The early morning heavy drizzle looked to threaten the Christmas Mystery Bowmaker on the Ladies Thursday morning on 8th December, but 43 festively adorned golfers in high Christmas spirits were not deterred by the dark clouds.
The format scoring was a mixture of being informed who could score before playing a hole, and not knowing whose score counted until the next tee, a game of unexpected highs and lows! The buoyant atmosphere continued in the clubhouse as the teams, not knowing whether their score was a good one or not, awaited the presentation.
Lady Captain, Pauline Young, thanked her committee for their assistance with the smooth running of the day. There was also a bonus prize for the most festively dressed lady, and with the array of various comical hats, many ladies were contenders.
However, there was one lady whose headdress caused much amusement, with Peggy Edwards’ turkey hat stealing the show. The winners of the Mystery Bowmaker were then announced. In first place, with 92 points, were Gail Proctor, Jackie Walker and Terri O’Shea. In second place were Maureen Charlton, Pauline Young and Peta Romaine, with 91 points. In third place were Suzanne Young, Karen Wills and Gillian Seaward, with 90 points and fourth were Mandy Hobbs, Sue Stilwell and Tracey Watts with 88 points. The winners of the two spots were Sue Stilwell, Jenny Howarth, Maureen Goodsir and Rosi Brown on the fifth hole, and Mandy Hobbs and Min Woodward on the tenth hole.
Men
It was tight at the top of Division One in good December conditions (Saturday Stableford, 3rd December), with three players, all on forty points. Paul Thomas took the honours on countback from Dave Woodberry in second, and Mark Crook in third. In Division Two, a good round from Alistair Huckle on 39 points saw him take the top spot, with Ian Jones second, on 37 points, beating Paul Matthews into third on countback.
Good wintery conditions for the Sunday Stableford (4th December) saw Matt Lefeurve, on 34 points, taking top spot in Division One, with Paul Thomas in second, on thirty points, followed by Dave Forshaw, third, on 24 points. In Division Two, a good round from Jon Brignull, on 39 points, followed in second by Steve Park, on 36 points, and Graham Jeffery, third on 35 points.
Seniors
With unprecedented temperatures for December hitting 16°celsius (that’s 62° Fahrenheit in old money), woolly jumpers and beanies were most definitely not on the Christmas menu.
The Texas Scramble can be an exciting format, but one on which lifelong friendships are tested to the limit. With six drives each, you have a good score going and you are the ‘special one’ for the final drive on the eighteenth tee. There will be knocking knees and sweaty palms and that’s just from your playing partners! A big sigh of relief as the ball goes sailing down the middle of the fairway, but if not, there’s always next year.
Results: Phil Thompson, Pete Maule, Kevin Gould 60.13, John Ward, Steve Mitchell, Bill Waddington 63.25, Steve Symonds, David Brown, Nigel Savage 64.13, Ken Hutton, David Millington 64.50, Bob McKeegan-Brown, Tony Waldron, Rob Porter 64.63. Nearest the Pins on 5th Chris Liberty, 8th Leo Seddon, 14th Kevin Seery, 15th Laurie Barlow.