The Broken Shaft Golf Society
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The success of the Shafters (Established 2003) and Spongebobs (Established 2005) golfing societies spawned two other smaller groups of golfing tourists. All of whom have subsequently become affiliates. First out of the blocks in 2009 were The Truants - a fourball comprising half of the original Spongbobbers including Cards, Stu, Merts & Lettsy. A similar fourball The Breakaways ( Established 2015) blossomed out of the Shafters and comprised Messrs Cardoe ('07), Horler ('11), Greenfield ('06) and Robinson ('17). In 2022, the Spongebobs determined, quite appropriately, that following the very untimely death of Spongebob legend and Shafter, Alex Letts, together with the retirements of Dylan 'Deej' Jones, James 'Sedi' Rogers and Graeme 'GP' Pollok, it should rebrand as The Foragers and add new blood to the group. Rollo Greenfield (Shafters & Breakaways) and Tony 'Big Bad' Easton (Shafters) were the first to join in the fun, closely followed by Darrell Mercer (Clingons & Next Tuesdays) and then Charles Scott (Shafters). In 2022, Graeme 'Walrus' Wall joined The Truants. NB: The profile commentaries written below were crafted by Lettsy shortly before his death in 2021 and have not been updated as a mark of respect to his wit, humour and talent as a writer. He is remembered so very fondly by all his fellow golfers in all the various societies he was associated. Rest in peace Lettsy. There are three other golf societies which are loosely affiliated and they include The Clingons, The Slice and The Next Tuesdays.
The most improved player on tour over the past 3 years. Cards has finally worked out the shortcoming of the Norfolk Boys' primitive golf strategy (a boyhood theory of aimlessly hitting into the rough to test their ability to find balls no one else would even bother to look for). Whilst in the olden days he was the prime golfing example of what can happen if you give a typewriter to a monkey (from time to time you do get the complete Works of Shakespeare. It is just that you get quite a lot of gibberish too), these days he is less often to be found socialising on the wrong side of the fairway and more often instead is ripening like a peach in the evening sun at the business-end of any match. As one commentator said recently : "It's a bit like playing golf with an Orangutan. Amazing strength, non-stop non incoherent chatter and an orange glow all around". Cards is also the concierge service for Tour Organisation , which fortunately for the Spongebobs, he does with the same good grace and charm that his long suffering wife Milly has to demonstrate in putting up with his unceasing programme of golf.
Surprise winner of the competition for Man-Least-Likely-To-Fit-In-Up-North, "Lettsy" competes ferociously (for a plant eating veggie), and hits the ball out of sight (well out of his eyesight anyhow). Oddly his focus for finding exotic fauna on the golf course is much sharper than for finding his own ball! Whilst searching far and wide for errant shots, he has unearthed a range. of exotic fauna on golf courses, including snakes, coypu, crayfish, frogs, tarantulas, a chameleon and even an egg laying sea turtle. His extraordinary hair colours, combined with an endless stream of health and beauty tips, ensure he is a standout player on any tour, though sadly not for the quality of his golf! An erratic and troubled self-styled golfing genius, his desperate supply on new kit, gadgets and innovative techniques only ever ends in terrible disappointment, assuaged on the rides to and from courses by his iTunes back catalogue. By a country mile, Lettsy puts in more hours of work on the range than all of the Bobbers combined, which has thus far only delighted and reinforced Merts' belief that practice really does not make perfect.
The history of the tour credits Merts with being both one of its founders, but also as originator of its unusual name in homage to a pair of Lettsy's "what was he thinking", Gatsby-esque golfing trousers. Nevertheless, it is the subtle inversion of the adage "from the sublime to the ridiculous" that will more likely ultimately win his page in Wikipedia. Unfailingly his tee shot is not just on the wrong fairway but often on the wrong golf course, caused by his uncontrolled ability to shape the ball to extremes beyond any rational explanation. Christened the 'Curly-Wurly', this ridiculous tee shot starts gun-barrel straight, before golfing cyber-terrorists hack the ball's control systems to bend it sharply left of the fairway. As if part of a Grand Plan, there usually follows a sublime recovery from 180 yards out, as the Seve-style miracle shot from behind a gorse bush nestles pin-high leaving an unmissable 2ft putt. There is no happy ending though. The hackers regain control of the putt, which unerringly not only breaks hard some 18 inches short of the hole but also swerves widely right. His subsequent aphorism "I never mind losing a hole to a birdie", neatly deflects from the triple bogey he himself amassed.
