The new Friday nine hole Stableford competition has been slow to take off, but there are several new factors that may increase its popularity writes Terry Carter.

The new Friday nine hole Stableford competition has been slow to take off, but there are several new factors that may increase its popularity. Entries will now be allowed from 3.30pm, the clubhouse will continue to feature various Friday evening promotions during the year, and last, but not least, no one has yet been able to card a two and claim the nice little earner that has built up over recent weeks. However, Simon Lilley did pocket first prize with his 19 points over holes 1-5 and 15-18. Club captain Neil Faulkner settled for second place as a result of countback, and David Pepperell took third with 18 points. A countback also separated David Brown and Stuart Coles respectively on 17 points, and Phil Beer earned sixth place on 16, although he probably had to rush his game in order to help out behind the bar. A medal scorecard in the hand is recognised in medical circles as one of the major causes of panic attacks in any golfer except those graced with a single figure handicap. When a medal competition is looming menacingly over the horizon, most of us like to be feeling at the top of our game before facing the task. In the Friday roll up last week one of our group (Player A to protect the afflicted) had a poor round, and expressed apprehension at facing the course so soon in Saturday's Michelmore's Medal. I was keen to have a look at the list today, and his handicap did go up, although his score was in the top half of his division... every cloud etc. The first three in Division One had great scores, with David Bater and Duncan Taylor both carding gross 67 and net 62 off their handicaps. It took a countback to give David the edge over Duncan, and their exact handicaps have now eased south to 4.9 and 4.8 respectively. Ian Bright, in third, also had an impressive gross score of 70, with James Winchester and Martyn White carding net pars for fourth and fifth. David Pepperell followed with a net 68, with Janet Humberstone's student Marc Shoobridge one of three golfers on net 70. The club's Compliance Officer John Dunn also scored a net 70 too, remarkable considering he now can't walk a fairway without checking for potential dangers to our welfare. Yet another on net 70 was from regular roll up winner Kevin Legg, who will be disappointed he didn't do quite enough to reduce his handicap. Chas Ralls won Division Two with a net 65, and the next three were separated by a countback. Terry O'Brien finished second with a net par 66 off his 12 handicap, and Luke Sheppard was third off his 15 handicap. David Jeffrey had to settle for fourth after the countback despite equalling O'Brien's lowest gross of 78. Anthony Bickel will have gone home singing after recording the best net score of the day, with his net 57 winning Division Three by a healthy margin. I am not sure when he will see his 27 handicap again though, as he is now off 22.9. Chris Denning should still be pleased with his net 63 for second place, and the latest in a sequence of reductions in his handicap. Sidmouth is awash with golfing Dennings, and Chris must be the only one getting more than a shot a hole. It is noticeable that Don Cooper and Rob Winter are both working steadily on their handicaps and, despite earning third and fourth with a net 66 and 67, they didn't get a reduction this time. Just some results from a large entry list once again enjoying a great day on Sidmouth's well-presented fairways. The club also had a large entry list for the Seniors' Open on Monday, but by mid-afternoon they were all sound asleep, leaving the course free for another 30 of our finest to aim for a minimum of 36 points in our regular Monday Stableford competition. Most disappointed will have been Peter Davey, who carded an impressive total of 41 points. Disappointed because in the rush to get into the bar and talk everyone through the 18 holes Peter forgot to sign his card. However, the club manager is not without compassion for the wounded golfer, and allowed the score to reduce Peter's handicap if not earn a prize. In the event Chris Denning still carded the best score with 44 points to cap a good weekend. Bob Johnston beat his previous week's total with 42 points and second place, and David Pepperell made it a successful and consistent weekend with third place and 41 points. Also on 41 points, Marc Shoobridge and Phil Beer took fourth and fifth on a countback. Top 20 Results Pts Hcp C Denning 44 19 R K Johnston 42 20 D Pepperell 41 9 M Shoobridge 41 6 P Beer 41 12 K Denning 38 12 H Tincknell 37 18 J Winchester 36 8 M J Geddis 36 21 D Burgess 36 6 L Perry 36 6 N Winchester 35 9 D K Taylor 35 5 N Gingell 35 5 S R Crabb 35 13 J P Lee 34 6 Kym White 34 12 J Dunn 33 8 I Bright 32 7 W Gater 30 19