Handicap Secretary Report 2019
My fifth year of having the privilege of looking after handicaps. We had 34 different people (33 in 2018, 38 in 2017 & 39 in 2016) join us this year on our monthly meets – a good number but we can always do with a few more.
The highest scoring event during the year was not Seaford Head for change but was Cooden Beach in May where the average stableford score was a very strong 35.22 (2018: Seaford 35.48: 2017: Seaford 37.60; 2016: Seaford 36.94; 2015: Seaford 37.18). The lowest scoring event was at Hever Castle with an average score of 28.73 (2018: Nevill 26.55; 2017: Hever Castle 23.32; 2016: Lamberhurst 28.79; 2015: Piltdown 26.19). The overall average stableford points score for the season was 32.01 (2018: 31.15; 2017: 30.51; 2016: 30.02; 2015: 31.17).
It was again pleasing to see that the silverware for the year was distributed evenly across the membership, this again probably suggest the handicap system is about right.
Three cancelled events in the year Copthorne in March, Dale Hill in November and Dewlands in December which the highest number of cancellations for 5 years.
The highest points score this year was John Collingwood with a massive 46 points down at Cooden Beach GC. The best gross score was by Alan Bigley with a 3 over par 73 at Royal Eastbourne. We also saw two rare eagles during the year the first was achieved by Andy Williams at East Brighton and the second by Tim Gorringe at Seaford Head. Well done gents.
Also worthy of note was the speed of the rounds this year which were generally conducted at a good pace. Indeed, when Kelvin returned to the clubhouse after just 3hr and 40 mins, the rest of the membership thought he must have only played 9 holes when he fact he had played 18!!
A big thank you to Hon Sec David, Captain Kelvin, deputy James and Jerry for helping and supporting me throughout the year with the cards etc. Worthy of mention again is our excellent website orchestrated by Mr. Watkiss which keeps members abreast of events and gives advance notice of tee times and publishes the very latest results.
MGS SILVERWARE WINNERS 2019
| Trophy | Winner(s) |
| Golfer of the Year | Andrew Burnett |
| Society Strokeplay Championship | Tim Gorringe |
| Society Stableford Competition | Andy Bishop |
| Captain’s Day Trophy | Tim Gorringe |
| Anniversary Trophy | John Collingwood |
| Autumn Cup | Not Contested |
| Spring Cup | Alan Bigley |
| Mad March Jugs | Alan Bond & Ken Wapling |
| GBH Trophy | Kevin Hawkins & Andrew Burnett |
| Last Chance Trophy | Event Cancelled |
INDIVIDUAL MONTHLY WINNERS 2019
| Month | Course | Individual Winner | Score | Runner Up | Score |
| Jan-19 | Royal Eastbourne | Alan Bigley | 40 | Alan Bond | 39 |
| Feb-19 | East Brighton | Micky Mann | 38 | Andy Williams | 38 |
| Mar-19 | Copthorne | Cancelled | |||
| Apr-19 | Mad March Jugs - The Dyke | Andy Williams* | 39 | Fred Ablitt* | 38 |
| May-19 | Anniversary Cup - Cooden | John Collingwood | 46 | Andrew Burnett | 40 |
| Jun-19 | Stableford Shield -Hever Castle | Andy Bishop | 40 | Chris Buck | 31 |
| Jun-19 | Strokeplay Cup – Hever Castle | Tim Gorringe | -3 (87) | Andrew Burnett | -2 (88) |
| Jul-19 | Nizels | John Collingwood | 98 | Tom Bennett | 36 |
| Aug-19 | Captains Day Seaford | Tim Gorringe | 41 | Ash Head (guest) | 39 |
| Sep-19 | Lamberhurst | Chris Buck | 38 | Andrew Burnett | 38 |
| Oct-19 | GBH Trophy Mannings Heath | Kevin Hawkins | 39 | Alan Bigley | 39 |
| Nov-19 | Dale Hill | Cancelled | |||
| Dec- 19 | Last Chance Trophy – Dewlands Manor | Cancelled |
At our monthly meets we had 8 different winners from the 10 competitions played – The two players winning on two occasions were John Collingwood & Tim Gorringe.
