Fenwick Smith Trophy - 29 July
Played over the well prepared, but testing, par 72 Newcastle United golf course, the defending champion was James Curry, one of a massive 10 entrants from Prudhoe. And didn't we do well! Here are the scores:

Danny Shevill 72 + 67 = 139
Neil Graham 71 + 73 = 144
Kevin Robson 73 = 71 = 144
Geoff Ross 71 + 73 = 144
James Curry 71 + 74 = 145
Shaun Philipson 74 + 75 = 149
Paul Armstrong 73 + 78 = 151
Michael Horan 82 + 72 = 154
Jason Brown 84 + 78 = 162

Congratulations to Danny who finished 3rd behind Chris McDonnell (138) and eventual winner, Sandy Twynholm (135). Danny will be delighted to have beaten so many top players (including Chris Paisley!) and got his handicap down to scratch too. Congratulations also to Geoff for scoring so well and to Michael and Jason for keeping going despite tough first rounds. But well done to all the lads - if it had been a team event, we would surely have won!

The CSS for the day was 72 for both rounds.

There were 66 places available in this important County competition. In the event, 15 players didn't turn up or failed to complete the tournament.

This shows no respect for:
1) Other players who have been robbed of the opportunity to play
2) Fellow competitors
3) The County Executive
4) Themselves

This has been an alarmingly growing trend and I do hope the County are going to get really tough with players and Clubs. As I said above, there were originally 10 entrants from Prudhoe but one did pull out the night before with an injury. I do hope that was genuine and it will be checked! Nevertheless, our 9 players represented nearly 20% of the players who did turn up AND complete both rounds and that is to be applauded!

On the other side of the courtesy fence, many thanks to County Cap, Steve Johnson. Knowing he wasn't in contention, Steve gave Danny as much support as he could, especially during his second round. Now that's what I call a gentleman.

Thoughts For The Months - January to August 2006
* Aug - Character is what you are. Reputation is what people think you are.
* Jul - What was the best thing before sliced bread?
* Jun - I had a reality check recently but it bounced.
* May - If you must cry over spilled milk then please try to condense it.
* Apr - It's that time of the year when Income Tax = Capital Punishment.
* Mar - Children and dogs are good judges of character
* Feb - Those who get too big for their breeches will be exposed in the end.
* Jan - It's just after Xmas but I must have money - I've still got cheques in my cheque book.

Carris Trophy - 25-27 July
The English Boys’ Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship is a real Junior Major attracting entries from all over the world. With the field limited to 132 and the cut made at 45th and ties after two rounds, this is without doubt the toughest 72 hole stroke play event for under 18's in the UK golfing calendar. Not surprisingly the scouts from National Unions and American Universities are out in force. This year, the event was held at Sherwood Forest Golf Club and the Northumberland and Durham had just two representatives, both from Prudhoe, James Curry and Danny Shevill who joined from Stocksfield earlier in the year. James and Danny started with two solid rounds of 72 and 73 respectively. Then James fired himself into second place with a fine 67, reducing his handicap to plus 3, whilst Danny shot another 73 to make the cut on the qualifying mark. The third round however produced a very different story. Danny came in with a steady 77 but James suffered a maximum 4 stroke penalty for having a caddy over the age of 18 and shot himself out of contention with an 80. The final round saw an improvement in fortunes with James shooting 72 for a four round total of 291 (33rd) and Danny a 74 for 297 (44th). Whilst James will no doubt regret the penalty shots which cost him at least a top 20 place, both players did well to make the cut and bring the North East and their Club to the attention of the top players and selectors.

Hadrian League - Last Match
July 26 - So another Hadrian League season over already and how those 13 matches seem to have flown by! Our last match was at home to Newbiggin and ended in a slightly disappointing 6-6 draw as it let Bedlington pip us to 4th place by just a single point. Good wins for David and Club Player of The Year, Geoff, who both get the Guinness tokens, plus new boy Darren. My congratulations and thanks to the established and the new players for their commitment and sportsmanship during the season. We might not have won the League but your efforts ensured we finished top of the teams who compete in both Leagues once again.

