It is a rather peculiar, though familiar, sight to see 20 to 30 senior golfers with heads bowed meandering through the undergrowth, criss- crossing each other's path. Their quest? Well they are in search of that elusive white (or yellow) spherical object known as the golf ball. On a long afternoon on the golf course it helps to pass the time as you wait for the group ahead to move on. Occasionally the wayward culprit is found - more often than not it remains out of sight and the only consolation is to discover a ball left by a previous unfortunate. Such was the case last Thursday as Tenby Seniors entertained Ashburnham on a cloudy but dry afternoon. There were some weary sighs as fourball after fourball entered the locker room bemoaning the length of time spent on the course. The Seniors' leader, Roy Morgan, was unavoidably absent, enduring a minor medical procedure, some say to improve his swing! Up to the first tee, as his right hand man, stepped the honourable Brian Waters to try and fill his boots and he enlisted the help of Roy Gundry to overcome the wiles of Simon Hill and Dave John. This Tenby pairing set the scene as they enjoyed an exciting match in impeccable company. Simon's birdie on the sixth kept the exchange competitive, but they were unable to prevent Roy and Brian creeping ahead to establish a lead they did not relinquish. The match was over on the 14th and Roy ended the afternoon with a flourish on the 18th by putting in from off the green. "Well it's only skill!" he quipped. Stan Hudson's new driver was working well. His opponent Gerald Coles reckoned that it was the only driver with a draw that went straight. Stan was aided and abetted by Nigel Rimmell as they enjoyed the stories and quips from Gerald all afternoon. Nigel's birdie on the sixth helped in this match as the Tenby pair forged ahead. Asked about the rough, Gerald said that he had no problem since he drove well over it into the really deep s...tuff! With Keith Thompson getting a birdie on the first, Bob Howse and Derek Bath knew they were in for a tough afternoon. However, they replied with a par on the second and also won the third to establish the basis for a very exciting struggle. Keith's partner, another Keith, Williams, provided the foil as the Ashburnham pair made Bob and Derek focus on their game to establish any sort of lead. The match was all-square after nine and it remained tight until Derek made the most of his shot allowance on the 16th. His four, net three, won the hole and Bob supported him by winning the 17th to seal the result. Another pair to realise they were in for a tough afternoon was that of Owen Monaghan and Des Stone. Alun Killa and Ralph Thomas indicated their level of skill in the early part of this match as they both drove straight down the fairways. Some wayward drives into the Tenby rough rather upset their equilibrium and resulted in a number of lost balls. With Alun down for four, Des's birdie on the second established an early lead which the Tenby pair managed to hold on to. They edged into a four- hole lead after eight and then conceded one on the ninth. Both Asburnham boys recovered their composure on the back nine and clawed back another hole on the 13th. This held until Owen made the most of his shot on the 16th (a rare occurrence) to halve the hole with a five net four. It was Tenby's two ka-- left-handers against the two Brians - Williams and Millett - for Ashburnham. Brian Morgan and Malcolm Arlott gave a demonstration of how to dovetail and frustrated their opposition by winning or halving each hole in turn. One of the Brians commented that the Tenby pair were the finest putters he had come across, while the other Brian muttered something about bandits! They remained good friends and enjoyed each other's company over a pint. LOST - one bag of tees, including some kruger rands! Yes, David Evans was most upset on discovering that his tees were missing and is offering a large reward for their return - I think! This must have affected his game since he had to rely on J. D. R. to bring home the bacon. Unable to repeat last week's birdie on the first, J. D. R. had to be content with a par, but the home pair played the front nine very well to establish a lead. That was before the tee bag was discovered absent. Their opponents included David Howell, who had the important task of introducing his partner, Brian Reed, to the Tenby course. Brian was strangely quiet in the clubhouse, but did indicate that he might come again. J. D. R. and David scrambled to maintain form on the back nine, but David Howell indicated that the match was over way out in the country. Clifton John and Martin Neilan were paired together this week and it proved to be a successful choice. They were up against a pair of Roys, Davies and Jenkins, and found themselves in quite a tussle. The Tenby pair came alive on the 11th when Clifton made a great putt to halve the hole and retain a slender lead. That affected Martin, who then went 'chirpie, chirpie, cheep, cheep' - apologies, birdie, birdie, par, par, to seal the victory. Tony Morgan was not having a good day - he and Chris Sierwald were enmeshed in a titanic struggle up until the second hole when their opposition, Alun James and Richard Green, forged ahead. This match, like all seniors matches, was played in the best of spirit, even when they were searching for Tony's balls in the rough. Mike Fox was welcomed back into the fold and helped Colin Griffith to hold at bay the Ashburnham pair of Brian Beynon and Ian Evans. Well, they did up until the 16th where Mike was on the green for three - and then three-putted. There was no mention of where Colin was! This match ended on the 17th. Newman Vincent and Rod Clarke, on the other hand, converted a perfectly good result into a creditable loss. Alun Clement and Glyn Hammond gave them a good match and managed to overcome the Tenby pair in the final holes, ending the match on the 16th. Brian Morgan continued with the raffle, raising over £50 again for local causes. For the last two weeks, Cled Evans, of Cled Evans Construction, has sponsored the prizes and thanks are extended to them for supporting the cause. Results: B. Waters and R. Gundry beat D. John and S. Hill 5 and 4; N. Vincent and R. Clarke lost to A. Clement and G. Hammond 2 down; S. Hudson and N. Rimmell beat G. Cole and P. Evans 7 and 5; B. Howse and D. Bath beat K. Thompson and K. Williams 2 and 1; M. Fox and C. Griffith lost to B. Beynon and I. Evans 2 and 1; D. Stone and O. Monaghan beat A. Killa and R. Thomas 3 and 2; B. Morgan and M. Arlott beat B. Williams and B. Millett 5 and 4; J. D. R. Williams and D. Evans beat D. Howell and B. Reed 3 and 2; C. John and M. Neilan beat R. Davies and R. Jenkins 3 and 2; T. Morgan and C. Sierwald lost to A. James and R. Green 6 and 5.

