Minutes of the committee meeting held
at Kiasu, 48 Queensway on Friday 4 December 2009

Attendees: Vincent, Simon, Max, Peter, Bok, Chris, Francis, Jonathan, Sylvio, Raju and Justin.

1. VENUES AND DATES FOR MGS GAMES 2010, AWAY DAY DATE AND SPONSORSHIP

Jonathan to confirm and check details for Woodhall Spa and date change for first week of March 2010.If not available then will stay with original date at end of Feb. Raju to check with Silvermere on dates and rates and VC will confirm the rest of dates and venues. Peter will check with Steve Vella on sponsorship for 2010 and there is still space for sponsorship at Oxfordshire.
VC will ask Max KC and others to sponsor as well. VC will ask Chandu is availability at Moor Park for Golf Day.

2. MGS FAMILY PARTY IN FEBRUARY 2010,

Raju will try and get a quote from Singapore Garden for the CNY lunch. Suggested date is 6 or 7 February 2010.MGS will subsidise 50% of each member and his family as per previous. Alternative will be Kam Tong?

3.HANDICAPPING AND MATCHPLAY 2010 ENTRIES, DRAW AND ADJUDICATOR.

The current handicapping formula will remain as it seems the system is working to expectations – we get 6 or 7 different winners each year since the formula’s inception.

Match play - agreed that there will be FULL handicap difference for 2010 and not ¾ as in the past. If the match is a battle of the sexes, then the courtesy shot will be the difference between the pars of the men’s and the ladies card (TBC).The Draw will include all those that participated in 2009 only and exclude those that did not turn up or were not included. If you weren’t in it last year and want to be in it in 2010, or if you were in it and don’t want to participate for what ever reason, then please let Simon know by the FAMILY PARTY IN FEBRUARY where the draw usually takes place.

4. SUBSCRIPTIONS AND JOINING FEES FOR 2010 AND SPECIAL OR FREE GREEN FEE FOR PARTICIPATION IN X NUMBER OF GAMES IE LOYALTY BONUS AND DISCOUNTS FOR JUNIORS AND OAP’S

Have agreed to stay with £30 subscriptions and £10 joining fee for 2010 and for OAP/Juniors discounts of £5 if green fee is under £50 and discount of £10 if over £50. (OAP > 60 y/o on date of play. Junior < 18 y/o on day of play & if the venue club gives a junior rate, the higher discount will apply, i.e. min £5.00/£10.00 is guaranteed).
Discount for Woburn game in November follows same basis as per 2009 and VC to inform members.

5. MGS WEBSITE UPDATE ON SCORING ETC AND MGS TEE SHIRTS UPDATE.

Max JJ Lim will still be looking after the website and Justin will be in charge of the tee shirts and will offer to members and cost and delivery will be to their own account.

6. DISCUSS DUTIES ON GOLF DAYS AND GET MORE COMMITTEE MEMBERS INVOLVED.

As experiments for 2010 (to get even more slicker)…

All Score cards will only be given/handed out at the first tee for each flight, so all members will have the comfort of knowing that the score cards will always be there on arriving to the first tee – all member have to do now is to check (and remember) their start time/flight number on arrival.

A member from each flight will be nominated to collect all the score cards for that flight at the end of the game, quick check to ensure they are all signed and hand them all together directly (& promptly please!!!) to Simon or whoever is doing the score card collection duty at the time.

Lastly, whoever plays in the same flight as Simon (usually in one of the early flights) one member of that flight will be obliged to volunteer (else will be told, committee member or not!!???!) to help Simon in reading/collating the score cards with him when entering the scores on the PC so as to avoid unnecessary delays and more importantly, chase those who can’t add up or can’t write (or can’t be bothered – glad to say there are very few of those in MGS), and double check on ensuring the scores are correctly input by Simon – his eye sight is not as good as it used to be as he’s getting on a bit now!!!)

7 ANY OTHER MATTERS

Not sure what has been brought up to be included?

If any member realises that the scoring is wrong, even during the prize giving, we urge you please to speak out, quietly or otherwise so that all errors can be rectified there and then and the correct prizes awarded accordingly – your help is much appreciated on this matter.

