The Ladies were on a high after winning the Sherborne Shield some two weeks previously, with an emphatic victory over the Seniors.

The Match Shield, played for on the eighteen-hole Duchy course, was also won by the Ladies in 2016 and 2017, so the Men were clearly looking to put things right. In last year’s rain-affected match, the competition was reduced to nine holes and the Ladies ran out comfortable winners,

6-3.

This year, the weather forecast was not favourable for the mid-morning. With a sudden downpour of stinging hail followed by fierce winds, momentarily it looked as if it would yet again be a nine-hole competition. However, the skies did improve, and everyone completed their rounds safe and sound, albeit a bit damp!

A number of matches were closely-contested; others, not so! With the Seniors clearly on tenterhooks, they eventually secured victory with a close 6-4 result.

The playing of these competitions is vital to the Mixed Section, continuing to thrive under the new leadership of Jane and Steve Ball. For a number of the Ladies and the Senior Men playing in this competition for the first time, it was clearly an enjoyable experience and goes a long way to bring the sections together for the social side of this great game. Remember: it is not the winning, it is the taking part. We all look forward to next year’s encounter.

Seniors

A sunny November morning greeted the Seniors, with more than seventy keen to show off their skills in this Tennessee Waltz competition. A heavy morning dew ensured that there would be very little run of the ball for the early starters. What was surprising, however, was the extremely-low scoring from almost every team.

In this format, 72 points is considered par, with the winners regularly scoring in the mid-eighties. In this competition, there were only four scores in the seventies, with the winners scoring only 75 points! There does not appear to be any logical explanation for this. No late-night parties, and definitely too early for Christmas celebrations! We hope it gets better next week.

Men

With the weather causing waterproofs to be worn on Saturday, it was a sign of the winter on its way. In Division One, Mark Crook topped the charts with 34 points, with Jamie Lake a close second on 33 points and Charlie Holmes third on 32 points. A great day for Chris Clegg in Division Two, winning with a great total of forty points, followed in second by Mike Godwin on 32 points, beating Nick Farrar into third on countback.

With the better weather of the weekend on Sunday, Craig Adams took charge of Division One with 39 points, followed in second by Lee Callow on 37 points, beating Charlie Holmes into third on countback. Warren Cowling took charge of Division Two, with an outstanding 39 points, followed in second by Paul Brown on 31 points and Jon Cox third on thirty points.