July 17 - On the face of it, a potentially good result on the cards away to Matfen but it wasn't to be. We've struggled there in the past and so it was again as we went down to a disappointing 8-4 defeat. Danny, at dormy 2 up, looked home and dry on 17 having hit a great tee shot to 10 feet and Brandon Bailey missing the green. But Brandon chipped in for a two and then birdied the last for a halved match. On the reverse side, Darren was dormy 2 down but won the closing holes for a gritty half. David hit some good form and was level par when beaten by an opponent who played the best golf of his life with 7 birdies and an eagle to finish the match early. Consistent Geoff Ross won again and also secure our Player Of The Year title having won 9 out of the 10 games he's played. Well done Geoff and thanks from all of us for helping to keep us up there in the League.

July 10 - Now it was the turn of top team Hexham to visit Prudhoe. Our 7-5 loss was not a bad result but not up to the standard of the results we have been obtaining against the top teams. Good wins from Ian and Geoff, who gets the Guinness token and consolidates his lead in the Player Of The Year stakes as Danny is away in the Junior Big 6. Also, an excellent half from Graham helped by a magnificent ace at our 357 yard 8th. Big results needed away to Matfen next week and at home to Newbiggin in the final match of the season.

July 4 - So what could we do against top of the table Bellingham? A 10-2 victory, that's what! Great wins from Danny, Geoff, Ian, Graham (non-alcoholic Guinness token) and Darren. David had a tough match against newly crowned County Champion, George Cowan. Hopefully, this win gets us into 4th spot but it depends on other results not seen in the Journal this week. Home to high flyers Hexham next week with a warm up against Parklands in the Davison Cup on Monday.

June 26 - A potentially tricky match at home to Bedlington who finished 2nd last year. However, thanks to a good starting win from David Gilroy over last year's County Champion, Paul Fiddes, we achieved a very satisfying 8-4 win. Danny, Ben and Graham had good wins too and it was Graham's second victory over a Vice Captain this season! Ben got the Guinness token. That puts us in 5th place, just two points behind Bedlington and next week we're home again to 3rd placed Bellingham

June 21 - A tricky visit to Wallsend with a very depleted squad still produced another solid 6-6 result - our 5th draw on the trot. Congratulations to Darren Hardy and Ben Lloyd on their debut wins for the team and to 'Ando' for winning the Guinness token. Due to County Match Play week, our next match is at home to Bedlington on Monday. They snatched second place from us last year so we owe them one!

June 19 - Our long awaited match with Slaley following last year's victory. Even though we were short of some regular players, we still managed a very satisfying 6-6 draw. Not many teams can say they are unbeaten by Slaley for 3 years! A great win for Graham Younger in his second League match over experienced campaigner, Harry Ashby. Dave Lloyd repeated last year's victory over Jon Lee and 'Ando' nearly did the same to David Peel. 'Shev' showed his match play skill with a last hole win over in form Ricky Lee.

June 13 - Tyneside brought along their best team and secured a 6-6 draw which was a bit disappointing since we were leading in 5 matches at the turn and really should have the advantage on the back 9. Nevertheless, good wins from David Gilroy, Geoff Ross and Paul Armstrong who was playing his first Hadrian match for some 10 years. Congratulations to Graham Younger in his first match at this level. Unfortunately, he couldn't open his account with a win but opponent was 4 under par and finished the match off with an eagle two at the 16th! Next Monday, we entertain Slaley Hall again and how keen will they be to reverse last year's result!!

June 6 - A tough away match to Stocksfield for the second year running. As expected, both Chris McDonnell and Chris Paisley played. We wanted to overturn last year's defeat, which cost us second place in the League, and we fought hard for a 6-6 draw with great wins from Geoff Ross, John Anderson and Ian Strachan. David Gilroy (vs McDonnell), Danny Shevill (vs Paisley) and Denny Ward (vs Musgrove) tried their best against very strong opposition but were narrowly beaten. A much better atmosphere than last year and a much better result too.

