Sidmouth golf club’s greenkeepers, led by head greenkeeper Peter Standen, laid on a nine-hole ‘fun’ competition on Tuesday, writes Hugh Dorliac.

Entitled the Greenkeepers’ Revenge, it lived up to its name with Peter and his team creating obstructions and pitfalls around the course to frustrate the 40 golfers who took part.

Starting with old tyres dotted across the first green and fairway to the flag on the fourth being planted 40 feet away from the actual hole, the nine holes proved quite tricky to negotiate and when they finally came to the last hole they found the way blocked by roadwork fencing and the hole cut halfway up a slope.

Everyone loved tackling the course and all taking part just about finished before it got dark.

The winning team was Bob Mair, Peter McGeer, Jim Edwards and Ken Jansen who managed to complete it in par thanks to an outrageous birdie on 16 when, after a great drive, a six iron into the green saw the ball crash into one of the shovels that had been strewn about the green and the ball ended up three feet from the hole and duly sunk. They even managed a par on the last where many had perished on the fiendish sloping hole.

The competition was followed by a hot supper and drinks. It is sure to become an annual event.