It was a hot and humid morning when 40 Togsters arranged into 10 teams took to the course.
After some brain numbing calculations, the Elves arrived at the team handicap.

Amazingly all teams were given a handicap of 10 or 11.
It was good to see that a few teams had stayed for the prizegiving and were able to be presented with their prizes by the Togsmeister. 

In first place with a magnificent 51 points and winning a bottle of bubbly each were Geoffrey Hawkins, Scott Holland, Judith Whittle and Robert Martin. 15 net birdies in the round is some going, well done. 

Second place with 48 points and winning a bottle of Malbec were Rob Leeson, Gill Lane, Alan Ravenhall and Sandra Bruce. 

Third on countback with 46 points were Kim Richardson, Ian Cottingham, Jonathan Williams and Ann McMahon.

The final winners for the most use of the course and winning a bottle of Corona beer were Fay Unsworth, John Brazendale, Brian Maisey and Maggie Smith. 

The prizewinners who have not received their prize can collect from the pro-shop. Any prizes not collected by August 11th will be donated to next month’s TOGS. 

The full results can be found HERE.

11 pairs of carefully matched Donnington Seniors were pitted against 11 pairs of Donnington Ladies on Thursday 8th July.

Many of the matches were extremely close and everyone reported that they had had a really good time not least because the weather remained dry throughout.

Things were looking close after the first four matches with one win each and two draws. Thereafter the Seniors rather ran away with it winning 6 of the remaining seven matches and drawing the last. The overall result being a resounding victory for the Seniors by 8.5 to 2.5.

There was some muttering from the ladies about 'bandits' and a need for some practice before a return match but it was all played in very good spirits!!!

Played this year with a very large field 60 players including a few committee members, on what threatened to be a stormy afternoon but in the end it only rained and many players completed 18 holes.

The competition was played over the front 9 in case the threatened lightning came.
So individual stableford over 9 holes the winners are as below

1st with 20 Points Mathew Goddhead

2nd with 20 Points on countback was Berni Martin

Joint 3rd all on 19 points Adrian Chapman, Joe Hicks, Frits Mans-Cornwell, Alex Mauree

Well played to everyone and welcome to DG we hope you had a good day

DG Committe

June’s TOGS was designed to encourage peace and harmony between playing partners, or possibly a very frank discussion, as partners stableford scores were multiplied together to get the team score! 

A big "Thank You" to everyone who played in this event for your great support and particularly to those who gave more than the minimum entry fee.

It was a day of changeable weather when 68 TOGsters turned out for a diabolical 666 competition. Teams of two played six holes greensomes, 6 holes foursomes and six holes better ball. Competition was fierce but clear leaders emerged with a winning margin of four shots. Well done and congratulations to Daniel Boyce and Ann Maisey with a score of forty one points. Prizes of fabulous bottles of Laithwaites wine go to the first eleven teams and the couple who made the most use of the course.  

 The full set of scores is on the Seniors website so you can see who the prize winners were and how you fared. If you were not lucky enough to win this time – better luck at the next TOGS.

The mixed match season got off to a fantastic start yesterday when the following members played in a friendly against Sandford Springs.
Ali & Steve Lillywhite, Gill & Tom Lane, Ann & Brian Maisey, Maria & Roger Tillet, Rob Hinson, Jan Williams, Sarah Fowler & Ted Shaw.

The weather was kind and the matches well fought & it was a very close call

with the final result being all square.

Thank you to all that played.


Many Thanks

Ali

47 Points – 25 on the back 9 - Ian Panting/ Josh Bosley 1st – Voucher and Prize sponsored by Kevin Beasley
47 Points – 22 on the back 9 - Steve/Alison Lillywhite ( unlucky skipper) 2nd – Voucher and Prize sponsored by Kevin Beasley
46 points – 26 on the back 9 – Ewen Thompson/ Sandy Byfield 3rd – Voucher and Prize sponsored by Kevin Beasley
46 points – 23 on the back 9 – Nick Monger/Rhys Williams
46 Points – 22 on the back 9 – Giles Bennet/ Chris Mobbs-McQuilkin
45 Points – James Percy/John Bishop


