this event was won by
chris warbrick
We made our way to sunny Stockport [not often you can say that] to play the wonderful Dr Alister MacKenzie designed Reddish Vale.
The links between the designer, Augusta National and Reddish Vale were evident in some wonderful holes and some very tricky greens. One player rose to the challenge and a word to sum up his performance is "bounce-back-ability'. After an unusually under par performance at Formby Hall that saw him come away with the loser shirt, he produced a superb score of 37 on the tricky track at Reddish [whilst wearing that same loser shirt] to take the win and the acclaim of his playing partners. Well done to Chris Warbrick. |
masters-class
"Reddish Vale? Where's that?" - This was our reply when the course was recommended to us by one of our sponsors. They went on to explain that it was a true gem and a course that would be a highlight of our season. However, the selling point came as they explained how it had been designed by the legendary Dr Alister MacKenzie - who is responsible for possibly the finest golf course in the world at Augusta National, Home of "The Masters".
The course has plenty of undulations and contours of land that golf balls can bounce of in all manner of angles. At times, they can kick your tee shot on 40/50 yards – which sounds great, but when there is a rough filled ditch prior to the green its not ideal!. This requires thought going into your shots rather than simply picking out a club that you can get the most distance from. It takes a hole or two to get into the swing of thinking like this, but once you do you can reap the rewards as other falter.
The par 3 6th hole is wonderfully difficult. At 230 yards in length you may be drawn into thinking ‘is this really a par 3?’ But it has 100 feet of drop from tee to green. By the very nature that you rarely play a hole like this, it makes it tricky to pick which club to use and finishing poorly on the 5th hole actually rewards you as you can watch your playing partners struggle with the tee shot on the 6th!
You then cross the River Tame to play the next 9 or 10 holes and again the different levels in fairways, greens and tee bring their own tricky choices in club selections. There are some wonderful holes that look simply beautiful with the tree lined back drop and the river slowly ebbing and flowing through the course.
The fairways were all lush and green, and were a joy to play off. The rough was fair, but when you went to far afield it was rightly punishing but the highlight of the course was the greens. They were solid and flat and the ball rolled quickly but true. Approach shots and chips needed to take this into consideration otherwise you would find yourself quickly running through the greens and being punished. A few comments from the group were that the greens were ‘Augusta like’ as putts would run past the hole and sometimes even off the green if you didn’t read the pace correctly. However, it must be said that if you had the pace of the greens, then you could really pick your line confidently and watch as the ball rolled nice and true towards the hole.
The only criticism of the course was that the bunkers were a let down. Most were rock solid with only a sprinkling of sand over a hard base. This made bunkers shots almost like chips/pitch shots as opposed to ‘splashing out’ using the bounce of the wedge. This led the clubs bouncing and shots being ‘bladed’ across greens – which in some cases led to balls going into hazards or out of bounds. I was told that the club are aware of this and are planning to address all Bunkers this year.
The round finished with the unusual 18th hole simply called “The Hill” – which says it all. A 200 yard tee shot leaves a 150 yard approach shot back up the same hill that runs alongside the 6th tee. That’s 100ft upwards, and onto a plateau green at the top. Again, the unique nature of this type of hole leaves the club choice wanting at times and the walk to finish is certainly a lung buster – but it is an enjoyable and unique way to finish a wonderful round.
Group 1 was started off by our last winner from Formby Hall - Keiran Murphy who was joined by Craig Evans and Keith Long. All three started with lovely looking drives on the first hole and by the time we saw them on the 4th there was a few shakes of heads coupled with the words "tough track this isn't it?"
I think its fair to say that as a group they all struggled with the contours and blind shots of Reddish Vale/. Keith Long seemed to have his ball magnetically sucked to any white posts or out of bounds and didn't give himself a chance of scoring a decent score. His usual consistency and steady play elluded him and he finished on a disappointing 18 points to finish second last - a position he will not be used to nor be happy with.
Keiran hit the ball long all day but it was equally as wayward as it was long and on this course that was punished. He showed good promise and just needs to reign it in a touch at times and play the course and not the game.
Craig suffered from the same old effects that he has done for most of this 2014 season. Striking the ball majestically and playing superb from the tee to the green. However, with the putter he saw far too many lip outs to find himself in contention for the win and the blind tee shots played havoc with his long hitting.
