7th October to 16th October 2005
We flew from Manchester with Delta to Sarasota via Atlanta:-
7-Oct-05 – Flight DL 65 – Dept. MAN 12:05 PM – Arrv. ATL 4:05 PM
7-Oct-05 – Flight DL 1217 – Dept. ATL 6:47 PM – Arrv. SRQ 8:15 PM
16-Oct-05 – Flight DL 1097 – Dept. SRQ 3:15 PM – Arrv. ATL 4:45 PM
16-Oct-05 – Flight DL 64 – Dept. ATL 8:00 PM – Arrv. MAN 9:05 AM 17-Oct-07
Tour Transport – 12 Seater Mini Van – Dollar
Accommodation was again in Sabel Harbour but a different Villa
Tour base Sabel Harbour – 5 bed, 3 bath and pool
The 2005 Tour Players
Tour Security
Alan is a dedicated professional who tells us that he interrupts his slumber nightly to carry out a security check of our premises. He has declined to carry firearms preferring to rely on his cunning and gile to keeping us safe.
He returns after missing the 2003 tour and as a past multi event winner he will be a threat while he still has balls in his bag!
Tour Organiser & IT
Andrew had one victory in 2005 and finished a disappointing 7th with 255 points. Not what was expected from the 2003 tour champion.
If he can avoid the “FLoBys” he will surely challenge for the top spot again.
Tour Host
Brian will ensure that your glass is always charged and if its a song your a wanting there is no finer voice on tour. His dedication to quality control is relentless and he will continuously check the refreshments, for our benefit of course.
Despite no victories in 2003 he was Mr consistent and had an average handicap of 2.1, the lowest by far! By the law of averages he will be a banker for a tour win this year and may not settle for one.
Tour Hotel Manager
David will keep us looking our best with a superb laundry service. He has very high standards and if any of your smalls fail to meet the mark the trash can awaits. Shoddiness is not tolerated!
Now residing down south he will be accustomed to a warmer climate and with 2 victories in 2003 you rule him out at your peril.
Tour Transport Mgr
David will be entrusted to ensure the tour bus is loaded correctly and that the optimum route is taken to keep costs down. However he will not be allowed to do any garage parking as he has confused “keep going” with “STOP!” in the past. He endorses K-Mart poly filler.
He had shot of the 2003 Tour by canning a 2 iron from 220 yards for an eagle 2. He won at Stoneybrook and finished 3rd overall. Expect another strong performance.
Tour Fitness Coach
Graham has cycled the length of Britain, completed the London marathon but can he knock us into shape? Is this a challenge to far. If he can’t push us to circuits in the morning he will no doubt push the pace in Gecko’s at night.
He also returns to the tour after missing 2003 and will challenge Brian for low man of the Tour. A steely competitor with a short game to die for, expect him to challenge daily.
Tour Tobacconist
Stuart is your man if a good cigar is required either for your own enjoyment or as a gift to take home. Once inside a humidor he’s like a kid in a sweet shop. Easily spotted on the course with a big Cuban creation in hand, rolled on the thighs of Cuban maidens apparently.
This fierce competitor notched up 2 victories in 2003 and recorded the most sand saves with 5. Another tenacious performance is expected unless we can get at his 9 iron!
Tour Virgin
Steve makes his first appearance on the tour and will be unaccustomed to the pressure he is about to face. He will therefore not have any extra responsibilities thrust upon him.
Playing very well at the start of summer with a flowing Woosnam like swing. Will he take the tour by storm or will his balls be gator bait?
