ON A morning when, despite the preceding weather and the ominous forecast, the course at Forest Hills was declared open, albeit with a few temporary greens and no buggies allowed, the Seniors were still able to take part in an American Greensomes competition, writes Geoff Norris.

The format required both players to hit their tee shots, then play each other’s ball, before selecting which ball to use to complete the hole.

With the competition par set at 72, the winners were Pete Chisholm and John Moore with an impressive eleven under par nett 61. They finished a single shot ahead of Andy Shenton and Michael Simmonds, who in turn pushed Steve Keepax and Terry Osborne into third place on countback. Alan Bridges and Terry Hook finished fourth with a nett 63.

The conditions at Forest Hills showed how playable the course is in winter, with minimal mud on shoes, trousers, or trolleys following Monday’s competition and the course remaining in very good condition.

Entries for the Saturday Stableford were impacted not only by the preceding weather, but also by the forecast for the day. Andy Shenton won Division 1 with 38 points, with John Binnie finishing second. Michael Simmonds again registered the highest score of the day, as his 42 points secured victory in Division 2, with Richard Beddington finishing second on 37. There were no twos recorded, so the kitty will roll over into next week.

The competition on Sunday was set up as a Yellow Tee Stableford. Josh Mathews won Division 1 with a four under par score of 40 points. Andy Warren was second, with Daniel Reese third on countback from Jason Meek and Connor Mullan.

Darren Williams carded the highest score of the day, as his 42 points saw him win Division 2. Rowland Joyce finished second, with Chris Belfitt third.

A level par score of 36 points was enough to see Wayne Stewart win Division 3. Steve Graham was runner up, with Alan Franklin third.

The twos kitty was heavily charged upon, with eleven claims recorded, each worth £3.

The Seniors Yellow Peril Stableford on Monday was split into three and four man teams. The player designated with the Yellow endowment could have his points doubled on that particular hole, meaning it could be famine or feast.

The winners of the triples competition were Ray Innes, Wayne Stewart and Gerald Woodley with a score of 137. Jim Bland, Alex Harvey and Peter Chisholm finished second with 134.

Mike Steward, Roger Hall, Jim Fairweather and Mark Barnard were the winners of the quads, finishing with 175, with Barry Klein, Terry Davies, Sam Woodward and Colin White thirteen points adrift in second place.

The twos kitty, which included last week’s rollover, proved particularly profitable for Tim Hollingsworth, as his birdie on the 14th will see £44 added to his bar account.

Despite challenging conditions, strong scoring across the competitions highlighted both the resilience of the players and the continued winter playability of Forest Hills.