Handicap Secretaries Report 2021

My seventh year of having the privilege of looking after the MGS Handicaps.  A very strange year again due to the Covid 19 pandemic meaning the social side of our golfing events has been limited in nature at times.  

As a golf society we have been lucky in 2021 with just the January to March meetings (lockdown 3) being cancelled/ postponed. That said we have had 8 straight months of events from April onwards which has been good for our physical and mental health.  We had 36 different people (36 in 2020, 34 in 2019, 33 in 2018, 38 in 2017 & 39 in 2016) join us this year on our monthly meets – a good number, including a number of keen new members who can play a bit as well which is nice. We can always do with a few more joining the ranks so please do not hesitate to encourage any golfers you know to have a look at the website and get involved. 16 to 24 for each event is probably the ideal range which we achieved this year with the exception being 13 at Cooden in June which was a little baffling as it tends to be one of our most popular events usually.

The highest scoring event during the year was at Seaford Head in November where the average stableford score was an excellent 36.32 (2020: Eastbourne Downs 32.01; 2019: Cooden Beach 35.22; 2018: Seaford 35.48).  The lowest scoring event was at Dale Hill with an average score of 26.56 (2020: East Brighton 27.24, 2019 Hever Castle 28.73 ; 2018: Nevill 26.55;).  The overall average stableford points score for the season was 30.59 (2020: 31.94; 2019: 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.

The highest points score this year was by John Miller with a massive 47 points at Lamberhurst with Graham Meadows not far behind with 46 points at Seaford Head. The best gross score was again by Alan Bigley with a 2 over par 74 at the East Sussex National.  

Again, worthy of note was the speed of the rounds this year which were generally conducted at a very good pace – so thank you.

A big thank you to Hon Sec David, Captain James, deputy Mark, Treasurer Tips, Jerry, Alan Bond and Chris Buck for helping and supporting me throughout the year with the cards etc.  As always worthy of a special 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. As you will have heard we are also looking to set up a WhatsApp group for the society.

Finally, we lost a good man and member of the society Kevin Hawkins in 2021 he remains in all our thoughts– RIP.

MGS SILVERWARE WINNERS 2021

TrophyWinner(s)
Golfer of the YearGraham Meadows
Society Strokeplay ChampionshipAlan Bigley
Society Stableford CompetitionTom Bennett
Captain’s Day TrophyPeter Cudmore
Anniversary TrophyAlan Bigley
Mad March JugsAlan Draper & Chris Buck
GBH TrophyPeter Cudmore & Alan Bond
Last Chance TrophyDavid Howroyd

 

SOCIETY TOURS 2021

Unfortunately, due to the Covid 19 pandemic no tours were possible in 2021.  Hopefully, we will be able to get away for an event in the Spring/Summer of 2022 – maybe, maybe not!!  

INDIVIDUAL MONTHLY WINNERS 2021

MonthCourseIndividual WinnerScoreRunner UpScore
Apr-21Dale Hill (Woosnam)Jerry Watkiss34Alan Bigley33
May-21Copthorne (Mad March Jugs)Jerry Watkiss34 (18 B9CB)Andy Tippett34 (17 B9CB)
Jun-21Cooden Beach (Anniversary Cup)Alan Bigley 38Chris Buck 37
Jul-21East Sussex National (Strokeplay Shield)Alan Bigley +2James Harding (guest)+6
East Sussex National (Stableford Shield)Tom Bennett34 (18 B9CB)Graham Meadows34 (17 B9CB)
Aug-21Bletchingley (Freddie Jones – Captains Day Trophy)Peter Cudmore39 (23 B9CB)John Collingwood39 (19 B9CB)
Sep-21LamberhurstJohn Miller47Steve Smith40
Oct-21Sweetwoods (GBH Trophy)Alan Bond38Alan Bigley36 (17 B9CB)
Nov-21Seaford HeadGraham Meadows46James Gallifant43
Dec-21DewlandsDavid Howroyd 44Chis Buck42 

At our monthly meets we have seen eight different winners across nine meetings.  Messrs Bigley and Watkiss being the only two that were able to double up.

