the mere Golf Resort, knutsford, cheshire
BUNKERS PRESENTS "THE WIDE OPEN 2013"
SUNDAY 8TH SEPTEMBER 2013
tHIS EVENT WAS WON BY
CRAIG EVANS
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review of the day is below the finishing tables
Click on tables to enlarge
a mere delight...
A bit of last minute "jiggling" about saw this dates event change from Formby Hall to The Mere - at to be honest, it was a change that paid off in almost every way. What an absolutely superb venue. The Mere came with a big reputation and with big boots to fill and it stomped all over the expectations and impressed itself upon all members.
From the moment you arrive at the historic old building nestled opulent surroundings and walk into the lush reception and bar area - you know that the place is going to provide a wonderful days golf. Strolling out on to the rear terrace and looking out onto The Mere Lake where golfers practice by driving floating golf balls out into the lake you get a sense that the resort is a little different to your avergae golfing venue.
Nice practice areas allowed our members to hone some skills pre round, and enjoy a little catch up in a beautiful environment. A light snack of soup and sandwiches devoured and onto the first tee with everyone in good spirits and looking forward to seeing what the course had to offer.
It didn't disappoint with tightly cut fairways that were in great condition throughout and well kept rough that meant that losing balls would be a rarity. The greens were an absolute pleasure and were firm and true with good pace and break. Meaning that those who read them well and trusted their lines would be rewarded - however, those who weren't on song would see their ball fly past the hole leaving a 3 point as a likely outcome. The green fringes had two lengths of cut where meant that putting off the greens wasn't always the best option and those with solid wegde play would see their skills rewarded.
Kev Givnan was wearing The Bunkers Champions Shirt for the day and was hopeful of a good round after some superb scores recently. The formats were to reward individual players and to bring a team element through the groupings and betterball event.
Keith Malone sent us off in the absence of Marc Lloyd and was thankful to see his drive land in the middle of the fairway. A solid front 9 by Keith and his partner Kev Murphy set them up for a good score and this was coupled with the pair not scoring a double blob on any hole - bringing consistent points. Paul Davies' long game deserted him and he struggled from tee to green. However, his wedge play was strong and an exhibition of one-handed putting [yes, one handed!!!] on the last few holes salvaged the round. Ant Holland struggled with tooth ache throughout his round and if you believe this reflected in his score then you are a more kind and generous person than the rest of us!!! ha ha.
Next up, Steve Evans produced his trusty R1 and pulled it left and this set the tone for the day from the tee for him. The usual bullet straight club letting him down. However the rest of his game was on fire and his work around the greens was a thing of beauty at times and he produced a great round of 34 points to finish second. Depreived of a win on the unlucky for some 13th - the hardest hole on the course. A great shot ran through the green and sat down in some poorly kept grass at the back of the green that took 3 shots to eventually chop the ball out of.
Debutant Scott Seddon had a mixed bag of a round, some wonderful iron shots at times and some solid 3 woods off the tee were sprinkled between some slices that sent his ball either into deep rough or out of play. He was also unlucky with a few "lip out" puts and saw a birdie chance on the 18th turn to a 3 putt bogey.
Andy Roper had a similarly mixed round with some decent 2nd shots and good lag putts. However, from the tee he may have been better to have used an axe than his 3 wood as it just never worked on the day.
Kev Givnan had been in the form of his life coming into the event and hopes were high for a big performance. But as usual with this wonderful game, it knocked him to the floor and kicked him whilst he was down and he produced some of his poorest golf for a while. Inconsistent with his usual arrow striahgt drives, wasteful around the greens and not confident with the short stick he had a round to forget.
Things started a bit ropey for Peter Woolley on the 1st and all his hard work the day previous almost seemed wasted. But credit to him, he pulled up his sleeves and fought back and the front 9 for himself and his partner Craig Evans was a bit of a scramble at times and they battled to come around the turn in decent shape. Peter saving the pairs bacon on the 8th with a wonderful 5 foot knee trembler that crept in the side door to give 4 well received points.
This was the catalyst for Craig to produce some of his best golf of the season to finish the back 9 with a level par. He was bang on form with a 2 on the nearest the pin 14th hole and this was coupled by Peter who also took a nearest the pin on the 8th. Craigs laser like irons were the basis of the round and only for the putter being luke warm he would have walked away with an even bigger winning margin.
Keiran Murphy and Mark Gaskell had opponent on good form and this coupled with poor tee shots set the tone for the day and they never really gave themselves a fighting chance. Some great shots were sprinkled in there and some solid 3 pointers but it was really a story of bunkers and sand. They both found themselves in the dust far too frequently and Mark had about 6 or 7 "lip out" putts that would have seen their scorecard look a whole lot different.
