This week saw the start of the qualifying season at the club with Stableford competitions the order of the day!

The Ladies Stableford took place on Tuesday 16th, which was over 16 holes. 34 ladies entered, playing in very challenging strong winds.

Division 1 was won by Hilary Ingram, 28 points, closely followed by Carole Whiles, 27 points and Susie Stuart-Brown, 26 points. Division 2 was won by Lydia Scott, 28 points, Sue White, 26 points and Vanda McKenzie, 24 points.

Saturday’s Stableford competition was contested in sunny conditions over 16 holes. Division 1 was won by Men’s Captain, David Everingham with 35 points followed by Simon Rothwell on 33 points and Tom Hesketh on 32 points. Division 2 was won by Mike Flatley on 34 points who was 2 points clear of Rob Memmott on 32 points and Richard Little on 30 points. Division 3 had a clear winner, Richard Goodhand on 34 points, three points clear of Nick Brown and Stephen Duffy both on 31 points, with Nick coming second on count back. The Two’s Club produced 18 winners.

Unfortunately, the Ladies Foursomes Cooper Brown trophy and County Foursomes qualifier couldn’t take place on Tuesday 9th April as the course was closed due to another deluge of wet weather. The Cooper Brown trophy will hopefully be rescheduled later in the season.

Saturday’s 4BBB Stableford competition was put on by PGA Professional Martin Padgett, with the weather being dryer at the end of the week, the competition was held over 16 holes. It’s fair to say that there were a few tired players in the clubhouse afterwards! To mix it up, the par 5 holes were worse ball to score. A total of 100 players took on the challenging blustery conditions.

In third place with 34 points was Nigel Brown & Chris Booth, second were Mike Rogers & Sam Crawshaw with 35 point who were beaten by a point by Julian Graham-Rack & Richard Goodall who scored an impressive 36 points.The Saturday Two’s Club produced 12 winners.

Every golfer in the UK is only too aware of the severely adverse conditions which have prevented them getting on to their course. This is underlined by the rainfall figures for Pannal for the first two months of the year. The 2023 total for January and February was 116 mm (4.6 inches): for the same period this year it was 219 mm (8.6 inches), in other words almost double. Despite this various winter work programmes are underway to ensure the course is at its best once the better weather arrives.

The ladies did manage a 13-hole Fourball Betterball competition on Tuesday February 27th which was won by the combination of Vanda Mckenzie and Betsy Haldon with 29 points. Close behind on 28 were Ruth Skaife-Clarke and Ladies’ Captain Clare Davies who needed a card count to leave Julie Parry and Sandra Taylor in third.

Although there was no other competitive golf in the past 7 days, on Wednesday February 28th Men’s Vice Captain David Everingham hosted one of the Club’s most important events when the Juniors’ Presentation Evening took place with many junior members, their parents and carers and other members present.

Congratulations went to all the competition trophy winners this year with a special mention to Will Hixon and Bella Mountain winning the Townsend Award, an annual bursary to support entry costs into county and national junior competitions. Bella Mountain also won the Cusens girls merit cup.

David Everingham announced that the Junior Captaincy from 2024 will be realigned with the school year, from September until the following August. In addition, a new role of Junior Vice Captain will support the Junior Captain and the Vice Captain becomes the following year’s Captain.

Everybody present congratulated Will Hixon on his appointment as Junior Captain 2024 to end August when he is then heading off to the USA on a golfing scholarship. The Junior Vice Captain for 2024 is Sophie McCormack. Finally, a vote of thanks was given to retiring Junior Organiser Tim Matthews as juniors welcomed his successor, Simon Stalker.

The ladies played their regular individual 13-hole Stableford competition on Tuesday February 19th with the result being best described as “closely fought”. Top score on the day was 27 points recorded by each of the top three players so the countback process was needed to split them.

Hilary Ingram had to be content with third place with Sue White in second. But it was fast improving Vanda Mackenzie who was the winner.

