Here is the money list, and what is at stake if you don’t join us for the AGM!

I really need to move from nine spreadsheet tabs into some kind of database – adding new players is a right old pain to get all of the lovely tables working properly – not that anyone cares.

Same old story, your esrtwhile Skipper has placed 2, 1, 2 so far this year, so I’m in Yellow for the first major of the year, but noob PK, with his shiny bandit handicap, is hot on my heels after taking the TD Memorial.

As usual, controversy could be brewing though, as there’s a missing match report that should be eating into his WHVRPs at a rate of 5 points per day, but he is claiming ignorance of the law as a defence, and the introducing member isn’t accepting any kind of responsibility either. Good old WHV.

Here’s the OoM – not long til Rob’s Dog Meat Dinner, and the grand unveiling of the HELPINGROB shirt adornments

The standings page has all of the details – five points cover the top three players in the OoM, good news after four events and a high scoring major.

I’ve also created a new column on the career stats page – top three finishes – mainly to show how often you get into contention, but also because it proves what I’ve suspected – I’m a consistent beast, placing in well over half of the events I’ve entered.

If you have a suggestion for your own stat that you could ‘own’ send it in – I am back tracking hole-by-hole performance, ready for publication once we’re into the meat of the season, so king of the blobs, king of the threes might return – it would be good to get career blob or birdie counts onto the table too.

Ron – your jug win is now in the system, it was one error in one cell that was excluding it.

If you want to see the OoM at any point, or the money table or the career standings, and indeed other stuff – head over to the standings page.

Safe to say, after one event in 2015, where Millers and Donk finished 1 & 2 and won the Shark and Dog, things aren’t that interesting yet – except for me finally overhauling Dougal in the career RP totals.

He was also impervious to the mind games from master wind up merchant Noz – simply powering through without duffs or mistakes pretty much through 36 of the best holes we’re likely to play (except, in my opinion, the Shores was a better nine than the Himalayas).

So, here’s a results card from the weekend, the new OoM, new Money list, New Career Standings, and the Handicaps for the Spoonholder’s Salver – details of which will follow this week once the course of my choosing confirms. Oh, and in case you’re wondering – in order for Boycie to overhaul me in the OoM, as it is a minor, we would need to get 19 members to play, and for him to win and me to come no higher than sixth – not a mathematical possibility, but I think PaddyPower would pay out in these circumstances.

Steve, you have 2 weeks to provide a comprehensive weekend report – starting with the Saturday Morning – can I recommend you search for the match reports from Dougal or Noz covering previous Claret Jug wins – that will give you an idea of what we’re expecting. If it is late, or if it is rubbish, the board has been known to make members pay fines, lost points or be subjected to forfeits…

I’ve done a bit of analysis, and given the points bonanza and sheer size of the field, the only person who couldn’t be leading the OoM if the weekend goes in a weird way (Me, Noz and Bruce fail to place, whilst they sweep both events) is Nelly Neil – everybody else could score enough points to overhaul my minimum total – it’s all to play for.

The forecast on the BBC looks better than it has all week – which might spell trouble for a man who might explode if he has to wear proper white socks on Saturday.

Here are the usual tables – take note of the new and improved career stats – interesting to note that there’s less than a fiver between the big money winners in the history of the tour, as recorded by me – I need to work up a chart showing how the money was accumulated across the years, some people won big in the pre-scrapeage years – in the same way that some people won a LOT of RPs when the Jug was worth x8 rather than today’s x6.

Whilst the R&A were hurriedly rescheduling the Open’s 3^rd Round Tee Times, playing in 3 balls rather than two balls, off the 1^st and 10^th at Hoylake – The WHVGS were busily playing/attempting to play two five hour rounds, in our Annual 36 hole Mutliball Scramble and 18 hole Major at the Warwickshire.

