Whilst the fine autumn weather prevails, the Farrington Park ladies have been playing a number of qualifying handicap competitions. 43 Ladies entered the Stableford competition called Mara’s Morning, held in memory of former player, Mara Sheppard.
Two-spot birdies were scored at 15th hole by Gail Proctor and Jackie Walker and at the 10th hole by Min Woodward. Fourteen players scored 30 points or more, with three points separating the top three places and countback was employed to determine places fourth to sixth. June Symonds took fourth place ahead of Wendy Butt and Corinne Durbin, after all three ladies scored 34 points.
Christine Jukes continued to make strides with her quickly improving golf game, finished in second place with 37 points, two ahead of third-placed Linda Rogers. The winner of Mara’s Trophy and the only player in the field to play under par was Lally Gibson, with a fine score of 38 points.
The Coppers’ Cup, a competition for Ladies new to the game of golf, was won by Nicole Mellor with 41 points, second place went to Sue Garrett with 35 points.
The competitors in the monthly medal competitions found the Duchy course “tough going”, despite the beautiful, sunny weather. In the Saturday medal competition, Sue Forshaw and Gail Proctor had two-spot birdies at the short par-three 5th hole; Sue’s being particularly impressive as her first shot found the semi-rough at the front of the green, but a well-paced putt made the ball fall straight into the hole after it hit the flagstick.
Gail Proctor won Division One with a nett-78, beating Jackie Walker on countback. Third-placed Wendy Butt had a nett 86. Scores in Division Two were closer; Jane Ball had a nett-75 to take first place, one ahead of Sue Forshaw, with Elaine Davidson taking third place with nett-77.
No two-spot birdies were scored in the Thursday monthly medal competition, but Maureen Charlton had the rare score of an eagle three at the long par-five 11th hole. The field was divided into three divisions because of the wide range of handicaps. Lena Warren won Division One with a fine nett-70, Suzanne Young had a nett-76 for second place and Pauline Young took third with nett-77.
Corrina Bates was way ahead of her fellow competitors in Division Two with a good nett-74. Karen Wills beat Liz Thomas to second place on countback after both scored nett-83. After finishing well up the order of results for several weeks, Isobel Panton made it to the top for the first time in Division Three with a very good nett-72. Jill Holland took second place with nett-77 and Sylvia Hudnott scored nett 85 to take third.
The Ladies’ Captain’s Away Day was held at Kingsdown Golf Club. 24 Farrington Park Ladies competed in a Bowmaker on a murky and drizzly Monday on the tricky but interesting course at Kingsdown. A great time was had by all as the course is great fun, but not easy. They arrived early to hit a few balls on the driving range, although finding the driving range was the first, and not insignificant, challenge! After consuming some excellent bacon rolls, the Ladies braved the weather which had turned from grey to drizzle. Slightly damper, but never getting really wet, they returned to an excellent two-course meal and coffee.
The day was organised by Bridget Rylance and Jane Waller. Sadly, Bridget was not able to play, and Fiona Hassard stepped in to help Jane at the start. Happily, Bridget managed to get to the event later and was able to present the prizes with Jane. The winning team of Jenny Ahlberg, Christine Jukes and Pat Roscow narrowly beat the second team of Terri O’Shea, Sandra Hares and Marilyn Coles on countback, both teams scoring 77 points. The team of Carol King, Sue Forshaw and Julie Toogood came third with 68 points.
Only four players made it to the par-three greens for Nearest the Pin. Rosi Brown and Sue Forshaw on the 4th were the silver and bronze category winners. Terri O’Shea just pipped Lena Warren on the 17th. Bridget and Jane presented the Away Day trophy and prizes to the first, second and third teams. Bridget, Jane and Fiona were presented with plants and pots from all the participants in thanks for a really good day out.
Jane Ball