TEAM WINNERS 2019
| Month | Course | Team Winners | Score | Team Runners Up | Score |
| Jan-19 | Royal Eastbourne ++ | Micky Mann, Alan Bond & Tony Batchelder | 87 | Alan Bigley, John Collingwood & Kelvin Paterson | 84 |
| Feb-19 | East Brighton++ | Tony Batchelder, Andy Williams, Alan Bigley & John Collingwood | 80 | James Galifant, Mark Hughes & David Howroyd | 79 |
| Mar-19 | Copthorne | Cancelled | |||
| Apr-19 | The Dyke+ | Ken Wapling & Alan Bond | 108 | Andy Williams & Derek Coppard | 106 |
| May-19 | Cooden++ | Mark Hughes, John Collingwood & Andrew Burnett | 95 | Kevin Hawkins, Jerry Watkiss & Dereck Coppard | 85 |
| Jun-19 | Hever Castle +++ | Kevin Leftley, Andrew Burnett, Alan Bigley & Dereck Coppard | 79 | Pat Layen, Tim Gorringe, Micky Mann & Jerry Watkiss | 77 |
| Jul-19 | Nizels++ | Kelvin Paterson, John Collingwood & Alan Bigley | 82 | Graham Meadows, Mark Hughes & David Howroyd | 79 |
| Aug-19 | Seaford++++ | Andy Tippett, Tim Gorringe & Ash Head | +1 | Kelvin Paterson, James Galifant & Kevin Leftley | +1 |
| Seaford++ | Andy Tippett, Tim Gorringe & Ash Head | 85 | David Howroyd, Mark Hughes & Graham Meadows | 85 | |
| Sep-19 | Lamberhurst++ | Andrew Burnett, Tom Bennett & Kevin Leftley | 87 | Chris Buck, James Galifant & Ken Wapling | 76 |
| Oct-19 | Mannings Heath+ | Andrew Burnett & Kevin Hawkins | 52 | John Collingwood & Frank Goulding | 49 |
| Nov-19 | Dale Hill | Cancelled | |||
| Dec -19 | Dewlands++++ | Cancelled |
NB: + Pairs Comp ++ Best 2 from teams of 3 +++ Best 3 from teams of 4 ++++ Texas Scramble teams of 3
The big team player was Andrew Burnett being on a winning team on four occasions closely followed by John Collingwood who was on the winning team on three occasions. An excellent mix of winners this year with 17 different players being part of a winning team. Always good fun.
SOCIETY TOURS 2019
SPRING TOUR WINNERS 2019
We revisited Northern France for the annual MGS spring tour 2019 from Sun 28 April 19 – Tues 30 April 19. Three top quality courses were lined up with our base being at Hotel Spa Hermitage à Montreuil sur Mer which was built in the 19th century allowing us to enjoy the bard and restaurants in 9th-century Citadelle de Montreuil-sur-Mer A 7 min walk there and a 25 minute walk back after a few jars of ale!! The scores on the doors were:-
Day 1: Golf: Les Pines (Golf D’Hardelot)
| Position | Player | Points |
| 1st | Tom Bennett | 38 |
| 2nd | Micky Mann | 36 |
| 3rd | Mark Hughes | 35 |
| Longest Drive | Alan Bigley | |
| Nearest the Pin | Alan Bond | |
| Av S/B Pts | 30.21 |
Tom celebrated his victory by forgetting to use his range finder (first time for everything) and banging his head on his bathroom door, claret everywhere and a nice plaster placed in the middle of his forehead for the remainder of the tour.
