men's section

A bitterly cold, biting wind greeted the players for the midweek stableford writes John Garner.

Still, a good number of golfers turned up to play the course, which is looking in great condition, despite the downpours we've suffered.

There are only two mats in place and no temporary greens, a real testament to the hard work of Terry Farkin and all of his team.

Having finally settled with his new clubs and driver, Mike White­law has become so consistent that he rarely scores over par these days and so it's no surprise that he won the competition with 39 points.

In second was Andy Birss 36, third Kevin Eighteen 34, fourth Steve Owen 34 and fifth Richard Watts 32.

On Saturday eight teams took to the manicured fairways to do battle in the second round of the winter league.

As it stands most of the teams have won one and lost one so the next round will be crucial. Its a great format and it is always inspiring to see how the competitive spirit comes out on such occasions.

Rob Waye was full of doom and gloom as he stood on the tee, complaining that he hadn't played well for ages, and indeed it looked that way as his second shot on the 10th disappeared into the coarse.

However, from that moment on he didn't duff a single shot nor did he miss a single putt, and on his way to victory he parred the fourth and birdied the fifth.

Coupled with his partner Kevin Hoare sinking a 40ft putt on the third, they des­troyed their opposition's chances in three holes.

After the day's play the results saw wins for Simon and Sam Knight against Alan Gold­thorpe and Geoff Pen­hale, Steve Owen and Graham White – Bob Cottam and Dave Fahy, Jack Kirby and Joe Nicholls – Gary Bonser and Richard Watts, Paul and Jack Durrant – Pete Ford and Rob Isaacs Berry, Paul Dunkerly and Lea Humphries – Mario Aresti and Mike White­law, Kevin Hoare and Rob Waye – Bob Wot­ton and John Gar­ner, Ian Metchette and Dave Hicholls – Brian Mush­ens and David Thomp­son, Clive Westwood and John Wood – Steve Blackie and Dean Ras­pin.