The final MGS event was held at the Duchess Course at Woburn on Friday 6th November and kindly sponsored by Heidi and Francis Ong. For those unfamiliar with Woburn, the golf complex was only opened 30 years ago which is relatively new compared to other courses in the country but it has developed a (quite deservedly) reputation for being the finest 3 courses in the country. We played on the Duke's course last year but my personal opinion is that the Duchess is the best of the three, with tight fairways and well designed holes to test all your clubs in the bag.

How tight? Let say that I improved my chipping out from the trees when I did not hit a straight shot. You really need to use a club that could find the fairway but as Nick Chong said you do not pay £80 to play conservatively.

40 golfers took the day off to participate and again we were lucky with the fine weather, cloudy but dry with sunny periods bringing out the best of the autumn season. The autumn colours around the course was just special and made up even for those who did not play that well. I understand that Vincent has already booked for next year for the Marquess course and I suggest that you should sign up to play this wonderful course if you can. In addition, the subsidy qualification is a brilliant idea and encouraged players to attend the minimum events to qualify for a free or a discounted game at Woburn .

I had the pleasure of playing with my guest, Roy, Heidi and her daughter Kimberley . It was a very pleasant 4 ball and let me warn you here first that Kimberley will be a major threat in future MGS events if she keeps up her progress and interest in the game. Apart from taking £5 from me, Roy also won the guest and NTP prize.

The 2 tee start was a very good idea and everyone finished nice and early to enjoy a 2 course carvery lunch which I believed everyone enjoyed.

Simon (in between eating his lunch) checked and recorded all the scores and Chris announced the winners. Major results- the overall winner for the day is our own Secretary Vincent on a very good 37 points on a 7 handicap (now off 6) and also winning the Champion of Champions. Match play winner is Steve Vella beating Jonathan in a close match. The Golfer of the Year is Bruce Shek for his 2 wins in the year. Well done guys. Presentation of a sleeve of Pro V was made to Vincent, Max Lim, Sylvio Lo and Bruce for attending all the events.

Thank you, Heidi and Francis for the generous sponsorship and the magnum of wine to the winners and to me, Simon and Max.

Following the prize presentation, we held the AGM, chaired by Chris Chia. The accounts were adopted without any objection and the appointment of officers followed.

Despite the flattering emails being sent around asking me to reconsider my intention to step down as Captain I felt that a new face should lead MGS. May I take this opportunity to thank you all for your support over the last 4 years. I have enjoyed everyone of them.

Bok Yeoh is unanimously voted in as the new Captain and we can all look forward to his unique style and humour. Our Secretary despite his statement that this would be his last year was persuaded to stay on for another year (a great relief to all). Obviously he could do the job without it affecting his golf judging by the fine results in the year. However he will now be aided by his understudy Jonathan Chew who is being groomed to take over the Secretary position the following year. Raju retained his role as Treasurer. And in case you think you got rid of me, I am stepping into the vacant office of Vice-President. The remainder of the committee members namely Chris Chia, Simon Lau, Francis Ong, Sylvio Lo, Max Lim and Justin Tan agreed to stay on. No doubt you will continue your strong support for MGS next year and make each event as successful as ever.

Already as I am writing this, the committee will be meeting in early December to work out next year's schedule and courses together with a suitable date for the family lunch (we have to look after our better half and earn some brownie points). There is even talk of a weekend trip details of this will be posted.

In closing may I be the first to wish everyone the season greetings and remember that the next few months is a good time to have lessons and work on improving your game for the new season. I will be off to Phoenix with Jonathan for a week golf competition playing in the desert of Arizona and hopefully enjoying some sunshine, it's a hard life.

Peter Chew
Vice President MGS

Captain's 2009 Report

How quickly the year has flown, was it 8 months ago when we had our first 2009 event at Mannings Heath and now we are here in Woburn , a fitting end to another very successful season.

Apart from the last event at North Weald, I have attended every outing and enjoyed each one whether I played well or not. Only on 2 occasions did I manage to shoot 36 points which I am pleased about.

My fond memories of 2009 (being a bit biased) are my wife, Julia winning at Mill Ride (only lady golfer amongst 40 players) and my son Jonathan eventually winning the air ticket at London Golf Club (he was close twice in previous years only to be pipped at the winning post). Jonathan will be playing Steve Vella in the Match Play final (Julia and I were beaten by him in the earlier rounds, an MGS conspiracy I believe).

The year has gone by so smoothly without any significant incident and this is mainly due to the efficient MGS committee. It definitely made my position as Captain so easy and I like to thank every committee member for their input.

