Glorious weather marks the start of the Flying Club society day season

After several seasons of disappointing weather, our loyal Swingers were greeted with warm sunshine and blue skies and a golf course ranked as one of the best in the UK. Hankley Common proved to be one of our most popular venues and it was great to see so many old faces and new ones as well.

Despite this being a joyous occasion, it was tinged with sadness as we remembered our good friend Keith Eustace-Pedlar who passed away last month. Keith was booked to play on the day as he was every other society day and in his memory many of our members played in pink or bright clothes. Keith would have loved that, and we are sure he was watching down on us all yesterday having a giggle as players battled the heather! Nearest the Pin went to Morag Hutcheon, whilst the ladies Longest Drive went to Hankley member Lynne Callender, who has been instrumental down the years, in trying to get us a date to bring Swingers to this wonderful club. The men’s Longest Drive went to Andrew Gray but he was later to be outdone by wife Rebecca on the prizes! In the individual competition, there were some great performances. In sixth place was Gold member Alan Todd with 34pts on a countback, whilst Ian Maybrey took 5th place with 35pts. Fourth spot went to David Ryley who had travelled by train all the way from Doncaster – David scored 36pts. Third place went to Gary Treen with 37pts, but there were two players who stole the show – both Gold members.

Rebecca Gray has been a Swinger since the early years, but this was her first society day, and what a memorable one it was! Rebecca shot 41pts to finish runner up. The clear winner however was Jason Martin. Jason has played in many a Gold day and society day and never really troubled the scorers. However, this was a different story, as he swept away the rest of the field with a stunning 44pts to finish in first place. With Jason only a reserve for the remaining days however, the race for the one society spot in Florida in November is very much open, and we can’t wait to see how the next chapter unfolds in a few weeks time at Wallasey Golf Club. Thank you to everyone who came to Hankley and especially to the likes of David Ryley and John Moore who made the long trek south. Everyone’s loyalty and enthusiasm for Swingers is inspirational. Thank you also to our incredible partners who provided all the gifts and prizes yesterday. Here’s to a memorable S14!