The second three ball set off in good spirits and in confident mood. Tom smashed his first drive of the day and was very disappointed to see his approach to the green fly out of bounds! This was due to the difficulties caused by the difference in elevation between fairway and green which was to cause much confusion for all three as the round progressed. After his first blob of the day though, Tom settled considerably and put together a string of great shots accumulating a pretty impressive score for the front nine. Keith similarly played quite steadily on the outward holes and had he managed to get the pace of the greens earlier would certainly have been in the mix at the turn. Unfortunately this was not to be and his game ebbed and flowed with points being picked up sporadically at times.
In sharp contrast, Dave - looking very dapper in his tailored shorts - once again compiled a very tidy card and after nine holes was most certainly in contention - a position which he has become very comfortable with this season. The heat, undulating fairways and huge changes in elevation sapped the players' energy and this seemed to have a damaging impact particularly on Tom's scoring. Struggling to keep the ball in play off the tee he had a card wrecking run of four successive blobs. To his credit though he rallied strongly to finish with a score of 24 points.
Keith too steadied the ship and after some bad luck, bad putting and the ill effects of a dodgy looking beard which seemed to make his face over-heat, he came home with a creditable score of 22 points too. Dave was almost unaffected by the heat as he benefitted from the shade provided by his very stylish head wear. Other members chose to wear caps of one type or another and some merely allowed their heads to increasingly resemble grilled beef tomatoes of the type you see at Spanish BBQs. Taking on fluid at regular intervals without doubt contributed to Dave's steady scoring. Certainly in the hunt with 4 holes to play he had the great misfortune to get a very strange kick from the centre of the 15th fairway which sent his ball tumbling into long grass at the foot of a bank. Taking two to get back onto the fairway caused him to knob his fourth only another 80 yards down towards the green. On in five and walking off with a seven for one point was not what he had hoped for after seeing his tee shot sailing down the middle. The frustration this caused seemed to stay with him for the rest of the round and he could be heard mumbling and bemoaning his luck all the way back to Skelmerdsale. Blobs on 16 and 18 left him with a decent total of 31 points. He did though collect a prize for the majestic tee shot he struck at the 4th hole where his ball finished approximately 4 feet or metres from the hole.
Moving on to Group 3 - As most people saw Kev didn't get off to the best of starts fluffing one right and short. Phil and Paul both ran out of fairway but secured reasonable scores over the first few holes to give a positive outlook. The main topic of conversation from Kev however was as to Chris Clarke's future. One minute he was getting sacked and the next he was back on board with a view to unfixing him back to the way he was...before he sacks him again. Confused? Phil and Paul were.
After four holes and one point scored, the thought of the t shirt kicked home and 14 points off the next seven holes eased the pressure and he finished with a not too shabby 27 given the poor start. Easy rider Jnr equipped with shades, fags and a massive drive didn't quite hit top form. The superb draw he possesses too often overdrew bringing trees into play. A few lost balls and the odd out of bounds coupled with missed putts turning 2's into 1's meant it was never his day. Was he disappointed? Probably but you never quite know...cool.
Phil started well and after the first nine was probably in with a chance of a place. His tee shot on the big par 3 6th was majestic and landed a bit long but on the green and he got away with a few errors notably on the 13th and 14th when 5 points could have been 1 or worse!! Luck ran out though on the 15th and 16th with sunstroke meaning both he and Paul struck 15th tee shots OB both then moaning that no one told them it was a par 5!! (Other than the card, the tee box and the fact the green was miles away). Phil then decided to play cautious with an iron on the 16th, an iron that he generally pushes, with a river all the way right?? Plop. Game over but respectable 31 points.
Group 4 consisted of Mark Gaskell, Kevin Murphy, Allan Gannon and Allan Gunn, with all 4 players taking what they thought was the correct line off the tee (only one was ultimately found to be correct) the game was underway with Allan Gunn hitting the pick of them splitting the fairway in two and in the holy grail of position A1. A swipe of a hybrid and he was pin high and a confident two putt got his round going nicely, it turned out to be a tale of two halves for Allan as he put himself right into contention with 19 points going out only to stutter on the back nine leaving himself with another what could have been days. Very consistent off the tee but was quickly tentative of the slippery greens leaving a fair few putts short believe it or not, and couple of chances gone by not using his double stroke holes to his advantage but all in all a good knock with 31 points( I wont mention the back to back shanks...ooops).