A special thanks to our Secretary, Vincent, for as we all know, is the mastermind behind MGS, dealing with various clubs to secure the best package for us to enjoy. Whilst the internet has made communication easier, there is still the human element to deal with and Vincent has carried his duties out effortlessly.

Thanks also to Simon for computing the results at each event and to Max JJ Lim for updating our website.

As I mentioned in my earlier newsletter I will not be seeking re election as Captain. Its' time for a new face to lead MGS.

My thanks to all of you who has made my 4 years a pleasure and contributed towards my Charity Challenge (some more than others) and I will urge you to continue supporting MGS and enjoy the friendship and sporting performance at each event.

Finally my thanks to the sponsors for their generosity and support of MGS and hope that this will continue.

Peter Chew

Secretary's Report 2009

This will be my FINAL year as Secretary and I will not be seeking re-election as I feel that after 5 years doing something I enjoyed, I feel someone else should have this experience. I do not believe it is a big task or to treat it as a job but to take it as an honour that your members want you as their Secretary. All you need is the time to seek out new venues for a weekend game and be able to interact with all the sponsors and the members. Having good support from your fellow Committee members does help and I have always had this.

A big thank you to our sponsors for their kind and generous support this year namely Steve Vella of Daily Fish Supplies, Eddie and Jo yce Lim of Awana/Mango Tree Restaurant, Ronald Lim of Kiasu Restaurant, Francis Ong , Edwin Chiu of Vantage Properties, Mike Davis of Hammerpot Brewery, Lees's Travel, KS Yoon/Rick Maestranzi and First Commercial Insurance Brokers and last but not least Captain Peter Chew who sponsored the first game this year and has been instrumental in getting sponsorships in past years from Daily Fish amongst a few others and for First Commercial Insurance this year and not forgetting all of you for donating to his Charity.

My thanks to Max JJ Lim for updating the MGS website so efficiently and to Simon Lau for preparing the score cards before each game and to input the scores at the end of a tiring round and preparing the results together with monitoring of the scoring and the handicaps and to Chris Chia for collecting the trophies and to Justin Tan for organising the MGS tee shirts and the prizes for the Princes game, Rick Maestranzi for the MGS photographs, Bok/Sylvio for collecting and distributing the £5 MGS pool and finally thanks to Raju Kolandavelu for independently preparing the 2009 MGS accounts.

Most of the games have been at cost price to members so as to encourage a better turnout and keep it affordable to all who support MGS are rewarded with discounted games at Woburn and Princes this year. From the accounts you will see that there is a healthy bank balance even though we have subsidised last year's game at Woburn and Princes this year too and the MGS family day lunch at Mango Tree.

We have had good turnouts this year with a high of 52 players for the London GC game and our lowest was the North Weald game with 34 players which is not bad at all. However in total for all 8 games we averaged 40 players so a big thanks for your attendance and to good weather.

Congratulations to all the winners this year especially Bruce Shek for winning twice overall and winning the Order of Merit and to Jonathan Chew for winning the £500 air ticket prize and will be playing against Steve Vella in the Matchplay Final. If you are not a winner this year there is always next year but as the saying goes it is not the winning but the participating!

When I joined MGS in 1998 the was a member called Prof YW Loke from Cambridge University who drove a Porsche with personalised number plates and was 64 years old but left after a few years. Lo and behold in 2009 he has turned up again aged 75 years now and still driving a Porsche with a golf handicap of 22 and I had the pleasure to play with him at North Weald and he came back with 35 points and just lost out on count back to win a prize!! He says his driving is better than his golf so watch out Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton. Also this year we had a Stanley Tan from KL finding MGS on the website when he came here and desperate for a game of golf. He rented a car and lost his way to and from the golf course but played twice with MGS and a few more at Pinner. Have kept in touch and will see him when I go back to KL.

So it goes to show that MGS has gone from strength to strength with the advent of the website and computers. Before I took over from Bok as Secretary we used to meet at the pub (good excuse for a drink eh?) to handwrite the envelopes with Members addresses and put stamps on it. MGS thought it was difficult to replace him but then I stayed for 5 years so no reason why my successor will not bring MGS to another level from where we are. Thanks for the memories!

