Tenby mixed pairs met for the last trophy of the year on Saturday morning. The rain was pouring (as usual this year), but 16 intrepid pairs set out to do battle with the rain and the course.

The format was a Greensomes Medal, playing for a trophy donated by Chris and Carol Beecher during Chris’s captaincy. This format leaves little room for error; every score has to be written down regardless of how far off a par.

Four couples had twos recorded on par threes. On the 6th, Chris put it on the green and Carol sank a nail-biting putt. On the 12th, Jim Moffatt looked like he was getting a hole-in-one, but it just came up short, for Maura Gunning to tap in. Then Gill John and Chris Smith and Denise and Tim Edwards had twos on the 17th.

Winning back their entry fees in the bag draw were Pam and Steve Cole, Sarah Waring and Idwal David, and Allan Morton and Trevayne Keohane.

Luckily, the weather dried up and we all managed to dry out before dining and relaxing in the clubhouse while waiting for the last card to come in. Thanks to Emma and Lee for seeing to that.

Four pairs came in with the best gross score of 86. Just missing out on the prizes with 86-14-72 were Pam and Steve Cole; in third place with 86-14.4-71.6 were Mervyn Tucker and Heather K. Morgan, just ahead with 86-14.8-71.2 were Jim Moffatt and Maura Gunning taking second place.

The winners of the Anniversary Shield for 2017 with 86-15-71 were Mark Griffiths and Georgina Ormond. Sadly, they were not there to receive the trophy from Chris Beecher, but Chris thanked Heather and Laura for running the competition and the green staff for the beautiful way the course was presented. All that rain and no mud in sight... fantastic! Thanks also for Tom in the Pro Shop for sorting the cards.

The next mixed event is the Christmas Charity Mixed on Wednesday, December 27, which is a fun event to raise money for the captain’s charities, played off the men’s yellow boxes and ladies’ red boxes.

This is usually well subscribed, so watch out for it on the computer; and if you can’t play, perhaps you could put a raffle prize in the office to support the event.

H.K.M.

Rabbits’ tail wags

Tenby Rabbits headed oop north to Llanrhystud to take on the Rabbits of Penrhos to try to maintain their challenge for the top place in the Three Counties Rabbits Summer League, writes our links reporter, Warren Hacker. Would the travel-lag prove crucial?

Leading off this week were Kieron and Ian - the Mixer Twins, so called because they’ve been mixed up with (seemingly) all the other Tenby members during the Summer (Ian 4 in 7, Kieron 9 in 10!). They had a nail-biting tussle with their opponents, but succumbed on the 18th to lose one down.

Second on the tee were recently holidayed treasurer Mark and new committee man Phil. They too had a struggle, but one of the opposition (apparently called Desmond) notched two 2s on the third and 17th to close out the game 3 and 1.

Third to take to the tee were two generations of the Watkins family - Steve (new fourth time grandfather) and Grant. Things didn’t go too well at the start- the visitors were four down after six - but they managed to pull it back to all-square and just failed to take the last hole, so had to settle for a half, meaning the home team led 2.5-0.5 after three games.

Next up were big hitting Bill and secretary Peter. Young Beynon was burning up the course and notched a run of gross pars on his way to 40-plus stableford points and with Peter coming in with his shots off handicap they ran out 4 and 3 winners to put a winning point on the board for the visitors.

Steve C and Adrian were the fifth pairing off. This was another nip-and-tuck contest, with the Tenby pair getting their noses ahead and, despite a valiant effort from the homesters, they plumbed the depths of their resilience to just about manage to keep the lead and when Adrian halved the 17th they shook hands with a 2 and 1 win for the Tenby pair. This meant the match stood all-square with one game to finish.

Last off were the pair of Robin and vice-but-acting-captain Paul. They had a plan. They were prepared. They had travelled north the day before and arranged for a practice round so that they would be at their best. Early reports indicated that their plan had been a good idea as they drove themselves into a rally good two-hole lead. However, things started to go awry and they found themselves one down. But this sparked them into action on the ohm straight. Shocked, they re-fused to accept their current predicament and they switched to overdrive and, after a birdie two on the picturesque 17th hole, Robin held his nerve to slot a knee-knocking putt on the 18th to bring home the bacon, halve the hole and thereby halve their game, meaning the entire match result was 3-3, just what the doctor ordered!

Tenby picked up a total of five points - two for the away half and three for the three games won.

