THURLESTONE GC Junior Club Championships were played on Saturday, May 17 with 11 youngsters in the field, reports Liz Line.

The Steve White Cup, for the Nett winner, went the way of William Hoskin thanks to his score of 67. He finished ahead of George Inch (69) and Abbi Robinson (70).

Talking of George Inch and he won the Jenny Underhill trophy, for the gross winner. He shot 71 to edge out William (72) and Aiden Mulligan (82).

The winning duo are pictured either side of club captain John Rogers. They dominated the competition this year and the gross tournament even came down to the final home, with both players tied on the same score on the 18th tee.

William had a solid par down the last hole but George Inch managed to birdie it to clinch this year’s title by a single shot.

Thurlestone ladies played the club Foursomes and Express and Echo Foursomes (qualifying round) on Wednesday 14. This means the leading two pairs go through to represent the club in the finals at Exeter on Thursday, August 21. The winners were Barbara Smith and Shona Wilson with 34 points from Wendy Laud and Irene Lowry with 33 points.

On Sunday, May 11, eight mixed pairs from Thurlestone set off to play eight pairs at Bigbury Golf Club for the much-contested Buckingham Bowl. The trophy was originally donated by Elizabeth Buckingham who was a very enthusiastic golfer, and member of both clubs, back in the day.

Having won the bowl on three consecutive occasions before last year’s match was tied, Thurlestone retained the title for four years. Of the eight matches played, Bigbury had convincing wins in seven of them though and so there was no disputing where the Buckingham Bowl would rest for the next twelve months.

On Monday, the ladies Sheelah Creasy team played Churston away and it was a draw with wins in the singles for Diane Baker, and a draw for Nikki Smith. In the Foursomes, there was a win for Sheila George and team captain Sheila Fairley, so an overall draw of 2.5-2.5.

Thurlestone seniors hosted St Mellion last week and the weather did not disappoint.

The lead pair Stewart Barnes and Paul Milburn Fryer won their match 2up. They were followed by Jeremy Poyntz and Steve Gallagher coming in with a resounding 7&6 win.

Paul Dunne and Stuart Spencer followed them with a 4&3 win and victory was completed with Bill Campbell and Geoff Holt securing a win 1up in a closely fought tussle. Giving Thurlestone a 4-2 victory to take to St Mellion for the return match in July.

With the sun shining, one of our professionals Tracy Loveys dusted down her clubs this week and played her first competitive round of golf for over 12 months. She entered a team of ladies into the Ladies Pro-Am at Exeter Golf & Country Club on Tuesday.

Tracy sent an email out to the ladies' section a few weeks ago, stating that the fastest to reply to the email would make the team! Within 10 minutes, the team was complete: Pam Adams, Heather Spencer and Sue Ansley. On the day, the weather couldn't have been more perfect- clear blue skies with a gentle breeze.

The format of play was the best two Stableford scores on each hole from the four players, with an 85% handicap allowance, and our ladies came out on top with a fantastic score of 86 Stableford points. This was good enough to win the Pro-Am Team Prize on countback with a better back nine!

Tracy said that she had a fantastic day with fabulous company and some great golf played with everyone contributing to the team total. Tracy came in a respectable 12th individually and has said that she is inspired to play a little more this year. If nothing else, the ladies will have to go back next year to defend their title.

The men’s match against the Royal Navy Golf Society was played on Thursday, May 8. The match was played on a glorious sunny day to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day. Thurlestone won 4.5 to 1.5 and everyone enjoyed themselves.

ELSEWHERE, the Dartmouth GC seniors tackled another Stableford qualifier on Monday, May 19, writes Gordon Holmes.

Standard handicap protocols were in place with play from the blue tees. 38 players were in the mix on the day and despite the sun, it was a breezy chilly morning with a sharp easterly draught.

Keith Moffitt was the man to beat and to say he hit the ball a country-mile is an understatement. His 22/17 point split could have been even better if it weren’t for blobs at holes 14 and 17.

For the other 16 holes though, he was sharp and accurate, thoroughly deserving to record a high-end 30s score and win the event from Peter Hannaford, who recorded six pairs in an excellent round of golf.

Best gross round of the day came from John Oldrieve who carded 83 shots but only good in terms of a points tally (33), for fifteenth place. Most difficult hole on the course surprisingly was the par-four fourteenth, which played downwind over water. I suspect many balls found the white stakes!

In summary a pleasant day on the course which was in good condition despite some fiendish pin positions.

Competition results:

1st, Keith Moffitt 39 points

2nd, Peter Hannaford 38

3rd, Gordon Holmes 37

4th, Geoffrey Jewell 37

5th, Paul Stubbs 36

6th, John Garner 36

No birdie twos were scored at the par threes. Competition guru Nigel Osborne was in charge of the cards. Many thanks to him.

Senior of the year early standings after twelve qualifying events:

1st, George Reeve 44 points

2nd, John Oldrieve 37

3rd, Keith Moffitt 35.