David Head Greensomes, 09/08/26 Not once, twice, but four times a miracle as -14 wins In Greensomes golf both partners tee off and then decide on which ball to play the hole to a finish with, taking alternate shots to do so. Each player also had to take a minimum of six tee shots in order to make the overall contributions from tee to green fairly equal. The Committee also agreed to implement a common-sense local rule for this competition to offset some very difficult conditions on the 7th Fairway: namely, that if a drive genuinely hit the fairway and then rolled off into the deep rough on the left, that a free drop could be taken to help with pace of play and so a decent drive wasn’t unfairly penalised. Greensomes strategy goes far beyond just picking the longest drive. Tactics centred on choosing the best angle to the green, matching the second-shot player's strengths, managing the sequence of who plays next, and neutralizing a partner's weaker shots wherever possible. Partners had deep and meaningful strategy conversations: that tree looks very big, that’s not your line, we not going to see that down, he’s still got it, I think we’ll take yours, we think that skipped forwards and had a little dance and shuffle near the hole, that’s all right you can putt that, is that dead as well, and that’s about as useful as a Daleks football boots. All positive stuff. Another unofficial rule of Greensomes compared with 4BBB is that you can apologise slightly if it’s a bad shot and you’ve left an impossible chip or raced the putt past the hole and into a different county jurisdiction. So, there were some genuine apologies made to partners. The winners were Chris Thornett and Laurence Briggs with the most extraordinary score of 2026, a massive 50 points (-14 under their combined handicap which equates to roughly -7 strokes under handicap) which has been described on golf forums as sitting at the absolute limit of normal amateur performance. They averaged nearly 2.8 points per hole, meaning they carded a lot of net birdies and were effectively error free. Congratulations both as this is as close to perfect golf that most golfers will ever play. The photograph attached is of fellow competitors trying to work out what had just happened. Congratulations also to the runners up Sharmin and Aaron who shot an excellent 42 points (-6 under their combined handicap) and third placed Chris and Rob with 41 points (-5 under their handicap). These scores would win 8/10 competitions and you are all clearly on good form. Otherhighlights of the day included 1. Some frantic confusing waving on the 18th that held up the group behind: was it a cry for help or a target to aim for? All became clear when an unnamed team appeared from below the mounds having had to play a recovery from close to the farmhouse wall after having hit a very thinnish bullet (from a preferred lie), 2. Dermott’s post competition definition of Strokeplay for those competitors easily distracted by UFOs wandering the course, and 3. The realisation that Steve Finn was in fact Steve Finnnan as well (or not). All the competitors sent their best wishes to Vic for a speedy recovery after his accident in the buggy. It’s always appreciated when you are able to marshal us around the course and keep us on track. Thanks are also due to the Greenkeepers putting in extra hours to repair the rabbit damage at the edge of numerous greens. It must be heartbreaking to see so much of their previous good work having to be redone on such a frequent basis and we do appreciate your professionalism in doing this. The next major will be the Seniors Club Championship on the 23rd August so do please sign up if you are eligible and look out for the communications coming out soon. Note that neither Steve Finn nor his alter ego Steve Finnan are eligible for another few years! The final results table in full Player HCP/ Score C. Thornett / L. Briggs 23 50 S. Davis / A. Gracey 20 42 C. Chaundy / R. Barson 19 41 J. Brine / R. Smith 10 36 D. Buckle / J. Wood 13 36 C. Bailey / S. Finn 18 35 I. Cox / D. Kear 23 34 D. Whelan / R. Standring 33 34 P. Dela / R. Dean 24 32 D. Edwards / C. Harvey 26 31