On what felt like the hottest day of the year 19 players turned up at Woolfox, 18 of whom had the sole agenda to catch Paul Flanders at the top of the leaderboard, and by the end of the day many participants will have left very happy with what they had achieved.

After welcoming newcomer Andy Izod and scoffing down a tasty bacon roll with a cup of coffee, players headed out into the afternoon heat, a number then opting to put up their umbrellas to create some shade from the early afternoon sun.

A nervy start on the first saw only 7 players manage to hit the fairway, and a special mention goes out to Roy who managed to hit his drive straight into a 20 square foot fenced off enclosure to the right – surely that warrants an end of season award!

Thereafter players started to relax and put in some sterling performances despite the fact that the tram lines on the greens sometimes appeared to be wider than the grass that was left; Paul Bellinger chipped in on the 6th for 5 points that ultimately led to a Woolfox victory, although John Dexter will be kicking himself until the end of the season for taking 8 on the 18th as he was only 1 point behind Paul once the final scores were counted up.

By no means Trevor’s best performance of the season, but he hit a lovely drive to win the nearest the pin prize, although he did not quite match the hole in one that Les had achieved earlier in the week at Elton Furze – congratulations to both Les and Trevor.

After a long and hot afternoon it was back to the clubhouse, well actually the driving range, for a well deserved cold drink. The scores were calculated and the presentation ceremony commenced. For the first time in the last 10 years 6 players achieved 40 points or more, one of whom was Andy Izod with a very creditable 41 points (I assume Les has already worked out how much Andy’s handicap will be cut for the next outing!)

Paul Bellinger came first with an excellent 43 points.

Colin H opened up a 3 point lead at the top of the leaderboard with 42 points, just nicking 2nd place from John D on the count back system.

The next meeting is scheduled for the Friday 6th October at Spalding, so get practising as Colin H won this event last season with 38 points and is now odds on favourite to regain the Follies trophy, particularly as his current score of 116 hasn’t been matched since 2014 when Colin H last won the trophy.

Darren Pears (Match Reporter)