On Thursday 21st June a team of 4 Bronze Division ladies from St Austell competed in the annual County Bronze Shield, this year the venue being at Bude & N Cornwall Golf Club. The day was dry and eventually gave way to some late afternoon sun, but a persistently strong & cold northerly wind made play difficult for the field of 72 players representing 18 Cornish clubs. Our valiant team, despite lengthy rounds of 5 ½ hours, endured the conditions to all complete their medal rounds. Overall our ladies were not in the placings, but can be proud of their persistence in such testing conditions. Well done and a big thank you to our lady players – Sylvia Rawle, Chris Byron, Gill Dinnis, and Madi Jago – for giving up their day to represent our Club on a tough course in very trying conditions. And another thank you to their caddies – Gill Shephard, Margaret Hancock, Jackie Nile, and Frank Giles; thank you to our Lady President Shirley Best and her husband who supported us out on the course; and thank you to Pansy for keeping us company!
The Bronze Shield was won by the hosting team, Bude, but it’s worth noting that conditions were so difficult that no player from any of the participating clubs managed to play to their handicap. We look forward to the Bronze Shield next year which we will be hosting at St Austell and, hopefully, in more benign conditions.