In a nutshell – the Mutliball finished with the President’s team up by 1, (5.0 verses 4.0) and we had consumed our dubious looking, (but gluten free), chilli. As we started the afternoon 18, the skies all around got darker and darker, but with visible no sign of any rain we set off…. At about 3.30, just after Ads had got a net 1 (taking him to 5 points after 2 holes) and Bruce (playing of 14) had got 10 points after 4 holes (playing to 1 over), the rain started with a huge clap of thunder and lightning filled the sky – Gregs and Aust literally grabbed their balls and ran for cover – others refrained from grabbing their balls, leaving them to continue post shower and we all buggied off to shelter/safety under a load of trees and next to a tall metal pylon of some description, by the 5^th tee. After half an hour the 4th green was a lake, there were rivers running down the 3^rd fairway  and we had been entertained by the thunder and lightning show. When it was deemed safe(ish) to leg it, we all buggied full tilt back to the club house, which was full of very golfers… At 5pm we called it a day, the course wasn’t officially shut, but it was basically unplayable, plus it was 5pm so we wouldn’t have finished the round.

The Teams were:

The President’s – The Pres, Aust, the TD, Neil, Ads and Boycie

The Captain’s – The Captain, Noz, Tom, Miller, Bruce and Pedro

In the Forest later that night “10 points after 4 holes” Hopkin was quite happily recounting that it was just a minor shower and that we should have carried on. 5 points after 2 holes / net 1 Hogarth didn’t seem to give a monkeys – fire up the attached file and see/hear for yourself. It gets quite good about 3 quarters of the way through the video – I have no idea why it is upside down, I didn‘t take it…

Your Board’s considerations and decisions:

After some debate, your Board have agreed on the following course of action for the remainder of the 2014…

The 2014 OoM

– The OoM Ranking Points (RPs) are weighted around: (1) The CJ, (2) Three other Majors and (3) the Minors

– There is already a concern (by some) that the CJ RP weighting is too high

– We therefore need to hold a Major ranking event in lieu of the President’s to spread the larger RP events across 4 events, rather than just 3 (inc the CJ, with its extra weight).

Timing options / dates :

– Slot a new date in – this is probably not feasible

– Use a current date –makes more sense

Using a current date:

– We could play 36 holes at future Tour Event date with the morning 18 being the President’s “Major”

– The Download is a no go, due to holidays and an associated 40th party that night giving time restrictions

– We don’t like the idea of running two Majors on the same day (eg @ the PEDRO).

– The AA is miles away so not suit bale for a 36 holer and the Spoonholders is dark enough already.

– So the best option appears to be to change one of the Minors it to Major points status and it is best for this not to be the autumnally 5h1ty conditions of the Spoonholders.

– Leaving the AA date… Which actually appears to work well..

The “2014 President’s & Amy Austin”

– The 2014 “Amy Austin” will be a pseudo Major – attracting Major RPs and handicap adjustment, plus the winner will be awarded both the AA “Chrystal Cube” and the “President’s Buckle”.

– We will have 2 longest Drives and 2 nearest the pins – front 9 for the “Presidents” and back nine for the “AA”.

– Currently 10 of the current 12 AA entrants are the same as the 12 which entered the President’s:  Pres, Donk, Noz, Juice, Miller, Aust, Gregs, Ads, Neil and Pedro

– I am working to Tom to do the CJ – which would make it 11. Boycie has the Horse of the year show to attend…..?!

– The “new entrants” at the AA are currently: Rob & Mike (Woolly is not playing the Friday) – could benefit by this route, but we have tempered this by agreed some RPs for attendance at the original President’s and for the Ryder Cup points earned…

– The one down side is that if anyone were to win the AA/President’s and the CJ, then they would probably win the OoM, but this has only been done once – by Noz, when he “decided to win that year” and then swept all before him in 2009.

The Award of RPs for the aborted Presidents:

The President’s” Major” was called off with 2 groups only completing 2 holes. However, 12 people attended the Major and they will all get the minimum “Attendance points” for a 12 man Major = 12 (25% of 48)

The “Ryder Cup” element was not completed, but the 18 hole Mutliball was played and completed and will therefore get some recognition. The leading team as it stood after round 1 will all get 5 RPs each (half the normal 10 RPs for the winning team) and everyone will get 1 RP for each Ryder Cup point won, rounded up to full points.

Yours

The Pres