Vincent Chia

Our thanks to Edwin Chiu for sponsoring the day and specially coming to play and hand out the prizes after arriving that same morning looking quite jet lagged. 34 players came to battle on a lovely Autumn morning to have a full English breakfast before start of play and there was good golf judging by the results.

Overall Dominic Giacon beat Austen Turner on count back with both scoring 41 points followed by a whole host of players on 37 points dominating the Harimau (Tiger) Division with Bok Yeoh heading it ocb from Ron Lim and Jon Chew. In the Musang (Foxes) Section our new member Paul Starkey had a score of 37 points too and he won it ocb from Sylvio Lo on 37 points. Well played guys.

A special moment stood out for me on that day and it was the Longest Drive won by our new member, Nick Chong. I think it must be an MGS record as it looked well over 300 yards uphill!! Bring on Tiger Woods!

Jonathan Chew won his Matchplay semi 6 & 4 against Eddie Lim but it was Joyce's birthday the day before and he spent their day golfing at the Grove playing his best golf there and celebrations went too long into the night, I guess? Jonathan will now play Steve Vella in the Final who beat Avtar Virdi in the other semi final played at Sudbury

Our congratulations go to Bruce Shek who with his 2 wins this year plus a few placed efforts make him the Player of the Year for 2009.He will be collecting his trophy plus £100 voucher.

Both the Matchplay prizes, Player of the Year prizes and Champion of Champions trophy are kindly sponsored by Ronald Lim.

Our final game of 2009 will be on Friday 6 November at Woburn GC (Duchess course) and we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible.

MGS will have its AGM after the game and we will elect new officers for 2010.I would like to thank Captain Peter Chew and all the Committee members especially Simon Lau and Max JJ Lim for their support and to all the sponsors for 2009 and for their continued support in 2010.

I have enjoyed 5 great years being Secretary and I feel it is time to step down and have a change of guard and bring a fresh outlook for MGS for 2010. My thanks to all of you for coming and enjoying the games and camaraderie which I feel MGS provides that no other Society gives.

Adios for now but not Goodbye!

Vincent Chia
MGS Secretary

For this event, we revisited Mill Ride GC Ascot organised and sponsored by Mike Davis Hammerpot Brewery day. We played there 2 years ago off the white tees and I believe that 32 points won that day.

The course is so near Ascot Race Course that we could hear the running commentary and at one time, we were racing our trolleys along the fairway to the sound of the racing commentaries.

Mill Ride is the home club of Mike Davis our sponsor and all of us were treated to his award winning beers. You also expect Mike to score well on his home course but golf is such a cruel game.

Bacon sandwich and coffee was served from 11 am and again I was amazed at the number of golfers already there when I arrived just before 11am.

The first group teed off just shortly after 12 noon and I was in the company of Scotsman Murray the Brave, Maximus Lim and Nick Chong. Nick has a classic swing learned from professionals at an early age and his ball striking was a treat to watch, a drive and a 7 iron onto the green on the last par 5 hole setting up an eagle opportunity.

Murray was struggling with his game and when I reminded him that he should be playing better than us because the Scots invented the game he promptly reminded me I am Chinese and should know how to cook and do laundry! Honours evened.

The front nine holes were tight driving holes and unless you are accurate off the tee, your ball would end up in the trees or hazards. There was also water to negotiate. Fortunately the back nine is a bit more open and I came back with 19 points after a dismal 13 points on the front.

On the 5 th hole, I was told by the Marshall that I infringed a rule. This is what happened. I put my approach into the bunker on the right of the green. I promptly picked up the rake and then put it down near where my ball was, played my shot and then raked the bunker. The Marshall told me that I incur a shot penalty for testing the playing surface. Not entirely certain, I did not challenge him but discuss this with my pro after about the exact ruling.

Fortunately, the ruling in this instance is that I am not deemed to have tested the playing surface as I did not rake the bunker before playing my shot. By merely dropping it next to the spot is not testing. I am relieved but it goes to show that sometimes so called expert do get the ruling wrong.

An excellent roast dinner and dessert was served and which the members enjoyed. The staff at the club was accommodating and friendly.

Longest drive was won by Vincent breaking his driver in the attempt. Avtar won his match play against TC Por and will now meet the winner of Steve Vella/Stefano for a place in the finals. In the other semi-final, Jonathan will be playing Eddie Lim .