Mark Gaskell had a bit of an unusual round with his consistent right to left draw shot deserting him with him blocking a fair few right and leaving him tough approach shots in. An inconsistent day of ball striking mixed with short pitch shots he kept hitting underneath leaving short meant for a low scoring round for Mark, the highlight of his round was his superb 2nd shot into the par 5 15th leaving him with 20+ Foot for eagle....which he lagged up superbly and tapped away for birdie.
Next up was Allan Gannon who when he got it right creamed the ball right down the fairway, if only that was to be the case for the day, too many loose shots with the driver meant the phrase "reload" was to be used frequently. Not the best day with the putter as well meant it tough scoring for Allan which is surprising as he was draining every putt on the practice green before he went out!. When Allan got to about the 15th he had decided to leave the driver in the bag and opt for a 4 iron off the tee, and I bet he wished he did this sooner as he continued to hit it long, pure and straight off the tee hitting the last 3 fairways in a row. I’m sure he was glad to come in and see he had not finished bottom as he had convinced himself early on it was "his time" for the t-shirt.
Last up in the group was Kevin Murphy who has had a few poor outings of late so was keen to put them behind him. It was a very controlled round from Kevin who opted to leave the big stick in the bag and take irons off the tee as there was a lot of blind holes. A highlight of this was when he stood up to the par 5 driver in hand ready to rip one... only to duff it 25 yards in front of him, although this was followed by two great hits with his 3 wood to hit the green and leave him putting for birdie! He putted extremely well on the greens that were very pure and true and had the pace of the greens from the 1st, a superb two put from the back of the green gave him the confidence to put the ball on the right line and wait for the ball to drop. 18 points on the front and 18 points on the back led to a very good score that had a chance of winning but was pipped at the finishing line. Taking home second prize and the nearest in two prize I'm sure he will be overall very happy with how he played.
Group 5 saw last events suprise loser - Chris Warbrick, paired with El Capitano Steve Evans, Peter Woolley and John Standley. The banter on the first tee was flowing, the sun was shining on their backs and the prospect of a fine days golf lay ahead. Steve Evans [thankfully] decided that his soggy looking 'pensioner style' cap had to stay in the bag prior to his first drive and to be honest I think this assisted as he his an absolute beauty. To be fair, all four of the group did. That is where the similarities for the day ended.
John started reasonably well and scored OK for the first five holes until the wheel well and truly fell off - 8 blobs later and it was pretty clear how the day was going to finish. He did rally with a couple of pars that gave him a points boost but it wasn't enough and he finished with a disappointing score of 14 and the wooden spoon and losers t-shirt to boot.
Peter and Steve had reasonably steady rounds that were just spoilt by too many silly little mistakes. However, on a very touch track they should both be satisfied with their final postings.
The story of the day involved Steve as he stood on the bank of the river to take a shot and lost his footing - he instrintively grabbed at the nearest things to him to prevent a sure entry into the murky and cold waters below - however those things he grabbed were large nettles and his arms and legs were showing the effects hours later. As he walked off the 18th with all manner of grass and debris up his back and explained the story to the waiting masses the laughter could be heard from the 18th tee.
Chris was proudly wearing the lovely salmon pink loser shirt from his surprise collapse at Formby Hall but he had other ideas for Reddish - especially having spent £1500 on golfing products over the last 3/4 weeks. He was to issue a golfing masterclass as he struck the ball beautifully throughout and his work around the greens was solid and consistent. He didn't loose a ball all day [which on this course takes some doing] and was working the ball around the course beautifully whilst commentating that he was going to "put a bit of draw/fade on it" and then subsequently doing it perfectly. His finishing score of 37 was unbeatable on such a tough track and was deserving of the win. I don't think we have seen a loser become a winner at the very next event until now and its likely that if Chris keeps up this level of play that he will never see that sickly coloured shirt again.
