having got in from a stag doo at 4am and the first 9 holes reflected this as he scrambled and fought his way around the course. But, to be fair he turned it round [or started sobering up] and produced a very good back 9 to finish with 22 points. Dave Ashley was as solid as ever and his constant banter kept the group going when they went through their rough patches throughout the round. Some wonderful strikes and some phenomenal luck on the par 3 14th to find his ball held on the fringe of the green and not in the water by a tuft of grass. Dave won the longest drive on the 18th, despite saying "it wasn't my cleanest of strikes!"
Group 3 saw the debut of John Gaskell to the group and I think everyone was pleased to see him part of the day. On the course, John started very slowly and was probably dreading a low single digit score, but come the turn he started to hit some cracking shots and showed real promise. Bear in mind he only took up the game 3 or 4 months ago and its a positive opening to his Bunkers account, considering its a very tough course for a beginner.
Allan Gunn was as steady as ever and his drives were often splitting the fairways. A few lagged putts proved costly and his challenge faded towards the end of the round with a few nasty shots in to the water. Overall a good solid score of 29.
Paul Kirwin arrived and immediately "hit the bog" after a heavy night out. However, he played very steadily and produced some good 'up and downs' when he needed to. A 3 putt on 14 was costly from 20 feet and a blob on the 16th annoyed him buyt he nearly rectified that with a chip in birdie on 17. Overall, to score 34 points and take 2nd place with that level of hangover deserves special credit.
Craig Evans had a frustrating round in parts with his irons going left despite striking the ball solidly. However, his scrambling and chipping around the greens was a huge positive and helped produce a round of 32 points and another top 4 finish.
The final group was described as being memorable for the 'huffs and puffs' rather than the pars and birdies. Dave Lumley was making his debut as a Bunkers member after originally playing as a guest. Too many drives leaked to the right made approach shots trickier but he managed those well. It was the greens that let him down and his self analysis was "woeful at best and chronic towards the end"
Richie Hicks was a bit inconsistent with some good drives and a couple of really nice approach shots. The highlight was a chip from 30 yards to within 6 inches on a par 4. He finished on 30 points but it could have been higher.
Peter Woolley was generally solid off the tee with the big stick and despite a little bit of anger on a hole or two, he scored consistently where others were picking up 'blobs' A wonderful tee shot on the 16th to within 6 feet was a great shot, but was sadly his 3rd off the tee.
Phil Williams started left and went further left. After deciding "course management" and iron use wasn't helping, he went back to the driver and had some decent results notably a monster drive up the 15th. However, I'm sure he will be disappointed with his 25 points.
tee times & groups
We will be playing off FULL handicaps. This event sees the invitation of several guests and new members and therefore it has been decided that those with official club handicaps will, of course, play off these. However, guests/members without an official handicap will be playing off 7/8ths of their provided handicap.
Those off 7/8ths are marked with an *
The tee times, groups are shown below with your playing handicaps in brackets.
You can view our handicap information by CLICKING HERE
Those off 7/8ths are marked with an *
The tee times, groups are shown below with your playing handicaps in brackets.
You can view our handicap information by CLICKING HERE
12:50 tee timeMarc Lloyd [21]
Andy Roper [21] Keiran Murphy [24] * Dave Ashley [13] |
12:59 tee timeCraig Evans [10]
Paul Kirwin [20] * Allan Gunn [22] John Gaskell [25]* |
13:08 tee timePhil Williams [19]
Peter Woolley [14] Richie Hicks [21] Dave Lumley [15] * |
13:17 tee timeRob Botterill [23]
Kev Givnan [15] Ant Holland [27] |
Bunkers Golf Society Members £30.00 per person
Non Bunkers Golf Society Members £35.00
Deposit of £10 by 14/07/2013
FULL PAYMENT to be paid by 28/07/2013
If you are playing this event please complete the form required by clicking the "PLAY THIS EVENT" button above.
Sunday 11th August 2013.
Tee times from 12:50pm [arrive no later than 11:50am for tea, coffee and bacon rolls]
Prices include 18 holes + Bacon Roll & Hot Drink pre play & Soup & Sandwiches after the round.
Portal has long been ranked in the top 20 when the annual top 100 UK courses are voted for. Its reputation is well known and it takes very little introduction. For those who have never played it, you quite simply do not want to miss this event - especially at the price we've secured it for considering advertised summer green fees are £80 per round, just for the golf!!!
Set in the heart of the rolling Cheshire countryside, the 18-hole Championship course has established Macdonald Portal Hotel, Golf & Spa as a distinctive world class championship golf venue
The Championship Course at Macdonald Portal Hotel, Golf & Spa , opened in 1990, was named 'Golf Course of the Year' in 1995, and is the star of Portal's golfing complex. Designer Donald Steel has created a challenge that is characterised by unique and distinctive holes; expansive water hazards and cascading waterfalls are among the tests. The signature is typical of Steel's magnificent 7,037 yard layout - the long third tips the scales at 607 yards, with a green guarded by a beautiful lake..
12TH IN TOP 100 REVIEWS HERE
Carden Park Golf & County club is east of Chester. It is 45 minutes hour from Skelmersdale and 40 minutes Liverpool.
The full address for Sat Navs is:
Cobblers Cross Lane, Tarporley, Cheshire, CW6 0DJ - Te: l0844 879 9082
Sunday 11th August 2013.
Tee times from 12:50pm [arrive no later than 11:50am for tea, coffee and bacon rolls]
Prices include 18 holes + Bacon Roll & Hot Drink pre play & Soup & Sandwiches after the round.
Portal has long been ranked in the top 20 when the annual top 100 UK courses are voted for. Its reputation is well known and it takes very little introduction. For those who have never played it, you quite simply do not want to miss this event - especially at the price we've secured it for considering advertised summer green fees are £80 per round, just for the golf!!!
Set in the heart of the rolling Cheshire countryside, the 18-hole Championship course has established Macdonald Portal Hotel, Golf & Spa as a distinctive world class championship golf venue
The Championship Course at Macdonald Portal Hotel, Golf & Spa , opened in 1990, was named 'Golf Course of the Year' in 1995, and is the star of Portal's golfing complex. Designer Donald Steel has created a challenge that is characterised by unique and distinctive holes; expansive water hazards and cascading waterfalls are among the tests. The signature is typical of Steel's magnificent 7,037 yard layout - the long third tips the scales at 607 yards, with a green guarded by a beautiful lake..
12TH IN TOP 100 REVIEWS HERE
Carden Park Golf & County club is east of Chester. It is 45 minutes hour from Skelmersdale and 40 minutes Liverpool.
The full address for Sat Navs is:
Cobblers Cross Lane, Tarporley, Cheshire, CW6 0DJ - Te: l0844 879 9082
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