Nearest the Pin on 7 Men – Tom lane - prize sponsored by Gary Rinaldi
Nearest the pin on 7 Ladies – Toni Prince – prize sponsored by Gary Rinaldi
Nearest the pin on 14 in 2 – Rob Panting – prize sponsored by Ross Hunter

44 teams played and a total of £440 raised for the charity

Prizes can be picked up from the shop

A massive thanks to Kevin Beasley for organising the day

Did you know you can join the various DG teams from the club V1 app available on your mobile phone both Android & Apple as well as the desk top version just search for Club V1 install the app and us your "How did I do" logins to connect with the DG database

From here you can select teams and join any team that suits you.
You can see all the fixtures and make yourself available for selection by the team managers.

For help to login in or any issues please see the DG pro shop staff.

You can see the full 2021 Diary here including golf & social events

We had some great weather yesterday and actually saw the sun for the first time in a long time. The highlight of the day for me was the mulled wine (the best I’ve ever tasted), mince pies, Fererro Rochas and Quality Street at the half way house, kindly donated by Tom and Nigel. Thanks Guys.

The major event was, of course, the best Santa beard competition. The Elves did an astonishing job of photographing all the beards and then by some magical jiggery pokery on the inter-web arranged an on-line vote for the best beard. After several re-counts, legal challenges and referral to the Supreme Court, Santa Number 6 was declared the winner by the Electoral College with 36% of the vote. Santa 6 just happens to be your esteemed Togsmeister so thanks to all who voted for me.

The results of the questionnaire revealed some interesting findings. Nobody felt that they only played in TOGS because they could not get a tee time otherwise. Forty Togsters would like to see enough tee times allocated so all who wanted to play could play, and 34 thought a shotgun start would be good. A surprising number, 32, thought some 9 hole competitions would be fun, especially in winter. We will see what we can do.

Ah, I almost forgot, what about the competition? Well, unfortunately we had a few last minute withdrawals so some teams had only three members. This problem was overcome by the clever Elves who came up with some advanced mathematics which allocated an extra 5% to their score to restore equity.
My playing partner, Alan, had an exciting round. He slipped over twice, fortunately unhurt, but looking like a mudlark, his hearing aids packed up on the 9th and he broke his 5 iron on the third hole and bravely played on with only two clubs and a putter. I think he deserves an award for gallantry.

The competition was ‘aced’ by the penultimate group, Rob Carvill, Peter Robertson, Jan Torrence and John Headland who carded a magnificent one under par 107 points. It was great that they were in the clubhouse to pick up their bottles of Christmas bubbly. In second place, a massive 11 points behind were Jamie Armour, Rosemarie Madden, Luis Iglesias and Trevor Pinder. Third place with 91 points were Robert Maguire, Andy Willoughby, Ann McMahon and Joe Richardson. In forth place on countback was the three person team of Gill Lane, Geoffrey Hawkins and Martin Amour. The coverted COVID beer prize went to David Aagard, Chris Tobin and Sandra Bruce. The full result sheet can be found on the Seniors Hub.

Looking forward to seeing you all again at the next exciting TOGS on Thursday 14th January.
Wishing all my fellow Togsters a very Happy Christmas and a healthy Covid free New Year.

Stay safe,
Your Togsmeister

A wet and windy Grove met the valiant band of some 50 Togsters who donned their waterproofs, braved the conditions and set forth with the dreaded yellow ball.

I am delighted to report that all survived to the 9th hole - (no one drowned as far as we know) when thankfully the competition was abandoned - thanks to the wisdom of the first group out! This had the benefit of more time in the cosy/covid approved bar to relax, dry out and enjoy the prizegiving.

The competition was won with a magnificent 3 under par 57 points by Sally Ottaway, John Sayers, Rob Carvill and your Togsmeister - I promise the result was not a fix. The prizes went all the way to 5th place with a special Coronovirus beer for the wooden spoon. The full results can be found here.

The next TOGS is on the 17th November when another 'diabolical' challenge will meet the Togsters. Watch this space!