The final group were left stood on the tee in the sun having watched all the previous players hit their opening drives well and with only Kev Givnan with a bit of a duff shot [but still rolling out for 175 yards down the middle]
Stu Seddon said, "I'll probably hit that net" pointing at the protective netting on the left side of the fairway preventing stray balls from hitting houses. However, both Stu, Scott Seddon and Andy Roper all his wonderful drives to the far end of the fairway, leaving Rob Botterill to spoon hook his drive into the netting for a gain of 20 yards.
It wasn't a pleasant opening few holes for Rob and he will probably feel that hsi round was very much up and down. He seemed to develop a very untimely hook/pull with his usually consistent driver and on this course [as the Pro told us] anything left will be punished. Rob made use of his 2 shot holes to maintain a decent card in the end but it was clear he was disappointed with the overall play - although some lovely work on the 17th was the highlight of the day with a superb approach shot from 180 yards that ended 12 foot from the pin.
Andy Roper was in a similar vein to Rob, in that the bad shot was a pull/hook and far too often he was out of the hole before play even reached the greens. 3 of the tee on several occassions or a second shot that flew out of bounds or into hazards meant that he wasn't giving himself a chance to score. However, he was tidy around the greens with some lovely touches with the wedges and some great lag putting that helped him score well on the holes were he gave himself a chance. A definate "must do better" day.
Stu Seddon was a tale of two halves. A poor opening 9 of 11 points was then met with a superb back 9 of 21 points. Stu was reasonable from the tee but it was his iron play and approaches that provided the strenght of his come back and some beautiful shots enabled him to score heavily on the back 9. It was case of what might have been - a touch more consistency on that open 9 holes and I am sure he would have challenged for the top spot and he must've finished in high spirits as it was a great turnaround.
Scott started with a beautful drive, followed by a superb approach shot that left him with a birdie from 8 foot that he duly converted. This set the tone for his day as he struck the ball beautifully throughout. After 4 or 5 holes, it was clear that he was in clear contention for the win as his play was faultless and there wasn't an area of his game that wasn't on song. However, one or two minor mistakes were punished and this prevented him from scoring those extra 2/3 points that would have taken the win. Seeing him lay on his belly on the last 3 greens, reading them intensely as he knew he was in with a chance, was a novel but amusing approach. Its probably fair to say that he was probably a bit gutted not to finish with the win [being pipped by 1 point] having played so beautifully - but its definately a huge positive to have played so well on such a trickly course.
All in all it was a superb day on a lovely track and one in which we will definately return in 2015.
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The course has plenty of undulations and contours of land that golf balls can bounce of in all manner of angles. At times, they can kick your tee shot on 40/50 yards – which sounds great, but when there is a rough filled ditch prior to the green its not ideal!. This requires thought going into your shots rather than simply picking out a club that you can get the most distance from. It takes a hole or two to get into the swing of thinking like this, but once you do you can reap the rewards as other falter.
The par 3 6th hole is wonderfully difficult. At 230 yards in length you may be drawn into thinking ‘is this really a par 3?’ But it has 100 feet of drop from tee to green. By the very nature that you rarely play a hole like this, it makes it tricky to pick which club to use and finishing poorly on the 5th hole actually rewards you as you can watch your playing partners struggle with the tee shot on the 6th!
You then cross the River Tame to play the next 9 or 10 holes and again the different levels in fairways, greens and tee bring their own tricky choices in club selections. There are some wonderful holes that look simply beautiful with the tree lined back drop and the river slowly ebbing and flowing through the course.
The fairways were all lush and green, and were a joy to play off. The rough was fair, but when you went to far afield it was rightly punishing but the highlight of the course was the greens. They were solid and flat and the ball rolled quickly but true. Approach shots and chips needed to take this into consideration otherwise you would find yourself quickly running through the greens and being punished. A few comments from the group were that the greens were ‘Augusta like’ as putts would run past the hole and sometimes even off the green if you didn’t read the pace correctly. However, it must be said that if you had the pace of the greens, then you could really pick your line confidently and watch as the ball rolled nice and true towards the hole.
The only criticism of the course was that the bunkers were a let down. Most were rock solid with only a sprinkling of sand over a hard base. This made bunkers shots almost like chips/pitch shots as opposed to ‘splashing out’ using the bounce of the wedge. This led the clubs bouncing and shots being ‘bladed’ across greens – which in some cases led to balls going into hazards or out of bounds. I was told that the club are aware of this and are planning to address all Bunkers this year.
