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BBC 5 LIVE GOLF CORRESPONDENT JOINS THE EBGA
"I was thoroughly delighted and honoured to accept,” said Iain. EBGA 2008 AUTUMN PRIZE DRAWDrawn at the Hindhead Golf Club, Surrey, Thurs 23rd Oct 2008 1st Prize Motocaddy Electric Golf Trolley 2nd Prize £100 3rd Prize Mizuno Golf Bag 4th Prize £50 5th Prize £25 6th Prize EBGA Goody Bag 7th Prize 12 Bottles of Tribute Beer 8th Prize Golf Goody Bag E.B.G.A. MAKE THEIR BID AT HADLEY WOOD
Report by Neil Baxter
On the 22nd of September a team from E.B.G.A. comprising Derrick Sheridan, Mike Loten, Ron Tomlinson and Neil Baxter played in the “Fore Dementia” event at Hadley Wood Golf Club. The event is organised by Jane Jason O.B.E., founder of the For Dementia Charity and sister of the E.B.G.A. President Peter Levy O.B.E. Hadley Wood is a magnificent golf course with well manicured fairways, tricky sloping greens and mature woodland situated just north of London. The team played well and finished second with 86 Stableford points, 4 behind the winning team. There was, however, a twist in the tail for E.B.G.A. In place of the usual raffle a reverse auction was held, in which you purchase the right to make a sealed bid and the lowest unique bid wins the prize. All four players put in a bid on behalf of E.B.G.A. and for the princely sum of 2p Derrick Sheridan won for our association a 19 inch LCD television, so a successful day all round LOTEN LIGHTS UP GREY BELFAST
Report by Neil Baxter. The first day of the I.B.G.A. world championships dawned grey and a little damp at Belvoir Park Golf Club, South Belfast. Belvoir Park is a beautiful golf course with tree-lined fairways and difficult well-bunkered greens. The many days of wet weather that has dogged Belfast this summer meant that the course played extremely long with very little run on the ball. The extreme conditions made sure that nobody scored below par. At the end of the first day Mike Loten from England had a one shot lead over Alan Morgan from Scotland in the overall nett competition, Jenny McCallum from Australia led both the ladies nett and B2 gross. A visit to an Irish pub and a few pints of the black stuff brightened up the evening. A prompt start was made on the second day but soon after the first players had teed off the rain became heavy. By the time the early players had reached the seventh hole the green staff who had been working hard since 5.a.m. to get the course playable, could not keep the greens from flooding so play was suspended. As the rain continued a meeting involving representatives of N.I.B.G.A, I.B.G.A. and Belvoir Park Golf Club decided that it would be impossible and unsafe to complete a second round. Reluctantly the second day was abandoned and the winners were decided on the first day scores. This meant that Mike Loten, guided by Roy Townsend won the overall nett with a 75 with Alan Morgan one shot behind. Gross winners were; B1 Zohar Sharon from Israel (115), B2 Pieta Le Roux from South Africa (87), B3 Ron Plath from the United States (85). In the ladies section Jenny McCallum won both the overall nett and the B2 event (100). Finally I would like to thank the members and staff of Belvoir Park golf club, they were so helpful and friendly, nothing was too much trouble and it was backed up with some of the best catering I have experienced at a golf club.The British Blind Open Golf Tournament2008
Report by Derek Field. This year’s British Blind Open Golf Tournament was held at the beautiful, green and testing Massereene Golf Course, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. On the day of arrival at the Park Plaza Hotel, we had a meeting followed by a very tasty buffet where we were presented with a goody bag. It was good to meet up with many of the competitors, who had travelled to Northern Ireland, from all over the world. What was, at first, a group of strangers, has now grown into a community of friends and any new members were soon included in the group. Included in the speeches of welcome was one by John White, Dr Handa’s representative who now takes the place of Howard Lange, a well liked and respected member of the IBGA team. John expressed the good wishes of Dr Handa, who wished us a successful tournament and good luck. John made himself known to all the competitors and their guides who were very pleased to welcome him. On the Wednesday we were taken by coach to the Golf Club and while we having coffee, several golfers and their guides were interviewed by a local golf reporter, Jack Magowan, from the Belfast Telegraph, who had been fifty years with the Telegraph writing about golf.. The opening was held on the small putting green in the pouring rain, by the Lord Mayor of Antrim and his speech of welcome was followed by short speeches by the captain of Massereene Golf Club and a representative of the Disability Sport for Northern Ireland and Jan Dinsdale, a Director of the International Blind Golf Association and main organizer of the event. The tournament on that day was in the form of a Texas scramble and was most enjoyable seeing that you could forget all your bad shots and muscle in on some of the cracking shots set up by others in your team. The prize for the nearest the pin went to a lady from a local club and that for the longest drive went to Petre Le Roux, a blind golfer from South Africa. The team results were, in first place, Mike Loten’s team, followed by the team including Steve Beevers and coming up third was Mike Mayo’s team. All received worthy prizes which, in some cases, would test the weight