Despite threatening weather forecasts and overcast skies, the rain held off yet again for the Lawle Guby Open, delayed by two weeks from the original planned (sunny) date due to yet another failure by Lawle Guby to organise his diary effectively and meaning that, once again, Lucy Guby was left at home minding the children rather than being out on the course challenging to regain the title. Despite a late withdrawal from Wiggy and no-shows from Malcolm, Jacki, Jimmy D, Liz and Jeff, there was a record turn-out of 18 competitors - Ashley and Keith making their debuts in the competition.

As defending champion, it fell to Robert to tee off. Despite barracking from the crowd, his mis-hit shot made the green, setting him up with a solid 4 to open his defence of the title. Only Gary and the debutants Ashley and Keith were able to improve on this score at the first hole while Martyn and Phil equalled it.

After the nerves of the first hole, things usually settle down at the second and this year proved to be no exception as Robert struck a 3 and Gary added another 3 to his par at the first. There were a number of 4's at this hole plus the 10 that Trevor managed to amass to equal the record set by Jimmy D the previous year and meaning that Trevor now holds the high score records for holes 1, 2 & 3.

Hole 3, the longest on the course, was negotiated without too many problems for the competitors, including notable 3's for Eddie and Phil. Gary's own run of 3's ended by scoring a 4, as did Robert to continue his dangerous start. Dale managed a 6 to add to her 5's on the previous holes to continue what was a ominously good start for someone with a handicap of 45. After the longest hole comes one of the shortest in the competition and the scene of many birdies in the past. Although most players negotiated it without too much trouble, there were no birdies or pars this year.

Holes 5-9 are traditionally where players either try to consolidate a good start or attempt to steady the ship after a poor start. Robert struck a couple more 3's to continue his spirited defence of the title. Martyn did the same, scoring a 3 or a 4 on all of the holes on the front 9 - ending up with the best front 9 gross score of 34. Eddie went one better by adding three more pars, ending up one shot worse than Martyn's total over the front 9 but equalling Robert's 35. As usual, Andy W and Phil were also in the mix with 36 but Ashley, Keith, Paul and Shandy were all but out after scoring 45 or over. Dale was still in contention, scoring 56, but her handicap meaning she was on nett 11 - although she would have to improve over the back 9 to mount a serious challenge.

The back 9 is where dreams of victory are traditionally shattered for a number of players. Jake's 9 at the 11th probably put him out of the running. For Robert, this happened at the 12th where a tee shot into the heavy rough saw him end up with a 9. Martyn scored a 5 at the same hole - his only score which wasn't a 2, 3 or 4 but his low handicap meant that his dreams were all but over for another year. However, he did have the consolation of becoming the first ever player to birdie the 152yd 15th hole. Eddie's 6 at the 17th (preceded by two 5's) meant that he had thrown the title away over the course of three consecutive holes, he eventually finished just one shot behind the eventual winner. Trevor's three 7's over the back nine cost him dearly. Although never in contention, Shandy seemed happy to hit 20 shots (11 over par) over the last three holes to snatch the wooden spoon by one shot. After instigating a handicap fixing investigation regarding Robert's recent scores, it is ironic that he will now be subject to a similar enquiry himself. Jas grabbed the Closest to the Pin trophy in his debut season, although how he then managed to 3-putt from that position is a mystery.

Paul, Andy W and Phil all managed to birdie the 18th, but it was left to Dale to finish the back 9 with a solid 5 to grab the coveted trophy from Eddie by one shot, who was lucky to still be in the competition at all after failing to pay his entry fee and setting up side-bets at the final hole in a vain attempt to raise the required £3. Luckily, the prize money for 2nd provided him with the necessary funds.

Dale's 5 at the last meant that she also equalled a long standing record - she has now played 54 holes in a row over 3 competitions and 4 years without scoring a par and, unless she can open next year's competition with a 3, will take this record from Liz in 2011.

The trophy presentation was marred by the discovery that Phil had pawned the original 11 year old trophy (now the Gross Score trophy) to raise funds to feed his growing Wham Bar addiction. His promise to provide a new trophy for 2011 was scant compensation for the loss of this piece of history, pictured here. Phil and Martyn jointly won the Gross Score trophy, although the loss of the treasured trophy meant that once again Martyn was left with nothing to show for a great performance. There were loud cheers upon the presentation of the wooden spoon to Shandy, although he declined the £3 prize money.

Once again the competition has been a great success - we look forward to seeing everyone on 11th September 2011 for the 13th Lawle Guby Open.