Pitch and Putt, usually followed by a pub lunch - but that is optional.

13th September 2024

Only four of us met on what started out as a chilly morning, but the wind died and the sun came out and it ended up a very nice day. Carl Hughes the u3a Chair was with us, and another new player to the group called Michael was also there. Most of the regular players seemed to be down with Covid or something else. Apparently Carl hasn't played for 40 years, and Michael hasn't played for 20 years. Anyway we played as one group, and the winner on the day was Yve, her first win since December 2022. Her score of 37 gives her 11 consecutive scores under 40. Ian was second with 38, Michael got 44 and Carl got 48. It has to be said that Carl hit the pin twice when chipping in, and ran over the hole at least twice. We all had lunch at the Fox and Hounds after.

The next meeting will be on Friday 11th October, 10.30 at Woodham Mortimer.
-Ian Parrott

9th August 2024

Six of us met on a hot and sunny scorcher, including one player new to the group: namely, an old friend of mine called Rod. Ian teed off first and hit the tree as usual, then Lynn unusually sliced to the right, and Phil did something similar. The lowest score of the day went to Lynn again with a 34. This extends further her overall lead to 9 wins. Yve came second with 36, and this gives her 10 consecutive scores under 40. Ian got 40, Karen got 43 on recalculation, Phil 44 and Rod 51. Ian and Lynn both got a birdie each, and in total we made 10 pars between us. We all went for lunch after at the Fox and Hounds, and Steve turned up for his usual bowl of soup.

The next meeting will be Friday 13th September at Woodham Mortimer as usual.
-Ian Parrott

12th July 2024

Only five of us met on a dry but warmish day due to holidays and that, but on this occasion as it turned out, there were more people on the course than we had ever seen before. Ian and Yve teed off first and completed the course in just over an hour. Steve , Lynn and Tony were in the other group but of course took a bit longer. The lowest score of the day went to Lynn with a 32, this is the second lowest score ever achieved by our group and extends her overall lead to 8 wins. Ian got 35, Yve and Steve got 36, and Tony got 40. Yve managed her ninth consecutive score under 40 and is our most consistent player but has only achieved one win so far. Ian got a birdie on the difficult 6th, and Yve got a birdie on one of the extra holes that we played. In total we managed 15 pars between us over the 9 holes. Four of us went for lunch after at the Fox and Hounds.

The next meeting will be at 10.30 on 9th August at Woodham Mortimer as usual.
- Ian Parrott

14th June 2024

Seven of us met on a dry and partially sunny day. We played on our usual course at Woodham Mortimer and the fairways were short and the greens were even shorter. Lynn and Steve both made a birdie, and there were 9 pars in total. Ian got the lowest score of the day with a 36, Lynn and Yve both got 37, Steve got 38, Tony 39, and Phil and Karen 42.
So Yve got her eighth consecutive score under 40, but Lynn is still the outright leader with 7 wins. Ian now has 6 wins and Steve 5. We all went for lunch after at the Fox and Hounds.
The next meeting will be at 10.30 on 12th July.
- Ian Parrott

10th May 2024

Seven of us met on a lovely warm and sunny day. Steve, Lynn and Phil all made 2 pars, and Yve got her seventh consecutive score under 40. Lynn was the winner on the day with 36, which gives her 7 wins in total and extends her lead as No. 1. Yve got 38, Phil 39, Karen 41, Steve and Ian 43, and Tony 47. We all had lunch at the Fox and Hounds after negotiating road closures.
The next meeting will be on Friday 14th June - but may be at a different time and location.
- Ian Parrott

12th April 2024

Six of us met on a warm and dry day. The round was fairly uneventful but the competition was close. Ian scored a birdie on the seventh, and also on the extra hole that we played but of course that didn't count. Lynn got the lowest score of the day with 36 which confirms her place as overall leader with 6 wins. Steve got 38, Yve, Tony and Ian got 39 and Karen got 40. Yve and Tony have now both got 6 consecutive scores under 40.
We all went for lunch at the Fox and Hounds after.
The next meeting will be Friday 10th May at 10.30.
- Ian Parrott

8th March 2024

Four of us met on a dry but fairly breezy day. Steve lost his ball on the first hole in the big fir tree on the left from his tee shot. Phil hit a tree much nearer though, also on the first hole, and consequently didn't get very far at all from the tee. We all had a few other wayward shots that we had to contend with, but Ian managed to chip straight into the hole from off the green giving him a par on the second. Lowest score of the day went to Tony with 39. It was his first win since January 2023, and his fifth consecutive score under 40.

