News
GC Singles Competitions on 3rd and 4th March
The overwhelming response of entries to the original competition meant it was decided to split the event into two on two consecutive days so that everyone could play (some on both days!).
Friday's event was managed by Roger; thanks to him for that and to the catering team of Linda Davies, Rosemany Faulkner and Marion King. Roger reports that the weather was cold but dry. There were 20 contestants split into two groups of 10; these were then seeded and split into two groups of 5 and then played cross blocks.
Morgan Case was the winner of Block A1 with an impressive 5 wins, with Charles Sale second with 3 wins.
Block A2 was a closer affair with Ian Cobbold winning with 3 wins and +5 hoops and Richard Brooks second with 3 wins +2 hoops.
Block B1 again was close with Francis Ainley winning with 4 wins +13 hoops and Paul Green second with 4 wins +12 hoops. Block B2 had an run away winner, Simon Fenn-Tye with 4 wins and +10 hoops.
Congratulations to the winners.
Saturday's event was very smoothly managed by Vincent L'Estrange (no rain today!!). The catering team was Angela Avis and Karen Hayton. Thanks to all three for making the competition possible.
Vincent reported that there was a full turnout of 24 for our second GC Singles Tournament in 2 days, demonstrating how popular they are. Yet again, there were requests for more Saturday events (Committee, please take note - Webmaster). Three groups of 8 completed 5 rounds by which time clear winners had emerged so a final round was not played (most people were cold enough already).
Despite the cold there was some excellent croquet played, especially by the winners who dominated their groups: Group A Bob Clark, 5 wins, net hoops +17; Group B Simon Ancell 5 wins +16; Group C Martin Daniels 5 wins +20. Congratulations to all three.
Thanks to the catering team for a warming bowl of soup at lunchtime.
Full results for both days
Friday Block A |
MC | AS | CH | IC | TJ | CS | SC | RB | DK | AH | Wins | Net Hoops |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Morgan Case | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 11 | |||||
Andrew Stewart | 3 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 1 | -14 | |||||
Chris Heath | 6 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 1 | -7 | |||||
Ian Cobbold | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 5 | |||||
Tony Jolly | 5 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 6 | |||||
Charles Sale | 7 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | |||||
Steve Chapman | 7 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 9 | |||||
Richard Boooks | 4 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 2 | |||||
David KIng | 5 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 2 | -8 | |||||
Andrea Huxley | 7 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 1 | -7 |
Friday Block B |
PG | AA | JM | DD | DC | PG | FA | SFT | LG | VL | Wins | Net Hoops |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Peter Goldsmith | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 0 | -18 | |||||
Angela Avis | 6 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | -11 | |||||
Jim Mander | 7 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 1 | |||||
David Dickens | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 6 | |||||
Denis Cruse | 7 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 2 | -6 | |||||
Paul Green | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 12 | |||||
Francis Ainley | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 13 | |||||
Simon Fenn Tye | 7 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 10 | |||||
Linda Gavigan | 7 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 2 | |||||
Vincen L'Estrange | 5 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 | -9 |
Saturday Block A |
RB | MC | LF | BC | MH | CM | JI | SC | Wins | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Richard Brooks | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 4 | |||
Morgan Case | 7 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 6 | |||
Liz Farrow | 6 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | |||
Bob Clark | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 1 | |||
Mark Hamilton | 5 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 8 | |||
Chrissie Merrington | 5 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 7 | |||
Jonathan Isaacs | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 5 | |||
Steve Chapman | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 2 |
Saturday Block B |
SA | JL | BG | JP | BH | GT | SF | FL | Wins | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Simon Ancell | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 1 | |||
John Low | 4 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 8 | |||
Bridget Goodman | 4 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 6 | |||
Jane Powell | 4 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 7 | |||
Beryl Hughes | 3 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 4 | |||
Gavin Taylor | 4 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 3 | |||
Simon Fenn-Tye | 7 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 5 | |||
Frances Low | 7 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 2 |
Saturday Block C |
RF | MD | KY | PG | KH | MA | VY | NB | Wins | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rosemary Faulkner | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 5 | |||
Martin Daniels | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 1 | |||
Konstantin Yudintsev | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 3 | |||
Paul Green | 7 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 2 | |||
Ken Hughes | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 7 | |||
Martin Avis | 4 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 6 | |||
Victoria Yudintseva | 5 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 4 | |||
Nigel Bathe | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 8 |
A few pictures of the event
You can now enter our summer club competitions (club members only!)
