The new year has certainly started wet! It was no different for the annual Rabbits v Divots match on Sunday, with strong wind and heavy rain welcoming the two teams of 12 pairings. As usual with these things, there were a few missing faces - broken alarm clock or allergic reaction to water being two of the possible reasons. With a shotgun start, sometimes confusion over which tee you are starting from can also be a problem. Loz Phillips found himself all alone on the 15th tee until Meurig Jones and Neil Dickinson came hopping over the hill to represent the Rabbits. Loz was starting to feel the heat of having to take on the two bunnies by himself, until partner Don Sigsworth came 'trotting' along, having put his tummy problems to one side to do battle. An early bath and a well-earned half was the agreed result, which all considered to be a fair outcome. By coincidence, there was the same result in the following matches: Alan Morton and Tony Morris against Dave Morgan and Chris Smith; Adam Joseph and Nigel Ayers against Steve Watkins and Stephen Harries; Rob Hall and Gavin Field-Thomas against Dave Lemon and Ian Thomas. A win for the Divots pairing of Mervyn Tucker and Sonny Perkins, without lifting a club, was soon nullified by a win from the Rabbits pairing of Dave Moran and Glyn Price, who found themselves three up after five holes against Scott Davies and Viv John. The Divots pair never got a single hole back, probably because they didn't try, and shook hands on the 18th hole (their fifth). More Divots experienced defeat, such as Chris Davies and Ron Johns, who suffered at the hands of Dafydd Evans and Nick Allen, and also Richard Chapman and Gerry Whitehouse, who went down against Rabbits captain, Bill Beynon and his partner John Hunt. A fightback was needed by the Divots if Clive Law was to avoid becoming only the third captain to hand over the trophy to the Rabbits since the competition started many years ago. And happily for a very relieved Clive, this came in the shape of Richard Davies and Ray Muskett beating George Pegg and Tony Hopkins, Steve Davies and Richard Morton beating Mark Edwards and Dorian Thomas, Gareth Rees and John Stevenson beating Fred Adlam and Paul James, with the final nail in the coffin coming from Andrew Morton and Gareth Phillips, beating Ben Blake and Anthony Allen on the 18th hole! This was the closest match for many years, with the final score being 7-5 to the Divots. Well done to all those who stuck it out in the tough weather conditions, while to those who agreed a half or gave an early concession... who can blame you! After a welcome fuel stop of sausage, mash, veg and gravy, prepared and provided by the lovely Lyn and staff, the trophy was presented to Clive Law by Bill Beynon. There was a wonderful atmosphere in the clubhouse, with so many of the players staying on despite the soaking. Hopefully this will be repeated in March after the Rabbits threw down the gauntlet by challenging the Divots to a re-match - hopefully wearing tee-shirts rather than waterproofs! Results were as follows (Divots first): M. Tucker and S. Perkins (walkover); Steve Davies and R. Morton beat M. Edwards and D. Thomas; R. Chapman and G. Whitehouse lost to B. Beynon and J. Hunt; R. Johns and C. Davies lost to D. Evans and N. Allen; R. Davies and R. Muskett beat G. Pegg and T. Hopkins; G. Rees and J. Stevenson beat F. Adlam and P. James; Alan Morton and T. Morris halved with D. Morgan and C. Smith; G. Phillips and Andrew Morton beat B. Blake and A. Allen; A. Joseph and N. Ayers halved with S. Watkins and S. Harries; Scott Davies and V. James lost to D. Moran and G. Price; D. Sigsworth and L. Phillips halved with M. Jones and N. Dickinson; R. Hall and G. Field-Thomas halved with D. Lemon and I. Thomas.
Chicken Jim struts his stuff!
After the Christmas and New Year celebrations, the Chickens came home to roost on Friday - well at least 10 of them did. The weather was not at its best, but a dry start to the morning meant that all competitors were back in the clubhouse before the rain came. Some stragglers, who had struggled to leave the comfort of their perch and were therefore too late to join the Chicken party, unfortunately got wet. Serves them right! Jim Taylor had obviously used the Yuletide break to hone his game, as he strutted his stuff on the course to card a highly impressive 34 points. He was seen preening himself in the bar afterwards, but will no doubt have his wings heavily clipped after ruffling more than the odd feather or two in the sin-bin department. His score was no fewer than five points better than his nearest rivals - and there were three of those, with Spike Evans, Doug Havard and Terry Evans tying for second spot on 29. Terry, in fact, was last heard to have been making an appointment with his financial adviser, having also pocketed a generous prize for a two on the sixth. John Ball also left the club smiling, after achieving a similar feat on the ninth. Other big money winner was John Henry, who had a free game after claiming the booby prize with 18 points. The Chickens are back in action this (Friday) morning. Make sure you don't miss it!