May 23 - A cold wet and windy 6 - 6 draw with wins from Danny Shevill (back from holiday), Geoff Ross (still unbeaten) and Denny Ward who holed in one at the 227 yard 5th with a four iron. That's his third ace and he's got my share - I've been waiting 40 years for one. John Anderson and David Gilroy were unfortunate to be mugged on the 18th or we could have had a few more points. Looks like we'll be in 4th place in the League after tonight's' games which we hope go in our favour.

May 17 - An excellent 8 - 4 victory away at Ponteland in cold wet conditions - again! Great wins from David Gilroy, Geoff Ross (still unbeaten), Neil Grange and John Anderson who being Irish will welcome the Guinness token! Off to Westerhope next week. Another tough away game but our run in includes 4 home matches out of the last 5 games. A good points haul going in to those games will give us a realistic chance of winning the League for the first time in 25 years.

May 9 - Back to winning ways with a good 8 - 4 win over a strong Parklands side that finished 5th in the League last year. Good wins for David, Geoff, Danny and Ian all helped by great support from caddies and fans. We're off to Ponteland for a tough match Wed 17 so let's keep in the winning mood!

May 3 - The Team kicked off the new League season with a tricky match at Newcastle United where we lost 8 - 4. Good wins from Geoff Ross despite a bad back and Danny Shevill in his first match for us. Again not a disaster and we have a good opportunity to get the season back on track with a home match against Parklands. I was looking at the fixture list recently and noticed that four out of the last five League matches are at home so we need to be in a good position going into those matches.

Veteran's Invitation Day - July 18
My thanks to the Vets for their kind invitation to myself and three other Committee members to play in their Invitation Day. This has become somewhat of a tradition and is much appreciated. Although we don't compete for the main prizes, the Vets do put up a prize for our four ball which was won by our illustrious Chairman with 38 points with your sun stroked Captain a distant second. Our other two players were the Vice Captain and Cath Jenkins, who kindly stepped in at short notice to replace the injured Ian Pauw. An interesting point was that everyone thought I didn't look too healthy after the 14th, which I'd just double bogeyed, but I then parred the last four holes! It was very hot on the day and our best wishes go to George Russell who needed medical attention and we all hope you're fine now.

County Teams Championship - 1st Division - Blyth - 15 July
Because of the recent hot and dry weather, Blyth was playing very tricky with hard fairways and approaches but soft greens. So scoring contained slightly more than the usual element of luck as shown, maybe, by Chris McDonnell's two rounds of 65 and 76. Our team of James, Shaun and Kevin performed extremely well with scores of 69 + 69, 74 + 70 and 78 + 79 respectively to finish third, just 5 shots behind Morpeth and 2 shots behind the host club. Congratulations to James on winning the individual title in such a strong field.

On the matter of etiquette, a two ball playing behind three balls in hot dry conditions isn't the best recipe for good scoring. I trust Shaun and Kevin weren't too affected by the Bedlington players in their groups walking off in the second round. The Alnmouth players in those two groups shot 82 and 83 and narrowly avoided relegation. Furthermore, highly fancied Hexham and Bellingham were left as two balls the entire day because Newbiggin, as stated on the Northumberland County web site, "....disgraced themselves by failing to put a team forward at all." Hexham finished in the pack and Bellingham were relegated!

P.S. I'm lead to believe since writing the above that Hexham and Bellingham somehow organised themselves into 3 balls.

Hot Currys - July 15
Former Amateur Champion David Curry's two sons have been following in Dad's footsteps over the weekend. Older brother James (19), now close to a plus 3 handicap, was in fine form at Blyth shooting two rounds of three under par 69, in tricky conditions to win the individual title in the County Clubs 1st Division Championships. This helped put the Prudhoe team, which included Shaun Philipson and Kevin Robson, in third place behind Morpeth and the home club.

Meanwhile, at Prudhoe, younger brother Liam, put together two great rounds in the Junior Club Championship. He shot rounds of gross 77 and 76 to finish just one shot behind eventual winner, 7 handicapper Andy Scrimshaw. Ben Lloyd, playing off 5 tied with Liam on 153 whilst hot favourite, Graham Younger off 3 faded back into the pack having held the joint lead after the first round.

