Last weekend, members of Tenby GC entertained their friends from Enmore GC in Bridgewater.

The weather was glorious on both Saturday and Sunday, the latter in particular. Enmore visit Tenby biannually and Tenby travel to Somerset on alternate years.

On Saturday, a better ball competition took place, with each pair comprising an Enmore and a Tenby member. Some excellent scores were returned.

Sunday was matchplay day, with Tenby gaining a narrow victory by four and a half games to three and a half to regain the coveted shield.

Pedro pipped by masterful Meurig

How nice to see such support for the Chicken Trotters. On Friday, October 28, a massive field of 21 Chickens trotted out onto the links to compete for cash prizes which are - let’s face it - pitifully small! This lack of financial incentive doesn’t bother these intrepid enthusiasts, the banter, bickering and bulldust encountered early on a Tenby Friday morning over 15 holes of golf is something that should be experienced by everybody.

This week, in typical Chicken Trotter fashion, there was a total role reversal, a series first and a remarkable achievement. If this has whetted your appetite - read on;

First the series first - until this, the fourth outing of the season, there had been no twos scored at all, then, just like London buses, three came along in very close order! The first of the season was scored on the 6th hole by the consistently efficient John Hancock. Not to be outdone, Allen Watts also birdied the 6th to claim the second two of the season - and then came the remarkable achievement. Big hitting Paul Bradley slam-dunked his second shot on the par four 13th hole to achieve the third - but much more difficult - two of the morning.

Elsewhere, Royston Morgan - returning to golf after a considerable absence - slipped gracefully into the Booby slot. This added another two shots to his handicap, and exposed his cunning tactics - just win 30p per week until the handicap is high enough to get into the prize-winning positions - devious!

The top end of the result sheet reads like this: In fourth place, Peter Williams and Richard Davies tied with 28 points - often the winning score! - no prizes, no handicap cuts, no photographs - just the publicity!

In third place with an enviable 29 points, Newman Vincent proved that he is still dangerous playing off his, now reduced, Trotter handicap. One shot better, Peter (Pedro) Ellis played well to claim second place - his name keeps cropping up doesn’t it?

And now - the role reversal; you will recall, dear reader, that last week I reported the unusual result of Meurig Jones descending into the Booby position. Well, just to prove his ability, Meurig scored an excellent 32 points to leap into the top spot, earn a piffling amount of money and lose the shots he was given last week! - he did, however, manage a smile when the result was announced.

And finally, the par for the round was 23 Stableford points, and the 31 players managed 67 ‘blobs’ between them - this indicates an average of just over two each, which just goes to show that this calculation is not to be believed - Meurig had none and a couple of Trotters had five each - don’t trust statistics!

And finally, secretary Steve constantly checks the Friday morning weather, if the sky is cloudless he will prophesy: “The sun will be in your eyes on the ‘LEMF’ (11th tee).” Well just to prove how accurate his predictions are, the photograph shows Steve - in the sun, on that tee.

M.F.

Rearranged September Monthly Medal

Eighty-two players entered the ‘September’ medal which was played last month after bad weather forced it to be called off on its original date.

Leading scores and prize winners were as follows:

Division One: 1. Martin Morris 82-10-72 (medal plus £45); 2. Stan Hudson 87-14-73, on countback (£33.50); 3. Jerry Whitehouse 85-12-73, on countback (£22.50); 4. Terry Davies 85-12-73, on countback (£11).

Division Two: Paul Davies 86-16-70 (medal plus £45); 2. Barrie Frayne 94-18-76, on countback (£33.50); 3. Peter Williams 91-15-76 (£22.50); 4. Ralph Johns 96-18-78, on countback (£11).

Twos: Timothy Davies, Mark Griffiths, Darren Thomas, Denis Slyne, David Blackmore, Austin Davies.

Bag draw: Gary McKeown, Nic Rogers, Tony Key, Stan Hudson, Steve Williams, Andrew Cope (£13.80 each).

Pro Shop draw: Steve Cole (Glenmuir sweater).

Handicap changes: Michael Anthony 21 to 22; Philip Carpenter 19 to 20; Mike Davies 9 to 10; Paul Davies 16 to 14 (including reduction for exceptional scoring), Terry Davies 12 to 11, Colin Duffield 14 to 15; Stan Hudson 14 to 13; Vivian James 19 to 20; David JP Morgan 22 to 23; Martin Morris 10 to 9; Darren Thomas 6 to 7; Neil R. Thomas 9 to 8.

