Handicap Secretary's Report 2020
My sixth year of having the privilege of looking after the MGS Society Handicaps. A very strange year due to the Covid 19 pandemic meaning the social side of our golfing events has had to be socially distanced and limited in nature. Hopefully, some light has appeared at the end of the tunnel with the roll-out of the vaccine commencing in December 2020, so hopefully we can return to a more normal “normal” from the Spring of 2021.
As a golf society we have been lucky in 2020 with just the April & May (lockdown 1) and November (lockdown 2) and December fixture (Waterlogged course) being cancelled/ postponed. We had 36 different people (34 in 2019, 33 in 2018, 38 in 2017 & 39 in 2016) join us this year on our monthly meets – a good number, with some keen new members and some previous members returning to the fold – notably one of the founding fathers of the society Alan Draper. 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 if they have the third Friday of each month free and are looking for something to do with it. 16 to 24 for each event is probably the ideal range which we achieved this year with 2 exceptions (10 at Eastbourne Downs in coldest March and early scary times of Covid 19 and 27 at Cooden Beach in sunny August).
The highest scoring event during the year was at Eastbourne Downs where the average stableford score was a good 32.01 (2019: Cooden Beach 35.22; 2018: Seaford 35.48). The lowest scoring event was at East Brighton with an average score of 27.24 (2019 Hever Castle 28.73 ; 2018: Nevill 26.55;). The overall average stableford points score for the season was 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 Kelvin Paterson with a massive 44 points at the rapidy re-organised event at Wellshurst having been let down by Hever Castle at the eleventh hour. The best gross score was again by Alan Bigley with a 7 over par 78 at Mannings Heath.
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 and Jerry 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.
MGS SILVERWARE WINNERS 2020
Trophy | Winner(s) |
Golfer of the Year | Kelvin Paterson |
Society Strokeplay Championship | Jerry Watkiss |
Society Stableford Competition | Ken Wapling |
Captain’s Day Trophy | Brian Day |
Anniversary Trophy | Nigel Burnett |
Autumn Cup | Not Contested |
Spring Cup | Not Played due to Covid restrictions |
Mad March Jugs | Not Played (Covid Lockdown 1) |
GBH Trophy | Alan Draper & Andy Tippett |
Last Chance Trophy | Not Played (waterlogged course) |
SOCIETY TOURS 2020
Unfortunately, due to the Covid 19 pandemic no tours were possible in 2020. Hopefully, we will be able to get away for an event in the Spring of 2020 with the dates for the diary being the 23-25 May 2021.
INDIVIDUAL MONTHLY WINNERS 2020
Month | Course | Individual Winner | Score | Runner Up | Score | ||
Jan-20 | North Downs | Kevin Leftley | 40 | Micky Mann | 38 | ||
Feb-20 | East Brighton | Micky Mann | 36 | Mark Hughes | 35 | ||
Mar-20 | Eastbourne Downs | James Gallifant | 38 | Micky Mann | 35 | ||
Apr-20 | Dale Hill | Covid 19 No Event (Lockdown 1) | |||||
May-20 | Copthorne | ||||||
Jun-20 | Wellshurst | Kelvin Paterson | 44 | Sandi Hoolahan | 37 | ||
Jul-20 | The Darenth (Strokeplay) | Jerry Watkiss | 74 (+2) | Micky Mann | 77 (+5) | ||
The Darenth (Stableford) | Ken Wapling | 37 | Chris Buck | 37 | |||
Aug-20 | Cooden Beach (Freddie Jones Captains Day) | Brian Day | 38 | Sandi Hoolahan | 37 | ||
Sep-20 | Highwoods (Anniversary Trophy) | Nigel Burnett | 39 | Kelvin Paterson | 37 | ||
Oct-20 | Mannings Heath (GBH Trophy) | Alan Bigley | 38 | Andy Tippett | 36 | ||
Nov-20 | Seaford Head | Covid 19 No Event (Lockdown 2) | |||||
Dec-20 | Dewlands Manor | Cancelled - Waterlogged |
At our monthly meets we had a different winner for each event - 9 different winners.
