Pete Trimmer won the Nailsea Open Weekend
[<<] [>>] by Marcus Evans
at Nailsea Croquet Club
18 May
2014 (AC)
n absence of a few regulars for various reasons and a late partial withdrawal left the manager (your correspondent) frantically ringing various players on the Friday night, before finding a willing volunteer in Nailsea member Pat Long, who subsequently gave a few players a scare on the Saturday, playing better than her 3 handicap would perhaps suggest. Her place was taken on the Sunday by another local, Geoff Hughes, who recorded good wins against the manager with a very tricky half jump peel at rover that was perfectly played, and in the final game against Jonathan Wolfe with a tense finish after time.
This last was the only game to go to time after the manager airily insisted that he would not impose time limits, only to find the first round taking over three hours which resulted in a pegged down game. Another game was pegged down in the third round, and at 8.20pm on the Saturday all four fourth-round games were still in progress, leaving the manager slightly less relaxed than usual. However, fortunately they all wrapped up in short order and although the two pegged down games remained unfinished, no-one could argue they did not get their money's worth!
Matt Holmes from Lancashire brought several cases of his craft ales for onward distribution and consumption, and despite never having played at Nailsea before pulled off an upset on the first morning by defeating yours truly after my TPO went slightly awry, meaning I could only peg out my own ball. Matt's control of the three-ball ending was impressive and he only gave away one half-chance.
David Goacher was only able to play on the Saturday and after losing to Pete Trimmer in the first game (who was looking for revenge after the recent Western Championship Plate final), he played well to beat Steve Woolnough and me, being denied the chance of a third win by the accurate shooting of Jonathan Wolfe which meant that game was pegged down and remained unfinished. However, Jonathan had the innings and a lead, and with a good win against Steve Woolnough and the innings also in hand in his other unfinished game, he was deservingly awarded a bottle of wine for the best whole-weekend performance by a player of -0.5 or above.
Jim Field from Glastonbury took over from David Goacher on the Sunday and had two good wins in his usual inimitable style. Meanwhile, top seed Pete Trimmer continued to sweep all before him, and after round six was already the clear winner. Despite losing in round seven, he was therefore awarded the trophy and a bottle of wine. Matt Holmes took home a bottle of wine as runner up.
We were bathed in glorious sunshine all weekend but due to recent rain the lawns did not reach a challenging speed, despite Nailsea club member David Hunt generously giving them an extra cut just before play began. However, the (Townsend cast iron) hoops were firmly set to their usual high standard and provided a good test - a credit to club Chairman and chief hoop setter Mike Tracy and his team. The catering also lived up to its excellent reputation, with particular thanks to Coral Harrison and Pat Long for the delicious homemade lunches.
This tournament continues to attract a strong contingent of new and returning players, and with a few more of those next year we could reach the full complement of 16 - why not give it a try?
Full results:
Pete Trimmer beat David Goacher +14
Matt Holmes beat Marcus Evans +12
Steve Woolnough beat Pat Long +22
Pete Trimmer beat Pat Long +12
Marcus Evans beat Jonathan Wolfe +22
David Goacher beat Steve Woolnough +26tp
Jaimie Mussi beat Matt Holmes +23
Pete Trimmer beat Jaimie Mussi +11tpo
Marcus Evans beat Steve Woolnough +18tp
Matt Holmes beat Pat Long +23
Pete Trimmer beat Matt Holmes +7tp
David Goacher beat Marcus Evans +17
Jaimie Mussi beat Pat Long +18
Jonathan Wolfe beat Steve Woolnough +11
Pete Trimmer beat Jonathan Wolfe +17
Geoff Hughes beat Marcus Evans +16
Jim Field beat Jaimie Mussi +5
Matt Holmes beat Steve Woolnough +21
Pete Trimmer beat Steve Woolnough +26tp
Marcus Evans beat Jaimie Mussi +23tp
Matt Holmes beat Jonathan Wolfe +3
Jim Field beat Geoff Hughes +11
Marcus Evans beat Pete Trimmer +14
Matt Holmes beat Jim Field +13
Jaimie Mussi beat Steve Woolnough +8
Geoff Hughes beat Jonathan Wolfe +1(t)
Pete Trimmer 6/7
Matt Holmes 5/7
Marcus Evans 4/7
Jaimie Mussi 3/6
David Goacher 2/3
Jim Field 2/3
Geoff Hughes 2/3
Jonathan Wolfe 1/5
Steve Woolnough 1/7
Pat Long 0/4