THERE are normally separate ladies’ competitions for the Championship and Dartmouth course, but it was Marion Bell’s birthday and when she suggested a combined charity competition to celebrate, everyone was all in!

Her chosen charity was Breast Cancer Now so pink clothing was the order of the day, and what a good day it was.

Fun, no pressure golf, pink Prosecco, snacks halfway and a birthday cake at the end. Marion had provided the prizes so congratulations to the following teams: 1st place- Jan Brooking, Jan Cousins, Jan T-G and Alison White (89pts), 2nd place- Anna Blunt, Shelley Durrans and Tina Scanlan (82 pts) and 3rd - Chris Aresti, Katie Panton and Jules Vincent (79 pts).

There were contrasting scores in the two divisions of the Men’s Midweek Medal. In Division One, the top two finished with below-par scores, with Steve Maris on Nett 69 just edging out Paul Brown on Nett 70.

In Division Two, the scores were again close but somewhat higher. Lew Easter thought his chance of a win had gone after a 10 on the fifteenth but his opponents were having similar problems and his Nett 81 was just sufficient to pip Rob Knight by a single shot for first place.

Back to the ladies and they welcomed players from across the southwest for their rearranged Tee to Tea Open.

Unlike in May, when monsoon-type weather caused the game to be postponed, there was wall-to-wall sunshine and umbrellas were only needed to provide some shade. The format of pairs Better Ball and a cream tea proved popular, particularly with separate first prizes for the top home team and the top away team.

Chris Mushens and Jules Vincent were the top home team with 47pts, whilst Sheelah Ayliffe and Helen Squire of Bovey Tracey and Stover respectively, were the top away team on 46pts.

Other results were: 2nd- Beccy Barrett and Karen Oldrieve (Dartmouth) 45 points, 3rd- Karen Whitby & Julie Cleaton (China Fleet) 43 points, 4th- Wendy Roberts (Dainton Park) & Helen Squire (Bovey Tracey) and 5th- Liz Sharman & Judith Lingmuss (Thurlestone) 39 points

Unlike the Olympics, the Penhale Olympic Tankards is played for each year as a mixed Greensomes competition. Any combination of player is permitted, which can often favour the extra length enjoyed by many men, so it was good to see a mixed team in contention.

Results were close with countback needed to separate the top three, who all finished with 42 points: 1st- Timothy Enticknap & Gary Widdicombe, 2nd- Beccy Barrett & Mark Scrivener and 3rd- Sam Churchill & John Thompson.

In the Dartmoor League, Dave Nicholls’ team had a great 3-2 win at tricky Sidmouth and return to the top of the East Division. They are just over halfway through their fixtures, so there is still plenty to play for.

Finally, congratulations to Chris Aresti’s Mixed Friendly squad, who enjoyed a 4.5-1.5 win over Dainton Park.