This year’s ‘summer challenge’ was once again held at the Costessey Park Golf Club, set in 100 acres of picturesque woodlands in what were the grounds of the former Costessey Hall. The River Tud flows through the centre of the course and competitors do have to cross it four times and play alongside it on a number of additional holes. A plentiful supply of balls was therefore a prerequisite for many of the nine contenders that came for the day.
The previous 24hrs had seen continuous rain falling and we were greeted with the sight of the clubs seniors all standing by the first tee. They had been due out at 7.30am for a competition but were still waiting for the course to be declared playable. Whilst this looked like bad news, the course was opened before our due time and we were told to start on the back nine to give the seniors time to get out on the course.
So, three groups of three were organised. First off were Phil, Gary and Kevin.  The tenth plays from an elevated tee off across the valley, and river, and saw all three safely negotiate the water, although not necessarily onto the fairway. These were followed by Keith, John Rogers and Robin, who also successfully negotiated the water. The final grouping of Nick, John Pettit and Clive joined the fray with Nick becoming the first, (of many of us), to test the depth of the fast flowing river.
Once out onto the course it was soon discovered that the only place to keep your ball was on the fairways. Once off into the short rough, the grass was still wet and very ‘clingy’, making getting the ball out a tricky problem. Playing off the sand was no easier although Robin clearly developed a penchant for it during the round. We were beginning to wonder if he had a bucket and spade in his golf bag.
Scoring for the day was to be by utilising the Stableford system, with a maximum of five points being available per hole. This allows for a person to play the odd ‘poor hole’ and still be able to acquire a reasonable score. The secret of any round of golf however, is to play steady, without trying too hard. It became apparent as we went around the course that the only person who was actually paying any heed to this strategy was John Rogers who was successfully scoring on most holes around the back nine.
The first group had to pinch themselves to stop laughing after Gary sent a ball whizzing over the 15th green and into the neighbouring park, where to add to the embarrassment he asked a local dog walker for his “ball back please”.
The slope of the valley and positioning of the trees were sufficient to make all of the holes of the back nine a challenge. Then they came to the 17th, a 425yrd par 4 dissected by the river. A good tee shot in the centre of the fairway opens up the possibility of playing a fairway wood across the river up to the green. Keith managed to deliver the first part of the equation with a rare straight tee shot. It was therefore disappointing for his 2nd to go a mere 30yrds. It was even more disappointing for his 3rd to manage a similar distance whilst veering off to the left. The saving grace was it stopped short of the water, about 2ft short and well off the fairway now, near to the metal footbridge. Considering the options, chip back onto the fairway and play forwards, or chip across the river parallel to the bridge and play towards the hole, option two was selected. A good contact was made with the ball, which was followed by a resounding contact with the bridge and the ball dropping in the river 40yrds further downstream than where it was struck. Ah well, back to the drawing board and no points there.
The 18th also played back across the river and it claimed a number of balls from the contenders as they battled up the hill towards the clubhouse. Then it was back out onto the front nine, with John Rogers having scored a very creditable 19 points at the half way stage and looking like a clear leader. The 1st is a 163yrd par three over the river to the green. Nearly all of the contenders cleared this with their tee shots. Keith, being unable to hit one straight, decided to opt for the seven shot approach before chipping over the river into the greenside bunker. Another non-scoring hole then! Not so for both John and Nick, who shot a par and birdie respectively to score big points on that one.
The game then continued in the previously set pattern. Good holes where followed by bad for all except John Rogers who continued with the steady approach. His only major ‘hiccup’ was on the 311yrd par 4 7th, a dogleg left across the river (again!!). This saw him place his first tee shot into the river, his only wet excursion. Not to be outdone, Keith put two in, standards must be maintained!! The ninth and for us our final hole, played back to the clubhouse and afforded the early finishers the opportunity to watch the remaining groups play in.
 The final group acknowledged the opportunity to play to a grandstand finish. John Pettit played a lovely iron shot into the green, using the backing to send the ball down towards the pin. Nick had a slightly larger adrenaline surge and his iron shot sailed over the green towards the watching crowd, who scattered as it made its way down the footpath to come to rest on the opposite side, near to the clubhouse.
At the end of the round, all went for a well deserved lunch. When the scores were all collated John Rogers had finished as the clear winner on the day. All however had enjoyed an extremely good day out, with challenging golf and good fellowship.

By the way, is this image the future for John, after all his trolley is ready for it!?