The round finished with the unusual 18th hole simply called “The Hill” – which says it all. A 200 yard tee shot leaves a 150 yard approach shot back up the same hill that runs alongside the 6th tee. That’s 100ft upwards, and onto a plateau green at the top. Again, the unique nature of this type of hole leaves the club choice wanting at times and the walk to finish is certainly a lung buster – but it is an enjoyable and unique way to finish a wonderful round.
Group 1 was started off by our last winner from Formby Hall - Keiran Murphy who was joined by Craig Evans and Keith Long. All three started with lovely looking drives on the first hole and by the time we saw them on the 4th there was a few shakes of heads coupled with the words "tough track this isn't it?"
I think its fair to say that as a group they all struggled with the contours and blind shots of Reddish Vale/. Keith Long seemed to have his ball magnetically sucked to any white posts or out of bounds and didn't give himself a chance of scoring a decent score. His usual consistency and steady play elluded him and he finished on a disappointing 18 points to finish second last - a position he will not be used to nor be happy with.
Keiran hit the ball long all day but it was equally as wayward as it was long and on this course that was punished. He showed good promise and just needs to reign it in a touch at times and play the course and not the game.
Craig suffered from the same old effects that he has done for most of this 2014 season. Striking the ball majestically and playing superb from the tee to the green. However, with the putter he saw far too many lip outs to find himself in contention for the win and the blind tee shots played havoc with his long hitting.
The second three ball set off in good spirits and in confident mood. Tom smashed his first drive of the day and was very disappointed to see his approach to the green fly out of bounds! This was due to the difficulties caused by the difference in elevation between fairway and green which was to cause much confusion for all three as the round progressed. After his first blob of the day though, Tom settled considerably and put together a string of great shots accumulating a pretty impressive score for the front nine. Keith similarly played quite steadily on the outward holes and had he managed to get the pace of the greens earlier would certainly have been in the mix at the turn. Unfortunately this was not to be and his game ebbed and flowed with points being picked up sporadically at times.
In sharp contrast, Dave - looking very dapper in his tailored shorts - once again compiled a very tidy card and after nine holes was most certainly in contention - a position which he has become very comfortable with this season. The heat, undulating fairways and huge changes in elevation sapped the players' energy and this seemed to have a damaging impact particularly on Tom's scoring. Struggling to keep the ball in play off the tee he had a card wrecking run of four successive blobs. To his credit though he rallied strongly to finish with a score of 24 points.
Keith too steadied the ship and after some bad luck, bad putting and the ill effects of a dodgy looking beard which seemed to make his face over-heat, he came home with a creditable score of 22 points too. Dave was almost unaffected by the heat as he benefitted from the shade provided by his very stylish head wear. Other members chose to wear caps of one type or another and some merely allowed their heads to increasingly resemble grilled beef tomatoes of the type you see at Spanish BBQs. Taking on fluid at regular intervals without doubt contributed to Dave's steady scoring. Certainly in the hunt with 4 holes to play he had the great misfortune to get a very strange kick from the centre of the 15th fairway which sent his ball tumbling into long grass at the foot of a bank. Taking two to get back onto the fairway caused him to knob his fourth only another 80 yards down towards the green. On in five and walking off with a seven for one point was not what he had hoped for after seeing his tee shot sailing down the middle. The frustration this caused seemed to stay with him for the rest of the round and he could be heard mumbling and bemoaning his luck all the way back to Skelmerdsale. Blobs on 16 and 18 left him with a decent total of 31 points. He did though collect a prize for the majestic tee shot he struck at the 4th hole where his ball finished approximately 4 feet or metres from the hole.
Moving on to Group 3 - As most people saw Kev didn't get off to the best of starts fluffing one right and short. Phil and Paul both ran out of fairway but secured reasonable scores over the first few holes to give a positive outlook. The main topic of conversation from Kev however was as to Chris Clarke's future. One minute he was getting sacked and the next he was back on board with a view to unfixing him back to the way he was...before he sacks him again. Confused? Phil and Paul were.
