It was with more hope than expectation that the golf club organised a competition over the Easter weekend.

It was with more hope than expectation that the golf club organised a competition over the Easter weekend. The Met Office had promised a cold and wet three days, and the pessimism might have had a negative impact on the entry list. However, while most of us were indoors watching football or worrying about the sub prime mortgage market, Chas Jarvis was interviewing and selecting better ball Stableford partners. In an unusual approach, golfers could enter as often as they wished over the three days provided they had a different partner each time, and Chas cleaned up with both 1st and 2nd places in the men's section.He was partnered by Mark Thomas in the winning round with a massive 51 points, and also took the runner up spot with 45 points. On this round he was partnered by one of the club's star juniors, James Winchester, and, as he was the common factor in two outstanding scores, the performances have been subjected to a forensic analysis by the club manager. Both Mark and James hit the ball a long way, but I understand it was felt that it was Chas's maturity, management skills and ability to complete a score card correctly that just tipped the balance. For the ladies, Maria Clapp and Sheila Tallon continued their winning form with another prize. This time their 42 points was enough to give them first place and a clear five point lead over the next best score. Sheila Thompson and Janet Humberstone earned second place with 37 points, and some of us have also noticed that both of these ladies have featured strongly in recent times in ladies' section competitions.I don't know how many cards were entered in the mixed category, but the one prize awarded was won by Marie Timms and Bob Webber with an excellent total of 45 points. There was also some additional pressure here, as mixed team organiser Marie was assessing Bob's game before her friendly matches get under way at home to Teignmouth in mid April.The weekend was rounded off on Monday with the first of this season's qualifying Stableford competitions, and this time there was nothing much to separate the first dozen or so scores in a close contest. Luke Sheppard is a relative newcomer to the club, and his handicap eased further south as a result of his 41 points. This gave him first place, one point better than Nathan Brace and Bob Johnston. These two also earned a reduced handicap, and could only be separated by countback, with Nathan taking second place ahead of Bob.It took another countback to sort out the next three places, with Neil Faulkner, Mark Thomas and Chris Ashley finishing in that order on 39 points. I am delighted to see that wiser counsels have prevailed, and Neil has conceded that it wouldn't be appropriate for the club captain to take one of the prize places ahead of his troops, so he kept himself outside the top three. Mark's 39 points and fifth place finish completed a fine Easter weekend record, and Chris Ashley has continued as he left off when winning the Seniors' Eclectic over the winter months. A total of 13 golfers achieved the regulation 36 points or more, and it might have been 14 if Mr Pepperell had remembered to hand in his card. I know Sidmouth has one temporary green whilst the improvements to the par 3 14th are concluded, but the results only confirm that the course is still being presented in excellent condition despite the winter rains.