Another good turnout last Saturday saw some 43 juniors attending the practice session on a dry but very cold morning. With Julia and Gill away, all spectators were encouraged to lend their support and a big thank you to Alan Williams and 'local boy' Mervyn Tucker for their help.
Mary and Simon took the long game practice, of having to hit the ball through a narrow gap down the fairway, with the group being split into teams of four. The winners were the girls team of Emma, Gabby, Georgia and Shelby, although there were fine performances by Jack Williams and Ollie Worley.
The target chipping onto the green was taken by Gavin aided by Alan Williams, with some excellent skills being demonstrated, proving that last week's lesson by Mark Hawkey has sunk in! A close contest for the best performer was unable to be resolved due to lack of time, with the joint winners being Rhys Lewis and Greg Palin.
Perfecting the chip shop over any kind of hazard requires skills and a deft touch, both of which Mervyn Tucker, our helper, has plenty of, and with Ian doing the scoring, the group was split into a boys against girls team event; the pressure was really on! The eventual winners were the boys team with scenes of Ryder Cup delight from the boys. In order to find the overall winner, best of the boys, Hugo Wellum, took on best of the girls, Joanna Rowe. In a tense best of five final, Joanna took the honours by the closest of margins.
The second group session involved our budding stars of tomorrow, and with the importance of the short game, it was over to the putting green for practice. The concentration was on getting the pace of the putt right so that low scores can be achieved out on the course. With temperatures low, keeping the hands warm was a priority, and after some practice putts, there were some fine putts from Sam Morgan, Katy Rees and Daniel Youn - who says he can't putt! There were also some disbelieving looks at the hole from Dan Worley and Jason Ronowitz - it's tough when your putts just lip out.
On Sunday, the David Hughes Cup was re-introduced into the Junior calendar for the first time since 1996. The format of the competition has been changed after approval from David, from matchplay to best performance against handicap. It is such a lovely cup that it will become our Christmas cup competition and will be played for prior to our Christmas dinner, so that the winner can receive it on the night.
Winner of the cup was Dan Cope with a nett 68 playing off a handicap of seven, who joins some famous names on the cup. Well done Dan.
A big thank you to the mums, dads and helpers who ensured that all players had a good game.
With the weather starting to get colder from now on, please can everyone make sure that they wear their hats, coats and gloves to make sure they are warm enough. Better to be too warm than too cold.
Practice on Saturday is at 9 am and 10 am, with a stableford competition on Sunday morning. Please sign up on the junior board and return your cards to the junior box!