Bournemouth Mixed Pairs

Bournemouth in the county of Dorset is consistently ranked as one of the best golf tours in the British Isles. Many fine courses are clustered together within a few miles. Two of the best are Parkstone & Ferndown.

Day 1 Parkstone

It was the first event ever where the author woke up in his own bed and walked to the 1st tee! Parkstone was presented in superb condition with the previous days rain taking the fire out of the course and the greens now receptive to a well struck shot. As the group teed off the clouds disappeared to leave a warm humid day with just a touch of breeze.

The fourball of Ron & Sandra Wildman (Liphook) & David & Kathy Matthews (Long Ashton) returned after having a wonderful game together. They had matched each other blow for blow and when the their scores were added up each had fired a wonderful 39pts. Having played consistently over the last couple of months, John & Alison Moss (Goodwood) continued their fine form after putting out on the 18th and signing for a wonderful 41pts.

But the day belonged to the team from Market Harborough. Jim Jacobs & Angela Allington had dovetailed beautifully around the Parkstone layout. Each contributing to the card nine times, they had played a stunning round of golf to record a fantastic 45pts. They would hold a four shot lead going into tomorrows round.

Day 2 Ferndown

We were expecting to arrive at Ferndown to an immaculate presented course and was not disappointed. Having held Open Qualifying just a few days before and hosts of the English Amateur at the beginning of August, the course was in superb condition. The weather matched with clear blue skies and no breeze with temperatures hitting 27 degrees.

Scoring was proving to be slightly easier in the perfect conditions. The solid pairing of David Beaney & Alison White (Gerrards Cross) was to prove this point when they returned to the clubhouse and signed off with a fine 41pts. This was to be quickly matched by the duo “very much in the groove” as John & Alison duplicated their score of the previous day to set a wonderful 36 hole total of 82pts.

Then midway through the group Bryan & Pearl Powell (Colne Valley) posted their card where there was a 1 circled on the 14th. Bryan had scored his first ever “hole in one” Unfortunately, none of the group had seen it go in. “We looked to the left of the green, over the back and finally took a look in the hole, it was a nice surprise” said Bryan. It certainly smartened up the scorecard as they joined the pairs on 41pts. In all the excitement, Warrick & Gill Dawson had calmly signed for a stunning 43pts. The Prestbury duo had returned to form, with their scorecard containing numerous birdies.

This left the stage for our overnight leaders to see if they could hang on. Boy did they produce. Even with Jim suffering from a slight hangover from the previous night celebrations, they  matched the weather and scorched around Ferndown in 44pts. Jim had played the back 9 in 1-over par gross to confirm their dominance over the two days and take the title by 7 shots!