Mendip is keeping its competitive golf going, with the Turkey Trot events in December, and also the Pro Shop Team are organising ‘roll-up and play’ Stablefords.

In the latest of these, the team of A. Wells, C. Patel, Mark Necker and John Harvey came out winners, with 81 points, after back nine countback. In second place came the three-man team of Club Captain, John Shakesby, Danny Middle and Malcolm Srawley, and in third place were S. Moore, A. Mitchell and J. Pitchell, with eighty points.

There were also Mixed team prizes, and in first place came Ryan Sainsbury, Clive Copp, Paul Reakes and Ellen Reakes, with 86 points, with R. Dyson, Nichola Croft, Dee and David Garnsworthy in second with 81 points.

The Ladies Stableford event was rather wrecked by the weather, with many of the later starters choosing not to go out. However, the early birds managed to get round the nine-hole event relatively dry, with the winners being Elaine Kitchenham, Anita Butcher and Chris Williams, with 32 points, and in second place, Jean Padfield, Jo Espley and Diane Stanton, with 28 points.

The Seniors held their annual Turkey Trot event, which, as always, attracted huge support, with 78 players competing. With twenty prizes up for grabs, it was no surprise that the event was very competitive, with only two points separating the top thirteen players. The first four places were determined after countback, with all scoring 37 points.

In fourth place was Robert Earney, with sixteen points on back nine. Third was Merlyn Saunders with seventeen, in second place with twenty points on back nine was Simon Atkinson, but after recovering from a blob on the first hole and scoring 21 points on the back nine, the winner was Tony Williams. The latest Pro Shop Bullseye Challenge was won by Tony Taylor with thirteen points, with Lyn Cox second, with twelve.

It was an open secret within the club (but also outside of the club) that Mendip experienced severe difficulties in the winter of 2017/18, with constantly waterlogged greens, necessitating having to use temporary greens on many occasions throughout the winter period, a most unusual occurrence.

The Greens Team completed a heavy remedial programme of work in April this year, and the greens were recovering well by June. However, a further setback occurred in early July, when the main water tank and pump had to be replaced following a major leak and breakdown, meaning that the greens were without water for four days during an extremely hot period, resulting in some burning being inevitable. Since then, and working closely with the newly-appointed Agronomist, David Rhodes, Head Greenkeepers, Richard Gregory and Stuart Ponfield, and their team have done a marvellous job on the course in general, and on the greens in particular.

The Fairways are recovering very well from the dry summer, a programme of bunker renovation is underway, but it is on the greens that members and visitors can truly see the fruits of the Greens Teams’ labours. This week, after three days of fairly heavy rain prior to the Seniors’ event, the competitors saw greens that looked healthy, were hand-cut and firm, and putted truly. There were long-established members saying that they could not recall the greens ever being in such good order at this time of year.

The Agronomist is insisting on a regular programme of aeration throughout the winter, and everyone in the team is confident that Mendip will be able to present greens in tip-top condition in readiness for the Somerset County Championships, scheduled to be held at Mendip in May 2019.

Tony Williams