The final leader board of the 2005 tour
| Player - Handicap | Points Total | Wins | FLoBy's | Balls Lost | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Graham - 3 | 265 | 2 | 1 | 16 |
| 2 | Steve - 8 | 264 | 2 | 3 | 24 |
| 3 | David F - 5 | 263 | 0 | 3 | 14 |
| 4 | Stuart - 11 | 263 | 1 | 2 | 18 |
| 5 | Brian - 4 | 261 | 2 | 1 | 12 |
| 6 | David B - 17 | 260 | 1 | 2 | 37 |
| 7 | Andrew - 8 | 255 | 1 | 3 | 32 |
| 8 | Alan - 15 | 240 | 0 | 3 | 37 |
| Total | 190 |
Graham takes the 2005 Tour Title
The 2005 individual performances by course
| Course | Singles | Alan | Andrew | Brian | David B | David F | Graham | Steve | Stuart |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. University | Gross | 86 | 80 | 84 | 83 | ||||
| 7,001 Yards | Handicap | 15 | 8 | 4 | 17 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 11 |
| Slope 138 | Net | 78 | 75 | 81 | 75 | ||||
| Par 72 | Points | 23 | 32 | 23 | 28 | 33 | 29 | 34 | 22 |
| SS 71.3 | Place | 7th | 3rd | 6th | 5th | 2nd | 4th | 1st | 8th |
| FLoBy* | Sand S's | *0 | *0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3's | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| Total | Points | 23 | 32 | 23 | 28 | 33 | 29 | 34 | 22 |
| Overall | Position | 7th | 3rd | 6th | 5th | 2nd | 4th | 1st | 8th |
| 2. Stoneybrook | Gross | 97 | 87 | 80 | 76 | 86 | |||
| 7,141 Yards | Handicap | 17 | 7 | 5 | 17 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 14 |
| Slope 139 | Net | 90 | 82 | 77 | 73 | 80 | |||
| Par 72 | Points | 33 | 21 | 27 | 27 | 32 | 35 | 27 | 29 |
| SS 75 | Place | 2nd | 8th | 7th | 5th | 3rd | 1st | 6th | 4th |
| FLoBy* | Sand S's | 0 | *0 | *0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3's | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
| Total | Points | 56 | 53 | 50 | 55 | 65 | 64 | 61 | 51 |
| Overall | Position | 4th | 6th | 8th | 5th | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 7th |
| 3. Rosedale | Gross | 90 | 82 | 85 | 84 | 86 | 91 | ||
| 6,714 Yards | Handicap | 15 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 14 |
| Slope 138 | Net | 80 | 75 | 78 | 84 | 80 | 77 | ||
| Par 72 | Points | 32 | 28 | 33 | 32 | 30 | 25 | 28 | 33 |
| SS 72.8 | Place | 4th | 6th | 1st | 3rd | 5th | 8th | 7th | 2nd |
| FLoBy* | Sand S's | 0 | 0 | 0 | *0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | *0 |
| 3's | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | |
| Total | Points | 88 | 81 | 83 | 87 | 95 | 89 | 89 | 84 |
| Overall | Position | 4th | 8th | 7th | 5th | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 6th |
| 4. The Bobcat | Gross | 87 | 85 | 84 | 83 | 88 | |||
| 6,748 Yards | Handicap | 15 | 11 | 4 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 12 |
| Slope 137 | Net | 76 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 76 | |||
| Par 71 | Points | 18 | 31 | 29 | 20 | 24 | 26 | 32 | 31 |
| SS 73 | Place | 8th | 3rd | 4th | 7th | 6th | 5th | 1st | 2nd |
| FLoBy* | Sand S's | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | *0 | 0 | 0 | *2 |
| 3's | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| Total | Points | 106 | 112 | 112 | 107 | 119 | 115 | 121 | 115 |
| Overall | Position | 8th | 5th | 5th | 7th | 2nd | 3rd | 1st | 3rd |
| 5. Riverwood | Gross | 93 | 81 | 81 | 72 | 90 | 89 | ||