The overall winner for the day was my wife Julia on 36 points. She won the handsome prizes sponsored by Mike and the pool money (fortunately I paid the £5 into the pool on her behalf but unfortunately do not see any of the winnings, how does that work?).

My thanks to Mike for his generous sponsorship and also to our hard working committee for making the day enjoyable.

The next game will be at North Weald GC on 17th October will be sponsored by our own Edwin Chiu of Vantage. Please sign up for this treat. Regrettably, I will be away in Malaysia on family duty and I am nominating Jonathan as my replacement for the Charity challenge. No bribing him to come back with a bad score to save your £2! I have sent £200 to Little Haven a children hospice and £100 to Shelter. I have also pledged £100 to Children in Need and will donate the rest later.

See you soon.

Peter Chew (slightly pissed from all the Hammerpot beer!)
MGS Captain

For this outing, MGS revisit The London Golf Club in Kent. The day was sponsored by Lees Travel which specialises in Far East travel and, like most of our sponsors, has been supporting MGS for some years.

Unlike last year where we played on The Heritage course, we played The International which was equally as challenging (in particular the par 3s).

Bacon rolls and tea/coffee was served from 11 am and I was amazed at the number of golfers already there when I arrived just before 11am. There were several guests playing including Victor Tong (who achieved a hole in one last year) and his partner. All in all we had 51 players trying to do their best. Each player was presented with a Lees Travel mug by the sponsors.

The first group out was supposed to be Raju (our sponsor representative), T C. Por, Eddie and Ronald Lim (playing their match). However, due to traffic conditions, Ronald arrived late and regrettably had to forfeit his match and I stepped into the first group to tee off at 12pm. (lesson here, always leave enough time to get to the club)

Raju started off really well and at one time, I thought he was going to run away with the top prize but as we all know, golf has a cruel way of bringing back reality and he fell away on the back nine.

Eddie hit a great shot on the Par 3 8 th for NTP (although he confessed that he was not aiming directly at the flag!). Still a good shot considering that water was waiting to catch any mis-hit shots.

The terrain of the course was quite hilly and there were long walks between green and tee which resulted in nearly a 5 hour round. The course was generally dry and fairways hard so much so that I was even able to get up to some of the Par 5s in 2. The greens were fast but were also recovering from hollow tining.

We completed our round just before 5pm and the last group came in nearly 2 hours later. A 2 course Dinner was served from 7.30pm and all this time, Simon was busily computing and checking the scores.

After dinner, Vincent invited Raju to say a few words and to present the prizes.

Longest drive and guest prize was won by Smash & Grab Kate again and do not be surprised to see her teeing off the men's tee the next time to give everyone else a chance!! Just joking Kate.

The overall winner and runner up, Tommay and Avtar came back with a creditable 40 and 39 points respectively but as they did not play the required number of games to qualify for the ‘£ 500 Air Ticket' cash prize, Jonathan Chew with 38 points pocketed this together with his share of the pool. Apparently he spent a big chunk of it that night clubbing.

It was nice to see so many guests for the day and hope that they will continue to join us in the future as members.

My thanks to Raju of Lees Travel for his company's generous sponsorship and also to our hard working committee who runs each event so efficiently that we tend to forget the effort put in.

The next game at Mill Ride on 20th September will be sponsored by our own Mike Davis. Please sign up for this treat.

As a matter of interest, the leading golfer for Golfer of the year is Bruce Shek on 42 points followed by Jonathan on 30 and then Vincent on 28. So there is still plenty to play for to win this prize.

Its does not seem that long ago when I wrote the first newsletter of the year and now we are nearing the end of another very successful season. I have served and enjoyed as Captain of MGS for 4 years now and it has been my intention to step down and allow another member to take over the baton. My role has been an easy one as I have such a hard working group of committee to organise the days.

I had a lot of fun whilst also raising some money for charity and would like to thank all those who contributed (some more than others!) over the years.

Whilst the last game and AGM is not until November, I hope to allow you some time to consider and vote in your next Captain. See you all at Mill Ride GC and keep practising.

Peter Chew
MGS Captain

For this event, MGS travelled to the Prince's GC in Sandwich Kent . It's a long trek by normal venues but to be able to play 27 holes on a renowned and historical links course at the weekend is a treat not to be missed. For those who missed the day, Prince's held the Open Championship in 1932 which was won by the American Gene Sarazen. The club is next to another famous course Royal St George's which held the Open recently in 2003.

