After so many competitions had to be cancelled this season it is a great relief to get back to some degree of normality with the staging of the Honiton Golf Club, club championships, writes Ann Desmoulins.

The championships were originally set to be played in June, but, like so much local and national sport, the Coronavirus pandemic left countless events being postponed.

The club championships are the most important events in the club calendar and are a real test of a golfer’s stamina, being played over 36 holes.

Saturday’s weather obliged and the course looked in very good condition.

There was some terrific play on display and, at the conclusion, the men’s champions, with very impressive scores of gross 70 and 67 for a total of 137, was Ben Phillips.

Oliver Cave was second with his rounds of 82 and 74, for a total of 156 and third, with scored of 81 and 76, was Michael Abraham.

The ladies also played their event, with their champion being the ever-popular Sarah Loader with scores of 93 and 87 for an overall score of 180.

Second was Ann Trayling with 94 and 97 for 191, and third was Elizabeth Ward with 100 and 95 for a total of 195.

Many congratulations, to the two champions.

There was no formal ladies competition over the past week, so many gathered to play some friendly golf without the pressure of trying to match or better their handicaps, so a lot of fun was had.

The Honiton seniors played for the Anniversary Salvers, a competition which is a two-ball team format, best score to count on each hole.

To make it interesting there is no ‘playing with your mates’ or picking the best golfer in the seniors’ section to play with, it is a drawn competition and quite often throws up unlikely winning combinations.

The winners this year with 46 points were Roger Matthews and Dave Morgan. Followed in second place by seniors’ captain David Scott and Peter Clarke, Third place was determined by countback with Steve Butcher and Phil Faulkner ultimately taking the spot with 42 points.

There were five twos and all were scored on the second hole with the successful players being: Brian Morrison, Jim Wallis, Nigel Broadbent, David Woodruff and Paul Ritchie.