What was remarkable about Liam's rounds was that, apart from the fact he is still only 11 years old, he was playing off 19 handicap and his winning net score off 115 was 23 under par!

It seems that David's legacy is in very safe hands and he could easily have right handed and left handed sons playing together in County golf, or better, in the not too distant future. "A great day for both lads although Liam was a bit annoyed he hadn't won and James was hoping to reach plus 3. I'm very proud of them both," said David

Captain’s Day – A Big Thank You!

No matter how carefully I planned, without the help of many people, Captain’s Day just wouldn’t be a success.

And judging by the many kind compliments I received, it certainly was!

So, for making the day very special for the members & guests, my sincere thanks to the following:

The Committee for their support before & during the day
Gordon & Ian for their considerable efforts as usual
The Past Captains for their wise advice & their time on the day
George Gainford & his team for our wonderful course
Jim Mulholland & his team for excellent food and service
John Crawford for his service & generous donations
David Coonie & Louise of Happy Days Catering – great job
Danny & his girl friend for looking after the 15th late in the day
Christine, our boys & Lorraine Holmes who worked tirelessly
The members & guests who donated so generously
And, of course, the “Main Man” for the good weather

But surely the biggest thanks must go to the 230 members & guests who supported Captain’s Day (or should that be Members’ Day?) for:

Their large & enthusiastic entry for the golf
Generously supporting the Great North Air Ambulance events below
Enjoying 231 burgers/hotdogs/baguettes & 180 beers…
…plus 65 bags of crisps, 43 choc bars & 65 soft drinks!
Packing the clubhouse in the evening ( apart from the missing prize winners!)

I’m also very pleased to tell you that the Tombola, The Par 3 Challenge on the 15th & the Chipping/Putting Challenges raised £500 for the Air Ambulance. What a result!

Close to 180 players entered the Par 3 Challenge and raising £220. Many thanks to those who re-donated their £3 back to the Charity.

And so, a really big thank you to everyone for everything!

CAPTAIN'S DAY - 8 July - The Results
...or as I prefer to call it, Members' Day! Did I have a good time? Well, I can only judge that by the feedback during and after and, on that basis, it was a 100% success. When so many members make the effort to tell me how much they enjoyed the day then I can only assume that the vast majority did.

A massive turnout of 235 members and guests played in the competition and enjoyed the new and traditional golfing challenges, the excellent food and drinks at the 9th, the Tombola, the discounted beer in the clubhouse, the highly entertaining Alan Snell and the presentation of prizes. The clubhouse was packed in the evening although, sadly, some of the prizewinners were very notable by their absence.

My adopted Charity for the year, the Great North Air Ambulance, will also be delighted as £252 was raised by the Tombola, £220 by the Par 3 Challenge on the 15th - regardless of concerns by some that I would lose money - and £29 on the Chipping and Putting Challenges.

The Prize Winners

Best Net
Paul Wilkin - 43 points
Paul Waggott - 40 points
Paul Butler - 40 points

Best Gross
Neil Graham - 36 points
Kevin Robson - 35 points

Juniors
Best Net - Graham Younger - 43 points
Best Net Over 24 Handicap - Alan Scrimshaw - 29 points from Laura Wilson (on back 6)

Past Captain
Alan Brown - 36 points

Veterans
Norman Gray - 34 points

Captain's Ladies Prize
Margaret Kennington

Longest Drive
9th Hole - 0-9 handicaps - Anthony Jackson
4th Hole - 10-18 handicaps - Craig Cheeseman
10th Hole - 19-28 handicaps - David Steele

Nearest The Pin
7th Hole - 7' 3" - Peter Gilmore
11th Hole - 2' - Keith Clifton

Chipping Challenge
Sean Fenwick

Putting Challenge
David Lloyd - the only winner

Guests
1st Net - Peter Lawson - Tyneside Captain
2nd Net - Paul Atkinson - Finance Director, Great North Air Ambulance
Best Lady - Kathleen Noble-Newton - Immediate Past Lady Captain, Prudhoe
2nd Last - Ken Kidman - Stocksfield Captain