I arrived at the club at about 7.45am after going round in circles in Sandwich as the direction signs were not too clear. Its was quite a long drive from the entrance to the club house and we could actually see some of Royal St George's greens with their St George's cross on their flags. I understand that some of our members ended up in Deal! Mo and Sylvio were already there with a guest Nick Chong. More members drifted in and the day started with a full English breakfast which was consumed to provide the energy to play 18 holes.

The draw was made for the 33 golfers and I played with one of our sponsor, Mark Franklin, Max Lim and guest Kate Gadsby. After our usual photos were taken, we teed off on the Himalayas and Shore course. There was hardly any wind that typified a links course. It was such a calm, warm and sunny day ideal for good golf.

Max managed to blob the first 3 holes before scoring a birdie, that's golf! Max did manage to win the longest drive. Mark played quite steady for a 9 handicapper but we were all in awe of ‘Smash & Grab' Kate. Playing off 6, Kate was consistently out driving and out putting us to score a very creditable 36 points and won the guest prize. My only complaint was that Max and Kate were kissing each other every time a birdie was scored between them and I was not included. This is the third time Kate has played with MGS and winning each time. Perhaps we should make her play off the Men's tee to give everyone else a chance. Well done Kate.

There were a couple of knock-out matches played notably between my son Jonathan and his mother Julia. Again, despite threats of eviction, cutting off allowance and starvation, Jonathan still beat Julia. In the other match, Steve Vella beat Vincent despite him playing a practice round the day before.

Lunch of butterfly prawns followed by braised pork was served by the club. The service was very pleasant and generally the club made us feel very welcome.

In the afternoon, we had a Pairs competition over 9 holes on the Dunes course. Mark & I scored 22 points but again were beaten by Kate and Max with Kate holing a crucial putt on the last hole and winning the afternoon prize.

It was nice to see so many guests for the day Stanley Tan postponed his flight back to Malaysia so that he could play in this event. Nick Chong is on a year's working stint in UK so hopefully will be joining us more often. To all the guests and members that played, thanks for supporting the day and hoped that you enjoyed the experience.

My thanks also to Mark and Ian of First Commercial Insurance Brokers Ltd for their generous sponsorship and their efforts in turning up to play. MGS is grateful for your support.

The overall winning score of 38 points was achieved by Bruce Shek who won on count back from Austen Turner. Bruce also won the NTP prize of a magnum of champagne. He is also comfortably leading the Order of Merit with two wins this year and playing off 10 handicap now. Well done to all the prize winners and for the rest please try harder next time.

I came back with 32 points and did fairly well for my charity challenge. I am proposing to contribute to the following charities, Little Haven, Heart Foundation and Breast Cancer before the end of the season.

Also, thanks to our hard working committee for their efforts in running these events successfully and to Rick for being our official photographer.

The next game at the London GC Kent on 30th August will be sponsored by Lees Travel with a chance to win the cost of an air ticket (for qualifying members only). Please sign up for this treat

See you all at the London GC and keep practising.

Peter Chew
MGS Captain

For the Steve Vella Daily Fish Supplies sponsored golf day, we return to Hatfield Essendon. Steve has been a staunch supporter and member of MGS for some years now and recently became a father of twins. This explained his dip in form but I understand that he is now getting more sleep and is seeking revenge on those who preyed on him.

A visiting Malaysian contacted me via email to see whether he could join us and due to a last minute cancellation, Stanley Tan joined us for the day. What was interesting was that he saw our website when he was looking to contact Malaysians in London who plays golf. In fact I am even contemplating contacting a newspaper like Star to write an article about MGS so that more golfing Malaysians could join us.

39 golfers enjoyed a full hearty English breakfast before we teed-off on the members course. We must express our thanks to Jimmy Chua for arranging the golf package (reduced by £20 each on the package and playing on the members course on Saturday morning!). We hope to see Jimmy sometime in the future. A former member, Prof. Charlie Loke joined us for the day after an absence of some 12 years and hope that he would continue to support MGS.

My wife, Julia, was supposed to play her match against my son Jonathan but Julia injured her leg (playing golf) the day before. So we would have to wait till the Princes game before we could know the result.

The weather was warm and overcast and playing off the white tees offered a nice challenge, the results reflected the difficulty.

