On a glorious sunny afternoon on Tuesday, the Ladies section and Seniors section at Tenby Golf Club combined together to compete in a Texas Scramble. There were 10 teams of three in a mix of ladies and seniors. It was a medal event played to the Gramby format. There would have been a lot more playing in this competition had it not been for it clashing with other events and holidays; however, it was generally agreed that it was a great afternoon and most enjoyable. Lady captain Nesta Hart, fresh from her previous day's success at Trefloyne, led off the first tee in company with acting Seniors captain, Jim Martin alongside Martin Neilan. The course was in immaculate condition and great praise is to be given to head greenkeeper Chris Jenkins and his staff for their meticulous preparation. It was a privilege to play on it. Despite the tricky breeze out towards the far reaches of the course, Nesta, Jim and Martin coped very well and went out in a gross 37. They returned home in the same score and for a long while were the clubhouse leaders with a net score of 69. Richard Davies, Marion Clarke and Ken Gouldsbrough followed them in with 75 (net 73), but this was soon surpassed by Glyn Williams, Anita Davies and JDR Williams, who returned the best gross score of the day, a fine 73, giving them a net 72. Soon after them came the trio of Mike Nesbitt- Hawes, Veronica Martin and Derek Bath, returning a net 71 off 78 gross to put them into second place. Many other groups returned very creditable scores; in fact, there was only eight shots difference between the first and last groups, which was a credit to the standard of golf played. It was not until the last group came in, sometime after everyone else, that the eventual winners emerged. They were Jim Taylor, Sandra Parker and Malcolm Arlott with a net score of 68 (gross 75) to pip the early leaders by one shot; which was a real fillip to Sandra as she has only been playing for just over a year. There was a good meal afterwards and it was well received by the golfers. After a tricky start, our new stewards, Gary and Julia, seem to be settling in and getting to know the requirements of the Tenby members. In her speech afterwards, Nesta thanked everyone for their support and gave praise to Heather Morgan, who returned late in the afternoon having competed at Monmouth. Heather had qualified for the top eight in a match play that had taken place earlier that day in the Senior Ladies' Match Play Championship. Heather had drawn against the legendary Vicki Thomas, who still plays off 0.8. The competition is played off scratch, but to her credit, Heather took Vicki to the 15th hole. In response, Jim Martin, as acting Seniors captain because Roy Morgan was taking his wife to hospital, said how pleased he was to see everyone enjoying themselves. Then to great applause he announced that Nesta and Peter Hart were celebrating their 41st wedding anniversary that day; what diligence to her office and understanding from Peter. He thanked Richard Davies and Ken Gouldsbrough for all their help and assistance and hoped that next year the event would be better supported. The prizes were then presented by lady captain Nesta to the top three groups: in third place were Mike Nesbitt-Hawes, Veronica Martin and Derek Bath, who received chocolates; in second place were lady captain Nesta Hart, Jim Martin and Martin Neilan, receiving golf balls - Jim, in particular, was pleased with that, as he had lost five out on the course! However, pride of place went to Jim Taylor, Sandra Parker and Malcolm Arlott, who received the trophy and some nice vintage wine. Due to Jim being required for choir practice, he was not present to receive his prize. For your information Jim, it is behind the bar. J.D.M.