After four holes and one point scored, the thought of the t shirt kicked home and 14 points off the next seven holes eased the pressure and he finished with a not too shabby 27 given the poor start. Easy rider Jnr equipped with shades, fags and a massive drive didn't quite hit top form. The superb draw he possesses too often overdrew bringing trees into play. A few lost balls and the odd out of bounds coupled with missed putts turning 2's into 1's meant it was never his day. Was he disappointed? Probably but you never quite know...cool.
Phil started well and after the first nine was probably in with a chance of a place. His tee shot on the big par 3 6th was majestic and landed a bit long but on the green and he got away with a few errors notably on the 13th and 14th when 5 points could have been 1 or worse!! Luck ran out though on the 15th and 16th with sunstroke meaning both he and Paul struck 15th tee shots OB both then moaning that no one told them it was a par 5!! (Other than the card, the tee box and the fact the green was miles away). Phil then decided to play cautious with an iron on the 16th, an iron that he generally pushes, with a river all the way right?? Plop. Game over but respectable 31 points.
Group 4 consisted of Mark Gaskell, Kevin Murphy, Allan Gannon and Allan Gunn, with all 4 players taking what they thought was the correct line off the tee (only one was ultimately found to be correct) the game was underway with Allan Gunn hitting the pick of them splitting the fairway in two and in the holy grail of position A1. A swipe of a hybrid and he was pin high and a confident two putt got his round going nicely, it turned out to be a tale of two halves for Allan as he put himself right into contention with 19 points going out only to stutter on the back nine leaving himself with another what could have been days. Very consistent off the tee but was quickly tentative of the slippery greens leaving a fair few putts short believe it or not, and couple of chances gone by not using his double stroke holes to his advantage but all in all a good knock with 31 points( I wont mention the back to back shanks...ooops).
Mark Gaskell had a bit of an unusual round with his consistent right to left draw shot deserting him with him blocking a fair few right and leaving him tough approach shots in. An inconsistent day of ball striking mixed with short pitch shots he kept hitting underneath leaving short meant for a low scoring round for Mark, the highlight of his round was his superb 2nd shot into the par 5 15th leaving him with 20+ Foot for eagle....which he lagged up superbly and tapped away for birdie.
Next up was Allan Gannon who when he got it right creamed the ball right down the fairway, if only that was to be the case for the day, too many loose shots with the driver meant the phrase "reload" was to be used frequently. Not the best day with the putter as well meant it tough scoring for Allan which is surprising as he was draining every putt on the practice green before he went out!. When Allan got to about the 15th he had decided to leave the driver in the bag and opt for a 4 iron off the tee, and I bet he wished he did this sooner as he continued to hit it long, pure and straight off the tee hitting the last 3 fairways in a row. I’m sure he was glad to come in and see he had not finished bottom as he had convinced himself early on it was "his time" for the t-shirt.
Last up in the group was Kevin Murphy who has had a few poor outings of late so was keen to put them behind him. It was a very controlled round from Kevin who opted to leave the big stick in the bag and take irons off the tee as there was a lot of blind holes. A highlight of this was when he stood up to the par 5 driver in hand ready to rip one... only to duff it 25 yards in front of him, although this was followed by two great hits with his 3 wood to hit the green and leave him putting for birdie! He putted extremely well on the greens that were very pure and true and had the pace of the greens from the 1st, a superb two put from the back of the green gave him the confidence to put the ball on the right line and wait for the ball to drop. 18 points on the front and 18 points on the back led to a very good score that had a chance of winning but was pipped at the finishing line. Taking home second prize and the nearest in two prize I'm sure he will be overall very happy with how he played.
Group 5 saw last events suprise loser - Chris Warbrick, paired with El Capitano Steve Evans, Peter Woolley and John Standley. The banter on the first tee was flowing, the sun was shining on their backs and the prospect of a fine days golf lay ahead. Steve Evans [thankfully] decided that his soggy looking 'pensioner style' cap had to stay in the bag prior to his first drive and to be honest I think this assisted as he his an absolute beauty. To be fair, all four of the group did. That is where the similarities for the day ended.
