At Tenby on Thursday, March 20, it was a case of the old captain, Des Stone, playing with the new captain, Roy Morgan, ushering in a good start to this season's seniors matches. Although a dry afternoon ensued, it was a bitterly cold wind that cut across the course, with the players well wrapped up. In the two captains' game, it was nip and tuck up to the 14th, but as Roy said: "When Paul (Murphy) had to leave at that point; it left Hugh (Selick, Glynhir captain) a little too much to do." Therefore, after halving 15, then winning 16 and 18, it enabled Roy and Des to win comfortably in the end. Despite this, Hugh said it is always a pleasure to come and play such a challenging course as Tenby and the Glynhir team always look forward to the trip. The second match out saw Stan Hudson alongside Jim Martin for the second time in the week; the first time two days earlier they had been adversaries in the Veterans Cup, when Jim unfortunately injured his back coming off the sixth green. With Jim still feeling a lot of pain, they travelled in a buggy. But, with Jim not up really up to it, Stan was taking the early pressure, which he did admirably against Gerald Sadd and Trevor Pollock. However, the painkillers Jim was gulping down in great profusion eventually kicked in by the eighth and he was able to start playing more like his normal game. Despite this, though, after building up a three-hole lead, the Tenby pair's concentration lapsed and at the same time Trevor had an inspired mid-round spell starting with a fine gross four at the eighth, winning this with the shot he had. By the time they crossed the line, the game was back all-square, but with Stan taking the 15th with a copybook four and Jim the 16th with a 5 net 4, they won the match on the 17th green. Bob Howse said that he thought that he and JDR Williams played very well as a team against the doughty pair of Rod Sewter and John Pollock. He went on to say it took them time to wear their opponents down, but according to Rod, Bob played particularly well and his class shone though. He went on to say that, Bob played well below his handicap and more like a single figure handicap. John just sat there smiling away enjoying his afternoon, and why not. In the end, the Tenby pair finished them off on the 15th. Bob then further displayed his long driving skills by almost driving the ditch on the 16th. The Richard Davies and Martin Neilan pairing looked an excellent one on paper and so it turned out to be. The Tenby pair proved far too strong against Ted Rimmer and Geoff Sumner; Martin and Ted concurred that the Tenby pair rolled them over in the first five holes, but it was an even contest after that. There was never any doubt, though, who was going to win and so it transpired when Richard and Martin coasted home 7 and 5. Geoff said afterwards: "We should put a positive spin on it (result) and we lost honourably." I found it impossible to get any comment from Richard, most probably leaving his golf clubs to do the talking. According to Roy Gundry with partner Dave Morgan, he claimed of his opponents (Hugh Jones and Colin Hopkins): "They were jammy. We were always two up and then they won two holes on the trot before we halved the 18th and the match!" Roy, how dare they do something like that to such a gentleman as you, that was so unsporting of them! According to Hugh his partner, Colin never won a hole. I was rather surprised how quiet Dave Morgan was, but then when Shaggy is around do I need to say more! I also found it somewhat hard to get some comment from the sixth match out, consisting of Newman Vincent and Chris Sierwald, of Tenby, against Dai Pegram and R. H. Lewis, of Glynhir. Yes, Newman the man of many words, especially for the Talking Newspapers. I asked him why not when after all he would be reading them to his friends. He briefly said he would like to put his comments to them in his own way. Indeed Newman, then I hope you are not too bashful and read to them that your partner Chris said that you played a superb game, and your opponents said the same, saying what a fine player you were and are for that matter. It was a very tight game played with great tenacity by both sides, ending in a close win for the Tenby pair on the last hole. Ken Gouldsbrough and Derek Bath thought they were going to lose their game against Gwylim Daniels, who according to his partner Ivor Dempsey, led their pairing in superb fashion. Both Ken and Derek agreed that Gwylim played exceptionally well. In spite of Derek's foreboding, they managed to pull it off. In Ken's opinion, it was the course that defeated the Glynhir pair. Ivor went on to say: "We thought we were going to lose and we did!" He went on further to say that he thought the showers were bad and that he and Derek had a cold one; better send for the maintenance man Tenby! Brian Lewis, partnered by Hugh T. Lewis, thinks the Tenby handicap committee ought to look at the Morgan's (Brian and Tony) handicaps; cannot think why not as they did a really good demolition job. I did ask the Glynhir pairing for some positive comments, but after such a roasting of 9 and 7 they were somewhat lost for words. Have to say that lack of comment does give me licence to embellish things. Although they did say that Moggy and Tony dovetailed brilliantly. Ah, there is the answer boy, good four-ball match play. Geoffrey Aston, suitably refreshed from his travels across the pond where he had been fine honing his golf skills, was in excellent form. According to him, his partner Malcolm had been commanded from above, because all he could hear was voices in the wilderness telling him what to do. Geoff went on to say that this totally confused their opponents, leading to one of them, John Balmont, putting his wet suit trousers on back to front. This caused him such discomfort for quite some time before he discovered the reason and claimed this was why he and his partner Terry Gorringe lost their game. Terry did give another reason, but unfortunately, I can't print it here! The Tenby pair ended