Full house for GC Winter Doubles
By dint of a little gentle arm-twisting the last place in the competition was filled on Thursday to make a full complement of 40 players. The day were a bit drear and chilly but sensibly the Manager Frances Low had cut the final round from the blocks and it seemed players were content to finish when they did.
Three blocks were organised, a 'top' block of 8 teams of the lowest handicapped players and two approximately equal blocks of six teams each.
The top block was convincingly won by Jane and Neil Humphreys, winning 4 out of 5 games.
Block B1 was won by Anne Bolland and Fran Box with 4 out of 5 wins and +10 points; Paul Green and Francis Ainley also had 4/5 wins and +10 points but had lost to Anne and Fran so came a very close second.
Block B2 was won by Di Langridge and Sue Rice, also with 4 out of 5 wins, the only pair to do so in their block.
Thanks to Frances Low for managing, aided by Roger Sutton, and to Angela Avis and Judith Peek for organising the excellent soup lunch (very welcome after the cold play) and to the soup makers, of course.
Full results
Block A | SA&VL | A&NG | BG&JP | J&NH | AH< | TJ&FP | SN&DK | GT&BH | Wins | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Simon Ancell & Vincent L'Estrange | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | |||
Anne & Noel Gill | 3 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 4 | |||
Bridget Goodman & Jane Powell | 7 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 6 | |||
Jane & Neil Humphries | 7 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 1 | |||
Andrea Huxley & Louise Taylor | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 2 | |||
Tony Jolly & Fiona Phillips | 5 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 5 | |||
Sue Nicholas & David King | 4 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 7 | |||
Gavin Taylor & Beryl Hughes | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 8 |
Block B1 | FA&PG | AB&FB | RF&PB | JL&KY | MD&DD | PH&PM | Wins | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Francis Ainley & Paul Green | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 2 | |
Anne Bolland & Fran Box | 7 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 1 | |
Rosemary Faulkner & Paul Brown | 1 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 5 | |
John Low & Konstantin Yudintsev | 5 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 4 | |
Martin Daniels & David Dickens | 6 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | |
Pat Harden & Pat Mechen | 3 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
Block B2 | LD&TJ | LG&CH | DL&SR | JF&MH | GO&NB | R&JS | Wins | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liz Drury & Tony James | 6 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 4 | |
Linda Gavigan & Chris Heath | 7 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 3 | |
Di Langridge & Sue Rice | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 1 | |
Jane Fry & Mark Hamilton | 4 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 5 | ||
Gerald O'Brien & Nigel Bathe | 3 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 6 | ||
Roger & Jenny Sutton | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 2 |
Some pictures of the event
GC Singles Competition 3rd February 2023
This was the first competition of 2023 and, unlike earlier winter events, was played on a pleasant day with some sunshine in the afternoon after a chilly start.
Block A was won by Richard Brooks, who won 6 out of 7 gsames, as also did Morgan Case; Richard beat Morgan by 1 point on net hoops to take the winning slot.
Block B was won by Steve Chapman who won all his games with a massive +22 points (Handicapper, please note!!)
Block C was won by Alan Grundy with 4 out of 6 wins, beating Paul Green on the same number of wins but with 2 net hoop points less.
A mention for Mark Hamilton who took a vacant place in Block C at the last minute and won all his games, but declined the winning place as he should have played in a higher block.
Thanks to Linda for managing the event so efficiently and to Angela and Martin Avis for organising the lunch (and the cooks who made it).
