Last Sunday, the Rabbits had their first real taste of winter, which delighted the players. Hitherto, all matches had been played on dreamlike, still and sunny days; never a hint of winter, which the league purports to describe. With a strong south-westerly, the flags on the greens bent double and rain pounding in at the horizontal, here was a day of pure winter golf. A wonderful day to resume the league after the excesses of Christmas and New Year. Stephen Watkins and Glyn Price were away first, up against the in-form Jerry Whitehouse and Mackie Harts. At the ninth, the Watkins/Price combination were four up. A headline result was on the cards, but then Stephen Watkins was struck by dreadful, deep pain toothache. Not just gnawing, but severe and sharp. As he said, it felt as if "daggers were stabbing from inside my head." Naturally, the Watkins/Price team had no chance of carrying on their winning form and this disconsolate pair trudged back to the clubhouse in protracted agony. The Rabbits did all the classical things to relieve the pain. Gave him cloves to chew, painted Tincture of Myrrh over the diseased bit, but neither of these old fashioned remedies seemed to work. Nor did the modern method of the jam doughnut work either. We then ignored him in his agony. He wasn't good company in the clubhouse that day. Bill Beynon and Dorian Thomas are now well in contention for silver at season's end. They are just two points behind the leaders with one game in hand. These two fine players enjoyed a comfortable win against Eugene Boyd and Mark Edwards and all were back in the clubhouse early enjoying the lash of the torrent against the windows. It is surprising to note the shortage of points the Boyd/Edwards team have gathered so far in the league, for without doubt they are considerable talents who are not yet fulfilling their true potential. Their time will come. Mike Hale and Chris Smith lead the league and this week I was surprised by the comfort of their victory against Rees Davies and M. K. Munro. Mike Hale had just returned from the Canaries boasting his all-over tan, though at the close of his match he was exhibiting the flesh of a new plucked turkey, goose pimples and all. Dave Moran and Steve Hockings had to fight tooth and nail to overcome Steve Price and Paul Davies with the last putt on the very last green. The finish was witnessed by the crowds crushing against the clubhouse windows. It was electric. Of course, Ron Murphy was not affected by the weather. An ancient mariner and so tough (he cracks walnuts with his head banging a wall), he admitted not to having noticed the onset of winter. He and partner Dafydd Evans were a little too much for super sub John Cook and J. S. Murphy, both very sensitive souls who possibly would like the winter league to be played in summer. Another very close match was between Rabbits captain Stephen Harries, partnered this week by Richard Caley in the absence of Derrick Farley, against Ben Blake and Jason Rolfe. Again it was the last putt on the last green which settled it. It was interesting that Richard Caley had 'to dash off to put his clothes through the mangle'. Surprising, too, that modern appliances like spin driers have not yet appeared in Freshwater East, but then wealth is so badly distributed in this country nowadays. George Pegg and John Hunt went down badly against Fred Adlam and Paul James. There may have been a bit of a culture shock for the defeated pair. For many years, Paul James has styled himself like that King in the musical the 'King and I'. Yul Brynner; remember him? Now the locks are starting to grow into that nice modern Rastafarian fashion. The change takes a bit of time to get used to. So the league is in its second half with all to play for at the top and bottom of the table. The Rabbits are again having fun and there are good signs for a successful season in the Three Counties Summer League. It is probably timely to remind golfers who may have thought about joining the Rabbits in the past, but have shied off for one reason or another, that the door is always open. The society is brilliant at welcoming the longer handicapper. There is much joy, much laughter and not a Mr. Killjoy in sight. Unless of course one counts in our sufferer from toothache this week whose attitude really must improve. The results were: J. Whitehouse and M. Harts beat S. Watkins and G. Price 2 and 1; W. Beynon and D. Thomas beat E. Boyd and M. Edwards 6 and 4; M. Hale and C. Smith beat R. Davies and M. K. Munro 5 and 3; D. Moran and S. Hockings beat S. Price and P. Davies 1 up; D. Evans and R. Murphy beat J. Cook and J. Murphy 4 and 3; R. Caley and S. Harries beat B. Blake and J. Rolfe 1 up; F. Adlam and P. James beat G. Pegg and J. Hunt 7 and 6; B. D. Morgan and A. Allen had a bye this week.