Rob Botterill started the round strongly and it looked like it might be another strong day for "Mr Consistent". The first 5 holes went swimmingly and then a horrid run of holes ruined his card and chances of a high score.
Allan Gunn was showed his usual steady and consistent play and produced some nice golf - especially on the stroke index 1 par 4 where he came away with a strong Par with 2 shots extra to play with. Allans ball seemed to be magnetically drawn to the greenside bunkers but thankfully his sand play was solid and it was quoted that he may want to add a bucket and spade in his bag and drop the hybrid!!!
Stu Seddon turned up looking like Ian Poulter had spent the night in a tartan factory and his wild strides kept the group entertained throughout the afternoon. He produced a very steady round with some wondeful strikes and good shots.
However, the magic kecks couldn't put a smile on Ste Holmes face as he struggled with most facets of his game all afternoon. Admittedly playing golf in the middle of a set of night shifts and with only 2/3 hours sleep, is never ideal....but that doesn't save him from the ribbing that is coming his way over the next few days as his 13 points was low enough to see him slip in [just] to the Loser t-shirt and he finds himself on THE WALL OF SHAME
From the moment you arrive at the historic old building nestled opulent surroundings and walk into the lush reception and bar area - you know that the place is going to provide a wonderful days golf. Strolling out on to the rear terrace and looking out onto The Mere Lake where golfers practice by driving floating golf balls out into the lake you get a sense that the resort is a little different to your avergae golfing venue.
Nice practice areas allowed our members to hone some skills pre round, and enjoy a little catch up in a beautiful environment. A light snack of soup and sandwiches devoured and onto the first tee with everyone in good spirits and looking forward to seeing what the course had to offer.
It didn't disappoint with tightly cut fairways that were in great condition throughout and well kept rough that meant that losing balls would be a rarity. The greens were an absolute pleasure and were firm and true with good pace and break. Meaning that those who read them well and trusted their lines would be rewarded - however, those who weren't on song would see their ball fly past the hole leaving a 3 point as a likely outcome. The green fringes had two lengths of cut where meant that putting off the greens wasn't always the best option and those with solid wegde play would see their skills rewarded.
Kev Givnan was wearing The Bunkers Champions Shirt for the day and was hopeful of a good round after some superb scores recently. The formats were to reward individual players and to bring a team element through the groupings and betterball event.
Keith Malone sent us off in the absence of Marc Lloyd and was thankful to see his drive land in the middle of the fairway. A solid front 9 by Keith and his partner Kev Murphy set them up for a good score and this was coupled with the pair not scoring a double blob on any hole - bringing consistent points. Paul Davies' long game deserted him and he struggled from tee to green. However, his wedge play was strong and an exhibition of one-handed putting [yes, one handed!!!] on the last few holes salvaged the round. Ant Holland struggled with tooth ache throughout his round and if you believe this reflected in his score then you are a more kind and generous person than the rest of us!!! ha ha.
Next up, Steve Evans produced his trusty R1 and pulled it left and this set the tone for the day from the tee for him. The usual bullet straight club letting him down. However the rest of his game was on fire and his work around the greens was a thing of beauty at times and he produced a great round of 34 points to finish second. Depreived of a win on the unlucky for some 13th - the hardest hole on the course. A great shot ran through the green and sat down in some poorly kept grass at the back of the green that took 3 shots to eventually chop the ball out of.
Debutant Scott Seddon had a mixed bag of a round, some wonderful iron shots at times and some solid 3 woods off the tee were sprinkled between some slices that sent his ball either into deep rough or out of play. He was also unlucky with a few "lip out" puts and saw a birdie chance on the 18th turn to a 3 putt bogey.
Andy Roper had a similarly mixed round with some decent 2nd shots and good lag putts. However, from the tee he may have been better to have used an axe than his 3 wood as it just never worked on the day.
Kev Givnan had been in the form of his life coming into the event and hopes were high for a big performance. But as usual with this wonderful game, it knocked him to the floor and kicked him whilst he was down and he produced some of his poorest golf for a while. Inconsistent with his usual arrow striahgt drives, wasteful around the greens and not confident with the short stick he had a round to forget.
Things started a bit ropey for Peter Woolley on the 1st and all his hard work the day previous almost seemed wasted. But credit to him, he pulled up his sleeves and fought back and the front 9 for himself and his partner Craig Evans was a bit of a scramble at times and they battled to come around the turn in decent shape. Peter saving the pairs bacon on the 8th with a wonderful 5 foot knee trembler that crept in the side door to give 4 well received points.