We hope you all enjoyed the setup for the Greenkeepers Revenge. As always, the main focus of this day is to say thank you to Dave and his team for the fantastic job they do all year in keeping the course in such a good condition. The majority of the entry fees goes towards this thank you.

But of course it is still a competition and there were some winners. Congratulations to the following teams for taking the top 3 spots.

1st place with 118 points, the team of J Amor, M Amor, A Croxford and A Bell
2nd place with 115 points, the team of R Ford, A Ford, D Howe and S Holland
3rd place with 114 points, the team of N Monger, M Taylor, S Bartholomew and R Lewis

The seniors retained the trophy following a mega match between the Ladies and Seniors involving 56 players (14 pairs matches) by 9.5 to 4.5.

Well done to Gill Lane for winning the Ladies nearest the pin and commiserations to all in the Seniors line-up as no-one managed to get their tee shot on to the 17th green to win the Seniors nearest the pin (!).

The weather and course were the best that autumn can provide and all the matches seemed to have been thoroughly enjoyed by all the participants. Well done to all who played and to those that starred (Isabel Ember, Simon Vines, Juliet Culley and Mike Lewsey come to mind and of course there were others).

This was further evidence of old and new members joining together to ensure that we all had a great day. 
Photos from the day can be viewed here.

We had the Luck-of- the-Irish with the weather yesterday. No rain and even some sunshine.

The major event was the best Irish Hat competition. It was between Mike Pritchard with his genuine Irish tweed cap, reputedly found in a genuine Irish bog, Alan Ravenhall in a number made by his good Wife and Cliff Waller who’s genuine Irish hat was made in China. Mike was the winner, selected by general acclaim of the assembled Togsters. He took home a bottle of quality bubbly.

Thirteen teams competed and most managed to navigate the scoring system, for those that found it a bit Irish our Senior’s Captain sorted it out.

• The winners were Sue Foot, Terry Goodsell, Bradley Bolwell and Chris Tobin with a score of 118 points,
• In second place were Ann McMahon, Brian Maisey, Mark Ottaway and Cliff Waller with 111 points.
• In third place were Ann Maisey, Jan Torrance, David Aagaard and Mike Pritchard with 110 points.
• In fourth place (on countback) were Julie Myall, Rosemary Madden, Dee Tomlinson and Fay Unsworth.

The first TOGS competition post Covid took place on a beautiful sunny day, perfect for good scoring and socialising.

We had a record turn out of 43 competitors who took part in teams of four to count the best score on par fives, the best two on par fours and the best three on par threes. Nearly everybody stayed for the prize giving which was held in great spirits on the club terrace after the event.

The scores were as scorching hot as the temperature on the day. The winners who posted a magnificent twenty under par 92 points were, Ofer Ben-David, Alan Weddell, John Headland and Malcolm Sheppard. In joint second place with 86 points were Iain Cottingham, Andy Willoughby, Ann Lawson, Katherine Hartwell, Graham Falconer, Chris Armitage, Sue Foot, and Andy Madeley. All went home laden with the best bottles of bubbly and wine that ‘Lidl’ could supply.

Thank you to all who took part and it was a real pleasure to welcome so many of our new members.
Looking forward to seeing you all again at the next TOGS on Tuesday 25th August.

Cliff Waller, TOGSmeister

Read a full report of the day and the generosity of the competitors by clicking here.

Did you know you can join the various DG teams from the club V1 app available on your mobile phone both Android & Apple as well as the desk top version just search for Club V1 install the app and us your "How did I do" logins to connect with the DG database

From here you can select teams and join any team that suits you.
You can see all the fixtures and make yourself available for selection by the team managers.

For help to login in or any issues please see the DG pro shop staff.

You can see the full 2020 Diary here including golf & social events

It was a rather waterlogged course that greeted 14 stout-hearted souls who battled the 'Terrible Trio' TOGs pairs competition. Six holes greensomes, then six holes foursomes, finished off with six holes better ball.