TEAM WINNERS 2021

MonthCourseTeam WinnersScoreTeam Runners UpScore
Apr-21Dale Hill (Woosnam)Jerry Watkiss, Andrew Williams, Nigel Burnett76James Gallifant, Alan Draper, Tim Gorringe, Andy Tippett71
May-21Copthorne (Mad March Jugs)Alan Draper & Chris Buck98Andrew Burnett & Steve Smith88
Jun-21Cooden Beach (Anniversary Cup)Alan Bigley, Chris Buck & Frank Goulding88Micky Mann, Kevin Leftley & Mark Hughes AND Alan Bond, Andy Williams & Nigel Burnett79
Jul-21East Sussex National (Strokeplay Shield)

East Sussex National (Stableford Shield)
Nigel Burnett, Graham Meadows & Tom Bennett83James Harding, Mark Hughes & Johnny Miller69
Aug-21Bletchingley (Freddie Jones – Captains Day Trophy)David Howroyd, Mark Hughes, Peter Cudmore & Sandi Hoolahan119Andy Williams, Andrew Burnett, Alan Bond & Steve Smith106
Sep-21LamberhurstAlan Bigley, Will Wakefield & John Miller84David Howroyd, Andrew Burnett & Graham Meadows83
Oct-21Sweetwoods (GBH Trophy)Peter Cudmore & Alan Bond49Rod Lunn & Ken Wapling47
Nov-21Seaford HeadSteve Smith, Nigel Burnett & James Gallifant97Jerry Watkiss, Andrew Burnett, Rod Lunn & Graham Meadows93
Dec-21DewlandsMark Hughes, Kevin Leftley, Chris Buck & Micky Mann 134David Howroyd, Jerry Watkiss, Rod Lunn & Tony Coggill 126

21 different members were on a winning team this year which is good to see.  However, the real team player this year was Chris Buck appearing on a winning team on three occasions.  

MGS 2021 APPERANCES 

Overall attendance has been very good with the average monthly meeting attendance being exactly 18.00 (2020: 17.5; 2019: 16.2). The highest was 24 at Bletchingley in August with the lowest being a hardcore 13 at Cooden in June.

MemberAppearances
BIGLEY, Alan8
BUCK, Chris8
GALLIFANT, James8
HUGHES, Mark8
MEADOWS, Graham8
COLLINGWOOD, John7
HOWROYD, David 7
LEFTLEY, Kevin7
PATERSON, Kelvin 7
SMITH, Steve7
BURNETT, Andrew6
MANN, Michael 6
WATKISS, Jerry6
BOND, Alan5
BURNETT, Nigel5
MILLER, John5
GOULDING, Frank5
TIPPETT, Andy5
BENNETT, Tom4
CUDMORE, Peter4
HOOLAHAN, Sandy4
LUNN, Rod 4
MONTAGU, Rob4
DRAPER, Alan3
WILLIAMS, Andy3
COGGILL, Tony 3
GORRINGE, Tim2
LUNN, Will2
WAPLING, Ken2
WAKEFIELD, Will2
VALENTINE, Carl1
VALENTINE, Carl1

MGS PLAYER OF THE YEAR 2021 (BEST FOUR ROUNDS- EXCLUDES DEWLANDS !!)

In a tricky Covid hit year 20 players still managed to get in at least four qualifying rounds for the overall player of the year trophy

Player AppTotalBest 4 AvScores
MEADOWS, Graham714837.046,39,34,29
BURNETT, Andrew614335.842,35,34,32
BIGLEY, Alan714235.538,36,34,34
SMITH, Steve614235.540,39,32,31
WATKISS, Jerry514235.539,35,34,34
HUGHES, Mark714035.037,36,35,32
GALLIFANT, James713834.543,36,31,28
MILLER, John513834.547,32,30,29
LEFTLEY, Kevin613634.0 
BUCK, Chris713533.8 
COLLINGWOOD, John613233.0 
BOND, Alan513032.5 
MANN, Michael 513032.5 
TIPPETT, Andy412631.5 
HOWROYD, David 612531.3 
BURNETT, Nigel512431.0 
CUDMORE, Peter412431.0 
BENNETT, Tom412330.8 
PATERSON, Kelvin 612230.5 
GOULDING, Frank411328.3 

Congratulations go to a very deserving Graham Meadows – the 46 points at Seaford Head making a real difference to that average.