This was the catalyst for Craig to produce some of his best golf of the season to finish the back 9 with a level par. He was bang on form with a 2 on the nearest the pin 14th hole and this was coupled by Peter who also took a nearest the pin on the 8th. Craigs laser like irons were the basis of the round and only for the putter being luke warm he would have walked away with an even bigger winning margin.
Keiran Murphy and Mark Gaskell had opponent on good form and this coupled with poor tee shots set the tone for the day and they never really gave themselves a fighting chance. Some great shots were sprinkled in there and some solid 3 pointers but it was really a story of bunkers and sand. They both found themselves in the dust far too frequently and Mark had about 6 or 7 "lip out" putts that would have seen their scorecard look a whole lot different.
Rob Botterill started the round strongly and it looked like it might be another strong day for "Mr Consistent". The first 5 holes went swimmingly and then a horrid run of holes ruined his card and chances of a high score.
Allan Gunn was showed his usual steady and consistent play and produced some nice golf - especially on the stroke index 1 par 4 where he came away with a strong Par with 2 shots extra to play with. Allans ball seemed to be magnetically drawn to the greenside bunkers but thankfully his sand play was solid and it was quoted that he may want to add a bucket and spade in his bag and drop the hybrid!!!
Stu Seddon turned up looking like Ian Poulter had spent the night in a tartan factory and his wild strides kept the group entertained throughout the afternoon. He produced a very steady round with some wondeful strikes and good shots.
However, the magic kecks couldn't put a smile on Ste Holmes face as he struggled with most facets of his game all afternoon. Admittedly playing golf in the middle of a set of night shifts and with only 2/3 hours sleep, is never ideal....but that doesn't save him from the ribbing that is coming his way over the next few days as his 13 points was low enough to see him slip in [just] to the Loser t-shirt and he finds himself on THE WALL OF SHAME
fourball better ball
The Mere will see the first change of game formats for Bunkers Golf Society. For this event we will be playing our usual individual Stableford scores - and the winner of the event overall will win the Trophy and annual title. However, we have drawn you into pairs so that you have a playing partner and a team approach to the event. The groups are made up of two pairs and the top 2 groups overall will win prizes.
First of all....lets see the groups. These have been drawn at random using an online website called www.random.org
The process we have used is to list you all individually....then allow the computer to draw the names in a different order and we have paired you up in the order you came out of the draw. So 1 & 2 together, then 3 & 4 and so on.
This produced the pairs and then we drew the pairs again at random to put you into groups.
You can watch a video of the draws being made by CLICKING HERE
First of all....lets see the groups. These have been drawn at random using an online website called www.random.org
The process we have used is to list you all individually....then allow the computer to draw the names in a different order and we have paired you up in the order you came out of the draw. So 1 & 2 together, then 3 & 4 and so on.
This produced the pairs and then we drew the pairs again at random to put you into groups.
You can watch a video of the draws being made by CLICKING HERE
groups, pairs and tee times...
14:20 tee
PAIR 3
Keith Malone [21] Kev Murphy [12] PAIR 5 Paul Davies [15] Ant Holland [27] |
14:28 tee
PAIR 8
Steve Evans [14] Scott Seddon [16]* PAIR 1 Andy Roper [21] Kev Givnan [11] |
14:36 tee
PAIR 4
Peter Woolley [14] Craig Evans [10] PAIR 7 Keiran Murphy [24]* Mark Gaskell [12] |
14:44 tee
PAIR 2
Rob Botterill [23] Ste Holmes [19] PAIR 6 Allan Gunn [22] Stu Seddon [14] |
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 above 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 above with your playing handicaps in brackets.
You can view our handicap information by CLICKING HERE
event format...
The Bunkers Open will be scored in Stableford format as per usual.
The winner and loser of the event will be taken from their individual scores. The winner will receive the annual trophy and title and the loser will pick up the wooden spoon and find themselves on the wall of shame
Fourball Better Ball is where you play with your playing partner. You both play the holes as normal and keep your individual scores - however, on each hole, you also keep a card for your pair and the best score on that hole from either of you goes on the card. So on the 1st hole, player A scores 3 points and player B scores 1 point....then player A's score goes on the Pair card. At the end of the round, the pair with the highest score wins 1st and 2nd place prizes.
Not a huge difference, it just adds a team element to the game and gets pairs helping each other through the round and with the putts. Plus gives a greater chance for people to win.
The winner and loser of the event will be taken from their individual scores. The winner will receive the annual trophy and title and the loser will pick up the wooden spoon and find themselves on the wall of shame
Fourball Better Ball is where you play with your playing partner. You both play the holes as normal and keep your individual scores - however, on each hole, you also keep a card for your pair and the best score on that hole from either of you goes on the card. So on the 1st hole, player A scores 3 points and player B scores 1 point....then player A's score goes on the Pair card. At the end of the round, the pair with the highest score wins 1st and 2nd place prizes.
