Handicap 2026

Secretary's Shield

Middlesbrough: Dennis Scarr 0.5, Julian Gibson 7, Brian Gardner 8, Nigel Drury 10.
Fylde: Liz Wilson 3, Andrew Webb 6, Betty Bates, Barry Broughton 14

The day started with beautiful blue skies. The lawns were set out by the wonderful hosts Pendle and made a lovely welcome to this gathering.

The pairing of Betty/Liz with Julian/Brian was a tussle in the morning with both teams jarring balls in hoops and overhitting on the fast lawns . Brian kept control scooping to hoops and running them but Julian more traditionally used four ball breaks. Betty and Liz hit in a number of times setting up breaks but the came off the lawn with their croquets on the fast lawns. 3 times Betty broke down at the same hoop with relatively short shots, and insisted the hoop be checked, which proved to be ok and just a mental bogie hoop for her. Fylde were kept on their toes but Middlesbrough eventually won 26-17.

Barry versus Denis was an unusual match , Barry had never played anyone so low in handicap before and appeared to be playing cautiously, worried about his opponent could do. Barry took his first ball to penult and with his second he peeled penult, attempted the peel on rover with forward ball going through and skewing the second for end of turn. He allowed Denis a few turns which he could not make use of. Eventually Barry went through Rover and pegged one of his off, leaving himself to windscreen wipe across the peg. A few hoops were made by Dennis but broke down at hoop 4 leaving Barry to finish winning 26-3.

Nigel and Andrew was a tightly fought contest with both players making some splendid shots. In the end Fylde were victorious winning by a thin margin 21-19.

In the afternoon Betty had her determined head on against Brian, promising to do better than the morning efforts. With her first ball she got to two back. Brian played some lovely scoops to the hoop but Betty ensured whenever she left the lawn his balls were split up and her own was set for a rush. Betty played well getting to rover with both balls with almost an hour and half to go, but messed up a croquet where Brian was stuck in his hoop 5 and in her attempt to knock him out made it difficult for herself to continue. A few nip and tuck moments but in the end Betty victorious winning 26-10 with 45 minutes to go.

Liz played Denis and unusually she received 3.5 bisques. She used 3 to run hoop one then pulled herself together later, putting together some fabulous breaks and only lost by 5, Denis winning 26-21.

Nigel versus Barry was a war of attrition with both players on and off the lawn, with some good hit ins and set ups, but in the end Barry won 21-13 Andrew wore down Julian in the final match, showing his value of MVP, beating him 26-10 and it resulted a handicap change for him to 5.

The captains thanked Pendle for their hospitality and the use of their lawns in order to offer a neutral venue to the travelling players. The sun still shone at the end and everyone was  in high spirits and very happy (including the losing team). What a lovely day.

Posted by, Betty, 8th May

Fylde 4 Bury Peelers 3

Fylde: Lee Hartley -1.5, Betty Bates 8, Barry Broughton 14, Robert Bentwood 20.
Bury Peelers: Richard Leach 10, Phil Nuttall 10, Margaret Eccles 11, Vi Richards 20

For the first game of the season Fylde were home to Bury Peelers. The weather all week had been glorious so the bitter cold weather and the heavy lawns were a surprise to all. There were a number of club house and car visits needed to add extra layers and summer hats were swapped for warmer ones. Both teams struggled to get the run of the lawns. The first outing for newbie AC player Robert was an easing in, doubling with Fylde's number one Lee. The play against the Bury pairing of Phil and Vi was very cat and mouse, but eventually Fylde won 24-13.

For the first two hours of the match between Margaret and Betty, the Bury player was the favourite, but Betty managed to put together a few breaks later on and eventually won +3. Barry made a great start against Richard getting to one back and broke down unfortunately leaving Richard a great set up for a 4 ball break which he took advantage of going to 2 back having only used 1 bisque. Both players were on and off the lawn but Richard eventually winning with the only 26 pt finish of the morning.

Result at lunch Fylde 2-1.

In the afternoon the weather warmed up considerably and players from both sides removed many layers of clothing. Lee played Richard in the afternoon. Richard got to hoop 2 with his second turn with Lee still to put on his. When Lee had his turn he made light work of going to penult in a wonderful display of finesse in less than 25 minutes. Richard did some lovely roquets and some very angled hoops and broke down late on his turn. A few missed roquets by both players made an exciting ending, Lee eventually the victor, pegging out and winning plus 3. Phil and Betty's game was a scrappy affair with both playing very defensively. With 20 minutes to go Betty was behind by one hoop, but managed to picked up a few later continually separating her opponent. She eventually won plus 3.

Robert versus Vi was a nip and tuck game with Vi eventually winning plus 4. Barry against Margaret was a war or attrition with Margaret finally the victor plus 3 on time. The lawns remained heavy and the scores reflected the hard work by all the players, as only 2 players pegged out in the whole day.

Despite losing Bury remained jolly, and the two teams posed happily for a group photo as one would with good friends. Captain Betty would like to thank all the helpers for setting the lawns, for clearing away and all the helpers who made tea and tidied the club house afterwards, it was very much appreciated.

Posted by, Betty, 28th April