Davison Cup - 10 July
An away match at Parklands was always going to be tough and so it proved as we went down 4-1 and missed out on a semi final match. Danny lost to former County player, Graham Hewitt in the top match and David Gilroy was still not on his best game against club champion for the last 3 years, Andy Carr. Geoff Ross was all square after 18 but eventually lost at the 20th whilst Neil Grange narrowly lost too. Ian Strachan secured the only win bravely holing from 10 feet on the last for a 1 up victory. At one point we were up in four matches and looking good but local knowledge played a significant part on the back 9. Danny might have done better but had his clubs set up earlier in the day and, unfortunately, all his wedges had been incorrectly set. Hopefully, these will be put right in time for his debut in the Junior Big 6 at Wynyard the following day. He will be joined by James there.

9 June - The Davison Cup is a Hadrian League 5 man team knock out competition involving all clubs from the Hadrian and North Northumberland Leagues. We had a tough opening draw away to Newcastle United - the day after we beat them 10-2 in the District League and no doubt looking for revenge! Nevertheless we managed a great 3-2 victory with wins from Danny Shevill, Denny Ward and Ian Strachan. Danny's win against County Cap, Ross Crowe who played number 1 against Shaun the previous night, was particularly noteworthy. Our next round opponents will not be known until the draw is made. We made the final once a few years ago. Let's hope we can go one step better this year.

Captain's Day - 8 July - Advance Notice of What's On
I'm looking forward nervously to this Saturday which I plan to be a great day for the members and my 28 guests. Amongst the latter are former County Captain, Peter Davey and former County Champion, David George. Also attending are Paul Atkinson, finance chief of my adopted charity, Great North East Air Ambulance, and the Captains of Tyneside, Stocksfield and Westerhope.

So what's happening on the day? Here's the programme:

Golf – Singles Stableford (7am – 3.30pm)
Net & Gross Prizes (3 net & 2 gross) Junior Prizes (Best net overall & over 24 handicap)
Longest Drive (For handicaps 0-9, 10-18 & 19-28)
Nearest the Pin (7th and 11th)
….and many other prizes for juniors, past Captains, veterans and the guests

Putting & Chipping Challenges (8am – 5.30pm)
Test your skill and win prizes

Par 3 Challenge at the 15th (10am – 7.30pm)
Stay on the green with your tee shot & double your money. Take some cash with you!
Proceeds to North East Air Ambulance

Tombola (9am until when the prizes go!)
Loadsa prizes. Proceeds to North East Air Ambulance

Entertainment - First session (8.30pm)
Top North East Entertainer – Alan Snell

Presentation (9.30pm)
Come and get your prizes

Entertainment - Second Session (10.00pm)
More fun from Alan Snell

There will of course be an excellent 'half way house', located behind the 18th green for players coming off the 9th and needing to replenish their resources in the good weather - which is guaranteed of course!

I will do a report after the event.

Have a great day!!

Club Championship - 2 July
On one of the hottest days of the year, 55 competitors turned out to play 36 holes turning the event into a test of endurance and fitness, as well as golf!

After the first round, the leaders were former winner Neil Graham (67), multiple winner Shaun Philipson (68), James Curry (69) and Denny Ward (69).

Denny took the early clubhouse lead with a fine 72 for 141 but then Neil came in with a great 68 to set a really tough 4 under par target of 135.

Shaun playing in the last group with James and defending champion, Kevin Robson, faded to a 73 for 141 and joint second in the clubhouse with Denny.

But James, with a round that included 8 birdies, came in with a superb 63 for a 6 under par 132 to take the title and the claret jug for the first time.

Neil had the consolation of taking the Index Trophy for the best net total of 133 narrowly beating John 'Ando' Anderson who shot 70 and 64 for 134. Denny Ward, with 66 and 69 for 135 was a close third.

Congratulations to our new club champion James and to all the competitors, bar two, for battling through the near 90 degree sunshine. And there were hardly any no returns either!

Finally, thanks to Gordon Garratt for, once again, looking after the day virtually single handed and to the greens and clubhouse staff for their valuable contribution.