| 7,004 Yards | Handicap | 18 | 10 | 4 | 18 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 10 |
| Slope 137 | Net | 83 | 77 | 78 | 69 | 85 | 77 | ||
| Par 72 | Points | 34 | 26 | 31 | 29 | 30 | 39 | 22 | 29 |
| SS 74.2 | Place | 2nd | 7th | 3rd | 5th | 4th | 1st | 8th | 6th |
| FLoBy* | Sand S's | 0 | 1 | 0 | *0 | 2 | 0 | *0 | 0 |
| 3's | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 4 | |
| Total | Points | 140 | 138 | 143 | 136 | 149 | 154 | 143 | 144 |
| Overall | Position | 6th | 7th | 4th | 8th | 2nd | 1st | 4th | 3rd |
| 6. Legacy | Gross | 89 | 74 | 83 | 84 | 86 | 97 | ||
| 7,067 Yards | Handicap | 16 | 12 | 3 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 11 |
| Slope 140 | Net | 77 | 71 | 83 | 84 | 78 | 86 | ||
| Par 72 | Points | 20 | 33 | 37 | 32 | 28 | 24 | 30 | 24 |
| SS 73.8 | Place | 8th | 2nd | 1st | 3rd | 5th | 6th | 4th | 7th |
| FLoBy* | Sand S's | 0 | *0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | *0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3's | 0 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | |
| Total | Points | 160 | 171 | 180 | 168 | 177 | 178 | 173 | 168 |
| Overall | Position | 8th | 5th | 1st | 6th | 3rd | 2nd | 4th | 6th |
| 7. Waterlefe | Gross | 91 | 86 | 90 | 84 | 97 | |||
| 6,908 Yards | Handicap | 19 | 10 | 0 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 13 |
| Slope 145 | Net | 81 | 86 | 87 | 83 | 84 | |||
| Par 72 | Points | 28 | 28 | 24 | 28 | 22 | 26 | 20 | 23 |
| SS 73.8 | Place | 2nd | 1st | 5th | 3rd | 7th | 4th | 8th | 6th |
| FLoBy* | Sand S's | *0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | *0 | 0 |
| 3's | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | Points | 188 | 199 | 204 | 196 | 199 | 204 | 193 | 191 |
| Overall | Position | 8th | 3rd | 1st | 5th | 3rd | 1st | 6th | 7th |
| 8. The Venetian | Gross | 86 | 87 | 83 | 78 | 82 | 82 | ||
| 6,931 Yards | Handicap | 17 | 7 | 0 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 14 |
| Slope 127 | Net | 79 | 87 | 78 | 77 | 71 | 68 | ||
| Par 72 | Points | 31 | 30 | 25 | 27 | 34 | 31 | 38 | 40 |
| SS 72.9 | Place | 4th | 6th | 8th | 7th | 3rd | 5th | 2nd | 1st |
| FLoBy* | Sand S's | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | *0 | 0 | *0 | 0 |
| 3's | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | |
| Total | Points | 219 | 229 | 229 | 223 | 233 | 235 | 231 | 231 |
| Overall | Position | 8th | 5th | 5th | 7th | 2nd | 1st | 3rd | 3rd |
| 9. The River Club | Gross | 91 | 79 | 89 | 82 | 80 | 84 | ||
| 7,026 Yards | Handicap | 17 | 8 | 3 | 18 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 11 |
| Slope 144 | Net | 83 | 76 | 71 | 78 | 79 | 75 | ||
| Par 72 | Points | 29 | 26 | 32 | 37 | 30 | 30 | 33 | 32 |
| SS 74.4 | Place | 7th | 8th | 4th | 1st | 5th | 6th | 2nd | 3rd |
| FLoBy* | Sand S's | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3's | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | Points | 248 | 255 | 261 | 260 | 263 | 265 | 264 | 263 |
| Overall | Position | 8th | 7th | 5th | 6th | 3rd | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
Daily News
7-10-2005 – Travelling
Arrived safe and sound after 20 hours travelling. Off for swim before zzzzz
8-10-2005 – ROUND 1
Tour Virgin looses his cherry and brings home the bacon!
