WL Round 5 - Mar09

8 of us played Bondhay today, so i thought i would let the rest know what the course is like. The course is in good condition, greens are fast and undulating, fairways are firm and well presented. Bunkers were lacking some sand, but they were going round filling them up today (only around 105 to fill up!). The first cut of rough is not punishing, as its not much longer than the fairway. This is because nearly all the first cut of rough has trees in it, which are the penalty for missing the fairway, rather than a crappy lie. The second cut of rough is bad, but you have to stray a long way off line to reach this, so you should be punished. But look on the bright side, there is not many trees in the deep rough! The key is staying on the fairway and really thinking about your approach to the greens. Each green is well protected by bunkers or water. some of the holes, you are better off stopping short of the green and chipping up to the hole, rather than risking the bunkers. I mentioned before about not letting you ball spin back into the water on the nearest the pin hole (11th) so you would think i would know better. But, alas, i do not, as mine span back into the water! Overall, it is going to be a good test for all players, but if you lay up short, you might post a good score. Today's best score was 35 points by Neil Richardson, me and another got into the 30's (33 &32) the rest were in the twenties. you have to make your score on the front nine, which is the inner part of the golf course. The back nine goes right round the outside of the course, so the holes are longer with a few out of bounds to catch people out (like me!). So to sum up, a good score can be had if you think about your game. I got 32 points, but also had 2 no returns on the back nine (18 out, 14 in). Will put the photographs in the events page. allan

Now have 31 confirmed for certain and 4 who have signed up but not got back to me yet.