and volume limits of their flights home. This all took part following a very pleasant meal served at the Golf Club where we were entertained by the Captain of the Club playing the piano. The first day of the British Blind Open started off well, there was a slight drizzle in the air, but nothing too much to worry about. Then came the rain, and did it rain? It became heavier and heavier until everything was soaked, the bags, the gloves, the towels, all the rain clothes and worst of all, the handles of the clubs. It was difficult to take any shot without the club flying out of your hands. Those in the buggies had a little more protection, but even they were having difficulty controlling the buggies on the wet surface. When the greens became flooded the claxton sounded and after marking the balls all the golfers returned to the club house. Although the play had only been suspended hoping for a resumption later on, play was finally abandoned for the day. We had a tasty hot meal and returned to the hotel to don some dry clothes. Luckily, by the second day the weather had improved and a full day of golf was possible. The course was quite heavy going due to the previous day’s rain, but most golfers were able to complete their round. Mike Loten from England came third with a net score of 67, Bill Davis from the United States was runner up with a 66 and the winner of the tournament was Mike Mayo from Scotland with a net score of 64. Outside the front of the clubhouse, the Claret Jug was presented to Mike Mayo by the previous winner Sam Smith, which was followed by photos being taken of the winners and then all the competitors. In the evening there was an excellent dinner at the hotel where there was a prize-giving. This was followed by several hours of entertainment in the form of a guitarist and singer and although many of the members moved out of the dining hall, some stayed to dance the evening away, with a drink or two, of course. The following day some of the golfers made their way home whilst other were taken on a sightseeing tour of Belfast, visiting the dockyard where the Titanic was built, the centre of the city and the Town Hall, finally ending up at the Antrim Council Offices where we were received by the Lady Lord Mayor and her staff. At the reception we were treated to wine and refreshments and some were taken on an escorted tour of the Council Offices. That evening we visited the magnificent Northern Ireland Parliamentary Buildings at Stormont. Here we were taken on a tour of the rooms and chambers by a very knowledgeable guide. We finally ended up in the main hall where we were served with more wine and an excellent buffet. All in all, it proved to be a very interesting and pleasant day’s break in the middle of the two competitions. A warm vote of thanks must be given to Jan Dinsdale and all of her team who made this British Open such a success. Ladies From Wath Golf ClubThe Ladies from Wath Golf Club South Yorkshire have raised £1250.00 and Helen Hardisty Lady Captain has named EBGA as their charity during her year of office
Vision for the Blind.Report by Derrick Sheridan On Thursday, 17 July, a team of four EBGA members played at Stoke Park Golf Club near Slough in a fundraising golf day for the charity Vision. Our team was sponsored by a Midlands businessman Bill Bohana, and we are grateful to him for giving us the opportunity to take part in this event. The members of the EBGA team were Neil and Clara Baxter, Ron and Steph Tomlinson, Derrick and Matt Sheridan and Bryan Richards and Roy Townsend – not forgetting Mary Richards with Mandy, Neil’s guide dog. As usual one of the group got lost on the way to the course but despite a last minute panic to change a pair of shoes from metal to soft spikes we teed off on time just after 10 am. Importantly we kept up with the match in front throughout the five hour round. As we completed each hole Steph put our individual scores into an electronic device which was wirelessly (thank goodness) connected to a computer in the clubhouse. It immediately showed what we had scored on the hole, the cumulative total and our position in the field of 20 teams. The team finished a creditable 13th out of the 20 participating teams. A TV screen in the clubhouse showed all team scores and also individual scores. We didn’t win anything in the raffle either. After a hearty barbecue meal and a few welcome beers we left for home having enjoyed a very pleasant day on the golf course. Challenging High HandicappersReport by David Scott. On Sunday, 13th July, five golfers from almost all corners of England, gathered at Gaudet Luce to compete for the annual Par Three Competition. With the background incessant noise of the M5 mingling with birdsong which I didn’t recognise, battle commenced at noon. This year’s participants were Chris Lewis and Nick Mills (whose first year of competition this is) who went out first. They were followed by Jean Kennedy-Bolton, Danny Atkin (whose first time on a golf course this was) and me. The Par 3 at Gaudet Luce, Droitwich, is quite a diddy little course, with holes ranging from 48 to 103 yards. This demands precision of distance and direction, especially if one wants to avoid rough, bunkers and the odd spot of water. (This year the course was in much better condition than last, when there was no dryness at all!) Once he got into his stride, Danny Atkin surprised us all with his excellent swing, and ability to score points in a way which marks him out as something special for the future. However, the main protagonists for the trophy fought a hole