MGS OVERALL AVERAGES (TOTAL SCORES FOR THE SEASON DIVIDED BY TOTAL APPEARANCES)

PlayerAverage
LUNN, Rod 34.75
BIGLEY, Alan34.13
WATKISS, Jerry34.00
HUGHES, Mark33.88
BURNETT, Andrew33.67
TIPPETT, Andy33.40
MILLER, John32.20
LEFTLEY, Kevin32.14
BUCK, Chris32.13
SMITH, Steve31.86
MANN, Michael 31.67
BOND, Alan31.00
CUDMORE, Peter31.00
MEADOWS, Graham31.00
VALENTINE, Carl31.00
BISHOP, Andy (guest)31.00
HOWROYD, David 30.86
BENNETT, Tom30.75
GOULDING, Frank30.40
WILLIAMS, Andy30.33
HARDING, James (guest)30.00

The above shows the 21 players that averaged over 30 across all rounds played over the course of the year.  This arguably shows our most consistent players.

40 POINT PLUS CLUB 2021

PlayerPtsCourse
MILLER, John47Lamberhurst
MEADOWS, Graham46Seaford
HOWROYD, David44Dewlands
GALLIFANT, James43Seaford
BUCK, Chris42Dewlands
BURNETT, Andrew42Seaford
MANN, Michael 42Seaford
SMITH, Steve41Dewlands
TIPPETT, Andy41Dewlands
SMITH, Steve40Lamberhurst
MANN, Michael40Dewlands
LUNN, Rod40Dewlands

Congratulations to John & Graham in particular for achieving those dizzy heights and for allowing the Handicap Sec to get his shears out and give them a nice handicap haircut.

SPECIALIST EVENTS 2021

Despite Covid and with a great deal of common sense we got in a full schedule of these in this year – unlike last year.

NEAREST THE PIN 2021

MonthCourseNearest the Pin
Apr-21Dale Hill Nigel Burnett
May-21Copthorne Andrew Burnett
Jun-21Cooden BeachMicky Mann
Jul-21East Sussex National John Collingwood
Aug-21Bletchingley)Alan Bigley
Sep-21LamberhurstTom Bennett
Oct-21Sweetwoods Kevin Leftley
Nov-21Seaford HeadSteve Smith
Dec-21Dewlands Chris Buck

Nine different winners which is great to see – No individual dominating this event this year.

LONGEST DRIVE , NEAREST THE LINE OR PIN IN TWO OR THREE ETC !

MonthCourseNearest the Pin inTwoLongest DriveNearest the LineNearest the Pin in three
Apr-21Dale Hill Alan Draper   
May-21Copthorne) Alan Draper  
Jun-21Cooden Beach  Alan Bigley  
Jul-21East Sussex National  Jerry Watkiss  
Aug-21Bletchingley  Mark Hughes  
Sep-21Lamberhurst  Alan Bigley 
Oct-21Sweetwoods  Sandi Hoolahan 
Nov-21Seaford Head Steve Smith  
Dec-21Dewlands Chris Buck

7 different winners across the 9 events.  A good variety of tests this year.

MGS SOCIETY MEMBER HANDICAPS @ DECEMBER 2021 

Really nice to see the quality of golf played by the membership during 2021 with a good mix and spread of handicaps.  

PlayerHCP
BIGLEY, Alan5
DRAPER, Alan10
WATKISS, Jerry11
VALENTINE, Carl12
BURNETT, Andrew15
MANN, Michael 15
HUGHES, Mark17
LEFTLEY, Kevin17
MILLER, John17
LUNN, Rod 18
BOND, Alan18
COPPARD, Dereck18
GORRINGE, Tim19
SMITH, Steve19
BUCK, Chris19
WILLIAMS, Andy20
LAYEN, Pat20
HILLMAN, Paul21
DAY,  Brian21
TIPPETT, Andy22
MEADOWS, Graham24
HOWROYD, David 24
WAKEFIELD, Will24
HOOLAHAN, Sandy25
CUDMORE, Peter25
BENNETT, Tom25
WAPLING, Ken26
PATERSON, Kelvin 26
COGGILL, Tony 26
BURNETT, Nigel26
GOULDING, Frank27
GALLIFANT, James27
CHRISTIAN, Des28
LUNN, Will28
COLLINGWOOD, John29
MONTAGU, Rob30