TEAM WINNERS 2020
Month | Course | Team Winners | Score | Team Runners Up | Score |
Jan-20 | North Downs | Kevin Leftley, Kelvin Patterson & James Gallifant | 82 | Micky Mann, Tim Gorringe & Ash Head | 76 |
Feb-20 | East Brighton | Kevin Leftley, Micky Mann & Tom Bennett | 81 | Mark Hughes, Rob Montagu, Steve Smith & James Gallifant | 73 |
Mar-20 | Eastbourne Downs | No Team Event | No Team Event | ||
Apr-20 | Dale Hill | Covid 19 No Event (Lockdown 1) | |||
May-20 | Copthorne | ||||
Jun-20 | Wellshurst | Andrew Burnett, Kevin Leftley, Steve Smith & Andy Williams | 117 | James Gallifant, Will Lund, Kelvin Paterson & Graham Meadows | 115 |
Jul-20 | The Darenth (Strokeplay) | Chris Buck, Tony Coggill & David Howroyd | 79 | Ken Wapling, Sandi Hoolahan & Tom Bennett | 77 |
The Darenth (Stableford) | |||||
Aug-20 | Cooden Beach (Freddie Jones Captains Day) | Andy Tippett, Brian Day & Alan Bigley | 86 | James Gallifant, Ben Gallifant & Kelvin Paterson | 77 |
Sep-20 | Highwoods (Anniversary Trophy) | Nigel Burnett, Chris Buck & Dereck Coppard | 82 | Kelvin Paterson, Ken Wapling, John Collingwood & Brian Day | 82 |
Oct-20 | Mannings Heath (GBH Trophy) | Alan Draper & Andy Tippett | 49 | James Gallifant & Jerry Watkiss | 49 |
Nov-20 | Seaford Head | Covid 19 No Event (Lockdown 2) | |||
Dec-20 | Dewlands Manor | Cancelled - Waterlogged |
The big team player this year was Kevin Leftley winning three events with Andy Tippett and Chris Buck both being on the winning team twice. 17 different members were on a winning team this year which is good to see. Worthy of note is the “biggest and best loser” prize goes to Captain James who was on one winning team this year but managed to drag his team(s) back from the jaws of victory to come second on four occasions over the year (just joking)!!
MGS 2020 APPERANCES (EXCLUDING DEWLANDS)
Overall attendance has been very good with the average monthly meeting attendance being 17.5 (2019: 16.2). The highest was 27 at Cooden Beach in August with the lowest being a hardcore 10 at Eastbourne Down in March just before lockdown!!
Player | App |
MANN. Michael | 8 |
LEFTLEY, Kevin | 7 |
GALLIFANT, James | 7 |
BURNETT, Andrew | 7 |
PATERSON, Kelvin | 7 |
COLLINGWOOD, John | 7 |
HUGHES, Mark | 6 |
BIGLEY, Alan | 6 |
HOOLAHAN, Sandy | 6 |
BUCK, Chris | 5 |
WATKISS, Jerry | 5 |
WILLIAMS, Andy | 5 |
BENNETT, Tom | 5 |
SMITH, Steve | 5 |
MONTAGU, Rob | 5 |
BURNETT, Nigel | 4 |
HOWROYD, David | 4 |
MEADOWS, Graham | 4 |
COGGILL, Tony | 4 |
GORRINGE, Tim | 4 |
DAY, Brian | 3 |
TIPPETT, Andy | 3 |
WAPLING, Ken | 3 |
HAWKINS, Kevin | 3 |
COPPARD, Dereck | 2 |
GOULDING, Frank | 2 |
LAYEN, Pat | 2 |
CUDMORE, Peter | 2 |
CHRISTIAN, Des | 2 |
HEAD, Ash (guest) | 1 |
