It was a gloriously sunny day when I turned into the Abbey Hotel and Golf Course complex wondering again about the other worldy contacts that Mike ‘Kit Kat’ Kerlogue must have to ensure splendid weather for our Shanks golf days! Walking into the foyer I bumped into past President, Rod Benwell, who had allegedly been for some early practice on the golfing range. As this is contrary to Shanks behaviour I repaired immediately for strong coffee and a bacon bap in the golf lounge where other Shankers were already attending to dietary requirements rather than practice routines.
This was an opportunity to catch up and exchange pleasantries but when conversation moved on to medical conditions it was swiftly decided to curtail this avenue of discussion as it would have necessitated moving tee times to Friday morning!
Kit Kat thanked everyone for supporting the event and advised that PICT President, Mike Gee, was disappointed at not being able to attend but had sent his apologies. He then handed out scorecards having made a stab at handicaps wittering on about Handicap Index, Course Slope Ratings and some general theory of relativity. Either because he remembered the last time we played this course (September 2017) and all yellow balls were lost by the 7th hole; or the budget wouldn’t stretch to yellow balls and free kit-kats; or he couldn’t be bothered; the secretary decided there wouldn’t be a yellow ball competition but just a team competition where two scores per hole from each team would count. The party then made their way to the first tee, fearing more mental torture if they stayed in the lounge!
Ten players assembled with your scribe (hors de combat and unable to play) assigned to chauffeur duty for the Captain – him, Faldo, Bothwick.
A relaxed crew prepare to tee off. Kit Kat was on camera duty, Tim Bowler refused to be in shot muttering something about image rights and Robert Moore was caught in traffic on the M40.
Team A: Gary Brady / Ryan Langworthy / Peter Bothwick + his chauffer Nigel Howl.
Team B: Chris Godfrey / Paul Tooby / Phil Trudgeon
Team C: Tim Bowler / Rod Benwell / Robert Moore / Kit Kat
I have to say that my companions, Gary, Ryan and Peter epitomised everything about a SHANKS golf day – cameraderie, conviviality, and joviality with golf a distant fourth! In fact the golf was so relaxed that I was minded to take a G&T refresher in the Clubhouse on the ninth, feeling that I wouldn’t have missed much by re-joining them on the eleventh. However, the architects had changed the layout at the Abbey and the ninth is now in the middle of the housing development, so that was another good idea shelved.
The golf course was in a much better condition than the last time we played here and it was obvious that some money has been spent on drainage and maintenance. Nevertheless, the smidgin of water round the course, as the secretary called it, accounted for a number of lost balls. Having lost many yellow balls on previous Shanks days I should note that I found two yellow balls whilst perambulating the course, so came back with positive yellow ball figures for the first time ever.
Team B obviously contained the ‘professional’ golfers and they showed their class by winning the team competition by some considerable margin, without the aid of the Duckworth Lewis method. Yorkie bars all round to keep up the sugar intake.
The overall individual winner with 27 points was Tim Bowler, seen receiving his bottle of fizz from the Captain.
The Syd Humphries trophy for the best score for those with a handicap of 24 or higher was contested by Phil Trudgeon and Paul Tooby both on 33 points, with Phil being triumphant on countback.
If the smiles look a little forced, it’s understandable as they had to hold hands for five minutes whilst the secretary got his shutter release in order.
The Mike Windett Divot trophy awarded for visiting as many bunkers as possible, was won by Paul Tooby and his great effort in visiting three on the 18th to secure the trophy is noted.
We would like to show you a picture of the presentation but the Secretary’s shutter release (is that a technical term or medical condition? Ed) was not functioning correctly and the image is unfit for publication.
This left the Steve Beckett Memorial Trophy for Shanker of the Day.
The nominations were:
Rod Benwell for practising prior to play.
Ryan Langworthy for needing goal line technology to tee up on the 2nd.
Mike Kerlogue for his Barnes Wallis shot on the 17th which skipped neatly over the water and onto the fairway.
As it was almost exactly eighty years to the day of the Dambusters mission on 17th May 1943, it was unanimously agreed that Mike Kerlogue should win the trophy he last held in May 2021.
A very pleasant dinner of Coq au Vin followed by apple tart and ice cream was enjoyed by all and the presentations were watched with some amusement by a young family enjoying dinner on a nearby table – let us just say they tolerated us admirably.
Our thanks to the Abbey GC for looking after us and to Mike for organising another fine and entertaining day which raised over £285 for the PICT coffers.
report by Nigel Howl