"Has anyone got a ladder?" Yes, that was the question and it came from Brian Waters on the 14th fairway. He and his partner, Roy Gundry, gazed up into the branches of a fir tree and could see Brian's ball lodged in a branch high above their heads. Disregarding Health and Safety issues, Roy suggested that Brian clamber up into the higher reaches to retrieve it. Common sense prevailed, he declined a 'leg-up' and they walked on (in search of a ladder, no doubt!), with only Roy in contention to win the hole. Two attempts to get out of the bunker put paid to that dream and the pair conceded defeat to Ray Sinden and Tony Smith one hole later. They may have lost, but Roy looked very fetching in his wet weather pants held up by braces. One or two golfers resorted to wet weather gear when it almost rained midway through the afternoon. The day was cooler than of late and only a few stuck with shorts up on the higher reaches of the Carmarthen course. Many more went the way of Brian and Roy, succumbing to the course knowledge of the Carmarthen players. Just in front of them were Des Stone and Brian Temple struggling to keep abreast of Gerwen Davies and Gareth Williams. They had started well, winning the first, but then penalising each other by playing each other's ball on the second. Gerwen's birdie made sure the hole was won anyway. After a win for the Carmarthen pair on the third, there followed eight consecutive holes halved in what turned out to be a very closely contested match. The possibility of a halved match was always there, until the Tenby duo stuttered on the 17th to concede the game against a pair who supported each other well all afternoon. Also two down after 16 holes was Seniors' captain Dave Morgan with Owen Monaghan as his sidekick this week. Owen played his part by hitting his second shot on the 17th close to the pin to ensure they won that hole. Dave reciprocated on the last and so disappointed the Carmarthen Seniors' captain, Fred Robinson and Dave Goodman. Last week's birthday boy, Brian Morgan, was the only winner against Ashburnham, but he could not repeat the situation this week. The Carmarthen pair of Howard Davies and Meirion Griffiths, described as a class player and newly welcomed to the senior ranks, ensured that he and Malcolm Arlott would not walk off the course in triumph. Their putting was a joy to behold (if you were a Carmarthen supporter) and their consistent golf meant that pars or birdies were needed to win a hole. Ken Gouldsbrough and Bob Howse were strangely quiet after their match and declined to comment on their defeat against Alun Rees and Cash Evans. In another match where pars or birdies were needed to win a hole, the Tenby pair went two up midway through the round, but failed to hold onto the lead and conceded after 16 holes. Their only positive remark was that they enjoyed the carvery - but then we all did! With a wry smile, Martin Neilan, partnered by J. D. R. Williams, reckoned that they conceded on the first. "We could see that they were too good for us and it is always a pleasure to watch good golfers play their own course well." J. D. R. was somewhat intimidated by playing an old schoolmate, Tom Richards, who gave him instructions on what to do. John Hancock looked crestfallen for the second week as he and Clifton John failed to make ground against two very steady players in Colin Lewis and G. Green. Clifton declared that he was about as useful as an astray on a motorbike as he failed to make use of any of his 12-shot allocation. This was a close fought match up until the third hole, by all accounts, and then it went downhill from there. Last week, Hywel Probert was late on the tee and missed the first hole because he insisted that he have his obligatory bacon roll before starting. There was a rush to get everyone away early this week, so he missed out on his bacon buttie. This did not put him in a good frame of mind, which is maybe why Roy Morgan declared: "I played superb, Probert was rubbish!" Whatever the reason they, like most of the team, could not overcome the opposition in the shape of E. Thomas and C. Jeremi. Now, you would put your money on Stan Hudson and Alan Yates coming up with the goods and half way round it looked as if this may be the case. They were three up after 10 holes and then both of them lost a ball on the 11th. Such encouragement gave the Carmarthen pair the spur they needed when they witnessed this flaw. Stan and Alan lost their way somewhat, allowing Arthur John and Kevin Owen to show what they could do. Wiley Arthur had a shot on the 15th, but he didn't need it as he drove to within a few feet of the pin. The match was lost