The Copper’s Novice Cup was held recently on Farrington Park’s nine-hole Manor Course.

It was an 18-hole stroke play competition, played off scratch and aimed at women who are relatively new to golf. Any members of the Farrington Park “Coppers” group with a course handicap of 35 and above could enter and as there wasn’t a handicap allowance to consider, it also encouraged the newer players who are still “trying for handicap” to enter. This gave them a gentle introduction to competition stroke play.

The course conditions were tricky this year as the ground was wet with a heavy dew and lots of long wet grass to contend particularly in the rough, so it paid to keep to the fairways if possible.

There were nine entries to the competition with the players going out in pairs with a “helper” to keep an eye on scoring and help with the rules. The winner with a fantastic score of 73 which reflected her clear ability to concentrate and maintain a cool head over 18 holes was Lesley Mannion, followed by Celia Widdowson with 78 and Lizzie Wood with 86.

The sun came out towards the end of the round and afterwards the players were able to sit on the Clubhouse terrace for coffee before the presentation of the Novice Cup, it really felt that the “ Coppers” 2023 golfing season had got off to a good start.

As ever a big thank you to all the “helpers” who make Coppers possible and who give up their Tuesdays on a regular basis to mentor and guide our newer members through the minefield of rules, etiquette and scoring.

The Lockdown Challenge Stableford competition was held on the Duchy course and was open to all players with a course handicap of 36 and below. Players with handicaps above this figure had a separate competition. The majority of the thirty-eight strong field had submitted enough cards for handicap purposes and were eligible to compete for the Lockdown Challenge Trophy. Those who hadn’t submitted enough cards were still able to enter the competition but could not win the Trophy.

For once, the sun shone on a breezy day and it felt like summer just might be around the corner. However, it was a mystery why the scoring did not reflect the lovely weather.

Division 2 winner was Isobel Panton with 29 points, second place went to Pat Roscow (25) and Jan Mahoney took 3rd place on countback from Jane Richardson after both scored 24 points.

Division 1 was won by new-comer Kerry Pawley with 36 points, Unfortunately, Kerry did not have enough submitted handicap cards to win the Trophy but she had the satisfaction of knowing she had a very good score, five points clear of the field. Three players scored 31 points and Lally Gibson became the Lockdown Challenge Trophy holder beating Kath Cox and Jayne Brown on countback.

Jane Ball