Lucky Cooky
John Cook is renowned for his consistency and straight driving. It came as something of a surprise to his partner, Des Stone, when J. C. addressed his ball on the eighth tee and then fired it straight over the footpath and into the firing range -not quite reaching the target! He had been drafted in to supervise and guide the deputising Seniors' captain for the day around the course as they went shot for shot, or should that be miss-hit for miss-hit, against Dennis Ludgate and Tony Simpkin. For some reason the luck had deserted Mr. Cook and, fortunately for the home pair, the same applied to the Cardigan captain and his normally reliable partner. This made it into a close contest, with neither pair achieving more than a one shot advantage. Dennis's birdie on the fifth hole brought them to all-square, only for Des and John to regain a one-hole advantage which they then lost and eventually found themselves one down after nine. On the back nine, five holes were halved, with J. C. having to make up for his partner's errors and work hard to retain their slender one hole lead on the 15th and 16th. J. C.'s sharp words to his assistant, to "pull himself together!", on the 17th was rewarded with a birdie two to seal the result. This week we had a demon putter, a genius with the putter and a superb putter. The demon was Doug Havard, who continued where he left off at Newport. In a round that included three gross birdies and two net birdies, he helped Ken Gouldsbrough, who filled in the gaps, to demoralise Peter Ward and Alan Wonfor. Derek Bath was the genius with the putter as he and Stan Hudson needed all the luck they could get to overcome a very skilful pair in Mike King and Roy Waterhouse. They were two down on the turn when Derek took the lead to guide his team to victory. His superb long putt on the 16th was the highlight of his round and with the 17th halved in three, the final hole became the deciding factor. The superb putter was Geoff Adamson from Cardigan, who was sinking long and short putts with equal ease. Such was his dominance of this art, that John Hancock and Brian Waters had to concede gracefully to a Cardigan pair who adapted well to the Tenby course. This was a match in which pars or birdies were needed to win a hole. Tony Morris and Ron Murphy were engaged in "one Titanic struggle" as Tony found that his net 67 was not enough to see off Peter Talbot and Hugh Lewis. Ron weighed in by taking advantage of his shot allowance on most holes, but the Cardigan pair demonstrated their competence all the way to achieve a half. Roy Morgan and Hywel Probert shared one of the club's new buggies. That was all they shared as they vied for dominance in their round against Ted Wells and Brian Huggett. They were still discussing who had carried whom as they drove down the 18th, with Hywel claiming that he had up until the 16th hole. It didn't matter, as the victory was theirs. Bob Howse and Maurice Lewis were out of the starting blocks like greyhounds racing into a three- hole lead. When they saw the disappointment and tears on their opponents' faces, they relented and gave them chance to hit back. Well that's their story as they showed Dave Edwards and Glyn Davies the ups and downs of the Tenby course. Maurice's ploy of trying to reach the green from anywhere, even the rough, stood the pair in good stead as they concluded the match on the 15th. They were made to fight for their victory as the eighth was halved in two and the ninth in three. Mike the dentist extracted all the luck he could from the course and the number of shots received. Colin Griffith and J. D. R. Williams were conceding 10 shots in this encounter and in the end it proved just too much to overcome as Mike Amphlett and Cedric Hall won the 18th to seal an away victory. The final two games went Tenby's way. Geoff Aston found that he and Jim Martin bonded well - so well they almost hugged each other when Jim putt his ball close to the hole on the 12th to seal their victory against Cedric Hall and Ken Hadley. Malcolm Arlott and Jim Taylor were involved in a close encounter as Roger Mould and Keith Lewis matched them hole for hole. This was expected to be close as it was a 12 and 17 handicapper against a 12 and 18 handicapper. With never much in it, the Tenby pair managed to achieve their victory on the 17th hole. Everyone enjoyed a course in superb condition and all players enjoyed the weather and the good company, finishing off with a good meal. Tenby travel to Cardigan for next week's match, two days after a match against the ladies. Results: D. Stone and J. Cook bt D. Ludgate and T. Simpkin 3 and 1; H. Probert and R. Morgan bt T. Wells and B. Hugget 3 and 2; K. Gouldsbrough and D. Havard bt P. Ward and A. Wonfor 4 and 3; R. Murphy and T. Morris halved with P. Talbot and H. Lewis; S. Hudson and D. Bath bt M. King and R. Waterhouse 1 up; B. Waters and J. Hancock lost to G. Adamson and B. Frost 3 and 2; B. Howse and M. Lewis bt D. Edwards and G. Davies 5 and 3; C. Griffith and J. D. R. Williams lost to M. Wilson and M. Amphlett 1 down; G. Aston and J. Martin bt C. Hall and K. Hadley 7 and 6; J. Taylor and M. Arlott bt R. Mould and K. Lewis 2 and 1.