by hole fight. These were Jean and I, and the destination of the trophy was not decided until the 17th hole, when Jean muttered from the side of her mouth that she wished my ball to go into the bunker. With an easy run up on to the green of twenty feet, and another ten to the hole, I hit the ball sixty feet straight into the bunker, from which I failed to get out. In the end, Jean won with 47 points, I had 44, Danny had a remarkable 40, and can take a great deal of pride from his first attempt. (It took me a few years to collect 40 points in competition.) Inevitably, I have to thank our guides who made the competition not only possible, but enjoyable, and Derek and Yvonne Field for organising the day, and hosting it so charmingly. They were very positive about the standard of golf they had witnessed, though Nick and Chris both felt they had been rubbish. Both, I suspect, are much more suited to longer courses than this one. By the way, for anyone playing with Jean, please remember not to anger her. She hits the ball further and straighter when riled and, she is likely to will you to land in the thickest rough, deepest bunker or most inaccessible water from which you will have no hope of getting out! Lastly, I should like to thank everyone at Gaudet Luce for their support, kindness and interest in the competition, and especially, for the excellence of their catering, a meal which rounded off the day in a tasty way. Let’s hope that next year’s competition will be as keen and enjoyable. David Scott. Wirral Vision Support Service Golf FestivalWirral Vision Support Service recently organised a series of golf lessons for a group of young people with low vision. The series of lessons, followed by a “tournament” on Wednesday May 21st was funded by an “Awards for All” grant, organised through the Wirral Disability Sports Forum and supported by Clare Mount School Specialist Sports College. Five pupils, from Bidston Avenue Primary, Pensby High School for Boys, St Mary’s College, St Anselm’s College and West Kirby Grammar School for Girls, took part in the sessions. The young people were coached by Tony Davies at Moreton Hills Golf Centre, where the tournament also took place. Players with low vision can enjoy golf, especially if they have sighted guides or caddies working with them. The English Blind Golf Association hosts 6 tournaments throughout the year. All EBGA players are registered blind and use sighted guides to enable them to play to a very high standard. For the Wirral VSS tournament, volunteers from Pensby Sports College joined us as sighted guides. These four Young Sports Leaders learned a little about visual impairment, studied the techniques used by EBGA players and sighted guides, and did a great job on the day. The most important outcome of the event is to encourage the youngsters to take up and continue to play sport. However, this was a competition and here are the results: 1st Nicola Dunne, West Kirby Grammar School 2nd Josh Lewis, St Anselm’s College 3rd Connor Warwick, St Mary’s College 4th Kyle Whitaker, Bidston Avenue Primary Congratulations to all the players. As well as receiving their trophies, players (and guides) were also given vouchers to encourage them to continue playing golf throughout the Summer. VSS is also planning to take the pupils to watch the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in July. This provides an ideal opportunity for the young people to make best use of their residual vision by using their Low Vision Aids (monocular telescopes and binoculars) in an environment where many other (fully sighted) spectators are also using binoculars. Steve Beevers Vision Support Service Teache MOUNTAINEERING IN MERTHYRReport by Neil Baxter Vice Captain On the 22nd of May a team representing E.B.G.A. played in an event to raise funds for the Merthyr Tydfil Institute for the Blind. This is the tenth occasion on which this event has been held and our Association has been represented at every one. The money raised goes to support the disabled workshop which is run by the institute and gives employment to some 240 disabled workers. Our team was unfortunately weakened as Derek and Yvonne Field had a minor car accident on the way and were unable to continue their journey. Fortunately nobody was hurt and my wife Clara played as a “ringer.” A former member of the association, Chris Evans, who lives locally also played. The first six holes are more suited to mountaineering than golf but we coped well and came in with 83 Stableford points, only 4 points out of the prizes. One of the guides, Tony Curry, did win a top of the range office chair in the raffle and generously presented it to E.B.G.A. to use at a future raffle. SECONDS OUT….ROUND 25!
The old pound note was still in circulation when the inaugural Boxers Blind golf Day event took place, back in the early 80's, and over the years thousands of pound notes have been raised for the Freddie Mills Boys Clubs and Angels With Dirty Faces charities. This year saw the 25th staging of this long-running tournament and organiser, Bobby Paget,has been ringside throughout enlisting the boxers and other celebrities, whilst our own Tommy Mulholland has rounded up the EBGA members to take part. I first played in the event in the mid-90s when the tournament was staged at the Chessington Golf Centre and I remember John Conteh, Reg Gutteridge, Mick McManus and Sir Trevor Brooking, (then plain old Trevor), were among those participating. I also seem to recall one of the Ten Commandments stating: "Thou shalt not covert thy neighbour's ass."
