The Saturday Swingers of Tenby GC embarked on their 21st Annual Tour. This year, the venue was beautiful Georgian Clifton in Bristol.

The party comprised 14 Swingers who competed on three mature parkland courses. In the end, it proved to be the closest ever Swingers’ Tour with no less than 10 players finishing within five points of the winner. This actually caused some confusion!

Friday - Henbury GC: A picturesque and challenging course adjacent to the Blaise Castle Estate. The greens were fast and true. Neil Webb and Gary McNeilly both came in with a creditable 32 points. Loz Phillips was one better with 33 points.

Terry Davies and Dai Cope were joint second with 34 points, the latter having 24 points on the back nine!

However, winner on the day was Tenby GC captain, Mike Anthony, who played very consistently for his excellent 36 points.

Saturday - Filton GC: Another stiff test, especially the 17th and 18th holes which are both long par 4s.

Neil Webb and Loz Phillips were in the prize money again with 31 points each. Gary McKeown scored 33 points.

Mike Anthony enjoyed another good round with 34 points which was matched by Neil Thomas, but clear winner with the best score of the weekend was Owen James who had a fantastic 37 points.

Consequently, going into the third and final round, Mike Anthony was ahead by six shots with his two round total of 70 points. Three Swingers lay second with 64 points - Owen James, Loz Phillips and Neil Thomas. Just one shot back were Terry Davies, Gary McKeown and Neil Webb. The excitement was almost unbearable!

Sunday - Shirehampton Park GC: An elevated setting with stunning views over the Gordano Valley towards the spires of Clifton. The steep slopes took their toll on some Swingers as fatigue kicked in.

Austin Davies, Terry Davies, Gary McKeown and Neil Webb all scored 29 points, which was one less than Gary McNeilly.

Thanks to 20 points on the back nine, Gethin Evans came in with 34 points but, due to a very generous adjusted handicap, Sunday’s winner was Richard Ormond with 35 points.

None of the Swingers in the leading group performed to their best. For some time, before all the cards and aggregates were checked, there was talk of Mike Anthony and Neil Thomas having to compete in a play-off as both had a total of 92 points.

Terry Davies, Gary McKeown and Neil Webb then realised that they also had 92 points and perhaps a five-man play-off was required!

However, it was then calculated that Gethin Evans who had started the day in the third best group and a full 11 shots behind Mike Anthony had aggregated a fine 93 points, which made him Swingers’ Tour Champion for 2018. Gethin’s victory was reminiscent of Arnold Palmer clawing back a seven-shot deficit in the final round of the US Open at Cherry Hills in 1960!

The Tour was thoroughly enjoyed by all Swingers who attended. The three courses were ideal, albeit the abundance of well established trees did cause problems for the Swingers who are used to links golf. The food provided by the clubs was excellent and the weather was generally fine, especially on Sunday.

Leading scores: Gethin Evans 29+30+34 = 93 points; Gary McKeown 30+33+29 = 92 points; Neil Webb 30+31+29 = 92 points; Terry Davies 34+29+29 = 92 points; Neil Thomas 30+34+28 = 92 points; Mike Anthony 36+34+22 = 92 points; Gary McNeilly 32+29+30 = 91 points; Loz Phillips 33+31+26 = 90 points; Dai Cope 34+27+28 = 89 points; Austin Davies 31+28+29 = 88 points; Owen James 27+37+24 = 88 points.

Longest drives: Dai Cope, Viv John and Owen James.

Nearest the pins: Gary McNeilly, Nick Allen and Viv John.

Successful challenges: Dai Cope, Loz Phillips, Gary McNeilly and Nick Allen.

Twos: Mike Anthony (2), Terry Davies, Gary McNeilly, Richard Ormond, Gethin Evans and Viv John.

Secret trio: Mike Anthony, Neil Thomas and Neil Thomas 98 points.

Sweep: Loz Phillips.

GEORGINA AND STEVE WIN 125TH ANNIVERSARY SHIELD

In 2013, Chris Beecher and his wife, Carol, introduced a new trophy to our mixed calendar. It was to be played for every September and was a format we hadn’t played in our mixed before - a greensomes medal. Great fun, but not easy if you make mistakes!

Thirty-six people entered the competition on Saturday, and the weather was great; cool wind, but pleasant. The course was in super condition, especially the greens, so no excuses, the trophy was there for the taking.

Bag draws went to John Ball and Sue Shooter, Denise and Roy Edwards and Heather Morgan and Mervyn Tucker. Twos were recorded on each of the par threes; two to Sophie and Neil Lovatt on the 6th and the 17th, one to Mick Seal and Linda Tordoff-Evans also on the 17th, and one to Heather Morgan and Mervyn Tucker on the 12th.

The scores were good, with Rebecca Naden and Barry Frayne, and Trevayne Keohane and Roger Schooling just missing out on the prizes by one and nought point eight, respectively.

In third place with 84-11.2-72.8 were Gill John and Ben Price. Just ahead of them were Fair Ball and president Allan Morton on 84-12.8-71.2 in second place. But the winners who were way ahead with an 81-16-65 were Georgina Ormond and Steve Maytum. In his speech, Steve said that Georgina had played like Tiger Woods! He also thanked his playing partners and the organisers and praised the condition of the course.