Spongbob & Forager - Personae Dramatis
As the only real golfer and SpongeBob member with at least half a brain, Stu is the de facto Chairman of the SpongeBob board, Treasurer, and Head of the remuneration committee (which keeps itself busy with Handicap adjustments). Never knowingly under-golfed. Stu's recent attempt for a world record number of golf days in a calendar year, while still allegedly in active employment, was stumped just short of the ton despite a no-expense-spared bidding frenzy at Charity auctions for increasingly exotic golf days. Recent rumours have surfaced that he recently turned down the chance to join the Seniors tour at a charity meat-fest with Colin Montgomery on the grounds that the Seniors Tour didn't play enough days in the year. Away from golf, which Stu rarely is, he has been undeterred by the High Court action launched by his body, citing an abusive relationship. Stu has an engine like a 1950's Fordson tractor, and is seemingly impervious to the agonies of his head and gut coping with his relentless pursuit of good red wines and Fois Gras. On the rare occasion that his form wobbles, he will return to the tee with "that glint in his eye" and woe betide the opposition.
It is one of life's great paradoxes that "the best driver on tour" is also one of the worst. Our, regrettably now only occasional, bard, Walrus has supplemented his golfing mythology as joint-worst-record holder, with a more subtle and useful skillset at the wheels of the tour bus. Walrus' game oscillates like his marvellous larynx, from majestic to plain comic. Yet despite his 15 years of hurt, Walrus always offers a word of encouragement to a wayward partner, and has a roar of laughter that can be heard back at the clubhouse. He is the only Spongebobber to play to his weight, and it is somewhat ironic that as official tour navigator and driver, his on-course radar is so strangely absent. Consequently, the slightly discordant note is that our Director of Music's chances of hitting the fairway are lower than him hitting one of his alpaca's backsides with his banjo, or indeed with any other of his collection of stringed instruments. Walrus's status as most magnificent beast on tour (at 6ft 4 and 18 stone of pizza) will come under serious challenge from new boy, Big Tony, and his demotion from his long standing position as Captain of the Fatties team, now that a larger animal has emerged from the golfing jungle, might be transformational. His one insight thus far "well now we'll need a bigger mini-bus" reflects well on his laser-like ability to strategise major issues well in advance, an attribute so petently absent from his game.
Hewn from Sedburgh sheep droppings, James' peerless play and calm temperament was toned in the Oxford Parks against the likes of Messrs Willis, Botham, "Thommo" Thomson and Sylvester Clarke. This can at times make the challenges of the greatest golf courses in Europe appear trivial. His steady temperament and solid game is threatened only by a tendency to fall asleep, and it's only a matter of time before his languid swing stalls in mid-air and he curls up snoring half-way round a course. No follower of fashion, Sedi eschews the dandyism of his erstwhile playing partner, and plods around the course in low gear, and indeed, extraordinary and out-dated gear, seeking solace only in the perfect approach shot or the string of pars that have so often broken the hearts of his rivals. Sedi's idea of executive travel is to cycle from Iffley Road to Oxford Station at 3am carrying his clubs and bags on a bike that should have, indeed probably did come from a 1940's Spitfire movie. But, despite all this and against all odds, he always arrives at Heathrow in time for coffee and muffins, prior to a well earned kip on the airplane. His new career as a coach to troubled souls, was apparently inspired by his 10 years of partnering Lettsy.
Deej recently declared himself a non-combatant, but not because he suddenly became a "Golfing conchie", as, in fairness, the conscientious objection was, with some justification, from his long-term playing partner. No, the burden of being a winner both on the course and in the bar was too much for any high performance athlete to carry and, in 2018, he bowed to the inevitable, withdrawing himself from further sporting competition. He comes acts as Tour Coach , Mentor, and Psychologist. a role he perfected to such an extreme in 2018/19 that his only patient quit the tour altogether in some mental confusion. Now, the tap on your shoulder from Deej is feared by the Tourists as much as receiving a handshake from Blind Pew himself. Voted most changed Body Shape of the past decade by the Uppingham branch of the Women's Institute, Deej's plummet down the weighing scale rankings is a source of much envy from a few of his fellow Bobs. Things you didn't know about Dylan Jones: Deej's status as tour legend has been carved into SpongBob lore by the invention of the 'Deej' - a 6pm aperitif of a full pint of gin and tonic.
In his CV, Rollo describes himself as a "hands on strategic thinker with broad multicultural banking experience", and whilst we will dissect this short but revealing resume below, it is worth pointing out up front that "clothes off" might be more accurate than "hands on". His Full (really) Monty at Valderrama will live long in the minds of those who have sufficient psychological strength for such traumatically recovered memories. It is with some surprise however that his CV claim to be a strategic thinker has made it through the LinkedIn reality-check filter. Anyone who has ever played a round of golf with Rollo can vouch for the complete absence of anything even vaguely related to a strategy. The words "utter" and "shambles" come most easily to mind. As a man who has served a career in a series of Middle Eastern and African banks, Rollo has rubbed shoulders (and probably quite a lot more) with exotic personalities, something that will stand him in good stead with our increasingly diverse Spongebob community (eh?) Rollo is an accomplished after dinner, umm, singer. He also gyrates liberally (others might call it dancing, but looking away, anywhere, in total horror, is a common victim response, suggesting otherwise); he is an expert at franglaise-mashing, and those attributes, combined with his erratic golfing, suggest that his future in Spongbob colours looks rosy. Off 18 Rollo is a handful in competition, but a wonderfully entertaining golfing and touring chum. We look forward to his, almost certainly epic contribution to the ensuing Spongebob travesty.
