THURLESTONE held a mixed greensomes competition on Sunday with only eight pairs, won by Peter Hartley and Tricia Swindell ahead of Kaz & Martin Phillips and Andrew & Mary Swan.

13 pairs then entered the seniors greensomes, in better conditions, won by Richard Lungmuss & Owen Rees (44 points). Then came David Horn & Ken Lee (39pts) and Greg Cooper & Graeme Fairley (37pts).

35 ladies attended their AGM at the clubhouse, a chance to reflect on another strong year and also, for outgoing captain Fiona Turner to pass the baton onto Heather Spencer.

Staying on the ladies committee are Liz Stewart, Nikki Smith and Sue Esplin.

26 ladies went out in the 18-hole Stableford competition and the winner was Pam Adams with 30 points. 29 was the next best score, achieved by both Tricia Swindell and Liz Lacon.

Lastly, John Rogers had one final match before he also relinquishes the club captain role.

Alongside David Smyth, John played against Kedleston captain Martin Allen and Ian Neal. The away team were very complementary of Thurlestone.

It was a winning conclusion for John (pictured alongside Kedleston’s Martin) as his team prevailed 4-2.

It is great to report, with pride, that Bigbury pro Sam Edwards, began his 2026 season in impressive fashion winning the Devon and Cornwall PGA Winter Order of Merit event held at Bigbury in March.

Visiting professionals were full of praise for both the course and its condition, with many commenting on how enjoyable it was to play, Bigbury having taken over as host from another club.

Sam only entered the event after helping to accommodate the tournament at short notice. It was his first competitive appearance since November, but he hoped that home advantage might help offset the lack of recent play.

A consistent round that included seven birdies saw him finish with 42 points, six under par, securing victory by two shots.

Finally, Sam said he was delighted to start the year with a win and joked that he might consider playing more often than once every four months if the results continue.

For now, however, his focus returns to coaching and helping Bigbury members prepare for the season ahead.

With the golfing season just around the corner, with the worst of the winter hopefully behind us, Bigbury golfers were pleased to hear they will be returning to grass tees this week.

And, thanks to the recent improvement in the weather, 20 Ladies took to the course on Saturday 7th March. The Stableford competition was competitive with a count-back needed to separate two players with the same score and only one point behind the winner.

The winner was Pip Fisher with 31 points. Jane Rickman was in second place on count back from Jan Williams third. Ruth Bickle secured the only Birdie 2 so a good day for her.

Bigbury pro Sam is pictured.

Unlike some weeks when countback has been needed to determine first place, there have been quite clear winners this week at Dartmouth.

It started with the ladies on the Championship course who were playing a team competition, with a mix of blue and red tees and double points.

The clear winners were Chris Aresti, Shelley Durrans and Jodie Kenyon with 87 points. The second-placed team of Jan Cousins, Marilyn Lucas and Mary Thompson enjoyed the walk and the chat and had quite a few less points.

The ladies on the Dartmouth course played a nine-hole Stableford and the clear winner here was Katie Panton with 17 points. Sharon Jones was second and Barbara Dally third.

Moving on and the men’s midweek Two-Man Scramble continued the pattern of clear winners, with Rob Haddy and Lee Marels proving too strong for the rest of the field.

There was a relatively small field for the final round of the Winter League, with some teams having worked out that they would have had to play like Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods at their very best to have any chance of making the top four.

Jack Kirby and Sam Churchill were mid-table but still giving their all - sadly, although their eagle two on the 338-yard 10th gave their points a boost, it was insufficient to make a significant difference. Those at the top also had everything to play for, with the final placings determining the semi-final matches.

The top two pairs remained the same but Ian Metchette and Solley Metchette moved up to third place, so the semi-final line up is:

Edd Mitchell & Matt Young (1) v Dave Brooking & Clive Meredith (4)

Keith Sexton & Richie Ogle (2) v Ian Metchette & Solley Metchette (3)

The seniors’ event this week saw a welcome return to the Greensomes format, a competition that records suggest has not been played for quite some time. In this format both players drive from the tee on every hole, the best ball is selected, and the pair then play alternate shots until the ball is holed.

Team playing handicaps were calculated using 60% of the higher handicap and 40% of the lower, with scoring based on the Stableford system. Fourteen pairs took part in the competition.

For a change, it proved to be a very playable Monday, with no fog and only light rain – a welcome break after the severe winter conditions and loss of Mondays the course has endured.

The familiar pairing of Mark Mitchell and Paul Harding produced an excellent performance to take first place with a superb 39 points. Their round featured steady scoring with very few blemishes, and the duo combined superbly throughout the eighteen holes.

Finishing in second place were Steve Atkins and Gary Bonser on 36 points, three behind the winners, which underlines just how strong the winning score was. Third place went to Tony Brighton and Tim Cronin with 33 points.

Interestingly, no pair managed to score on every hole, highlighting the challenge of the Greensomes format. Nevertheless, it was great to see competitive action back in full swing, with the course recovering well following the difficult winter.

Birdie twos were recorded by Trevor Pretty and Nigel Osborne at the third, and by Mark Mitchell and Paul Harding at the 18th.

Thanks go to Nigel Osborne for overseeing the scorecards. Next week’s competition will be a 1-2-3 format.