Castletown Golf Club
FLAG AT HALF-MAST FOR ALL ROUND GOOD GUY DAVE QUAYLE
Having bravely battled bout three of cancer, all round good guy Dave Quayle sadly succumbed at Clatterbridge Hospital on Monday 22nd December. He was surrounded by those he loved and our sincere condolences are sent to his widow Angela and all the family.
Dave was a talented sportsman, counting football, cricket and bowls among the many sports at which he excelled. Over the years Dave, a category one golfer, won many monthly medals and weekly competitions. He was an avid supporter of the summer knockout competitions and was particularly pleased when he won the W. Kirkpatrick Trophy back in 2020.
The Xmas Scramble shotgun start attracted 15 teams at Castletown Golf Club on Saturday. Convenient, as only 15 holes were in operation. Par for the course was 60 but, with four bites at the cherry, the winning team netted 47, pipping the second and third placed teams on the same score.
Matt Astall, Chris Howland, Simon Reynolds and Chad Wilby effectively birdied the front-six holes as their eagle on the Road Hole compensated for a paltry par on the 6th. Bagging six more birdies on the back-nine, they completed the course in 12 under par. With a team handicap of (1) this became a winning ‘baker’s dozen’ for their 47.
Five birdies on each leg led Matt Bell, Andrew Davies, Mark Grace and Mike Horsthuis to stand at 10 under par. This fell to 13-under after application of their (3) handicap. Alas, countback counted against them but was good enough for the consolation prize.
Playing off scratch, club champion Chris Kneen, fellow Scratch League winner Liam Cowin, together with Duncan Donald and Stephen Fisk nearly needed to nab a birdie on every hole. Remarkably, they were on track until they parred the final two holes.
Anne Gundry, playing in club captain Phil Games’ team, was the winner of the first nearest-the-pin prize. Her smoothly struck short iron slithered to a stop within tap-in range for a bountiful birdie on the 13th. The aforementioned Matt Bell did similar on the 16th although he failed to convert his birdie putt.
Midweek, there were numerous players out but only five fellows took part in the Xmas Eve 15-holer Stableford. Former captain Gez Bradley (+4) was level par with one to play but the ‘gorge-us’ 18th corrupted his card. Nevertheless, his 26 points was an impressive eight clear of the field.
Chad Wilby (+1) stuttered into second spot with 18 points after seven bogeys and two N/Rs, one of which was also on the ‘un-four-gettable’ 18th. Stuart Campbell (8) seemed to stop after the 14th as his 16 points were all scored over the first 11 holes.
This coming Saturday is a 20/20 four-person competition where each team has to choose a maximum of 20 Stableford scores per nine holes. If the front-nine is still restricted to six holes that allowance is likely to be 14 Stableford scores.
MALCOLM LAMBERT
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