Adverse golf conditions at the weekend can influence our mood for a whole week.
This will be the third consecutive week that I have introduced my notes with a weather report, but such is the nature of this game that we enjoy that adverse conditions at the weekend can influence our mood for a whole week or even longer if conditions demand course closure for various reasons.
It would appear that temperatures have risen significantly these last few days and are now fluctuating between two and nine degrees Celsius. This in itself is good news because hand warmers and gloves are OK but warmer weather does improve the golf, of that there is little doubt.
The Vale of Llangollen, still having to contend with ground frost, played their Sunday morning draw for partners event with no less that fifty four members taking to the golf course. Played this week over just twelve holes due to the conditions, it featured a win for Gareth Austin and Ian Faulkner with 36b points from second placed Dennis (Sunbank) Jones and Sean Broe with the better of two 34 point cards. Tom Williams and John Wakelin owned the third placed card of 34, the rank order being decided on the scores of the concluding six holes of play. Brian Dolomore and Rob Bagnall were in fourth place with their card reading 33 points.
The tee pegs went the way of Mike Heyhurst and Dai Thomas with a quite good 25 points, but remembering the eight inch frost holes which do tend to help the putting along a little bit.
There were seven birdie twos during the course of the morning, but those valiant efforts were placed firmly in the shade by the hole in one gained by Tom Williams on the eighteenth hole. As an aside, if you are going to have a hole in one anywhere in the county, the eighteenth at Llangollen must be the best place of all, overlooked as it is by the large windows of the clubhouse and the waiting players en route to the first tee.
The Wrexham players who participate in the Sunday morning league again witnessed the steady form of Ian Darlington who registered his fourth win in five occasions by partnering Stan Rogers to victory with 44 points. Second came club Treasurer Richard Rawlings andJohn Williamswith 43 followed by Mike Fellowes and his son Duncan with 42. John Hogan was drawn with his son Paul to occupy fourth place with 38. Paul, who is our reporter for these encounters, divulged that Ian Darlington is going on holiday for a week, so giving the others an opportunity for success.
Clays golf club, as reported byDerek Lyon, played a Mexican Texas scramble in which teams of four contested the event. Winners were Reg Taylor, Tony Owens, Maelor Davies and Harold Hughes with 61.7 net from second placed Stewart Poole, Noel Jones, Brian Mercer and Tony Harcombe on 62.5
Malcolm Williams, Bill Parry and Mike Hollins played as a three ball and, with mathematical adjustments due to being one short in number, took third place with 62.6
The seniors played a Stableford with teams of three with the best two scores to count. Winners were Andrew Mitchell, John Kelty and Tony Owens with 82 points, a score repeated by runners up Stewart Poole, Peter Almond andFred Courtfor second place.
The Saturday Winter league went to Mike D. Jones with 40 points from second placed Neil Gledhill on 38 and M.K. Jones with another 38 point card.