On Thursday, 38 Ladies played a three-ball Bowmaker in lovely Autumn weather. It was a little cold at the start, but the course is recovering well from the summer drought.

In this competition, only two scores are counted on each hole, so the final winning score is expected to exceed 72 in good conditions. The winners – Carol Jones, Sandra Hares and Maureen Tayler – won very narrowly from Lena Warren, Lally Gibson and Debbie Jones on countback.

Both teams had a very creditable seventy points, with the third team of Carol King, Margaret Seery and Bridget Rylance having 65 points. The next two teams only had 61 points, so it was quite a low-scoring day, perhaps due to greens that are much slower than in summer.

On the 14th, the Ladies each placed a marker to make a guess at where the new Ladies’ Captain, Pat Roscow, would land a drive after the main competition. In the event, Pat fulfilled her prediction that she does not like pressure, and put a first drive into the rough and the second over the trees to the left. Hazel Guthrie was nearest and won a box of chocolates. A most enjoyable day.

On a misty October morning, 32 grannies, including step-grannies, took part in the Grannies Trophy, an American Greensomes competition. Both players tee off and play each other’s ball. The best one is then selected, and they then play alternatively. Yellow balls were needed due to poor visibility – weather-induced, rather than age!

The winning duo of Pauline Brixey and Denise Baker must have thought that any chance of winning eluded them, as their score on the first five holes was not as good as they would have wished. However, a fifteen-foot putt by Denise on the sixth hole turned the tide. Pauline and Denise sank some long putts to complement the rest of their game. They managed to edge out the pairing of Bridget Rylance and Jane Waller on countback for the trophy.

The final scores were Pauline Brixey and Denise Baker with 38 points on countback, Bridget Rylance and Jane Waller, also with 38 points, in second place, and Terri O’Shea and Rosi Brown in third with 34 points.