Tenby Seniors captain Ken Gouldsbrough, along with able partner Roy Gundry, had a cracking game against Gareth Evans and Chris James. They went one up very briefly, well, after the first hole actually, and then proceeded to go three down, but fair dos, they played themselves back into the game, but after a spell of half a dozen eight-foot putts from the Newport pair, Gareth spoilt it all on the 17th to take the game to dormie, and a last green game went the visitors way.
Vince Shaw and I had an even better game, but only because we won against Tony Greatrex and Cyril Smith. But if Cyril had had his way with his Odyssey putter, then the result might have been totally different. Vince reckoned the putter should have been put somewhere safe from prying eyes, and Tony Greatrex said that Cyril was a great partner to have, but was a pain in the bum to play against, as his prowess with the aforesaid Odyssey was legendary at Newport. He sank putts from everywhere! In fact, on the 13th, he was off the green with a curling putt from 20 feet away, and we might just as well have given him the putt and walked off to the next tee. (no wonder he looked pleased in his picture.) But luckily, we held it together for a 2 up win.
"We have had the heart taken away from us," said David Rees and Tony Morris in unison. Their game against Alan Griffiths and Wayne Harris was one of those games where whatever they did, it just simply wasn't good enough, and it finished on the 17th. We have all had those sort of days, and they don't get any easier do they?
Geoff Aston and John D. R. Williams had a pretty good game against Rhidian Smith and Roy Davies. Never more than two holes in it, it was Geoff's final chip to the pin on 18, that finished two inches from the cup, that sealed the win. Geoff said that he was so pleased with his driving ability, always staying in the right fairway, that his confidence was at a high. John D. R. said that he did his bit as well! But it was also a pleasure to see Geoff resplendent in a brand new Seniors' tie, paid for, still in its wrapper!
Third win for Tenby came from Stan Hudson and David Morgan, whose game against Ralph Nicholas and Tony Bailey was a triumph for Stan, who, according to David, played out of his skin. "Stan is the Man," said David, as they took an early bath on the 15th. Still had a good walk to go mind you, but...
Wins were coming thick and fast now for Tenby, and Hywel Probert and Newman Vincent sealed theirs by 2 and 1 against Howell Williams and Cliff Sharp. But if Howell hadn't brought his 'fat shaft' driver, the score might have been considerably more. "He never missed a fairway with it," said Hywel. Sounds like Geoff Aston and Howell could make a good team.
Des Stone and Bob Harris were slapping each other on the back, and giving high fives, calling each other tiger and so on, over their win against Malcolm Jack and Colin Mundy. But even though they won the first three holes, they still had a bit of a struggle against a determined Newport pairing, and it was not until the 16th, that they managed to close out the game. It was probably the relief of it all! Des forgot his suit and tie for the second week running. What do you do at home that affects the memory?
John Bonar and David Leeke made a good partnership against John Civil and Huw Owen, as they recorded a solid 2 and 1 win, and offset the loss made by Roy Morgan and Derek Bath against Dai Thomas and Glan Rees. Roy put the loss down to lack of concentration, as he was reminiscing at length with Dai, over their schooldays at Amman Valley Grammar School. The school bike sheds were not the place to be when considering taking up golf!
Finally, Brian Waters and Alan Keating put the final touches to a good day for Tenby, by recording a 4 and 2 win over Herbie Rowley and Roy Philips. It was, according to Brian, a better understanding of the vagaries of the gusts of wind that were such a feature of the day.
A warm welcome from Seniors captain Ken Gouldsbrough, to vice-captain Gareth Evans (both pictured above) and his team, followed an excellent meal. Gareth replied by congratulating Ken on the win 7-3, and complimented both green staff and catering, on helping to soften the blow of losing to Tenby. Well said.