Medal mania

Last week was a busy one for Tenby's competitive golfers, with two medals to play for - the midweek on Wednesday and the monthly on Saturday. Although the weather was reasonably good, course conditions again proved difficult and some high scoring was witnessed in both events - most notably on Saturday, when there was a stiff breeze blowing. In fact, some players struggled to get their cards round and in division two, of the 47 entries, there were no fewer than 27 no returns, while there were eight in division one. Leading scores and prize winners were as follows:

MIDWEEK MEDAL

All divisions (46 competitors): Roger Schooling 79 -10-69 (medal and £35 credit); Geoffrey Aston 84 -13-71 (£20); Derrick Farley 87-15-72 (£15); Neil Lovatt 80-7-73 (£10). Twos: John Gillespie, Chris Hughes, Meurig Jones, Neil Lovatt, Doug Perry (£9.20 each). Bag draw: D. Sigsworth, T. Davies, R. Reed (£14.60 each). Handicap changes: Geoffrey Aston 13 to 12; Derrick Farley 15 to 14; Roger Schooling 10 to 9; Robert Wiseman 18 to 19.

MONTHLY MEDAL

Division One (28 competitors): Peter Rossi 82-11 -71 (medal and £33 credit); John Broomhead 82 -10-72, last nine (£23); John Gottwaltz 76-4-72 (£11.50). Division Two (47 competitors): Roger Schofield 88 -15-73 (medal and £33 credit); Paul Davies 102 -28-74 (£23 credit); David Skyrme 91-15-76, last nine (£11). Twos: Steven Court, Brian Cramb, John Gottwaltz, Jack Guerreiro, Stan Hudson, Simon Rossiter (£12.33 each). Bag draw: T. Rogers, P. Ellis, D. Llewellyn, S. Maytum (£18.25 each). Handicap changes: Philip Booth 14 to 15; Stephen Cole 19 to 20; Paul Davies 28 to 27; Robert Howse 12 to 13; Richard Reed 15 to 16; Peter Rossi 11 to 10; Roger Schofield 15 to 14; Donald Sigsworth 12 to 13; Ian Thomas 12 to 13; Ian Thomas 23 to 24; Michael Wainwright 17 to 18.

Neil Rees Memorial

This year's competition will take place on Saturday, August 2, with the first tee time being 11 am. All members of Tenby GC are eligible to take part, not just those who have previously played rugby for Tenby United RFC. To enter, competitors can either use the time sheet at the golf club or 'phone Richard Ormond on 844243. As is tradition, following the prize-giving, there will be a meal for all the golfers and partners, together with a bar and disco 'til late.

AJO memorial bowls match

This eagerly-awaited annual fixture between Tenby BC and Tenby GC will be next Friday, August 1. The Golf Club team has been selected and is displayed in the clubhouse. Those chosen must indicate their availability within the next few days, otherwise they will be replaced from the long reserve list.