Farrington Park members and sponsors raised an incredible £12,400 this year in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.
A cheque was presented to Sadie Moore, from Macmillan and the Midsomer Norton Fundraising Committee, at a party night which was generously provided by Farrington Park.
Having organised a range of events, including a quiz, a golf day and a barbecue, as well as collecting money from competitors throughout the season, Club Captain, Clive Stilwell, was very proud of the members' efforts and said: "We can only thank all of the golf club members who gave so generously over the year and also so many sponsors who helped us to raise the money."
Ladies Captain, Sharman Bradshaw, was equally proud: "This is an amazing achievement and we are delighted to have raised the money for such a good cause, particularly as so many of our members have been personally affected by cancer over the last few years."
The Captains for this coming year have now been elected and Kev Brimble, Didi Ager and Jim Farmer will be supporting the Forever Friends Appeal, as well as Air Ambulance and Arthritis Charities. Macmillan fundraiser, Sadie Moore, collected the cheque as one of her final duties before leaving for Australia to work in a new charity job and the club wish her every success.
The Ladies section had two Qualifying Stablefords in the week. Saturday, 19th October saw twelve ladies battle the elements, taking part in a very wet Qualifying Stableford. Jane Ball came first, with 38 points, and a resultant one shot reduction in handicap. Terri O'Shea came second (37 points), and Sue Stilwell third (36 points).
Thursday, 24th October was quite the opposite, glorious sunshine, albeit with dew on the ground to keep competitors on their toes with rather challenging putting. 39 ladies took part in the Qualifying Stableford. The difficulty in the short game was confirmed by the Course Standard Scratch of 74. Jane Ball had a good round, coming first with 38 points and enjoying a second handicap reduction in the week, this time, two shots. Liz Thomas and Gail Proctor came second and third respectively on countback, each with 35 points. Gill Russell achieved the only two spot of the day on the tenth hole.
It was more like Shakespeare's 'Tempest' than a Farrington Seniors weekly competition. Most elements of our weather were thrown at competitors over a five-hour period – gales, torrential rain and sunshine, with most players soaked at the start of the round, but blown dry by the wind come the end. The format for the Wednesday competition was Four Ball Better Ball played off three-quarter handicap allowance. It was therefore surprising that the runaway leaders posted a massive 44 points in such tricky weather conditions.
Competition results were, Nearest the Pin: Fifth Hole, Mike Hedges, Eighth Hole, Bernard Parfrey, Fourteenth Hole, Jim Farmer, Fifteenth Hole, Nigel Punchard.
Better Ball Results: first, Bob Wright and Rob Chappell, 44 points, second, Colin Robinson and Mike Daniel, 39 points, third, Barry Hall and Bernard Parfrey, 38 points (countback), fourth, Steve Symonds and Bob McKeegan-Brown, 38 points, fifth, Alan Elkington and Malcolm Clark, 38 points, and sixth, Geoff Russell and Geoff Moore, 37 points.