Results: K. Gouldsbrough and R. Gundry lost to G. Evans and C. James 1 up; J. Hancock and V. Shaw bt T. Greatrex and C. Smith 2 up; D. Rees and T. Morris lost to A. Griffith and W. Harris 2 and 1; G. Aston and J. D. R.Williams bt R. Smith and R. Davies 1 up; S. Hudson and D. Morgan bt R. Nicholas and T. Bailey 4 and 3; H. Probert and N. Vincent bt H. Williams and C. Sharp 2 and 1; B. Harris and D. Stone bt M. Jack and C. Mundy 4 and 3; J. Bonar and D. Leeke bt J. Civil and H. Owen 2 and 1; D. Bath and R. Morgan lost to D. Thomas and G. Rees 4 and 3; B. Waters and A. Keating bt H. Rowley and R. Philips 4 and 2.
J.B.H.
Club report
Again it was a busy weekend, with the Serendipity Bowl and the Thomas Hughes Cup played on Sunday, May 1, and the Nat West Cup played on Monday, May 2.
Serendipity and
Thomas Hughes Bowls
These were played in fine weather on Sunday, May 1. Both competitions are for member and guests. The Serendipity Bowl is for men and the Thomas Hughes Bowl is for ladies.
In the Serendipity Bowl, the winners were A. Joseph and M. Barrett with 43 points, second were C. Davies and S. Pawlett with 40 points and joint third were T. Martin and J. Cox with 39 points.
In the Thomas Hughes Bowl, the winners were G. Roberts and O. Allen with 41 points, second were H. Morgan and P. Perkins with 36 points.
Nine pairs had twos. They were A. Joseph and M. Barrett, S. Evans and M. Evans, A. Martin and F. Allen, C. Murphy and N. Thompson, G. F. Thomas and A. Brown, M. Jones and R. Cutler (2), G. Roberts and O. Allen and H. Morgan and P. Perkins.
Nat West Cup
This was played on Bank Holiday Monday. Although rain threatened during the day we were lucky, but the north-westerly wind and true but fast greens made good scores hard to achieve, though there were some very good scores at the top of the field.
Winner of the Nat West Cup was David Evans with an excellent net 65, second was Steven Bennett with a net 67, and third were Richard Ormond, Ray Muskett nad Andrew Morton with net 68s.
There were 79 competitors and of those, 13 achieved at least one 2. They were Michael Barrett, David Blackmore, Peter Brown, Brian Cramb, David Evans (2), John Gottwaltz, Rob Hall, David Hancock, Paul Heywood, Jamie Preston, Gareth Rees, Roger Scholfield and Ian Vickery.
Future events
This weekend is a mixed foursomes weekend, with the Mathias Thomas Trophy on Saturday and the Dyfed mixed foursomes on Sunday. The following Saturday, May 15, is the monthly medal.
Chicken support
What a change from the previous few days of blustery northerlies that we had been experiencing. Not much wind and even a nice touch of sunshine. It was a pleasure not to have to fight against the elements for a bit. But the greens were very fast and hard, not a bit like the soft receptive ones you see on the telly. When you score well at Tenby in these conditions, you know you have played well.
But going down the fairway on the Bell hole, we found an extra ball. Someone said it must be Rick Lewis's ball, as he was nowhere in sight. After a remark like that, it was a good job he wasn't! But Rick had the last laugh though, as his 29 points was enough to see him in the frame with a cut in handicap.
Derek Bath (pictured above right), fresh from his purchase of an arm support for golfer's elbow, (some said that the affliction was due to extra curricular activities), scored an impressive 32 points to leap straight into the lead.
Derek said that I was not to mention his war wound, but that will keep for another day. But it was obvious from his expression that the elbow was still giving him some aggravation.
Now don't forget, if you have just nipped out early to buy your copy of the Tenby Observer, it is the day of the Danny Carew Putter and the Norman Badham Trophy, followed by the annual lunch for the Trotters. So quickly get your gear together, and hot foot it down to the club.
Ian Nicholls deserves a vote of thanks; he has been quietly, in the background, assisting Ted and Micky in their administrations, whilst Morran has been incommunicado. Obviously destined for higher office in the Trot.
But only 15 entries on the day. Ted reckoned that some might be upset at him, and stayed away because he cut their handicap last week! Takes more than that to keep them away.
Results: 1. Derek Bath 32 pts. (£1.90); 2. Rick Lewis 27 (90p).
Twos: None. Booby: Doug Havard (30p)
J.B.H.