Last Saturday was Captain's Day and the current status of the club knockout cup competitions will also be reported.
Captain's Day
Captain's Day was held on Saturday on a very fine day for golf and it showed on the captain's face, which was very red after a day in the sun. It was a stableford competition for juniors, ladies and men. The results were as follows. Juniors (nine holes off the black boxes): Winner was Dan Hawkey with a very creditable 19 points, second was Harrison Sharp with 11 and third was Jack Hawkey with eight. Juniors (nine holes off the yellow boxes): Winner was Hywel Lloyd with 18 points and a better back six, second was Dan Webb also with 18 and third was Matthew Adams with 16. Ladies: Winner was Jeanette Leeke with an excellent 40 points, second was Holly Watkins with 38 and third was Lizi Leeke with 35 and a better back nine. Nearest the pin on the sixth hole was Linda Evans and the longest drive on the 14th was by Lizi Leek. Men: Winner was John Cook with a very good 38 points, second was Ross James with 37 and a better back nine and third also with 37 was Paul Heywood. Nearest the pin was Geoff Childs and the longest drive was by John Morris. On the day, 23 ladies and men had twos. Thank you Bob for a very good day.
Knock-out cups
The knock-out cups are now at the semi-finals stage, with the finalists already decided for the Scratch Cup, the Sellar Cup, Charles Mathias Cup and the Veterans Cup. Semi-finals are still being played in the Allen Cup, the Colwyn Williams Cup, the Davis Cup, President's Cup and the Reason Jones Cup. The names of the finalists will be reported when all the semi-finals are completed. Finals Day on September 18 is not far away and there will be some exciting matches.
MONTHLY MEDAL
Tomorrow (Saturday) is the August Monthly Medal.
ASH REVENGE
Both Tenby and Ashburnham are links courses with many similarities, such as firm fairways and fast greens, not to mention the rough. The two meetings of the senior sections of these clubs have demonstrated that the respective players know their own course well enough to give them a home advantage. Captain Newman Vincent and Stan Hudson were the first out and knew that they were in for a tough game against Alun Clement and Dave Madden. The home captain, with his straight, down the middle drives, and his long hitting partner did not disappoint them, winning the first two holes with pars. Although the Tenby pair clawed their way back to a one-hole deficit, they could not cope with Alun's back nine game, only dropping two shots, combined with Dave Madden's birdies. They quietly conceded defeat and just enjoyed the course. Ken Gouldsbrough and his partner Tony Morris put themselves two up after two holes, only to find themselves one down after eight. Brian Millett and Lyndon Davies put the pressure on to keep this game fairly even. However, Ken and Tony admitted that they lost this match, rather than the home pair winning it. Another pair to go two up and then lose out was that of Geoff Aston and Brian Waters This was one of those close encounters, with neither side gaining a big advantage. Gareth Fry and Peter Williams were one up after the par three 16th, but they couldn't hold the lead, allowing Geoff and Brian to draw level on the 17th. This match all came down to a putt on the 18th and, unfortunately, the Tenby pair ended up second best. Hywel Probert was disappointed with his performance as he and Colin Griffith tried to compete against Alun Killa and Dave Howell. The home pair knew their course too well as Alun demonstrated his in-form game to good advantage. They shook hands on the 14th. J. D. R. Williams went marching onward playing, as he described it, army golf - he went left, right, left, right down the fairways. Sadly, Malcolm Arlott could not cope on his own as the Tenby pair struggled to keep up with Tony Parsons and Mal Williams, eventually conceding on the 16th. Alan Yates and his partner, Derek Bath, were at a disadvantage since their start was delayed. Play was held up as a pair of shoes was found for Alan. No one had reminded him that only soft spikes are allowed on the course and his clicking along the concrete in his normal spikes had sent a few home players into mild apoplexy. He and Derek never recovered, even though they went two up after a couple of halves against John Beynon and Clive Fouracre. Their opponents took control of the game and led them around the rest of the course, finishing the game on the 14th. The shirt-sleeved David Evans, accompanied by David Leeke, said that they lost quite easily. Perhaps their stamina or concentration was in question, as they held their own against Gerald Thomas and Glyn Hammond for the first 10 holes. Sadly they lost four holes in succession to concede defeat on the 15th. By then the rain had set in and they were glad to leave the course. Jack Hasdell and Allan Keating were among the few to leave with a smile on their faces. Allan says it was all down to Jack's good play as they contested the course against Meyrick Richards and Ivor Thomas. Even though Allan birded the first hole, it was the first time he had putted in the match and they had already played four holes (they started on the 16th!). Confused? So was I when he explained it! However it did not deter the Tenby pair. Jack kept his head, and steady golf, under control, even when Allan had two attempts on the 16th (their first) as he aimed for the wrong flag! They kept their heads, well Jack did, to win quite comfortably in the end. Jack was so excited that he strode into to juniors' locker room instead of the men's as they came off the course. Brian, the martyr, Morgan arrived full of a cold, but determined not to let the side down -and he didn't. He and Martin Neilan went two down against Gwyn Davies and Ken Rees and then recovered to lead by three. Martin claimed that it was all because of the ball he found on the 10th. Printed on it were the words 'straight drive', and he said that it gave them the edge as they played out the last few holes. Bob Howse was still trying out a Srixon driver to good effect as he helped his partner, Des Stone, to the other victory for the Tenby team. This match was something of a roller-coaster as the visiting pair went win one, lose one, win one, lose one, win one, lose one, ending up all-square after nine. Simon Hill and Lyndon Davies both lost two balls on the fifth hole to concede without a putt being made and conceded in similar fashion on the seventh. Des and Bob held their own long enough to win the game on the 15th. The team score was exactly the same as at Tenby, but in reverse, with the home team taking the honours. The rain forecast came in on time at four o'clock, just catching out the tailenders. Results: N. Vincent and S. Hudson lost to A. Clement and D. Madden 6 and 5; D. Stone and B. Howse beat S. Hill and L. Davies 5 and 3; K. Gouldsbrough and T. Morris lost to B. Millett and J. Town 2 and 1; G. Aston and B. Waters lost to G. Fry and P. Williams 1 hole; H. Probert and C. Griffith lost to A. Killa and D. Howell 5 and 4; J. Williams and M. Arlott lost to T. Parsons and M. Williams 2 and 1; M. Neilan and B. Morgan beat G. Davies and K. Rees 3 and 2; A. Yates and D. Bath lost to J. Beynon and C. Fouracre 5 and 4; J. Hasdell and A. Keating beat M. Richards and I. Thomas 6 and 4; D. Evans and D. Leeke lost to G. Thomas and G. Hammond 4 and 3.