THERE were 26 entries for the Thurlestone’s ladies Medal on Wednesday in reasonable weather, reports Liz Line. The winner with 73 Nett, on countback, was Liz Stewart (14), from Mary Swan (18). In third place was Lesley Davey (30) with Nett 74. Maggie Best scored the only birdie-two on the 17th hole.

The 9-hole competition attracted six entries and the winner was Liz Lacon with Nett 35, from Jane Edmonds and Diane Baker.

On a sunny but windy day, Thurlestone’s men took on Kedleston Park for the 34th meeting of these two prestigious clubs.

The Thurlestone team (pictured) looked good in their new club colours and were keen to get started with Kedleston sporting bright red.

Despite the differences, it was a very tight competition throughout all of the six pairs. The result bore this out with a final score of 3-3 making honours even. A very sociable day, rounded off with an excellent meal in the clubhouse.

There were then 56 entries for the midweek Stableford on the 20th with Ken Riley (20) taking first place on 41 points.

Next came Steve Pepperrell (15) on 39, Gus Kemp (37) on 38 and Gary Keen (12), also on 38. Six birdie twos were recorded.

WDJL Adult Junior Foursomes on Sunday saw 32 players from Thurlestone, Staddon Heights, Borringdon and Yelverton playing in the annual West Devon Junior League adult & junior match which was played at Thurlestone this year. This is a friendly match between all teams and is the start of the golf season for the junior team.

Chris Moulder and Alfie-Blue Chaney from Staddon Heights came out on top with 42 Stableford points. Second place went to Steve and Issac Donald from Staddon Heights with 34 points, followed closely by Marc and Oliver Chester from Thurlestone with 33 points.

After an initial weather-related setback, the Dartmoor League calendar is up and running with the rearranged Captains' and Organisers' Day, hosted by Churston GC and all 18 participating clubs were represented on the day.

Lewis Kendall, Gary Raymond, Stewart Barnes and Nick Clayson made up the Thurlestone quartet and they scored a modest 71. 78 points was the winning total for Tavistock’s team.

MOVING over to Dartmouth GC and the weather has not been a greenskeeper’s friend so far this year, writes Chris Mushens.

Terry Farkins, Dartmouth’s Course Manager, recorded 71 inches of rain on the course over the winter and now, when he needs it to settle the sand into the newly treated greens, the rain is conspicuous by its absence. Recognising that, although Terry works some miracles, even he can’t summon the rain and so all competitions this week have been non-qualifiers.

Jan Cousins set the standard in a fun ladies’ Stableford, with 21 points on the front nine - a number some just managed to pass after eighteen holes! She then cemented the win with a further 17 points on the back. Chris Aresti was some way behind with 33 points, followed by Karen Oldrieve with 32.

Injuries and family commitments meant a small field on the Dartmouth course. In a fun nine-hole competition, Sharon Jones finished with 15 points and Anne Woodward 12.

The men’s midweek competition was a Greensomes Stableford. Pete Hannaford is one of the in-form players and he continued this form with partner Paul Stubbs. With countback needed to separate the top two teams, it was Pete and Paul’s 22 points that edged out Andy Dix and Dave Sparks, both finishing with 41 points.

Once again, the name John was in the frame for the twos - Messrs Cousins, Garner and Merriam joined by Brian Mushens to celebrate twos on the fifth hole.

The weekend Mixed Stableford saw some excellent scores. In Division One, Maria Warman had a great round, which included a stunning eagle on the ninth - a great drive and second shot saw her ball finish on the fringe, some 25 feet from the pin. Holing out from there would have been special under any circumstances but was extra special with the sandy greens.

Five points from this hole and a further four points for a birdie on the thirteenth gave her a final score of 41 points and the Division One win.

Matt Young matched Maria’s 4-point birdie on the thirteenth but a blob on the eighteenth left him with a normally good 38 points and second place.

41 points is normally sufficient to be an overall winner and this was the case until one of the final groups came in. Possibly piqued by his wife’s success earlier in the week, John Cousins quietly put together an exceptional round of 47 points - 24 on the front nine and 23 on the back. Congratulations John, it’s a well-deserved win.

Some way behind in second place was Rob Isaacs-Berry with 37 points. Special mention for Bobby Wotton, who sank a long putt on the tough fourth for par - getting a par on this hole is a challenge which Bobby sets himself each year; it didn’t materialise last year so he was mightily relieved to get one under his belt so early in the season. Apologies to any players nearby who heard the celebration

Finally, best wishes from everyone to Jules Vincent who, to use one of her words, suffered a bit of breakage while on a skiing trip and has returned home with a broken humerus. Jules plays golf most days, so the next few weeks are going to be hard - get well soon!

Fifteen two-man teams were in the mix for a greensomes competition amongst the Dartmouth seniors, reports Gordon Holmes.

A cold, brisk, south-easterly wind was the test as the round kicked off, but it did warm up in the latter stages to suggest we are finally through winter. A close competition ensued with underdogs Messrs Hall & Young just pipping Aresti & Whitelaw for the spoils.

However, there was not much to separate the top six in terms of points amassed in what was a challenging scoring environment but nevertheless a very enjoyable event.

Tony Hall & Bernard Young in 1st (38pts), Mario Aresti & Michael Whitelaw in 2nd (37pts), George Reeve & Graham Burton in 3rd (36pts) and then all with 35pts came Mark Mitchell & Paul Harding, Andrew Dix & Mark Whitworth and Geoffrey Jewell & Colin Cooper.

Birdie twos were scored by George Reeve & Graham Burton on holes three and five and Mark Mitchell & Paul Harding at the third.

Eagle-eyed Nigel Osborne counted them all back. Our usual thanks to him.

In other news, Stephen Haupt and birdie boy Tony King finished 5th overall in round four of the winter series at Bovey Castle with 41pts. Well done guys. Roy Baldwin and Philip Green scored 35pts.

Next week sees a Stableford qualifier with round one of the South Devon Seniors League on April 4, at Dawlish Warren.