The scoring was close but the winning pair with a creditable score of 33 points and winning a bottle of bubbly each were Brad Bolwell and Barry Whittaker (Barry, John R is looking after your prize). In second place were Hugh Powell and Andy Woodley, with Peter Robertson and our Seniors Captain Ian Gaskell in third place. The wooden spoon(actually two large bottles of Moretti lager) went to Steve Gridley and Colin Henley.
Next TOGS is on Thursday 26th March.  Remember, it's open to all members so we hope to see you there

At the third time of asking the course conditions allowed an end of year and now New Year TOGS to take place. Given the last minute arrangements, an excellent turn out of 30 had a thoroughly enjoyable day on a mostly almost dry course.

The format was four person teams playing a better ball mix-up with each team member playing six holes with a different partner. The better ball score from each pair being totalled for each hole.

All scores returned were below handicap and the winners (Sue Foote, Nick Marshall, Geoff Hawkins and Dave Lawson) were 19 under par with a score of 91! Andy Skelly, Daniel Boyce, Mark Buckley and John Headland were not far behind with a score of 88.

Well done to all who took part.

26 redoubtable Togsters faced up to a bit of a gluepot of a course to compete in a Lone Ranger with a Twist this Thursday.

Each member of a three ball team took turns to register a mandatory stableford score to be multiplied by the next best or least best score depending on the hole being played. Scoring was tough given the conditions and Craig Buchanan, Chris Tobin and John Headland were worthy winners posting an impressive 58 points.

Well done all who took part.

DG Ladies win the High Silver League checkout the ladies section for pics and information

One lady and seventeen men ventured forth, despite dire predictions of rain. We played 4 clubs and a putter Greensome pairs. Conveniently the organiser had to go off first in a 2-ball so only got wet on the last 3 holes.

Scores varied from a Nil return to 37 points. The winners were Ian Flack and Alan Ravenhall, with John Headland and Joe Richardson second on 33 points and Andy Woodley and Peter Drummond third, all of whom received their customary bottles of wine.

Thank you once again to all those who braved the weather.

The mercury rose to 28 degrees at DG today but some of the golf was even hotter!

24 turned out for a perennial favourite "Yellow Ball", although the actual yellow balls turned out to be a rather fetching Red as the Pro Shop were selling them off cheap. We soon discovered why - they're impossible to see against the lush green fairways at DG and even harder to spot in the clagging rough!

8 three-balls managed to return a total of three yellow balls - though one of the returns was from the wrong group !!

The "stinker" award went to Brad, Phil and Ian P who returned a creditable score of 49 despite losing their yellow ball with the very first shot of their round.

In third place on count-back were Pete S together with Sally and Mark O with 94 points
Second place was claimed by Graham A, Sue F and Chris T with 99 points
but the outright winners (and fastest round of the day to boot) were Andy M, Lydia R and Roger R with a magnificent 118 points.

Well played everyone. The next TOGS will be on Tuesday 24th September.

Results from today’s Green Keepers Revenge

A good fun days golf with a nice buffet afterwards thanks Simon.

1st Place (111 Points)
Dave Knight
Nick Bowley
Sam Harding
Pete Page

2nd Place (110 Points)
Aaron Henry
Lester Hunt
Steve Wade
Jason Axford

3rd Place (110 Points)
Andy Storer
Alison Lillywhite
Steve Lillywhite
Sean Sargeant

Well done the green keepers for setting an interesting course up !!

We saw a full field of golfers take part in our annual Mid-week Club Championship.
The course was in fantastic condition, considering the past spell of bad weather. Our thanks to Dave Knight and his team.

Results were tight with a superb gross 72 from Aaron Henry (off scratch) leading throughout the comp until our Club Captain Rob Carvill came in late with the same score but with a better back 9

The trophy was presented by our current Lady Captain Ann-Marie Gane, of whom the whole club was delighted to see looking so well.
Men’s result
Robert Carvill 82 - 10c = 72
Aaron Henry 72 - 0c = 72
Tom Fulker 82 - 10c = 72

In the Ladies competition, again one of the very early competitors our 2007 Lady Captain, Jan King, posted an excellent score and tried to hang on as the rest of the ladies tried to better her score, something they were unable to do.