Martin Scores Easy but can’t beat Bunny Grant

Several Tenby people were disappointed not to have seen the film star mentioned in last week’s report (‘Tenby Rabbits see Tom Cruise’) and they might also feel the same after missing the American film director/actor and Jamaican boxer included in this week’s headlines, writes our links reporter, Warren Hacker.

Eight Rabbits gathered on the patio after their rounds to hear their scores announced and with less of a breeze to battle against on the course this week we heard our first ‘f’ word of the season - a forty-point (plus!) score.

There were three Rabbits making their first outing of the season - Chris Smith in the first group, Phil Carpenter in the second and captain Martin Durham in the last group - with all getting scores in the 30s.

Of the five managing to return their second card, only Adrian Palmer failed to surpass his week one score (only two less though), with increases of two for Steve Watkins, seven for Mark Edwards and eight each for Steve Cole and Grant Watkins. With the ‘Best eight scores during the Winter’ rule there’s plenty of room for improvement and a leap up the table!

Getting a podium position this week were Steve Cole in bronze place with a decent 36, captain Martin with a free-scoring 37 (hence the American director/actor name in the headline!) in silver place, but everyone eclipsed by the youngest Watkins offspring - Grant - who replicated his elder brother, Tom’s, achievement of being ’Rabbit of the Week’ and went home with the gold (he’s now £9 richer).

Adrian was unable to repeat his chip-in for a two this week, so there is a first ‘Twos Roll-Over’ to play for next week. If you think you’re clever enough to get a two, come on down you Rabbits.

Editors note: Warren has managed to work out some formula thingys for a sort of table for those who have managed to return two cards -

Footnote: Tenby Rabbits were saddened to hear of the recent death of Brian Hartley. Brian was a keen Rabbit and was a secretary/committee member and also captain in 1996/97. His name also adorns several of the Rabbits trophies after his past triumphs. Our thoughts are with his partner, Lynda. Enjoy the Clubhouse in the Sky, Brian.

LADIES’ SECTION

The calm, dry, warm weather for much of October encouraged more members to play during the month which should have the effect of making the winter seem shorter.

The month began with the Daily Mail Foursomes Stableford Qualification round for 2017 and the qualifiers were Sue Griffiths and Bev Owen, with Denise Edwards and Helen Hughes runners-up.

The October GUW Medal, combined with the Dragon Brooch, was played on October 13. The winner was Trevayne Keohane on nett 75, Pam Cole was second on nett 77 and Helen Hughes third on 75. The Dragon Brooch was won by Trevayne. The nine-hole competition was won by Louise Hill, with Iris Davies runner-up.

The main competition on October 20 was cancelled because many of the members were attending the funeral of our old friend, Delsie Martin, who will be missed but remembered with affection. Heather Morgan and Julie Tordoff played an 18-hole Stableford and returned 37 and 33 points, respectively, before attending the funeral.

Ladies’ Captain’s Charity Day

For the last few years, the club captain and ladies’ captain have both chosen charities for the members to support throughout their year and many thousands have been donated to local or national charities throughout that time.

Irene Gilman, the ladies’ captain, chose the Paul Sartori Foundation for her year, hoping to raise £1,000, and she believes the total has surpassed that, but this will be revealed at the end of her year.

More than 30 members played in the 18-hole Stableford competition. There were some competent rounds, but Rhian Walters had a day to remember, returning 39 points, which reduced her handicap from 9 to 8. Well done, Rhian. Linda Tordoff-Evans was second on 37 and Linda Thomas third with 35 points.

Their prizes were a bottle of red wine, a bottle of white and a box of chocolates, respectively. The prizes were donated as all entry fees were donated to the charity.

There was an additional prize from Charles Birt, which Linda Thomas received, and Carol Beecher won nearest the pin prize and Ann Follon an extra prize of golf balls as no 2s were scored.

A raffle raised £125 for the charity and along with entry fees and donations, more than £600 was raised for the Paul Sartori Foundation, which is such a vital charity.

