For the second time this summer Fairways returned to Wales and to the impressing Vale Resort, a 650-acre private estate nestled in the beautiful countryside near Pontyclun. Not only possessing two championship golf courses, The Lakes and The National, it is also the official hotel to both the Welsh Rugby and Football teams.
Heavy rain the night before and early morning made for soft conditions for the first round over The Lakes course. As the group began to tee-off the rain subsided and gave way to clear but blustery conditions. Scoring was going to be tricky over a tight course that has water hazards on 12 of the 18 holes.
The very first card in though proved our predictions completely wrong, when long standing clients of Fairways, Colin & Jane Wayman, posted a fantastic 41 points setting the target for the rest of the field to catch. Royal North Devon members, Jeremy & Ruth Horn in the very next group came very close when they signed for a commendable 39 points. Low handicap duo, Peter Lockett & Teddy Bevan fired a solid 38 points but it wasn’t until Jim & Ann Green returned to the clubhouse and their card was checked that we found out we had joint overnight leaders as they matched the leading score earlier in the day of 41 points.
In the evening we returned to the hotel for the group dinner where we all enjoyed a fantastic meal and plenty of wine!
The group awoke on day two to bright blue skies and the anticipation of taking on the Wales National, the longest course in Wales from the back tees should you wish to take on the challenge. We instead stuck to our normal yellow tees for the gents but still a mighty challenge at just over 6,600yds!
Joint leaders Colin & Jane Wayman, in the second group out, returned with a fantastic score of 38 points. Were these to be the winning pair? With so much of the field still to complete their rounds it was a nail-biting wait. As the scores came in it became clear it was going to be a tough total to match. In the middle of the pack, Derek & Jane Shiels posted a solid 36 points which was un-rivalled until one of the final groups out, which included the duo of Mike Hull & Christine Patton, broke out of the pack to produce a brilliant “best of the day” round of 39 points. The Wayman’s had taken the spoils and The Vale Mixed Pairs trophy was heading back down the M5 to Exeter!
Many thanks to all the staff at the Vale Resort for the superb service and accommodation we all received during our stay. We look forward to returning soon!
The Lakes
1st Jim & Ann Green 41pts
2nd Jeremy & Ruth Horn 39pts
Wales National
1st Mike Hull & Chris Patton 39pts
2nd Derek & Jane Shiels 36pts
Overall Winners of The Vale Mixed Pairs
Colin & Jane Wayman 41pts + 38pts Total 79pts
Congratulation to all our Winners!