A chilly autumn breeze greeted the 24 golfers for the annual ‘Generation Trophy’ on Sunday. The American Greensomes competition, consisting of one junior and one adult, is often a closely fought battle and this year was no exception.
With a majority of the field scoring over 36 points, it was clear to see that there is exceptional talent coming through the ranks, and the future bodes well for the junior section. As the results poured in, it was obvious that a 40+ point score was required to have a shot at the trophy.
Third place went to the debut pairing of junior, Evie Thatcher and Marin Thatcher, on 40 points after countback, while second place went to junior, Alex Bendall and Lee Bruton, on 41 points. However, the trophy was claimed by the father and son pairing of junior, Caleb Wickham and Mark Wickham, with a huge total of 43 points. Well done to all.
The first Ladies’ competition of the new season took place on 26th October. The ever-popular Tree Trophy, played in the Stableford format, attracted a large field of 44 players.
Early starters had to contend with fog, while later starters were caught out by a heavy shower of rain on the home stretch. The sun made an appearance through the clouds, as the last competitors played their final holes.
With winter rules in place, this helped with ball placement on the fairways because it was wet underfoot, but the balls did not run any great distance. The tough conditions were reflected in the scoring; as the ladies returned their scores to the clubhouse, it was clear that no-one was a run-away winner. The CSS rose from 73 to 76, and only two birdies were recorded, made by Sue Stilwell on the fifth hole and Gail Proctor on the eighth.
In the end, only three points separated the top six players, Wendy Butt had the best score of the day with 33 points. June Symonds was second with 32, and Angela Hudd took third place with 31.
The first celebratory job of the Ladies’ new Captain, Rosi Brown, was to present the Tree Trophy to Wendy and congratulate her and the other players on their achievement.