With the Spongebobs an obvious jihadist target in an increasingly dangerous world, the SB 2.0 has been relaunched with it's own real time security solution. "Big Bad" Tony, at just under 6ft 7", tough as Ant & Dec, and with a golf swing only marginally less bemusing, did his apprenticeship in the barking mad school of Shafters bedlam over the past decade. His expensively financed transfer to SB2.0 (a large steak washed down with Falstaffian flagon of cheap Merlot). reflected his own obvious confusion about what "becoming a vegan" really means, as well as bearing witness to the need for a more cerebral balance within the group as it flounders its way around Europe's cultural hotspots. Big Tony's years of leadership in the world of PLC Board coaching will be tested to the limits as his shambolic playing partners pollute golf's finest fairways, seeking strategy and reassurance at his bag, where, quite frankly, absolution might be all he can legitimately bestow.
Spongebob & Foragers' Touring Venues
2024 - Budapest
Old Lake Golf & Country Club
Pannonia
Magyar Golf Club
2023 - Bordeaux
Golf du Médoc - Chateau
Golf du Médoc - Vignes
Grand St Emilionnaise
2022 - Majorca
T Country Club
Son Gual
Bendinat
2021 - Wales
Machynys
Pennard
Royal Porthcawl
2019 - Turin
Royal Park - Roveri
Biella
Circulo Golf Torino - Yellow
Circulo Golf Torino - Blue
2018 - Bratislava
Fontana (Austria)
Penati - Heritage
Penati - Legend
Hruba Borsa
2017 - Valencia
Club Campo del Mediterraneo
El Saler
El Bosque
2016 - Copenhagen
Barseback (Sweden)
The Scandinavian - Old
The Scandinavian - New
Rungsted
2015 - Lausanne
Lausanne
Evian
Crans-sur-Sierre
Divonne​
2014 - Prague
Beroun
Karlstejn​
Albatross​
Konopiste - Radecky
2013 - Lisbon
Penha Longa
Oitavos
Praia d'El Rey
2012 - Stockholm
Svartinge
Vidbynas - Axa
Bro Hof Slott - Stadium​
Bro Hof Slott - Castle
2011 - Ireland
Killarney
Tralee​
Dooks
Waterville
2010 - Berlin
Seddiner See
Sporting Club Berlin
Stolper Heider
2009 - Alsace
Wantzenau
Soufflenheim
Kempfehof
2008 - Girona
PGA Catalunya
2005 - Sweden
Ljunghusen
Halmstad
Falsterbo
2007 - Biarritz
Moliets
Seignosse
Hossegor
Makila
2006 - Portugal
Monte Rei
Quinta de Ria
Quinta de Cima
Islantilla (Spain)
Spongebob & Foragers' Photo Gallery
Truants' Tour Venues
2024 - East Anglia
Royal Worlington & Newmarket
Gog Magog - Wandlebury
Thetford
2023 - Kent
Princes
Royal Cinque Ports
Royal Saint George's
2022 - Yorkshire
Moortown
Alwoodley
Ganton
2019 - West Lancashire
Royal Lytham St Annes
Formby
Delemare Forest
2018 - Paris
Golf National
Golf de Courson
St Germain
2017 - West Scotland
Western Gailes
Royal Troon
Dundonald
2016 - Ireland
Royal Dublin
Portmarnock
The Island
2015 - Inverness
Nairn
Royal Dornoch
Castle Stuart
2014 - Northern Ireland
Ardglass
Royal County Down​
2013 - East Lothian
Dunbar
North Berwick​
Gullane No 1
2012 - Lincs & Notts
Woodhall Spa - Hotchkin
Woodhall Spa - Bracken
Hollinwell
2011 - West Lancs
Royal Birkdale
Hillside
Royal Liverpool (Hoylake)
2010 - Norfolk
Royal West Norfolk
Royal Cromer
Sheringham
2009 - Denmark
Lubker - Sand
Lubker - Sky
Lubker - Forest
Truants' Gallery
Lincs & Notts - 2012
Denmark - 2009
Breakaways' Winter Tour Courses
2024 - Algarve
San Lorenzo
Vale do Lobo
2023 - Algarve
San Lorenzo
Monte Rei
2022 - Algarve
San Lorenzo
Monte Rei
2021 - Algarve
San Lorenzo
Pinheiros Altos
2020 - Norfolk
Royal West Norfolk
Royal Cromer
Sheringham
2019 - Islay
The Machrie - Team Challenge
2018 - Cornwall
West Cornwall
Mullion
Perranport
2017 - East Lothian
North Berwick
Dunbar
Gullane No2
2016 - Wales
Ashburnham
Pennard
Royal Porthcawl
2015 - Devon
Royal North Devon
Saunton - East
Saunton - West​