on the 17th when Kevin sunk a putt to earn a five, net four, while a saving shot over the trees by Stan only achieved a par four. So did anyone win? Yes, indeed, and this week the accolades went to Geoff Aston and Jim Martin. There must have been some confusion on the way round because the Londoner on Tenby's team could not communicate effectively with the other Englishman, from Oldham, on the Carmarthen team and vice versa. By the time they had sorted out the accents the game was over, with the highlight being Geoff's five-iron shot on the 15th to give them the match. Malcolm Gelder and Tom King had no answer and conceded gracefully. There was one other match out on the course as Derek Bath, sporting his new reduced handicap, along with Newman Vincent and Colin Griffith were shown the course by Alan Phillips. This was a half, decided on before they had even tee-ed off. What a wonderful day - 18 holes of golf, good food and great company. Results: D. Morgan and O. Monaghan halved with F. Robinson and D. Goodman; D. Stone and B. Temple lost to G. Davies and G. Williams 3 and 1; B. Waters and R. Gundry lost to R. Sinden and T. Smith 4 and 3; R. Howse and K. Gouldsbrough lost to A. Rees and C. Evans 3 and 2; R. Morgan and H. Probert lost to E. Thomas and C. Jeremi 1 hole; S. Hudson and A. Yates lost to A. John and K. Owen 3 and 2; J. Hancock and C. John lost to C. Lewis and G. Green 6 and 5; G. Aston and J. Martin beat M. Gelder and T. King 4 and 3; M. Neilan and J. D. R. Williams lost to T. Jones and N. Richards 5 and 4; M. Arlott and B. Morgan lost to H. Davies and M. Griffiths 4 and 3; D. Bath, N. Vincent, C. Griffiths, A. Phillips - half.
Sweet revenge for Dyfed League team
Sunday saw the second local derby inside a week against South Pembs. A stiff breeze and warm sunshine welcomed the visitors to the Tenby links for what was their last Dyfed League game of the season. Tenby had a strong side and were well representedby the lower handicap players. First out for Tenby was the new pairing of John Morris and Sam Morgan. John, who plays off a scratch handicap, was surprised to find that he was receiving a shot from opponent Allan Jones, who plays off +1, which goes to show the strength of the South Pembs team. However, John and Sam won comfortably 4 and 2, with a handful of birdies. The second pairing of Dan Cope and David Ayers lost 2 and 1. Next out for Tenby were Andy Pouton and Nick Thomas, who won 4 and 3, with Nick playing some excellent golf. Fourth pairing out saw Richard Morton reunited with his familiar partner Michael Schooling, who only hours before had arrived back from a summer practice session in Portugal. After Richard's initial tee shot, which only reached the ladies' tee, they settled down and won 2 and 1. The fifth pair saw Dave Roberts with David Schooling paired against ex-Tenby player Micky Barrett. By all accounts, Micky played an excellent game with his lob wedge and holed monster putts for birdies from everywhere, enabling South Pembs to win 4 and 3. Next out for Tenby were Paul Hoyland aand John Stenson. The Tenby pair won away last week and again this week by the same score 5 and 4. This enables Paul to keep his lead in this year's Dyfed League trophy title race, which last year was won by Chris Beecher. Neither player will be transfer listed at the end of the season, although an approach was made by South Pembs, but the offer was not accepted. Seventh pair of Martin Morris and Dai Cope won comfortably 5 and 4, with Dai making the biggest team contribution, being only two over par himself when the game ended. However, Dai did mention that his driving was poor and as such wouldn't be offering Gary McNeilly much for the new Cobra driver. Neil Lovatt and Don Sigsworth were the seventh partnership, playing against ex-Tenby player Ken Breaker. The game was very evenly balanced, although Tenby were one down with one hole to play, but managed to win the 18th, gaining a valuable half point. The last game saw Paul Heywood and Steve Lewis paired together, the assumption being that this was a definite point in the bag following Paul's win in the monthly medal the day before. This was not to be and Tenby lost 2 and 1, but it showed the strength in depth of the side, having a player off five handicap out in the last pairing. With two away games remaining, Tenby are desperate for some more points to avoid relegation. The overall result was Tenby 5.5 South Pembs 3.5. South Pembs. were congratulated on reaching the Welsh Team final stages and wished the best of luck for the competition taking place this coming weekend. The next match for Tenby is away to Aberystwyth on September 9.