Tribute to a golfer
Following their return match at Cardigan last week, Tenby Seniors joined their fellow golfers in a tribute to a memorable character of the Cardigan club. All Tenby members knew and fondly remembered the tall, gentlemanly figure of Arthur Smith, who maintained his association with the golf club and regularly organised the raffle after Senior matches. Arthur sadly passed away recently, at the grand age of 92, and it was his wish that his ashes be scattered in a grassy hollow close to the 14th green. As the visiting team, it was a privilege to be present at the ceremony when some well chosen words were delivered as a testimony to a gracious golfer prior to the scattering of the ashes. Also it was appropriate that the Cardigan team played their part by achieving a victory on the day. Cardigan is one of those courses that can be affected by the wind and rain off the Atlantic as it sits overlooking Cardigan Bay above Gwbert. But this was one of those exceptional days when there was only a mild breeze and glorious wall-to-wall sunshine. There was a hint of a rumble towards the end of a glorious afternoon, but that was attributed to Mike Fox's stomach as he anticipated the after- match meal. Cardigan Seniors' captain, Denis Ludgate, overturned the previous week's result by choosing Ted Wells to help him win against Des Stone and Bob Howse. The home pair shot straight into a two- hole lead with two opening pars and proved very difficult to overcome throughout the afternoon. Des and Bob won the fourth hole and managed to halve the next six. The strain, however, was too much as they both struggled with the slower greens and eventually lost out to some good golf from their opponents. Another pair who struggled with the pace of the greens was that of Tony Ranoe and John Cook. Cardigan's Peter Ward shot a round of five over par to compound their misery of putting up to, but not finding the bottom of, the hole. Peter's superb approach play was admirably backed up by his partner, Dave Edwards. Clifton John was there to support John Hancock, which he did, despite losing six balls. He is fast running out of ammunition and doesn't know if he can play next week. He and John were one down after nine holes as Roger Mould and Bill Frost proved that they were not just there to make up the numbers. Even they couldn't believe it when Clifton found the gorse on the 13th and had to take a drop. One more shot put him just off the green and he duly chipped up and into the hole for a five, net four. The home pair never recovered fully and lost out in what was described a cracking match. This victory was counteracted by the efforts of Brian Morgan and Paul Nixon, who enjoyed the course, but couldn't overcome Tony Simkin and Ken Hadley. Neither could Brian Waters and Alan Yates, who halved the first five holes in their match against Bill Booth and Keith Lewis. This was an encounter with never more than a one-hole advantage to either pair. They found themselves one down after 17 and were disappointed to halve the final hole. We won, declared Mike Fox -well, Geoff did! Mike reckoned that Geoff was playing against two-and- a-half players as they proceeded to keep ahead of Malcolm Wilson and Mike Amphlett. Such was his admiration for Geoff's performance, which included back-to-back birdies, that he could only gaze in awe. Ken Evans reckoned that Maurice Lewis needs to have a word with the handicap committee. His partner, Geoff Adamson, nodded in agreement as Maurice, with great humility, stated that he was brilliant - as usual. Ken Gouldsbrough sat quietly in the corner and tacitly agreed that they had played well together to defeat the Cardigan pair on their home course. Colin Griffith had a successful day as he and Roy Morgan exacted a narrow victory over Brian Huggett and Glyn Davies. Colin scored four pars in succession and it took a birdie from Brian to halt his flow. Roy's contribution was the occasional flash of brilliance - as usual! That win was offset by a narrow defeat suffered by Derek Bath and Bart Youll. But then Derek had to start the game on his own. Bart decided to join him after he had played three holes against David Edwards and Peter Ward, winning one, losing one and halving one. Bart's opening contribution was to sink a putt to win the fourth and then help Derek in a very close contest, which needed pars or birdies to win a hole. Derek claimed that they snatched a defeat from the jaws of victory as they just lost out on the 14th hole, which was their last. The last game was halved as Ron Murphy and Owen Monaghan fought out their battle against Brian Preston and Peter Sutton. They were one up as they tee-ed off on the last hole and could only smile graciously as they watched the home team putt in for a birdie three. Results: D. Stone and B. Howse lost to D. Ludgate and T. Wells 5 and 3; J. Hancock and C. John bt B. Frost and R. Mould 2 and 1; B. Waters and A. Yates lost to B. Booth and K. Lewis 1 down; M. Fox and G. Aston bt M. Wilson and M. Amphlett 4 and 3; B. Morgan and P. Nixon lost to T. Simkin and T. Hadley 5 and 4; J. Cook and T. Ranoe lost to P. Ward and A. Wonfor 4 and 3; K. Gouldsbrough and M. Lewis bt K. Evans and G. Adamson 2 and 1; C. Griffith and R. Morgan bt B. Huggett and G. Davies 1 up; D. Bath and B. Youll lost to D. Edwards and P. Ward 1 down; R. Muphy and O. Monoghan halved with B. Preston and P. Sutton.