John started reasonably well and scored OK for the first five holes until the wheel well and truly fell off - 8 blobs later and it was pretty clear how the day was going to finish. He did rally with a couple of pars that gave him a points boost but it wasn't enough and he finished with a disappointing score of 14 and the wooden spoon and losers t-shirt to boot.
Peter and Steve had reasonably steady rounds that were just spoilt by too many silly little mistakes. However, on a very touch track they should both be satisfied with their final postings.
The story of the day involved Steve as he stood on the bank of the river to take a shot and lost his footing - he instrintively grabbed at the nearest things to him to prevent a sure entry into the murky and cold waters below - however those things he grabbed were large nettles and his arms and legs were showing the effects hours later. As he walked off the 18th with all manner of grass and debris up his back and explained the story to the waiting masses the laughter could be heard from the 18th tee.
Chris was proudly wearing the lovely salmon pink loser shirt from his surprise collapse at Formby Hall but he had other ideas for Reddish - especially having spent £1500 on golfing products over the last 3/4 weeks. He was to issue a golfing masterclass as he struck the ball beautifully throughout and his work around the greens was solid and consistent. He didn't loose a ball all day [which on this course takes some doing] and was working the ball around the course beautifully whilst commentating that he was going to "put a bit of draw/fade on it" and then subsequently doing it perfectly. His finishing score of 37 was unbeatable on such a tough track and was deserving of the win. I don't think we have seen a loser become a winner at the very next event until now and its likely that if Chris keeps up this level of play that he will never see that sickly coloured shirt again.
The final group were left stood on the tee in the sun having watched all the previous players hit their opening drives well and with only Kev Givnan with a bit of a duff shot [but still rolling out for 175 yards down the middle]
Stu Seddon said, "I'll probably hit that net" pointing at the protective netting on the left side of the fairway preventing stray balls from hitting houses. However, both Stu, Scott Seddon and Andy Roper all his wonderful drives to the far end of the fairway, leaving Rob Botterill to spoon hook his drive into the netting for a gain of 20 yards.
It wasn't a pleasant opening few holes for Rob and he will probably feel that hsi round was very much up and down. He seemed to develop a very untimely hook/pull with his usually consistent driver and on this course [as the Pro told us] anything left will be punished. Rob made use of his 2 shot holes to maintain a decent card in the end but it was clear he was disappointed with the overall play - although some lovely work on the 17th was the highlight of the day with a superb approach shot from 180 yards that ended 12 foot from the pin.
Andy Roper was in a similar vein to Rob, in that the bad shot was a pull/hook and far too often he was out of the hole before play even reached the greens. 3 of the tee on several occassions or a second shot that flew out of bounds or into hazards meant that he wasn't giving himself a chance to score. However, he was tidy around the greens with some lovely touches with the wedges and some great lag putting that helped him score well on the holes were he gave himself a chance. A definate "must do better" day.
Stu Seddon was a tale of two halves. A poor opening 9 of 11 points was then met with a superb back 9 of 21 points. Stu was reasonable from the tee but it was his iron play and approaches that provided the strenght of his come back and some beautiful shots enabled him to score heavily on the back 9. It was case of what might have been - a touch more consistency on that open 9 holes and I am sure he would have challenged for the top spot and he must've finished in high spirits as it was a great turnaround.
Scott started with a beautful drive, followed by a superb approach shot that left him with a birdie from 8 foot that he duly converted. This set the tone for his day as he struck the ball beautifully throughout. After 4 or 5 holes, it was clear that he was in clear contention for the win as his play was faultless and there wasn't an area of his game that wasn't on song. However, one or two minor mistakes were punished and this prevented him from scoring those extra 2/3 points that would have taken the win. Seeing him lay on his belly on the last 3 greens, reading them intensely as he knew he was in with a chance, was a novel but amusing approach. Its probably fair to say that he was probably a bit gutted not to finish with the win [being pipped by 1 point] having played so beautifully - but its definately a huge positive to have played so well on such a trickly course.
All in all it was a superb day on a lovely track and one in which we will definately return in 2015.
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Sunday 13th April 2014
Tee times from 1pm [arrive no later than 12pm]
Prices include 18 holes + tea/coffee and chips & sandwiches before play
Website: www.rvgc.co.uk
Sunday 13th April 2014
Tee times from 1pm [arrive no later than 12pm]
Prices include 18 holes + tea/coffee and chips & sandwiches before play
Website: www.rvgc.co.uk
Tee Times & Groups
Playing handicaps are shown in brackets below.
