THIRTY-four Thurlestone GC ladies were in the field for the Betty Ord Memorial Trophy on Wednesday, July 2, reports Liz Line.

Liz Stewart came out on top with a nett 72, ahead of a trio on 74 who had to be separated by countback. Second was Jane Mahood (27), third Sarah Loader (12) and forth Sue Curry. No twos were scored.

The 9-hole medal had seven ladies playing, Janet Richardson (11) winning on nett 38 ahead of Diane Baker (14), with a 39.

The midweek Stableford competition on Tuesday was very popular with 50 men competing in lovely sunshine. The winner was Edward Johnson (23) with 43 points from Charlie Barker (24) second, with 41 points, on countback from Chris Pachanides and Gus Kemp.

There were 28 entries for the Kennedy Cup Medal on Saturday 5 and the man to beat was Colin George (4), who scored a nett 69. Mike Yeoman (71) and Steve Gledhill (72) were next. Jacob Brooker and Steve Inch were responsible for the birdie twos, on holes six and five respectively.

Pictured is lady captain Fiona Turner with Liz Stewart, the winner of the Betty Ord Memorial Trophy.

It was decision time for the Dartmouth ladies before playing in the Tee to Tea Trophy - accept the challenge of the alternate tees or stick to the red tees, writes Chris Mushens.

Double points are on offer if you choose to play from the designated blue, white or gold tee and everyone accepted the challenge.

Roz Forde, Katie Panton and Anne Woodward all managed 8-pointers but still didn’t make the top three, though Anne just missed out on countback.

Shelley Durrans was the player to take third place with a solid 50 points, just behind Karen Oldrieve on 54. Jules Vincent loved the challenge of the different tees and only dipped out of the points on the eighth, finishing with the winning score of 60 points.

The Dartmouth course ladies were playing a 9-hole fun Stableford and enjoyed a stress-free game from the red tees. Sharon Jones recovered from a slow start to score 21 points and finished ahead of Barbara Dally.

John Garner scored 39 points and won the men’s midweek Stableford, played from the red tees, on countback from Sam Churchill.

In Division Two meanwhile, John Cousins (36pts) was the man to beat, ahead of Rob Isaacs-Berry (35 pts).

In their dreams, Rob Isaacs-Berry and Chris Mushens saw blue skies and sunshine for their Joint Captains’ Day on Saturday but the reality was grey skies, wind and rain. Fortunately, Dartmouth golfers are made of strong stuff and there was a very strong field supporting the day.

To keep it fun, a mulligan was allowed on the front and back nine and there was much discussion during the refreshment break in the Halfway House of how successfully the first mulligan had been.

On the men’s side, Matt Young won with 41 points, joined on the podium by Ian Metchette and Paul Marels, both of whom scored 39pts. Paul Stubbs was next with 37.

The score of the day came from Katie Panton, 44 points placing her five clear of Jan Brooking and eight clear of Chris Aresti in the ladies section.

Nearest the pins: Edd Mitchell (second in two), Chris Aresti (ladies third) and Paul Stubbs (men’s 18). Sam Churchill and Katie Panton achieved the respective longest drives and Steve Maris had the shortest on 17.

Congratulations and thanks from Chris and Rob to all the winners and to all who supported their day. Huge thanks also to Darryn, George and Matt from the clubhouse team for their brilliant help in moving tables, food, drink and the essential pasty cooker out of the rain.

The Bigbury Pro Shop Turn Up and Play competition provides the opportunity for the Club Pro, Sam Edwards, to provide a most interesting report – as below.

Paul Edgecombe was basking in the sunshine, tallying four birdies and an eagle over the front nine, with no bogeys in sight; life was good. It got better with a two on the 10th to take his running total to 29pts. Alas, the course was unrelenting and exacted its payback, bringing Paul back to a respectable 37 points.

Countback was then called upon which left Paul in sixth. Mike Heath, who was also better going out than coming in, finished fifth.

And now to two golfers who both thought that despite the glorious sunshine, it just wasn't going to be their day, with both John Cocks and William Barons completing the front nine in over par.

The halfway point proved to be a turning point, not just for the golf course but for their days and golfing ambitions. Birdies on the 10th set them up for a successful back nine, a key to the count-back glory.

William Barons amassed four birdies and an eagle on his back nine, but the 17th hole proved to be the stumbling block, a blob, and the dream of third place vanished.

John Cocks, much like a fine wine, improved with time and returned home with 21 points, rising to the top of the 37-pointers and claiming third place, along with his prize money.

Second place wasn't quite as exciting as third place. Richard Bailey opted for a stress-free round of golf, no dramas and no blobs. 19 points on the front nine, 19 on the back nine, 38 points in total and second place in the TUAP.

One golfer must have thought he was dreaming, three gross birdies on the front nine on his way to a total of 36 shots and 20 points; Bob Brocklehurst was in the groove. But cast your minds back, and we've been here before; however, Bob refused to let this be a false dawn.

Not many can double bogey the 13th hole but still return the back nine in under par, but thanks to four gross birdies, Bob was able to make it home in 33 shots. A one under 69 gross, 40 points, and one of only two twos on the day meant it was the dream day.

If you'd like your moment of glory in the TUAP, we run them every other Wednesday and these are open to both men and ladies.