Irene was most grateful to everyone who had made her Charity Day such a success. She and all the ladies are most grateful to the group of gentlemen who contributed £200 to the total by sponsoring all individual 18 holes for the competition. Thank you very much, gentlemen.

B.M.S.

Stan sets the standard

Tuesday, November 1, and the weather was most un-Novemberlike - which no doubt contributed to the excellent turnout of 44 Seniors, all wishing to climb to the top of the Winter eclectic ladder. Starting from the 1st and 15th tees, this large gathering of mature gentlemen soon saturated the links, enjoying the temperate conditions and improving greens.

The degree of pleasantness was reflected in the very admirable scoring. The CSS (Competition Scratch Score) was calculated to be 70 - or 38 Stableford points, which was exceeded by three of the top four contestants and equalled by the fourth.

The actual result was: In fourth place, scoring a proficient 38 points off a 20 handicap, Derek Cole. Third place was taken by Alan Yates, whose excellent 39 points while playing off a 27 handicap is made even more applaudable when you consider that Alan is well into his 80s! Idwal David, a name frequently seen in the winner’s enclosure, was the second best golfer of the day, scoring an enviable 40 points off a 12 handicap. Also racking up 40 points, but just beating Idwal on the last nine holes, was Stan Hudson, who played off a handicap of 13. Stan, as you know Dear Reader, is also the Seniors’ treasurer - so he was fairly generous with the prize money!

Also dipping into the prize money were the three accurate golfers who scored a two, repeating their Friday success; Paul Bradley on the 6th hole and John Hancock on the 12th, while Ron Murphy also birdied the 12th to prove that age shall not wither nor the years decay!

And finally, just to show how caring and sympathetic our Match and Handicap sub-committee can be, the following handicap changes have resulted from the day’s results - Martin Neilan, Dudley Williams, Peter Williams and Peter Woodhouse have had their handicaps increased by one stroke, while the successful Alan Yates has lost one stroke - despite his advancing years!

And really finally, the charity raffle £10 first prize was won by Des Stone, which served as a consolation prize - because he had 38 points just like Derek Cole, but narrowly lucked out on the back nine holes.

Next Tuesday we shall be playing an Ambrose, or two-man Texas Scramble - see you there!

M.F.

Twenty years of Trotting

The third week of the 1996/1997 Chicken Trotters season, and not a single stoppage caused by bad weather - can this last? The ledger says it was dry and very windy on the morning of September 20, and 41 Chickens left the coop for a scratch score! (Very corny). The par for the day turned out to be 31 Stableford points (over 15 holes remember) - so the scoring was very good.

Ken Alexander was the champion of the day; his 37 points earned him £2. Second place was shared by Allan K. Williams, Fred Adlam and Richie Hyland, who all scored 32 points and won £1.50 each. Bill Griffiths, Doug Perry and John Miles all scored 31 points to pocket £1 and share fifth place, while Chan Thomas and Colin Griffiths notched up 30 points and won absolutely zilch!

Accurately potting their second shot and winning 60p each were; Jim Taylor on hole six, Ken Alexander and Doug Perry on hole eight and Fred Adlam on hole nine. All these winning golfers seriously depleted the prize fund - but there was still 30p left for Ray Irish, who won the Booby prize for the second week in a row.

Elsewhere, Damon Hill clinched the Drivers World Championship by winning the Japanese Grand Prix and Ford brought out the ‘Ka’.

Gents Lifeboat Spoons Stableford replay

Fifty-five players entered the replayed Gents Lifeboat Spoons Stableford competition on Saturday.

Leading scores and prize winners were: 1. Robert Jones 42 pts (Lifeboat Spoon plus £50); 2. Peter Ellis 39 (£40); 3. Rees Simon Davies 38 (£30); 4. Phillip Rees 37 (£20); 5. John Morris 35, on countback (£15).

Twos: Idwal David, Paul Davies, Paul Dennehy, Robert Howse, Ross James, Robert Jones, Piers Bradbury, Neil Dickinson, Peter Ellis (£6 each).

Bag draw: Peter Rossi, Paul Bradley, Ian J. Thomas, Stan Hudson.

Pro Shop draw: Phil Carpenter, Alan Spriggs.

Changes to handicap for home club members: Rees Simon Davies 16 to 15; Robert Jones 20 to 18; Phillip Rees 6 to 5.