TIM Stacey has taken over as the Bigbury Golf Club captain for the year and he is pleased to announce his chosen charities.

He said, “As I step into my role as your captain for 2026, I am honoured to share the two charities I have chosen to support this year. Both organisations are close to my heart, as they use the game we love to provide life-changing opportunities for young people across the UK.”

First up is The Golf Foundation. Founded by Sir Henry Cotton in 1952, this national charity is dedicated to introducing golf to children from all backgrounds.

Growing the Game: Last year, they introduced 226,265 children to golf, with 25% being girls and 25% from ethnically diverse backgrounds.

Building Character: Their Unleash Your Drive programme uses golf to teach essential life skills like focus and resilience in over 2,150 schools.

Club Support: Through the GolfSixes League, 98% of participating clubs reported an increase in junior membership.

Then next up is Variety Golf. Celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2025, Variety Golf raises funds to support disabled and disadvantaged children.

Sunshine Coaches: Their primary focus is funding Sunshine Coaches—specially adapted minibuses that allow children with special needs to access educational and recreational trips. To date, they have put over 1,200 coaches on the road.

Golf for Disabled Children: They partner with The Golf Trust to provide golf lessons for disabled youngsters, bringing the physical and social benefits of the game to those who face the greatest barriers.

Showbiz Roots: Originally founded by members of the entertainment industry, the charity continues to use celebrity-supported events to make a major impact.

Our goal for 2026 is to raise enough to make a tangible difference for both charities—perhaps even seeing a Bigbury-supported Sunshine Coach on the road one day.”

We will be wishing Tim all the very best with his fund raising in his Captain’s year.

Thurlestone ladies had a full 18-hole competition on Wednesday as the weather was good and the course is drying out well. It was a team event with two scores to count from three ladies with different coloured tees selected.

The winners were Claire Guard, Kaz Phillips and Margaret Ryan with 70 points from Sheila George (37), Pam Adams (16) & Katharine Lawrence (20) with 63 points.

In third place was the team of Nikki Smith (22) & Sue Ansley (16) with 60 points, well done as they only had two in their team. Janice Croke (25), Sue Curry (21) & Jane Mahood (23) were 4th with 59 points.

The first round of the ladies Daily Mail foursomes was played on Wednesday, March 4, at Thurlestone. The Thurlestone team were Heather Spencer and Liz Sharman and they played Pip Fisher and Cathy Harrington of Bigbury and they won 3&2 on the 16th.

It was a reasonable day weather wise and Heather and Liz will now go on to play the next round so good luck to them.

On Saturday, 49 members played a Stableford competition in good weather and the winner was Bruce Booker (20) with a very good score of 42 points. In second place was Nick Clayson with 38 points on count back.

There were two other men on 38 points, Steve Gledhill (8) and David Hook (17). It was a good day for scoring a birdie two as there were eight scored in this competition.

Will Hoskin, the junior captain, who plays off a handicap of three and represents Thurlestone in the Devon U18 County team has been working hard on his game and has come close to holing out on a few occasions, and has finally achieved every golfers’ dream.

Will told Steve White, Professional that it was a well struck 9-iron which never left the flag and actually flew straight into the hole without bouncing! Well done Will, hopefully one of many!

A hybrid competition for Dartmouth ladies this week - a mix of Foursomes and a Scramble, with one lady teeing off on odds or evens and then both playing a shot from there.

First place went to Marilyn Lucas and Chris Mayer, ahead of Karen Oldrieve and Jules Vincent in second, with Shelley Durrans and Katie Panton rounding out the podium spots.

The Dartmouth course ladies continued their 18-hole practice, with Sharon Jones just edging out Kate Merriam to win.

In the men’s midweek Stableford, Lee Marels topped Division One with 34 points, edging out John Oldrieve and John Merriam by a single point.

John Garner won Division Two and the day overall on 38 points, his closest challengers being Barrie O’Shea, Rob Isaacs-Berry and Nigel Osborne, all of whom carded 35 points.

With the Dartmoor League and Palairet teams away for a practice game, it was left to the ladies to show the way in the Mixed Stableford with Chris Mayer winning and Tina Scanlan scoring the only two.

Chris had 36 points, second-placed Jeremy Enticknap finished with 32 points and Gary Bonser was close behind on 31 points.