* denotes the player does not hold an official or Bunkers handicap and will therefore be required to play three quarters of shown handicap for 3 rounds.
* denotes the player does not hold an official or Bunkers handicap and will therefore be required to play three quarters of shown handicap for 3 rounds.
13:00 tee time
Keiran Murphy [22]
Craig Evans [9] Kieth Long [13] |
13:08 tee time
Tom Davies [24]
Dave Ashley [12] Keith Malone [20] |
13:16 tee time
Phil Williams [13]
Paul Davies Jnr [10] Kevin Givnan [12] Mark Cole [28*] |
13:24 tee time
Mark Gaskell [12]
Kev Murphy [11] Allan Gannon [17] Allan Gunn [21] |
13:32 tee time
Steve Evans [12]
Chris Warbrick [12*] Peter Woolley [12] John Standley [18*] |
13:40 tee time
Rob Botterill [26]
Scott Seddon [18] Andy Roper [20] Stuart Seddon [14] |
overview of the day
We will be meeting no later than 12:00hrs at Reddish Vale Golf Club for Sandwiches & Chips and tea/coffee and to provide some information regarding the day.
- The format for the day will be Individual Stableford scores and we will be playing from the yellow tees.
- It will be FULL HANDICAPS [CLICK HERE TO SEE] for all members and guests and newcomers will be playing 3/4's of the given handicap as per the society rules.
nearest the pins
There will be 2 nearest the pins on the 4th hole and the 12th hole.
The nearest the pin in 2 will be on the par 4 18th hole.
CLICK ON THE IMAGES BELOW TO ENLARGE
The nearest the pin in 2 will be on the par 4 18th hole.
CLICK ON THE IMAGES BELOW TO ENLARGE
the course
The first thing to note about Reddish Vale is that it was designed by Dr Alister MacKenzie - who is the man who designed the world famous US Masters course at Augusta National.
100 acres of the most perfect land you could ever wish for, combined with Alister MacKenzie's genius eye, have created a unique golf course that is quirky and fun.
Rich in natural features, the course plays a figure of eight shaped layout that requires you to negotiate ravines, gullies, escarpments, and a river, as well as the usual things like bunkers during your round. Flat, boring, tree lined holes which go back and forth and all blend into one? – not here! There are very few inland courses where you could remove every tree and still have a great golf course, but you could here.
The magical contours that shape this course explain how it has survived for the last 100 years almost unchanged, and without ever being lengthened. At 6000 yards in length and with a par of 69, Reddish Vale is not a test of who can hit the ball the farthest; it is a far more intriguing and strategical challenge than that. This is a thinker's course where you need to plot your way round.
VIEW A HOLE-BY-HOLE OVERVIEW WITH PHOTOS
100 acres of the most perfect land you could ever wish for, combined with Alister MacKenzie's genius eye, have created a unique golf course that is quirky and fun.
Rich in natural features, the course plays a figure of eight shaped layout that requires you to negotiate ravines, gullies, escarpments, and a river, as well as the usual things like bunkers during your round. Flat, boring, tree lined holes which go back and forth and all blend into one? – not here! There are very few inland courses where you could remove every tree and still have a great golf course, but you could here.
The magical contours that shape this course explain how it has survived for the last 100 years almost unchanged, and without ever being lengthened. At 6000 yards in length and with a par of 69, Reddish Vale is not a test of who can hit the ball the farthest; it is a far more intriguing and strategical challenge than that. This is a thinker's course where you need to plot your way round.
VIEW A HOLE-BY-HOLE OVERVIEW WITH PHOTOS
directions
Reddish Vale Golf Club is in Stockport, South of Manchester and is 50 minutes from Skelmersdale and Liverpool.
The full address for Sat Navs is:
Reddish Vale Golf Club, Southcliffe Road, Reddish, Stockport, Cheshire, SK5 7EE
Tel: 0161 480 2359
The full address for Sat Navs is:
Reddish Vale Golf Club, Southcliffe Road, Reddish, Stockport, Cheshire, SK5 7EE
Tel: 0161 480 2359