After another deluge mid-week, only nine holes were available for Saturday’s competition put on by PGA Professional Martin Padgett. To ensure maximum interest for all both players’ scores counted making 36 Stableford points the minimum target for the 16 pairs who returned a card.

With a shorter course due to temporary greens throughout it was highly likely that good scores would result, despite the tough format. After a card count third place went to the pairing of Philip Miles and Brian Hemingway with 40 points, putting the regular partnership of Simon Hanslow and Jonathan Sands into second. But very clear winners with an outstanding 46 points were Max Davies and Tony Robinson.

With temporary greens always making putting a lottery, the Two’s Club on Saturday 24th had only three members with David Whan, Callum Macnair and Tony Robinson all being successful at the third!

Golfers across the country continue to deal with the unprecedented amount of rainfall and are eternally grateful to their course managers and staff for their sterling efforts to keep courses open and playable.

On Tuesday 13th conditions were good enough to stage a Ladies 9-hole Tri-Am team competition in a waltz format with one score counting on the first three holes, two on four to six and all three on the final three.

Winners on the day were the trio of Carole Whiles, Sue Wight and Hilary Ingram who scored 43 points with a round which included one eagle and three birdies and particularly strong scoring on the last three holes. Coming second on a countback was the pairing of Vanda Mckenzie and Rebecca Ellacott who received strong support from their “ghost” partner. In third were the duet of Sandra Taylor and Julie Parry who made 39 points again ably assisted by the “ghost”.

The Saturday 17th competition was an unusual Fourball Betterball Shambles Stableford which required all four players to drive and then the group selected the best positioned drive, and all played a normal Betterball from that point.

13 holes were in play which included three temporary greens which, despite the groups having to pick three drives from each player, lead to very high points scoring across all 22 of the competing quartets.

Leading the field in the early stages were Gareth Whiles, Philip Miles, Jonathan Sands and Simon Hanslow with an excellent 72 points, but a card count later in the day relegated them to third place, meaning second spot went to Tony Robinson, Max and Clare Davies and Matt Wharldall.
But the overall winners with 73 points were Steve Jenkins, Nick Louden, Billy Johnson and Adam Tucker.

There were some interesting outcomes in the Twos Club: 25 players managed a two with Michael Jonas and Stuart Macfarlane both having a pair of two’s. Unusually there were no less than six eagles at the 7th which is normally set at 355 yards: however due to a very forward tee and a temporary green the true hole distance was around 150 yards. Nevertheless Messrs Macfarlane, Wharldall, Flaherty, Stoner, Armstrong and Asquith were very happy with their result.

England Golf hold an annual competition to find the national Champion Handicap Golfer of the Year sponsored by yourgolftravel.

A male and female member from each eligible club is entered into their local Area Final based upon being the players with the lowest aggregate of four net score differentials in individual qualifying club competitions in 2023. The top 6 from the Area Final then go on to the Grand Final at the Hodgkin Course, Woodhall Spa, the home of England Golf.

Going to the 18 hole individual Stableford Area Final at Kirkbymoorside GC on June 2nd ,with the warmest congratulations from all members, will be Tim Considine and Vanda Mackenzie.

Another deluge of rain on Monday January 29th only resulted in a next day closure and by Saturday the course was ready for 16 holes of play with no need for temporary greens.

Once again PGA Professional Martin Padgett staged a 4BBB competition which attracted the usual full Saturday field. The “twist in the tail” this week was the need for both players in the partnership to count their scores on the four par 3 holes.
The target score was therefore 40 points, achieved by 18 of the 49 returns indicating the challenge posed by a full-length course and windy conditions. Once again countback was needed to determine second and third place with consistent contenders Jordan and Callum Jonas’s score of 44 points this week only making third. Second spot went to Winter League partners Gareth Whiles and Andrew Asquith. They finished one point behind winners Chris and Andrew Booth with a commendable 45 points.