CAPTAIN M.
Club report
Phillip Booth Texas Scramble
This was played early on the morning of Saturday, July 29 - in fact with a 7 am start - and although it rained a little, it was most enjoyable. Winners were the team of Newman Vincent, Des Stone, Bob Howse and Stan Hudson with a net 64 and a better back six, second were the team of Peter Brown, Steve Davies, Scott Davies and Christopher Davies, also with a net 64, and third were the team of David Hancock, Idwal David, David Henry and Phil Rees with a net 65 and a better back nine. The event ended with a most enjoyable breakfast, a black velvet, and the presentation of prizes. The event raised over £1,000 for St.Issell's Church.
August MONTHLY Medal
The weather for the monthly medal last Saturday was not conducive to low scores as there was a strong crosswind on most holes, but luckily it did not rain. Division one winner was Paul Heywood with a net 69, second was Gary McNeilly with a net 71, third was Dai Cope with a net 72 and a better back nine, and fourth was Neil Lovatt, also with a net 72. Division two winner was Steven Keating with a net 69 and a better back nine, second was Brian Diment, also with a net 69, third was Alan Yates with a net 70 and fourth was Craig Verrier with a net 71. A total of 101 competitors took part in the competition and of those five had twos, with Steven Keating and Ray Muskett getting two. Next competition There is no competition this Saturday, with the next event being the Lifeboat Spoons at the end of the month on Saturday, August 28.
Ladies' section
Everyone will remember for a long time the beautiful July weather of 2006, so it was rather a shock to play Cardigan last week, muffled to the eyeballs, in pouring rain and a very cold wind. However, to return to golf in July. The Marjorie Glover Rosebowl, need I say, was played on a beautiful day and this Stableford competition was won by Pam Cole with 39 points, just beating Ros Williams with 38. The Jane Davies-Hughes Trophy competition is always played in mid July, commemorating Jane's birthday. The Silver Division trophy was won by Anne Morris on nett 69 from Gillian Roberts on 71. In the Bronze Division, only Anne Wilks with nett 70 was in tune with the good weather. There were two excellent scores in the July LGU Medal competition. In the Silver Division, Denise Edwards produced an excellent nett 69 from Ann Morris on nett 75, while in the Bronze Division, Nesta Hart on nett 67 produced the standard of golf of which we all know she is capable. Rita Collins was second on 76. The week following the very enjoyable Captain's Day, the qualifying round for the WLGU Centenary Greensome Foursomes was played. Nesta Hart with her sister Vena Davies qualified for the final in the autumn on 34 points, just beating Anne Wilks and Liz Storey on the last nine. Judy Lewis and Paul Morgan were third on 33. A Texas Scramble with teams drawn from high, medium and low handicaps produced some good scoring last week. This is a sponsored event for the Charnwait Trophy, in which prizes are provided by the Charnock/Goldwait family and donations for a chosen charity are matched by the sponsors. This year the charity is Leukaemia Research, but the total raised is not finalised yet. The winning combination was Anne Morris, Nesta Hart and Jo Walsh Morgan 67.2. Second were Heather Morgan, Ann Follon and Ann Bailey on 68.1. Pam Cole, Linda Thomas and Liz Storey were third on 69.2. This weekend, many of the section will be visting Machynys for the Wales Ladies' Championship of Europe and maybe those of us who rarely, if ever, feature in these reports will learn something to our advantage from the professionals. B.M.S.