Second was Ian on 42, then Steve on 45 and Phil on 46. Phil was actually doing quite well until the final hole when he carded a particularly bad score. We all had lunch after at the Fox and Hounds.

Next meeting will be 12th April at 10.30am.
- Ian Parrott

9th February 2024

Six of us met on a dry but windy day; the course was very wet though due to heavy rain the previous day. After drawing cards, the three ladies and three men played in different groups. Ian teed off first and went into the big fir tree on the left…the ball never came down, though. Tony was next and his ball made a huge splash as it landed in a deep puddle to the right of the green. Ian managed to get a birdie on the difficult hole 6, and Steve birdied the last extra hole that we were able to play but unfortunately this did not count towards his overall score. The winners on the day were Ian and Lynn who both tied on 35. Tony and Yve tied on 37, and Karen and Steve tied on 42. Steve, Lynn and Ian now have 5 first places each, but Lynn still holds the lowest score ever. We all went for lunch after at the Fox and Hounds.
The next meeting will be on 8th March at 10.30
- Ian Parrott

12th January 2024

Only 3 of us met on this occasion due to reasons mostly unknown to us, but the weather was dry and windless and the fallen leaves were gone. Phil managed to birdie the first hole despite a large fallen fir branch halfway up the fairway. Another point to mention is that all three of us got pars on the difficult hole 6, and this was despite 2 wayward tee shots from Ian and Tony.
Phil won the day with his lowest score ever of 35, which also gives him his first win within the group. Tony came second with 37, and Ian got the booby prize with 38. All 3 of us went for lunch after at the Fox and Hounds.
The next meeting will be Friday 9th February at 10.30am.
- Ian Parrott

8th December 2023

Eight of us me on a lovely Winter's day. The sun was shining, there was very little wind and no rain. There were a few leaves lying about and the grass was wet and slightly long on the fairways. Ian got the lowest score of the day with 35. Tony was second with a very respectable 36, and Yve, who got the only birdie of the day, got 38. Karen and Steve both got 39, with Phil on 41, Lynn 43 and Diane still struggling a little but she says she enjoys it and will continue to come. We all, except Lynn, went for lunch after at the Fox and Hounds where I made an end of year presentation. The inaugural u3a trophy went to Steve with a total of 5 wins - Lynn could have snatched the trophy from him today but unfortunately she was unable to find her form on this occasion.
- Ian Parrott

10th November 2023

Unfortunately, I didn't make this month's pitch and putt due to a flat tyre. I got halfway there but then had to struggle home with help from the RAC. It's a long story. Anyway, 5 people did make it and played as one group. Steve and Tony both scored their lowest rounds ever, and also both of them made a birdie each. Steve was the winner with 34 which puts him back in the outright lead with 5 wins. Tony got 35, Yve 37, Phil 40 and Lynn 42. Obviously, it was not Lynn's best day. All 5 went for lunch after at the Fox and Hounds and enjoyed the warmth and the conversation.
The next meeting will be on Friday 8th December at 10.30.
- Ian Parrott

13th October 2023

Apologies first. I got my terminology wrong in the last magazine. I should have said that we only managed 6 pars between us, not birdies. In fact, nobody got a birdie. Anyway, 5 of us met for October's session with the threat of rain and high winds. Fortunately, we only encountered one short shower which wasn't very heavy and the wind died down during the morning. Lynn got the lowest score of the day with 35. It was her 4th win within the group and brings her level with Steve. Yve came second with 38 and Ian got 39. Karen got 40 and Steve got 41, so the scores were all pretty close. Again, nobody got any birdies but we managed 9 pars between us, 3 each for Karen and Yve. All 5 of us went for lunch after at the Fox and Hounds.
Next meeting will be Friday 10th October at 10.30.
-Ian Parrott