BONE. Bernie (guest) | 1 |
DRAPER, Alan | 1 |
GALLIFANT, Ben (guest) | 1 |
HEAD. David (guest) | 1 |
LUNN, Will | 1 |
WAPLING, Greg (guest) | 1 |
MGS PLAYER OF THE YEAR 2020 (BEST FOUR ROUNDS)
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 | App | Av | Points | Scores |
PATERSON, Kelvin | 7 | 36.50 | 146 | 44-37-35-30 |
LEFTLEY, Kevin | 7 | 35.75 | 143 | 40-35-34-34 |
MANN. Michael | 8 | 35.75 | 143 | 38-36-35-34 |
BUCK, Chris | 5 | 35.25 | 141 | 37-36-34-34 |
GALLIFANT, James | 7 | 34.50 | 138 | 38-34-34-32 |
HUGHES, Mark | 6 | 34.50 | 138 | 36-35-35-32 |
BURNETT, Andrew | 7 | 33.75 | 135 | 36-34-33-32 |
HOOLAHAN, Sandy | 6 | 33.75 | 135 | 37-37-34-27 |
WATKISS, Jerry | 5 | 33.25 | 133 | 36-34-34-29 |
BIGLEY, Alan | 6 | 32.75 | 131 | 38-33-30-30 |
WILLIAMS, Andy | 5 | 32.00 | 128 | |
BURNETT, Nigel | 4 | 31.50 | 126 | |
BENNETT, Tom | 5 | 30.75 | 123 | |
HOWROYD, David | 4 | 30.75 | 123 | |
COLLINGWOOD, John | 7 | 30.00 | 120 | |
SMITH, Steve | 5 | 29.75 | 119 | |
MEADOWS, Graham | 4 | 28.50 | 114 | |
MONTAGU, Rob | 5 | 28.50 | 114 | |
COGGILL, Tony | 4 | 26.00 | 104 | |
GORRINGE, Tim | 4 | 25.25 | 101 |
Congratulations go to a very deserving Kelvin Paterson who edged out Kevin Leftley and Micky Mann (the latter being the handicap sec – so Kelvin’s card is marked for 2021 !!). Kelvin posting one of just two 40+ point rounds this year which helped of course plus being able to perm his 4-best rounds from 7 helps.
MGS OVERALL AVERAGES (TOTAL SCORES DIVIDED BY TOTAL APPEARANCES)
Player | App | Average |
BUCK, Chris | 5 | 33.80 |
DAY, Brian | 3 | 33.67 |
MANN. Michael | 8 | 33.50 |
LEFTLEY, Kevin | 7 | 33.43 |
HUGHES, Mark | 6 | 32.83 |
TIPPETT, Andy | 3 | 32.33 |
GALLIFANT, James | 7 | 32.00 |
WATKISS, Jerry | 5 | 32.00 |
HEAD, Ash (guest) | 1 | 32.00 |
BURNETT, Andrew | 7 | 31.71 |
BURNETT, Nigel | 4 | 31.50 |
COPPARD, Dereck | 2 | 31.50 |
BIGLEY, Alan | 6 | 31.33 |
WILLIAMS, Andy | 5 | 31.20 |
WAPLING, Ken | 3 | 31.00 |
BONE. Bernie (guest) | 1 | 31.00 |
HOOLAHAN, Sandy | 6 | 30.83 |
HOWROYD, David | 4 | 30.75 |
BENNETT, Tom | 5 | 30.20 |
PATERSON, Kelvin | 7 | 30.00 |
DRAPER, Alan | 1 | 30.00 |
GOULDING, Frank | 2 | 29.00 |
SMITH, Steve | 5 | 28.80 |
MEADOWS, Graham | 4 | 28.50 |
LAYEN, Pat | 2 | 27.50 |
MONTAGU, Rob | 5 | 26.80 |
COLLINGWOOD, John | 7 | 26.71 |
HAWKINS, Kevin | 3 | 26.33 |
COGGILL, Tony | 4 | 26.00 |
GALLIFANT, Ben (guest) | 1 | 26.00 |
GORRINGE, Tim | 4 | 25.25 |
HEAD. David (guest) | 1 | 25.00 |
CUDMORE, Peter | 2 | 21.50 |
LUNN, Will | 1 | 20.00 |
WAPLING, Greg (guest) | 1 | 20.00 |
CHRISTIAN, Des | 2 | 18.50 |
Congratulations to Chris Buck who tops the table in terms of consistency. 21 players averaged 30+ (27 in 2019) which is very good indeed.