There was an improved result in the Twos Club where 21 of the 98 players made a pair, versus 12 out of 82 in the prior week. Three players made a couple of two’s each to bring the total to 24: 11 at the 10th, 5 at the15th, 4 at the 3rd, and just one at the 17th

On Saturday 27th PGA professional Martin Padgett organised a 16-hole Fourball Betterball Stableford. There was an unusual “joker in the pack” as on the final three holes the scores of both players were included.

Course manager Neil Horton was delighted that the strong winds and above average temperatures had combined to create an atmosphere which contributed to the course drying out more quickly and providing good underfoot conditions by Saturday.

41 pairs entered a scoring return and well over half the field made the notional par of 38 points. In addition, 12 players managed at least one pair in the Two’s Club. There were noteworthy performances by Chris Booth and Neil Richards-Smith managing this feat twice, both at the third and tenth holes and Neil Taylor, the only player who managed one at the 15th.

Chris Blantern and Kjeld Rasmussen shot a commendable 44 points which saw them home in third. A card count was needed to separate the two pairs scoring 45 points. This resulted in brothers Callum and Jordan Jonas finishing second, but top spot for the day was secured by Roger Emmett and John Kitson.

On Sunday January 28th, five Ladies entered Round 5 of the Ladies Winter Trophy, which is a 13-hole Stableford competition, with the best score from 3 rounds, of a possible 6, determining the eventual Trophy winner. The winner of Round 5 was Amanda Dunn with 21 points, second place Gerry Callander, 18 points.

With the course drying out well as the rain abated, the ladies still had to wrap up warm for their Tuesday 16th 13 hole Waltz competition. The format was one score to count on hole 1, two scores to count on hole 2, three to count on hole 3, one to count on hole 4 and so on.

Played in teams of three it was the trio of Ladies’ Vice Captain Lynn Sheldrake, Hilary Ingram and Carole Whiles who topped the leaderboard with an impressive 63 points. Just one point behind were Alison Stratford, Sue White and Margaret McNeill on 62. In third place with 57 points were Gerry Callander, Janet Jones and Ladies’ Captain Clare Davies.

Saturday 20th was a Fourball Betterball Stableford over 16 holes: due to very frosty conditions early on, the course was set up with temporary greens throughout. This meant a short course with larger holes making it tougher for the lower handicapper. 70 pairs took part, all of whom achieved the nominal par score of 32 points.

It was a day for very high scoring, proven by the fact that 46 points were only good enough for third, achieved by John Ellacott and Rob Booth. Early starters Derek Hufton and Brian Hamilton were confident that their 47 points would see them on top pf the podium but they had to be content with second place.

It was Past Captains Frank Flaherty and Graham Hindmarsh who came out on top with no less than 48 points, which was just reward for Frank who had been disappointed with second place on two occasions recently. Frank set the pace with four straight gross pars from the first hole and with Graham chipping in from distance on two occasions victory was secured.

The welcome end to the recent heavy rainfall meant that Tuesday Ladies golf was able to resume this week. Each year the Ladies Winter trophy is contested over six weekly rounds of 13-hole Stableford golf with Round Four taking place on Tuesday January 9th.

With only one point separating the top five players, card counts were needed to divide the top three. Ladies’ Vice Captain Lynn Sheldrake finished third with 25 points, one point behind second placed Vanda Mckenzie, but the winner on a countback over Vanda was Gerry Callander with 26 points.

On Saturday January 13th the annual 3 Club plus putter Betterball Medal was held with the usual pre competition discussions about which three clubs were preferred. But as is usually the case, scores were very similar to those made with a full set!

Underfoot conditions had improved considerably over the previous week with the greens reckoned to be the best seen in January for many years. Played over 16 holes the medal format was switched to a Stableford after the rounds were completed to reflect the shorter course. 50 pairs returned cards with a single point separating the top three places.
Phil O’Connor and Rob Booth took third place with 38 points, one behind Alan Pater and Paul Grover on 39. But it was the 40 points of Phil Stott and David Whan which secured their victory.