A fine performance by Steve saw him take the honours at University today. Both he and David F got round this excellent track without loosing their balls. For the rest of us it was a much more painful experience.
9-10-2005 – ROUND 2
A fine performance by Graham saw him win at Stonybrook today. With a gross 76 he came in with 35 points, 2 ahead of Alan. David F finished 3rd with another steady knock and has yet to loose a ball. The same cannot be said about Andrew who left no fewer than 10 balls in the lakes of this great course. (If you haven’t played these courses it is easy to loose 10 balls with the luck I had. HONEST!!!!)
10-10-2005 – ROUND 3
Brian bounces back. After two days in the wilderness, and yes he was literally in wilderness, Brian got the winning habit again. He pipped Stuart on the back 9 as both carded 33 points. David B took 3rd spot from Alan again on a back 9 playoff as both had 32 points. David F moved further ahead in the overall points tall with 30 points despite only having 2 shots. Playing off scratch took its toll on yesterdays winner Graham who only managed 25 points. Steve again struck the ball tremendously but his short game let him down on this occasion. On the ball front Andrew achieved an unlikely feat of getting round the course without loosing a ball. This course is the tightest we play and was described by a local pro “that’s not a golf course its a bowling alley”. Brian also managed this achievement on his way to victory.
Rosedale was magnificent and the best course so far.
11-10-2005 – ROUND 4
Steve wins again! With a total of 32 points he takes his second title of the tour. Stuart knocked Andrew into 3rd place by holing from the bunker at the last to tie with him on 31 points but beat him with a better back 9. This was hard for Andrew to take as he had played excellent golf tee to green but had no fewer than 10 three puts. A number of the tour suffered in the heat and slumped to their lowest scores so far. Brian and Andrew again did not loose a ball.
An early night in after visiting Siesta Key beach on the way back to our Villa has allowed for today’s report to be posted early.
12-10-2005 – ROUND 5
Riverwood was magnificent with their new greens by far the best we have played. Graham produced a superb round matching his best in the US with a level par round of 72. This gave him 39 points and catapulted him to the top of the leader board. Alan produced his best knock and took 2nd place with 34 points. Brian finished 3rd with 31. Steve had a dip in form and took last spot with 22 points.
13-10-2005 – ROUND 6
Brian notches his second win of the tour shooting a tremendous 74 gross round Arnold Palmer’s demanding Legacy golf course. With 37 points he was 4 clear of Andrew on 33 points. With a 9,8,6 start, a shank and missing a 12″ put all inside the first 6 holes Andrew showed his mental strength to conquer adversity. David B’s round was the reverse with a superb first 12 holes he had 28 points at that stage but unfortunately only added another 4 over the closing 6. His total of 32 points was still good enough for 3rd.
14-10-2005 – ROUND 7
Waterlefe is a very difficult golf course which is used for a US Open qualifier round. With water everywhere and the fastest greens we have played everyone suffered. With that said this is a course you must play when in this part of the world and even if you have a poor round you will want to return.
We had the first three way tie which saw Andrew get his first victory of the tour, Alan was in second place and David B taking third spot all on 28 points. The eight of us left behind in the water and jungle a total of 37 balls! No wonder they give you a free sleeve of Pro VI’s.
15-10-2005 – ROUND 8
This was the tours first visit to the Venetian and very enjoyable it was. A slightly more forgiving track but with very difficult greens. Stuart produced a great performance to hold off tour virgin Steve and take his first win of the tour. He finished with the best points total so far, 40 points. Steve came in with 38 points and 3rd was the tours most consistent performer David F with 34 points.
13-10-2997 – ROUND 9
We played The River Club early on Sunday morning prior to our return journey. This was the first visit to this course for six of the tour and yet another excellent track. A fine performance saw David B finish on a high with a convincing victory. His 37 points was 4 clear of Steve on 33 who finished 2nd and in 3rd place was Stuart on 32 points after a card playoff against Brian.