40 POINT PLUS CLUB 2020
Name | Course | Score |
PATERSON, Kelvin | Wellshurst | 44 |
LEFTLEY, Kevin | North Downs | 40 |
As expected with the disruption to the year a much reduced 40+ points club with just 2 players hitting that milestone which is down from 7 last year. Congratulations to Kelvin and Kevin for achieving these dizzy heights.
SPECIALIST EVENTS 2020
With handling markers problematic in the midst of the Covid 19 Pandemic the specialist events suffered greatly. The list below is where we were able to play these events safely which was limited this year.
NEAREST THE PIN 2020
Month | Course | Nearest the Pin |
Jan-20 | North Downs | John Collingwood |
Feb-20 | East Brighton | Kevin Leftley |
Oct-20 | Mannings Heath | Jerry Watkiss |
LONGEST DRIVE
Month | Course | Longest Drive |
Jan-20 | North Downs | Andrew Burnett |
Feb-20 | East Brighton | Andrew Burnett |
Oct-20 | Mannings Heath | Alan Bigley |
5 different winners across the 6 competitions with Andrew Burnett eating the most spinach this year (I think the audience for this will get the Popeye reference!)
2020 EAGLES, BIRDIES AND TWOS!
Again, for something to do in lockdown and as less trains are running to go spotting I have also recorded all the eagles, birdies and two’s achieved during the 2020 season. The results are below although we did not have an eagle this year (two in 2019): -
Player | Birdies |
MANN. Michael | 9 |
BIGLEY, Alan | 6 |
BURNETT, Andrew | 5 |
BUCK, Chris | 3 |
COGGILL, Tony | 3 |
DRAPER, Alan | 2 |
HOOLAHAN, Sandy | 2 |
HUGHES, Mark | 2 |
LEFTLEY, Kevin | 2 |
PATERSON, Kelvin | 2 |
WATKISS, Jerry | 2 |
WILLIAMS, Andy | 2 |
HOWROYD, David | 1 |
MEADOWS, Graham | 1 |
WAPLING, Ken | 1 |
Player | Two's |
COGGILL, Tony | 2 |
BUCK, Chris | 1 |
PATERSON, Kelvin | 1 |
HOWROYD, David | 1 |
Micky Mann is the birdie king this year with Tony Coggill being the par three expert.
MGS SOCIETY MEMBER HANDICAPS @ DECEMBER 2020
Player | Handicap |
BIGLEY, Alan | 8 |
DRAPER, Alan | 11 |
VALENTINE, Carl | 11 |
HAWKINS, Kevin | 13 |
WATKISS, Jerry | 15 |
MANN. Michael | 15 |
STAPLEHURST, Malc | 15 |
LEFTLEY, Kevin | 16 |
BURNETT, Andrew | 16 |
GORRINGE, Tim | 17 |
BOND, Alan | 17 |
WILLIAMS, Andy | 18 |
HUGHES, Mark | 18 |
COPPARD, Dereck | 18 |
BUCK, Chris | 19 |
LAYEN, Pat | 20 |
SMITH, Steve | 21 |
PATERSON, Kelvin | 21 |
HILLMAN, Paul | 21 |
HOOLAHAN, Sandy | 21 |
DAY, Brian | 21 |
COGGILL, Tony | 22 |
BURNETT, Nigel | 23 |
WAPLING, Ken | 24 |
TIPPETT, Andy | 25 |
HOWROYD, David | 24 |
BATCHELDER, Tony | 26 |
BENNETT, Tom | 26 |
MEADOWS, Graham | 26 |
GALLIFANT, James | 27 |
CUDMORE, Peter | 26 |
GOULDING, Frank | 28 |
CHRISTIAN, Des | 28 |
COLLINGWOOD, John | 28 |
LUNN, Will | 28 |
MONTAGU, Rob | 28 |
Really nice to see the quality of golf played by the membership during 2020 with a good mix and spread of handicaps.