Day 2: Golf De Belle Dune
| Position | Player | Points |
| 1st | James Gallifant | 33 |
| 2nd | Jerry Watkiss | 32 (18 B9CB) |
| 3rd | Kelvin Paterson | 32 (15 B9CB) |
| 4th | Andy Tippett | 32 (14 B9CB) |
| Longest Drive | Micky Mann | |
| Nearest the Pin | Barry Browning | |
| Av S/B Pts | 27.57 |
Day 3: Golf de Wimereux
| Position | Player | Points |
| 1st | Andy Tippett | 40 |
| 2nd | Alan Bigley | 37 |
| 3rd | Peter Cudmore | 36 (21 B9CB) |
| 4th | Mark Hughes | 36 (19 B9CB) |
| Nearest the Pin in Two | Alan Bigley | |
| Nearest the Pin | Mark Hughes | |
| Av S/B Pts | 34.35 |
Overall Spring Tour Winner
Congratulations go out to Mr Alan Bigley shooting just 3 over par on his final round to win the Spring Tour and trophy by two shots despite a late charge by Tips who almost came from zero to hero when required – the alcohol kicking in as the tour progressed.
A big thank you goes to Mr Andy Tippett for organising the tour and doing a first-class job. Thanks also to Mr Alan Bigley for arranging the restaurants etc. A big thanks also goes to all the drivers who each did a fantastic job.
A special prize went to Barry Browning for the most lost balls over the 3 days – a total of 11 from the overall 52 balls lost (average of 3.71 balls lost per player – just over 1 each per day!)
| Player | Points | |
| 1st | Alan Bigley | 100 |
| 2nd | Andy Tippett | 98 |
| =3rd | Micky Mann | 95 |
| =3rd | Fred Ablitt | 95 |
| =5th | Kelvin Paterson | 94 |
| =5th | Jerry Watkiss | 94 |
| =7th | Alan Bond | 92 |
| =7th | Mark Hughes | 92 |
| =9th | Tom Bennett | 91 |
| =9th | Peter Cudmore | 91 |
| 11th | Barry Browning | 89 |
| 12th | James Gallifant | 85 |
| 13th | David Howroyd | 84 |
| 14th | Chris Buck | 80 |
AUTUMN TOUR WINNERS 2019
For the third year in succession it was agreed not to run an official MGS Autumn Tour in 2019.
Including the tour matches in 2019 we had 11 different winners during the year from 13 rounds of golf.
MGS 2019 APPERANCES
(EXCLUDING DEWLANDS)
| Player | Monthly | Spring Tour | Total |
| MANN. Michael | 9 | 3 | 12 |
| BIGLEY, Alan | 8 | 3 | 11 |
| GALLIFANT, James | 7 | 3 | 10 |
| HOWROYD, David | 7 | 3 | 10 |
| PATERSON, Kelvin | 7 | 3 | 10 |
| COLLINGWOOD, John | 9 | 9 | |
| HUGHES, Mark | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| WATKISS, Jerry | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| BUCK, Chris | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| BOND, Alan | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| TIPPETT, Andy | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| BENNETT, Tom | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| BURNETT, Andrew | 6 | 6 | |
| LEFTLEY, Kevin | 6 | 6 | |
| ABLITT, Fred | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| WILLIAMS, Andy | 5 | 5 | |
| WAPLING, Ken | 5 | 5 | |
| BATCHELDER, Tony | 4 | 4 | |
| GORRINGE, Tim | 4 | 4 | |
| COPPARD, Dereck | 4 | 4 | |
| HAWKINS, Kevin | 4 | 4 | |
| VALENTINE, Carl | 4 | 4 | |
| GOULDING, Frank | 3 | 3 | |
| LAYEN, Pat | 3 | 3 | |
| CUDMORE, Peter | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| BROWNING, Barry | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| HILLMAN, Paul | 2 | 2 | |
| MEADOWS, Graham | 2 | 2 | |
| WILLIAMS, Sally (guest) | 2 | 2 | |
| STAPLEHURST, Malc | 2 | 2 | |
| DAY, Brian | 2 | 2 | |
| HOOLAHAN, Sandy | 2 | 2 | |
| BISHOP, Andy | 1 | 1 | |
| HEAD, Ash (guest) | 1 | 1 | |
| COLE, Tim (guest) | 1 | 1 | |
| CHRISTIAN, Des (guest) | 1 | 1 |
Overall attendance has been very good with the average monthly meeting attendance being 16.2. The highest was 22 at Hever Castle in June with the lowest being a hardcore 10 at East Brighton in February (although it was warm winters day)!!