John's discomfort on the 14th green. In the last game, Glynhir were rather unfortunate that Gerald Davies's partner had to withdraw at the last moment, leaving Gerald to take on the Tenby pairing of Colin Griffith and Owen Monaghan by himself. Colin and Owen agreed that Gerald put up a terrific game, especially in the putting department. Colin and Owen went four up, but Gerald fought back brilliantly to halve the game; he was quick to give praise to the Tenby pair, saying: "I think their handicaps need looking at, plus their parents' birth certificates need checking!" When Owen and Colin found that they were playing against a single, they offered to carry Gerald's clubs for him on their buggy. He was about to accept, when Gerald realised he would be entrusting his beloved clubs to two Scousers and he would have to check the number of clubs in his bag after each hole, so he politely declined! What our Colin and Owen, nah two luvly guys they are. Back in the clubhouse, a fine meal was served by our temporary caterers and it was much appreciated by all present. In aid of the Talking Newspapers charity, Brian Morgan then organised a raffle and winning the prize of a bottle of whisky was Martin Neilan; there were other winners as well for golf balls. In his inaugural address to the two teams, Roy Morgan welcomed the Glynhir team yn Cymraeg and went on to say how much he and Des had enjoyed the company of Glynhir captain Hugh Selick. He was most pleased that the weather had held true to the forecast as given on the Seniors' web site, but did find the cold windy conditions a bit testing. He then went on to relate a very amusing rugby story. Hugh responded, reiterating Roy's comments about the meal. He went on to say they (Glynhir) were looking forward to the Tenby team's visit to Glynhir in mid-June, when they hoped to exact some revenge on their defeat at Tenby. Results Roy Morgan/Des Stone beat Hugh Selick/ Paul Murphy 2 up; Stan Hudson/Jim Martin beat Gerald Sadd/Trevor Whitman 2 and 1; Bob Howse/ JDR Williams beat Rod Sewter/John Pollock 5 and 3; Richard Davies/Martin Neilan beat Ted Rimmer/ Geoff Sumner 7 and 5; Dave Morgan/Roy Gundry halved with Hugh Jones/Colin Hopkins; Newman Vincent/Chris Sierwald beat Dai Pegram/R. H. Lewis 1 up; Ken Gouldsbrough/Derek Bath beat Gwylim Daniels/Ivor Dempsey 2 and 1; Brian Morgan/Tony Morgan beat Hugh T. Lewis/Brian Lewis 9 and 7; Geoff Aston/Malcolm Arlott beat Terry Gorringe/ John Balmont 5 and 4; Colin Griffith/Owen Monaghan halved with Gerald Davies. Tenby 9 Glynhir 1
J.D.M.
Testing conditions for Monthly Medal
There were some testing conditions for the Monthly Medal and Sellar Cup qualifier at Tenby Golf Club on Saturday. In fact, so testing, that some called it a day even before teeing-off, others started, but failed to complete their round, while others battled on regardless of the wind and rain. Some early starters managed to complete up to half the course before the heavens opened, but once they did open, many were seen scurrying for the warmth of the clubhouse. The weather did improve later in the day (well the rain stopped anyway), but the near gale force wind continued to sweep across the links, resulting in some higher than average scores and 28 no returns from the 53 players who took cards out. Prize winners in the two divisions were as follows: Division One (26 competitors): Martin Morris 84-7 -77, last nine (medal, plus £20); Allan Morton 86 -9-77 (£15); David Cope 88-9-79, last nine (£10). Twelve no returns. Division Two (27 competitors: Neil Webb 94-14-80 (medal, plus £20); David Henry 100-19-81 (£15); Jerry Whitehouse 98-16-82, last nine (£10). Sixteen no returns. Twos: David Cope (£52). Bag draw: J. Gillespie, N. Dickinson, D. Henry (£18 each). Sellar Cup: The top 16 players qualified for the Sellar Cup, with the draw being as follows: Martin Morris v Andrew Morton; Richard Morton v Dave Hancock; Jerry Whitehouse v Peter Rossi, Ian Thomas v David Webb; Chris Davies v Paul James; John Stenson v Phil Goodridge; Dave Henry v Gary McNeilly; David Cope v Neil Webb.
Ladies' Section
Although some days were very cold in March, at least the last Thursday had wall to wall sunshine and it was warm, so maybe we can hope spring has at last sprung. The West Wales Ladies' Golfing Association Foursomes qualifying round was played as a greensome and the qualifiers were Gillian Roberts and Jo Walsh Morgan on 38 points. Nesta Hart and Mary Lewis were second on 36, on the last nine from Holly Watkins and Rhian Walters. We wish Gillian and Jo a successful run in the knock out stages. It was very chilly for the March LGU Medal and the Silver medal was won by Holly Watkins on nett 74, with Anita Davies on 76. In the Bronze division, Nesta Hart had the better score than Mel Smith with rounds neither will want to remember! The annual Captain v Vice-Captain match was very closely fought. A number of games were only settled on the last two holes, while others finished rather early. The overall result needed the last match to come in and this was a win for the captain, so she won the overall match by 7.5 to 6.5. However, we all enjoyed the day and the traditional Easter eggs were consumed with enthusiasm. The Sunday Salver, which was inaugurated by Ann Marsden a few years ago, resulted in a win for Heather Morgan from Linda Evans and Anne Morris. National competitions are well under way and it was some weeks ago that the Mail on Sunday team played Milford Haven away on what was apparently a mudbath and sadly lost. However, the Daily Mail Foursomes pairing of Anne Morris and Mary Lewis had a fine win at Ashburnham and we wish them a good run throughout the summer. On April 13, the Ladies' 36-hole Scratch tournament will be played. There is a strong field, headed by two members of the Curtis Cup team, Breanne Loucks and Sahra Hassan and most of the rest of the Junior and Senior Welsh Ladies' squads, together with a number of players from England. This is an opportunity to watch some good golf - just hope for a warm sunny day.
B.M.S.