Everyone is only too aware of the high rainfall totals through most of December and into early January. Pannal GC Course Manager Neil Horton had now reported the full year figures for 2023 when 1024mm of rain were recorded: this compares with 753mm in 2022 and 768mm in 2021, an average increase over the two prior years of no less than 35%.

Anticipating this widely predicted increase the Club decided in 2021 to embark on a comprehensive drainage programme with £150,000 invested to date. Consequently, the course is forced to close for shorter periods and dries out more quickly when better conditions prevail.

As a result, players entering the Fourball Betterball competition on Saturday January 6th encountered a fully playable 13-hole layout with the greens in particularly good condition. After such a long layoff over the holiday period members were glad to get back to the tee and 44 pairs returned a score.

80% of the field achieved the par score of at least 26 points and the overall result yet again was close. A score of 32 points needed a countback to split places two and three. Neil Taylor and Rob Memmott were disappointed to find their 32 points only good enough for fourth: brothers Callum and Jordan Jonas made into third spot pipped only by Peter Ingham and Richard Burcher for second. But the week’s winners by one point with 33 were Gareth Whiles and Steve Duffy

Rainfall records across the district continued to be broken throughout December causing regular closures of all golf courses to the frustration of players.

But on Saturday December 23rd conditions had improved sufficiently for the course to be open for play in a 16 hole format. 27 pairs competed in a Fourball Betterball which as ever proved highly competitive.

Only two Stableford points separated the top four pairs, with the 36 points achieved by David Thomas and Mark Perkins not good enough for a podium place. Third spot on the day went to Peter Jones and Ken Winckle who amassed 37 points.
But the winning score of 38 points needed a card count to split the top two places. In second were Callum Jonas and Chris Matthewman but the winners were regular partners Andrew Booth and Rob Cooper.

Despite the cancellation of the Annual New Year’s Day Hangover Trophy, Pannal members are however looking forward to a busy calendar of events and competitions in 2024

After contending with rain and heavy ground for the last few weeks, members faced another typical winter scene on Saturday December 2nd with a sharp frost, temporary greens and a 16 hole layout.

32 pairs contested the Pheasant Phlutter, the first of Pannal’s long standing seasonal fun events. The Phlutter is played as a Greensomes Stableford and the following week the Turkey Trot is played for where you must have a change of partner from the Phlutter.

There was very good scoring despite the conditions: while countbacks did not come into play the top three places were all separated by just one point. In third place were Andrew Asquith and Neil Davies who scored 42 points.

In second place on 43 were Tim Rhodes and Frank Flaherty, the latter having to be content with the runner-up spot for the second week running. They returned a very solid one under gross following their team tactic of Tim’s drives, mostly straight and on the frost quite along way, and Frank's second shots, also mostly straight and more importantly the right length.

But it was the combination of Derek Hufton and Rob Farnell who achieved the all important additional point finishing with a total of 44 points.

They eagled the par 4 8th with a great drive by Rob leaving Derek with a 25 feet putt which he holed for a two and 5 points. All was going well until a blob at 17, but at 18 Derek put their second shot to 6 feet from 90 yards and Rob holed the putt for a birdie and 4 points thereby clinching the 2023 Pheasant Phlutter.

With Winter Golf now the order of the day, on Tuesday November 7th the ladies played a Tri-Am team event. The scoring format was one score to count holes 1- 4, two to count holes 5,6,7 & 13 and all three players scores to count holes 14 – 18.

This turned out to be a closely fought contest with the top score of 44 points needing a card count to decide the top two places. Carole Whiles, Gerry Callendar and Alison Stratford just edged out the trio of Ladies’ Captain Clare Davies, Julie Smith, and Claire Hutchinson. Just one point behind in third were Sue Wilby, Rebecca Booth and Katie Burke.