This result means that Tenby have finished their six away league games with a record of one win, one draw and four defeats and now have two home games to resolve - the re-arranged match against Glyn Abbey and Priskilly at home on October 8. Tenby currently sit third in the table, but after their win at Ashburnham last weekend, Milford have secured the first first place of the amalgamated Summer League - well played to them. Garnant are currently second, with one game left away at Aberystwyth at the end of the month, but Tenby could overturn their 6.5 point advantage with two home wins. Keep up with developments on ‘threecountiesrabbits.wordpress.com’.

In the Mick Gillet Trophy for Summer League points, Grant leads with 31, ahead of Steve W on 27, Steve C on 22, Mark and Phil on 21, Kieron on 20, with Adrian and Robin just behind on 19.

There is a busy time ahead for the Rabbits - the match against the Tenby Ladies at 9 am on October 1, then Priskilly, then the Gwyn Tibbs Cup on the 15th, followed by B & H Shield for those who played during the Summer League on the 22nd, which will be followed by the Rabbits AGM when captain Martin becomes ex-captain and Paul takes over the reins.

Several Rabbits are also involved in Finals Day this Sunday, with Chris Smith in the Allen Cup, Steve Watkins in the Charles Mathias Cup (with Paul C as referee), brothers Grant and Tom (congratulations to you and Bobbie on the arrival of young Finley) Watkins are in the Colwyn Williams fourball betterball against a pair of former Rabbit captains Tim and (current summer Rabbit) Paul Davies, and David Blackmore in the Veterans Cup. Good luck to all those taking part (but gooder luck to some!).

Saturday Swingers enjoy Bournemouth tour

Tenby GC’s Saturday Swingers embarked on their 20th Annual Tour last weekend. The south coast seaside resort of Bournemouth was the venue and the party comprised 15 Swingers.

The Friday proved to be rather eventful. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Swingers failed to make it to Isle of Purbeck GC and played their first round at Parc GC between Cardiff and Newport.

Parc is a relatively modern parkland layout which is maturing well and boasts good greens. Two outstanding scores were recorded, i.e. 38 points by Austin Davies and 39 points by Gary McNeilly.

Queens Park GC, within Bournemouth itself, hosted the Swingers on Saturday. This is a wonderful municipal course with meandering tree-lined fairways plus an abundance of heather and gorse.

It boasts a rich heritage, has hosted numerous professional tournaments from the 1930s through to the 1970s and has been graced by the likes of Bobby Locke, Henry Cotton and Severiano Ballesteros etc. Unfortunately, there are several public footpaths which are used by many dog walkers and the like.

Austin had another good day and came in with 37 points, which was matched by Gethin Evans, who had a better back nine.

To break the return journey on Sunday, the Swingers played at Kingsdown GC near Bath. This downland course dates back to 1880. The scenery from the elevated position is stunning, the fairways are beautiful and the greens are very slick.

Following two nights of socialising, the scores were lower, as expected. Four Swingers handed in 30 points, but Tenby GC Ccaptain Neil Thomas was the winner on the day with 33 points.

Medals and prizes are awarded each day. However, the glassware is in respect of the best 54-hole aggregate scores. Austin continued his excellent recent form and was crowned Swingers’ Tour Champion for 2017 with a total of 103 points.

Two Swingers totalled 98 points - Neil beating Gethin by virtue of a better last 18 holes. Owen James was Tour Champion in both 2015 and 2016, but his form deserted him and he failed to make it a hat-trick in Bournemouth.

The highest three round totals were: Austin Davies - 103 points, Neil Thomas and Gethin Evans - both 98 points, Martin Morris - 94 points, Gary McNeilly and Viv John - 93 points, Richard Ormond and Neil Webb - 92 points, Dai Cope -90 points.

The Longest Drives were won by Simon Evans (2) and Steve Maytum. The Nearest the Pins were claimed by Neil Webb, Dai Cope and Simon Evans.

Five 2s were recorded over the weekend - Austin Davies, Viv John, Gethin Evans, Neil Thomas and Richard Ormond.

The Secret Trio prizes were shared - Dai Cope, Austin Davies and Viv John, plus Richard Ormond, Gethin Evans and Simon Evans with 100 points each. Dai Cope won the sweep.

The Swingers were based at the well positioned Heathlands Hotel above East Cliff. Bournemouth was considered by all to be an excellent base, albeit it is a rather long drive from Tenby. Nevertheless, the Swingers still hope to play at Isle of Purbeck, perhaps when based at Weymouth, in a few years time.