The final mixed event of the year is the Charity Mixed on December 29, when it is our chance to try and put some money in the captain’s charities ready for next year. It is always held midway between Christmas and New Year, and this year falls on a Saturday, so it is hoped that we will have a big turnout for this. Keep an eye out for some good raffle prizes for the event.

Those who have played in the Ping Knock-outs this year have qualified to play in the final for the Plate. This is being held at Abersoch October 8 and Tenby will be represented by Anna and Keith Hubbard (undefeated this year), Chris and Carol Beecher, and Heather Morgan and Brian Jones. We all wish them luck.

Good luck also to the pairs playing the Llewellyn Thomas Knock-out on Finals Day: Gill John and Neil Moffat, and Chris and Carol Beecher. It is hoped that as many of you as can will come out and support them.

Finally, thanks to Tom in the Pro Shop, Emma and Leigh in the clubhouse, and most of all to Laura in the office for all the support you have given me.

H.K.M.

RABBITS ROUND-UP

As Warren Hacker has wandered Down Under, our junior reporter, A. Prentice, has been left with the honour of bringing our readers up to date with the state of play.

The first half of September has been very busy for the Rabbits with three home games taking place over two weekends, resulting in mixed fortunes.

First up were Garnant Park who are one of the favourites for the title, having only lost two matches this season. On the day, Tenby succumbed to a 4-3 defeat, meaning an end to our 10-year unbeaten home record.

However, our boys are made of stern stuff and last weekend saw them take on visiting teams from Penrhos on Saturday, followed by a youthful team from Glynhir on Sunday.

A close 3.5 to 2.5 win against Penrhos was achieved when father and son Steve and Grant Watkins came back from one down with one to play and winning the 18th to get us over the line.

Glynhir brought eight pairs which certainly tested our strength in depth, but Tenby were up for the challenge, running out victorious by a score of six to two.

Our haul of 16.5 points over the three matches has moved us well up the table with one remaining game away to Haverfordwest to be played. If we can prevail there, then we should secure a top three finish.

In the race to win the Mick Gillet trophy, Grant has built an unassailable lead with 30 points gained from his 11 games. However, there is a close battle for the runner-up position, with Chris Smith on 22 points, captain Paul Crawford on 20 points and Steve Watkins on 19 points. Our captain has a 100 per cent record from his six games - well done sir.

As we look towards October there are a few diary dates to note as follows:

• Sunday 7th - John Cook Classic

• Sunday 21st - Rabbits v Ladies

• Sunday 28th - B & H Trophy followed by our AGM.

Please indicate your availability via Master Scoreboard.

THE CHICKEN TROTTERS

Does this photograph reflect the way people think of the Chicken Trotters? - Hopefully not, I’ve invested in a much smaller hat since it was taken!

I am exaggerating, but the Trotters are quite historic, tracing their formation back some 35 years to 1983 - the year of the 25th Ryder Cup, held in Palm Beach USA when Tony Jacklin’s team lost 13½ - 14½ to Jack Niklaus’s players.

This reference to history is designed as a cunning lead-in to what follows, and what follows is that which I promised last week - a glance at the rules, customs and procedures adopted by the Friday morning fowls.

The weekly Chicken Trot takes place over 15 holes - 1 to 14 and 18 - over the winter season, roughly October to April. It is played in Stableford format, using unique Trotter score cards whose stroke indexes are not exactly the same as the current club card (they were printed before the last Stroke Index amendment, and we throw nothing away!). Handicaps are calculated using an ancient and secret formula, known only to Steve the Organiser! Suffice it to say that any gentleman competing for the first time uses his club handicap, and thereafter his Chicken Trotter handicap applies. Scientific as the handicap calculation may be, it does lean heavily in the direction of “Thou shalt not win on two consecutive Fridays!” This unwritten rule is reflected in the penalty and prize-winning procedure.

Competing will cost 30p, a piffling amount that has remained inflation proof throughout a few financial crises; the prize purse is subject to the same historical restriction - Sad! When your card has been scrutinised by Steve’s eagle eyes, winners and losers will be identified and prizes and penalties awarded as follows:

The winner - a cash prize, the actual amount being dependant on the number of cards taken out. A penalty of five strokes removed from the players Chicken Trotter handicap for the next two Trots! – Harsh!

Second place - A cash prize as above. A penalty of three strokes removed from the player’s Chicken Trotter handicap for the next two Trots!

Third place - A cash prize as above. A penalty of one stroke removed from the player’s Chicken Trotter handicap for the next two Trots!

The bottom scorer - A 30p cash prize (The Booby). A bonus of two strokes added to the player’s Chicken Trotter handicap for the next two Trots! – Generous!

(In the event of a tie for bottom score, no prize will be awarded - Cunning!)

Twos - Any Trotter scoring a gross birdie on a par 3 hole will receive a cash prize equal to 5p for every player competing

Note. Any player awarded a penalty of 1, 3 or 5 strokes is said to be ‘In the Sin Bin’ until he has played with that penalty for two weeks and then returned to his normal Chicken Trotter handicap.

And that, dear reader is just about it for this week. Should you be interested, next week I will give you a glimpse into the hedonistic, champagne fuelled social life of the Chicken Trotter - and the glittering array of silverware that is competed for over the season.

See you there!

M.F.