Saturday November 11th was the date for a four ball better ball Open Stableford played over 13 holes. 52 pairs entered the competition on wet but fully playable ground with members particularly complimentary about the quality of the greens.
32 points was the nominal par which was achieved by 40 of the competing pairs. It was Phil Stott and David Howes who were home early with an impressive 41 points which was never threatened all day. Second with 39 points were Oliver and Simon Mantle and just one point behind in third were Craig Hunter and Gary Macnair.

On Tuesday October 24th Ladies’ Captain Clare Davies hosted her Captain’s Charity Day raising a fantastic £1587 for vital research into breast and prostate cancer via a donation to Cancer Research UK.

As part of the event the ladies played a Tri-Am Stableford which was won by Rebecca Booth, Amanda Dunn and Katie Burke scoring 47 points. Just one point behind were Vanda Mckenzie, Dee Miller and Sue White who needed a card count to beat Sophie Jacob, Debbie Bruce and Ros Samuels

Clare thanked everyone who had contributed whether it was through donated raffle prizes, cakes and bakes, help on the day, making a donation, bidding in the auction or playing with special thanks to Frank Flaherty for conducting the auction.
The previous week the individual Stableford was won in Division One by Julie Parry with 37 points, comfortably ahead of Jackie Smart and Sophie Jacob who both scored 34 points. Division Two saw in- form Vanda McKenzie romp home with 39 points: Helen Mountford came second on 36 with Natalie York third on 31 points.

Saturday 28th October saw a regular Pro’s Competition which was affected by early morning fog meaning the course was closed to the early starters. When the gloom lifted, 17 pairs competed in a Better Ball Stableford which saw Oliver Hunter and Joshua Chi winning with 36 points. Chris Mathewman and Graham Watson were just one point behind but a countback was needed to confirm their second place. Tony Robinson and Max Davies had to be content with third also on 35

The third stage of the club’s comprehensive drainage programme has been successfully completed over the last 7 days which coupled with green reseeding and fairway verti-draining will ensure the course is well prepared for the winter season with maximum playability during wet periods.

The ladies competed on Tuesday 10th in a three lady team Texas scramble drawn on a low, middle and high handicap basis. The result was a win for the combination of Sandra Taylor, Susan Asquith and Dee Miller whose nett 63 gave them a six shot win over the rest of the field. Second place went to Sophie Jacob, Margaret McNeill and Kate Jesper with a nett 69 but they needed a card count to edge out the trio of Ruth Skaife-Clarke, Susan Taylor and Annie Burke into third.
With major competitions now finished, Saturday 14th was the date for an optional Stableford competed for by 55 players. The changing conditions meant that scoring was clearly difficult with nobody making a level par score of 36 points and only three players scoring a two.

Three players needed to be separated by countbacks to decide the runner-up spots. In third place with 34 points was Phil Stott edged out by Chris Matthewman on the same score. But the competition winner was Tom Hesketh with 35 points. Playing off a plus-4 handicap Tom shot a gross 69 with 10 pars, 4 birdies and an eagle at the par 5 eleventh, seeing him home by just one point.

Finally on Sunday the last of the annual series of Men’s Friendlies took place at home against Moortown GC with a 5-3 win for Pannal. These traditional fixtures of long standing are played alternately home and away each year with the emphasis always on a friendly and convivial contest.

There was a unique event at Pannal last Wednesday 4th October, when the club hosted the annual friendly match versus Yorkshire County Cricket Club. For the first time it became a mixed fixture, with several of Yorkshire’s Diamonds Ladies cricket team combining with former Yorkshire cricketers to face a mixed team from Pannal. It proved to be a most enjoyable event for both clubs and speaking afterwards at the post-match lunch, the former Yorkshire and England off-spinner Geoff Cope outlined how the greater integration of the Diamonds is a key component of YCCC’s vision for the future.

On Tuesday 3rd, the Ladies competed for the Autumn Greensomes and in a field of 14 pairs, Val Smith-Jackman and her partner, Alison Stratford ran out winners with 37 points. Close behind were Ladies’s Vice Captain Lynn Sheldrake and Sue White on 36 points, with Sophie Jacob and Susan Asquith taking third place with 34 points.

