There were glorious weather conditions for the Senior members left in this country, as many golfers have gone to Spain to spread the word of the Farrington Seniors for another year. The Four Ball Better Ball back here at home was a very close competition, with the count back coming into operation. Vice-Captain, Ray Guthrie, was in charge of proceedings, getting some practise in for next year.

1st Brian Brown/John Richardson 41 points on countback, 2nd Alan Elkington/Pete Maule 41 points on countback, 3rd Ray Guthrie/Jeff Bruton 40 points on countback, 4th Phil Bryant/Steve Ball 40 points on countback, 5th Derek McCaig/David Brown 40 points on countback, 6th Steve Symonds/Ken Hutton 40 points on countback. Nearest the Pins: 5th Brian Brown, 8th Graham Bradley, 14th Tony Quinn, 15th Barry Hall.

Men

With all golfers looking forward to the spring and not having to wear waterproofs, good scoring was achieved in both divisions of the Saturday Stableford, with Paul Thomas winning Division One with 38 points, followed closely by Charlie Wigmore, on 37 points and Dave Forshaw, third, on 36 points. There was a cracking round from David Glew, in Division Two, with an outstanding 45 points, followed by Jon Brown, in second, on 41 points, beating Steve Harmer into third on count back.

After early morning rain, there was a good field in the Sunday Stableford, with Steve Coles topping Division One with 41 points, followed by Lee Sparkes, second, on 37 points and Andy Coles, third, on 35 points. In Division Two, there was a good round from Simon Kidd on 39 points, closely followed by Paul Goddard, on 38 points and Shaun Carter in the money in third, on 34 points.

The Farrington Park Avalon team set off for the early season opener at Taunton and Pickeridge in high spirits and look forward to the challenges a return to the top division would pose. Captain Thomas was pleased to have selection problems and for the first time in a number of years, fielded a reserve pair.

First off were Paul Thomas and Alex Bendall, who won the first with a fine birdie; this unfortunately set the standard and following a further eight birdies by the home pair, they lost by a 4&2 margin.

Mark Adams and Nick Russell were paired against a +2 handicapper and in a great battle lost on the eighteenth.

George Hobbs and Gary Prater were soon up in their match and following a great birdie on seventeen by George, they needed a half on the final green to gain the first win of the season, but with the birdie putt just missing and the par putt also failing to drop, they had to settle for a half. Nick Poore and Charlie Wigmore struggled against a strong home pair, losing by a 6&4 margin. The final pair of Danny Farnen and Tom Snelling battled hard, but again lost out to a strong home pair, losing 2&1.

A 4½ – ½ result was not the start the team wanted, but shows the standard of golf to expect during the rest of the season, with a trip to Burnham and Berrow next.

Ladies

The annual team event of Lady Captain versus Vice Captain became Lady Captain versus Handicap Secretary and was held on Ladies’ Thursday morning on 16th March. With no Vice Captain at the time of arranging the competition, Maureen Charlton, Farrington Park’s Ladies Handicap Secretary, stepped in to take on Lady Captain, Pauline Young. Pauline and Maureen played singles match play, while their teams played Four Ball Better Ball match play. Their personal battle on the course was keenly fought, despite usually teaming up together.

Maureen’s birdie on the eighteenth hole won the match by one putt and secured the first point for her team. Gail Proctor and Mandy Hobbs, Sharman Bradshaw and Min Woodward, Sue Forshaw and Heather Woodland, Jenny Howarth and Lo Dallocco, Jane Richardson and Carol King and Liz Thomas and Angela Hudd gave Maureen’s team a further 5½ points. Wendy Butt and Carol Jones, Sandra Hares and Jackie Hobbs, Maureen Goodsir and Tracy Grist and Jacqui Gregory and June Symonds won 3½ points for Pauline. The result was a win for the Handicap Secretary. Winners or losers, the fun competition was enjoyed by all.