Not a huge difference, it just adds a team element to the game and gets pairs helping each other through the round and with the putts. Plus gives a greater chance for people to win.
Bunkers Golf Society Members £40.00 per person
Non Bunkers Golf Society Members £43.00
Deposit of £10 by 11/08/2013
FULL PAYMENT to be paid by 25/08/2013
If you are playing this event please complete the form required by clicking the "PLAY THIS EVENT" button above.
Sunday 8th September 2013.
Tee times from 2:20pm [arrive no later than 1:30pm]
Prices include 18 holes on the Championship course followed by soup & sandwiches.
The Mere will host Bunkers "The Wide Open 2013". This is a Major event with a Trophy and title on the line for the winner. A place in the hall of fame and the holder of the the title and trophy for the next 12 months. Have you got what it takes?
The Mere is currently voted as the 15th best golf course in the UK.
Surrounded by the breathtaking Cheshire parklands the James Braid designed golf course at The Mere is undoubtedly one of the best prepared and well-conditioned golf courses in the North of England.
The 18 hole, 6,882 -yard, par-71 course was created out of 150 acres of Cheshire parkland in 1934. The surrounding mature trees, rhododendron bushes and the lakeside setting add considerable charm, and provide challenging hazards on this Manchester golf course. Water, ravines and thick vegetation have been incorporated into the layout so that care and accuracy are demanded both off the tees and on the greens.
To prepare for the challenges of The Mere's golf course, we offer players a unique, floating golf ball driving range, two-tier pitching green, putting green and bunker practice area where players can warm up before a round. Over the years, The Mere has hosted several high profile championship tournaments. We are currently the regional venue for the qualifying round of the R & A Open Championship for a six year period (2008-2013).
THE MERE GOLF FACILITIES INCLUDE :-
Unique floating golf ball driving range
Practice facilities which include chipping green, putting green and short game practice area
Golf Shop with extensive golf apparel and hardware ranges
Luxurious Club Lounge & Bar
Unique 11th Green Bar
Golf buggies and electric trolleys to hire from the Golf shop
The Mere is just 3 minutes drive away from junction 19 on the M64 and 4 minutes drive away from junction 7 on the M56. It is 30 minutes drive in total from Liverpool or Skelmersdale.
The full address for Sat Navs is:
The Mere Golf Resort & Spa, Chester Road, Mere, Knutsford, Cheshire United Kingdom WA16 6LJ - Tel: 01565 830155
Sunday 8th September 2013.
Tee times from 2:20pm [arrive no later than 1:30pm]
Prices include 18 holes on the Championship course followed by soup & sandwiches.
The Mere will host Bunkers "The Wide Open 2013". This is a Major event with a Trophy and title on the line for the winner. A place in the hall of fame and the holder of the the title and trophy for the next 12 months. Have you got what it takes?
The Mere is currently voted as the 15th best golf course in the UK.
Surrounded by the breathtaking Cheshire parklands the James Braid designed golf course at The Mere is undoubtedly one of the best prepared and well-conditioned golf courses in the North of England.
The 18 hole, 6,882 -yard, par-71 course was created out of 150 acres of Cheshire parkland in 1934. The surrounding mature trees, rhododendron bushes and the lakeside setting add considerable charm, and provide challenging hazards on this Manchester golf course. Water, ravines and thick vegetation have been incorporated into the layout so that care and accuracy are demanded both off the tees and on the greens.
To prepare for the challenges of The Mere's golf course, we offer players a unique, floating golf ball driving range, two-tier pitching green, putting green and bunker practice area where players can warm up before a round. Over the years, The Mere has hosted several high profile championship tournaments. We are currently the regional venue for the qualifying round of the R & A Open Championship for a six year period (2008-2013).
THE MERE GOLF FACILITIES INCLUDE :-
Unique floating golf ball driving range
Practice facilities which include chipping green, putting green and short game practice area
Golf Shop with extensive golf apparel and hardware ranges
Luxurious Club Lounge & Bar
Unique 11th Green Bar
Golf buggies and electric trolleys to hire from the Golf shop
The Mere is just 3 minutes drive away from junction 19 on the M64 and 4 minutes drive away from junction 7 on the M56. It is 30 minutes drive in total from Liverpool or Skelmersdale.
The full address for Sat Navs is:
The Mere Golf Resort & Spa, Chester Road, Mere, Knutsford, Cheshire United Kingdom WA16 6LJ - Tel: 01565 830155
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