The Men’s Avalon team started their home season with the return visit of Burnham and Berrow.
The first game saw the team Captains paired against each other and after a close front nine, the home pairing of Nick Poore and Paul Thomas took control, winning by a 4&2 margin.
Next out were Mark Adams and Nick Russell, who found themselves in a very close match, eventually settling for a half on the eighteenth green.
Debutant, Jack Broadway, partnered Jamie Rawlings in the third game and after another tight front nine, started a birdie run that saw them win 3&2.
Charlie Wigmore and the in form Lee Bruton were next out, and blew away the opposition with a fine 6&4 victory.
The final match saw Mark Crook and Alex Bendall close out a 2&1 victory to ensure a great team win by a 4½ to ½ margin and eleven more points to the league total.
With the feeling of summer just around the corner, there was some terrific scoring on the fairways and greens of Farrington Park in the Saturday Stableford (29th April), with Lee Bruton topping Division One with a great score of 42 points, followed by Darren Wilkins, in second, on forty points and John Ward, in third, on 37 points. In Division Two, Jeff Hayward played some excellent golf with a score of forty points to take top honours with Eric Reddy taking second on 39 points, beating Bob Baker into third on countback.
With the good conditions continuing in to the Sunday Stableford on 30th April, Charlie Wigmore topped Division One with 32 points, followed in second by Jamie Lake on thirty points, beating Tony Guthrie into third on countback.
In Division Two, scoring was of the higher order with Simon Kidd’s round of the weekend with 43 points at the top, with Neil Morgan continuing his good form on 41 points and Fred Grist, third, on 39 points.
On a glorious sunny Sunday and unusually, hardly a breath of wind, the playing of the Stilwell Salver, now in its 22nd year, was contested. This year, a new format was introduced, which proved very popular with the players.
With fourteen mixed pairs competing, scoring was extremely close, with only three points covering twelve pairs. In third place, with 43 points, were Jacqui and Martin Walker; in second place, on countback, were Dawn and Terry Stacey. The well deserved and popular winners on 45 points and an excellent back nine of 26 points were Linda Rogers and Gary Padfield.
Ladies nearest the pin in two on the fourteenth hole was Bobby Appleby and for the Men on the same hole was Rob Thain. Our thanks go to Sue and Clive Stilwell who donated the prizes of the bottle shaped variety to the winning teams.
Farrington Park’s Lady Captain, Pauline Young and Maureen Charlton have progressed to the fourth round of the Mail on Sunday, the prestigious national competition. This was their first home match, but their victory did not come easy, having to fight hard for their 2&1 win. Pauline and Maureen’s opponents from Orchardleigh played steady golf; the Farrington Park duo were not at their very best, but they kept themselves in control of the match by supporting each other. Their determination and belief created some excellent shots towards the end of the round, which won the day.
Ladies’ Thursday morning on 27th April was a 123 bowmaker fun competition. Birthday girl, Angela Hudd, enjoyed an extra celebration by being in the winning team with Sharman Bradshaw and Carol King, who amassed an excellent 85 points. In second place, with a decent 83 points, were Maureen Charlton, Bridget Rylance and Lally Gibson. In third place, were Pauline Young, Fiona Hassard and Sandra Hares, with 77 points on countback.
The EWGA Medal on Thursday, 4th May saw a small field of 24 competitors. Once again, Lally Gibson proved to be in excellent form by winning the Bronze Division with a 69 nett and again, reducing her handicap. In second place was Tracey Watts, with a nett of 74 points and in third place was June Symonds, with a nett 75 points. In the Silver Division, Lin Papadopoullos also had an excellent round to reduce her handicap by winning with a nett 71 points. In second place was Wendy Butt, with 74 nett on countback and in third place was Rosi Brown, also with a nett of 74.
With Stableford scores ranging from 35 to 25, scoring was not easy in Saturday’s fresh wind and cool air. The drying fairways threw up some interesting bounces and changes of direction, but at least the golf balls were running, giving the Ladies welcome extra yardage. In the top placing Gail Proctor and Terri O’Shea both scored 35 points, Gail taking first place on countback. Dawn Stacey was third with 34 points.
The Juniors’ nine hole competition on 7th May results are as follows. Division One: 1st, Oliver Barlass (11/38/27), 2nd, Libbie Dezis (12/40/28), 3rd, Caleb Wickham (5/33/28). Division Two: 1st, Harley Wickham (22/44/22), 2nd, Theo Spicer (20/44/24), 3rd, Jenson Barker (19/43/24).