Last Saturday it was a Two Ball Texas Scramble, played to a Medal format. For third place there were three pairings tied on 66, with John Jones and Nigel Wright edging Tim Considine and Nigel Brown and the Jonas brothers, Callum and Jordan, via a back nine countback. It was also close for first and second place, with two pairs scoring a highly creditable 64. After a back nine countback, Graham Watson and Simon Stalker won the competition, with Ian Douglas and Oli Hunter taking second place.

Monday September 18th saw an exciting 36-hole duel in the Men’s Handicap Trophy Final between Roger Emmett and David Smith. Begun back in April this individual knockout matchplay competition is a perennial favourite with the final being the 127th match of the series, won two up by Roger.

Roger made a poor start with two double bogies going two down but came back strongly to be only two over par gross for the rest of the first round finishing two up at lunch. David made a fast start again in the afternoon turning the score around to two up by the ninth and looking good. The turning point of the match was Roger getting up and down from the short sided bunker at 11 for the second time in the day. He then went on to win five of the last eight holes to finish two up including knocking a 100 foot putt to around six inches from the hole on the 18th for a par.

Tuesday 18th was the date for the Ladies Annual Medal played by six ladies from Division 1 and the winner of the Medal and Annual Medal was Gail Witcomb (13) with a nett 81 well ahead of Ros Samuels (11) on nett 87 and Vicky Eyre (10) nett 91.

The Freda Rhodes Trophy for veteran ladies was played on Thursday 20th. Contested over 13 holes of the Green course in Stableford format by those aged 65 or over, the winner was Margaret Kershaw with 21 points closely followed by Betsy Haldon on 21 and Gill Roberts on 18.

As previously reported the annual Tiger Trophy was won by Will Eardley beating Carl Bushby 4&3. Talking after the match. Will felt that the turning point of the day was his chip in from the back of the 26th hole for birdie, followed by another birdie at the next to take him three up.

Men’s Captain Martin Boyle took a large contingent of members to Hessle Golf Club for his second Exchange day on Friday 21st. The winning team on the day were Kevin Lynch, Lindsay Mckenzie, Ian McNeill, and Ken Winkle.

On Saturday 22nd 58 pairs teed off in the Cooper Brown Greensomes. Despite white tees set well back and holding fairways following overnight rain, players performed well. There were no less than five pairs on nett 69 needing a card count to decide third place which went to Phil O’Connor and Simon Darbyshire, the latter showing a welcome return to form. A countback was also needed to separate the top two, both with nett 67’s. Second place went to Oliver and Simon Mantle but the Trophy was awarded to Mark Henderson and Nick Tipling with their better back nine.

On Sunday 23rd an Open Stableford was the competition of the day which turned into a father and son one two. Peter Bowerman took the honours with 33 points followed in by son Hector on 30, just one point ahead of Richard Finney on 29 in third place.

Golfers across Europe were delighted to see the ladies retain the Solheim Cup following the superb birdie two at the 17th by Carlota Ciganda. Pannal members were among the first in the UK to be aware of her potential when she won the Girls Under 14’s prize at the North of England Under 14’s championship here in 2003.

With the continuing weather problems the only competitive golf possible at Pannal in recent days was on Saturday November 25th. Men’s Captain Martin Boyle and Chair of Golf Julian Graham-Rack decided to try a different approach by pairing players who would not normally play together. Everyone selected their preferred playing window in one hour segments and the pairs were drawn from everyone entered in that segment. This created a Fourball Better Ball field with some very interesting and competitive pairings.

27 pairs battled it out over 13 holes with the greens once again proving to be in excellent shape despite the prevailing conditions. With everyone hoping at least to make the par standard of 26 points, 70% of the field were able to claim this standard.