MGS PLAYER OF THE YEAR 2019
(BEST FOUR ROUNDS)
| Player | Appearances | Best 4 Rounds | Total | Made up of |
| BURNETT, Andrew | 6 | 38.75 | 155 | (40,39,38,38) |
| COLLINGWOOD, John | 9 | 37.75 | 151 | (46,38,34,33) |
| BIGLEY, Alan | 8 | 37.75 | 151 | (40,39,36,36) |
| BATCHELDER, Tony | 4 | 36.50 | 146 | (39,36,36,35) |
| BOND, Alan | 5 | 35.75 | 143 | (39,36,35,33) |
| MANN. Michael | 9 | 35.00 | 140 | (38,36,33,33) |
| WAPLING, Ken | 5 | 35.00 | 140 | (37,36,36,31) |
| WILLIAMS, Andy | 5 | 35.00 | 140 | (39,38,32,31) |
| GORRINGE, Tim | 4 | 35.00 | 140 | (41,39,33,27) |
| HOWROYD, David | 7 | 34.50 | 138 | (37,34,34,33) |
| PATERSON, Kelvin | 7 | 34.50 | 138 | (36,34,34,34) |
| LEFTLEY, Kevin | 6 | 34.50 | 138 | (37,36,33,32) |
| HUGHES, Mark | 6 | 34.25 | 137 | (38,35,34,30) |
| GALLIFANT, James | 7 | 34.00 | 136 | (37,35,33,31) |
| COPPARD, Dereck | 4 | 34.00 | 136 | (39,38,34,25) |
| HAWKINS, Kevin | 4 | 33.50 | 134 | (39,37,30,28) |
| BUCK, Chris | 6 | 33.00 | 132 | (38,32,31,31) |
| WATKISS, Jerry | 6 | 33.00 | 132 | (37,35,32,28) |
| BENNETT, Tom | 4 | 32.25 | 129 | (36,35,31,27) |
| VALENTINE, Carl | 4 | 31.25 | 125 | (39,32,28,26) |
| TIPPETT, Andy | 5 | 29.50 | 118 | (31,31,29,27) |
Congratulations to a very deserving Andrew Burnett who edged out John Collingwood and Alan Bigley this year. Consistency being the name of the game with him being in the mix week after week posting four very good rounds of golf.
