The bright sunshine, tempered by a chill north-westerly wind, brought the best out of Tenby's 'B' team when they travelled to Glyn Abbey on Tuesday. Four of the team of six, plus travelling reserve Peter Hart, had not played the course before, so did not know what to expect.
John Hancock and Paul Nixon led the way as they tried to gain advantage over Mike Wilkins and Bobby Sander. As with all three four-balls, handicaps were evenly matched, so it was down to the state of play on the day.
It was a rather shaky start from the visitors who found themselves four holes down after six. They rallied to square the match on the 10th hole and were buoyed at the prospect of perhaps edging ahead. Concentration must have wavered as they forfeited the next two holes through silly errors. Mike and Bobby won three consecutive holes to give themselves an unassailable lead. John and Paul were playing catch-up again and this time they were unable to narrow the gap, losing out by four and two.
Fortunately, the following groups were unaware of the drama and disappointment ahead, so just set out to do themselves justice. Paul Bradley and Des Stone watched Eddie Alderton put his first drive into the trees and then watched Gerald Davies end up in the ditch. Paul was safely over and proceeded to win the hole with a five. Des's long putt on the second for a half kept them in the lead.
Complementing each other's play, Paul and Des extended that lead to four holes after seven. Eddie responded by winning the ninth to reduce their deficit, but could do nothing but watch as Des sank a long putt on the 200-yard par three to regain a four-hole lead.
The game ended on the 14th when the Tenby pair made the most of a long par five to seal a win. One match apiece, so everything rested on the shoulders of the final pairing. Allen Watts provided the broad shoulders, while Rod Clarke provided the sparkling golf.
The cold must have affected his bare legs because Allen swung awkwardly in the opening holes and experienced a slight pull in his back muscles. This affected his game somewhat, but he was well able to support Rod in their quest for glory.
Playing against Glyn Abbey team captain, Jeff Peace, and his partner Ken Chislett, the Tenby pair opened up an early two-hole lead. With Rod striking the ball well, they managed to maintain their lead all the way round. In a style befitting his level of play, Rod won the eighth with a two, landing the ball just 15 inches from the hole for a tap-in. With a number of holes halved, they never extended the gap, but were able to maintain their position to complete the match two up.
Glyn Abbey had reached the quarter-finals in last year's competition, so this was a good win for the Tenby team on a strange course. Typical of seniors golf was the friendly spirit in which all matches were played and the helpfulness of the home players to point out the numerous hazards.