Medal Day

The Wednesday of Open Week is always keenly anticipated and this year was no exception. The Rigby Taylor Ltd sponsored Medal Day is when the top golfers pit themselves against the tough Tenby links. Almost to a man and woman the competitors were coming in with stories about the score that might have been. A competitor from the St. Andrew's course said it was one of the toughest tracks he had ever played.

Twenty three ladies competed for the coveted medal. In second and third places were two Tenby ladies, Pam Cole and Anne Wilkes, both with a net 74, with Anne coming second on countback. But beating them both by one shot with a net 73 was Janet Winser from Gatton Park.

The men's competition saw a large field of 93. First to post a potential winning score was Tim Hooper from Hurtmore with a net 70. Tim provided a lot of local interest as he is the grandson of the late Arthur Booker; well known to many of us not only as a local teacher back in the late 1950s and early 1960s, but also as a golfer of some prowess at Tenby Golf Club.

We felt that this would surely be beaten as the light breeze and fast fairway conditions should have ensured some accurate short range shots. However, Tim's score was to stand for most of the day and it was the one of the late starters who was to be the day's champion. First we saw John Broomhead, who has recently rejoined Tenby from Trefloyne, beat Tim on countback. But the top scorer of the day was Tenby's Roger Schooling with a net 69. Roger also took the best gross of the day with a 77. A superb day's golf from one of Tenby's finest golfers and well deserved.

One special mention for the day was the two of Gary McNeilly on the notoriously difficult fourth hole, the par four Bell Hole.

In all there were 13 twos - Gary McNeilly on the 4th, Ray Chambers, Tony Guest, Mike Palk and Ceri Davies on the 6th, Ray Chambers, Neil Thomas, Carol Beecher and Jean Dalton on the 12th and Charles Hammett, Ben McLellan, Chris Hughes and Jerry Whitehouse on the 17th, each winning £9.

There were six winners of the bag draw, each winning £14. They were Gary Davies (Newport/Tenby), Glyn Coles (Brynhill) , Rickard Langedjik (Mill Ride), Brian Martin (Sandmartins), Jenny Readman (Meon Valley) and Terri Smith (Penn).

Numerous competitions

Thursday's numerous competitions started with the now customary blazing sunshine and negligible wind. The competitions were kindly sponsored by our new partner, Celtic Haven Golf and Leisure Club, who will be providing accommodation, spa and golf packages in the future; a partnership of a five-star golf course with a five-star resort.

There were four singles stableford competitions for gents and veteran gents (both off the yellow tees), together with ladies and veteran ladies.

Nearly 170 competitors took to the links to do battle in each of the categories and once again some fine scoring was recorded.

In the ladies veterans competition third place went to Susan Bayley from Wolstanton with 31 pts. In second place was Valerie Williams from Mapperley with 33, but the overall runaway winner was Janice Miller from Knole Hill with 39.

In the ladies stableford event, third place went to Ishbel Thomson from Easthamstead Ladies with 33 pts. Second place to Sue Branston from Naunton Downs with 35 and the overall winner with a great score of 41 was Jane Horwood from Park Hill.

In the gents veterans category, Tenby's Alan Spriggs took third place (on countback). Second place went to Alan Sides (Izaak Walton) with 39 pts (on countback) and the overall winner was John Wall from Market Drayton.

In the gents stableford, third place went to John Steadman from Mill Ride with 38 pts. Second place went to Marc Jones from Swansea Bay with 41 (on countback). The overall winner was Robert Amphlett from Gaudet Luce.

A couple of notable mentions were a hole-in-one, the second of this year's event, this time recorded by Steve Harrison from Southerndown on the 17th hole and a two scored on the par four second hole by Gary Middleton.

In all there were 18 twos recorded. In the ladies veterans, Susan Bayley on the 12th, Gary Middleton on the 2nd, George Judd, Charlie Moore, Dean Morris and Keith Williams on the 6th. James Graham, and Alan Sides on the 12th and George Judd, Robert Amphlett, William Fairbairn, Stephen Hill, Dave Larkin, Mark O'Sullivan, Grant Smith, Steve Harrison (hole-in-one, counts as 2x) and Steven P. Williams on the 17th, each winning £9.

There were six winners of the bag draw, each winning £18.

They were Ann Havard (Verulam), Jean Dalton (Meoin Valley), Grant Smith (Newport), Charlie Lewis (Hatchford Brook), Steve Harrison (Southerndown) and Keith Howe (Izaak Walton).

High scoring on final day

The final day of Open Week 2013 was a stableford event involving teams of four, with two to score on each hole. TP Hughes and Sons again graciously sponsored this day, as they have done for many years. As you can imagine, in almost perfect weather conditions and the greens improving all the time, some great scores were expected. We weren't to be disappointed.

In the men's competition, third place with 91 pts went to a team from Pontypridd comprising Tony Jay, Steve Creswell, Jack Creswell and Ethan Brown. In second place with 94 points, Swansea Bay and Wenvoe Clubs were represented by Dean Morris, Steve Veckman, Marc Jones and Russell Evans. However, the winners with 95 points was almost a family affair with the Finlay family comprising Stuart, John and Alex, supported by Kevin Swain, all from Wenvoe Castle.

The ladies competition produced a winning score of 94 points from a team comprising Mavis Arding from Hennerton, Ann Wilks, of Tenby, Sue Bayley from Wolstanton and Dawn Townsend, of Silverstone. Second were the Tenby team of Carol Beecher, Ros Jenkins, Bev Owen and Denise Edwards, who lost out on countback, but beating the third place team of Sharon Bayton (Bingley St. Ives), Jane Howrood (Parkhill), Chris Ronan (Army Aldershot) and Ishbel Thomson (Easthamstead).

On the day, teams also competed for the Serendipity Bowl presented by Frank Booth, of Serendipity Holdings. This is presented for the team that contained a mixture of visitors and Tenby players and it was presented to the winning ladies team.

In all, 204 players took part and there were 13 twos, each winning £13. There were six bag draw winners receiving £18.

The evening ended on an emotional note when the captain, Chris Beecher, thanked everyone who had helped make this one of the most successful Open Weeks ever. However, he left the final thanks to the man who has guided us all for more than a decade now when he presented Bob Parsons with a number of gifts.

Bob responded with a fine speech, before the many people packed into the club rose to their feet to give Bob a rousing standing ovation.

Over 900 take part in Tenby Golf Club Open Week and this was probably one of the most successful ever. The sun shone every day, all day, and the wind, whilst blowing steadily, only added to the experience of playing on a links course. The clubhouse was busy from early morning until late into the evening.

Bookings for next year's Open Week are already up on last year as visitors take advantage of paying a deposit to secure the tee booking they want. Well done everyone involved and a big thank you to the 929 competitors who took part. What a great advert for the Golf Club, Tenby and Wales.