Greetham Valley Ladies golfers have retained their title of Lincolnshire Scratch League Champions with a victory Woodhall Spa at Boston Golf Club.

The team of Liz Haughton, Izzy Haughton and Sue Brand put up a fantastic performance against a very tough team in a match which went to the wire and required extra play-off holes.

First out was Ladies captain Liz who won the first points of the day with a 6 and 4 victory and this was followed by daughter Izzy who secured a vital half to ensure that whatever happened in the last match, Greetham would have another bite at the cherry.

Last out was Sue Brand who fought relentlessly but was eventually pipped by 2 and 1.

With the match points being halved, Liz was required to go out again in a sudden death shoot-out against Woodhall's best player and, as the tension rose, the first four holes were halved until Liz held her nerve to win the fifth to ensure victory and retain the salver for Greetham.

On Saturday, the September Monthly Medal was played, and conditions allowed a very tight battle at the top of the table.

Coming in third place, Nigel Broadbent (handicap 12) had an excellent start to his round with a number of pars but a triple bogey on the ninth hole meant that all that good work was undone.

Coming home, a birdie on the fourteenth, along with five pars meant that things were looking good for a higher finish until trouble on the last restricted his overall score of nett 70.

Just ahead of Nigel, on nett 69, was Matthew Curtis (15) who also had a strong front half at only four over gross (thanks to a birdie on the seventh) and, by dropping only one shot over the next three holes, things were looking very good for a strong performance.

The last few holes, however, turned out to be challenging as Matthew leaked shots on all the remaining holes to finish perhaps lower than he might have wished.

The overall winner was Mark Haynes (15) who carded a great score of 66 nett thanks to a very steady front nine of only three over gross. Holes 14 and 15 caused Mark to drop seven shots to the card but a birdie on 17 and a finishing par kept him well out front of the field.

Following this competition Paul Thwaites still leads the Martin Boughton Order-of-Merit with 112 points, closely pursued by Daniel Kettle on 108 and Wayne Porter on 90. With three OoM competitions to come the finish will be tight.

The Ladies September Medal saw Izzy Haughton (9), fresh from the excitement of the County Scratch League Finals, play some excellent golf as she turned in a score of nett 73.

Izzy bookended her front nine with double bogeys on 1 and 9 but also slotted three birdies to turn at only two over gross. The return was not quite so variable, but Izzy still compiled a further four pars to see her atop the leader-board.

Close behind, on nett 74, was Helen Woolley (22) with a round in which she really only struggled on the long sixteenth, but the highlight must be a par on the tenth which set her up for a steady back nine.

Third spot went to Gilly Grant (9) with her round of nett 74. Gilly was the very model of consistent play on the front half with only three dropped shots and it was more of the same on the back nine until problems arose on the fifteenth and thereafter, she took three bogeys to finish and this pushed her back into bronze position.

In the Ladies Mid-Week Stableford, Lesley Young (15) came out top with a score of 38 points thanks to a strong front nine and points being scored on all holes.

Lesley had a few problems on the par fives but negated these, to some extent, with eight pars overall although a double bogey on the last was disappointing.

Close behind was Rachel Southwell (26) who just lost out on countback to Lesley despite finishing with a par on the last. That apart it was a failure to score on the third which really penalised her as her front nine was particularly strong.

Third spot went to Gilly Grant (9) in spite of securing an excellent birdie on the 11th; Gilly was strong on the last nine holes which just kept her in front of Dee Hinch who finished fourth.

On Tuesday, the Ladies Golden Girls competed in a stableford competition and it was Eileen Pare (27) who came out top with a score of 36 points. Eileen played to her handicap on the front half (which included a birdie on the third) but struggled on the return half where she had to enter two no scores on her card although these were mitigated by three pars.

Sandy Begy (34) took the runner-up position with 34 points and she, like Eileen, struggled over the back half as she also had two failures to score; Sandy was, however, delighted to card a six on the fifteenth. Third position went to Peggy Smith (32) with a score of 32, the highlight of which was a par on the fourteenth.

The Gents Mid-Week Stableford Qualifier was played in blustery conditions which restricted scoring across most of the field and it was Craig Allan (12) who eventually topped the board with a score of 39 points.

Craig had a terrific front half with six pars which was only marred by a failure on the third and he continued in this fashion on the return holes; another failure on the tenth was negated by an additional three pars and two birdies (on 12 and 17) which kept the score ticking over.

Just behind was an early starter, Tom Caldicott (7) who totalled 37 points thanks to thirteen pars and scoring contributions on all holes bar the eighth. Tom was particularly strong on the return half where he dropped only two shots to the card.

Third spot was taken by Nick Briars (10) who also scored 37 points but he was stronger on the front nine which was the eventual decider in the countback calculation; although Nick had six pars on the return it was double bogeys on 14 and on the last which were his undoing.

On Saturday, the Gent's Friendly Team played at home against Burghley Park in perfect conditions. Burghley, still reeling from their recent home defeat to Greetham and with the customary closure of their course due to the horse trials, were led by their captain, Bill O'Driscoll, and were able to field a very strong side.

The Valley course was in excellent condition enabling play at the highest level and the home side turned in one of their best performances of the season with convincing wins for in-form partners, Max Maksymiw and Craig Allan, winning 3 and 2 against the visitors club and vice-captain whilst other successful pairings included Packa Risi and Dean Wilkinson winning by 2 and 1, Geoff Woolley and Steve Roche winning 2 and 1, whilst Malcolm Boyd and Ian Lidbetter came home 2 and 1.

There were halved games for Chris Hatch and Chris Howe, and Micky Fish and Sam Bull.

The only losing side was the pairing of Peter Wood and Ian Cunningham who lost 4 and 2. This loss toppled Peter Wood from the player of the year slot, elevating Chris Hatch to the top of the leader-board.

Despite Burghley Park fielding their strongest side this season, they were unable to affect the resilience of the home side, who continue unbeaten at home all season.

In the Seniors section, the September Medal on the Lakes course produced a winner in Fred Want (22) thanks to a round with five pars and no score worse than a double bogey.

Fred has been playing very steadily recently and this win was no real surprise to his playing partners.

Although the second hole caused some problems Fred was two under nett par at the turn and an improved performance on the return (at three under par) set him up for the winner's podium with a nett score of 67.

Just behind Fred, on countback, was Steve Harbour (9) who cruised around the front half in only two over gross and was looking well placed to better that as he stood on the eighteenth tee at level gross par only to run into problems on the last with a double bogey which ultimately pushed him down in the countback calculation.

Third spot went to Roy Flavell (29) with an excellent score of nett 68. Roy's game was almost identical in each half with one par on either side of the halfway house but trouble with the water on the last nearly conspired to give third spot to a resurgent Joe Ball who finished only one shot further back.

In the 9 Hole Qualifier, Peter MacDonald-Pearce came top with Rod Wells in second place.