Trophy presented by The Club Captain Rob Carvill
Ladies result
Jan King 99 - 24c = 75
Ann MacDonald. 100 - 23c = 77
Katherine Hartwell. 95 - 18c = 77

Well played to all who took part

Many thanks to the 25 folks who turned out for a bit of TOGS Fun in the Sun today.

Today’s format was “All Mixed Up” or “Medalford” as it’s sometimes known. The front nine holes were played as stroke play (Medal) and the back nine as stableford. A player’s competition score was calculated by subtracting the stableford score from the medal score. Simples !

Well, the sun beat down on a fast running course and it wasn’t just the weather that was hot with some cracking scores being returned. A score of 18 would be a nett par return using this format and seven players beat that number.

In third place, with 16 points was Anthony O’Brien; in second place with 15 was Tom Lane, but out in front by a clear margin was Kevin Walker with a fantastic 11 points. Very well played Kevin.

Kim Richardson and Peter Darwin took home a sleeve of balls for winning the ladies and men’s nearest the pin whilst Ann Lawson was awarded the “value for money” prize of two tokens for the driving range !

Next TOGS will be on Tuesday 27th August and a reminder that, although TOGS is organised by the Seniors, it’s open to all members who’d like to play, so make a note in your diary and come along.

Congratulations to Shey Walder and Justin Shell on both carding a hole in 1 on the 15th in Saturdays Medal. The odds of making a hole in 1 are approximately 12500/1 and to get two on the same hole in the same competition is brilliant.

Congratulations to you both

Texas Scramble
1st Jamie Stephens, Keith Birkin, Steve Call, Ray Ross - 53.7
2nd Miguel Frade, Liam Iles, Luke Morrison, Dave Knight - 57.8
3rd Dennis Sunderland, A. King, Damian Carville, A. Holmes - 59.6

Nearest the pin
7th Bottle of Champagne Men Vince Hanniffy
Bottle of Champagne Ladies Anne MacDonald
15th Bottle of Champagne Men Steve Lillywhite
Bottle of Champagne Ladies Maria Tillett

Guess the Captains drives
Club Captain Bottle of Champagne + £50 TC (donated to Captains Charity)
Lady Captain Bottle of Champagne +£25 each Paul Slatter and Sean Sergeant
Seniors Captain Bottle of Champagne + £50 Katherine Hartwell

AGM Trophy

Thursday 21st March 2019, Yellow & Red Tees, The Oxfordshire

Results Points

1st Andrew Storer(12) Donnington Grove Country Club 37
2nd Peter Condon(16) Castle Royle Golf & Country Club 37
3rd Simon Brown(6) Richings Park Golf & Country Club Ltd 35
4th Clive Bailey(10) Burnham Beeches Golf Club 35
5th David Cowap(4) East Berkshire Golf Club 35
6th Mark Page(20) Forest Artisans Golf Club 35
7th Richard Squires(9) Chipping Norton Golf Club 35
8th Rob Carvill(9) Donnington Grove Country Club 35
9th Ashley Rump(10) 34
10th Mike Deller-Merricks(12) Calcot Park Golf Club

Results from Team Day
A great turn out today with 40 players playing in a little breeze!
Some great scores from the pairs Bogey comp for which you needed to beat the course to be in the prizes.
With some great scores the winners are as follows:
1st Craig Coleman & Luke Morrison 4 Up
2nd John Headland & Davide Aagaard 2 Up
3rd Rob Carvill & Simon Walker 2 Up
4th Phil McTiffin & Rob Panting 2 Up
All on Count Back
Then 4 teams on level
Nearest the pin in to a gale-force wind on the 7th was Rob Panting
Many thanks to Tom as ever for helping to organise this event as well as Andy Storer for overseeing the scores. Tony Coleman for presenting the prizes donated by Sandtrend, Sandy & Myself.
But a very special round of applause to Kim for making not one cake but 3 for the raffle and raising £120 for the Captains charity.