MGS OVERALL AVERAGES
(TOTAL SCORES DIVIDED BY TOTAL APPEARANCES) – EXCLUDES DEWLANDS AS 9 HOLES
| Player | App | Average |
| BISHOP, Andy | 1 | 40.00 |
| HEAD, Ash (guest) | 1 | 39.00 |
| BURNETT, Andrew | 6 | 36.50 |
| BATCHELDER, Tony | 4 | 36.50 |
| GORRINGE, Tim | 4 | 35.00 |
| WILLIAMS, Andy | 5 | 34.00 |
| COPPARD, Dereck | 4 | 34.00 |
| WAPLING, Ken | 5 | 33.80 |
| BOND, Alan | 5 | 33.60 |
| HAWKINS, Kevin | 4 | 33.50 |
| BIGLEY, Alan | 8 | 33.13 |
| HILLMAN, Paul | 2 | 33.00 |
| MEADOWS, Graham | 2 | 32.50 |
| BENNETT, Tom | 4 | 32.25 |
| LEFTLEY, Kevin | 6 | 32.17 |
| MANN. Michael | 9 | 31.78 |
| GOULDING, Frank | 3 | 31.67 |
| COLLINGWOOD, John | 9 | 31.56 |
| HUGHES, Mark | 6 | 31.33 |
| ABLITT, Fred | 3 | 31.33 |
| VALENTINE, Carl | 4 | 31.25 |
| WILLIAMS, Sally (guest) | 2 | 31.00 |
| COLE, Tim (guest) | 1 | 31.00 |
| GALLIFANT, James | 7 | 30.71 |
| WATKISS, Jerry | 6 | 30.67 |
| HOWROYD, David | 7 | 30.43 |
| PATERSON, Kelvin | 7 | 30.29 |
| BUCK, Chris | 6 | 29.83 |
| TIPPETT, Andy | 5 | 29.00 |
| LAYEN, Pat | 3 | 29.00 |
| STAPLEHURST, Malc | 2 | 27.50 |
| DAY, Brian | 2 | 27.00 |
| HOOLAHAN, Sandy | 2 | 22.50 |
| CHRISTIAN, Des (guest) | 1 | 19.00 |
Congratulations to Andy Bishop who tops the table with 40 points (1 round). 27 players averaged 30+ through the ups and downs of the season which is very good indeed.
40 POINT PLUS CLUB 2019
| Name | Course | Score |
| COLLINGWOOD, John | Cooden | 46 |
| GORRINGE, Tim | Seaford | 41 |
| BURDETT, Andrew | Cooden | 40 |
| BIGLEY, Alan | Royal Eastbourne | 40 |
| BISHOP, Andy | Hever Castle | 40 |
A much reduced 40+ points club this year with just 5 players hitting that milestone which is down from 13 last year. Congratulations to John Collingwood who posted the best stableford score at Cooden Beach GC. Well done also goes Andrew, Tim, Alan and Andy for posting the other four qualifying scores.
NEAREST THE PIN 2019
| Month | Course | Nearest the Pin |
| Jan-19 | Royal Eastbourne | Fred Ablitt |
| Feb-19 | East Brighton | Kelvin Paterson |
| Mar-19 | Copthorne | Cancelled |
| Apr-19 | The Dyke | Ken Wapling |
| May-19 | Cooden | Andrew Burnett |
| Jun-19 | Hever Castle | Chris Buck |
| Jul-19 | Nizels | Pat Layen |
| Aug-19 | Seaford | Mark Hughes (HCPS 1-18) |
| Seaford | Dereck Coppard (HCPS 19+) | |
| Sep-19 | Lamberhurst | Alan Bond |
| Oct-19 | Mannings Heath | Carl Valentine |
| Nov-19 | Dale Hill | Cancelled |
| Dec-19 | Dewlands | To be played 13/12 |
10 different winners across the 10 NTP competitions this year.
LONGEST DRIVE & NEAREST LINE, NEAREST THE PIN IN THREE 2019
Nearest The Pin in Three
| Month | Course | Nearest the Pin in Three |
| May-19 | Cooden | Micky Mann |
| Aug-19 | Seaford | Tim Gorringe (HCPS 1-18) |
| Aug-19 | Seaford | Kelvin Paterson (HCPS 19+) |
Longest Drive
| Month | Course | Longest Drive |
| Jan-19 | Royal Eastbourne | Alan Bigley |
| Feb-19 | East Brighton | Alan Bigley |
| Aug-19 | Seaford | Micky Mann |
Nearest The Line
| Month | Course | Nearest the Line |
| Apr-19 | The Dyke | Brian Day |
| Jun-19 | Hever Castle | Andy Williams |
| Jul-19 | Nizels | Mark Hughes |
| Sep-19 | Lamberhurst | John Collingwood |
| Oct-19 | Mannings Heath | Sandi Hoolahan |
Again, 9 different winners with Alan Bigley being this year’s longest hitter again!! A good mix of competitions giving everyone a chance especially when the line or rope can’t be seen from the tee!!
