Two fun competitions brought 2021 to an end for the Farrington Park Ladies.

The first competition was Three Clubs and a Putter, played as a Stableford, players were allowed to choose any combination of three clubs to complement their putter.

A maximum of fourteen clubs are allowed in a golf bag for a normal round, but after the good scoring from the majority of the forty-one competitors, many ladies may be re-thinking their playing strategies in future. As the weather was cold, it was decided to play the competition over thirteen holes, for which the players were very grateful.

The field was divided into three divisions to reflect the wide range of handicaps. Division 3 winner was Nadine Spong with 27 points, closely followed by Jan Corbett (26) and Sue Barnes (22). Division 2 winner was Sue Skyrme with 25 points. Bridget Rylance beat Sandra Hares on countback for second place after both scored 21 points.

Division 1 scores were also close. Carol King scored one of only three birdies recorded on the day at the par 3 10th hole. Jane Ball scored the other two birdies at the par 3 5th and 10th and finished with 25 points, beating Wendy Butt on countback for second place. “I haven’t scored a birdie in months and then, like London buses, two come along at once !” laughed Jane. Pauline Young took top spot with 26 points.

The Christmas competition was Greensomes Matchplay – Santa versus Elves. Twenty teams dressed in either red or green and various Christmas themed hats battled it out over thirteen holes on a chilly day. The Elves took an early lead, narrowly winning the first two games before the Santas’ won the next one, but the Elves struck back, winning the next two games before the Santas could reply with two of their own. The next two games went either way before the final game ended in a draw. The result was a win for the Elves by 5.5 games to 4.5. The ladies then retired to the clubhouse for an excellent Christmas meal and presentation of trophies for 2020 and 2021.

Finally, there was a stunning win by the only ladies’ team in the Christmas Open competition on 22nd December. Jackie Willcox, Sue Skyrme, Lesley Mannion and Kath Cox scored 94 points to outplay nineteen other teams and were the only team to have a score in the nineties.