DEVONGOLF
It was a wet and blustery day at Yelverton Golf Club for the DevonGolf Ladies' Inter-Club Finals Day with ladies from all corners of the county competing for a host of trophies. As with all our inter-club events, we were set for some quality and competitive golf played in the best of spirits. Wildlife in the form of sheep and ponies abounded - occasionally feeling the sting of a stray golf ball.....
The first final of the day was for the Doris Willes-Little Cup, our Foursomes knockout competition.
31 teams had entered this year and there were 3 rounds to get through before the semi final stage. Okehampton Golf Club played Stover Golf Club and Ilfracombe Golf Club played Axe Cliff Golf Club. The semi-finalist trophies were won by Gill Lang and Kelly Anne Harvey from Stover Golf Club and Caroline Bond and Stella Thompson from Axe Cliff Golf Club.
So, the Doris Wille- Little Cup final was between Frances Harbron and Sue Stanbury from Okehampton Golf Club and Jean Wills and Fran Svenson from Ilfracombe Golf Club. Following some excellent golf from all the ladies, Ilfracombe Golf Club took the match winning the Doris Willes-Little trophy for 2019.
Next on the tee was the Sheelah Creasy Bowl competition. 27 clubs took part this year, playing divisional matches through the summer to try and reach the quarters and semi finals. Woodbury Park Golf Club and Staddon Heights Golf Club won through to the final. Woodbury Park Golf Club took the early lead, and although Staddon Heights Golf Club had wins in games 1 & 7, Woodbury Park Golf Club won games 2-6 to finish with a 5-2 match win.
The runners up this year, winning the Olwen Williams Salver are Staddon Heights Golf Club and the winners of the Sheelah Creasy Bowl for 2019 is Woodbury Park Golf Club.
On to the President’s Trophy which also had 27 teams in the divisional stages this year. There were some real battles in the quarters and semi-finals with Dainton Park Golf Club and Saunton Golf Club making it all the way to the final. The first 2 results were a win a-piece but then Dainton Park Golf Club edged ahead and, following a win on the 19th hole in one game, took the match victory. I am pleased to report that the sheep, rather startled by the tee shot it stopped with its' bottom on the back of the 19th, suffered no ill effects!
The Saunton Golf Club ladies took home the runner up trophy and the winners of the President’s Trophy for 2019 is Dainton Park Golf Club.
The last final of the day was for the scratch matchplay competition, the Still Cup. The final was between Torquay Golf Club, who have won the cup for the past 3 years, and Tavistock Golf Club - the club where the Still Cup originated. On a day where Tavistock Golf Club were not able to field their best team, Torquay Golf Club proved much the stronger side, winning 5 games to take the match.
The winners of the E Young Bowl is Tavistock Golf Club and the winners of the Still Inter-Club Challenge Trophy for 2019 is Torquay Golf Club.
We held the trophy presentation ceremony with Yelverton Golf Club's Lady Captain Sue Gullick MBE welcoming all the players, caddies and supporters to the club. DevonGolf President Carolyn Maynard thanked our hosts and congratulated all the ladies for a great season of golf before presenting the runners-up and winners' trophies.
My grateful thanks to Yelverton Golf Club for hosting us – to General Manager Colin, the Pro Shop and Greens staff and to Tim and the bar/catering staff. Special thanks to Lady Captain Sue and her ladies for all their help, particularly with ball spotting and the beautiful flowers on the trophy table.
I would like to say a huge thank you to County President Carolyn and County Captain Annie for all their support and help over the summer months. I would also like to thank the ladies and gentlemen who have given their time to be Rules Officials and my DevonGolf colleagues for their support.
Lastly, a big thank you to all the ladies I have been in contact with during the season – by email, on the phone and in person – it is a pleasure communicating with such a lot of enthusiastic people! The weather has not been kind to us this year and some games were played in horrendous conditions but we managed to get through because of the cheerful willingness of the ladies and the help of club/DevonGolf officials to keep things going.
This is the end of another great season of inter-club competition and I look forward to a great golfing year in 2020.
Rosie Burnham
Ladies' Inter-Club Match Secretary