Chicken omen
Well, didn't that wind blow last Friday. It was at least 30mph and most balls hit against it were coming backwards! At one stage it was whistling across the eighth green so hard just as Spike Evans was playing out of the bunker, and before he knew it he was joined by his trolley. We didnt realise how attached he had become to it. No too many Chickens made the grade, as most had seen the weather forecast and also twigged it was Friday the 13th. But this did not deter Brian Morgan, who battled valiantly for 22 points, but at least he beat his partners Des Stone and Rick Lewis, who was seen hitting his mat further than his ball on occasion. Richard Morgan said that if his score of 14 points didn't win the booby, then he wanted a review of the Chicken system. That fell on deaf ears, and anyway somebody else had beaten him to it! Stan Hudson and Jim Taylor were going head to head with Brian Morgan, but could only match him in the conditions. But then Rob Wilkins put the kibosh on proceedings, and in between running after his wind blown hat and trying to score on a card that had seemed to have a mind of its own, he put together 24 points to take the money. Now did you recognise last week's mystery pic? Paul Bradley did! This week it's the turn of a regular Chicken who likes organising. Guess who. Results: 1. Rob Wilkins 24 pts (£1); 2. Jim Taylor, Stan Hudson, Brian Morgan 22pts (50p). No twos. Booby - Idwal David.
Club report
Last Saturday there was a four ball better ball competition, on a day that was perfect for golf. This was reflected in some very good leading scores. Winners were Dai Cope and Mike Wainwright with an excellent net score of 61. Second were father and son team of Brian and Lawson Cramb with 65 and a better back 9, third were John Gillespie and Phil Goodridge, also with 65 and a better back six, and fourth were Peter Rossi and Paul Hoyland, also with a score of 65. Highlight of the day was John Gillespie's hole-in- one on the eighth hole. There were 94 competitors, with 47 pairs, and of those 17 had twos, with Micky Barrett and Tony Morris getting two of them. Tomorrow (Saturday) heralds the first monthly medal of the year.
Seniors out in force
A total of 36 seniors prowled around the links for their weekly get-together and eclectic competition this week. Well they would, wouldn't they? The forecast was good and it proved to be a great day for a game of golf. So with great anticipation they all set off hoping to set a good eclectic score - headed up by Ken and Malcolm. Well they did have to be back early for a meeting with the club captain. The rush must have affected their game as they both returned a score of 29. Ken was still suffering the effects of using a sledgehammer the day before - and we thought he always drove like that! Of the 36 who went out, three were unable to play the holes across the railway line - there must have been too much standing water to allow them to pass. Colin Griffith and Rob Wilkins decided that discretion was the better part of valour and joined Hywel Probert for an early finish. Hywel had failed to score on the first three holes and couldn't increase his momentum, especially when he lost his mat on the fourth fairway poor chap. He worried all the way back to the clubhouse and waited anxiously to see if anyone had picked it up. Never mind, he has a holiday in Tenerife to look forward to. Dominican Republic, Madeira and Cyprus were other destinations that were talked about in the clubhouse and it was clear that minds were not always on the golf. The other topic of conversation was the generosity of the handicap committee who had increased the handicaps for a selection of members. One such recipient was Derek Bath, who proceeded to make good use of an extra shot, completing a front nine with a gross 41 to set him up with 22 points. However, it was not enough to put him in the prize-money. His playing partner, Geoff Aston, equalled his 22 on the front nine with a much lower handicap and seven pars. He did maintain his form and collected second place prize ahead of the seniors' captain, despite not scoring on the 16th. Dave Morgan earned his score with some good shots in the middle of the course - a three on the fifth helped - but failed to score on the first and the last holes. Last week's winner, Maurice Lewis, showed his mettle by carding a 34, despite having to play with a three-stroke penalty. A two on the eighth helped. He was one of a number scoring in the low 30s and helping their eclectic score. Jim Martin was another, as was Roy Morgan, who was suffering with cold symptoms this week. Stan Hudson was another to start well with 18 points on the front nine, but he suffered a loss of confidence when he lost points on the 11th, having played the wrong ball. Richard Morgan declared himself content with his round of 28, as was Owen Monaghan, welcomed back after a prolonged absence. At the other end of the spectrum were a few players with just a single highlight. Dave Miller had a superb approach shot on the 16th to give him a well deserved three, but the rest of his game did not match up to it, unfortunately, in his round of 21. However, his was not the lowest. There were two below him acting as this week's rear-gunners. Philip Marsden arrived in the clubhouse enquiring about the twos prize money. Yes - he had scored a two on the 17th. That was the highlight of his game, as he failed to match Dave's total. Alas, neither did Doug Havard, who could not reach his normal lofty heights. There were five 2s this week by the following: Peter Woodhouse on the sixth, Des Stone and Maurice Lewis on the eighth and Philip Marsden and Malcolm Arlott on the 17th. Winners: 1. Des Stone 40 pts; 2. Geoff Aston 37; 3. Dave Morgan 36.