Mendip Golf Club’s Men competed in the Jim Jeffrey Putter Medal event this week, and whilst there were one or two good scores, the majority found the course challenging, with the fast running greens and the rough thicker than usual, due to the fast growth of grass, unusual for this time of year.

Alan Fussell was victorious in Division Three with net 71, followed by Paul Godwin, 72, and James Pitchell, 75. Division Two saw a win for Mark Necker, with a fine 68, with Trevor Messenger second with 71, beating Tony Taylor on count back.

Division One saw victory for Ian Fairclough, with another fine 68, with Ryan Sainsbury second, with 69 and Tom Lowe, third, with 71. However, keeping up his fine form and winning the Trophy with net 67, was five handicapper, Jordan Vaughan.

With all the qualifying events now completed, the winner of this year’s Men’s Order of Merit is new member, Wayne Black (starting the season off a handicap of thirteen, but now reduced to eight), with 276. In second place, after a fine season, was Sam Reilly, who has been a member of Mendip since being a very young junior, with 272, and in third place, was the ever consistent Tom Lowe, playing off a handicap of two with 241 points.

The Men’s Mid-week Tankard saw a win in Division One for Adrian Payne with forty points, with Robert Ware second with 36. Division Two saw a win for Alistair Eaton, with an excellent 42, with John Ellis second with 36 and Division Three was won by Rowly Williams, with 38, with Greg Wood second, with 35.

The Centenary Trophy, a four person team event, was played on the course, looking just about at its best and after the greens were ‘ironed’, they were as fast as they used to be some twenty years ago.

A tremendous sixteen under par score of 126 saw victory for B. Rawlings, S. Coate, R. Millard and A. Price. There was then a triple tie on 132, which, after countback, saw second place go to Pat Meatyard, James Boyce, M. Merrick and G. Lessage, with, in third place, Tony Taylor, M. Honeybun, Alan Edwards and Robert Ware and in fouth position, Steve Whalen, Jordan Vaughan, Jamie Phillips and Spencer Pocock.

The Ladies Competition this week was a Bowmaker Team event. In third place, with 58 points, were the low handicap team of Vi Hayes, Fran Davies and Marian Speed, in second position were Elaine Kitchenham, Jean Padfield and Linda Brobson, but winning with 64 points, were Sue Alcock, Chris Atkinson and Sarah Macnab.

The annual fixture between the Ladies and the Seniors is always a competitive affair. Sixteen pairs competed and the majority of the matches went to the final couple of holes before winners were declared. The Ladies came out on top, 5–3, and the day was finished off with a most enjoyable dinner.

The Alliance B Team completed their fixtures, going down 6–8 to a very strong Saltford A team. Mendip’s wins came from Linda Brobson, Jean Padfield and Elaine Kitchenham. The threat of relegation still hangs over the Team and is dependent on remaining results elsewhere.

Gill Brown and Aimee Sawyer represented Mendip in the Final of the Bristol and District Scratch Foursomes, having won through several rounds on their way to the final. The Final was always going to be a tough match, as they were against two young ladies from Long Ashton, both playing off a +2 handicap! After a hard fought affair, Long Ashton unsurprisingly came out winners, but very well done to the Mendip girls for reaching the Final.

The Seniors’ latest match was an away fixture at Weston-super-Mare and resulted in an excellent 5–1 victory for Mendip, with wins for Keith Beasley and Andy Griffiths, Bob Smallcombe and John Stembridge, Rod Dyson and Mike Curtis, John Brooksbank and Mike Snaith and Andy Frampton and Alan Evans-Jones.

The annual running of the Seniors’ Pairs event took place. This is a drawn for pairs event and attracted a very good entry. After countback, Alan Edwards and Bryan Lewis, with 42 points, came second, with Michael Kent and Nigel Wiltshire third. However, winning, with an excellent 43 points, were Paul Smith and Nigel Brokenshire. One of the day’s highlights was Chris Bryant’s hole in one on the long twelfth hole.

Report by Tony Williams