I played with Bruce and Yoon (winner & runner up at the last event) and Jonathan. There was some good golf played amongst us, notably the eagle on the par 5 9 th hole by Jonathan (drive, 5 iron and sinking the 7ft putt). Unfortunately for him, he blew a few holes and ended up with 34 points. I could only stand, watch and dream about the distance he hit his drives.

The shower facilities offered a hot Japanese style bath which was good to soak the tired limbs (all we needed were some geishas).

Ramen noodle soup with dumpling was served and these were enjoyed by everyone before the results were announced (please see result section).

The overall winning score of 38 points was achieved by our Secretary, Vincent (playing off 8, now reduced to 7) a very good round of golf. Well done as I know how difficult it is for a single handicapper to play well and win on away courses.

I came back with 36 points and apart from Sylvio (37 points) and Vincent, everyone else had to contribute to my charity challenge and the first time I only had to contribute less than £5. Thank you guys!

My thanks to Hatfield Golf Club and the generous sponsorship of Steve Vella including free tee shirts for everyone. Also thanks to our hard working committee for their efforts in running these events successfully.

The next game at Princes GC Kent on 25 th July will be sponsored by my client, First Commercial Insurance Brokers Ltd (FCIB). FCIB is a general insurance broker and I would suggest that anyone contemplating any insurance renewal should contact them to discuss your requirements (see their website for contact details).

Princes GC is next to Royal St Georges and I believed had actually hosted an Open Championship a long time ago. It's a great links course and it will be an ideal opportunity to play like the pros the week after the Open at Turnberry and experience the intricacies of golf as it was meant to be.

Please sign up for this treat and a discount between 20% and 40% off the green fees is offered to MGS members (Vincent will provide the exact figures individually) and to win some of the great prizes.

See you all at Princes and keep practising.

Peter Chew
MGS Captain

This event is kindly sponsored jointly by our MGS members, K S Yoon (of He ain't heavy he is my brother's (or is it bladder?) karaoke fame) and Rick Maestranzi (our professional photographer and father of Stefano).

MGS last played at Finchley over 12 years ago but stopped going back because the Club decided not to accept societies at weekend. However through Yoon's persistency the Club relented and made a special concession to allow MGS play at this immaculate course.

I am pleased that there were 16 guests (7 Finchley members and 9 others) joining us. All in all, 53 golfers and hoped that the guests had enjoyed themselves sufficiently to consider joining MGS.

After bacon roll and coffee, the first group teed off just after 12pm. The first hole is a gentle par 4 of 300 yds downhill and most members laid up to leave a full shot into the green. The advice from our host was to take one club less when playing the approach as most of the greens sloped away from front to the back and most of the troubles are at the back.

I had the pleasure of playing with Yoon who was playing against Ralph Wright in the match play and my guest Len. Yoon played superbly in the front nine (scoring 23 points) and was 8 up after 9 before Ralph won the 10 th but the reprieve was temporary as the match ended on the 11 th . After that, Yoon did not play as well (maybe due to my threat of cutting his handicap) and ended up with 37 points to come in 2 nd overall.

My guest Len did not start very well but came back with 23 points on the back 9 scoring 40 points and winning the guest 2 nd prize Len also kindly donated a bottle of malt whisky towards the prizes.

A very sumptuous 3 course dinner was served which was enjoyed by everyone. Given the warm reception, good course and value, we should return each year and enjoy Yoon and Rick's hospitality.

Bruce Shek won the day on 37 points and congratulations to all the winners.

A few words from Bruce:

“I would like to thank the Finchley members for allowing the MGS to play on their course.  I played with Masa who was a most helpful host together with Avtar and Brian who were having their own match play battle – Avtar won on the 18 th .  Although the course was not long, the tricky wind conditions and small greens made it a good test of your short game.
The Finchley catering staff also provided an excellent start to the day with a bacon roll and coffee.  This was followed by a meat feast of a carvery at the end of the day.
Yoon and Rick were also great sponsors with their prizes.  Cash, and golf balls from Yoon and the beautiful Marquette of the 12 th hole done by Rick Stefano. Great combination!
Finally, I have also regained my rightful position as no.1 son from my brother Gary.  I am no longer a loser in the eyes of our parents.”

I scored 29 points and I believed that I lost more than I won this time for the Captain's Charity. I am proposing to be donating to several charities this year so thank you to those who have contributed.