2019 EAGLES, BIRDIES AND TWOS!
Again, for something to do I have also recorded all the eagles, birdies and two’s achieved during the 2019 season. The results are below: -
| Player | Eagles | Player | Twos | ||
| GORRINGE, Tim | 1 | BOND, Alan | 2 | ||
| WILLIAMS, Andy | 1 | GORRINGE, Tim | 2 | ||
| LEFTLEY, Kevin | 1 | ||||
| GOULDING, Frank | 1 | ||||
| Player | Birdies | ||||
| BIGLEY, Alan | 11 | ||||
| BOND, Alan | 3 | ||||
| BURNETT, Andrew | 3 | ||||
| LEFTLEY, Kevin | 3 | ||||
| MANN. Michael | 3 | ||||
| WILLIAMS, Andy | 3 | ||||
| GORRINGE, Tim | 2 | ||||
| BATCHELDER, Tony | 2 | ||||
| GOULDING, Frank | 2 | ||||
| HAWKINS, Kevin | 2 | ||||
| HILLMAN, Paul | 2 | ||||
| HUGHES, Mark | 2 | ||||
| WATKISS, Jerry | 2 | ||||
| ABLITT, Fred | 1 | ||||
| COLLINGWOOD, John | 1 | ||||
| COPPARD, Dereck | 1 | ||||
| DAY, Brian | 1 | ||||
| HOWROYD, David | 1 | ||||
| PATERSON, Kelvin | 1 | ||||
| VALENTINE, Carl | 1 | ||||
| WAPLING, Ken | 1 | ||||
| CHRISTIAN, Des (guest) | 1 | ||||
Alan Bigley is again comfortably crowned the birdie king with Alan Bond & Tim Gorringe the 2s aces. A massive well done also goes to both Andy and Tim for achieving the first MGS eagles certainly for over 5 years.
Worthy of mention is the Heads and Tales competition where James did well to catch one out of three coin tosses – dropping the other two.
MGS SOCIETY MEMBER HANDICAPS @ NOVEMBER 2019
| Player | Handicap |
| BIGLEY, Alan | 6 |
| HAWKINS, Kevin | 11 |
| VALENTINE, Carl | 11 |
| GORRINGE, Tim | 13 |
| BURNETT, Andrew | 14 |
| BROWNING, Barry | 14 |
| STAPLEHURST, Malc | 15 |
| WATKISS, Jerry | 16 |
| WILLIAMS, Andy | 16 |
| BOND, Alan | 17 |
| COPPARD, Dereck | 18 |
| HUGHES, Mark | 18 |
| LEFTLEY, Kevin | 18 |
| MANN. Michael | 18 |
| LAYEN, Pat | 18 |
| HILLMAN, Paul | 21 |
| HOOLAHAN, Sandy | 21 |
| BUCK, Chris | 21 |
| ABLITT, Fred | 22 |
| BISHOP, Andy | 23 |
| BENNETT, Tom | 23 |
| COLLINGWOOD, John | 23 |
| HOWROYD, David | 23 |
| PATERSON, Kelvin | 23 |
| DAY, Brian | 24 |
| WAPLING, Ken | 24 |
| MEADOWS, Graham | 24 |
| CUDMORE, Peter | 25 |
| BATCHELDER, Tony | 26 |
| TIPPETT, Andy | 26 |
| GOULDING, Frank | 26 |
| CHRISTIAN, Des (guest) | 27 |
| GALLIFANT, James | 27 |
| COLE, Tim (guest) | 28 |
| WILLIAMS, Sally (guest) | 28 |
Really nice to see the quality of golf played by the membership during 2019 with a good mix and spread of handicaps.