Horsham golfing seniors scramble off the back tees

Driving off from the back tees adds an extra test of skill to the round as it requires a more powerful shot from a different perspective and the par threes suddenly present unusual challenges. The hazards are in unexpected new positions and the teams have to come up with fresh strategies to score the best they can.

Each player in a team of three must take at least five drives, hopefully not leaving the eighteenth to the person who has only taken four and is then under pressure to deliver or risk adding shots to the final score. After everyone has driven off on each hole the team chooses which ball is to be played next and all three take their next shot from that position keeping a note of whose drive is taken.

Hoping that at least one of the team has managed to land their ball on the fairway and gone a long way, the process is repeated of choosing the ball to be played and all hitting their next shot from there, hole by hole until the ball is putted out.

The Tuesday Horsham Mixed Seniors saw a good turnout and enjoyed fine weather for this competition. Playing off 15% of the combined handicaps the teams carded some very good nett scores.

In first place were Kevin Lark, Rob Neal-Smith and John Lines with a nett score of 57.5, and a very close second went to Howard Mannion, Kim Limbrick and Jeremy Simpson who came in on nett 58. The winning team were presented with their prizes by Howard Mannion, last year’s Seniors’ Captain.

There was an equally good turnout and final nett scores for the Wednesday Seniors with John Dodsworth, Alan Butt and Den Warner taking first place on nett 58.7. Hot on their heels in second place were Peter Allen, Peter Bayles and Ian Purton with a score of nett 59.