THE Thurlestone Foundation trophy was first played for in 1997 to commemorate the centenary of Thurlestone Golf Club, writes Liz Line.

This is now played for annually, always a mixed competition but with occasional changes to the format.

Of the 16 pairs to enter, Shona Wilson and Garth Gregory prevailed with 48 points.

Second were Richard & Jane Walker with 46 pts on countback from Janice & Tony Croke. There were four birdie twos by Tony Adams on 17 and Trish Gledhill, Liz Stewart & Richard Walker all on the 13th hole.

On Wednesday, the ladies played for the club Foursomes and Killard Leavy Foursomes Vets County Qualifier. The winners were Sarah Loader and Heather Spencer with 39 points from Clare Barron and Jane Mahood (36pts).

Next came Nikki Smith & Fiona Turner and Sue Ansley & Barbara Smith, both pairs with 35pts. Heather and Sarah notched the only two.

On Saturday, there were 40 entries for the Stableford competition. Stewart Barnes was the man to beat, scoring 31 points. He beat the quartet of Marc Mulligan, David Hook, Aiden Mulligan and Craig Blount all by countback.

Birdies twos came from Stewart Barnes (2), Craig Blount and Colin George.

Also, it was a busy weekend for the Thurlestone juniors. There was the return of ‘Friday night golf’, introducing the youngsters to course management and etiquette.

Saturday was the monthly junior Stableford competition, with only 4 entrants this month. Harry Robinson scored 45 points to win over Martha Massingham (40pts) and Aiden Mulligan (39pts).

Sunday saw the first meeting of the West Devon Junior League. This was played at Yelverton, and conditions were calm but cold. The Thurlestone team (pictured) played against Staddon Heights and won two of the five matches.

ONTO Bigbury GC and everything clicked for Vanessa Mabelle (pictured) in the March Stableford on Thursday, reports Marlene Johnson.

Playing off of a handicap of 26, which will surely drop now, she recorded a phenomenal 47 points.

Helen Dinsdale (38pts) and Pip Fisher (36pts) came next with Pip and Vanessa both scoring twos as well.

39 players entered the Thursday mixed Stableford and it was the men who took the Division One and Two honours.

Jon Wiley led Division One with 40pts, one better than Mike Daniels and two better than Peter Cooper.

Division Two was won by Steve Woodcock who scored 43 points, ahead of Paul Manning (41pts) and Geoff Tremayne (39pts).

The following Thursday mixed Stableford was again a very competitive competition, Pip Fisher (16) for the ladies winning with a good score of 40 points. Countback was then called upon to separate Bryan Truscott and Stan Kenneth.

The Bigbury Golf Course being in such good condition is helping the players reduce their handicaps, and thanks must go to the wonderful Bigbury Green-keeping team.

WHEN a team is firing on all cylinders, playing a Texas Scramble can be akin to having three bites of the cherry, which is exactly what one team of Dartmouth ladies enjoyed, writes Chris Mushens.

Katie Panton has just moved across to the Championship course and very much enjoyed being part of the winning team. Along with Chris Aresti, Shelley Durrans and Karen Oldrieve, Katie’s team finished with a 7-under par 67.

Anne Woodward was another transfer and she was part of the second-placed team with Jan Cousins, Mary Thompson and Alison White who scored 71. Full marks to Jan Brooking and Chris Mushens who played as a pair following injury withdrawals and still managed to play to par.

The Dartmouth course ladies were easing themselves into the new season with a nine-hole return-to-golf fun Stableford. Sharon Jones did an excellent job, achieving four-pointers on three of the four par threes to end the day with 26 points. Roz Forde finished with a 4-pointer and second place with 21 points.

Holes three and eight proved difficult for those at the top of the men’s midweek Stableford, blobs not being able to deny them strong scores though.

Mark Collins topped Division One with 37pts, one more than Andy Birss and Brian Mushens.

In Division Two, in-form John Cousins was another one to fail to score on the third and eighth, but a 22-point back nine gave him first place with 39 points. Just behind was Mark’s son, Seth Collins, who scored on both troublesome holes and totalled 38pts.

Great scores were the order of the day with Karen Oldrieve notching 25 points through nine holes in the mixed Stableford. Her total of 44 points put her well clear of the rest of the field- Bob Gibbs beating Beccy Barrett, John Garner and Bobby Wotton to second place via countback as they all scored 38pts.

The main competition was a medal, with the Baker Salver being played along with the first round of the Badger Trophy. The Baker Salver is played over 18 holes and the results are based on nett scores, whereas the Badger Trophy is two rounds, with the gross score being used.

Baker Salver: 1st Bill Coffin (69), 2nd Jeremy Enticknap (70), 3rd Tim Cronin (71).

Badger Trophy round one: 1st Lee Marels (73), 2nd Bill Coffin (80), 3rd Edd Mitchell (81).

Finally for the Dartmouth seniors and they enjoyed a fun Stableford this week, from alternate blue and red tees, reports Gordon Holmes.

High handicappers Robert Wotton & David Ward dominated the competition, both produced exceptional scoring rounds despite several blemishes with the former just edging the latter largely, I suspect because of many missed putts on recovering greens.

Very well done to both, who continue to be in rich veins of form. The biggest surprise of the day was the absence of any birdie twos on the par threes with most having front pin access. The treasurer scores a bonus without even playing!

Competition result:

1st Robert Wotton 40 points

2nd David Ward 38

3rd George Reeve 38

4th David Sparks 37

5th Andrew Dix 37

6th Michael Whitelaw 37

Competition guru Nigel Osborne counted them back. Our usual thanks go to him.

Dartmouth seniors’ second friendly match of the season was away at China Fleet. Having beaten them both home and away last season, it was anticipated that they would be out after revenge.

With perfect conditions and the course at China Fleet looking fantastic, Dartmouth seniors put on a really good performance. Most of the matches were very close affairs except for Andy Dix and Richard Bevan who won with a brilliant 4&3. John Oldrieve won the nearest the pin on hole 15.

The final score was another impressive draw away from home, 3-3, so well done team.