Poldark-like, overcast conditions greeted the thirty nine members and three guests at Vistabella. In terms of playing the newly-added 7 holes, most were Vistabella virgins. Most of the participants were impressed by the lay-out. However, the rock-hard fairways meant even duffed shots ran like balls on buggy paths.
As always at this course, the undulating greens sorted out men from the boys. Sadly, again, slow play was an issue with some groups taking more than 5 hours to complete the round. The knock-on effect led to early flights waiting in the clubhouse for more than 2 hours for the presentation. Ready golf, gents!
Surprisingly, given the new holes and tricky greens, the scoring in all categories was worthy of praise. Top score of the day belonged to Brian Butler (winning on countback from Mike Inns) with a magnificent 39 points. This week’s Abacus prize was sponsored by Adrian Rudge, golf professional at Vistabella. Instead of the usual bottle of red wine, the bottom scorer – John Osborne – received a voucher for an obviously much-needed golf lesson from Adrian.
The day’s results, by category and in reverse order, were the following:
Bronze Category: 4th Norman Padmore (35), 3rd Norman McBride (38), 2nd Mike Inns (39) and 1st Brian Butler (39 points on CB)
Silver Category: 4th Theo Boelhower (32 on CB), 3rd Brian Mulligan (33), 2nd Roger Webb (34), and 1st Phil De Lacy (36 points)
Gold Category: 4th Bjorn Petterson (34), 3rd Tony Smale (35), 2nd Robin Eastman (37), and 1st Mike Greaterox (37 points on CB)
Nearest the pins on the par 3’s (G, S,B & open to all) went to Kyree Skarsmoen, Roger Webb, John Osborne and Joan Balkwill.
Best guest was Roy Foster with 36 points, with Joan Balkwill in runner-up position.
Our thanks to the staff at Vistabella for their contribution to the day.
Keep up to date with all SMGS matters by logging on to our website www.smgs.org or simply give Tony Smale a call on 628 227 687 to find out more about the society and its weekly golf get-togethers. Next week we will be at Hacienda Del Alamo.