Graham Hindmarsh and Derek Christmas were out early and posted what looked like a winning total of 31 points: while no pairs bettered their points score two other pairs had a superior back nine so Graham and Derek had to be content with third place.

There was however a mighty battle for top spot as the contending pairs were playing together. Frank Flaherty and Andrew Asquith were confident that they had edged themselves into a winning position when Frank’s 120 yard 9 iron into a blinding sun finished one foot from the pin to secure three points. But Jon Clayton and Chris Matthewman were not to be outdone: Jon’s 3-wood at 17 finished two feet from the hole for four points. Andrew then holed a 15 footer for par to save a two point swing but in the end it was a back six count-back which secured victory on the day for Jon and Chris with 31 points

Competitive golf for Pannal’s growing Junior Section got underway this week with a Stableford on the afternoon of Sunday March 24th when Jake Dodson showed a clean pair of heels to the rest of the field. His 37 points were eight better than anyone else in a 13 hole round which included four pars and a birdie at the eighteenth.

Mila Dodds came in second place with an excellent 29 points, heading Zach Marsh with 27 in third place.

The ladies held their regular 13-hole winter competition on Tuesday March 26th in the form of a Fourball Betterball Stableford. Third place was closely contested with three pairs carding 29 points and the countback process saw Lesley Southwell and Clare Davies on the podium. 30 points put Jackie Smart and Alison Kitson into third, but it was a total of 33 points by Sue White and Hilary Ingram that gave them victory on the day.

The main competition over the Easter weekend was a Fourball Betterball Open Stableford on Saturday March 30th, again over 13 holes, as ground conditions continue to be weather affected. 53 pairs entered a card, looking for a minimum of 26 points for an even per result, with 42 pairs bettering that target.

Paul Mancey and Nigel Brown carded 34 points to put them in third place. A card count was needed to decide the split of the 35 points for the top two spots. Father and daughter pairing of Rob and Rachel Memmott had to be content with second, but the accolades went to the winners, Tom Page and Michael Jonas.

The regular Saturday Two’s Club produced more winners this week with 12 players hitting a two at the par 3’s, split equally between the 3rd and the 15th. But highlight of the day was Mike Armstrong who hit an eagle two at the 7th.

With the start of the golf season now at last with us, the Ladies opened their programme with a weather enforced change to 13 holes Individual Stableford in two Divisions plus 7 holes for the usual 9 hole competition.

Janet Jones got her season off to a flying start winning Division One with 29 points and also carding the best gross and overall nett for the whole competition. Second in Division One with 27 was Ladies’ Vice Captain Vicky Eyre beating Carole Whiles on countback and recording the only two of the day at the third.

In Division Two Sue White, with 29 points, needed a card count to beat Rebeca Booth into second with Kate Jesper a good way behind on 22 points. Sue and Rebecca scored respectively the best Nett and the best Gross in their Division. In the 7-hole competition Alison Kitson with 13 points won over Margaret Kershaw with 12.

Saturday’s Pro’s Fourball Betterball Competition was contested off the yellow tees over nine holes: with both players scores counting on every hole consistency was the order of the day.. Only 24 pairs submitted a card with 36 points the target, which was achieved by just three pairs.
New member Danny Mills and Richard Jones made it home with a commendable 39 points edging out Chris Booth and Nigel Brown by just one point. Simon Darbyshire and Ken Winckle took third spot with 36 points.

Two’s were also something of a rarity on Saturday with only five scored, three at the third and two at the seventeenth by respectively Oliver Mantle, Ross Kneller, John Kershaw, Nigel Brown and James Gardiner.

Pannal members have joined the English golfing world this week in congratulating 20-year-old Lottie Woad who has won the prestigious Augusta National Women’s Amateur championship. She is the first English player to have won the event, birdieing no less than three of the last four holes at the iconic championship venue. Lottie competed at Pannal in 2018 at the North of England Under 16’s Strokeplay Championship joining a number of previous contestants who made their names in the world of golf including Matt Fitzpatrick, winner of the 2022 US Open.