Damp Dilwater delight for John and Mike

‘Must we play in the rain?’ read one of the pleas on the Tenby Rabbits Whatsapp group messages when the forecast predicted wetness, but the dozen-and-a-quarter booked-in players trooped into the clubhouse, some fashionably festively-festooned, writes our links reporter, Warren Hacker. Everyone held their breath as the High and Low draw was made for partners and it threw up some interesting pairings in the annual Dilwater Shield better-ball contest.

Rolling down the fairway first were the buggying Wyndham and Phil alongside Mark and Robin, followed by the second group of Rees and Adrian accompanied by the hierarchy - captain Paul and vice-captain Steve W.

Ready on the tee in the third group were Steve C and Grant (paired again!) with Bill (or William) and Chris, with the final group seeing the pre-tee-off favourites John B and Mike alongside Ian J with Peter (half of the winning pair with Bill last December).

Yes the rain came and yes the Rabbits got VERY wet in the testing conditions, but they soldiered on regardless and finished their rounds, returning some fairly decent scores. Correct card-marking was difficult for some (!) and computerisation was used to establish the results, but it was interesting to see that the top four places were filled by one pair from each ‘group’, with the placings in descending order! Having gathered around the soft seats the scores were read out in reverse order by the captain.

Researching last year’s reports it could be seen that blob-free rounds were triumphant, but all three ‘podium place’ pairs had one hole without a point, with fourth placed Mark and Robin’s 39 points being the best non-blob round (Ian and Peter’s 38 the only other blob-less card).

In bronze place with a respectable 41 points (which matched third place from last year) were Rees and Adrian - especially good seeing the weather conditions and the 90 per cent handicap restriction and they won a fiver each. Silver place went to Bill and Chris (their names are already on the shield five times between them anyway) with 42 points and their efforts were rewarded with a generous £7.50 each.

The winners with a fine 43 points were John B and Mike, who are getting their names on the trophy for the first time, and they are a tenner better off, as well as getting their picture in the newspaper alongside the captain.

Managing to get a reward for the only two was Steve C, who shared the pot with teammate Grant.

A New Year’s Eve Winter League outing will be the next official game for the Rabbits and that will be good practice for the battle on January 7 against ‘the others who play on Sunday morning’.

So that’s the report - try writing down the first letter of each sentence to see a Yuletide salutation to everyone from the Tenby Rabbits.

Neil best Chicken sinner

A handful of Chickens took to the links hoping to get their hands on the prize money on offer and the publicity of their name in writing in the last official trot before Christmas.

Those who weren’t there (abroad, putting together TV cabinets, staying in the warm, keeping their powder dry for the Saturday comp) missed a decent golfing day as there was only a slight breeze, but there was some sun in the 10 eyes on the lemf tee.

All five were ‘Chicken Sinners’ as they were all in the sin-bin as a ‘reward’ (or ‘punishment’) for coming in the top three in previous outings - their Chicken handicaps reduced by 17 in total! They did manage about four blobs each (19 between them) and the par for the day was 21 for the 15-hole course.

The ‘early two’ of David Evans and Steve Cole teed-off just before sunrise, with the ‘wheely three’ of Neil Dickinson, Steve Decosimo and Geoff Aston rolling along the fairways behind them.

The Chicken Arranger decided that as it was the festive season everyone who turned up would be rewarded for being there and used some of the spare Trotter funds to give the fifth person (Geoff) his 30p entry fee back, along with an extra two shots next time out (up to 25).

In fourth place we had David who will find an envelope with his name on and 45p inside when he next trots. The bronze position went to Steve D, who had a decent start, but managed not to score on the last three holes to total 21 points and get 60p for his efforts. The runner-up was the other Steve who ‘blobbed’ the last to return a score of 27 (not bad off single-figures) and his Christmas Present fund will be increased by a total of 80p.

That meant the Trotter of the Week title goes to Editor Neil who amassed a huge 28 points (including six three-pointers!) and he gets his name in the headlines of his own paper and his wallet has an extra one pound inside it. Well played that man!

Another decision by the Arranger was not to reduce any handicaps as a result of the smaller field for future outings, so our winner will revert to 26 for the next normal trot.

Unfortunately, the top two used up all their good golf (and their luck) on the Friday and they failed to repeat their 4BBB Turkey Trot 2016 victory when they paired up the following day (off the white course), but their score of 33 was only a couple behind the winners, so they put up a decent defence of their ‘title’.

Eleven Chickens now have five scores in the Booker Prize contest (best total five scores in the season to count) and Steve C leads on 135, with Richard Davies on 126 and ‘Pedro’ Ellis and Neil D on 124 his nearest rivals, but there’s plenty of time left yet.

The Yuletide will mean no official trot until January 5 next year when the Chickens will battle for the famous ‘Roger and Mary Trophy’ where there will be no sin-bins and everyone will play off their official club handicap. Come on down!

Half-term report for Seniors

We are at the halfway stage of the Seniors’ winter season and 35 members turned up to see if they were in the winner’s enclosure. These hardy souls braved the forecast mizzle to relax in a hidden partner’s competition.

The morning started with cool, dry, windless conditions, but the group was later subjected to a very fine drizzle. However, even that failed to dampen the seasonal spirit.

In order to get in for the sausage and mash delight, the competition was limited to 15 holes and everyone started with high hopes. Newman was delighted to out-drive his playing partners on the seventh and 14th holes, but failed to beat them in the overall competition.

Steve Decosimo is now referred to as Stevie Wonder - ‘I wonder where my drive went?’ - ‘I wonder why my putt was too long?’ - ‘I wonder why my game has gone to pot today?’

Eight seniors failed to reach the 20 mark and one tail-ender, last out and last in, only scored on six holes, but even then he was not the back marker. Alan Jones was awarded a winner’s prize for being the top dog with a score of 34 points.

The rest of the results hinged on the partnerships drawn at random. Third place went to Ross James (33) and Dudley Williams (27 ) with a total of 60 pts. Second spot was awarded to Wyndham Collins (30) and Richard Davies (31) with a total of 61 pts. The winners on the day were Chris Sierwald (29) and Bob Howes (33) on 62 pts.

Apologies are extended to Idwal for the lack of score by his hidden partner, who remains hidden, cowering in the corner.

Three twos were scored, all on the sixth hole. Awards for these went to Allen Watts, Robin Hagley and Peter Williams.

Brian Waters joined the group for lunch, but was unable to compete for the prizes due to back problems. Mike Fox was expected also to join the group, but found that fixing the electrics in his new home was a bit of a ‘rib tickler’. He slipped off a ladder and unfortunately landed on the sharp end of a coffee table. Nursing a couple of cracked ribs, he spent time at A & E instead of being with his friends. Have a restful Yuletide Mike.

With the lunchtime repast over, Seniors captain Idwal David rose to his feet to address his merry band of followers and thanked all present for the support they have provided in his first half of the season. When he had completed the prize-giving for the Hidden Partners event, he handed over to Jim Martin to announce the current standings in the overall eclectic competitions. They were as follows:

Seniors Order of Merit (best three rounds of golf): Allen Watts (117), James Moffatt (116), John Stevenson (115).

Winter Eclectic Gross Competition: Jim Moffatt (63), Allen Watts (65), Idwal David (68).

Winter Eclectic Nett Competition: Tony Ranoe (56), Peter Hart (54), Des Stone (54).

Winter Eclectic Nett Competition (age 75 plus): Tony Ranoe (56), Peter Hart (54), Des Stone (54).

Everyone left in good spirits and they now look forward to improving their scores when the second half of the season kicks off on January 2 - weather permitting that is. Merry Christmas to all from the Seniors Section.