Saturday Swindle History

The Puttenham Golf Club "Saturday Swindle" first started to play regularly in October 1988. The founder members were: Andy Symons (now at Guildford G.C.), Ian Mansfield (left Puttenham at the end of 2004), Tony Malyon, Alan Burn (now at The Army G. C.) Ron Pierce, Sid Smith, Ken Johnson, Eric Kennedy, Steve Gray and Tom Tapp. Of the founders only Tony Malyon is a member of the Swindle. The first winner of the Swindle was Andy Symons. Due to the scoring format of the Swindle, it is somewhat of a "closed" table, although clearly any member can ask to join. See the "Member Profiles" for details of current Swindlers.

Numerous changes to the regular line-up have taken place over the years, but the format for the main competition has remained basically the same: A six-monthly competition taking "Formula One" style scoring. For the first "Swindle", only the winner (based on Stableford scoring) was allocated points - one for each attendee (so if there were 10 players, the winner got 10 points) - for the second and subsequent "Swindles", the Formula One scoring was adopted, with the winner receiving 9 points, second place 6 points, third place 4 points, then 3, 2, 1. The winner was also deducted two shots from their club handicap and the runner-up, one shot. In October 1992, a small change was introduced, giving the winner 10 points, rather than 9. In October 1993, a further change was introduced to remove the handicap penalties for the winner and runner-up. This was introduced as a couple of occasional members would turn up late in the competition and scoop the kitty as they hadn't been penalised from their club handicaps.

The final change to the scoring system occurred in April 1996 when points were again allocated based upon the number of players in the "Swindle" competition for the day. The justification being that it was tougher to earn 10 points if there were 14 players than if there were 4. So the current system allocates the winner with the number of players + 3 points (if there are eleven players, the winner gets 14 points), second place gets 11 points, then 9, 8, 7 etc. So if anyone wants to win the Swindle, they have to attend as many of the competitions as possible, otherwise they're losing at least one point (for turning up!), and probably an average of 6-8 points.

The winner and runner-up also scoop the kitty, with each player putting in £1.00 (not changed since 1988!) and £1.00 or more (depending on the number of players) going to fund the awards and engraving.

During the mid-90's the Swindle became fragmented, with some of the players wanting to get away early (around 7:30) and others not turning up until 8:00. This caused some of the Swindle members to leave to join the earlier table. Now, most players arrive between 7:30 and 8:00, and tee off around 8:15 - 8:30 (between the early table and the 9:00am table). The arriving members have their names entered onto score cards and when it looks like no more are going to arrive, the cards are picked out at random and the groups tee off in 3's or 4's. (and then Nick Hayward and/or Eric Kennedy screech into the car park and get allocated to the final group!).

So, for the first 10 years, the only competition was the "Swindle" and then it was suggested that an Eclectic competition also be run twice a year - starting in January and July. The July competition takes the best scores from each hole for the first 10 white-tee competitions out of a potential of 14 (taking into account Summer vacations) and the January competition is from the first 10 out of 12. Half the club handicap (on the last Eclectic round for the player) is deducted from the best gross score for each player. The first winner of the competition in Autumn 1997 was Ken Johnson (Eclectic Results: .)

More recently, a Swindle Knock-out competition has been introduced (called the "Bain Bowl"). This is a match-play competition using full handicap difference (rather than 3/4). The trophy was donated by Swindle member Trevor Bain. Eric Kennedy is the only member to have held all three trophies at the same time! To be eligible to enter the Bain Bowl, Swindle members need to have played in at least half of the previous 6-month Swindle competitions. This ruling was introduced to ensure that members attended as many Swindle rounds as possible.

On some Saturdays, it is possible to be playing 6 competitions - the Swindle, the club competition of the day, the Swindle eclectic, the club eclectic, the Swindle knock-out and any match agreed between the players on the tee! This calls for some serious scoring headaches - especially if the club competition is a 7/8ths bogey! As you can imagine, during the life of the Saturday Swindle there have been some amusing moments. You can read about some of these stories.

Usually, a four-ball agrees to a £0.50p stake for the front nine, £0.50p back nine and £1.00 match in a four-ball better-ball match-play format. In addition, £0.25p for birdies, £1.00 for an Eagle and £5.00 for a hole-in-one (three to-date - Steve Gray (old 5th), Phil Stevens and Dave Barnes (18th)) as well as "ooslums" - nearest the pin on a par 3 and in the hole in par or better. These are £0.20p, doubled up until the 18th, so the final putt on the 18th is often worth £0.80p.

Due to the competitive nature of the Swindle format, almost every week at least one of the Swindle members gets into the frame in the club competition. and on occasions it's been as many as six! Another [non-golfing] claim to fame is that Swindle members have won the Puttenham Quiz Night on numerous occasions. Teams consisting of Eric Kennedy, Colin Reardon, Trevor Bain (and on separate nights, Paul Reardon, Ken Johnson, Steve Gray and - more recently - Professor Stuart Saunders) have won a number of times, as have Chris Daniel with wife Allannah, and Nick Hayward with wife Linda.

The Swindlers have regularly taken Spring tours to France [see On Tour], with the initial trips in the early 90's to the Loire Valley, then to the courses around Deauville. More recently a group of Swindlers has head to the Basque region - around Biarritz - to find the early Spring sun. You can see photos of the Swindlers on tour in the Photo Gallery.