But, Ron's playing partners had to settle for 2nd place as far as the team prizes were concerned because Derek Rodene was the EBGA member in the winning 4-ball and, even more impressively, Derek won the Nearest The Pin prize beating not just his blind golfing colleagues but the sighted golfers too. At the presentation, Bobby Paget announced that he intends to hang up his gloves after this year's event. Well done Bobby and thanks for all your hard work over the years. Former boxers Bobby Cheeseman and Johnny Scanlon have now stepped into the ring to organise this unique event for Round 26 and beyond. Knockout! "SO CLOSE AT COOMBE HILL"
For more years than I can remember our President, Peter Levy, has very kindly sponsored an EBGA team to participate in this high profile Charity Day at one of Surrey's most prestigious golf clubs. This year my guide Martin Poole and I were lucky enough to be among those representing the association at Coombe Hill along with Mike & Joyce Loten, Derek & Yvonne Field and Malcolm Elrick & Geoff Iles: And I'll remember the day as the day I came closest I'd been for some time to a hole-in-one. More about that later. As well as enjoying a sociable game of golf on such a top course our participation was very much an awareness exercise on our part….and we certainly attracted plenty of attention in our uniform yellow EBGA sweaters - not only from our fellow competitors, but also the local green-fly contingent who must have seen us as a huge bunch of brightly coloured flowers! Around 100 golfers took part in the event, in it's 35th year, raising around £10,000. And although it goes without saying that we didn't trouble the leaders with our Team Stableford total, it was pleasing to know that we were part of the event that raised so much money for what is such an important cause and we all thank Peter for the opportunity. Whilst we had no trophies, or prizes, to show for our efforts, (we couldn't even win the raffle!), our disappointment was more than made up by the fantastic buffet served up after the golf And, on the subject of food, I must tell you about a sign that Martin noticed at The Halfway Hut - sorry, Halfway Hut doesn't do it justice - it was more like a Self Service Restaurant out on the course. Anyway, the sign was displayed in the "Men’s' Comfort Room" on the wall behind the toilet cistern. It read, in both text and Braille, "Now Wash Your Hands". Whether it meant, "Now wash your hands after reaching across to touch this sign to read the Braille," we're not really sure.
Oh, and that hole-in-one…Simon Hall was the chap who scored the ace…..I just happened to be in the group behind him when he did it but, that's the closest I've been to the feat, and ever likely to be! Tony ShearmanJAPANESE OPEN 2008Report by Neil Baxter The competition was held at the Izu Yugashima Golf Club, situated in the foothills of Mount Fuji about 120 miles from Tokyo. Mid April is the peak of the cherry blossom season in Japan although on this occasion some high winds earlier in the month had done serious damage to the usually lush flowers. Izu Yugashima is a magnificent golf course and like many courses in Japan has two greens on each hole so that while one is being used the other can be rested and worked on by the green staff. The practice day proved to be very wet, rather like the weather we had left at home. We were assured that the tournament would be played in warm sunny weather and after a misty start this proved to be correct. With me in Japan was Simon Cookson who, after an excellent practice round came second to Ally Reid from Scotland in the B3 category. I had the pleasure of playing with a member of the Japanese Blind Golf Association who I think is probably the best B1 I have ever played with. He played off 34 and came in with level par winning the best B1 and the overall championship. It was a pleasure to see how well he played, At this point I will draw a veil over the golf, except to say that I usually start the season slowly and this year is no exception. Finally a word about our hosts who looked after us splendidly and made our stay in Japan very enjoyable. Horsforth Golf Club Nominate Malcolm ElrickMalcolm Elrick is to become Horsforth Golf Club's Rabbits Captain for 2009 (Rabbits are all those playing members who have a handicap of 16 and above.) I feel very proud and honoured to be asked by the past captians and presidents to represent them in 2009. I have Captained England in blind golf in the past and feel that this is on a par to that as I have been asked to take up this position by ordinary members. I will do my utmost to represent the club and blind golf in my year of office and hope to see as many of you as possible. DJ Spoony and Geoff Cope Joine EBGA as patrons" The BBC Radio 1 DJ, 5 Live presenter and now Celebrity Mastermind, SPOONY, has accepted an invitation to become a patron of the English Blind Golf Association. " I played with some of the members of EBGA for the first time in 2007 and was impressed with their aytitude and commitment to to the game of golf," says Spoony. "it's a privilege to be asked to become a patron and I hope I can help to promote the valuable work of this excellent charity." Former Yorkshire and England cricketer Geoff Cope has accepted his invitation to become a patron of EBGA. He Stated "I am deeply honoured with your invitation to become a patron of the association and am delighted to be able to accept."
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