August 2023

Eight of us met on a warm, dry and bright day. Five men, and three ladies. The three ladies ended up in the same group with Tony, and the other group of 4 were of course all men. The men teed off first and by the end of the 9 holes had accumulated 3 birdies between them. One each for Steve, Phil and myself. The other group didn't get any birdies however, but did manage some pars between them. First place went to Steve, Lynn and myself all tied on 35. It’s Steve's third consecutive first place and his lowest score ever. Next up was Phil on 40, then Karen and Tony both on 42. Peter had his best round ever by far on 46, and Dianne got 62. Seven of us went to the Fox and Hounds for lunch although Tony only had a drink because he was expecting visitors.
The next meeting will be Friday 8th September at 10.30.
-Ian Parrott

14th July 2023

Eight of us met on a warm but light rainy day: four ladies and four men. The rain persisted throughout the morning, but we all had waterproofs and it wasn't unpleasant to play in. Lowest score of the day went to Steve for the second consecutive month, equalling his lowest ever score of 36. Lynn was next with 38, then me 39 and Yve 41. Karen and Phil both scored 43, and a much-improved Diane scored 48, her lowest ever. Peter lost count on one hole so we put a 15 for it. The other holes were a bit better but it still brought him home in eighth position. We all had lunch at the Fox and Hounds, Cock Clarks.
Next meeting, Friday 11th August at 10.30am.
-Ian Parrott

June 2023

Seven of us met on a warm, sunny but slightly windy day. Three ladies and four men. June T. joined us for the first time and although she putted quite well, she could not really get to grips with the iron. Tony decided to use a 9 iron or a pitching wedge but somehow still managed to overhit his tee shots to begin with. The lowest score of the day went to Steve with 36, his lowest ever. Second was myself on 43, then Yve 44, Tony 45 and Phil 48. Dianne played for only her second time and was trying to get tips from Yve. She improved on her previous score by 6 shots. Yve got the only birdie of the day but unfortunately it was on her last extra hole, so it didn't really count. We all lunched at the Fox and Hounds.
Next meeting will be Friday July 14th at 10.30.
-Ian Parrott

May 2023

Four men and three ladies met on a light rainy day. Optimistically we decided to play anyway. Fortunately for us the rain did not get any heavier and actually stopped altogether after a while. Lynn had a very good day and won by a mile with the lowest score of 31. It's the best score ever achieved by our group and included 2 holes in two. Phil came second equalling his lowest score ever with 38, and Steve and myself tied 3rd on 39. It was also Steve's lowest score ever. Yve did not have such a good day, possibly because she was trying her pitching wedge, but Karen finished on 40. We all went for lunch after at the Fox and Hounds.
The next meeting will be on Friday 9th June at 10.30
-Ian Parrott

April 2023

Seven of us met on a rather damp, gloomy and chilly morning. Five ladies and 3 men. The lowest score of the day went to myself on 36, then Lynn on 38, Eve on 40 and Tony on 42. Peter had his lowest round ever and Karen scored the only hole in 2 of the day. We all went for lunch after at the Fox and Hounds, Cock Clarks.
The next meeting will be at 10.30 on Friday 12th May.
-Ian Parrott

March 2023

Seven of us met at the driving range as usual, but it was cold, windy and raining so we decided to go tenpin bowling instead. On arrival at the alley, we found that all the lanes were taken because two other large u3a groups had got there before us. Consequently, we were confined to the pool tables. We hired two tables, one playing doubles, the other singles and one volunteer sitting out each time. We changed partners throughout. Steve was the overall winner with 4 wins, Eve got 3 and Phil got 2 although it's fair to say that some of us played 4 games while others only played three. Six of us went for lunch after.
The next meeting will be Friday 14th April at 10.30.
-Ian Parrott

10th February 2023

Nine of us met on a sunny and wind free day, 4 ladies and 5 men. Jan, who has never held a club in her life, managed to birdie the most difficult hole on the course, and Karen, who hasn't played for 30 years, got the 4th lowest score of the day on 37. Lynn got the lowest score on 33, and Eve and myself got 34. The next meeting will be on Friday 10th March at 10.30
-Ian Parrott

January 2023

Eight of us met on a windy but sunny day, 3 ladies and 5 men. We managed 9 holes before going for lunch. Phil hit the green on each of his first 4 tee shots, and Tony also hit the flag from the tee. The lowest scorer of the day was Tony on 37, Phil scored 38, Eve 39, and Lynn got 40. Six of us went for lunch, and the next meeting will be on Friday 10th February at 10.30am.
-Ian Parrott