The recently laid cockleshells on the paths of the course, particularly up the hill from the first tee, proved the first obstacle in this second match of the season, so a few canny golfers hit their first drive towards the 18th fairway and set off cross country. Not so Roy Morgan in his buggy, which was left behind the others as it skidded its way up the hill to the fairway, failing to get the necessary purchase to speed it on its way. South Pembs. were the visitors on a cold and showery afternoon, but due to other commitments in the week, they could not field a full strength team. They were only able to provide seven teams and due to one further absentee were reduced to 13 players. Their stalwart captain bit the bullet and re-arranged his squad, setting himself up to play Roy Gundry and Des Stone on his own. This left Newman Vincent and David Morgan to face John George and Dave Evans. It was a canny move, since first blood went to the South Pembs. pair in a brilliant and hard fought match. Newman and Dave were two up after four holes when the proverbial 'Amen Corner' came into play again as they lost the next five holes in succession to two in-form golfers. They never recovered and lost by four and three in what they conceded was a justifiable result. The scene was set - how many more would go the way of the seniors' captain and vice-captain? The answer - none, as the cockleshell heroes rallied to the flag. Ken Gouldsbrough and Owen Monaghan had the pleasure of playing Bob Harris - yes, he's the one who played for Tenby in the opening match of the season. When asked what he thought of the course, he replied that it was not quite what he expected! His local knowledge, however, did not deter the straight-hitting Owen and the in-form Ken, even though he and his partner, Clive Pitten, won the first hole. According to them that was the only thing they did win as Ken and Owen strode purposefully on to a five and four victory. They had to stride on briskly as there a couple of well hit balls from the trio behind to keep them on their toes. Now I wonder who that could have been? Another good display came from Richard Davies and Brian Waters in a game that was somewhat one-sided, according to Jim Boyd and Derek Goodridge, who were on the end of a five and three win for the Tenby pair. They conceded that Richard's steady and accurate driving was the basis for the result, especially when Brian waded in with his pennyworth when he had a shot on a hole. His two on the eighth was the killer blow from which the South Pembs. pair never recovered. Jack Hasdell had a long wait for his tee-off. He had turned up a week early for this game, when the Seniors were in Ireland, and wondered why no-one was there with him. It is rumoured that his wife brought him sandwiches in the locker room in case he missed the tee-off! He and Geoff Aston had a great outing, enjoying an excellent game against Eric Pennington and John Brown, even though they had to concede 26 shots. The Tenby pair were full of admiration for Eric as he walked the course even though he had had a knee replacement operation in December. He did say that he was a bit sore and would have appreciated, and used, a buggy had one been available. Though they won by five and three, Geoff and Jack admitted that they were on the rack up until the ninth and that they had to sink birdie putts to halve a couple of holes. John Hancock bowed to the in-form David Kaye. He stated that his only contribution to the match was a good putt on the eighth green. Graham Thomas could not even capitalise on the three shots that John was giving him and neither he nor his partner, Henry Davies, could keep up with the level of golf produced. They eventually conceded the match on the 16th, losing by four holes with two to play. J. D. R. Williams was expecting an easy game, as he was partnered by Brian Morgan (46 points in Ireland, on a strange course?). Unfortunately, he was disappointed since Brian could not peak twice in a month. As it was, the two of them set out to play with great generosity, trying to give their opponents, Richard Davies and Max Smith, as many holes as they could. Giving away more than 10 shots meant that John had to dig deep, but not deep enough, as they went two down after the first few holes. They held on through the middle of the course and then Brian sank a killer putt on the 10th. This revived the pair and they closed out the match in the final holes. Mike Williams had to play an unsupported game against Roy Gundry and Des Stone, and a fine job he made of it. Although he was driving the ball straight and long, he had to struggle to halve a number of holes with no partner to come in and help him out. Roy tried to help him by 'dumping' many of his second shots and making the air bluer than the cold north-westerly wind and occasional shower could. Mike thought that he had eventually won a hole on the 11th with a five, until Roy reminded him that Des had a shot on the hole and so it was halved. This must have been the final straw as the Tenby pair did not concede another hole, finishing the game on the 14th with a six and four scoreline. Four Tenby players enjoyed their own contest behind the rest, completing 15 holes before joining the teams for the meal. Alan Yates was top dog after enjoying an afternoon with Colin Griffiths, Roy Morgan and Bart Youll. Results: N. Vincent and D. Morgan lost to J. George and D. Evans 4 and 3; J. Hancock and D. Kaye bt G. Thomas and H. Davies 4 and 2; R. Davies and B. Waters bt J. Boyd and D. Goodridge 5 and 3; O. Monaghan and K. Gouldsbrough bt C. Pitten and B. Harris 5 and 4; R. Gundry and D. Stone bt M. Williams 6 and 4; G. Aston and J. Hasdell bt E. Pennington and J. Brown 5 and 4; J. Williams and B. Morgan bt R. Davies and M. Smith 2 and 1.