Close shave at Cardigan
The third match of the season, Cardigan away, was the second in a week for Tenby's Dyfed League players. Following two defeats, it was imperative that some points were put on the board. Present top points scorer and lowest handicapper, Paul Hoyland, was first out, accompanied by Viv John, and both played well to gain half a point from the Cardigan captain on a tricky course. The young dynamic duo of Michael Schooling and Jack Guerreiro were out next and secured another half point. Paul Heywood and Chris Beecher, who had been a successful pairing last year, were winners once again. Gary McNeilly and Peter Rossi, the fourth group out and fancied by many to gain a point, were beaten 3 and 2; both players found the pace of the greens difficult come to terms with. The fifth pairing of Martin Morris and Dai Cope came up against an in-form pairing who were four under par when the match finished on the 13th. Least said the better. Sixth group, Neil Lovatt and Richard Chapman were an inspirational captain's choice and came in winners 2 and 1. New league players, Dave Roberts and Ron Johns, seventh pairing, made the long journey at the last minute and found the going tough, losing 5 and 3, but welcome to the team. Eighth group were Roger Schooling and Nigel Ayers, who both played an excellent tight game, coming out winners one up - no more boating this season then Roger. At four points each, the game was finely balanced, with the final pairing of Martin Creese and super sub Phil Goodridge playing down the par-five 18th. Expectations were high in the clubhouse for the first away win for two years, but unfortunately an excellent second shot from Cardigan to 10 feet sealed the match and a loss, one down. A loss of 5-4 was a huge improvement on last year's 9-0. The next match is at home to Garnant Park on May 27. Captain M.
Second Dyfed League defeat
The second Dyfed League game of the season, away to Garnant Park, spelt another defeat for Tenby 6.5-2.5. With a few regular players unavailable, a full team was only selected at the last minute. Following a very good monthly medal, the top paring of Dan Cope and David Ayers experienced their first defeat by 5 and 4. The second pairing of Richard Morton and Adam Joseph likewise were defeated by 5 and 4, slightly dampening Adam's birthday celebrations. Group three were Simon Rossiter and Steve Amos, who lost 2 and 1 after a close match. A previous winner was again successful. Paul Hoyland with a new partner Gary McNeilly eventually triumphed 4 and 3 after being seven up after 10 holes. A handful of birdies secured a fine win. Neil Lovatt and familiar team-mate Geoff Aston experienced a 6 and 5 defeat. The sixth pairing of Martin Morris and new league player Gareth Phillips lost two down, following a very close game, which saw both Martin and Gareth lip out twice in the last three hole for wins. Martin Creese and Idwal David played an excellent game to earn a well-deserved half. Eighth paring of Don Sigsworth and league Rookie Steve (Fuzz) Lewis had a brief first match of the season, going down 6 and 5, and last, but very much not least, were on form Michael Schooling and last minute saviour Phil Goodridge, who gelled well to come out winners 2 up. Next game is away at Cardigan; yet again another difficult encounter, Tenby having lost 9-0 last year. Any point will be a bonus, but a team win is needed sooner rather then later. Captain
Junior Section
Last Sunday saw a few regulars missing. Although the conditions were almost perfect, players found scoring difficult due to the rough getting thicker. Matthew Adams scored 30 points off the white boxes, while Emma Guerreiro also scored 30 off the red boxes. David Webb scored 31 points off the yellow boxes, but best score of the day came from Harrison Sharp with 22 off the black boxes, over nine holes. Welcome back to Teague, Galvin and Ben Vickery, who played nine holes with Harrison. There is no junior golf this Sunday, but the Argent Cup will be played on May 28, when a junior will play with a senior member - see the junior notice board for details.
TRI-GOLF
Eight players joined in on Sunday and the captain of the club, David Leeke, came down to see them have their lesson. Tom Hilling helped them with their grip and stance. A few competitions were also set up for chipping and putting. There will be no Tri-Golf this Sunday, but it will start again the following Sunday, May 28.