Full results follow and a few more pictures.
Full results
Block A | SA | RB | CS | MC | CM | CH | TJ | JI | Wins | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Simon Ancell | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 3 | |
Richard Brooks | 7 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 1 | |
Charles Sale | 6 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 5 | |
Morgan Case | 7 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 2 | |
Chrissie Merrington | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 4 | |
Chris Heath | 5 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 8 | |
Tony Jolly | 4 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 6 | |
Jonathan Isaacs | 7 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 7 |
Block B | SC | BG | JP | BH | GT | DK | JL | VL | Wins | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Steve Chapman | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 1 | ||
Bridget Goodman | 3 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 3 | ||
Jane Powell | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 2 | ||
Beryl Hughes | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 7 | ||
Gavin Taylor | 2 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 6 | ||
David King | 6 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 4 | ||
John Low | 4 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 5 | ||
Vincent L'Estrange | 3 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 8 |
Block C | NB | PB | MH | MD | FL | PG | KH | AG | Wins | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nigel Bathe | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ||
Paul Brown | 6 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 5 | ||
Mark Hamilton | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | |||
Martin Daniels | 7 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 3 | ||
Frances Low | 7 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 4 | ||
Paul Green | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 2 | ||
Ken Hughes | 7 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 6 | ||
Alan Grundy | 7 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 1 |
Sussex members in Women's GC Championships
Congratulations to Gabrielle Higgins and Liz Farrow for their selection to play in the 2023 WCF Women's GC World Championships which take place this year here at Southwick in August. Gabrielle and Liz are currently ranked 6th and 8th best UK women players of Golf Croquet.
We wish them every success.
Extra One-day Competition on 3rd March
The competition on 4th March is over-subscribed so we have added an additional competition on the day before - 3rd March 2023.
If you have already entered please follow the instructions sent out by Roger by email. New players can also enter on-line as normal.
AC Short Croquet competitions in April and June
There are two additional one day competitions in the system for next season. Both are AC Short Croquet events, AC alternate stroke doubles on short courts (14 point handicap games) on 24th April 2023 and AC Short Croquet singles on short courts (full bisque, 14 point games) on 2nd June 2023. Entry fee for members of £5.
All handicaps welcome; if you don't have a short croquet handicap, don't worry, ir can be calculated from your AC handicap.
If you wish to take part in either of these events you probably need to enter quickly as places are very limited.
Entering club open tournaments
I have made some changes to the open competition entry form and you can now enter more than one competition at the same time. On a desktop computer, hold down the Ctrl key (Cmd key on Apple) to select more than one event; on a smartphone tick the check for the required events.
This change represents a substantial re-coding of the form so if anything appears wrong, please email me.
Webmaster
Season ends with Festive Cheer
Still one event to go (The Christmas GC Doubles on the 30th December - two places left!) but the Club Christmas Lunch was a good way to (nearly) finish. The canteen was filled with two rows of tables (better than three as we have had sometimes in the past) and the result was a colourful and enjoyable meal.
Thanks to Fran Box, a raffle took place between main course and pudding and there was a succession of prize winners visiting the prizes table.
The main event, the three course meal, was unsurpassed: lovely soup choices for starters, followed by Turkey or Ottolenghi’s Mustardy Cauliflower Cheese and choice of puddings. All excellent - your correspondent had extra helpings to make sure!
Club get togethers with meals like this couldn't happen without the expertise and dedication of our members who take on the huge task of preparation and cooking: the Working Party decorated the Canteen the Tuesday beforehand and prepared the furniture; all the food had to be bought and stored; a whole team was present on Saturday to do laying of tables and preparing the food and again on Sunday for the final stages of cooking, presentation and serving (and clearing up afterwards). A huge thank you to everyone involved.
Compliments of the Season to all Club members and best wishes for 2023.
Croquet Academy Programme for 2023 released.
Next season's programme of courses is now available on the Academy website and course are open for bookings.