OSGS
Old Stationers' Golf Society

2011 Season

As we approach July the Society has had three meetings in April, May and June and are preparing for the match against the Stationer’s Companys’ Freemens Association on 29th June at Charles Cruden’s club – Bush Hil Park G.C.  

The initial meeting in April was the first of three rounds to decide the OS Shield. It was held at South Herts. GC – a fine club and an excellent course. Harold Perry is a long time member there and was Captain for the day.  The results illustrated that the course was pretty tough. The winner on the day was Dave Sheath with Don Bucknall runner up. These were very creditable results as Don plays off 9 and Dave 11.  

The full results were:
Dave Sheath	33 points	Charles Cruden	25 points
Don Bucknall	32	Alan Hudson	23
Peter Bonner	31	Bruce Kitchener	23
Colin Walker	30	Roger Rufey	22
Tim Westbrook	29	John Taylor	19
Tony Taylor	29	Peter Clydesdale	19
Roger Engledow	27	Harold Perry	15

Two associates and two guests also played. Despite a poor overall result Harold won the near the pin, whilst Dave Sheath won the longest drive.   The second round of the Shield championship will take place at Dyrham Park GC on 27th July.   In May we were challenged to a match by the Old Tollingtonians GS. This is the first time we have played them and the match was held at Hatfield London Country Club (Essendon). We paid a premium to play on the ‘new’ course – traditionally reserved for (Japanese) members. It is a superior course and was remarked upon as such by all the players.   The scoring for the match was ‘cross country style’ i.e. the scores of the top six players only counted. In the event our turnout was poor with only 9 players to OTGS’s 10.   Old Stationers lost by a whisker, their top six scoring an average of just over 33 points, whilst OTGS scored an average of just over 34 points.   In early June the Pairs Trophy was competed for at Letchworth GC – a new course for the OSGS. It turned out to be a very good test of golf. The winners of the Pairs Trophy were Alan Hudson and Roger Rufey, who scraped home by a single point from a pursuing pack.   After the next shield event we have agreed to play Hoddesdon Cricket Club. Their organiser for golf is Colin Munday – an Old Stationer. This will take place on Wednesday 10th August at Brickendon Grange GC – where Roy Saunders is a member. Please note the change of date for this – not now 11th August as previously provisionally advised.   In passing it is to be noted that most of the good courses have raised prices well above inflation levels this year. We book in January, and pay a deposit, but it is noticeable that by mid- year several courses make special offers at reduced prices. It may well be that for 2012 we reserve dates but leave the booking of course until later in the year to obtain better prices.  

Peter Bonner
Secretary to OSGS

 

General

The OSGS has both Full Members - i.e. past pupils, and Associate Members - i.e. those who are friends or colleagues of a member. Both have equal playing rights but Associate Members cannot win the competition for the OS Shield, nor the Pairs Event. They can, however, be a Member in the OSGS team in the two matches scheduled. Click the Registration Form button below to print out a form to complete & post to me with your cheque.

Several Members have indicated that they cannot continue, mainly for medical reasons, and thus we would be particularly interested in additional Associate Members, in order to see that our numbers for each meeting or match are respectable.

Typical costs for a day's play are between £35 & £45 - which includes coffee, bacon roll, a two course late lunch and coffee - as well as 18 holes of golf!

The away visit in August has proved enjoyable, & is thus included again. Wives/partners are invited to play at this event. The cost is £79 for two rounds with the charges for dinner, bed and breakfast at a four star hotel being very reasonable too.

There are several 'new' courses included this year & there are two matches - one of which is against the Stationers Company.

Annual Fee

This has been increased to £15, in light of reduced membership and increased events. It is used, almost exclusively, to fund prizes - since almost all of our membership is on email & this admin expense is pretty low.

Handicaps

Following discussions, it has been decided that the winners of any event/trophy will have one point deducted from their handicap. Thus, when completing the Registration Form, please indicate your Club/other handicap and the reduced one if possible.

 

2010 END OF SEASON REPORT

FIXTURES

 

 On 24^th November we completed our last fixture of the season with a match against Old Owens at Mill Green Golf Club. It turned out to be a glorious winters’ day, albeit cold. The trophy, which had been won by Old Owens for the last two years, was captured by Stationers who recorded an average of 30.3 points, compared with 27.8 by Old Owens. Notable rounds were Colin Walker (38 points), who won the individual prize - and Roger Engledow (35) third.

The Society currently has some twenty three members and the annual subscription, which pays for the trophies and prizes, is a modest £15. We lost a few members this year – Mike Saunders, Charles Cregor and Chris Wilkins, but have had three associate members join , including  Peter Clydesdale’s son.

In total we played seven fixtures this year and in addition had a very pleasant away trip to Ufford Park in Suffolk.

Several new courses were tried. Mid Herts was the first, but was not voted as a good course, with poor greens. Manor of Groves was felt too tricky by some, but is not long. Both these two were trophy events, and after this Tony Taylor was the leading contender.

We played for the Pairs Trophy at North Middex. GC in June, followed by a match against the Freemans Associations at Croham Hurst GC in Kent.  The M25 was problematic that day and several members had to travel across London to get there. Don Bucknall sadly neglected to take account of the congestion charge and finished up with a £60 fine! However, we won by a very close margin despite a gale and rain for the first nine holes. The OS team all scored over 30 points – a remarkable performance.

In August the away trip (two days) was a great success with seventeen participants, including seven wives – two of whom played. Tony Taylor won over the two rounds. The cost (excluding prize find) for two rounds, dinner, bed and breakfast (sharing) was a remarkable £89.

September saw the last of the trophy events at Mill Hill GC. Titanium Tony failed to challenge for the ‘toilet seat trophy’ and was beaten by Tim Westbrook with a spectacular 37 points on a difficult and wet course. Congratulations go to Tim.

In October we had our now annual team event at Brookmans Park GC. It is a long course and if it is wet the ‘seniors’ amongst us find it a tough challenge. We had a record entry of fifteen teams of three, which included six Brookmans Park members’ teams. In the event local knowledge prevailed and a BP team won. However, their combined score was only 79 (best two scores out of three per hole) and the pack were very close behind.

The programme for next year – 2011 – will be prepared in January. Already we have had a few suggestions for courses, some new, others old favourites.

So don’t eat too much, practise your swing - and get ready for April 2011!

Peter Bonner
Secretary to OSGS

You'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open some of our files. You can download it free by clicking the icon - just make sure you select your correct 'Operating System' before downloading.