Oh What a beautiful morning! Oh what a beautiful day I've got my clubs in the car dear I'll see you when I've been to play!
Such might have been the refrain heard by all senior golfers on Tuesday when they threw open the windows and gazed out on the cool sunny morning which enabled them to anticipate a good day's golf. They were, however, somewhat seduced by the weather conditions, assuming that a good result was there for the taking. If there is one thing about this game worth noting, it is the fact that you can assume nothing when you take your driver out of your bag and strike the first ball. On such a morning, with only a light northerly breeze, the organisers were expecting some high scores. By the end of the day, the highest recorded by the two leaders was 33. Points were hard to come by and the majority of senior golfers failed to reach 30. It appears that some have not yet managed to adapt to the new mats provided. Others have no problem using them, but even then high scores were not the order of the day. Seniors captain David Morgan bounced his first drive into the slope in front of him. He recovered to reach the edge of the green in four and then used up all of his good fortune by sinking a very long putt for a five. That was a move to be regretted, since many of his later putts slid by the holes, giving him a 30-point total. The Dragonfly was finding great difficulty with the mats and vowing never to play off the artificial green stuff again. He ought to play like us lesser mortals and only drive into the rough or semi- rough, rather than straight down the middle. His score of 30 was more than creditable on the day and one wonders what his score may have been without the added difficulty. Others to fall by the wayside were some of the regular high scorers. David Kaye could only manage a 24, fading on the back nine, while Alan Yates and Martin Neilan could only manage 22 and 21, respectively. They were not the lowest, however, as three back markers shared the booby. Hywel Probert, J. D. R. Williams and Peter Woodhouse all managed to score in the 20s - just! Hywel was suffering with his knees, having forgotten his pain- killers, while Jim Martin walked in early having come back too soon from a back problem. Early leader in the clubhouse was Des Stone and he was surprised to hold that position, with 32, for as long as he did. Halfway through the afternoon Maurice Lewis took over the leader's spot with the same score, but a better back nine. It was a couple of tail-enders who usurped this pair with scores of 33, but not before R. R. Morgan informed everyone that he is now the best shanker in the seniors' group. Results: 1. David Miller 33 pts (back nine) - three shot penalty; 2. Bart Youll 33 - two shot penalty; 3. Maurice Lewis 32 (back nine) - one shot penalty. Next week is the last Stableford Eclectic competition for this year. On December 20 there will be a Hidden Holes competition over 15 holes, followed by a dinner in the club. Make sure you have your name down for this competition, as there will be many prizes, plus a free raffle. All prizes will be presented at this dinner, as will the winner of the Eclectic competition. All Seniors are looking forward to what promises to be wonderful evening of fun and frivolity on December 15, when they gather together in a spirit of harmony to enjoy a Christmas dinner followed by home produced entertainment.