My thanks to Finchley Golf Club, the generous sponsorship of Yoon and Rick, the guests who helped to make the day a great success and lastly to our hard working committee for their efforts in running these events successfully.

The next game at Hatfield (Members course) on 27 th June will be sponsored by Steve Vella of Daily Fish. For those of you who played at Hatfield last year would know the course and the welcoming atmosphere and friendly staff.

See you all at Hatfield.

Peter Chew
MGS Captain

We return to Pyrford GC for the Mango Tree trophy courtesy of Eddie & Joyce Lim and as in past years, they were considerate and generous with their sponsorship. On arrival, every member was handed a “goody” bag.

It was pleasing to observe that several members wore their MGS logo-ed t-shirt on the day. It gives a sense of identity and unity.

On this occasion, we were honoured with the attendance of our President, Dato Aziz to support the day. He played in the same group as Eddie, Francis (playing their match play) and Ronald and I understand that he gave a good account of himself on the course. A MGS t-shirt was presented to him by our Secretary and we hope to see more of him in the future.

For those of you who have not had the pleasure of playing Pyrford, it is a watery course with water coming into play on nearly every hole. We were allowed to play off the white tees which added to the difficulty of finding the narrow fairways, so all in all a pretty tough challenge and for the time of the year, was in good condition. The overall service and value is acceptable.

36 players (after coffee and a bacon roll) teed-off at 1pm with high hopes of winning the top prizes or their bets with other players. The pace of play for the later groups was slow and I understand that the gap was some 45 minutes. It is a concern on each outing and MGS committee would welcome any constructive suggestion to help this situation.

There were some good scoring (see Results) and the winner for the day was Eddie with 38 points. He kindly waived his entitlement to the dinner for 2 at Mango Tree (but kept the trophy and betting/pool winnings). All the prizes (even the booby prize) were handed out by Joyce.

After the prize giving, the non-winners cards were chosen at random to win the other prizes of golf balls and champagne.

Thank you Eddie and Joyce for your kindness and we look forward to your continued support in the future and a few words from the overall winner of the day Eddie Lim.

The next game is at Finchley GC on Saturday 30 th May co-sponsored by KS Yoon and Stefano Maestranzi (of the Rory McIlroy hairstyle) and his Dad, Rick. No idea what is in store for us from Yoon/Stefano but the golf course is not long but tight so you need to hit your shots straight.

Please register with Vincent as soon as you can to avoid disappointment.

Please read the article on our website regarding golfing etiquette and slow play. For those renowned slow players, please try to adopt one or two ideas each time to improve your pace of play.

See you all at Finchley.

Peter Chew
MGS Captain

Decided I better be serious about the game as I was playing such a low handicapper and excellent golfer by the name of Francis Ong (Malaysian Tiger woods).

I made it a point to sleep early and no badminton activities for Friday and Saturday to preserve my energy. I wanted just to concentrate on my match play and not on the stable ford results and I think by not worrying about the score, it was a pleasant surprise that I came back with 38 points. The last time I did a score like this was my last win at MGS many years ago and had my handicap cut from 19 to 17.

I started off badly and promptly blob the first hole and did a 7 but half with Francis who uncharacteristically did a 6. It was an exciting match play scenario with me having to capitalize on the additional chocolate giving to me. Some how my worst part of my game i.e. chipping and putting was on song. It was one of those days when you get Tau Foong and everything went in!!

The second 9 was ding dong until the 16th when I managed to win the match play. Francis was playing to his handicap and I had to use my strokes to half with him on most of the holes.

The feeling is good as the last time I won anything to note was also in an MGS game. That was when I had my handicap cut about 4-5 years ago. So guys I have been contributing to the pool for this long without any return also.

Once again I have to thank all those unsung heroes and the committee who have given their time and effort for making the event such a success. Joyce and I always have a lot of fun sponsoring this event and it is usually her that comes up with the prizes.

It is a shame that that there was a forty mins time delay caused by the slow golfers. Whilst we finished our game in 4 hrs and 15 mins, those behind us have to finish after 5 hrs. And were complaining. Perhaps it is time to name and shame those responsible. I am sure that it will make the game more rewarding and encourage more members and sponsors.

All in all , it was a wonderful day and a great chance to catch up with the guys.

Thanks
Ed